Art By Matthew Sellers. Click the image to get to his DeviantArt.

Every place has legends and I saw this image and decided to craft one that illustrates one of the great tenants of Soldier battle theory: “The sword is only as good as its wielder.”

Writer’s Block
(Artist’s DeviantArt)

A picture says a thousand words. Write them.

Mission: Write a story, a description, a poem, a metaphor, a commentary, or a critique about this picture. Write something about this picture.

Be sure to tag writeworld in your block!

Mindy’s POV

“Ever fought a dragon before?” The battle-hardened captain of the Cartogs asked. He gazed between the trees as the smoke from his cigar filled the air with its acrid, tobacco taste.

“Can’t say I have, sir,” I replied.

“Nasty business. Would not recommend. That’s what we were doing all day, trying to see if there was one. The very same one that decimated that lake town over a year ago.” I shuddered, like an idiot. I didn’t even actually know anyone from there. It’s name was just a name thrown at me to help hide my identity. “But they’re not impossible. Ever hear the legend of how the Lord of the Seven Spires got their name?”

“My family wasn’t big on legends, sir.” In truth, there was no way for me to have heard any stories or tales, but I thought it might be good to keep that information secret until someone told me I was finally safe to be myself. I hadn’t even heard of that town.

He smirked. “It’s a good one. It’s about Lord Maximilian of Seven Spires. This land has been riddled with stories of people slaying dragons in increasingly stupid ways. There was that lad they sent with a stuff goat. So, this guy, Lord Maximilian, wanted to go at it the old fashioned way, with a giant sword, a giant shield, and a giant ego. He purchased those things, but the man had been famous for not actually knowing that much about sword craft. On the journey, he took his banner girl, whose name history lost. So, Lord Maximilian went out and got murdered by the dragon. The girl’s private journal says she then took up the shield, took up the sword, and proclaimed herself Lord Maximilian. The girl knew what she was doing. It wasn’t the craft work of the shield or the sword that allowed her triumph. It was her use of these tools. And that’s how the Seven Spires had Lord Maximilian as a title for their landlord, as opposed to a person taking on someone’s actual name.”

I nodded. “That’s a confusing tale.”

“The Second Epoch was a confusing time.”

I’m still deep in the third rewrite of Book 1 and I’m not sure this conversation even happens in that one. But it’s okay. There shouldn’t be limits on being creative.