"We almost lost hope. We thought you would stay that way until you join your fathers," she said, and Castar's mouth dropped open."What were you doing there all by yourself, and how did you get those bruises on your back?" she asked. She was asking too many questions at once. She had more. Castar was there, but his mind was not with her, his thoughts were elsewhere. He still wondered. It was not like he'd been hit on the head or anything. He wondered if the magic he had used had sent him into a six-day slumber."I do not know," he said."I was out in the field. I can not remember everything that happened, but I know I was suffering from dehydration..." He said and the old lady interrupted him without letting him finish."Just do not mention that you were dehydrated. The field where we found you is near to the river. To get to the field, your part must have crossed the river," she said. She had no intention of doubting his words, but she was only in disbelief.Castar's head dropped, an

There he was, having traveled to the land of infinite mystery. Someone like him, with eyes that were not ordinary, knew why it was called the Land of Infinite Mystery. Where was that land located? In the eyes of men, it is an open garden, shrouded in beautiful flowers and narrow-leaved grasses that would reach to the heel. A land as colorful as rainbows, changing from beauty to beauty as time went on. That was all they could see.He looked at the little children running and playing in the sunlight and thought to himself, “If they could only see...”The children and their parents watched him as he walked into the middle of the extensive garden and took off his hood. They looked at him as if he came from another world, but that was indeed the case, but they did not know that.The moment he pulled his spear from behind his cloak, the children ran to their parents. They all wondered what kind of man he was and why he held the golden spear with such ferocity. Some took their children in th

His blow revealed who the invisible man was. Baraka, even when he was down, was a terrible enemy to Callagh. He knew who he was; he knew why he was here, and he knew he would not desist from his purpose.“If you know your enemy, you are only one step away from winning the fight,” Callagh said, and Baraka laughed as he got back to his feet.“When you know your enemy, you know the battle has begun! This is not victory,” Baraka told him.They spoke in Kraì.He stroked his pendant as he cast spells under his breath, keeping his eyes on the pendant. Callagh watched him from a distance, not daring to approach him. He did know Kranian magic, he knew it was warfare. He could only wonder what Baraka was plotting under his breath.Baraka’s tribal mark glowed, as did his eyes, as he continued to stroke the psychís. He stopped touching the pendant and Callagh wondered why. Callagh knew something bad was coming. He knew the spell was complete, but he had yet to feel the result.Baraka laughed as t

. . . . . . . . . . .C A R T À. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .[O G R I D A’S H O U S E. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . He took a deep breath. His eyes reddened. What Era had just told him weighed on his shoulders? He felt them drop with depression. He was told that he was the key: the one who would decide whether the border remained closed or open. He thought about everything, not knowing when his simple life had become so complicated. To think how quickly things had changed.Era was still sitting next to him on the log they had sat on earlier. The moon had risen so high above their heads."Are you all right?" she asked, but Castar did not answer. He was silent, gazing into the distance. He was too absorbed in his thoughts to hear anything."Castar," she whispered.He heard her call, though it was not as loud as the first. He had nothing to say, wishing he could close his eyes, open them again, and begin life anew in a place where there w

The horse neighed when it saw Castar. He found this abnormal; he was not used to hearing that kind of sound from a horse's mouth when he tried to touch it. His hands ran through the horse's coat as he thought about the dream he had last night. He brought the horse out of the stall and packed up his things; a jar of water, the psychís and a loaf of bread.He thought of something; he thought of what the voice of darkness had said to him. He remembered he had made a deal with it. He did not know what he had to do, but he knew he had taken something on himself. What it was, he looked at it and could have figured it out without having to make that deal. He regretted it and wondered why he had made that decision.He was not sure if he was welcome to take a horse from Ogrida's stable, but he knew he had to. He could not make the journey he was about to make without a horse.He wanted to get away, away from everyone, realizing he was a danger to everyone around him. That was why he had woken