After Talis left the Elder’s chambers, he searched around the city for Mara but couldn’t find her anywhere. He finally gave up and returned home at twilight. His house was dark and warm, shadows dancing on the walls. Mother sat by the fire, knitting a wool scarf, and Father glanced at Talis and sighed, shifting uncomfortably in his chair.
“Where have you been? Looking for that Lei girl?”
“It was her prayer that summoned the champion. The Goddess Nestria heard her.”
“Well her father has her locked up good now. You saw his face when you mentioned his daughter’s name. Vellar just about threw a fit.” Garen chuckled, as if amused at his own private joke. “Serves him right, I suppose. She’s a wild one, that girl. Lady Malvia faces an impossible task containing her.”
“You used to be friends with Mara’s mother?” As soon as Talis said it, he knew it was the wrong thing to say. His father’s face darkened, brooding on some old wound.
Father sniffed, lifting his head as if leaving everything unpleasant behind. “Tomorrow then, it’s all settled. Do you require help from the servants on packing for the voyage? I imagine traveling lightly is the way to go.”
Talis noticed the color drain from his mother’s face as Father talked. Wrinkles formed hard crevices on her forehead, and her breath went shallow. She sighed, her body rigid, eyes glazed over as she stared at the flames.
After a long silence, she whispered, “Where is he going?”
Talis grimaced as his mother lowered her head in a gesture of defeat.
“Far away, dear…north across the desert, past the barren lands, to an island, I suppose. Not on any of our maps, but there nonetheless.”
“But he’s so young.” Her hands shook, then she calmed herself and put down her knitting.
“He’ll be protected by our soldiers.” Garen narrowed his eyes at Talis, puffing on a carved, wooden pipe. “Now then, go on, rest awaits you. We’ll see to everything, just you see.”
Talis turned and shuffled off, lost in thought. Would they really be protected by their soldiers, out there in the cold lands north of the Nalgoran Desert? And how could he leave Naru without Mara? There had to be a way to see her…
Early the next morning, before any light touched the sky, Talis stared out his window. A hard lump clenched his stomach as he thought of leaving home for the first time. Would he make it back safe? Or even if he did make it back alive, would there even be a home to come back to? He held the map case, still sensing the warmth inside.
Downstairs, he gazed at his mother’s face, memorizing every curve and line. He hoped she’d be alright. As if she knew exactly what he was feeling, she reached out and hugged him, and choked back the tears.
“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.