Malak.Malak!The voice again, that one voice. It was always the same. It crept up on him and let the darkness invade his subconscious."There is a new message.""Listen to me."Darkness filled his eyes. He could not move an inch, he could not see light, he could see nothing but darkness in its entirety.It was like another realm, a realm where the senses must go into exile. The only sense that remained was that of hearing, that of perceiving words, and that of understanding.How he understood this remains a mystery. He heard it speak and translated it in Earthín.It was spoken in the same foreign dialects he had not been taught. This time, he could think. He was thinking of something when the horrified voice spoke to him."I wish you could hear my thoughts," he thought in a quiet voice in his head. It was not new to him what he was experiencing. It was not the first, nor the second time he had been visited by the unknown messenger, who always seemed to bring him messages that had no
"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
Her ears listened as she watched from her perch in the tree, like a predator marking its prey. She pulled off her hood to get a better view.The gathering of 5 men - all of whom looked like bounty hunters - was so unfamiliar to her. They did not know she was above them, under the fig tree they were camped under for the night. She blended so well with the darkness that reigned in the treetop that even the fire that was lit amid the men to ward off the wild animals and keep them warm could not reveal her.Two fingers of her right hand caught on an arrow of the quiver of arrows that hung over her back, and she also clung to the bow that was still crossed.Her gaze circled over the weapons of the others. Some had clubs, others had hammers, and one had a sword. And then there was that thick shackle hanging from an even thicker chain that lay in the middle of them. She wondered what they were up to.She watched until her attention was drawn to two other male figures coming at them from the
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
“I am still surprised to hear you have never tried an orange drink,” she said, and Castar chuckled.“Why would I have tasted them? We just grow them for windbreaks and shade,” he said, and she laughed at him for his odd choices.Myrid and Castar were both walking down a narrow path along a flat forest in Cartá. They were not just taking a walk. The previous night, Castar had told her he had lost something before he was attacked. He could not trace the path where Mafik dropped it, and since he did not know his way around Cartá, Myrid insisted on following him. At first he thought he could resist the urge to go back and seek for the pendant, but his attachment to it was beyond his control.After their last words, there was silence between them as they walked on. They were not the only ones silent, it was as if they were the only ones who had lives on the path they had just walked.The grasses stood stiff, the faint sound of the wind was all they could hear, and what gave them courage to
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
The sun had set. It was the time of day, creeping in between noon and night. Myrid had brought Castar and Era home. Even as Ogrida pretended her thoughts were with her granddaughter about bringing strangers to the house, she wondered if her house was becoming a motel. She did not respond, but the thought never left her mind. Several times she wanted to talk to Myrid about it, but thought she should respect her reasons.She knew Myrid too well to know that she could only make responsible decisions, and if she trusted her, she would walk into an ocean if Myrid told her it was the right thing to do.Castar sat on the bed and Ogrida cleaned the blood off him. As she cleaned him, she kept wondering why people would not stop attacking such a humble boy. She thought for a few moments before she thought it was okay to ask him the same question.“Son,” she said to him as the pile of cloth sucked in warm water from the bowl that stood between Castar’s palms.“Why you? Why do not they stop chasi
. . . . . . . . . . .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