“Nothing will keep us apart for long…you’ll come back to us, I feel it in my bones.” The weight of her words made him even sadder to leave.
His father ambled down the hallway, carrying something wrapped in silk. “I’ve something for you. I’d hope to give this to you when you came of age. It will prove valuable for your journey…”
His father handed him a sheathed short sword.
Talis withdrew the sword, gaping at the red-tinged steel and ghost patterns and smoky lines running along the blade. A tremendous weight rushed up his arms from the sword, as if imbued with some terrific power. He tensed his arms and winced. Father was giving him this treasure? The sheath was made of blackened leather, and elaborate swirling patterns ran down the spine, with silver studs lining the edge. Talis gasped. It was immaculate. Why would Father give him such a priceless gift?
“This…this is for me?” He gazed at the ruby-studded hilt, a puma’s face with ruby eyes shaping the hilt’s edge.
“It’s the finest sword in Naru.” Father narrowed his eyes at the expression on Talis’s face. “What is it, what are you feeling?”
“I’m not sure,” Talis stammered, fighting the power.
His father’s eyes sparkled. “You’re sensing the power within the sword-”
“It’s magical?” What did his father know of such things? He was a man of commerce and trade.
“The magical gift runs deep in our family history.” Father took the sword from Talis and raised it to the firelight. “This is no regular sword…it possesses great power. The red color is not from blood, there's Fire Magic within.” Fire Magic…Master Viridian said his element was fire.
Father returned the sword, and Talis stared at his father, tears welling in his eyes. “I never imagined I'd have a treasure like this.”
“Take care of the sword, it’s part of you now. There's an old saying, 'As the bearer wields, so he holds his life in his hands.' So beware, I don't give you this gift lightly.”
“Thank you, Father.” Talis reached out and shook his hand, still not believing Father had entrusted such a gift to him.
“Are you truly willing to embark on such an important mission?”
It was the question Talis had been waiting to hear from Father for many years. A chance to prove himself and make his father proud. Of course he’d go; of course he’d do anything to protect Naru and his family. This adventure was what he’d been dreaming about his whole life.
He simply gazed into his father’s eyes and said, “I am.”
“Good, don’t fail to make me proud, son. Much rests on your shoulders.”
Talis embraced his mother again, then stepped out into the dimly lit streets. Down through the upper and lower city and out past the northern gates, he followed a soldier that led him north until they reached the first traces of the Nalgoran Desert. Torches illuminated the area where men loaded supplies onto the horses. He was really leaving. There was no going back now.
He stared back at the city, the massive stone walls were painted in a surreal orange glow from the torches. Those ancient walls, designed by men of science and magic to withstand the strongest physical and magical attacks. Over twenty feet thick, those walls scintillated with the power of warding runes.
But as he studied them, a cruel thought struck him. Will those walls hold until I return?
Talis turned north and stared at the faint glow lining the horizon. A meteor flared across the field of stars. He shivered at the cold and gazed up at the sky, wondering what was out there. He didn’t feel alone when he looked at the stars, but tonight, and for how long he didn’t know, he would be alone. He didn’t even get to say goodbye to Mara. Just like that, he was leaving.
“Star-gazing?” Rikar swaggered over and covered his head with a black hood. “The desert holds a chill.”
“What are you doing here?”
“What? Your father didn’t tell you?” Rikar laughed. “I suppose Master Viridian failed to mention that Nikulo and me are coming. Did you honestly think they’d leave the task all up to you?”
“The map was given to me.”
“A mistake. Must have meant to give it to me instead. Maybe out in the desert, that mistake will be corrected.” Rikar turned and strode away, humming a dark tune, a song of jealousy and the fate of the blade. Why did the Elders invite them? Talis felt his face flush as he clenched his hands. The politics of the Royal Houses…
The men preparing the horses finished cinching down the packs, whistled, and waved everyone over. The soldiers came first. Talis recognized a few men and women from his father’s company. He strode over to the horses, admiring their fine sheen. Talis stroked his mare’s grey mane and inspected the packs. Scanning the horizon, he felt a presence out to the northwest. Like a hand searching the desert.
Something was out there.
Talis turned as Nikulo waddled towards the party, wiggling his fingers in his pockets.
“Did I miss anything exciting?” He scanned around. His eyes had a playful, mischievous look.
“Ah, good company for the long ride.” Rikar clasped Nikulo’s hand. “A shame about all the lovely ladies we’ll be leaving behind.”
Nikulo yawned and covered his mouth. “Ladies you say? Look here, they’ve invited a girl on the expedition.”
“A girl with an ugly face,” Rikar said, and flicked a pebble at Talis.
Talis ignored the jape, and instead pictured his sword slicing through Rikar’s armor at the Blood Dagger competition. He grinned and turned away.
Master Jarvis Numerian tromped over to the group, his long black hair swinging back and forth. He glared at them. “Who invited you?”
Talis swallowed and glanced around. “The Elders-”
“Am I to play wet nurse to these saplings?”
“Will you change our diapers too?” Nikulo said, grinning.
Jarvis grunted and scraped a boot against the sand. “This isn’t the practice arena. You’ll have no healer to save you from your own stupidity.”
“Nikulo knows the art of healing,” Rikar said. “We’ll be fine on our own.”
“We’ll see about that.” Jarvis gestured at Talis. “So you’re supposedly the one leading this little jaunt into the northlands? A fool and his magical map?”
“He claims the gods gave him-”
“Was I talking to you?” Jarvis scowled at Rikar, then faced Talis. “Well then, what are you waiting for, lead on…”
The wind shifted and came up from the south, a warm wind, blowing against their backs as they faced north. Talis mounted and gazed at the shimmering horizon. He withdrew the Surineda Map, allowing it to light the dark way. The path was clear, but the way unsettling. Something was waiting for them.
11. THE NALGORAN DESERT
The cold wind blew unceasingly from the north: a violent wind, a merciless wind, a wind that crept inside your ears and pressed hard against the back of your neck. The desert sands swirled, leaving a lingering haze. Talis lifted his head and stared. The afternoon sun blurred over the horizon. The day had turned sour, and now a sand storm pelted them mercilessly.
He bent over his horse and clung to the reins, searching the horizon for signs of life. The journey across the desert was unlike anything he’d experienced. The wind left him feeling exhilarated yet also exhausted at the same time. They’d ridden long and hard that day, the desert growing colder each mile as the party rode north over the white sands.
Talis rode up to Jarvis. “When will we rest for the day?” He could barely stay on his horse and his tailbone was numb.
“Quit complaining. Did you think your mama was coming?” Jarvis kicked his horse, trotting farther ahead.
An hour after twilight, the storm cleared and the party reached a ghostly oasis, dimly lit under the four moon sisters. The soldiers slumped off their horses, jostling around and joking with each other. Jarvis grunted and ordered them to collect wood and start a fire. The party bustled about, unloading supplies from the horses and setting up camp.