Omen: 15, 19

Jurot did not understand.

He had meditated with the axe and swung it around, cutting into the wood, but he did not understand.

Yes, it was a greater enchantment, that was for certain, but Adam wouldn’t call it the greatest weapon he had made to date unless there was something else.

“You must be wondering what’s all there is to it, right?” Adam asked, smiling at the Iyrman as he tried to understand what the sword was all about.

“What else does it do?” Jurot asked.

“You can spend a charge to deal more damage, or to heal yourself,” Adam said. “Up to a total of three charges every day.”

“How powerful is the additional damage?

“Twice as powerful as a typical battleaxe, for each charge spent.”

Jurot stared at Adam for a short moment. ‘Should I have expected something else from you, Adam?’ Even when he had left Adam alone, he remained as outrageous as forever.

“I cannot feel the extra damage,” Jurot said, cutting into the wood.

“It’s damage to the mind,” Adam said, tapping his forehead. “It won’t hurt wood.”

“Damage to the mind?” Jurot asked with uncharacteristic alarm.

“That’s right. I made it to make sure your grandfather kept in line. Did you hear what he did to me?”

“Grandfather? What did he do?”

“You’ll find out.”

Jurot stared at Adam for another short while. “This axe is amazing.” Jurot couldn’t help but admit it, because it was the truth. Adam’s fighting style was to strike true, and to deal as much damage as possible in a single moment. This weapon would do just that, but it wasn’t just that.

Adam grinned wide, hearing the compliments from his brother. “Isn’t it?”

‘This weapon was designed to kill me,’ Jurot thought. If he went against Adam with this axe in the Half Elf’s hand, he’d die before he could draw his own axe.

“It’ll be my main weapon for a while.” Adam watched as Jurot continued to swing it. “I’m running out of gold, so I won’t be able to make anything as good for some time. Once I do have enough money, I’ll make something that will make this look like a toy.”

“Why do you want to make another?”

“I’ll make a better one for you.”

“The axe you have gifted to me is amazing. You do not have to make another.”

“I will make you another one,” Adam said, placing a hand on Jurot’s shoulder. “I can’t use this one while you’re walking around with a basic axe. What will people say?”

Jurot wasn’t sure how to respond. Adam was the kind of person who would do what he wanted, especially when it came to making great weapons and gifting them. Jurot understood with Adam’s reasons why he wanted to gift the weapons, even if he disagreed with them.

“Do you want this one instead?” Adam asked. “It’s good for me because of my abilities, but I’m sure you can use it much better than me. I don’t mind using your axe since I’m easier to injure than you, you god damn tank.” Adam slapped the man’s shoulders, feeling how powerful they were.

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“No,” Jurot said, feeling Adam slap around his powerful muscles. “This is your axe. It is powerful, and you can use it best.”

Adam nodded. “Alright. I think it’s time I handed Dunes his sword, don’t you think?”

Dunes was currently training, swinging his sword ahead of him. He was covered with sweat, which dripped down his dark skin, forming a puddle under him.

“Yo, Dunes,” Adam called out, holding the Jagite sword. “Here.”

Dunes held up the sword, glancing at it. “What kind of enchantment did you place on it?”

“Oh, you know,” Adam said. “It deals extra fire damage, you can choose to strike true three times a day, and you regain Health whenever you strike true.”

Dunes stared at Adam, the same way that others stared at him when he said something crazy with a straight face. ‘Lady Arya, save me,’ Dunes thought.

“I’m sorry Adam, but I cannot accept this blade,” Dunes said, almost nervously. “This blade is too good for the likes of me.”

Adam pat the man on his shoulder, letting out a soft sigh with a small smirk on his face. The Half Elf’s eyes almost dared Dunes to try and reject the sword. “It’s your sword, so take good care of it. I named it Dunes’ Sword because I was so tired after making it, so I expect you to use it well.”

“You’re just… giving this sword to me?” Dunes asked. He couldn’t believe it. The only people who had given him such favour before were those at his temple, and even then he had to complete so many rites and rituals, along with a mind numbing number of chores.

“I’m the party leader, aren’t I?” Adam grinned wide. “I have to look after the team, and in case you forgot, you’re a part of it.”

“Even so, isn’t it too much?”

“Is it?” Adam asked, rubbing his chin. “Hey, Jaygak. Do you want this sword instead? You can trade with Dunes.”

“H-hold on!” Dunes held the sword in hand as Jaygak approached, wondering what the sword was like. Adam explained what the sword did to her as Dunes thought. “With this sword, I will be able to remain in the battle for longer. Thanks to that, I should be able to heal you all well.”

Adam smiled. “If that didn’t work, I was going to get my little sister to stare you down. You know, she has teeth now, so maybe she’ll bite you for bullying me.”

‘Who is bullying who?’ The others thought.

“I won’t let you down, Adam,” Dunes said.

“I know.” Adam chuckled. “I don’t care if it’s better suited for someone else. I made it for you, though, and I even named it after you.”

Dunes bowed his head. “Many thanks.”

“I made quite a few weapons in the Iyr,” Adam admitted. “I’m pretty poor now.”

“How poor?” Jurot asked, brazenly.

“I have a little over two thousand gold,” Adam admitted.

“That’s poor?” Dunes asked, raising his brow.

“It is,” Adam said. “Our party purse has quite a lot of money. It has about one thousand and five hundred or so, not including what you all made.” They hadn’t taken it with them when they had left, which annoyed Adam even more.

“We’re really good at saving,” Adam said. “I need to spend a bunch of money on putting spells into my book too, so I’m going to need some time and money to do that. I have enough for it, so I won’t dip into the party fund for it, so no need to worry about it.”

Jurot nodded. “It is almost Nightval, Adam. We should rest and prepare for the Beast Wave.”

“The what?” Adam asked. “Oh, yeah. You did mention those.”

“They will attack during the Twilight Month.”

Adam was sure he had heard mention of that name before. “What is that?”

“The Twilight Month is the transition between Nightval and Dawnval,” Jurot said. “It is when the magic of the world turns chaotic.”

Adam raised his brows. “That sounds fucking cool.”

Dunes stared at Adam, wondering how he didn’t know something so obvious. ‘Just how far away do you come from that you do not know of that?’

“The world needs to balance itself, and it does so in the Twilight Month,” Jurot explained. “Magic surges within the world, and manifests through nature, usually as wild beasts. Those wild beasts usually head towards civilisation, attacking villages and towns. They mostly bother towns, as villages are too small to gather many beasts.”

“Does that mean my spells will become more powerful?” Adam asked, thinking about how close he was to acquiring Fireball.

“It can,” Dunes said. “The Twilight Month for us is…” He shuddered, glancing down towards his hands. “Sometimes I’ve never felt more powerful. Sometimes, I feel so lost. My connection with Lady Arya is affected by the Twilight Month, and there are times when whatever spell I try and ask for is denied, but it is not due to my disobedience, or her displeasure.”

“Huh,” Adam said. “My magic works slightly different, so I’m not sure if it’ll affect me the same way. What if I enchant during that month?”

“You will not,” Jurot stated, firmly. “No one enchants weapons in the Twilight Month.” His voice was cryptic, something Adam had never heard from the Iyrman.

“Why not?”

“Death is likely.”

“How likely?”

"You are equally likely to die as to live."

"I'm stronger than your typical magic user,” Adam said, raising his brows.

"The stronger the magic, the greater the risk," Jurot stated. “No one in the Iyr will enchant during the month, including you, Adam. It is a law.”

Adam slowly nodded his head, understanding what Jurot was saying. He was on thin ice already. “Then I’ll have to try another time.” Adam wondered how lucky he would be during the Twilight Month. ‘If it’s about luck, then shouldn’t I be fine?’

Then he remembered how many times he had died.