Kingdom Chronicles Collection - Books 1-3

By Jesse Wilson

The first three books in Jesse Wilson's 'Kingdom Chronicles', a series of fantasy novels, now available in one volume!

The Mimic Blade: Pen Kenders, a dishwasher in the Kingdom of Antacia, is unexpectedly chosen to become the Guardian of Tinea during the Blade Day ritual. Despite not knowing the full consequences of his decision, Pen reluctantly accepts and frees the blade from its sheath, unknowingly changing the course of the realm forever. Now, he must protect the world from unknown forces and navigate his new role as Guardian.

Commander Rex and the Black Unicorn: When the prophetic return of the Black Unicorn occurs, Commander Rex and his team are summoned by King Lexam to investigate. Though skeptical, the team must find out who is responsible for the unicorn's return before it's too late.

Camp Stonetooth: Young vampires in the Morglands must pass a series of challenging tests, known as Camps, to prove themselves. The last one, Camp Stonetooth, will grant them entry into the vampire society. Boron, Talcen, and Ticcen are eager to take on the challenge, but a dangerous treasure threatens to turn their dreams into a nightmare.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Next Chapter
• Release date: Apr 18, 2023

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

It was Thursday, the 14th of Yulex. The winter months had been settled in for some time, and the snow fell on the majority of the Antacian Kingdom, as it had for generations this time of the year. Everything was normal.

Everyone in the Kingdom was excited for the upcoming festival that was due to take place in eleven days. The Festival of the Blades. This year it was their turn to host the great exchange as one year faded into the next.

Deep within the bowels of Lom Castle worked at least one man who was not excited for this, or any other festival.

He is a dishwasher by the name of Pen Kenders, as miserable as being a dishwasher sounds this was a job he actually didn't mind. Pen drained the last sink and sighed.

I hate the holidays, his royal lordship seems to have some kind of ritual feast every day, it's enough to drive me insane, Pen said to his long-time work partner as he dried his hands with a clean towel, then threw it in the large black basket by the door.

Yeah, you complain every year, the same old thing. Yet you keep coming back so it's obviously not enough to make you quit, Shane replied to him with an annoyed tone.

I guess you're right but still, I hate the holiday seasons. I mean they don't even make any sense, Pen said the same thing he said every year around this time. He closed the door to the dishwasher and backed away as it turned on by itself to avoid the blast of steam to his face.

A few seconds later Shane opened the metal door, pulled out the rack of plates and did his best to avoid the steam but it was nearly impossible.

You should lighten up and enjoy it, it doesn't do you any good to be so bitter about them, Shane said as he stacked up the clean plates.

We'll talk about it later. I just want to go home. Let's clean this place up and get out of here, tomorrow is another day after all, Pen changed the subject, tired of talking about it.

I can't argue with that, Shane said with a knowing smile as he picked up the stack and walked off to put them away. Pen just shook his head, grabbed his metal scrubbing pad to begin cleaning the scum that built up in the past six hours.

Shane and Pen worked well together and the cleaning up took only twenty minutes.

See you tomorrow Shane, Pen said as he put his jacket on over his soaked black shirt.

Yep, see you later, Shane replied and left the room. Pen looked around the place, after all these years being here, as miserable as it was sometimes, it was a second home. It was a place where he was in charge, it was safe. He shook his head, breaking out of the daze.

Good night, he said to no one, shut the lights off and left the room.

Pen walked outside and was discouraged. Snow was falling and the cold air caused his warm, wet clothes to steam. He stumbled through the fresh snow to his car. The castle walls usually broke the wind but tonight the wind was blowing in his direction.

The snow felt like tiny blades as the wind whipped them in his face. Shane was gone, he could see the tire tracks leading away and now he wished he would have hurried out of here, too. He walked to his car and brushed the snow off of it to get in.

He put the keys in and turned them, but the engine barely turned over.

Oh, come on, don't do this to me, not tonight, Pen said desperately and tried again. He sighed in relief when the engine came to life.

Thank Taro, he said quietly and got back out of his car with the brush to get all the snow off the windshield and the rest of his car. Pen brushed off the powdery snow as fast as he could, got back in his car and turned on his wiper blades to do the rest of the work.

Alright, let's go home, he said, talking to himself. Pen pulled out of the parking lot and drove very slowly to the exit. He pulled up to the guard post and stopped, rolled down his window.

Finally leaving today, Kenders? Dan asked him the same thing every day. Pen found it annoying but dealt with it anyway. Yep, another day, another coin, you know how it is, Pen replied as he handed his ID over.

I know who you are, you don't need to show it each time, Dan said, glanced at the laminated card just to make Pen feel better.

Old habits and all, anyway, stay warm tonight, Pen replied and retracted his arm and rolled up the window. The guard pressed the button and the gate lifted, then he waved to him as he left. Pen drove through the gate and pulled onto the road.

It was abandoned but that was typical on a night like this. He felt lucky that he didn't have to drive too far from the castle. Normally working as a dishwasher would put you on the bleak side of town. Since Pen worked for the King and the royal family, it paid much better. He always considered himself lucky but knew luck had nothing to do with it.

Pen drove down the road slowly with the radio off to make sure he wouldn't be distracted in the winter weather. The trip home was lonely and uneventful just how he liked his trips home.

Soon he pulled into his garage and shut the door behind him. He got out of the car and made his way into the house. The house was pretty big but he lived alone, in fact he only ever used four rooms in the place regularly, the other three remained empty. The minute he walked inside he peeled off his grease soaked clothes and threw them in the basket.

It was something he'd done by heart for about fifteen years now.

From here it was straight into the bathroom to take a shower to get the feeling of being grimy and coated with slime off of his skin. This was always a quick process because his feet were always so sore by the end of the night that standing became difficult. Standing in six hours in one place all night did a number on him.

He got out of the shower and put his night clothes on, a pair of gray shorts and a black t-shirt. With that he hobbled into the kitchen to grab his half gallon jug of water from the refrigerator and right to his favorite recliner. Sitting down in it was always the best part of his day, leaning back and doing nothing was something he looked forward to each and every night.

Pen reached for his remote and turned on the television. It was EFF news network that came on.

Well I wonder what happened today, he said to himself and watched.

Today a necromancer raised three ghouls and used them to attack Desert Wind Elementary School, thirty are dead in this horrific, but all too common place event. It has brought up the topic of magic control once again in the courts of King Lom, Pen turned the channel.

It was tragic but he didn't care about things like that because there was nothing he could do. He only worried about the things he could change and he knew nothing about magic.

Just a dishwasher, he said to himself. There was a time in his life when he could have made that jump into the magic world, but that was long past. Nearing thirty years old and magic users often started at fifteen. No, Pen knew he was stuck doing this and would likely do this job until he was dead. He didn't mind that idea.

Pen turned to another news network.

And the royal families are coming to Lom castle, preparing for the blade celebration, each family is bringing their sacred blade as it's been eight years that the families have been gathered here, Pen turned the channel again, he was sick of holiday stuff and wanted to avoid it whenever he could.

He turned the channel to Sinistars and one of his favorite movies was on.

Delta Squad part three. It was better than holiday stuff and it would make for great back ground noise. Pen rarely watched television directly. Most of the time he spent his nights connected to the Internet. Pen was an avid player of games.

His favorite online game was World of Snowcraft. It was a roleplaying game for millions of people from all eight of the kingdoms. It connected ordinary people across The Distance as he called it, others just called it the Outside.

Pen picked up his laptop, turned it on and quickly logged into the game. His character was nothing like his real life identity. In real life he was content to be a nobody, a small cog in a massive machine, just making the thing go.

In Snowcraft he was a level one hundred Dreadknight of The Blue Ice clan and he went by the name of Sir Kenders. In truth, this was less about him and more honoring his father. In the game, he kept it secret who he really was, and if anyone ever asked he would just say it was an homage to the real guy, nothing more.

Hey there, Kenders welcome back, A voice came out of his speakers, he turned down the television a bit.

Hey, glad to be back Iceshaper, any good raids today? Pen responded with a voice that was just a tad bit deeper than his normal voice. Iceshaper was someone Pen always had a bit of a crush on. She was a high level cryomancer.

While they were common in the game very few people had the patience to play the job to be really effective, just like in real life, warrior types were much more common.

Yeah, the frost giant's lair is opening up in celebration for the blade festival. The clan is going to raid it and beat the boss sometime tonight, we're just early, Iceshaper replied with that sweet voice.

Oh good, more holiday stuff. At least we'll get to kill something, Kenders responded, and smiled at the thought.

It's still hot down this way, I suppose it's snowing where you are by now, Iceshaper replied with a laugh. You know it is, cold as a, well, frost giant's breath, Kenders said and laughed at his lame joke, Iceshaper laughed too, she must have thought it was funny.

Hey the rest of the group is logging in, let's go to the home base, Iceshaper said to him as they teleported to the home base.

The next few hours were spent with him and six other people rampaging through the lair of an evil frost giant. The enemy at the end of the dungeon faded away at last and the clan was rewarded with special holiday themed gear.

Pen looked at the clock and it was about three in the morning.

Sorry guys it's about three my time. I gotta get going. I'll talk to you later, Kenders said, the rest of the team said their goodbyes before he logged out.

He had been sitting in one spot for hours and this was just as hard on him as working was. He closed his computer and slowly started to stand up from the chair, putting the computer on the arm of a couch he never sat in and shut the television off.

He slowly made his way to his bedroom.

I've got to quit doing this to myself, Pen said to himself, but knew it was a lie. He said the same thing just about every night as his stiff body struggled to move.

He made it to his ice-cold bedroom, he left the window open before he left today, but it wasn't snowing then and he'd forgotten about it until right now. He tried to close it, but it was frozen shut.

Come on, you can do it, Pen said and pushed a little harder, the ice broke and he was able to shut it. Pen fell into bed and looked straight into his ceiling. Sleep never came easy for Pen. He was always thinking of vast things, ideas that came from nowhere.

Tonight however, he turned his head and looked at the picture, the last picture that was ever taken of his father and sighed.

It's been three years, where are you? Pen asked that question sometimes but didn't know why anymore.

It was hard on him but much harder on his mother whom Pen had no choice but to have committed, driven mad with a wicked kind of guilt that came on when they got the news that someone they love had gone missing.

Pen shook his head and cleared his thoughts. There was no need to be thinking of things he couldn't change or do anything about. These were words he'd lived by for ages and they haven't failed yet.

Life could have been so much worse right now and he had the news to remind him of that fact every single day. This was a day in the life of Pen Kenders. He shut off the light with a push of a button, lay there in the dark only to drift off to unknown dreamscapes.

CHAPTER TWO

One day before the festival of the blades was set to commence, Pen was doing what he always did at the castle. Working like hell to keep up with the demands of all the royal families and all their guests.

Pen needed a break so he exited the dish room without telling Shane and leaned against the wall, trying his best to straighten out his raw, waterlogged hands.

He'd never used gloves. He tried once but the water always found its way in. It just made the skin worse. He was tired already but there were many hours to go, the three days of the festival had begun and his normal six hours could easily turn into twelve if royalty decided to party a bit more than usual.

Are you alright? a female voice asked him.

Pen didn't look up he didn't recognize the voice, but likely it was just one of the servers hired for the extra traffic of the season.

Yeah, I'll be fine. Just taking a quick break, Pen replied, he looked up and his eyes widened and he stood straight up immediately.

Princess Tatiyana, I didn't realize it was— she cut him off. She was a high elf, from the Kingdom of Vanir in the south, tall and as beautiful as Pen had always seen her on television. He expected a different personality, but never had any real opinions about her.

It's quite alright. I just couldn't stand all the royal arrogance in one room and I too needed a break, she replied to him with a smile. In all his years, he'd only been in the presence of King Lom and he'd never once spoken to him, this was new, he was stunned.

Call me Sarah, the princess thing is for the knights and royal subjects, I'm a guest in your house, Sarah said to him and looked him up and down. It was hard to miss that he was a walking wet disaster.

I'd shake your hand or something but I'm quite the mess as you can see, um, hi, Pen replied, nervously trying to keep his cool.

You look like you know his place pretty well, is there a good place to get a better internet connection, the guest room sucks in this castle, Sarah said to him and Pen was still stunned, but he shook himself out of it.

Yeah, actually the break room is pretty good, just down the hall. I use it to play Snowcraft sometimes on really slow days, Pen said and Sarah's eyes lit up. So, you play too, well that's cool. Look me up some time, she replied when someone came running down the hall.

Princess, thank Loa I found you, the man said and he was out of breath.

The King requests your presence in the hall, the ritual blessing is about to begin, he said urgently.

It was nice meeting you, Sarah said to Pen as she turned and followed the man out, down the hall.

She plays Snowcraft, and I didn't even get her account name. Man, you're an idiot, Kenders, he said and smiled.

Oh well, it was for the best anyway, he said as she turned down the hall and disappeared. With that, it was time to get back to work. He hoped they were about halfway done with their work for the night, at least he hoped. He opened the door to go back inside.

Hey Shane, you're never going to guess who I just met, not in a million years, Pen said, excited to tell his dish partner about his brush with greatness. Yeah, who did you just meet? Shane asked him as he closed the dish machine.

Princess Tatiyana, she was right outside, Pen was overly excited. Dude, that's awesome, did you ever think about introducing me, too, Shane took a good thing and twisted it as soon as he could.

Well, no it was not a long visit I didn't really have time, Pen replied to him and Shane just shook his head.

Alright, let's get back to work so we can get out of here at a decent time, anyway, Shane was feeling left out.

Yep, we're totally going to do that, Pen agreed with him and knew now that it was a bad idea mentioning anything at all.

CHAPTER THREE

The night after work, he was restless. He wanted to log on to Snowcraft and tell everyone that he met her and brag about it, but part of him knew this was a bad idea. Pen was confused on what to do exactly. He logged into Snowcraft after doing his nightly ritual and was met by his clan.

Guys you're never going to believe who I met tonight at the castle, he said to the others, deciding to go for it.

Who was it? Forge asked him along with the others. Princess Tatiyana, I met her tonight, Pen said and there was silence from the other members of the clan.

Really, was she as hot as when she was in the magazines? Iceshaper asked him. No, it was way better in real life. She was totally cool too. Nothing like you'd think a princess would be like and, get this, she actually plays Snow, Pen said.

No way, really, that's awesome, but let me guess she didn't give you her in game name, Flake replied.

Well, no. We didn't talk that long, but if we meet again I'll be sure to ask her, I promise, Pen said and was sure he'd never see her again, but if he got the chance he'd take it.

Yeah, do that. I'm sure you can sweet talk a real life princess into joining our little club here, that'd be great, Forge said and laughed about it. Yes, I'll see what I can do, because, yeah, Pen trailed off with a sigh. Sounds like you've got a crush, Iceshaper said with a laugh.

What can I say? I guess I have a soft spot for rich, hot princesses who play Snow. Call it a character flaw if you want, but I don't care. It was awesome, Pen replied to her but tried not to sound defensive.

Alright, cool story but can we please accomplish something before we waste the whole night here, I don't like doing nothing, if I wanted to do that I could just play Alternate Life, Forge complained. Yeah, yeah stop complaining, we can do a raid on the fire trolls tonight. I'll be the healer. You guys kill everything else that moves, if win we'll get a high leveled item we can sell. Flake said, everyone agreed.

At least it's not like that game Fate, where no matter how good you are its random luck if you win anything useful or not, Iceshaper replied.

Yeah, I hear that, Fate is a terrible game that people just can't stop playing, it's very weird, Pen agreed with that. With the excitement of Pen's story behind them, the small group proceeded with the game.

Hours past and once again, the ritual continued as it had for years. It was three in the morning again and Pen needed to sleep.

Guys, I hate to do this, but it's time for me to go again, good game and I'll see you later. I don't celebrate it but, happy Blade day, Pen said to this team.

Aww, look at that, someone is trying to be nice, it's appreciated anyway. See you later Pen, Forge replied.

I'd get into it with you, but I'm too tired, see you all later, Pen said again and logged out. Once again, he pulled himself out of his chair and did what he did every night.

He was not looking forward to tomorrow, it was going to be miserable for him, but the party was all that was important. That and the ritual they did every year to celebrate Blade day.

Pen lay down in his bed and passed out in the dark just like he did every other night. Tonight, his dreams took him to a strange desert. Sand as far as the eye could see and the sky was black but the sun still high in the sky, everything was wrong.

What, where am I? Pen asked, his voice echoed in all directions.

Son, you're not supposed to be here, how did you get here? Pen looked over and saw his Dad standing there, looking like he did the last time he saw him.

Must be the season, sometimes dreamers venture into this cursed desert, he said to him. Pen was still shocked that any of this was going on.

Desert, what do you mean, what's going on? he was confused. If you're here that can only mean one thing, his dad said and Pen was lost. What do you mean by that? Pen asked, but as soon as he did the sky above him erupted in emerald green fire and it shocked him awake.

CHAPTER FOUR

The sun was streaming through his window, but his cell phone alarm wasn't set to go off for another ten minutes. He hadn't felt like he slept at all and awoke with such a start that he was full of energy.

Damn, what was that all about? Pen asked as he sat up.

Just a bad dream is all, shake it off and get ready for a rough day at work. One more day is all you need to do, you can do it again, Pen encouraged himself to get to work, stood up and faced the most hated of all holidays.

It was Blade Day again.

The day wore on quickly as it always did when you were anywhere else but working. Soon it was time to go in and face reality. He was tough, he could handle it and he knew it, as long as Shane showed up there wouldn't be a problem for anyone.

He drove to the Castle. Now it was all decorated in the traditional gold and silver lights of the holiday. It made him cringe a little bit. Thankfully enough, the castle only decorated for the day of the event, not a month before like most of the local stores in Antacia did.

He ignored it as he parked in his spot and did what he always did. Shane was already in the room getting stuff ready, but he usually was there before Pen was.

Hey man, are you ready for one hell of a night? Shane asked him.

You bet I've done this a couple times before, remember, Pen replied to him.

Thirty minutes later the rush began, the place only had so many plates and forks to go around and these two were responsible for every single one got recycled back into the kitchen so they could be used as best as they could. For hours the rush continued with no signs of stopping. Then at seven pm, the rush started to slow down.

The ritual must have started, lets catch up while we can, Shane suggested. I heard that, let's do it, Pen replied and the two of them started to break down the mountain of dishes from the kitchen and the party alike.

In the middle of doing this, there was a loud knock at the dish room door. This was unusual to say the least. Shane was closer so he opened the door.

Hello? he asked.

Yes, is there a Pen Kenders in the room, King Lom requests his presence immediately, a man dressed in a very expensive suit said to him.

Pen buddy, you sent a dirty plate out and the King got it, you're going to be, for the lack of a better term, terminated, Shane said and ran his thumb across his own neck to Pen as he dropped the plate back into the soapy water in shock.

But I'm a mess I can't go out there like this, Pen tried to find an excuse, but the man at the door didn't buy it for a second. Please, sir, come with me. It's very important, he insisted again.

Pen shook the soap off his hands and despite being soaked walked to the door.

Alright, lead the way, Pen said and the man began walking down the hall, Pen's legs were stiff from not moving for so long that he was having trouble keeping up with the guy, every step felt like fire moving up his legs at this pace.

Pen was scared, he had no idea what was coming next but knew that it couldn't be good for whatever reason to be summoned by the King on such a big day.

The direction they were going. Pen knew it led right to the main hall of the castle, he couldn't imagine any reason for him being summoned like this but when the King called your name saying no was always a bad decision.

CHAPTER FIVE

Pen and the thin man in the suit walked down the path that led to the Main Hall. Each step was making him more nervous that the last and he didn't know what to expect. He wanted to ask questions, but at the same time didn't want to be annoying.

Whatever his fate was to be, he'd face it with all the courage he had. The thin man pushed open the door and stood to the side of it.

Walk straight ahead and remember to not look at anyone else, go straight to the King, he said in a whispered voice. Pen swallowed his emotions and walked out into the hall, smelling like dishwater and still being soaked by it.

Against the polished surface against his wet shoes he found that gaining traction was difficult, it was almost like walking on ice. He felt eyes on him as he walked down the center of the large ball room. Surrounded by tables of knights, royalty from all the kingdoms. All the world's power was right here and in the middle of it all, a dishwasher. A nobody in the scheme of it.

Everyone was watching him, he didn't know why. Pen walked until he made it to the steps of the throne, he didn't dare look up.

Do you know why you were summoned? Lom asked him in a voice he'd become used to from the television, but something about it sent chills down his spine. No, Pen replied, still not looking up at him.

Uh, why are you looking at the floor, do you like your own reflection? Lom asked him. No, I was told not to look at anyone, Pen replied.

Look at me, Pen, we have a dilemma, Lom said and Pen couldn't believe or understand what kind of problem he'd could be involved in when it came to the issue of royalty, Pen looked up at the king. An older man, clean shaven but eyes of blue that felt like they were looking right through him.

In the ritual of Loa, as you and everyone knows, eight names are burned into the sacred pages of the book of names, as to the will of each deity of the guardian for each sacred blade, Lom paused and continued.

Normally the names are that of accomplished knights, and seven names proceeded as expected. The last name that was burned into the page was yours first and Sir Galia's name second. This happens sometimes and the tradition is clear. We must ask if you would accept the responsibility of being the Guardian of our mimic blade for the next year, Lom finished.

The air was tense, Pen could feel it that something had happened here just before he arrived. Everyone was seeing what he would do. Galia was there and his eyes burned into him most of all.

Pen hated the holiday. He hated the story and didn't believe any of it. Here he was standing in front of all eight of the kings, their families and the knights expected to be the new protectors of the blade as it had been done for thousands of years.

Galia was everything Pen had always known he was not, good looking, ambitious and a leader. Pen knew this guy wanted the blade to add to his collection of titles. So, he did the obvious thing, the only answer he could give.

Yes, I'll take that blade home with me, Pen said it, never taking his eyes away from Galia just to see the reaction he was going to have. That knight's brown eyes went from a glare to the expression of silent rage, the rest of the hall erupted into a low murmur.

It has been decided, then. Pen Kenders will be the guardian of the Mimic blade for the next year, Lom said, reached to a table beside him that Pen didn't notice before. He grabbed the hilt of the blade and pulled it off the table, with surprising grace he spun it around so that the hilt was facing Pen.

He reached out and put his water worn fingers around the handle, slowly lifting it and taking it from the King, to his surprise the thing was not as heavy as he imagined it to be. I'll take care of it, Pen said as he held it in his hands, the blade was warm against his skin and it actually made him feel a little better.

Then it has been decided, all eight of this year's guardians have been decided, King Lom announced, and stood up at the same time.

Let the celebration continue, he finished. Um, thanks and all but I still have a job to do, Pen said but the only one who seemed to notice he said anything was Sir Gaila. The crowd started to disperse and it was as over before he knew it.

The celebration had continued, after the tradition was complete it was clear not too many others cared much about it either. The guardians had been chosen and it was business as usual.

CHAPTER SIX

Pen took his blade and proceeded to walk back out of the room. He slipped through the double doors, found himself again, thankfully. He put the blade over his shoulder and started back towards the dish room.

Shane was doing his best to try and keep everything in order but being alone, the job was proving to be too tough.

Shane, buddy. Look what I got, Pen said as he opened the door. Shane turned and looked, dropped the glass he was holding as he saw the blade in his hand.

Oh my God, how did you get that? Shane asked, barely able to contain his shock. Guess my name came up on the book in that silly ritual, now I'm stuck with this for a whole year. Since no one has ever refused a summoning in, well, since forever, I supposed I wouldn't be the first to do it, Pen said and set the blade behind the door as he closed it. Shane went into a panic.

Hey don't put it on the ground you'll ruin the sheath, the chemicals will eat the leather, put it up here, Shane pointed to a dry shelf.

You do it, Pen said, not caring too much about the state of an ancient and likely fake blade. Shane walked over, grabbed the handle to lift it, and it shocked him, he groaned in pain, drew his hand back at once.

Damn it, this thing bit me, Shane said as he tried to fight off the pain. Pen walked back to it, picked it up and put it on the dry shelf. Sorry about that, does it hurt? Pen was distressed about the turn of events.

No, it's not so bad. It was just a like an electric shock is all, Shane said, as he made a fist with the shocked hand to make sure it still worked.

Maybe it's magic after all, Pen said, wondering if it wasn't all crap like he thought. Now he had to get to work so they could get out of here for the night. All of that could wait until later.

Hours past, it was just before midnight when they were finally finishing up.

That sucked, let's not do that again until next year, Shane said as he dried his hands off. Yeah, I hear that, Pen said and started to walk towards his jacket.

Don't forget your new toy either, Shane replied to him, but didn't want to get close to it again. Pen didn't really know anything about this ritual or the blades themselves, not the details really.

The story behind them didn't make much sense to him and he'd long ignored it most of his life.

Yeah, that'd be terrible if I left it here on my first day as its protector, Pen said as he put on his jacket, moved to the shelf and picked up the sword. Picking it up didn't even make him feel any different.

Good luck, Pen and I'll see you later, Shane said and walked out the door. Pen put the blade over his shoulder again and started walking out of the room.

Sir Gaila was waiting for Pen as he left, leaning against the opposite wall. Shane was standing there in awe of the man, he'd never been this close to a knight before. Gaila looked at Shane. Hey, mind if I talk to your friend? he asked him.

Uh, no, Shane barely croaked out, turned around to quickly walk off.

Pen came out of the room. So, how did you manage to get in the Loa book and get to be from an invisible dishwasher, to the guardian of the blade? the knight asked and pushed himself off the wall. I don't know, man. It's not like I asked for it, you know? Pen replied and Galia sighed.

Well, it's not really a tough job, just make sure to take care of it. Don't make our kingdom the laughing stock of the world next year, he replied and Pen shifted weight of the blade a little. Don't worry about a thing, I got this, Pen replied with too much confidence.

Galia stared at him. Just because your dad was some kind of a hotshot in all of this, doesn't mean you can talk to me like I'm another person that works in the kitchen. Don't let this title go to your head, he said to him and walked off.

And you have a good night too, Pen said mostly to himself before he went in the opposite direction.

Pen got to his car, the parking lot was empty. No one was waiting for him like he had feared. He opened his car door and put the blade in the passenger side. Then he got into the driver's seat. The car started right up, soon he was on his way home. The trip home was uneventful and routine.

He pulled into his garage and this time was able to take his new thing with him. He walked into his house and to his room. He tossed the blade on his bed. He went back to his nightly rituals. Sometime in between taking a shower and sitting down he lost interest in moving any more than he had to.

It was a rough night and the only thing that was going through his mind was nothing but how much pain his feet were in right now and turned on the TV.

We don't know much about the new Guardian of the Blade, chosen by the ritual of Loa and— Pen shut the TV off.

Oh come on, I'm famous now, Pen said and didn't remember seeing any cameras there but he didn't look too closely either. His biggest worry was that he'd be swarmed with reporters and ruin his routine.

He grabbed his computer and logged back onto Snowcraft to get his mind off of everything, but just as he expected no one else in his group was on. Holidays made for a slow internet day. Spending a few minutes in a virtual world was annoying with no one else there so he logged right back out.

Pen was pretty bored, so then he figured he would learn more about his new item. He typed in 'the mimic blade' into the Noogle search engine and had no idea what would come up.

A big list of sites in red links came up on his screen, but in his experience the first link was often the best. He clicked on it and a screen came up.

Infopedia, you have everything, don't you? Pen said to himself and began to read,

Let's see what the legend is, he started to read it, but it was seven pages long so he skipped to the important parts.

Eight blades, forged by the eight celestial beings, each blade containing an 'element of darkness' Given to man as a covenant to seal the relationship between them and mortals at the beginning, each year a new guardian is chosen by the ritual in order to keep the seal intact, Pen said out loud and knew that couldn't be true because nothing magical or manmade would last that long.

He kept reading. Tradition says that the blades should never be unsheathed, it's the guardian's duty to keep this from happening, Pen said, but there was nothing saying anywhere about what would happen if the blade would be taken out. Pen wanted to know more about his blade so he scrolled down further and there it was.

Tinea, the Mimic Blade. This blade was forged by the trickster god Taro. Its power was, as most of the blades are titled, to mimic other things, he said to himself out loud and was not impressed.

Pen read that and was underwhelmed. That was all it said. The other entries were much more interesting, while his was the least described he thought it was typical that he, a dishwasher, one of the lowest status of people in the castle, would get the blade that seemed to only want to be anything else.

I'm worn out, I'm going to bed, Pen said, closed his laptop to make his way there. When he got there that sword was exactly where he left it.

So, your name is Tinea, nice to meet you, I'm Pen Kenders. I'll be taking care of you this year, Pen said, picked up the blade and set it in the corner behind his door. Pen was going to shut his light off when suddenly a muffled voice came from his blade. What the hell, Pen said and looked at the blade, again, the muffled voice came from the sword.

Remembering what he just read on his computer, maybe there was something to it after all. He picked up the blade and sat on his bed. Upon closer inspection, he realized there was a golden lock on the underside of the blade and on the inside of the sheath a chain was stuffed into it.

Pen grabbed this chain and began to pull on it, despite appearing to be tightly packed inside, the chain came out easily. He kept pulling on it until finally a small golden key came out and was attached to the end of it. Pen stuck the key into the lock, turned it until a small click happened, the latch snapped open.

Here goes nothing, Pen said and pulled out the blade. Expecting some kind of blinding light he held his free hand in front of his face just in case something like that were to happen, but nothing did. Instead it was a shiny mirror more than a piece of metal.

Pen pulled the blade out the rest of the way.

Did you say something? Pen felt really silly talking to a blade.

Yeah, thanks for being so nice to me, most people just put me up above a fireplace and use me as a conversation piece. It's very uncomfortable, the blade responded to him in a female voice and Pen dropped it on the bed in a hurry.

You can talk, Pen was amazed. Yep, and you have a nice bed too. Can I lay here for a while? she asked him. Uh, sure I guess, you don't seem so bad. I read that you were part of the source of some darkness, Pen said to it.

Well, I wouldn't say bad as so much as we are upset, she responded to him. You're not going to kill me in my sleep are you, I'd be unhappy if you did that, Pen said to her. No, of course not, you're stuck with me for a whole year. Maybe I'll kill you after that but not right now, she responded and that didn't make Pen feel any better.

Relax, Pen, I'm kidding. I'm terrible at killing people, she said after he didn't respond to that. Well, I need to sleep so I am going to put you back in your— she cut him off.

Please don't do that I'll be good I promise, just don't put me back in there, it's horrible, she cried out. Pen was already feeling like he was losing his mind, talking to a sword was bad enough, he quickly came up with a solution.

Alright, I know what to do. I'll turn the tv on and put you on the couch, Pen said and reached out to pick the blade up, but now felt weird about doing it. Sounds good, let's go, she replied to him in a much happier tone. Alright, Pen said and wrapped his hand around the hilt and picked her up, he moved her back to the main room. He laid her on the couch carefully and turned on the television again.

You're so gentle with me, that is so different than so many others. Thanks for that, she said to him, sounding genuinely surprised. No problem. I'll be up later, you um, enjoy, Pen was at a loss for words and an ordinary night took a left turn into the strange.

No worries, I totally will. Thanks again, Tinea replied to him as he turned around and left. You're welcome, he said and it was odd but he felt like she'd been here for years. He had trust issues normally, but then again, she was just a blade.

Besides killing him in his sleep there wasn't much else she could actually do he figured. It was easier to be relaxed when he looked at it that way.

Pen thought he'd have trouble falling asleep but instead he passed out. No weird dreams came this time.

CHAPTER SEVEN

He woke up with a weird smell filling his nose. He slowly woke up and realized that it was food, someone was cooking bacon. Immediately he sat up in bed, got dressed and rushed sleepily into the kitchen. There he saw a woman he'd never seen before making food on his stove.

Hello, did I wake you up. I saw this on TV and wanted to try it, she said to him. You're, how did you, Pen was at a loss. I am called the mimic blade, I saw a form on television I liked so I took it, Pen never watched any cooking shows in the morning mainly because he was never awake this early.

Apparently, her name is Lana Volente, chef extraordinaire, she said and who ever Lana was, Pen had to approve. This was a pretty hot form and all of the sudden he was going to get used to having her around.

Did you make any for me or just for yourself? Pen asked her.

Oh, I am a sword, we don't eat anything. If you're hungry you can have it. I just wanted to try it, she replied to him and slid the eggs and bacon onto the nearby plate, as she did the toast came up. She put butter on it, butter he didn't even know he had honestly, and spread it on the toast.

Here you go, Tinea said to him and smiled. He walked to the plate and approved it all looked and smelled great. He picked the plate up and looked around for a fork. As soon as he did she was holding one in his direction. He took it from her. Thanks, he said.

Oh, and by the way, the castle seems to be on fire, she said to him and looked out the window.

Pen took a bite before he realized what she said and nearly choked on his food. He rushed to the window and he could see the smoke rising in the distance too. Son of a… he trailed off and walked to the television, still on the cooking channel he turned it to EFF news to see what was going on.

This is an ongoing situation, there has been an explosion at the castle of unknown origin, we don't know anything right now but officials have told us the royal families have been evacuated to a safe location and— Pen muted the television, picked up his cell phone and called Shane right away.

It rang twice before Shane picked up.

Hey, have you seen the news, the castle is on fire. Also you should come over because I have something you're going to want to see, Pen said all in one breath and almost too fast to be understood.

Castle is on fire, really. It's eight in the morning, way too early for me to be awake, Shane replied, still groggy. I know but something is wrong out there, can you just wake up and come over, Pen demanded more than asked.

Yeah, sure I'll be over in a few minutes but you owe me, Shane finally agreed and hung up. Pen hung up the phone and watched the muted television. Tinea, do you know anything about this? Pen asked her as he sat down in his chair.

No, I don't know anything about what's going on, but if anything, it is pretty interesting, she said and smiled as she fell back onto the couch again.

Interesting is a word for it I suppose, Pen agreed and turned up the volume again. So far it was only showing the same information over and over again. Pen thought it was strange with so much activity happening so close to him yet he couldn't hear any sirens at all.

A few minutes later Shane walked himself into Pen's house as he'd done many times before. Alright man what is it you wanted to show me, he said as he walked through the house. He stopped cold when he saw Lana sitting there watching tv.

"Holy…one night with a legendary blade