Free Battle Mage Visions (A Tale of Alus Book 12) by Donald Wigboldy

between each weapon.
    The runes not only etched into the blade, but were joined by more on the hilt. A hand needed the runes to touch their skin making blade and magic user one. His magic would fill the runes. For those who knew his secret, they might pull power from the earth; but it was their hand on the runes that told the ground to fill the weapon. A wizard or battle mage formed a simple spell and then released it the same way.
    When the runes were complete, Sebastian released his magic and his mind returned to his body. He opened eyes that had closed without notice and looked at the wizards across from him. Their eyes looked from the new Hollow Sword to the weapon master who had created the runes to change it from a simple, quality blade to something worthy of being called an artifact.
    They had studied ancient relics of power and this was as intricate as any they had seen. Begrudged respect could be seen in their faces, but Gefflen was the only one to speak the barest amount of praise. "Very interesting, your magic seems to have written the runes following the flow of the metal. It is like adjusting to a living being."
    Sebastian nodded and stated, "Each blade is similar but has unique runes as well. It was only after I had made a handful of the blades that I even realized that the runes were slightly different each time.
    "You can record them," he said with a nod to Erethia, "but I am not sure that you can use them as an exact template. A wizard or mage will have to feel for the nature of the blade and fix any weaknesses first. Then you can adjust to the metal. Each hammer beat and fold makes it slightly different from other Hollow Swords.
    "That is how I do it anyway. If you can make up some spell or technique that will help you do it better, by all means do."
    It was the earth wizard, Orlen, who spoke his thoughts aloud. "Like a master blade smith, you feel out the nature of the individual blade to adjust for the nuances that only you are likely to feel. A swordsman finds the weight and balance that feels right to him, even when two swords look similar. They can pick out what works for their hand, even though a layman might not."
    Sebastian nodded at the assessment while his hand strayed to a cut piece of bread and placed a piece of cheese on it. It found his mouth almost without thought as hunger created from using magic made itself known. While he was hungry, the mage wasn't nearly as bad as if he had borrowed power from the earth to make one without Ashleen's help.
    The young woman had sat in a chair close by with a sandwich in hand and a mug of juice sitting on the table quietly eating as she listened to the wizards talk about their work. Ashleen had worked on enough pieces with Sebastian that she knew if they were correct or not. She had been his apprentice working on each and every Hollow Sword except for the first.
    His eyes strayed to the windows and noticed the already weak gray light had dimmed even more. It would be dark soon and dinner would be served at the Black Smith Inn as well.
    "Well, if there are no other questions, I think that will have to be it for the day," he decided looking at the visiting wizards.
    "But we haven't even truly begun to study the magic used," Gefflen complained as he frowned once more. He was nearly demanding as the man asked, "Can't you spare more time to continue? Orlen shared through you directly. Perhaps you could make another and let another of us join you. We could supply the power instead of your girl and maybe two could learn at once?"
    Sebastian had a feeling that the wizard had already forgotten Ashleen's name. About as disdained as a mage, the wilder was hardly a consideration. He wondered if Gefflen believed one of his wizards could be a better assistant just because they weren't wilders. Not letting his negative thoughts interfere with the slight smile on his face, Sebastian said, "I think you have seen enough to digest. Most people would be impressed with a single