He was our savior
He was our protector
But he cannot protect us
They are not the Lady of Light
They do not wield magic
Instead blades forged in the light
Save us from them
Save us from their greed
Save us from her

~Song of the Woods
_________________________________

"It was pain that brought her back to life."

Or at least it was pain that Honey awoke to when she opened her eyes from what felt like an eternal sleep. Her head burned and her body was stiff, but that was the extent of her pain. Honey sat up slowly, her body warmed by the fire she had been sleeping next to. 

Dai was sitting next to her feet, his body frozen and eyes locked on the fire for such a long time Honey thought he might have dozed off. As Honey glanced around she saw a few other sleeping forms, the half-dozen Mutare soldiers who had not been killed by Lukas's wrath. A small part of Honey warmed, knowing she had saved their lives.

Honey knew she would never be the hero her father was, the hero she dreamed of being. In the end, it was Dai who had risked life and limb in order to save the soldiers. Yet, even though Honey's role was minor, she still was able to help. 

Perhaps, if she was lucky, she could convince either Lukas or Dai to teach her how to wield a blade as well as any Lekki, or even a Mutare, soldier so she could save lives too.  Gently, Honey tapped Dai with her foot with the full intent of asking him, yet as the Mutare snapped his gaze to her she thought better of it. He seemed... angry.

However his anger quickly melted away as he saw Honey was awake, and a rare smile spread across his lips. For just a moment, relief flooded his features, making them seem gentle and kind. However as that moment passed, Dai's face returned to its neutral position making him seem more annoyed than Honey knew he actually was. 

"You're awake," Dai said, stating the obvious. "I apologize for hurting you, earlier," he mumbled, "it was not my intention." Dai looked away, trying to hide the unmistakable guilt burning in his eyes. "Are you in any pain, now?" Dai asked, still not meeting her gaze.

"No, I feel fine," Honey said, rubbing her head as she sat up to face Dai. "Just what...what happened?" she asked. All Honey could remember was a bright light then a burning pain had spread across her body. There was nothing after that. Just suffocating darkness that had kept her trapped for what felt like an eternity.

"Have you ever heard of the Twin Blades?" Dai asked, cautiously.

"Lukas's sword," Honey mumbled, scrunching her eyebrows together as a memory resurfaced in her mind. "The Twin Blade of Light is what you called it." Honey's voice was unsure, almost as if asking a question. "I think there might be a few stories about it as well. How it was the blade that killed the Dark Master," she mumbled.

"The Twin Blade of Light is the most powerful weapon ever forged by immortal or mortal hands," Dai began as if he was about to tell Honey a story. "It was created many of millennium ago, by an ancient being known only as Sun," Dai said as if beginning a story.

"Like the sun?" Honey asked, cutting Dai off before he could continue.

"That's what the legend says," Dai snapped, his golden glared filled with annoyance at being interrupted by her. "The Twin Blade of Light had Sun's light magic poured into it so that the Ancient One could take his vengeance upon his oldest ally and greatest friend, Moon," Dai said, his voice somber.

"Am I allowed to ask if this Moon like the one in the sky, too? And why Sun would want to exact vengeance on his oldest ally and greatest friend?" she asked again, earning yet another glare from Dai.

"I was getting to that," Dai hissed. "Sun's wife, who was the most beautiful woman ever to grace the world with her touch, bore Moon's son. A child of shadow and darkness, that was said to drain the life from everything that he touched, just like his father," Dai said, closing his eyes as he tried to remember the way the story went.

His mother used to tell it to him when he was just a kit.

"Sun was angry. Furious at his wife and Moon's betrayal. He plotted to kill them both," Dai said, pausing for a heartbeat for what Honey could only assume was dramatic effect. "So Sun created the Twin Blade of Light to destroy Moon. To destroy the darkness from the world."

"That sounds good," Honey said.

"Just let me tell my story!" Dai snapped, his eyes still closed. Honey raised her hands defensively and after another long pause, Dai continued. "Yet, what Sun did not realize was that Moon had forged his own blade. A blade that had his own dark magic poured into it, forged to match the Twin Blade of Light blow by blow and to destroy Sun and all that is good and light in our world," Dai said, softly.

Honey was about to make another comment when something formed in Dai's hands as if it had come from the shadows themselves. It was a sword, but not like the frozen ones made of ice that Dai usually crafted. This one was made of a beautiful steel, that gleamed in the firelight, it's hilt glittering with silver jewels. 

However, the most noticeable thing about the sword was the small, full moon carved where the blade met the hilt. Honey stared at it with wide eyes, reaching out to touch it. "It's beautiful," Honey breathed as she rubbed her fingers along the full moon carved into its blade.

"This is the Twin Blade of Shadow," Dai said and Honey snapped her gaze to him in shock. "Odd how something meant to rob the world of light is so beautiful," he said, with a ghost of a smile on his lips. "The Twin Blades were each forged with the single purpose of defeating the other. All of the shadows of Moon poured into mine and all of the light of Sun in Lukas's.

"Yet, that was just it," he said, turning to face Honey his eyes cold. "Without the darkness, Moon became pure and without the light, Sun fell to the corruption eating at us all," he said. "Or at least that's how I like to tell it." How his mother liked to tell it.

"I like it," Honey said. "I mean, it makes sense, that's all," she said. "It would be like sucking the poison out of a wound, right?" she asked.

"Right," Dai agreed. "Either way, whenever these two blades meet they send out a blast of pure magic. I do believe I caused more harm than good by drawing Shadow," he sighed, looking at his blade with what Honey could only describe as fondness before it disappeared once more. "I am thankful the vagabonds had found us before anyone else though," he commented.

"We're with vagabonds?" Honey asked, eyes glowing with curiosity. She had always felt connected to them. After all, they were her mother's people.

"Vagabonds. Halflings. And a people of thousand other names, that all live as one under these tents," Dai said, with a slight smirk. "But yes, we are with vagabonds," he stated, eyes glittering with amusement. "Or at least they were until they entered the Wild Woods."

Honey was silent for a moment, unsure if she wanted to ask what Dai meant by they were vagabonds. Were they known as something else in the Wild Woods, Honey wondered. However, she wasn't allowed to wonder long as Dai got to his feet and walked out of the tent, making it clear he expected Honey to follow. 

Honey groaned as she got to her feet. Her head was spinning as she stumbled out of the tent, nearly bumping into Dai who was waiting outside. Sunlight was the first thing that Honey felt. Although the sun was setting, and the sky darkening, it still felt good to have the sun's warm rays kiss her skin again.

"Welcome to the vagabond camp."

A U T H O R ' S   N O T E

Everyone's alive and okay (for now)

I'm as surprised as anyone else.

Well thanks for reading and please vote and comment!

Until next time!