Five days after Yonol's tragic death, Lora was passing by the southwestern woods of the Deep Forest, that stretched all the way down to the Lost River. She sat down for her dinner, and found that she only had enough food for that evening. As it started to rain again, she gathered everything and moved to the shelter of the trees to the west.
After finishing her meal, she thought it would be better to go hunting, so that she would not have to do so upon waking up the next morning and would be able to have breakfast immediately.
The rain stopped, and, through the occasional aperture among the leaves above, Lora could see the stars. The clouds had cleared, revealing a beautiful sky shining in the pale friendly light of the twin moons.
However, it was extremely dark under the trees, where very little light made its way in. Lora thought it would be better to postpone her hunt to the following morning when she could see more.
So she made a campfire that night, and removed her boots, to give her sore feet some air after all that walking. By the warmth of the fire, she soon dozed off into a deep sleep and woke refreshed the following morning.
As she picked herself up and stretched, leaving her boots off her feet as long as she could, she could see the azure sky and the golden sun above her. It was difficult to have such a wonderful atmosphere in a forest, but it was right there.
Leaving all her things behind her, including her boots, she walked a short way south. She found exactly what she expected to find. As the myriad of trees came to an end, Lora could see water washing up to the trees. It was Lost River. She was delighted to see water after so many days without it.
She pulled up her tight trousers and wet her bruised feet in the water before going back to get her things. With her backpack in one hand and boots in another, she returned to the river for a bath there.
It was a very hot day, as Lora dove into the virgin river. While she washed herself in the calm waters, she suddenly saw something shining in the sunlight. Could it have been gold? Perhaps, she thought. She became curious.
She quickly got out of the water, filled her empty flask with water, put on her dreaded boots and backpack, forgot about her breakfast, and headed in the direction of the shining object. As she drew nearer, she could see what like the figure of a man, but was too strangely shaped to be a man. It seemed to have no legs, and was thin as a stick, yet was as wide as a normal human body at the apparent torso. "No," Lora thought to herself, "my eyes are surely deceiving me."
And she was right. When she drew near enough, she could see what it really was. The most beautiful sword she had ever seen, with a jeweled hilt and a serpent engraved on the blade, was stuck in the ground, with armour just as beautiful resting on its hilt. This armour had a serpent engraved on the front and another on the back, and another on each shoulder plate.
Lora circled her discovery in awe, admiring its beauty. She mused as she remembered a story Lord British himself once told the people. It was about a young man who unearthed a sword and later became king. Who knows, she thought, perhaps if she pulled that sword out of there, she might take Lord British's place one day. She scoffed at the idea, knowing that Lord British was a wise ruler, and that deposing a king or ruling after his death is not quite in her nature. She was a woman that loved open air, hunting, danger and adventure, not a boring life closed in a castle where everyone does your dirty work and where you sit at a desk doing nothing.
She finally stopped circling the sword and, as her look became serious and determined, she reached for the sword. Clouds flocked in the sky once again as she removed the armour from the sword, with little trouble, and placed it on the ground.
Lora wiped her sweaty hands in her trousers for a firm grip, and looked up to see the clouds moving along with the wind, without raining, as they separated and abandoned their threat to rain. Finally, she grabbed the hilt.
She pulled up with all her strength, but the sword resisted. It had been stuck in the ground by a strong person, and was stuck firmly. But Lora was determined. She threw down her backpack and removed her boots, and placed her feet in a firm position on the ground. Lora now used all her strength. The veins in her muscular arms bulged out as she grabbed the hilt and pulled the sword up.
Taking the sword with her, Lora moved over and put on the armour. The sword's scabbard was nearby, and she went to pick it up. While she was putting it around her waist, Lora saw what she could never have imagined to see. Four more swords exactly like the first were planted in the ground in a similar fashion with armour on them, just like the first. Among them was a last sword, more beautiful than the others, and slightly shorter, by an inch or two. Its corresponding armour was in front of it rather than on it, and had an ankh engraved on the front rather than a serpent.
She liked the special set of sword and armour more than the one she had found and unearthed before, so she wore those instead. Lora decided to take all of the swords and armour with her. However, her backpack only permitted one armour, so she put in one armour and slid a sword through it, although it went right through the backpack and she had to make holes for it. She left with two swords and armour, and buried the rest so that nobody could find them, and so that she could return to take them.
© by Daniel D'Agostino 2002-2025