24 XXIV. The Book

Dag stood up, touching his painful back, after the hit.

"I saw what happened to you today" continued Magni.

Dag said nothing. He looked at his Master.

"I knew another person capable to learn skills in a few days. You probably already know who I'm referring to"

"Brann" whispered Dag.

"Correct" said Magni. Then he crouched, picking the book from the floor.

He closed it and passed a hand on its leather cover.

"He was superior to any warrior of the Clan. He became chieftain when he was just 25 years old. You know, there are some level 10 skills nobody never mastered. Brann was the only one that mastered a skill called Ragnarok."

Dag listened carefully.

"Do you know what is Ragnarok, Dag?" he asked.

"Y…yes, I do. Ragnarok is the end of the world we know. Is the day in which Fenrir breaks its chains and eats Odin, the Allfather" answered Dag.

"Correct, again. From the Ragnarok, the world is regenerated. But the regeneration has its cost. Brann performed the Ragnarok once: it was during a battle. We were losing against the Fangs Of Jormungandr Clan, fighting for a castle. Only a few of our warriors survived, while they were many. With that ability, he was able to defeat them all: the sky turned black and red lightning bolts went down, hitting enemies one by one. Some of them survived and ran away. Brann fainted down. It required too much power, even for him."

Magni talked with a voice full of admiration.

"What happened to him?" asked Dag.

"After the battle, we carried him here, at the temple. He slept for weeks. Nobody knew the reason, not even Master Egill, our best healer. When he finally woke up he said that a part of him died during the Ragnarok. He said he was dead, and nothing happened after. No Heaven, no Valhalla, nothing. Only never-ending darkness. I remember every word, I was a boy, like you."

Magni climbed the ladder and placed the book on its original position.

Then said: "there's something in you… I don't know what, I can't render it. I perceive a weird aura when you are in front of me. It's different from Brann's, different from anybody else"

Dag was surprised.

He didn't know what Magni was talking about.

"Do you know anything about his axe? It has two small shards embedded. I know they can release some kind of unnatural power" said.

"Shards?" asked Magni displaced.

"Never mind. Can you tell me anything else about my aura? In the last days, I felt my power growing. My roommate told me about the Niva skill. What level am I?" Dag got closer to his Master.

"Dag, I…I don't know"

"What?!"

"I mastered that skill years ago, but I can't see your level. When I look at you, I only see your dark aura" replied Magni.

"Dark?! Why? Is there darkness in me? I can't believe that. I never did anything to…"

"Don't worry, brother. You're not evil, I can feel it. You may become a great warrior. You have learned a level one skill in one day. Now, you must continue, whatever the cost, and I can teach you" stated Magni.

Dag looked at his hands.

What was wrong with him? Darkness? Where did it come from? He had no answers, just questions.

Magni laid his hand on Dag's shoulder: "I will train you to become a great warrior. The greatest warrior. I bet on you, Dag… don't let me down".

At these words, Magni walked out of the library. Dag stayed still, next to the table.

He climbed again the ladder, till the top shelves. All the level ten books were side by side.

Finally, he found it: Ragnarok.

Dag got off the ladder and dropped the book on the table, shifting scrolls on the side. Then he tried to open the book. It was sealed.

He tried again and again, but the front page didn't move from its position. It must've been locked with some magic spell, it looked like a normal book, but seemed cement on touch.

Dag put the book back on the top shelf, then grabbed all the scrolls and moved to his room.

It was still morning and everybody was in the courtyard. Dag continued thinking about what Master Magni said.

Did he want to train him individually? Did he know more about his "hidden" darkness? He didn't seem to know much.

He walked out the door that separated the library wing to the courtyard. He saw Aslan, training with someone else.

When Dag passed in front of him, Aslal stopped and yelled: "Hey you, booger! I'm not done with you yet!"

"Sorry Aslan, I gotta go now! I'm busy at the moment" answered Dag, but when he was talking, the guy that was training against Aslan stood in his way, preventing him from reaching the dorm.

Dag slid out a cloth string from his boot and tied the scrolls up, dropping them on the ground, next to the weapons room's door, a few meters after.

"I need a sword" he said.

The guy in front of him picked a sword from the ground and threw it to Dag.

Aslan was ready, with his shield and mace. The other guy held two tomahawks.

Dag tightened the sword with both his hands, with its tip pointing on the opponents.

The guy started to charge towards Dag, rotating with his two axes. While he was spinning, some little yellow sparks surrounded the tomahawks, leaving their wake.

Aslan was still, with his shield up.

Dag remained in his position, waiting to dodge, and when the guy reached him, he quickly dodged the first hit and tried to parry the second one.

Raising his sword, he parried the tomahawk's hit but felt a vibration coming from that weapon, that unbalanced him, knocking him to the ground.

The guy continued his charge, trying to hit Dag when he was on the ground, but he promptly moved his sword to parry the stroke. Then he jumped back on his feet, out of breath: that parry caused him an incredible loss of energy. The hit was loaded of power.