Chapter 3: 1-2

I've been here, in this vault, for a long time now.  I don't think it's actually been a full year, yet, but it's definitely been months.  A few people have come on on occasion to put things in here or take things out but they barely talk while they do so and it's been frustrating and boring.  It did give me a chance to work on my vision type sense.  I can now see a little further out even though it's really blurry and hard to notice anything other than movement from about 25 to 30 meters out.  Of course I can always focus my attention in those areas and make them clearer but it's always more blurry the further out I try to see.  When I do try and focus I can now actually push my vision out past my normal range slightly as well.  It's only an extra few meters, sure, but I'm quite proud that I've managed to make it this far.

What else have I accomplished over the last few months?  Nothing!  Even though I can see that people are writing things sometimes I can't see anything that's actually written so trying to learn anything about the language using that was plan that failed immediately.  I can't hear what anyone is saying while locked in a box that's locked in a vault so trying to understand anything that's going on is pretty difficult.  It's kind of like watching a movie that's turned black and white and has some kind of blurry screen I have to look through to watch.  

I'm really not happy being locked up like this.  I've thought about shoving every bit of the feeling of hatred I have saved up at the noble guy if he shows up again but a lot of thinking has also made me realize that it would probably be a bad idea.  I should technically be immortal anyway so what's a year or a hundred of waiting for someone to show up that will actually use me?  Honestly I'm not even entirely sure what I can do yet so I would kind of like to have some of that figured out before a proper wielder comes along.  It would be nice if someone who has some sort of skills could show up and give me a try, though.

Oh?  Well, look at this.  It seems that noble guy has decided to come visit the vault, finally.  I should try to hold back my anger at him while he's here.  Hm?  It seems he's coming for me, huh.  He's pointing at my box and telling the two guys following him to do something with me.  I guess I'm going on another trip.  Let's see where we're going now since they seem to be strapping my box to the carriage again.  Oh, right, I'm an item as far as everyone is concerned so I get loaded ahead of time and have to wait for the noble guy to actually be ready before we go anywhere.  

Yes!  Come on, noble guy!  Keep coming this way and get in the carriage so we can leave.  It's not that I really want to go anywhere with you but at least this is finally something different that's happening after months of sitting in a vault.  Finally we're leaving!  I guess I'll take this chance to look around since I can now see a bit better and further than when we came here.  Well, this is more boring than I thought it would be.  I can't see quite far enough to actually see anything interesting.  There's just a bunch of gates and fences surrounding large lawns with some guards and a few people walking around here and there.  Maybe this is a noble area?  That would explain it.  Too bad.

It seems we're coming up to a large portcullis.  Oh?  Maybe I'm being taken into a castle?  That could actually be kind of awesome if it's true.  I still can barely hear what anyone is saying which isn't helping me learn anything.  Well, at least this definitely seems to be a castle.  Hmm.  The noble guy is having two more guys carry me around behind him as he walks through the castle.  Looking through the walls ahead I can see that there's a lot of people gathered around right now.  Hm?  I guess that guy sitting on the throne at the far end of the room we're about to enter is the king, then?  Oh, so I guess I'm a gift for the king or something, then.  There seems to be a whole ceremony and stuff going on.  

Right before we go through the doors the noble guy unlocks the chains and throws them to the side.  Someone seems to have shouted something and the doors are finally opening now.  I just keep being carried behind the noble guy.  He's walking right up to kneel in front of the king.  Okay now they're saying some things to each other.  I really wish I could understand what they're saying.  Oh, look.  I'm finally being brought forward as my box is being opened.  The king doesn't seem extremely impressed as he looks at me, though.  The noble guy says some more things including some really strange sounding word that doesn't seem to match the rest of the language which makes the look on the king's face change into a much more impressed look.

He's reaching down to grab my handle now to give me test wield, I suppose.  I wonder...I remember something about maybe being able to share sight with a wielder.  Let's see if that's possible when picks me up.  Ohhh.  I can see though his eyes but I still have my type of vision, too.  After all this time without color everything suddenly looks quite spectacular with details and colors and all that.  This is kind of fun!  Oi!  Why did you drop me, you stupid king?

The guards start heading to the noble guy but the king suddenly shouts something at them.  That had to mean something long the lines of 'stop'.  Well, at least I'm learning some words again.  The king is saying something in a good mood while talking to everyone and indicating the noble guy but I would still like to know what happened.  Let's think about this:  the king picked me up, I shared vision and was having fun looking through his eyes, then he dropped me.  Hmm...wait.  If we shared vision then maybe he could see the same way I normally do at the same time, too?  Ah.  That would make sense, actually.  Well, damn.  Now I'll have to make sure that I let whoever holds me share my vision from now on.  I guess there are worse things that could have happened.

The king picks me up again so I share my vision again.  He seems to be having fun looking around with my sight in a similar way to how I'm enjoying using his.  I have to be careful not to let him know that I have feelings, though.  This king guy is definitely better than the noble guy so far but I still don't know how much I can trust him to know that I'm the first and only living weapon in the world at the moment.  Oh, it seems that the way I see might be a little too much for the king to handle yet since he's starting to hold his head and wobble a little.  It's probably something like sensory overload.  He's trying to keep looking dignified as he makes his way back to sit down on his throne.  I guess he can't handle me too well, yet.  This is why I'm getting leaned against the side of his throne.

Well, at least I'm not in a box or display case or something.  This shows that he at least has the intention to use me if the need ever arises.  Okay, I can live with this since it'll give me a chance to start learning the language around here while at least being ready to be used.  The king gives the noble guy some more praises and then dismisses him.  There's a few more people bringing gifts after that but I'm pretty sure I'm the best of the lot.  Once most of the people have finally left after some hours have passed, the king looks over at me and says a few things.  I guess I'm getting praised but what was that really weird word that he started the talk with.  It sounded a lot like the word the noble guy had said, too, and I'm fairly certain it's not normally part of their language.  I guess I'll figure it out eventually as I learn the language.

---

Seriously?  Somebody thought my name should be Ixlixandt 'Al and actually thought it was a good name?  No, no, and definitely not!  I absolutely refuse that name with all that I am!  Since these people seem to have a horrible naming sense then I guess I should figure one out for myself.  Once I have a real wielder, I'll let them know what it is.  Wait.  Isn't this actually kind of cool?  Everyone thinks I'm some sword with this really weird name but my actual name and nature are different!  I like it.  I still have to figure out what my name will be, though.  Something to think about for a while, I guess.  Even something like Puppy Cutter would probably be better than whatever that name they tried to give me is.  I mean, I can give some benefit of the doubt to assume it means something awesome somewhere or looks awesome when written but the way it's pronounced makes me sound more like an adult toy!

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In other news, I got my own pedestal right next to the throne.  It only took them about two weeks to make it for me and it's actually pretty well made.  There's even this little clamping bar that locks my handle in place at night so that until the king comes and unlocks it there's going to be a lot of difficulties in trying to steal me away.  I'm not going to accept this king as my first real wielder but I can appreciate that he appreciates me.  He's started to take me to train with every few days.  I'm being careful not to focus my vision while he does that since I'm afraid it might affect what he sees as well so I just kind of sit back and enjoy the ride while trying to learn what I can.  The knights or guards or whoever it is he trains with seem to be decently skilled so even if I can't focus too much I'm sure I can pick some stuff up as time goes on.

Another awesome thing is I've finally seen some magic!  I kind of figured it existed in this world since I'm a magic sword and all but it's one thing to have a vague idea that it exists and another to see it happen.  I wasn't the only one surprised when I actually cut an illusion in half, either.  Apparently I'm so awesome that I can cut magic itself when other, more normal swords can't.  I'm also really sharp, apparently, because I cut a piece of armor that was placed on a dummy in two with barely any resistance.  It's nice to know that I'm as top tier as I hoped I would be.  Now, if I can actually learn to use magic somehow then I could become a truly fearsome weapon even without a wielder.  I probably can't, though.  I have no fingers or arms or anything to use to cast spells, so...

If this is going to be how things go for a while then I guess I have no real complaints.  It'll give me some time to learn the language which will lead to me learning about the world and how things work.  I'll also have some time to try and figure out what I want my real name to be and learn more of what all I can do.  Then every once in a while I'll get this opportunity to learn some fighting maneuvers and such.  It seems like a pretty fulfilling time, actually.  I don't know how long this will last for but I'm fairly certain that I won't find a real wielder for at least a few years so I'll just take my time to learn what I can and grow a little.

---

So after a year of this routine I have to admit it: I'm just not very good at learning the language.  I've picked up only enough to get a vague understanding of the subject of conversations but still not enough to actually know what anyone says.  Yes, it's kind of disappointing that my mastery of the language can still be fully substituted with body language but it's not like I really need it that badly, yet.  I'll be here long after all of the people around here are dead anyways so I can take my time.  I have managed to learn more about how swords are used, though.  It turns out that I can kind of minorly help my wielder in a fight by doing just a little bit of self adjustment.  Is my blade swinging down just half a centimeter off kilter?  Let me fix that for you!  Like that.  It's not a huge thing but it also means I can kind of shake and rattle a little if I ever think I need to.  I've been as careful as I can to not let the king, who's still the only one who ever wields me, notice that I adjust some of his moves just a little here or there on occasion and I only ever rattle after making sure there's nobody nearby that could witness it.

I've also been slowly improving my vision.  It's barely an improvement so I'm not sure if the king has noticed any changes in it himself or if he has that he thinks it's through his own efforts in trying to master my usage.  Either way is fine.  I feel like I've been doing a pretty good job of keeping the fact that I'm actually alive a secret.  Sometimes I worry about it when the king starts talking to me during the times he's alone with me but I think I once heard that some people talk to their swords or whatever even if it's just a normal sword, so I'm trying not to worry about it too much.

I feel kind of bad for choosing to not let this guy become a true wielder of mine when he's been treating me so well.  I actually kind of like him for it.  I realize there are no great battlefields or anything at the moment where a king would even be able to bring me for proper usage but he still always has me ready during the day and takes the time to learn how to use me when he can and everything.  I truly appreciate his efforts.  That said, I came up with a few requirements that I want my true wielders to have before I even try to offer the pact thing that the gods told me about to make someone my true wielder and unfortunately the king falls just a little shy.

I want my true wielders to have some sort of objective that they're aiming for in order for me to become their lifelong partner for.  That means it can't just be some kind of small short term goal, either.  It has to be something that is either likely to be a lifetime's endeavor or something that's greater than themselves.  Unfortunately, I can't bring myself to say that just doing normal kingly duties day in and day out qualifies for that.

I don't particularly care if my true wielder ends up being a king or prince or even male or female or whatever but I do want them to be somewhat free.  I am a weapon and I'm meant to be brought into battle and bathe in the blood of my wielder's enemies.  If my wielder doesn't have the freedom to at least go around and encounter enemies then I'm not even reaching half of my potential.  I like that this king is always trying to prepare for enemies that may come but sitting on a throne with normal state visitors and whatnot isn't likely to encounter that many enemies, at least not while this kingdom is as peaceful as it seems.  This one rule I might have bent just a little since he's so close if he'd only fulfilled all others but he already couldn't match up with the first one so unfortunately, unless something changes, he still won't quite make the cut.

I also don't particularly care if my wielder has the skills to use me when I decide to make them a true wielder but they need to either have the potential or the desire and I have to recognize it.  This might be a little vague but I feel that it's an absolute necessity.  There's no point in someone becoming my true wielder if there's no way they will ever be able to actually wield me.  Even if they don't have natural talent or potential they could make up for it through hard work and desire.  Sadly, this is the one condition that this king manages to fulfill in spades.  It's just too bad that it can't make up for his lacking in the first two.

The last thing I require from my true wielder, which the king also fulfills, is that they need to treat me well and with respect.  That's meant in both the terms of being a weapon and a being in general.  Even if they don't know that I'm alive, much like the king, as long as they show that they can respect me then they will meet this requirement.  They don't necessarily have to talk to me like the king does until they know that I'm alive but I refuse to end up with a true wielder who completely ignores me or my own wishes and advice.  That kind of thing just sound like it would be nightmare for me throughout the duration of my wielder's life.

So, although I like this king, he only fulfills two of my four conditions and thus will not be my true wielder.

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