《The Calling: Awakening》


 Chapter 1

    Chapter 1


    Irnoc


    The wood floor of the second story room creaked slightly as I eased my weight down. The light snoring of the inn room¡¯s resident continued, and my breathing eased. I had just finished climbing up the outer wall to this inn and slipped through the open window. He must have been hoping to tempt a light breeze, well after tonight he will know better than to leave a window open in the warrens. This was obviously a traveler; the clothes he left rumpled on the floor were too heavy of a weave for the hot dry climate. He must have been broiling when he crossed the desert, unless he took ship.


    I eased myself down, keeping on my toes and hands as I crept toward his pile of belongings. He left a fairly large pack by the foot of his bed and his belt pouches on his bedside table. I gently eased open the pack and quietly searched through the contents, only finding some extra clothes some dried rations, I slipped those into my shirt and continued to the table and slowly rose up, pausing when the soft snore turned to a grunt as the man turned over in his sleep. When he settled down into deep sleep once again I carefully lifted the belt and pouches, wrapped them in the mans discarded shirt and put them in my shirt as well before moving back to the window and climbed back down to the alleyway.


    As I reached the alleyway I looked around, hidden by shadows as I waited to see if anyone was around. It was a few candle marks past midnight. Most of the warren was asleep at this time of night, but the occasional guardsmen made patrols throughout the night. Once I made sure all was quiet I slipped deeper into the alley and made my way to one of my little sanctuaries, places I can spend some time safely where no one can find me. My favorite and most secure sanctuary was closest this night.


    On my way to my sanctuary I observed many people, sleeping in what rags they could gather, tucked away in corners of the alleys among the thrash and waste of the city. Seeing this manifestation of poverty all around me, I thought about how lucky I am; life is so hard for the residents of the warrens. It¡¯s the poorest section of Hasna¡¯Farid, people scraping by to just survive one more day. I¡¯m lucky compared to these poor wretches, begging for scraps, hoping no one will beat them or kill them for the rags on their backs or what few coins or food a passerby might give them. I easily could have been one of them if the thief lord didn¡¯t take me in when I was orphaned.


    My father was a scribe; I can barely remember his face anymore, but I remember him making me laugh, he taught me to read and write. I wanted to be just like him. We weren¡¯t rich, but we made enough to live on the rise, the hilly area that lay between the low area by the bay known as the warrens and the cliff area held by the nobility and the clergy.


    One night, much like every night we sat down for dinner, it was meager fare but we had enough and were happy. As we started eating, my father suddenly shot to his feet, terror writ across his face ¡°Sylvi get Irnoc down stairs, now¡± he shouted as he turned to the front door. My mother pushed me to the stairs that led to the cellar. ¡°Run Irnoc¡± she said ¡°hide where it¡¯s safe¡± I was terrified; tears ran down my cheeks as I looked at her stricken face. She pushed me forward once more and I ran to the stairs. As I reached them the front door burst off its hinges, splinters of wood pelted the room. Four robed men stood in the door way, one in brown and the other three in red. Scared, I bolted down stairs and huddled in a corner, curled up in a ball and cried quietly as I heard shouting, crashing furniture, then a loud explosion rocked the house, boards snapped, mortar crumbled and bricks fell all around me, then there was silence and all went dark.


    When I came to, I was covered in dust. A few bars of light slanted through the wreckage that was my home. I was surrounded by rubble, but somehow none came closer than a few feet from me. Somehow, I don¡¯t remember how I managed to crawl out of the wreckage and made it to the street. I was 6 years old and all alone.


    Hearing a footfall off to my right I snapped out of my reminiscing and cursed myself for a fool, letting my mind drift like that. I slowed my pace and peered into the deeper shadows of the next alley way, pulling my short knife out of my sash. I crept by, letting my blade be seen as I crossed in front of the alley. Whoever was there apparently didn¡¯t want to tangle with anybody prepared to draw blood and I continued on my way, keeping my mind focused on my surroundings this time.


    When I reached my hidden nook, a small triangle of space between 3 buildings, the entrance was not easily noticed, even from a few feet away, and for greater measure I placed some old posts in an apparently haphazard fashion over the entrance. There was just enough room to lie down and keep a few emergency supplies, like a water gourd, a few strips of dried meat, some loot the thief lord doesn¡¯t know about and my real treasures. Tucked away in a broken wooden crate, lay a few charred and torn books. The once fine grained leather covers were blackened, the carefully bound pages torn loose from their binding. Damaged as they were, they are the few remains of my past life, the last time I was safe and comforted by my parents.


    I sat down and pulled out my take for the night, I pulled out the dried rations and ate a bit, to assuage the gnawing pit that was my stomach. I set the shirt wrapped belt and pouches on the ground in front of me and unwrapped it. There were 3 leather pouches strung on the belt through the loops on their back. The leather was in fairly good condition, might get a couple silver pennies for all three. Inside one pouch was a set of eating utensils, a wooden spoon, small eating knife and a three tined fork, in another was a map of Heirum and a few other pieces of paper with what looked like notes written in a rather bad handwriting. The last pouch was the jack pot, it had several coins in it; a handful of coppers, a five silver pennies¡¯ and, wow a silver mark. I put two of the silver pennies and a few coppers behind a loose brick in one of the walls and gathered the rest up to take to the thief lord. He should be pleased; this haul should cover my membership fees for the next week at least.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    I repacked up what I was taking to the Den, and slipped back out to the alley. The den wasn¡¯t much more than a mile away; I looked up at the night sky, the stars were beginning to fade, the black velvet night sky started to, almost imperceptibly, lighten. It was time to get back, dawn wasn¡¯t far away.


    Half a candle mark later I arrived at the den. On the street it looked like nothing more than a rundown pawn broker. The grime coated stone walls showed cracks, and pieces were missing. The awning in front of the shop was little more than tattered strips of cloth clinging to a wooden frame. I moved around to the back of the shop, there was a basement entrance at the base of the wall. I knocked lightly in the prescribed pattern, letting them know I belonged, and the door swung up on deceptively well-oiled hinges, not letting out even a squeak. ¡°Getting in late again Roach?¡± a little boy with light mousey brown hair and squeaky little voice, apply named mouse, asked me as I stepped onto the staircase.


    ¡°Got a decent haul tonight, the Lord should be happy with his cut.¡± Mouse nodded as I descended the stairs.


    A few oil lamps lit the way to the basement that housed our gang, the Scorpions. There wasn¡¯t much to look at; the walls were bare, with the exception of a few oil lamp brackets and candle sconces. Despite the rundown and filthy exterior, the basement levels are well maintained, the stone and brick walls showed no cracks or missing bricks, the wooden floors are solid and didn¡¯t creak when trod upon. The stairway led to the entrance hall, the shop above was closed at this time of night, or morning depending on how you looked at it, so the Thief Lord should be in his throne room, as he liked to call it.


    At the bottom of the stairs I opened the door to the entrance hall and had to pause for a moment, the light from the many oil lamps hanging on the walls dazzled my eyes. Once my eyes adjusted I could see the rich looking decorations, tapestries decorated the walls, statuettes stood on a few pedestals, and an ornately carved and cushioned chair stood on an elevated platform, raising the chair about a foot above the level of the floor. On that ornate chair sat the Thief Lord, he sat there resplendent in fine looking robes of a light linen dyed in a rich gold color slashed with silver, encircled by a few polished bronze mirrors set on stands


    ¡°Roach, what do you bring before me today¡± he asked in what he considered a regal manner, I thought it was pompous and overdone, when he saw me standing in the doorway.


    As I approached the throne, I caught my own reflection in one of the bronze mirrors. I didn¡¯t often look at my own reflection, after all I wasn¡¯t some fancy silk wearing nobleman, but I noted that my shaggy yellow hair needed to be cut again, dust and dirt darkened my pale and sunburnt skin. The bronze metal added a golden hue to my normally bright green eyes.


    I let my eyes pass over my thin and ragged reflection and placed the pouches and coins on the platform before kneeling before him with my head bowed. ¡°Milord I bring before you this humble offering, I bring you three belt pouches of fine soft leather, twelve copper pennies, three silver pennies and a silver mark.¡±


    ¡°A fine haul my son¡± he replied as he selected the silver mark and the silver pennies. ¡°You may take your share and retire below.¡±


    I stood and took the coppers, bowed low and retreated to another door that led to the next floor down, where my mates and I lived.


    Moving from the brightly lit throne room, entering the stairwell felt like stepping into gloom, only a little light showed at the base of the stairs, casting just enough light to watch my footing as I descended. I entered into the common room and saw a few of the older boys playing cards, fingers looked to be winning again, his pile of coppers being noticeably larger than the other two. Two of the younger boys were practicing with the dummy; a dress maker¡¯s wire frame shaped like a person dressed in common clothes, trying to lift purses, handkerchiefs and other small objects without chiming any of the bells attached to the dummies clothes.


    As I entered the room, fingers looked up and asked ¡°hey Roach, want to sit in?¡± he gestured to a fourth seat that was unoccupied.


    I shook my head, covered a yawn with my hand and answered ¡°Not tonight, I¡¯m beat. I think I¡¯m just going to turn in. Cat still out?¡±


    ¡°Come and gone, your girlfriend said she thinks she is on to a good score, said she was gona case the mark some before dawn¡±.


    ¡°She is not my girlfriend¡± I snapped back, I could feel the heat rising up my neck and my ears tingled.


    ¡°Suit yourself¡± Fingers replied with a sneer, ¡°If I want a woman, I¡¯ll just go to Hani¡¯s Parlor¡± showing a lecherous grin, ¡°her ladies are very¡­ accommodating. No need to deal with all that dung involved in actually courting someone¡±


    ¡°Go waste your coin if you like, I¡¯m going to sleep,¡± and with that I went into the bunk room, crawled into my cubby hole built into the wall and closed the curtain. I put my coins into a pouch with the few other coins I kept in the den, stripped down to my loin cloth and fell asleep.

 Chapter 2

    Chapter 2


    Irnoc


    The golden globe of the sun sat high in the washed out blue sky; neither a single wisp of a cloud, nor a puff of a breeze stood in the way of this molten orb. In the stifling midday heat, the very air seemed to ripple as waves of heat rose from the pale stone that made up the city. The stench of the docks, only a mile or so away, permeated the warrens. The aroma of sewage and fish entrails mixed with the smell of rotting garbage in the alley I was in as I looked for anything of any value that might have been discarded. It would have been truly nauseating if I didn¡¯t have seven years to grow accustomed to it.


    A spiny ridgeback darted out from behind the pile I was going through. Its back was covered with spiked ridges that had painful but non-lethal venom, but tasted fairly good if you were careful. I tried to dive after it, scrambling to pull my knife out of my sash, but it managed to get away. Damn not a damn thing I thought to myself, someone must have already picked this alley clean. No point in staying here. I felt the small purse in my shirt as my stomach gave a rumble, time to grab something to eat.


    The streets were crowded and noisy with the constant babble of voices and moved sluggishly as the day progressed; only increasing in temperature as the stale air hardly stirred. I managed to take advantage of the slow moving crowds by slipping my fingers into a few pockets and purses, slipping a few copper bits into my own pocket, those few coins were all I could safely grab; the people in the warrens didn¡¯t have much to steal from in any case. It was a struggle to just survive for the common folk. Everyone worked long hard hours just to keep the roof over their heads and food on their tables.


    I made my way to a food cart, where the vender was selling what he claimed to be Goat Shawarma, I didn¡¯t look too closely at the meat in the flatbread, I just handed the man his five coppers and stepped to the side. As I was about to take my first bite, I felt a strange tremor. It started in my feet and rose up my legs and through my body. Earthquake? I thought as I looked around, but no, no one seemed to notice anything. Nothing seemed to be shaking there were no worried or panicked looks in the multitude of faces in the crowd. The slight vibration I felt seemed to grow a bit as my eyes fell on a priest.


    The man strode through a small pocket of clear space, no one wanted to impede a watcher of the eternal flame. His flame red robes matched his long flowing, Flickering? Hair. His hair seemed to shift between the hues of a cook fire, shifting reds, yellows and oranges. A strange lizard like creature slid through his hair, moving from one shoulder to the next. His eyes seemed to meet mine for the briefest of moments and I felt myself shudder as his eyes slid past me. I felt cold deep down in my gut, the Shawarma no longer looked even remotely appetizing. I put it in the hands of a small child, not sure if it was a boy or girl it was so covered in dirt and its clothes were so loose. The large, hunger filled eyes looked at me in gratitude, but I barely noticed. I just had to get away and hide.


    I left the busy market street and slipped down a narrow alley. Dropping to my knees, I felt my heart pounding and I was breathing as though I had just run a mile in the noon heat. My head swam as I gasped for air, my fingers tingled and my stomach churned. I fell to my hands as my stomach tried to heave, I swallowed hard and just stayed there, on my hands and knees and my head hanging down, trying to breath and praying the shaking in my limbs would settle. Gradually my heart beat slowed, my breathing began to ease. My head stopped spinning and I was able to sit down, leaning my back against a wall and let the feeling of exhaustion wash over me. My day was barely started and I already felt like crawling back into my cubby, maybe stay in there for the next week or so.


    After about half a candle mark or so, just sitting there with my eyes closed and breathing deep and slow, I finally felt strong enough to get back to my feet, my stomach felt hollow and my legs trembled a bit when I stood. I slowly made my way back to the street, climbed onto a crate and looked about. The priest seemed to be long gone, Galan¡¯s hammer, I thought he would come for me right then. I knew the thought was foolish, as was my reaction. There was no way they could know who I was, or even be looking for me. The destruction of my home happened 7 years ago, it was a miracle that I survived. No one should have been able to survive that kind of blast. Besides, they weren¡¯t even looking for me, they were after my dad. I don¡¯t know why they would be hunting a simple scribe, or why they would blow up my home kill my mother and destroy the quiet and happy life I had, but they couldn¡¯t be looking for me, they just couldn¡¯t be.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Taking a deep breath I strode back into the crowded street and made my way back to the food vender, gave him another five coppers, I only had a few left from last night, ¡°You gona eat it this time¡± he asked gruffly when he handed me my Shawarma, apparently he noticed what I did with the first one. I ducked my head and nodded as I took a bite. It tasted full of pepper and I guessed it was to disguise the taste of the mystery meat; I ate it anyways, I¡¯ve eaten far worse before and will probably eat far worse again.


    As I finished my meal, I noticed a small disturbance in the crowd. A skinny girl darted through the press of people towards me. She wore a thin and threadbare shirt, stained and tattered sash and cotton pants that ended in ragged edges just below the knees, all in an indeterminate shade of tan, much like what I was wearing. ¡°Cat what¡¯s the rush? You ok?¡± I asked looking over her shoulder to see if there was any pursuit.


    ¡°Roach, I got something big. Something so big, we can live like nobility for the rest of our lives¡± she whispered excitedly.  Her clear almond shaped rich coffee brown eyes sparkled with excitement, the sun¡¯s bright light bringing out highlights in her thick and tangled brown hair. Streams of sweat made tracks in the dirt that covered her creamy brown skin.


    I blinked and refocused on what she was saying, ¡°Like Nobility?¡± I whispered back, looking around to see if anyone was listening. I saw the Shawarma vender looking at us a bit too closely.  ¡°Not here, too many eyes looking and too many ears listening¡±, I took Cat by the hand and took her to my Sanctuary so we could talk in privacy.


    ¡°Ok, what are you talking about, what big score?¡±


    ¡°I just heard early this morning, the guards at Justice Bashhar¡¯s manor were talking to each other about how Bashhar is going to be dinning with the nobles on the heights and taking most of his household with him. It¡¯s just going to be a few servants, slaves and a bare few Guards left behind. It will be a perfect time; we can get in and steal pretty much whatever we want, his gold, fancy clothes, and all his pretty baubles. We will be rich!¡± Cat crowed that last bit in excitement.


    ¡°Hold up, hold up a moment. Let me get this straight, you want to stroll into Justice Bashhar¡¯s manor, the man who is known for bloody executions, selling anyone from the warrens into slavery that crosses his desk. This is the man you want to steal from, while he is on the heights with the rich priests and the rest of the nobility.¡± I asked, shaking my head. ¡°You know he gets a cut of all profits from selling people like us to the slavers.¡±


    Cat looked at me in the eyes, those deep rich eyes; I shook my self mentally as she said in a low fierce tone ¡°That is why it¡¯s perfect. That bastard doesn¡¯t give a damn about justice, just lining his pockets. He deserves to lose what he got, selling kiddies and mums and dads, sometimes whole families when they do the tiniest things he thinks are wrong.¡± She had tears in those eyes now, silently sliding down her face. Her eyes were all the more fierce as they glistened with moisture.


    I remembered how she joined our ranks, her parents were bakers, and failed to pay their taxes one year and were sold into slavery and shipped out to Sydan¡¯Kulta to work in the mines, leaving Cat to survive on her own. She was eight years old at the time.


    I shook my head, took a deep breath and said ¡°you know this is crazy right¡±.


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly why this will work, no one will expect it and that fat pile of camel dung, and may the fleas of a thousand dirty spitting camels infest his loin cloth. He deserves it. I¡¯ve been waiting to give him some payback for five years now. I¡¯m going, you can come with me or not, but I am going¡± there was a strong resolve showing in her eyes.


    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll go with you¡± I said with a sigh. I¡¯ll need to go back to the den to get my gear, maybe drop an offering at the Hatha shrine for luck.¡± Hatha, the god of the winds is the patron of mischief, tricksters and thieves. ¡°What¡¯s your plan?¡±


    ¡°Thanks Roach, no one can get into places like you can¡± she gave me a fierce hug, I could feel two small but soft lumps pressing into my chest and I flushed. ¡°Ok here is what we are going to do.¡±

 Chapter 3

    Chapter 3


    Irnoc


    The world rocked around me, the air felt hot and humid, like breathing through a wet blanket. The scents of mold, mildew, unwashed bodies and stagnant water filled the air I was trying to draw in. Creaking filled the air, the sounds of men shouting orders in the near distance, and soft weeping close by. I was laying down on a hard, rough surface. Where was I? The back of my head throbbed dully; the back of my neck burned and throbbed as well. I reached up to feel my neck and felt a hard ring of metal with two small loops of metal on either side circling my throat. My fingers scrabbled all around looking for the seam; there was none, oh no, no, no, no, no. I knew what this was, a slave collar. They made me a slave. I shook my head, but stopped quickly, it made my head pound harder and my stomach churn with nausea.


    I slowly opened my eyes and saw wood planking above me, and as I looked around slowly, so my head wouldn¡¯t explode, I saw others in the room with me. Poor looking men, women and children, all with the same iron Ring circling their throats with the same two loops welded on opposite sides, probably for rope or chains. Most were filthy and wearing rags all held their eyes down, listless expressions on their faces and many with tear tracks staining their cheeks. They had given up all hope. I looked around further and saw a door made of iron bars and a large heavy lock. We were in a cell, and as the floor beneath me rose and fell and the sound lapping of water reached my ears I came to a realization, I was on a ship, a slavers ship I would guess by the appearance of my ¡®roommates¡¯ in this cell.


    After absorbing my surroundings for a while, my head slowly stopped pounding and I eased myself up, propping myself against the wall. What happened, I thought, cat and I were breaking in to Justice Bashhar¡¯s manor at night, he was supposed to be on the heights, socializing with our ¡°betters¡±. The manor was supposed to be the next thing to deserted. We scaled the wall, crossed the garden without being seen, just entered the manor building itself when¡­ what happened. I wracked my poor abused brain, trying to remember what happened after we entered the manor. After a bit of pondering the face of Justice Bashhar, swam into my mind¡¯s eye, he had an evil vicious grin as I felt something hard strike the back of my head and heard Cat cry out before I slumped to the floor, blackness overcoming me.


    Cat! What happened to Cat, by the gods, Cat must have been taken, I thought frantically as I looked about myself again, looking for her familiar face among these strangers. Not seeing her I lurched to my feet and stumbled to the cell door. ¡°CAT, CAT ARE YOU HERE¡± I screamed, all my fear and worry for here coming out in a rasp from my overly parched throat.


    One of the crewmen came up to the cell with a club in hand ¡°Sit down and shut up before I shut you up¡± he growled.


    ¡°Where is Cat, what have you done with her¡± I pleaded. ¡°Tell me¡±.


    ¡°I told you to sit down and be silent¡± he jabbed his club through the bars into my gut. I doubled over, gasping for breath and fell to the floor curled into a ball, sharp ragged pain lancing through my middle. The crewman laughed crudely as he watched me for a moment before strolling away.


    I continued to lay there long after the sharp pains turned into a throbbing ache. Tears leaked from my eyes as I thought about where cat might be at that moment. I could guess what had happened; she was probably sold into slavery too. It wasn¡¯t hard to figure out who would buy a beautiful 13 year old girl, just beginning to flower into womanhood. She would be snapped up quick by the brothels, sex slaves went for a lot of gold. She would probably be in a living hell, she swore she would never end up surviving by lying on her back; she would rather die than turn to whoring.


    I calmed myself a bit, there was nothing I could do while was locked up in here. My thoughts turned to my own predicament. I was a slave now too, like the other pathetic wretches occupying this cell with me. I will never see my home city again, never wander the twisting alleys of the Warren, never break into the rich snobs¡¯ homes on the hills, or look upon the heights with envy at the beautiful buildings owned by the nobles and the temples. Never retreat to my sanctuary. My father¡¯s books, I¡¯ll never feel their rough texture in my hands, the smoky scent of the burnt covers. The last few pieces I had of my father, will be lost forever, taken and thrown out or burned for warmth in the winter by the first beggar or thief to find my space with no regards to the history of the books, or how my father used to hold them in his hands. He would feel the weight and texture of the book, getting a sense for the book¡¯s character and personality, before opening it and reading the stories it contained to me as I sat at his feet, my attention totally focused on his words and the thoughts they evoked.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    Sobs tore through my throat as my slight body shook with my loss. First my parents, now the tokens of my home and Cat, poor Cat, all gone now. I despair filled me as I cried. Then I felt a pair of arms surround and hold me as I sobbed. It felt like when my mother held me after a night mare scared me awake. I cried all the harder for her loss as the woman who held me rocked back and forth, I could hear her soft sobs and felt her tears fall on me.


    I don¡¯t know how long I lay there, in this stranger''s arms. Time seemed to slow to a crawl in our shared misery. Eventually my racking sobs slowed, the tears gradually dried on my cheeks. I sat up slowly and looked at the stranger who held me. She looked old before her time, her face looked haggard and worn, her greying hair hung limply. She didn¡¯t meet my gaze and just shuffled back to her spot against the wall and hung her head once more.


    I looked about myself, quietly and carefully looking into each face of the dozen or so slaves in my cell with me. I¡¯ll have to find a way out of here, I need to escape this crew and find Cat before... I couldn¡¯t finish the thought.


    ¡°How long have we been in here¡± I asked the woman who held me, she didn¡¯t respond and I looked at the other slaves. My voice was cracked and hoarse, my throat felt as dry and raspy as sandpaper. One man just looked at me, eyes bleak and face haggard like the rest. Then he let his head hang again. No getting any help from these useless dregs.


    I stood up again, ignoring the throbbing ache in my gut that renewed as I moved and went to examine the cell door, the lock looked big and bulky, but shouldn¡¯t be too hard to pick, and I reached into my sash, and found nothing. I sighed; of course they stripped me of anything I could use to escape. I sat back down and rested my head against the walls; I would have to wait for an opportunity to arise. I closed my eyes and tried to rest.


    *                      *                      *


    Several hours after I woke, the slavers watered and fed us. They threw in a dozen hard rolls and dropped a single water skin through the bars. I watched the crewman carefully, I snatched the roll he threw to me out of the air, and the others fumbled and scrambled for their bread, then ate it as quickly as possible. The crewman watched the other slaves with a smirk on his face; I could see what he thought of us, animals in a pen, just waiting to be turned into profit. I felt my blood boil; I will not be treated like cattle. My hands started shaking; sweat broke out on my brow. I felt a flush of energy surging through me and the ship lurched.


    I heard an authoritative voice call out from on the deck ¡°did you fools run us up on a sand bank again; I swear by Loratha¡¯s sagging left tit, if you have I¡¯m going to flay every inch of flesh from your back.¡±


    The ship¡¯s hull shuddered again as an unearthly roar reverberated through every plank of the ship. Men began screaming on deck, the slaves in the cell huddled together with stark terror showing on their faces.  ¡°To arms men, drive this thing from our ship before it sinks us. Arm the ballista; stop this egg sucking, lizard loving, over grown snake from putting a hole in my bloody ship.¡± The voice, probably the captains, rang out again.


    The crewman that was at the door to our cell ran off, to join his fellows or to hide was anybody¡¯s guess, but he left us here, door firmly shut and locked. I darted to the door and shook it, I know it was futile, but I didn¡¯t want to be penned in while whatever beast that attacked the ship put a hole in it and sank it with me still trapped.


    Men continued to scream and shout. Feet could be heard pounding on the deck overhead. ¡°It¡¯s gone below, check the sides. Don¡¯t let it hit my ship, and don¡¯t let it eat my cargo.¡±


    The ship lurched one more time, this time with the cracking of splintering wood, with my hands still on the door I turned my head just in time to see the section of wall the slaves were huddled in, buckle. Great long ivory colored fangs punctured the wall, ripping through the wood like parchment. The jaws those huge fangs were attached must have snapped shut as it pulled away, shattering and ripping the entire section of the hull away and the people huddled against it with it.


    Red tinted water gushed in, slamming me against the iron bars, my head slammed against them and my sight dimed for a moment. The ship canted sideways, all I could hear was the roaring water, or was that the beast? The surging water wrenched me from the door, spinning and tossing me about. I couldn¡¯t tell which direction was up let alone where the beast in the water was.  My lungs burned with the need for air, I struggled against the water, thrashing around, trying to make some headway out of the ship and to the surface.


    I managed to grab the splintered side of the ship and pulled myself out, the churning water was even worse outside the ship¡¯s hull, I felt my self being pulled to and fro. I thrashed my arms and my legs, my collar felt like it was pulling me down. A long, extremely thick body, covered in what seemed to be armored scales slid past me, pulling me in its wake. My scrawny body and feeble efforts didn¡¯t stand a chance as I tumbled along after it, I felt something strike me in the head and only had time to think not again as my head spun as my vision grew dark once more.

 Chapter 4

    Chapter 4


    Cat


    How humiliating; Cat thought as she stood in line with other filthy slaves, chains attached to apparently seamless Iron Collars linking all the slaves together in long lines. Each female slave including Cat herself, wore simple sack cloth dress, bound at the waist with a coarse rope belt to show a little of the form beneath. The men wore only loincloths to show off their physique, or at least the ones that had decent muscles, some were little more than flesh and bone.


    Five years of surviving on my own, five years of stealing for my bread and fighting for a roof over my head, all to end up the same as my parents. Cat fought to keep tears of frustration, anger, humiliation and, if she admitted it to herself, fear from leaking from her eyes. She didn¡¯t survive five years of living on the streets by being a weepy little child. It wasn¡¯t easy when prospective buyers walked down the lines of slaves, poking and prodding each prospective purchase and in some cases even checking the teeth of some. The worse were the brothel owners or agents; fondling breasts, pinching hips, grabbing bottoms, even checking behind the loin cloths of the male slaves.


    Those buyers were especially interested in girls like Cat; they had a cheap patch sewn on their dresses of a closed flower bud. These girls were still virginal and were bought for the highest sums.


    When one of the Agents from the city of Lundness far to the north, you could tell by his clothes, tried to check Cats teeth after fondling her budding breasts, slapped her bottom and even checked her for tightness, Cat sunk her white teeth into the flesh between his thumb and forefinger. The man jerked his hand away with a yell, tearing the flesh in the process and squirting blood in Cats mouth and on her face. With his other hand he back handed her, not too hard but enough to cause some bruising. Cat spat the man¡¯s blood in his face and then grinned, blood dripping off her chin. He wiped the blood off his face and wrapped his hand in a cloth from his pocket.


    ¡°You had better pray that I¡¯m not the one who wins your bid girl, I have just the client in mind for you.¡± His tone dark and forbidding, ¡°You might not survive the experience.¡± He then walked down the line inspecting other slaves, occasionally glancing back to look at Cat; she noticed he was much more careful checking the teeth of other slaves further down the line.


    Cat¡¯s cheeks hurt a bit, totally worth it, she thought to herself as she wiped his salty and metallic blood from her lips and chin. I dare anyone to try to make me some one¡¯s sex slave, ill rip off his rod and shove it down his throat. I¡¯ll kill myself before I get used like that. She thought, setting her jaw in fierce determination.


    After a couple candle marks of standing in the hot sun, the iron collars becoming unbearably hot and the stench of unwashed bodies growing strong, the auction began. A man in officious looking robes stood on a platform as slaves were brought up one at a time. Bids came quickly on some of the more choice specimens, the ones that looked like they could put in heavy labor, or were comely enough to work as a house slave. The quickest were the beautiful ones, they sold for gold, and the most beautiful the bids rose fast and high, the highest was well over six gold marks!


    Eventually it was Cat¡¯s turn to be pushed up to the platform. She could see thirty or forty richly dressed men and women sitting in cushioned wooden chairs beneath a shaded awning with slaves or servants bringing them cooling drinks. They lounged in comfort while the slaves they intended to buy drooped in the heat. Cat looked over the slave ranks; over half had been sold by this time, looking for any sign of Irnoc. She saw Irnoc get knock on the head by the burley guard when they were caught and brought before Bashhar, who had come home early beyond all reasonable expectation.


    Cat was worried about Irnoc, she thought he was still breathing but couldn¡¯t be sure, she wasn¡¯t allowed to check on him before she was grabbed and made to stand before Justice Bashhar. His round fat face was purple with rage, his second and third chin quivered with the anger he barely held in check as he looked at Cat. His layers of silken robes tried but failed to conceal the bulk he gained from his excessive indulgences that came from the bribes and his cut of his slavery verdicts. He grew fat on the suffering of the poor and the ¡°donations¡± from the rich seeking favor. This was the man that forced her kind, hard working parents to the slave pens; leaving their daughter Catharine to die like many others in the cruel streets.


    In a cold hard tone Bashhar asked his guard ¡°Is this all of them, were there any other filthy vermin violating my manor?¡±


    ¡°No sir, this seems to be all of them. The other guards are making a thorough sweep now just to be sure¡± the guard replied. ¡°If there are any more of these rats¡± he said this and gave cat a rough shake ¡°we will find them. What do you want us to do with these two, sir?¡±


    Cat felt the cold hard eyes of the Justice rove over her from her dirty matted hair to her filthy bare feet, toughened from years running barefoot in the streets. She felt her skin crawl at his gaze. Of all the evil I¡¯ve heard this man commit or order to be done, I¡¯ve never heard that he likes little girls. Please don¡¯t let him like little girls. Cat thought with a shiver of fear run down her spine.


    When Bashhar glanced over at Irnoc, he said to his guard ¡°take that one to one of the Cells in the Cellar, if he survives I know a man that will take him off my hands for a reasonable price, no need to go through the slave market and only get a cut with this one, I doubt he would fetch much anyways.¡± When his gaze returned to Cat he told his guard ¡°Shackle the girls hands and feet, then after you put that one in a cell, have the Physician come to me here. We will have him examine this one, if she is what I think she is; she will bring in a tidy sum.¡±


    ¡°Yes sir, Right away Sir.¡± And he proceeded to shackle Cat then toss Irnoc over his shoulder like a sack of grain and without any strain strode out of the parlor, Irnoc dangling limply from his shoulders.


    ¡°What are you going to do to me you swine,¡± Cat said with a growl ¡°if he is dead I am going to tear off your..¡± before she could finish, the justice smacked her across the face, sending her to the floor, knocking over and shattering what seemed like a very expensive large vase with some dried flowers and things sticking out of it.


    He stood over Cat, She could remember the aura of menace this man held as he stood over her, looming like a mountain about to collapse on her and bury her forever. ¡°If you do not remain silent, I will break your arms and legs, beat you bloody and leave you in the Desert for that carrion crows and the giant scorpions to feast on your flesh while you still breathe.¡± Cat heard in his tone that he meant every word of it, and might do even worse to her before leaving her to be eaten alive, she decided to remain silent.


    In less than a quarter Candle mark, the Justices physician came to the parlor, Cat could see that he was a moderately old man, maybe in his fifties, wearing white cotton robes, had long greying brown hair and a pair of wire glasses perched on his long beak like nose. . Bashhar sat on his cushy sofa, drinking wine. His face had returned to its normal creamy brown while I lay near the shards of the broken vase. ¡°You called for me Justice Bashhar?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Yes my good man. I need you to examine this child.¡±


    ¡°Examine? Anything in particular I should be looking for¡± the physician asked.


    ¡°Yes, examine. This piece of trash decided to break into my home, and rob me of all my hard earned wealth. I want you to examine her and see if she is still untouched. I would say unsullied, but just look at the miserable little beast.¡±


    ¡°I see sir; you wish to know if the child is still virginal. Is this for your personal satisfaction, or for business?¡± the physician said this last word with a flat tone. Cat could tell he didn¡¯t approve of selling children to whore houses, but would be unwilling to do more than that, just disapprove.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°Yes, yes just get on with it will you¡± Bashhar said impatiently.


    ¡°As you wish¡± and he turned towards Cat.


    ¡°SOLD¡± the auctioneer cried ¡°for twelve gold and three silver marks¡±. Cat looked up with a start, she had fallen to the same habit Irnoc had, drifting off in thought. Now she understood why, when you have something horrible happen, it just pulls you back before you realize it. Cat¡¯s eyes scanned the crowd, looking to see who had purchased her, her eyes locked to the man with the bandaged hand. A venomous grin was stretched across his grim face, and the light of vengeance shining in his eyes. Cat shuddered, there wasn¡¯t likely to be any way this man would be stupid enough or careless enough to leave any opportunity for a newly won slave, a slave that cost him four gold marks and three silver. That¡¯s four to five months income for a laborer, one or two month¡¯s income for a craftsman.


    Another muscle bound, gorilla of a man took Cat off of the platform and led her off to another area of the slave pen. He hooked the chain attached to her collar to that of five other women, each was at the least very pretty, and a few were exotic to Cats eyes. One woman, a little over five feet tall, had strait raven black hair, and tilted eyes. She was slim and delicate looking. Each woman had either a resigned look on their face, like they have given up all hope, or the tear streaked face of those who had realized what they were going to be used for and didn¡¯t want to believe it. Cat Tugged at the chain attached to her collar with futility. It was attached with a lock, and she didn¡¯t have any picks, and couldn¡¯t see anything that could be used as one anywhere nearby.


    Following the chains from one woman to another with her eyes, Cat saw that she was the youngest one here, the rest were grown women. Continuing to follow the links of chain from one woman to the next, Cat saw that at the last woman, the chain was attached to a large chunk of grey stone; it had to be as tall as a goat, and almost perfectly squared. It had to weigh at least two tons, no way the six of them would be able to budge it. With nothing better to do, Cat sat down to wait and think, of what fate has befallen her best friend and what fate had instore for her.


    After another candle mark or so, the man bought two more slaves, another young woman, at least three or four years older than Cat and fairly well endowed, and a very soft and somewhat feminine man, he looked a bit boyish but was full grown, no well-defined muscles, but not overweight either. He had one of those bleak expressions too.


    Once all of the slaves were gathered the Agent detached the chain with a key that he placed in his belt pouch, he saw Cat watching him carefully and gave her a hard smile as he placed it back around his neck and tucked it under his tunic. His three, well-armed, guards surrounded us, one on either side of the line and one bringing up the rear, so there was no chance at escaping, especially with eight slaves all chained to each other. No one slave could run and all the slaves would have to coordinate to make a break for it. After seeing the slaves around her, Cat knew there would be no chance of that. Most have had their spirit broken already and followed meekly.


    After gathering up the chain, he looked at all of the slaves and said ¡°follow me nice and quietly and no one gets punished. But if just one of you makes any trouble, all of you will be whipped and deprived of food and water for a full day. If anyone makes trouble after that, you get lashed again and get lashed to the sail mast, naked, in full view of everyone, no protection from the sun, and no food or water.¡± He looked into each and every one¡¯s eyes before continuing. ¡°if that isn¡¯t enough deterrent, and you insist on making things difficult, well I¡¯ll just have to take a loss on you. I¡¯ll slice your arms and legs, cut open your belly and throw you overboard. That much blood in the water will bring every shark for leagues around. And every other slave will watch as you are ripped apart and eaten alive, do I make myself clear.¡± That last statement was said in a tone as cold and sharp as a razorblade. The slaves all shuddered and gave slow nods, unable to break eye contact in their fear.


    After holding their gaze for a long moment he smiled again and said in a lighter tone ¡°With that settled; if you all behave well, you will be treated well. Good food, plenty of water and no beatings or whipping. It can be a pleasant voyage for everyone here.¡±


    ¡°And you might even enjoy your new occupation¡± he added with a chuckle.


    With all the slaves sufficiently cowed, he led everyone through the edge of the warrens to the docks a short distance away. Once they arrived at the docks; the man spoke to the dock master, a solidly built man, grey in his full beard and four thin ropes sewn to his officer¡¯s jacket on each of his shoulders, so that they curved down the contours of his muscled upper arm. They spoke for a moment; a coin pouch was passed from the man to the dock master. The dock master turned to his assistant who held a portable writing desk, scribbled something down and dripped some hot wax to the bottom before pressing the seal of office that hung around his neck to it. Once the wax dried he rolled it, tied it with a red edged blue ribbon and handed it to the man.


    With scroll in hand the man led us to a large ship with two masts. A ramp extended from a gap in the railings at least ten feet above the level of the dock. He spoke quietly to a sailor standing at the foot of the ramp, Cat couldn¡¯t make out what they were saying over the sounds of the water, the creaking of wood, and the sounds of shouting men, cargo being hauled on and off other ships and all the other noise that made up the din on the wide expanse of docks. After a few gestures to the slaves and guards, the sailor at the foot of the ramp shouted to the ship ¡°Captain Mr. Elmersson is here with his Cargo and ready to board¡±


    After a few moments a grizzled and tough looking sailor with a sharply defined brown sailors jacket, with the symbol of a Merchant ship¡¯s Captain on his breast appeared at the top of the ramp. ¡°Come aboard, Mr. Elmersson, accommodations for yea yer men and yer cargo are all arranged.¡± His voice was roughened from years of salty air and shouting orders to his crew, the sun and wind made his face look like leather and he had a perpetual squint to his eyes.


    Mr. Elmersson, as Cat now new his name to be, led everyone up to the deck and handed another pouch that jingled with coins to the captain. He personally took Cat and the other slaves below deck, guided by one of the many crewmen working about the deck; they all wore brown leather vests, no shirt, baggy tan pants that was secured by a brown sash at the waist and gathered in at the ankles. Their bare feet making soft slapping sounds as they ran about the deck, doing whatever mysterious tasks sailors did while at port.


    It was pitch black below the deck, after the bright light of afternoon sky. It took a few minutes for everyone¡¯s eyes to adjust to the relatively dim lights of the lanterns attached to swivels in the beams. The sailor gestured to two of the doors alone one side of the hall they were in and said ¡°Sir, these will be the lodgings for you and your men. The one on the left is yours with a nice feather mattress, and the other holds four bunks your men can use.¡± And gesturing further down the hall to what appeared to be another staircase heading down another level, ¡°and if you would be so kind as to follow me I will take you to the secure location you can stow your cargo¡± and at the man¡¯s small nod, gave a slight bow and led them to the stairs.


    The belly of the ship was somewhat damp, not surprisingly since it was below the water line, it was dimmer than the first level but everyone could see well enough. They were led to an area of the hold that was sectioned off with iron bars and about ten hammocks strung up between the walls of the inner hull and the bars of the cell in five rows, with two hammocks in each row, one over the other. . Each slave, one by one was detached from the group, led in and their chain was latched to one of the iron bars next to a hammock, leaving about six feet of slack for the slave to be able to move about. Each row of hammocks had two buckets on the floor next to it; one held water and the other was empty. It wasn¡¯t hard to figure out what the other bucket was for. The wood in the cell was sanded smooth, and aside from the hammocks and the buckets, there was nothing in the cell. The bars were firmly seated and bolted to the ceiling and floor and when cat gave it an experimental wiggle, it had no give at all. With a sigh Cat climbed into the top hammock in her row and settled in to wait.


    Once they were out to sea there would be next to no opportunity to escape, unless she wanted to try to swim the ocean when she had never been in more water than it took to take the weekly bath when she was younger, and fight the sharks and other terrible beasts that are said to inhabit the seas. Cat closed her eyes and, even though she wasn¡¯t very religious, spoke a silent prayer to Quintar, the god of the sea, father of all that dwelt within the seas for a safe and swift voyage, and hoped she could find a way to escape once they arrived.


    Twice a day they brought fresh food, some kind of porridge, with bits of smoked fish and pieces of dried fruit for breakfast, fried fish usually with a serving of some fruit or vegetable and a bread roll for diner, refilled the water buckets every morning, and emptied the waste buckets at the same time. This continued day in and day out for the five days the voyage took, the slaves in Cats cell didn¡¯t talk to one another, and the sailors didn¡¯t say a word to her after the first day when the slaves were told the schedule for food water and waste removal, they didn¡¯t even make eye contact with anyone in chains. It was a long quiet voyage, with too much time to think and remember.

 Chapter 5

    Chapter 5


    Irnoc


    Ugh, my head was pounding. I felt something tugging on the legs of my pants. ¡°Bugger off Fingers, I¡¯m not getting up yet, too tired and my head hurts.¡± I mumbled as I turned away. My cheek rested in the cool soft sand¡­ sand? There was no sand in my cubby. I opened my eyes a crack, a long expanse of sandy beach stretched out in front of me light by the light of the full moon, and a vast expanse of the starry night sky. The river flowed along quietly, barely rippling as it flowed past. I felt something tugging on my pants leg again. I slowly lifted my head out of the wet sand, bits of it clinging to my face. There, tugging on my pants leg with its little pincer was a fresh water crab. I kicked it away with my other foot and sat upright.


    My head swam once I was sitting up. I felt the back of my head, where the worst of my pain seemed to be. Two large lumps decorated my scalp, and a fresh sharp pain lanced through my right hand as it brushed the lumps. I looked at it; there were several large splinters of wood sticking out of my palm and some small cuts. I stared blankly at my lacerated palm for what felt like a long time, not thinking or really doing anything, just stared at it.


    My hand started to tremor, the shaking seemed to travel from my hand up my arm and into my chest. Once it reached my chest my whole body started to shake. Images of a wall being torn away, a giant dark blue scaled monstrosity destroying a ship, water swirling around me, being unable to breath and darkness flashed through my mind as I remembered.


    Gradually my shaking started to lessen, and my mind began to clear allowing me to start actually thinking about my situation ¡°Ok, I survived the beast attack. Did anybody else?¡± I spoke quietly to myself, trying to force my thoughts into a coherent whole. I plucked the splinters out of my hand, fresh droplets of blood falling darkly into the already wet sand. I closed my hand into a painful fist then I stood up on my shaky legs, I was facing up stream when I woke, and hadn¡¯t seen anything, so I looked down stream towards Hasna¡¯Farid. All along both banks were dark rigid lumps, I was pretty sure they were pieces of wood from the hull of the ship. I staggered downstream to take a closer look at the debris and see if there was anything worth salvaging.


    Searching through the debris I managed to salvage some rope, canvas, and a rather gruesome discovery of a cutlass in the grip of a dismembered arm. After some more searching I came to a busted barrel with some apples. I folded and tied the scrap of canvas into a sling to put the apples and rope into it and continued my search, hoping for an intact water skin or something similar.


    Continuing downstream, I searched through the bits washed on shore, avoiding the more grisly remains of torn flesh, the carrion eaters getting their feast. As I approached the bend in the river I heard something new, beyond the local scavengers eating their gruesome dinner. I paused and ducked down next to a particularly large pile of planks tangled in some shrubs listening carefully. I heard the sound of men cursing, I couldn¡¯t quite make out the words but the tone came through well enough. They were not happy. I peered through the darkness and saw a few lights in the distance, looked like a camp fire and some torches. The light these gave off showed me a terrible scene.


    The ship was beached, huge holes torn in its sides, the mast busted and the sails and rigging torn up and a tangled mess. Crates and bundles lined the beach, what the survivors managed to salvage from the wreck. Bandages adorned most of the surviving crew; the captain had his head wrapped up, and making it look like he was wearing a turban.


    ¡°Shit¡± I cursed under my breath. If they found me, they would tie me up and use me to try to recoup some of their losses in this failed venture. They would likely be sticking close to the river, like I had planned. I¡¯m going to have to leave the river and go into the desert, to do that I need a water container, otherwise I¡¯m carrion food. If I waited until they fell asleep, I might be able to sneak in and gather a few supplies and escape into the desert with none the wiser.


    Looking at the planks and shrubs tangled together, I noticed a small gap at the base of the planks where they tangled in the branches. If I wriggled in carefully I should remain out of sight and still be able to see when the surviving sailors fell asleep. Suiting thought to deed I hid myself, and settled in for the possibly long wait.


    After what felt like hours of boredom, watching these men tending their wounds, talking around their campfire and collecting what they could from the wreckage, most of the men had finally fallen asleep, the only one left awake seemed to be on watch. If I can get past him, I can get the water skin I need.


    I quietly crept out of my hiding space, watching the sentry carefully. He stood, leaning against the hull of the damaged ship. As I got closer I could see his head nodding a bit before he jerked his head up and looked around with bleary eyes. What a fool, I thought with a shake of my head, ruining his night vision, he should have kept the fire to his back instead of between him and the night.  Keeping the fire between me and the sentry, I slowly and quietly crept in close. I came across several mounds, sailors covered in blankets at the edge of the firelight as I looked about for a simple water skin. One mound had a cutlass lying next to it, the sailor¡¯s hand lightly resting on its handle. That is too good to just leave lying there. Carefully and very slowly I lifted the hand off the cutlass and slid the blade away and sheathed it in my sash.


    Looking closely about, I searched for the water skin. As my eyes played over the camp, keeping myself from looking too closely to the fire, I noticed at the edge of the fire light lay a full skin. I licked my lips from nerves and crept close. As I approached the edge of the light I heard a grunting snore and froze. The snores settled back down and all was still, in that stillness I heard the crunching of sand close by.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    I looked up and looked around, looking for the man on watch. I saw him moving around; damn he must be trying to stay awake by making rounds I thought. Shit he is coming my way. I crouched down next to one of the sleeping men and just hoped and prayed that I wouldn¡¯t be found.


    He came closer as he circled around the sleeping men, my heart pounded in my chest, and sweat broke out on my forehead and ran into my eyes making them burn. I couldn¡¯t wipe it away, he would notice the movement. I should have just taken my chances in desert, he is going to find me, and he will take me back and make me a slave again. I just got free. I won¡¯t let him take me to the damn mines, I have to save Cat! Anger grew within me, the cold sweat dripped from my brow. I felt a hard knot of determination solidify in my gut and I slowly drew out my cutlass as he came closer. He paused and looked over in my area; I could see his bleary eyes narrow as he tried to see in the darkness. He must have noticed the movement. That¡¯s it, if I¡¯m to save Cat, this man must die. If he doesn¡¯t he will find me, and I¡¯ll never be able to save Cat from a fate worse than death.  I dug down deep inside myself, stoking the fiery anger within to new heights. I let the anger build and fill me to the brim.


    My body trembled with the force within, the trembling increased until I was shaking. I couldn¡¯t contain it all. I jumped up with a scream of wrath, and at that moment I felt al that anger, all that energy built up within myself burst. The dying campfire exploded outward, coals and flames flew everywhere. I thought I saw some kind of bird shape within the fire, I could hear a shriek rend the air.  Embers landed on the sleeping men, catching fire to their blankets and clothes, they sprang up and most bolted for the river, screaming and beating at the flames. Fires spread all over the supplies, the canvas and ropes caught fire and spread to the ship.


    I felt weak and shaky, but I forced myself to move in the confusion. Somehow the water skin was untouched and hadn¡¯t been trampled by the panicked men. I darted in among the screaming and panic and snatched up the water skin; as soon as it was in my hand I turned and ran straight into the desert night leaving the death and destruction in my wake.


    I kept running until I could no longer hear the men¡¯s screams or see the glow of the flaming ship. The crack riddled hardpan with its spiny brush and its varieties of cacti gave way to more sandy terrain. I started to stumble along over small sand dunes that gradually kept increasing in size. Eventually they grew taller than I was and I started sliding down the other side.


    Once it was all out of sight and beyond hearing, I fell to my knees and gasped for breath. ¡°What just happened?¡± I gasped between deep lungful¡¯s of breath. ¡°What, by Corana¡¯s feathered ass, happened?¡± I pulled the stopper from the skin and went to take a drink to ease my parched throat. As I brought the skin to my lips I picked up a fishy odor. Brows furrowing, I stuck my finger into the skins opening and withdrew it. Rubbing the fluid between thumb and forefinger, I felt its oily texture. I brought my finger to my nose and sniffed it, it smelled strongly of fish. I tasted it, a salty fishy taste. I spat it out and swore loudly and with great feeling.


    ¡°All that, those men dead, me almost dying to get a damned water skin and its full of bloody oil¡± shaking my head I began to laugh. I kept on laughing; knowing I was being hysterical but this was too much, just too much. ¡°The gods must be playing with me. First I get caught on what was supposed to be an easy score, then I get sold to slavery, then the ship I¡¯m on gets attacked by a river monster, the campfire explodes, now this a bloody oil skin when I wanted a water skin. I almost died three times in just a couple days; barely manage to escape death only to nearly die again. What next, a group of priests comes for me like they did for my parents. It would fit.¡± I shook my head, and managed to slow my breathing and calm my hysterical rant. With a final deep breath I looked around and saw that the sky wasn¡¯t as dark as it was. The stars were slowly beginning to disappear to what I presumed to be the east, the sun was coming up soon, I had maybe an hour before it reached the horizon, and the temperature would begin to rise. It was cool now but that wouldn¡¯t last long once the Eye of Corana was watching over us.


    *                      *                      *


    On the Heights of Hasna¡¯Farid, where all the palaces and manors were located a young boy, well fed and wearing high quality pastel red robes was hurrying down a marble corridor decorated with stylized flames in burnished red gold. He came to a stop in front of a tall set of double doors inlayed with ebony and red gold-leaf depicting the eternal phoenix Corana, the boy paused to catch his breath and knocked on the door.


    A quiet female voice answered the knock ¡°Come in¡±.


    He opened the door and spoke to the assistant sitting behind the rich desk ¡°message for the matriarch my lady, from the monitors¡±.


    ¡°You may give me the message, the matriarch does not wish to be disturbed¡±.


    The Acolyte, for all acolytes of the order of eternal flame wore red of a pastel hue, hesitated glancing at the door further in.


    The Aid to the Matriarch¡¯s face hardened.


    With a sigh the acolyte answered ¡°the monitors report that they detected a disturbance ten leagues to the east of the city, a wild surge of power occurred. They said that they think it is a first calling of the untrained.


    ¡°Very well¡± the aid replied, ¡°go back to your duties. I will see that the Matriarch is informed¡±.


    Once the boy left the office the aid got out from behind her desk, she was a slight plump woman of average height in flowing rust red silken robes, and long flaming red hair. And if you looked closely there was a red glint in her almond shaped eyes. She walked over to the door leading to the Matriarch¡¯s office and knocked once before opening the door and stepping inside.


    The office was lavishly decorated with tapestries adorning the walls, red gold ornamented almost everything, from the vases holding dried flowers to the bookshelves containing hundreds of books and scrolls. Incense filled the air with their spicy perfume. A striking woman sat behind a highly polished black marble desk with rose gold leaf decorating its surface. She wore lived coal red silk robes, woven so that it looked like she was a burning coal, dark red hair that flowed past the middle of her back, almond shaped eyes shone with a deep red light. This was the Matriarch of the order of the Eternal flame, leader and embodiment of the phoenix Corana. Looking up from reading a scroll she asked in a rich melodic voice ¡°What is it Samantha?¡±


    ¡°Sorry to disturb you my lady but a message from the monitors came in just now, they report that there was a power surge in the desert, ten leagues from the city. They say it signifies the emergence of a Rogue Caller¡± Samantha Replied in meek tones while looking down at her soft slippered feet.


    ¡°Very well, send out the Retrieval Squad, you may go now¡±.

 Chapter 6

    Chapter 6


    Irnoc


    I forced myself to my feet. I need to get as far as I can before it gets too hot to travel. A man can die in a single day in the desert¡¯s summer heat, not to mention any of the beasts that roam the area. I took stock of my surroundings, and took a bite from one of my apples, its crunchy sweetness easing my parched throat a bit. I held on to my oil skin, might be able to use it after it gets rinsed out. Oily water is better than no water out here.


    After orienting myself to walk away from the dawn that was slowly approaching, I climbed back up the sand dune I just slid down and scanned the horizon; well I tried to scan the horizon, moonlight from the crescent moon glinted off the sand close by and in the distance the shadows blended together with the swirling sand making it hard to see more than a couple hundred feet. To my left I could just make out the glow from the burning ship. Taking another bite from my apple, savoring the juices and not wasting a single drop, I thought to myself one good thing came from that explosion, I doubt those men will be in any shape to head to the city any time soon. I can stick fairly close to the river, and as long as I''m careful I can have all the water I need.


    The sand was difficult to cross; it kept shifting under my feet and making me slip and stumble as I crossed the dunes. Often I had to resort to using my hands to scramble up one side, and slide down the other. The desert night was quiet, eerily quiet. I could hear the moan of the wind, the crunching and sliding of the sand. That was it, just the sand and the wind. Its creepy, I kept looking around me feeling eyes on me. There was nothing around, I couldn¡¯t see or hear anything nearby but I still felt like something was watching me, following me. I shook myself it¡¯s just my nerves. Nothing is watching me, nothing is following me. You¡¯re just being paranoid after everything that happened today. Just keep walking; the sun will be up soon. I berated myself and forced myself to keep moving.


    The sky gradually lightened, the stars diminished and the wind began intensifying with the rising of the sun. I felt the sand bite into the back of my neck, arms and legs; it was gritty and very unpleasant. Before long it made my skin start to feel raw, I¡¯ve known discomfort before, and will feel it again so I didn¡¯t let it bother me too much. I pushed the discomfort to the back of my mind as I continued to trudge on, what was harder to ignore was the drying of my throat. It wasn¡¯t very hot yet, but the air was so dry it leached the moisture with every breath. Between the wind and the struggle traversing the sandy expanse and the dunes that piled up, I was panting and gasping, my throat feeling dry and raw, my tongue felt thick and coated in dust. Have I gone far enough to avoid the sailors? I thought, so thirsty, only have apples, need to stretch those out.


    I looked to my left, I couldn¡¯t see the river from here, but I knew it wouldn¡¯t be too far off, but I didn¡¯t want to run into the survivors, especially in the light of day. Thinking on this for a while as I continued to trudge along, my throat decided me. I started angling back towards the river, not directly but off to an angle, so I could continue making forward progress.


    For about a candle mark everything seemed to go fairly well, the heat continued to grow as the sun rose higher, the wind still blew though it varied in its strength, and the sand continued on. As I climbed up another nearly identical dune, in a long chain of dudes when the sand suddenly shifted under me as I put my hand forward to pull myself up another step. As I placed my hand down, a depression formed, the depression was almost as big as I was, right before I tumbled forward into this depression the sand exploded outwards. As I tried to jump back, I saw a flash of chitinous brown armor, and something as fast as a whip flash past me, just missing my chest as I tumbled backwards, rolling head over heels getting dizzy, bruised and scrapped up until I came to a stop at the base of the sand dune. I lurched to my feet; stumbled a bit as the world spun around me and reached for the cutlass in my sash, my hands fumbled at my waist where I put the stolen blade just a few hours ago, it was gone.


    I searched around frantically for the lost blade. There it was, half way up the sand dune, lying flat on the sand, the sun glinting off of its chipped blade. Between my weapon and me the monstrous creature that tried to ambush me. The horrid thing was huge, the size of a hound. It had a long body made of dark brown segmented plates, furiously twitching mandibles, two great long pincers in front, easily as long as the blade I just lost. And its tail, a long curled tail, segmented like the rest of it arched over its back with a barbed stinger as long as a dagger, drops of venom glistened in the bright sunlight as they dripped from its wicked point. It scuttled closer on its six thin legs armored in segments and very fast. It raced down the hill at me, it seemed quite angry with the failure to nab me in its first strike. Well I say angry, I couldn¡¯t really tell, but its tail twitched aggressively and it kept snapping its pincers in what looked like anticipation.


    I backed away carefully, looking around for any weapon in these acres of sandy dunes; I didn¡¯t really expect to find anything to help. All I had on me were the clothes on my back, the canvas sling and a bit of rope. In the few moments I took to find something to help me the giant scorpion reached the base of the dune and slowed to a cautious crawl. It scuttled slowly around me; stepping sideways and always keeping its pincers and tail pointing at me. Occasionally snapping its pincers as it darted forward a few steps before stepping back. It must be gauging my reactions before it decides to kill me, shit what am I going to do, Corana¡¯s flaming ass what am I going to do I thought, the edge of panic stealing any ideas for escape I might have been able to come up with. I took off the sling and felt inside, one apple left from the tumble, the rope must have fallen out too. As the scorpion darted forward again, I snapped the bit of canvas at it, making a sharp crack in the air, it stepped back again. The sting twitched forward again and I threw the apple at its big beady eyes, before the apple hit the things right pincer snapped out and snipped the apple cleanly in half, the halves fell to the ground before it.


    When it leaned forward to sample the bloody thing, I turned around and with a fresh burst of fear fueled strength I fled as fast as I could, running along the valleys the sand dunes made. I could hear its many legs churning up the sand as it gave chase, I looked over my shoulder as I ran and saw it was gaining on me; I pushed even harder to run faster in the thrice damned sand. I heard a strange clicking and hissing noise right on my heels, as I turned my head to look back once more, my left foot caught my right heel and I fell forward, twisting as I fell I landed on my back with a brief skid. The terrible creature seemed to loom over me, in the heat of the day; my blood ran cold, my gut twisted in terror as I tried to scramble back. I kicked out with my feet as I pushed with my hands, one pincer snapped close to my foot, but I managed to kick it away with more panic than skill.


    Everything seemed to slow down. The scorpions head lowered and its pincers curved in front of its horrible mandible filled face. Its back end rose in the air as its stinger arched forward and with excruciating slowness it plunged down and sank deep into my thigh.


    I felt more than heard my scream of pain and fear rip through my throat as its wickedly barbed stinger sank into my flesh, and a burn spread quickly from the point of impact. I felt the meat of my thigh tear as its stinger pulled out of my leg and its back end lowered as its tail fell into its ready position again.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    I felt a burn in my stomach flash through my body, I could feel it suffusing every fiber of flesh, I felt it course through my veins. The pain in my leg intensified as this new heat passed through my wound. My head swam, I didn¡¯t know if it was from this new force rushing through me once again or the poison in my veins.


    I let out a scream as time snapped back to normal, an explosion of what felt like steam occurred at the same time to my left. Sand and moist air billowed all around. The scorpion scuttled back a few feet and clacked its claws in the air before it. The ever present wind cleared the obscuring mist rapidly, the dry air sucking up the available moisture clearing the air even faster.


    In the small crater left by the billowing mist and sand lay a very large Turtle? How in the Abyss did a bloody turtle just appear here? The turtles shell was easily three feet long, matching the body of the giant scorpion. The shell had three sets of ridges running its length, with several points rising along each ridge. A massive head covered in small spikes protruded from the front of its shell on a long flexible neck the head ended with a hard bony beak with a vicious hook on its scissor like jaws. Its stubby scale covered legs ended in long wicked looking claws.


    The turtle locked eyes with me for just a moment, and then turned its head towards the scorpion. It opened its beak wide; it looked like that monstrous beak could bite my hand off cleanly with just one snap. It let out a long hissing croak at the scorpion and dashed forward. It was much faster than I thought a turtle of that size, or any turtle for that matter, could move. The scorpion¡¯s tail lashed out, but it just glanced off the formidable armor on the turtles back.


    The turtles head snapped forward on its long neck and gripped the base of the scorpions left claw, and with a surge of effort, it sheared through the segmented armor at its joint and the claw fell, twitching slightly, to the ground.


    The scorpion let out a clatter as its body shook from the shock and pain, its shell rubbing against itself making the noise. The other claw lashed out trying to cut its enemies head, but the turtle was too fast for it. Its head darted back into its shell, only its hardened beak showing as the claw missed its strike. The scorpion shifted to the side, looking like it was trying to circle its enemy for a better vantage to strike, a clear foamy liquid dribbling from its mandibles, drops of which landed on the sand with a bubbling hiss.


    The turtle snapped its beak out again, in a very aggressive and threatening manner. It looked like it was daring the scorpion to take another swipe.


    As the scorpion continued to circle around it got close to where I lay, I tried to scramble away, but a tingling numbness was spreading through my leg and torso. I couldn¡¯t move my leg at all, and it felt like it was spreading down my other leg and up my spine. I¡¯m paralyzed! I¡¯m going to die, I¡¯m going to die!


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to die, Quiet down and let me deal with this oversized arachnid¡±


    I looked around, half in relief and half in panic. Did the slavers catch up? There was no one around, just the scorpion, the turtle and myself. I shook my head in confusion.


    ¡°You Called me, I¡¯m no slaver. Now stay still and stay quiet, Tides and Currents boy.¡± It sounded a bit exasperated, it had low rumbling tones, and hiss like notes on its S sounds, I then realized, I wasn¡¯t hearing that voice with my ears. I was hearing it in my head. I looked at the turtle, was that thing talking to me, in my head?


    The scorpion edged close enough to me, it darted forward with its stinger ready to strike me in the chest, I yelled and tried to push away with my hands, to no avail.


    ¡°Damn it¡± the voice echoed in my head again. Then the turtle opened its beak wide and a gurgling sound emerged just moments before a high pressure stream of water blasted from its maw, it strike the body of the scorpion and flung it tumbling at least a hundred feet. It landed on its back on the side of a dune, and was pinned there for a moment by the water pressure. As soon as the water subsided, the Scorpion dug rapidly into the wet sand and disappeared from sight.


    ¡°Well that was easy, was that all you called me for child¡± the turtle actually spoke aloud this time, its voice sounded just like the voice in my head.


    ¡°Uh umm¡± I answered, quite eloquently I thought.


    With a great sigh the turtle shambled over and looked me over ¡°You don¡¯t seem to be too badly off, a stab in the thigh¡± with a sniff at the bleeding wound ¡°smells like paralysis venom. Hmm should probably deal with that before it starts affecting your heart and lungs. Humans, such fragile creatures¡± after its little speech, it opened its beak wide and I nearly panicked.


    ¡°Don¡¯t eat me¡± I tried to bellow, but it came out in more of a squeaky rasp.


    ¡°I don¡¯t eat humans boy, now if you have some nice fish on the other hand. That would be a fitting tribute to one such as I. now lay silent and let me deal with this wound¡±


    My teeth clicked as my jaw snapped shut, I knew my eyes were probably as round as those apples I lost in the tumble, but I stayed quiet lest this turtle change its mind as to its preferred diet.


    He opened his beak once again and a soft silver blue fog rolled out and covered my thigh, it was cool and soothing to the touch, and seemed to settle into my leg through the bloody mess of a hole in my flesh. The soothing sensation seemed to follow the same path the pain and numbness followed. Easing the pain, restoring sensation with prickles at first then soothing even those away. I felt the soothing sensation flow through out my body, easing aches and pains I didn¡¯t even notice I had. The sunburn I was developing faded away, even the burn marks on the back of my neck, under my iron slave collar, faded to nothingness.  I felt relaxed and at peace for the first time since before my home was destroyed and my life turned into a long struggle just to survive.


    ¡°Well that should just about cover you, all injuries, pain and damage you¡¯re body has sustained is gone. Will there be anything else, I¡¯ve a book I wanted to finish before you suddenly dragged my shell to this hot and dry place, tides and currents boy, this air is going to chap my shell, and leave it flaky.¡± The Turtle Said.


    I shook myself out of the pleasant fog my mind was floating in and replied ¡°I, um, thank you. You saved me, and fixed me up good.¡±


    ¡°Yes yes, I saved you, I healed you. Now if that will be all, from the looks of you, I doubt I have much time left here anyways, and you don¡¯t want to wait before sending me back. You¡¯ll just end up passing out and be carrion food for whatever comes along after I leave. It will ruin all the work I did. Now if that is all I¡¯ll just be on my way then. Next time if you call me, please have it in suitable environs, I don¡¯t like the Desert, and bring the tribute of fish as well, yes don¡¯t forget the fish.¡±


    I blinked, trying to take it all in. ¡°Can I at least get your name?¡±


    ¡°My name? Ah yes quite right, we didn¡¯t introduce our selves. I am Shahz, a Scholar of the Chelydridae caverns. And you child?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Irnoc, known by Roach, roof walker of the Scorpion gang in the warrens.¡± My head swam a little after I replied.


    ¡°Scorpions, eh. How apropos, almost killed by the totem of your gang. Well try not to die or pass out¡± and with that Shahz vanished in another burst of mist that was quickly swept away by the hot desert wind.


    With his disappearance, a small draining sensation I only just noticed stopped as well. My head cleared and my vision sharpened. It had gotten a bit fuzzy towards the end. I took a deep breath, my throat no longer feeling scorched, carefully stood, afraid that my leg might not hold me. However the leg was strong and hole, the only sign that I was stabbed by the scorpion was the hole in my already ragged pants. Taking another deep breath I went to collect my things, being careful as I climbed back up the sand dune to collect my blade, and the few apples I could find, I didn¡¯t want to be ambushed by another one of those giant scorpions.


    Once all my gear was settled in its proper place, I set off to the river once again. This time keeping my eyes and ears sharp and watching the sand for another ambush.

 Chapter 7

    Chapter 7


    Irnoc


    Three men, wearing flowing robes in the many hues of a burning fire, strode out of the stable entrance to the temple of Corana, these were no ordinary men. These men were priests of Corana, and more than that, they were specialized priests. These specialized priests are sent out to find wild or rogue talents, the Retrieval Squad. These men held power, power unlike that of any mortal man or woman, they had the power of the gods, vessels of their patron god or goddess containing and utilizing the holy power to do their will on earth. Few would dare to do anything that would displease them. The stable hands kept their heads down as they scrambled to finish readying their Mounts.


    ¡°High Priest Asad,¡± one of the priests said to his leader ¡°What are we after today, a rogue caller or a wildling? We didn¡¯t get any information aside to be ready to ride out at dawn.¡±


    Asad was a middle aged man, a little grey streaked his long black hair and his carefully trimmed beard, and his eyes looked like burning coals in the heart of a fire. On his shoulder perched a small falcon like creature. It had the small body of a Kestrel but its plumage looked to be made of flames, each feather showed in fine detail, and looked solid except for around its edges, which flickered and shifted like real flame.


    High Priest Asad looked at his two men; Priest Fakhir, the one who spoke, and priest Nadim, his companion. ¡°Before dawn today, the Monitors detected a wild surge about ten leagues east of the city. Just before we gathered, as the Monitors sought to glean more information about this wildling, a second wild surge was detected approximately one candle mark after dawn.¡± His two men looked rather grim; they knew that two wild surges close together was never a good sign. Asad continued ¡°We have a long way to travel as swiftly as can be managed. With two surges only a few candle marks apart, we either have an unfortunate coincidence of two wild callers in close proximity to each other, not completely unheard of but very unlikely if not nearly impossible, or there is a very strong Caller out there with his powers just beginning to break loose. There is one more point of concern, what triggered the two separate surges. Being out in the desert, he is likely to be in great danger, the beasts, magical or mundane, that make it their home will make short work of anyone who tried traveling alone through that hostile land.¡±


    Fakhir and Nadim nodded with hardened determination in their eyes. They both knew one such as this would be a great resource for the temple, or a large problem should he not be brought into the fold. ¡°What were the Monitors able to learn about this one?¡± Nadim asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s a boy of perhaps thirteen, just beginning to enter into manhood. Not much else is known.¡± Asad replied. ¡°With Corana¡¯s blessing we shall find this person before it is too late and bring him in safely. We must travel swiftly but we must care for the Kelenken as well, traveling too quickly in the summer heat will slow us faster than pacing our mounts.¡±


    Both men nodded and muttered; almost in unison ¡°Corana¡¯s blessing be upon us all¡± it had the sound of rote.


    The men did not speak another word as the grooms brought their large riding birds; prime Simurgh stock, considered by many to be some of the finest riding birds in the empire. They mounted and Fakhir took up the reins of a basic horse of no particular breeding for their new acquisition to ride back, and rode out of the temple complex and headed to the eastern gates. They made good time until they reached the Warrens, they had to slow as the press of humanity increased, even with the bubble of space the common folk gave them, and they could only travel at a walk.


    Once they came insight of the eastern gates High Priest Asad looked at the flaming bird perched on his shoulder. ¡°Do you sense the trace this far out Hadi?¡± he asked.


    Hadi looked at the man for a moment, ruffled its wings in irritation and looked to the east, past the wall that surrounded the city. ¡°No, it is too far distant yet master¡± the Kestrel replied, ¡°Shall I scout ahead and see if I can pick up the traces?¡±


    The man pondered for a moment as they approached the eastern gate, ¡°Yes, once you pick it up, return swiftly to me. We will follow the river until your return¡± he said in a rich voice with deep resonating authority. This was a man that was used to being obeyed, and without even a word in reply the bird took off and sped into the sunrise.


    * * *


    It look at least five candle marks to get back to the river. Five long burning, stumbling and exhausting hours to make the long way to the river, avoiding the shipwrecked sailors. I knew if they found me I would be worse than dead, recaptured and sold the quickest buyer to recoup just a little bit of their losses. I had to cut an angle to the river, making progress back to Hasna¡¯Farid and down to the river at the same time. Unfortunately the ship was attacked just after a bend in the river, and the river turned southwest before it turned west again to reach the city. So it took several more miles to reach the wet, cool refreshing water.


    After the scorpion attack I could only recover three of the apples I lost when I tumbled down the sand dune, they were bruised, covered in abrasions, browning and had sand stuck in the skin and flesh of the apple. They were the most delicious things I had ever eaten and they only lasted me a couple candle marks. By the time I reached the riverbanks I traveled through sandy, dune covered desert that transitioned to more flat dry cracked clay. The cracked clay area was easier to transverse, however there were more dangers. Flat paddle like cacti grew all over the place, low spiny brush, both types of plants left thorny and needle filled litter all over the ground. It was a trial to cross this terrain while barefoot, fortunately my feet were as tough as leather for the most part, but the thorns still made their way through and in between my toes.


    It wasn¡¯t until about noon that I finally reached the river. Dropping my sling and my cutlass on the bank, I splashed right into the water as soon as I arrived. I managed, just barely, to avoid drinking the entire river on one go. The cool water felt wonderful on my sunburnt skin, my aching feet soothed by the running water. Slowly the swelling went down in my poor abused feet; years of going barefoot in a city had nothing on cross country travel. While I was luxuriating in the refreshing river, I still kept an eye out up and down stream. As good as the water felt, and as delicious as the water tasted, I still didn¡¯t want to get caught and dragged back into slavery. I still needed to find a way to remove this seamless iron collar from around my neck, with my head still attached.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    Once I was cooled off, and my raging thirst quenched I emptied out all the oil from the skin, and rinsed it out at least a dozen times, getting as much of the fishy oil out as the impregnated leather as was possible. I knew the water would still be a bit oily and have a fishy taste, but it was better than dying of thirst out here.


    This close to the river, the abundance of vegetation, some without the spines that so plagued me throughout the day. Looking at the height of the sun, and the oppressive heat surrounding me, I decided it was time to find a relatively cool hiding place and wait for the evening when the temperature would start to drop.


    I climbed out of the river, freshly filled skin in hand and started looking down stream for a shady and out of the way place to hide myself. About a mile downstream I practically stumbled across what looked like the perfect place. A short bluff, maybe five feet higher than the bank of the river had been undercut, probably when the river was higher at one time. There was a convenient bush blocking most of the small cave like depression. It was just big enough for me to curl up behind the bush with some overhead shelter to keep the sun directly off of me. The wind was even cooled a bit running over the water. this spot is as close to perfect as I could find, I thought as I crawled in. once I was inside I could barely see beyond the bush, so feeling more secure than I have all day, I curled my exhausted body up in a ball and tried to get some rest.


    Once I grew accustomed to the sounds around me, I was able to start to drift off to sleep. Right on the cusp of sleep, a new sound caused me to jerk back awake. A series of dull thuds, and a few snorts, some rustling, clucks and hoots, and some jingling of metal bits, I knew those sounds, at least one horse and some of those mean looking riding birds, what were they called? Keltan, kelensin¡­something like that. What should I do, they weren¡¯t from the sailors, they didn¡¯t have any horses. If I went out there to meet these travelers they might be able to help me. Yeah they could help me, but with the slave collar around my neck, they would either turn me in as a runaway slave for the standing reward, or just keep me for themselves. As the sounds of the riders drew closer I heard the voices of men talking quietly, I heard their voices but with the river flowing so close by I couldn¡¯t make out what they said. After a moment they stopped, and I heard the screech of a bird just outside of my hiding place, and I saw the flash of red dart on the other side of the brush concealing me.


    ¡°Boy, we know you are in there. We are not going to hurt you.¡± I heard a deep and melodic voice call out in a stern tone. He sounded like he was used to being obeyed instantly and without hesitation. ¡°Come on out, we have been looking for you.¡±


    What was I going to do, what could I do? I didn¡¯t have anywhere to go, and they could get to me hear with little effort. With a deep breath I took ahold of myself and carefully crawled out of the overhang. Once I climbed out and stood up, it took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the brightness. Once I could see clearly I saw the three men sitting astride huge flightless birds with boxlike heads and cruelly hooked beaks that could take my head off in one bite, with a horse on a lead rope. As I took into the details, I saw the reds oranges and yellows of the robes the men wore, patterned to look like flames as they billowed in the wind. Priests! Looking for me! I felt my throat clench in fear, and my body tensed up and I shivered in the noonday heat.


    ¡°Calm yourself boy, no one here is going to hurt you. In fact we are here to help you.¡± The man in the lead paused and looked me up and down, taking in my ragged dress and unkempt hair; his eyes paused on my slave collar. ¡°You will be well fed, well clothed, and you will no longer be a slave if you come with us. What is your name boy?¡±


    I just stared at him. My worst fears came to life. My mouth dropped open, a cold hard lump descended into my stomach; my heart felt like it was trying to burst from my chest it was beating so hard.


    ¡°What is wrong child, cat got your tongue?¡±


    Cat! That word got my brain working again, the cold knot in my stomach started to burn instead. If I¡¯m to save Cat, I need to get the collar off my neck. These men will probably be easier to escape once I get back to the city, at least if what they say is true, I won¡¯t be locked up again. I throttled my fear, looked him straight in the eyes For Cat I will go with the men who destroyed my home and killed my parents. I thought as I answered the man ¡°I, I¡¯m Roach¡±


    With a hint of humor in his voice he said ¡°Roach? That is no name for a new Acolyte. What is your birth name?¡±


    They don¡¯t know who I am, why were they looking for me? Acolyte? Why do they think I want to join their murderous order? If I told them my name, would it mean anything to them? I was so confused. I thought they were after me because I was a loose end, they killed my parents and wanted me dead too. At least that¡¯s what I always thought. If they weren¡¯t hunting me for that, I suppose it wouldn¡¯t hurt to give them my real name, I¡¯ll just give them my first name to be safe. ¡°I¡¯m Irnoc, just Irnoc¡±


    ¡°Any family name Just Irnoc?


    ¡°No, I grew up on the streets, most of the time they just called me roach.¡± My voice steadied and I stood straighter as they showed no recognition to my name. My legs still shook a bit as they stared at me, but I thought I hid it well.


    ¡°Well Irnoc, boy from the streets I am High Priest Asad, it is well past time to be going. We have ten leagues to travel to get to the city. Can you ride? No of course not, you grew up on the streets, you will learn as we go, Fakhir help the boy mount¡±


    One of the men behind Asad dismounted gracefully and brought the extra mount forward and said in a kindly voice ¡°here child ill boost you to the saddle¡± he took me by the waist, and as though I weighed nothing at all, he lifted me high up and set me in the saddle. He then proceeded to shorten the leather strips to either side with a loop and a metal bar at the end. ¡°Put your feet in the stirrups, it might not be the most comfortable with no boots on, but you will be better balanced and have a more comfortable ride in the long run.¡± I did as he said, the hot metal felt like a glowing iron for a moment, but I got used to it quickly, it was only a little warmer than the ground I stood on.


    One I was settled in the saddle, Asad looked around and said ¡°Brothers Fakhir and Nadim take up the rear, and keep an eye on our new soon to be acolyte, wouldn¡¯t want him falling off his horse and getting lost¡± this last bit he said looking straight at me, he had a hard glint in his eye.


    Could he read my mind? I thought. No that¡¯s impossible; if he could read my mind I would probably be dead already, like my parents.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get moving, I¡¯m sure Irnoc can¡¯t wait to get to the temple and get that iron collar removed¡± Asad added with a small smile on his face.


    Fakhir and Nadim took up position behind and to either side of me, and Asad led the party, he turned his mount to face the west and started riding back to Hasna¡¯Farid, my horse followed behind at an easy pace, they must have given me a docile mount, assuming I couldn¡¯t ride. I was glad; it was rather odd to be on a living creature, this high above the ground and it moving on its own. I was used to being high up, climbing walls and walking the roofs, but this was different, those walls and roofs didn¡¯t move while you were on them. I took a deep breath, gripped the ridge in front of me and tried to maintain my balance as the horse walked on.


    The entire way back, no one spoke another word not even when we stopped to rest the horse and the birds and let them drink from the river. We didn¡¯t even dismount when we watered the mounts, the priests just passed around a water skin and gave me a bit of dried meat and a tough flat round of bread. The meager food didn¡¯t bother me; I ate it happily after all I¡¯ve eaten far worse.


    By the time we reached the city once more I was exhausted. But it was a beautiful sight, the sun setting behind the city; the glitter and sparkle of the gold and marble on the heights like stars come to earth until the sun fell below the buildings, leaving them in dark relief.

 Chapter 8

    Chapter 8


    Irnoc


    Soft, I was enveloped in softness like clouds pressing all around me. The surface I lay on gave gently underneath me. My head was propped up on more softness and I was covered in softness. Where am I? I haven¡¯t felt this comfortable since I was a boy. Faded images of my mother tucking me into my bed, of my father reading to me as I drifted off to sleep drifted through my mind. Tears leaked through my closed eyes as I remembered the warmth and love my parents gave me. their features were blurry, but the memory gilded them in a soft golden glow. I missed them so much; it was so hard surviving on the streets, with no one to take care of me, no one to help me except for Cat.


    The thought of Cat shot through my mind and brought me fully awake. I opened my eyes but otherwise kept very still. The room was fairly dark, just the hint of morning light turned the room from complete darkness to shades of grey. I focused on my hearing, what started off as silence and a ringing in my ears slowly shifted. I started to pick up other sounds surrounding me. the light shifting of cloth, creaks of rope, and deep breathing told me I wasn¡¯t the only one sleeping in this room.


    The chaotic and danger filled events of the previous day gradually filtered into my mind as I remembered where I was and how I got here. I remembered being brought through the city to the Temple of Corana. The evening rites were underway, I had been exhausted from the day¡¯s events, as were the men who had been sent to bring me in. I was brought to the Acolyte dormitory, given a plain pastel robe to put on in the morning and told to get some sleep and that in the morning I would be summoned to the Assayer of Affinities, whatever that is, and my fate will be decided. I didn¡¯t particularly care for that phrasing, but if it got the collar off my neck and gave me the opportunity to get away and find Cat, I¡¯ll go along for now.


    A short time after I awoke a deep reverberating gong resounded from deep within the temple, a sliver of sunlight broke over the horizon and the rooms occupants stirred. Nearly a dozen boys ranging from a few years younger to a few years older that myself groggily rose from their beds, cleaned their faces in the wash bins on the other side of the long but narrow dormitory. After washing they pulled off their sleeping gowns and pulled on plain pastel red robes, the same as the one I was given the night previously.  Not knowing what else to do, I followed suit, washing my face and hands then pulling on my own robe, the weight of my collar still dragging on my neck. The robe was soft and clean, I had forgotten how that feels.


    Several of the boys glanced at me with quizzical looks on their faces, but didn¡¯t say anything to me, though I did hear a few talking amongst themselves something about a test they had in lessons later today. I shook my head in bemusement, the worry one of them had over something as simple as a test in lessons. They seemed to be on their way to breakfast, one of the younger boys, rather gangly looking was complaining over being hungry he was probably in the middle of a growth spirt and managed to trip over absolutely nothing before scrambling to his feet, face a bit red from the embarrassment when one of the older boys chuckled.


    They all left, walking in single file. Since no one had come to take me to this Assayer person, I decided to follow these boys. Might as well try to get a meal out of this place before I needed to cut and run. They walked out of the dormitory and through a couple halls and into a large dining room. The room had a stained glass dome, depicting Corana as a Phoenix, as a beautiful woman and the sun itself, each covering a third of the dome. The light from the dome cast itself onto a series of long tables with benches. The men and women seemed to be grouped by the color of their robes, the palest on one side of the room to the darkest and more fire like on the other.


    The dozen or so boys I walked with sat at the table to the farthest left, boys and girls in pastel reds sat at this table. The nice and neat line of boys broke apart and they sought out friends to sit with, and the table mixed even further. I saw an open seat at the end of the table, a quiet looking girl with spectacles on sat on the other side, completely focused on her bowl of porridge and mug of goats milk.


    Servants walked the tables, bringing laden bowls of porridge and mugs of milk to the new comers. When I sat down a servant brought one for me as well. It looked like standard porridge, some kind of ground and boiled grain, but it also contained bits of dried fruit and a clear yellow syrupy substance on top. I picked up a spoon from the table and gingerly tasted this substance. It had a rich sweet taste that I liked. I stirred the contents of the bowl and tasted it; it was the best porridge I could remember ever having. I ate quickly, keeping my arm curved around the bowl protectively, something this good had to be kept safe and eaten quickly before anyone else had the chance to take it from you. I then downed the milk, it was sweet and clean tasting, nicely chilled and refreshing. A perfect accompaniment to the filling and wholesome breakfast these soft priest types seemed to enjoy on a regular basis.


    My stomach satisfied I looked up and around, most of the people were talking amongst themselves, and almost all of them were still eating, taking their time over their meal. They probably never had to fight for food, lounging over a meal like that. I thought with a derisive snort. These soft bastards wouldn¡¯t last a day on the streets. They aren¡¯t as fearsome as I thought, they aren¡¯t hunting me. I¡¯ve been afraid all this time for nothing. The old sense of dread at seeing these robed men, after eight years started to ebb from me, a small coal of anger started to take its place, they may not be after me, but they still killed my mum and dad. Somehow some way I will make them pay, but first Cat. Looking around some more, this time with an eye to sneak away I noticed another servant, this one a very young boy of maybe eight or so years, walking directly towards me.


    Once the servant reached me he looked at me and asked ¡°Are you Irnoc?¡±


    Looking him over I replied in a cool level tone ¡°Yes, I am Irnoc. Are you here to take me to this Assayer person?¡±


    He blinked for a moment then replied ¡°um, yes I am here to escort you to the Assayer of Affinities. If you are ready please follow me.¡±


    I stood from my bench and followed this young boy to see what fate apparently had instore for me.


    I was guided through several more corridors, decorations becoming less opulent and more utilitarian as we went deeper into the heart of the temple. This became more apparent as we descended several levels into the temples basement. The entire way I was memorizing landmarks and turns. You don¡¯t survive in the warrens without learning to retrace your steps.


    ¡°What is the Assayer of Affinities?¡± I asked my guide.


    The boy didn¡¯t answer, just kept his head bowed slightly as he walked.


    ¡°What is your name?¡±


    No answer


    ¡°I know you possess a tongue, you spoke to me in the dining hall. What gives?¡± I asked, trying to get some answer out of him. But alas, once again there was no reply, though he did quicken his steps slightly. Apparently there is either a prohibition on speaking in the halls, or more likely those sent to the Assayer person aren¡¯t allowed any answers.


    After a couple minutes of walking in silence, the boy¡¯s shoulders relaxed a bit and his walk became a bit more natural. I will just have to watch and see what comes next; perhaps this Assayer person will answer me, if he isn¡¯t conditionally mute too. I thought with a bit of sarcasm.


    We came to a stop in front of heavy wooden double doors, a golden sunburst was emblazed upon it, and it was surrounded by five other symbols; a brownish stone shaped like a mountain peak, a blue stone shaped like a cresting wave, a clear stone carved in whirls that I guessed was meant to be the wind, a ring of gold and a circle of what looked like onyx. Even I knew these represented the six elements, each belonging to one of the gods.


    Curiously I stepped towards the door; I felt the floor shift almost imperceptibly and heard a small gong sound as the doors slowly swung open, supposedly by themselves. I smirked a little, I knew this trick. Cunningly pulled off, but I knew it was simply a pressure plate and counterweights. The best I have seen, but still an old trick.


    I looked back at my guide, but he was already darting around the last corner we came by. I only just barely saw the edge of his robe flutter out of sight. He¡¯s a quick one, just not quite quick enough I thought as I silently chuckled. The old disappearing guide trick, the guide suddenly disappears while the guided is distracted by the doors and gong. Supposed to add to the mystery I guess. I shook my head and boldly strode into the room, as I crossed the threshold the dark room bloomed in light as torches lining the chambers walls lit up all at once.


    I blinked once at the sudden glare, it wasn¡¯t too bad. The hall was moderately lit so my eyes weren¡¯t adjusted much to the darkness. At first glance the room was fairly bare, no furniture, murals of the six gods decorated the walls, lit well by the dozen or so torches in the room. Glancing around I noticed a lot of glitter and shine coming off the floor. On closer inspection, there was a large ring on the floor made of silver by the looks of it, at least two fingers wide and filled half of the room, it was easily five or six paces across.  Within the circle lay a six pointed star each point sharp and just barely touching the outer ring, it looked like it was made of copper or bronze or something of similar hue.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    The real eye catcher was the crystal inlays. Each crystal inlay was a large triangle filling one of the six points, each matched the colors associated with each of the gods, ruby, dark blue sapphire, pale blue sapphire, a golden citrine, some kind of clear brown crystal and a very dark crystal ,probably a dark smoky quartz. I wasn¡¯t sure I was right on most of the crystals but each was smooth and rose about an inch from the floor, and was at least a pace wide for each of them. They were huge and all once piece, not many set close together. Even the least valuable of these stones would be worth vast amounts of gold. There was more wealth in this one room than most of the population of the Warrens would ever see.


    There was another smaller silver ring in the center of the star, maybe a pace and a half wide. Outside that inner ring; in a variety of metals including copper, gold, silver, and many other metals, lay strange symbols and geometric lines, swirls and strange lettering in a language I didn¡¯t recognize, I didn¡¯t even recognize the alphabet.  All together it shimmered and practically glowed in the torchlight.


    ¡°It¡¯s quite a beautiful sight isn¡¯t it¡± a voice said from behind me.


    I spun around and dropped into a crouch, my hand reaching at my belt for a blade that was no longer there. In the doorway stood an old man; He had a long beard that fanned out over his chest, his loose robes didn¡¯t hide his thin limbs and narrow chest. He stood with a slight stoop in his back, and had crystal half-moon lenses in a wire frame perched on his long thin nose. He wore dark red robes that seemed to shimmer, like the red light in a deeply glowing coal.


    ¡°Sorry for startling you young man, first sight of this room is always captivating to the new initiates. That¡¯s why I always prefer the boys and girls who are sent to me, to come to this room alone, so they can take it all in.¡± the old man had a kindly voice and his eyes sparkled with enjoyment at the breath taking room and my reaction to it. I didn¡¯t say anything in reply, it didn¡¯t seem like any reply was needed. I just slowly rose from my defensive crouch and looked him in the eyes.


    The old man smiled at me and then slowly walked into the room. ¡°Are you ready to see what destiny awaits you my boy?¡± he asked when he stood right in front of me. I had walked further than I realized into the room as in inspected the strange design on the floor.


    ¡°What do you mean by my destiny? Why was I brought here and when do I get this bloody collar off my neck.¡± I demanded.


    ¡°Patience young man, patience. All will be made clear to you. I will answer all the questions I can. To your first question, you are here to be tested to find which of the gods or goddesses you are most attuned to. This will tell us which temple you truly belong to¡± he told me in a mildly lecturing tone.


    ¡°Attuned to? What does that mean, and why do I need this test. And by the way, who are you?¡± I interrupted


    ¡°Patience, I was getting to that. My name is Kadeem, High Priest and the Assayer of Affinities. We believe you are one of the rare individuals who possess a stronger than normal connection to the gods and the realms they rule. This special connection is granted by the gods themselves, and lets us call upon their servants in times of need, and those servants will perform miracles for us.¡± He took a breath and continued ¡°you will be taught how to call upon these divine beings later during lessons and also you will be taught our history and many other subjects that will aid you in performing duties to the temples and the gods. We will go into those later, for now we must find where your affinities lay.¡± And with that he gestured to the inner circle and said ¡°if you would please, step within the inner ring.¡±


    I shook my head, confused. Gods, realms, divine servants, miracles, none of this makes any sense. ¡°I think you must be mistaken, I don¡¯t know anything about these things. All I care about is getting this thrice damned collar off my neck so I can find Cat. She is in danger and I must find her¡± I was rather intense when I mentioned Cat.


    The old man blinked at my intensity glanced past me for a moment, brought his eyes back to me and asked ¡°Is this cat a pet of yours?¡± he seemed a bit confused


    ¡°No, she is a girl I know. She was taken and I must find her. I NEED to find her NOW.¡±


    ¡°Settle down, settle down. Do you know where she is? No of course not, otherwise you wouldn¡¯t need to find her. The best way you can help her, or help anyone is learning your gift, and having one of the gods at your side. Many things are possible when they walk with you and grant you their strength.¡±


    I must have looked about ready to object when he said in a stern tone ¡°please get in the Circle, once we find your affinity, you can have that ring removed. With some training and if the high priests decide that it is important enough, they may help you find your friend. But first this step must be made.¡± He gave me a brief nudge towards the inner ring.


    I took a deep breath. Arguing at this point won¡¯t help Cat, I need to lose the collar or I won¡¯t be able to find her anyways. Taking another deep breath, I stepped into the circle, avoiding stepping on the crystal inlays, and stopped within the inner ring. ¡°Ok, now what¡± I asked.


    The old man waved his hand at the torches around the room. All but two of them went out; both lit torches were mounted by the now closed doors. He then bowed his head and began a singsong chant I couldn¡¯t understand. It sounded like part song and part prayer.


    For several minutes nothing seemed to happen, and then a strange vibration started to fill the room. I couldn¡¯t hear it but I could feel it resonating in my chest and felt it in the floor through my feet. The vibration seemed to grow stronger and the very air seemed to vibrate, then the vibration changed pitch, it seemed to gradually rise and fall in intensity changing its pitch all the while. I looked at the man in concern, but his eyes were closed and he seemed oblivious, too wrapped up in his sing song chant.


    I looked down and saw that the symbols and designs in the floor began to glow. The glow changed with the intensity and the pitch of the vibration. Gradually all the symbols, the lines and the strange words were all glowing with some kind of power. The old man¡¯s chanting reached a fever pitch and the vibrations were so high I couldn¡¯t hear them again, but still felt them. It put my teeth on edge. Then between one moment and the next, it all just stopped. The chanting, the vibrations and the glowing lines in the floor. My head swam a bit in disorientation, then faintly at first the crystal panels in the floor began to glimmer. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me at first, but as I looked all around me, the glimmer grew and they all attained a steady glow. Their multiple colors gave eerie life to the portrayals on the walls, causing them to shimmer and dance as though the images were moving on their own.


    I looked at the old man in confusion, hoping he would tell me what this all meant. His eyes were as round as cart wheels. In the light of the glowing crystals his face still looked grey, and his hands were shaking. Gradually the glow dimmed back to a shimmer, then that shimmer faded entirely. We were left in the faint illumination of the two burning torches.


    ¡°Corana¡¯s blessing, it can¡¯t be.¡± The old man whispered to himself ¡°three hundred years of waiting, Kinathe¡¯s blood returned at last.¡± He shuddered and took a deep breath, and then he took another. I could see he was still shaking. He looked at me, wonder filled his eyes ¡°my boy, do you have any idea what this means?¡±


    I looked back at him ¡°I have no bloody idea, what was all that. The vibrations, the glowing lines, the glowing crystals. What in the abyss is all this?¡±


    ¡°My boy, it has been nearly three hundred years since one such as you walked this earth. You are truly blessed by the gods. Not just one god, but all the gods and goddesses. You are attuned to each and every Plane of Divinity. It was said you would come, but never. I never expected it to occur in my life time.¡± His eyes snapped back into focus and his tone turned from that of wonder to that of grim determination. ¡°I must tell the order, they must know immediately.¡±


    ¡°Order, what order? What are you rambling on about old man?¡± I asked with a touch of impatience ¡°what do you mean by ¡®All the Planes of Divinity¡¯ what is this nonsense.¡±


    Taking another deep breath he said ¡°Each priest, of each temple is a Caller. We can call upon the servants of the gods. Each person is attuned to one of the six Planes of Divinity, the realms where each of the gods dwell. On very rare occurrences an individual might have a minor affinity with a second plane, but it is a very minor affinity and isn¡¯t trained. We are trained and belong to the temple of the god or goddess that matches our affinity. For example, every priest of Corana is attuned to her Plane of Divinity, and all her servants embody fire on one way or another. It is her element and what we are blessed with. Instead of you being attuned to one of these planes, or even the rare second plane, you are attuned to each and every one equally.¡±


    ¡°You are telling me, I can whistle up a variety of elemental servants? These things will come at my beck and call?¡± if this was true, it could be useful in rescuing Cat I thought.


    ¡°Yes, if you want to boil it down that far. But you will need training to do it consciously instead of as a reaction to danger or similar circumstance. You¡¯re arrival was foretold nearly 300 years ago, by your predecessor. You are going to save the world my boy, it is your destiny.¡± He paused for a moment, apparently having a thought, ¡°but you are in danger, so very much danger. There are many within the temples that would kill you outright for being what you are. They fear the changes you will bring, an end to their corrupt ways.¡±


    ¡°But¡­ What... Danger?¡± I stammered, not making much sense out of all that he said.


    ¡°I must tell the order immediately; you must not let anyone know of this. I will let them know you are attuned to Corana, that would be safest.¡±


    ¡°I still don¡¯t know what you are talking about old man, what all this means.¡± I asked impatiently


    ¡°There is no time right now, for now all you need to do is attend lessons like everyone else, you will start to learn how to call on Corana¡¯s servants, and other lessons. Don¡¯t call on any other gods servants here, it will give you away and could get you killed. In a few days I will come to you and bring you to the order, and all will be explained to your satisfaction then.¡± He said emphatically


    ¡°I can¡¯t wait a few day, cat needs me now.¡± I cried out.


    ¡°What happened to this friend of yours? If you tell me everything, I can get the order to look for her while you learn to harness your abilities.¡± He compromised.


    Taking a deep breath I looked at him. ¡°Fine, I will give you a few days. Then I¡¯m out of here regardless.¡± The old man nodded and I told him everything that happened in the last few days, the short version.


    ¡°So you think she was sold into slavery like you were, but instead of being sold as a mine slave, you think she was sold to a brothel or similar place.¡± He summarized


    ¡°Yes, I need to find her; she would rather die than be forced into that trade.¡±


    ¡°Very Well. I will make inquiries based on your description, and find out who bought her and where they took her. This might take some time anyways, so use it wisely and learn what you can. The Order has resources and contacts you won¡¯t have on the street. We can help you, if you are willing to help us.¡±


    ¡°Help you with what?¡± I asked suspiciously.


    ¡°The Leader of our order will explain everything to you once you are brought to him. All your questions will be answered and we will give you what information is available about your friend then as well. Also, I¡¯m sure you realized, but the existence of the Order is secret, so your discretion is needed, more than your own life may depend on it staying secret.¡±


    Feeling like I was about to be set up, but with no other real option available to me I agreed and was taken back to the dormitory section of the temple to have my new lessons arraigned.

 Chapter 9

    Chapter 9


    Cat


    The trip to Lundness was fairly uneventful. Aside from feeding, and the removal of waste, the crew had next to no contact with the slaves. There was only one incident the first night of the voyage. A large brutish looking sailor somehow acquired the key to the cell the slaves stayed in. he tried to have his way with one of the women chained in the cell, fortunately for her and quite possibly for Cat and the rest, he was stopped. Mr. Elmersson came up from behind the brute and bashed him on the side of his head with an iron banded club with a dull thwack and a slight cracking noise while he was distracted with pinning the poor woman down and forcing rough unwashed kisses on the crying slave. He crashed to the floor beside the slave, knocked out, bleeding, and possibly with his skull cracked.  With relative ease, given that Elmersson wasn¡¯t very bulky with muscle, he dragged the brute out of the cell, landed a hard kick in the brute¡¯s ribs and we heard a loud cracking sound like the breaking of a branch.


    Once Elmersson assured himself that the woman was unharmed, he locked the cage door again. After leaving and coming back with the captain and several sailors, the sailors dragged the brute¡¯s limp body up the ladder to the upper deck and we heard a loud splash a short while over.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry about that Mr. Elmersson; you paid extra for the security of your goods. With Clive thrown overboard, knocked out like he was, I am sure that will send a strong message to the rest of my crew that these are not to be touched.¡± The captain said with a slight bow.


    ¡°Good, if they didn¡¯t get the message this time, the next lesson will be sharper. Make no doubt about that my good captain. This cargo is far too valuable to be spoiled by the likes of your men.¡± Elmersson replied, a hard and dangerous tone in his voice.


    Apparently the rest of the crew got the message the first time around. They didn¡¯t even dare to glance at the slaves, just did their jobs and left quickly.


    The remaining four days went by smoothly, only had to deal with a couple minor squalls, and a bit of rough seas. Most of the sea sickness the slaves suffered passed after a couple days in the open sea, and became relatively pleasant given the bondage we all suffered.


    Late I the afternoon of the fifth day of the voyage, Cat heard one of the crew call ¡°PORT HO¡± and knew the voyage was at its end, and the real trials were to begin. A candle mark or so after the call there was a fairly soft thump as the ship reached the dock. It wasn¡¯t as loud as Cat expected, the wood of the ship striking the wood of the dock. The ship lurched with its stop, and Elmersson came down to the hold with his men and looked the slaves over.


    ¡°Welcome to your new home¡± he said. ¡°Stand quietly next to your hammock. The same rules apply leaving as arriving. It¡¯s not too late for everyone to be punished for one stupid desperate dash for freedom.¡± Cat and the others quietly stood next to their hammocks as instructed. He eyed them for a moment then opened the door and strode in with one of his men. They strung all the slaves to each other¡¯s collars again and escorted them out into the late afternoon sun, the first they had seen in nearly a week. The slaves all stumbled for a few feet, blinking away tears from the bright light and trying to get their eyes to adjust.


    The smell of the dockside permeated the air. The scent of pitch mixed with the salty air and the stench of rotting fish filled Cat¡¯s nose as her eyes adjusted to the relatively bright light of the late afternoon. She could hear the snapping of canvas, the humming of tight ropes vibrating in the air, the creaking of wood and the gentile lapping of water against wood and stone mix with shouting men, bawling animals being brought on or off of the many ships docked. Gradually Cats eyes adjusted and her eyes confirmed what her other senses detected already. The dockyard was filled by men of various dress and features, though tall broad men with blond hair and shaggy beards seemed to dominate the crowd.


    The slaves were escorted off of the ship and down the dock towards the city. With one exception they all walked with their heads bowed, resigned to their fate. Cat kept her head up and watched the world around here. Despite her situation she couldn¡¯t help but wonder at her new surroundings. The air felt soft and cool as a gentle breeze caressed her face, the strangely cut and heavier clothing was new to her. Different accents than what she grew up with filled her ears with its odd lilting sounds. The buildings they walked past weren¡¯t built primarily of stone either; it seemed to be all planks and logs with green grass covering the steeply angled rooftops, some going all the way to the ground. Most buildings were long and had a single story, though some did have two. It left the impression of walking between sharp green hills surrounded by hairy giants.


    Each time the slaves were brought before one of the buildings with lanterns with red tinted glass Mr. Elmersson would go in while his men stood guard over the slaves. He would always return with a richly dressed man or woman, the owner of the brothels Cat could only assume. Several of the slaves would be selected and a heavy pouch, probably full of gold and silver, would be passed into Elmersson¡¯s hands and the remaining slaves would be brought along to the next. By the time they reached the third place, there were only two slaves left, Cat and the girl who was only a few years older, the youngest two slaves out of the bunch.


    Cat shivered when the Owner was brought out. It was a fairly rotund man in his late middle age, his long blond hair receding from his brow leaving a shiny patch of skin. He eyed the two girls, naked greed filling his eyes as he looked them up and down. After our cursory examination, he looked at Mr. Elmersson and asked ¡°They are virginal right; you personally guarantee that they have not been taken yet?¡±


    ¡°Yes Bjorn, each one has been certified by a physician prior to being sold, here are their papers signed by the physicians. Can¡¯t get a better guarantee than that.¡± Mr. Elmersson replied, handing Bjorn a couple pages rolled into a tube and tied with a ribbon.


    Bjorn looked over the papers briefly and smiled at Elmersson ¡°Yes this will do nicely; I have just the clients for these two. They have been inquiring about the next shipment of fresh young girls. This will satisfy them greatly.¡±  As Bjorn said this he handed over a larger bag than Elmersson had received yet.


    Elmersson tucked away the bag and said to Bjorn ¡°I must warn you though; this smallest one is quite fierce for such a small girl.¡± He raised his still bandaged hand ¡°this little kitty has sharp teeth¡±


    With an evil grin Bjorn replied ¡°all the better, Leif likes the ones with spirit. He enjoys breaking them to the bit.¡±


    With a slight bow Elmersson had his men hand over the lead chain to one of Bjorn¡¯s men and walked away with a satisfied smile on his face.


    If I ever see that man again, I¡¯m going to rip off his sac and shove it down his throat Cat thought to herself as she was brought inside along with the other girl. The main room had the feel of a tavern. The air smelled smoky from pipes being smoked, the scent of spilled mead and ale permeated the atmosphere. Scantily clad women danced on an elevated stage to the music played by a small group of minstrels, several other women sat on the laps of hairy men, laughing as they were being fondled while the men drank.  Cat shuddered as she was walked through the stench and chaotic mess of the tavern area. She was escorted down a long hall full of doors, grunts and moans coming from behind many of them.


    At the end of the hall, the guard took the other girl into one of the doors, and Bjorn took Cat¡¯s Chain and brought her into the other room. The room was fairly bare, a single bed, and a lamp mounted to the wall was all that decorated the room. The floor was hard packed dirt, and there wasn¡¯t a single window in the room. The only thing on the wall aside from the lamp was a large hooked latch. Bjorn took the end of Cats chain and slipped the last link onto the hook, closed the latch and snapped on a lock, ensuring there would be no easy way to detach it.


    ¡°This is your new home girl, heh girl, you¡¯ll be a woman soon¡± Bjorn said with an evil chuckle. ¡°Do as you¡¯re told and you will live well here. Behave well enough and I might even take you off the chain.¡±


    There was a soft knock on the door, and Bjorn opened it. An older woman, hair stringy and looking a bit haggard held out a white shift to him ¡°the shift as you ordered sir¡± the woman said.


    ¡°Good, now get back to work, I want those rooms cleaned as soon as each customer is finished.¡± He told the woman, and then turned back to Cat. ¡°You will wear this, my best customer likes fresh girls in white, and you will satisfy him and you may even enjoy it.¡±


    ¡°I WONT BE YOUR WHORE!¡± Cat screamed at him. She tugged hard on the chain, but there was no give.


    ¡°Elmersson said you had spirit, glad to see he was right. You will do as you are told, I own you now. I could beat you, starve you, abyss, I could even kill you and no one would give a damn.¡± Bjorn told Cat, there was a hard edge to his tone. ¡°I spent good gold on you, you will earn every copper penny of it back for me and more beside, and else I¡¯ll take every coin out of your hide. I know men who would pay me for the privilege of taking it out of your hide. That is the only choice you have left for you, to pleasure my customers on your back, or pleasure my other customers in other ways.¡±The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Cat said nothing, just glared at him. Bjorn tossed the shift onto the mattress and said ¡°Put that on, or I will put it on you. Leif will likely wish to see you tonight once I send a runner to inform him. You will be ready to receive him when he gets here.¡± That last was said in a tone that brooked no nonsense.


    Cat nodded slowly anything to get him out of here she thought once he leaves I¡¯ll find a way out of this pit.


    Seeing that Cat was going to cooperate, Bjorn left the room and proceeded to send off a messenger to let the Jarl¡¯s heir know about the new gem of a girl.


    Once Bjorn left the room, Cat searched frantically for anything that could be used to help her escape. She had enough slack on the chain to reach every part of the room except the door; it was a rather small room. She looked under the bed, saw it was just a wooden frame and knotted rope holding up the mattress which was simply canvas stuffed with straw. The straw smelled fresh at least.


    After an exhaustive search of the room, which didn¡¯t exactly take very long. The room was truly bare, the walls were solid, and the lamp was firmly attached and was one solid piece, with a burning wick protruding from a mostly enclosed bowl of rendered fat. No glass to be broken and used as a weapon, nothing useful to get away.


    Hopelessness filled Cat; tears began to leak from her eyes. There was no way to fight back and no way to escape. For the first time, after being captured, sold and the long ship voyage, Cat¡¯s determination to escape, escaped her. She slumped onto the bed and wept quietly, the one thing she swore she would never become since her parents were sold into slavery by that bastard Bashhar. Cat knew what happened to prostitutes eventually; open weeping sores, yellowed skin and other sickness and usually an early grave. It¡¯s a painful and degrading existence that no one wants but many are forced to it. For some it¡¯s better than starving, but Cat learned skills to keep her fed and a rood overhead. She swore to herself, and in front of Irnoc that she would never end up on her back to survive. Irnoc, what happened to Irnoc? Did he even survive? Cat¡¯s heart felt another pang at the thought of Irnoc, he was her best friend and she dragged him into robing Bashhar¡¯s home. It¡¯s all my fault.


    Sometime later, while Cat continued to silently weep and sink further into despair, there was a soft knock on the door. The door slowly opened, and in the doorway stood the same older woman from earlier. ¡°Oh my poor dear child¡± she said and slowly walked into the room and sat down next to Cat. For the first time Cat noticed the iron collar around the woman¡¯s throat. She wrapped her arms around Cat and pulled her in close, softly stroking Cat¡¯s hair as cat turned her face to the woman¡¯s bosom and cried harder.


    ¡°I know you are afraid, it¡¯s not the life any of us choose, but there are worse places to end up. It¡¯s not too bad here, once you get used to it.¡± She pulled a cloth from her pocket and wiped Cat¡¯s face. ¡°Come now let¡¯s get you cleaned up and changed. Once the first time is over, you become numb to it. No need to suffer any more than you must.¡± She gently helped Cat out of her ragged sackcloth dress and helped cat step into the shift and did up the few buttons below the collar. Cat did as she was directed, feeling numb and lifeless. ¡°There you go child, just lay down for a bit and get some rest, it¡¯s been a hard day for you I know.¡±


    Cat didn¡¯t say anything; she just curled up on the bed, not even bothering to pull the blanket over herself. The woman looked at Cat for a while, sighed deeply and left the room slowly, pausing at the door to look back on the little girl, barely remembering when she was first brought in as a young and innocent slave girl, a score or so years previously. With another deep sigh and a tear trickling from the corner of one eye. She opened the door and stepped out, closing the door gently behind her.


    Cat didn¡¯t know how long she lay there curled in a ball, gradually the tears slowed and eventually stopped. She felt drained of all feeling, cold and numb. Gradually thoughts began filtering through the fog of despair that filled her mind. What am I going to do? How can I get out of this? They can¡¯t keep me chained in here forever. Now that she could start to think clearly she began pondering her situation. Taking a deep breath she thought I can survive this, it may not be what I want and would rather do anything else, but I can survive it. Sooner or later they will relax their guard and won¡¯t keep me chained. I can watch and learn about this area. I can use all the information I can gain to get away from here. I CAN SURVIVE!


    Feeling determination begin to fill her once again, Cat sat up and squared her shoulders. She ran her fingers through her hair, trying to tidy it up a bit. If I¡¯m going to do this I will do it right, they must think I am submitting and will give no trouble. If I don¡¯t resist, they won¡¯t need to keep me bound so closely. Cat thought, bolstering her determination as much as possible. After straitening her hair as much as she could Cat brought her hands before her and noticed the tremor in them and closed them into fists. I have to do this, and with a deep breath settled in to wait.


    Cat didn¡¯t have long to wait, perhaps a quarter of a candle mark later Bjorn opened the door and looked in ¡°Good you are ready¡± he said when he saw Cat sitting on the bed, wearing the white shift. Bjorn opened the door the rest of the way and bowed in a tall man with fine golden hair flowing down to his shoulders in waves. He had a sharp wedge of a nose and icy blue eyes filled with lust as he took in the sight of Cat.


    In a deep baritone voice he spoke to Bjorn ¡°yes she is a fine creature, I shall enjoy her greatly.¡± His voice had an odd lilting melody to it, starting higher and dropping lower in tone as he finished speaking. He then handed Bjorn two gold marks with a dark smile spreading across his face.


    Bjorn made the coins disappear deftly and with another short bow left the room and closed the door behind him.


    ¡°Stand up girl, I want to see you fully¡± He said to Cat.


    Taking a deep breath, Cat did as she was told, stood up and stepped away from the bed. She stood before him, keeping her eyes down cast.


    Leif walked around Cat, she could feel his eyes scouring her body. As he stepped over the chain, which was long enough in this small space to lie on the floor, Cat was tempted to jerk forward, and catching him in the crotch with it. But that would do her no good and only get her beaten or worse.  Cat shuddered as he ran his fingers through her hair, leaned forward and inhaled deeply through his nose. He let out a satisfied sigh that made Cats skin felt like it was going to crawl off her bones and hide under the bed.


    Standing before Cat once again, using only the tips of his fingers, he lifted Cats Chin up and stares into her eyes, searching for she knew not what. He smiled at her and hooked his fingers into the collar of her shift. With a sharp motion he jerked his hands out to the side, popping the buttons on the front and splitting it down the seam. The shift fluttered to the floor to end in a puddle of cloth at her feet. She stood there bare to the skin except for the iron collar around her neck and the chain attached to the wall. Cat shivered and cringed in a bit, her legs tighter together and her shoulders hunched forward a bit.


    ¡°None of that¡± his tone turned harsh and Cat felt the world tilt on her. Everything turned sideways and she was lying across the bed. Her cheek stung fiercely and tears sprang unbidden to her eyes.


    The bed shifted some as he sat down beside her. His calloused hands felt rough as they slid from her shoulders down to her bottom, she shuddered in revulsion at the touch. With a sharp sting he smacked her bottom then pushed her over onto her back, his eyes wondered over her as his hands caressed and fondled her small form. More tears leaked out as cat tried to keep still and not resist. I can do this, I can bear it. Cat thought as she swallowed against the growing nausea in the pit of her stomach.


    With a laugh Leif struck her across the face again and stood up. He pulled of his shirt and dropped his trousers. She saw him standing and erect, and fought down a scream and a sob from what he was about to do to her.


    Cat felt her body begin to shake, and a strange heat began to suffuse her body. Cats head filled with pressure, it felt like it was going to explode.


    As Leif leaned forward, put his hands on her knees and began to push them apart, the pressure within Cat grew past the breaking point. Cat let out a terrible shrieking scream all that pent up force within her came bursting out and slammed into Leif, knocking him back and slamming him into the wall.


    Cat¡¯s eyes were wide with shock; Following the initial wave of force was the largest cat she had ever seen, almost as big as Leif.  Time seemed to slow to a crawl as Cat took in every detail of the flying feline. It¡¯s a massive beast, lean muscle rippled as it flew through the air, its claws stretched out before it, pointing directly at him. Fire slowly flickered all over its body and left a trail in the air.


    Time sped back up as the huge feline slammed into Leif right after he hit the wall. When it hit him, an explosive force ripped through the building. The wall blew out sending burning fragments of wood in all directions. Fire raced along the now exposed hallway, screams filled the air as people were consumed by the flames. The building groaned as it burned, the wall beside Cat collapsed, and allowing the hook her chain was attached to fall to the ground. Cat gathered up the loose chain and ran outside, not caring that she wasn¡¯t dressed, she just wanted to get out of there.


    A large crowd gathered around the brothel, men and women streamed out of the main entrance coughing from the smoke, many with burns. By this point the entire roof was engulfed in flames, this entire area was lit up from the light it gave off.


    Cat stumbled towards the crowd, her legs feeling like jelly and exhaustion numbing her mind. As Cat approached the crowd, they turned toward her and screamed, Cat looked back and saw the giant feline prowling out of the fires and curled around Cat once, rubbing its flaming body against her but leaving no burns. After circling her once, the panther like creature seemed to shrink, each flame coming off of it reducing its size as it gradually faded away.


    Bjorn was standing at the forefront of the crowd, shouting about his livelihood and how he was ruined. When he saw the burning panther rub against his newest slave he seemed to come to the collision that this was all her fault. Once the creature disappeared he came storming up. He grabbed Cat at the base of the chain still attached to her collar. He shook Cat violently, shouting incoherently. Cats head snapped back and forth, as she was shaken. Her head spinning and pounding now, pain erupted from her neck and back. Then Bjorn struck her over and over; first with the flat of his hand, and then with a closed fist.


    Cat began to feel disconnected from her body as she was being beaten. Her vision started to grow dark around the edges and it seemed like she was looking through a long tunnel. As she was slipping into unconsciousness, she distantly noticed a man in greyish robes catch Bjorn¡¯s fist in his hand and stop him from striking Cat again.


    Cat fell to the ground as Bjorn¡¯s grip on her chain went slack. She curled up into a ball; the earth here felt nice, comfortingly cool against her throbbing face. She tried to burrow further into it like it was the plushest down stuffed pillow in the world and let herself drift into oblivion.

 Chapter 10

    Chapter 10


    A tall man in soft ivory colored robes hurried through the streets of Lundness following what looked like a translucent pixie formed of dust leaves and twigs moving forward in a little whirlwind ¡°Wieland, are we getting close?¡±


    With the sound of rustling and cracking leaves the pixie like creature replied ¡°very close, only a few blocks further.¡±


    A quarter candle mark earlier, Andor received a hurried summons from Hathor¡¯s Patriarch. ¡°The sensitives detected the resonances of a Wild Talent about to have its first emergence here in this city. It has emotional tones associated with despair and anger, so it will likely be a violent one. I need you to get there as soon as possible and mitigate the destruction if possible.¡± The Patriarch had told him. Without any hesitation Andor called Wieland up and had his elemental friend guide him to the spot, hopefully before things got out of hand.


    Andor picked up his pace, moving at a ground eating lope.


    ¡°After this next turn it should be straight down the street¡± Wieland told Andor.


    Andor took the corner and saw the various red lanterns hanging, the brothel district. His heart sank. Andor knew that the first emergence usually happened during puberty, and if he or she was in this district the odds were high, given the emotional overtones the sensitives picked up, that this child was forced to be a provider of services rather than one receiving the services.


    ¡°Uh oh¡± Wieland said, sounding like a soft moan of wind through trees. Right after uttering those two words, fire erupted from one of the brothels down the road and one of its walls collapsed. Smoke filled the air, people began screaming. A crowd quickly formed outside the building as patrons, many at least half drunk and less than half dressed streamed from the main entrance. The fire spread quickly, the thatch drying out and bursting into flame rapidly.


    ¡°Wieland, do what you can to hold back the fire so everybody can get out safely.¡± Andor ordered quickly.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do my best, but you know holding back fire is rather difficult for my kind.¡± He answered.


    ¡°I know, just do what you can to smother the fires, once everyone is out the building can go it¡¯s already likely to be a total loss. Oh and keep the fire from the liquor, if it reaches that, then there is no chance.¡±


    With an ethereal nod, the little pixie figure flew apart in a burst of wind, and a ribbon like form rippled through the air towards the burning building, expanding and taking on a greyish blue smoky texture as it settled on the fire. Everywhere that cloudlike form touched, the fire dampened down though it didn¡¯t go out completely.


    From the hole in the wall at the end of the building a child, naked except for the collar around her neck dragging a chain behind her, stumbled out and staggered towards the growing crowd.


    Screams broke out as a living embodiment of fire, a huge panther like feline covered in living flame, with eyes glowing like coals stalked out of the building and padded towards the little girl. Andor prepared to call Wieland back to protect the child, until he saw the cat rub up against her, circling her with affection before dispersing back to the plane it came from.


    This must be the one I was stent to find. It¡¯s clear what calling she has, she will be a servant of Corana Andor thought as he started to stride towards the girl. His pace faltered as a balding and somewhat overweight man thundered up to the girl and grabbed her by the chain hanging from her throat and proceeded to ruthlessly beat her. This man was obviously still quite strong even with his progressing years and softening body; he held nothing back as the girls head snapped back and forth under the blows he administered.


    After staring in shock at the sudden violence of it, Andor shook his head and darted forward calling to Wieland in his mind to leave the building and come help. As the man¡¯s fist rose in the air to strike again, Andor caught his fist before it could descend. The two men¡¯s eyes met and Wieland formed himself into a miniature thunderstorm behind Andor¡¯s head, miniature forks of lightning flashing, matching the sparks of electricity darting out of Andor¡¯s eyes. The other man¡¯s face went from red and purple with rage to a blotchy chalky white and let go of the child¡¯s chain, letting her slump to the ground where she curled up in a ball.


    With his voice tight with controlled anger, Andor told the man ¡°Be gone from this city. If I ever lay eyes upon you again, you will not live to regret it.¡± Under the acrid smell of the fire, Andor detected the sharp sent of human piss as a wet stain spread down the other man¡¯s leg. Andor let go of the man¡¯s arm and let him stumble away, fleeing in terror.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    ¡°Good job Wieland, that¡¯s enough, thank you¡± Andor mentally said as he bent down to collect the girl in his arms.


    ¡°Glad I could help in driving that beast off, is the girl-child well?¡±


    ¡°I hope so, I hope so.¡± Andor answered.


    Andor picked up the girl; she seemed to be mostly out of it mumbling something about a rock and sorry. ¡°Easy girl, easy. No one is going to hurt you anymore. I¡¯ll protect you, you are going somewhere safe¡± he whispered into her ear. She snuggled unto his chest with a small whimper. ¡°Come on Wieland, let¡¯s get back to the temple and get her to a healer.¡±


    *                      *                      *


    Soft chimes rippled through the corridors as Andor walked to the Patriarch¡¯s office. The walls were covered in beautiful white birch panels pieced together to form subtle murals of the many voices of the wind, from gentle breezes swaying the tops of trees to violent hurricanes and tornados. Soft grey polished stone covered the floors, the patterns in the grain hinting at clouds. The warm scent of beeswax, used to polish the wood, filled the halls with its warm comforting scent.


    Andor came to a large set of double doors, made from the palest Rock Maple wood with large pieces of clear faceted crystals set in a stylized whirl wind pattern that glittered in the light of the enchanted globes filling the halls with their soft white luminescence. Andor took the large clear quart knocker in hand and rapped it three times, the sound echoed slightly in the halls.


    A tall slender woman with a single long blond braid pulled over her shoulder, striking grey/blue eyes wearing Ivory colored robes pulled open the door slowly after the third knock.  ¡°Ahh, Andor. I take it you were successful with your sudden assignment¡± she said with a brilliant smile. Her voice sounded like smooth velvet with a hint of chimes from her good humor.


    ¡°Yes Meja, I was successful in a fashion. Unfortunately the child was injured, but I dropped her off with Abbigail to be healed, she was beaten pretty badly. But Abbi assures me she will make a full recovery by morning.¡± Andor said, ending with a tired sigh. ¡°I need to give the Patriarch my report and get some rest myself.¡±


    ¡°Erik, sorry the Patriarch has been waiting for your return. You can go right in, and make sure you get yourself a bite to eat before turning in, you always forget after a day like today¡± Meja gave Andor a brief hug and let him in.


    The front office was spare and business like, a simple well-crafted desk and shelves with books, scrolls and records lined the walls lit with more glowing glass spheres and a single whitewood door led to the patriarchs personal office.


    Andor strode through the front office and opened the door to the Patriarchs office after giving it one brief knock. The patriarchs office was a large circular room with two large windows opened on the left and right sides of the room, a nice breeze flowed through the room gently ringing chimes, some made of wood, some glass and some metal giving the room a soft melody played by the wind itself.


    The Patriarch sat behind a fine grained white marble desk, little figurines of various animals carved from the clearest quartz decorated the edges of his desk and lined several shelves in the room, they glittered in the light cast by yet more glowing glass orbs positioned around the room to put his favorite figurines in the best light. The Patriarch was a fit man for being in his fifty-three years old, his short blond hair streaked with grey, and his tailored pure white robes showed his still impressive physique to good effect. His eyes crinkled with smile lines as he saw Andor enter his office and said ¡°Ah my boy, I trust you were successful in bringing in our latest initiate?¡±


    With a slight bow Andor replied ¡°Yes and no sir. I brought her in; she was fairly battered so I left her in Abigail¡¯s capable hands.¡±


    ¡°She has the Talent does she not? I trust that is why you brought her here.¡± The Patriarch said.


    ¡°Yes sir, she is a Caller, but I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s clear that her talents lie with another temple. Her Calling is for the Watchers of the Eternal Flame. She will likely be our guest for a short time before she must receive the training in her Discipline.¡±


    With a soft sigh the Patriarch nodded ¡°Very well, have a seat and tell me all that has occurred and what fall out there may be from this evenings events¡±


    Andor did as he was bidden and sat down and related everything that happened from the moment he left the temple grounds on this errand to the moment he left the girl in Abbie¡¯s capable hands. ¡°After putting her in one of the beds in the infirmary, I took Abbie aside and explained how she got the injuries, and what other um¡­ damages the girl may have suffered at the hands of her owner and his clients. She may not be well enough to travel for some good time, given the trauma she has likely suffered, though physically she will be as good as new by morning.¡± Andor finished.


    ¡°No need to worry, we won¡¯t send her off until she is sound of heart as well as body. Frigga, the acolyte¡¯s dorm mother, is very good with helping her charges through emotional distress and will likely be able to help this child through hers. And in the process we can train her in the basics of her Calling and the history of the temples and our ways. With some good food, a warm bed, some security and wise council from Frigga and I¡¯m sure she will have a full recovery. Young children are so resilient at times.¡±


    ¡°That is a relief for me sir, I wish we could put a stop to such practices as that child went through¡± Andor said.


    ¡°Unfortunately, the Nobility already resists the influence we already have over them. We must be careful not to push them too far. Eventually we will be able to stop such practices, but it must be done slowly and carefully.¡± The Patriarch said.


    ¡°I understand, and may that one day come soon. If there isn¡¯t anything else sir, I think I will get cleaned up and grab some rest.¡± Andor said; fatigue filling his voice as his posture slumped a little.


    ¡°Yes my son, get some rest and don¡¯t forget to grab a bite to eat. You need to replace what you used today¡± The patriarch dismissed Andor with a fatherly smile on his face.


    Andor got up and with a slight bow left the office.

 Chapter 11

    Irnoc


    Kadeem strode through a richly appointed manor, fine vases stood on short pillars in nooks, colorful tapestries woven from silk draped the walls, the marble floor polished to a lustrous sheen and the scent of sandalwood incense gently flavored the halls with its delicate scent.


    He approached a set of open double doors, within the next room sat a middle aged man at a fine grained wax polished wood desk. He wore his long brown hair loose, just touching his shoulders; a full beard with a few streaks of grey graced his face. He looked up as he heard Kadeem¡¯s footsteps, his eyes brightened a bit when he saw who approached.


    ¡°Good evening Yazid. I found something, or rather someone that you need to meet¡± Kadeem said once he entered the room. ¡°This is exactly what we needed to make the project work.¡±


    With a startled blink at the sudden flood of words, Lord Yazid asked ¡°What have you found for me my friend?¡±


    ¡°A new wild talent was brought in last night. This morning I tested his affinities, he tested positive for all six.¡±


    He stood up abruptly and asked, ¡°Are you sure?¡± excitement adding intensity to his voice. ¡°We¡¯ve never seen more than an affinity for three elements, and the third element barely registered.¡±


    ¡°I am quite sure, and each element reacted with full intensity during the test. It¡¯s the strongest showing I have ever seen.¡± Kadeem told him ¡°he has as much, if not more, potential as Kinathe¡±


    ¡°Yes, we can use him, we must handle him carefully. Bring him to me.¡±


    ¡°There is a bit of an issue with him that you should be made aware of. He is an escaped slave, which isn¡¯t normally an issue but he is fixated on his friend who was made a slave at the same time he was but sold elsewhere. He is determined to find her and rescue her. If you want to recruit him to your cause, this might be a relatively easy way to get him on board.¡± Kadeem explained. ¡°I took notes on her description and the circumstances of her capture. I took the liberty of telling the boy that we will look into what happened to this girl to get his initial co-operation.¡±


    Yazid pondered this information for a few moments, considering the possibilities and costs. It would take time and resources to find this slave girl, not to include the price of buying her back from whoever bought her in the first place. But if it made this boy co-operative, it could rapidly advance their plans. That kind of progress would make all the expense worth it.


    ¡°Good thinking Kadeem, we can use this. I will send out Malik with your information and see what can be found out. I¡¯ll have him check the records at the slave market, that should tell us who bought her and where she is at least.¡± Yazid reflected. ¡°Make sure the boy gets started on his training. He needs to gain control of his abilities if he is to be of aid to us. By the way, what is the Boy¡¯s name?¡±


    ¡°His name is Irnoc. He should be starting his lessons first thing tomorrow morning.¡±


    ¡°Good, it might be best to hold off on bringing him here until we have some preliminary information to entice his co-operation. Go ahead and begin telling him about Kinathe and prep him for induction to the prophesy.¡± Yazid instructed


    ¡°As you wish, it shall be done.¡± Kadeem replied with a small bow before turning and leaving the palace.


    *                      *                      *


    ¡°In the beginning of time, there were only six realms in all of creation. The god or goddess of each ream was supreme in their own land, all who resided within that realm payed homage to these divine rulers. These divinities would occasionally get together and converse for while they are supreme in their own realm, they appreciate interacting with those who are equal in power and responsibilities.¡± Priestess Rihanna instructed the new Acolytes. The four of them sat on a long bench with a table in front of them, quills, ink and parchment decorated the tale as the children took notes. Irnoc sat at the end of the table; this was his first lesson after being tested the previous day.


    One thing they have going here, they definitely eat well, a good diner, and another good breakfast, not one moldy piece of bread and nothing on the verge of rotting. I thought as I pondered my full belly.


    ¡°On one such occasion, they all felt there was something lacking in the universe. Their realms remained unchanging and unvarying. As a group they decided to work together to create a seventh realm, a realm that can change and evolve over time. They would all be able to observe this realm and observe its growth and changes.¡± The priestess continued her instruction.


    This is useless nonsense; I don¡¯t give a damn about how they think the world came to be. I just want to learn to use this strange power I have and get Cat to safety.


    ¡°Together they created a space that lay between each of their realms with equal distance between them. Once the space the realm would reside was formed, each god and goddess worked together to give it substance. Galan drew from his realm to form the land; Quintar drew from his realm to fill the sea; Corana drew out the essence of fire and formed the sun, granting this world warmth; Hatha filled the world with air; Selena created the spark of life that the world may be populated; and Banalithe created death so that the world will be subject to change unlike their own realms.¡±


    ¡°That is how the Gods, working in unison, created the world and all of us that live in it. And while each temple is dedicated to one of the six; we all work together as brothers and sisters, following the example of our gods. Where each one is powerful beyond all human understanding, together anything is possible.¡±


    Nice moral to the story I thought with a mental snort.


    ¡°That completes the first lesson, you may take a brief break then we will discuss the next period of history, the Sundering.¡± Priestess Rihanna said, sadness showing in her eyes.


    I stood up with the other students and moved around some, stretched muscles that grew stiff from siting on the wooden bench while listening to the priestess drone on about history and the origins of the gods and the world. Staying in one position for a few hours while casing a job is one thing, but having to listen to a priestess lecture is another beast altogether.


    A few minutes after everybody got up to move around the priestess called everyone to order. The other three students were chatting together, occasionally glancing at me while I stayed clear of them. I had no interest in mingling or making friends here. I didn¡¯t plan on sticking around that long, once I heard back from that Kadeem guy, I was going to be off to find cat; and if Kadeem didn¡¯t come back soon enough, I planned on sneaking out while everyone else slept. I doubted these priest types had much security.


    ¡°Ok children, be seated. It is time to learn the shame of our race and our redemption¡± the priestess said.


    Shame, redemption, none of this dung mattered one bit. I bet it¡¯s organized to make the temples look good and everyone else bad. I thought as I re-took my seat to sit through another lengthy lecture.


    ¡°After mankind rose in this new world created by the gods, mankind lived in peace and honored the gods for thousands of years.¡± Priestess Rihanna said, making solid eye contact with each of the students in turn. ¡°However, after those thousands of years mankind began to forget what they owed to the gods and began trying to surpass the power of the gods and set themselves up as gods themselves.¡± She paused here for a moment to let the hubris of that goal to sink in.


    ¡°A few powerful men reached too far and found the power they sought, but being only men and without the blessings of the gods, the power was too great for them to handle and it was unleashed into the world.¡± The Priestesses voice took on stern tones.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°There were grave consequences to the uncontrolled release of such power. The power unleashed began to undo what the gods created; the land shook apart, fire rose from within the world and destroyed cities, giant walls of water drowned the land and the winds raced across the world bringing storms that destroyed what the earth fire and sea didn¡¯t reach.¡± A couple of the other students gasped when they heard about such destruction. Priestess Rihanna nodded at those students with a small note of satisfaction.


    ¡°The last vestiges of mankind that managed to survive the world sundering around them cried out in fear and pain, begging for the gods to forgive their hubris.¡± She continued.


    ¡°The gods convened once again to discuss the fate of mankind. They considered letting mankind be wiped out from the effects of their own pride and foolishness. Thinking they could control the forces that are only the gods right to use.¡± Distain dripped from her voice ¡°In the end they decided to take pity on man and soothed the storms, the land and the sea, allowing all to grow quiet once again.¡±


    ¡°The gods have shown great mercy on mankind. They could have simply let the world be wiped clean of the prideful arrogant race of humanity, or wiped us all out themselves and started fresh. But they chose to give us all a second chance. And to ensure we would not repeat our past mistakes, they decided to maintain their influence more directly than they did pre-sundering.¡±


    ¡°Once the land stopped shaking and the storms quieted, the gods, having made their decision, descended from their realms. When they appeared before the surviving people, they each chose a few individuals of great faith and piety. These they gifted with a tiny portion of their own essence. This tiny bit of essence would enable them to call upon the host of the god or goddess. Calling upon one of their gods servants would enable the caller to aid their fellow people and help them survive. It also left them with a direct connection with their deity, allowing them to know their god or goddesses will so that mankind may be guided and never to repeat the mistakes of their ancestors.¡±


    Called it, I thought while trying to keep a smirk from forming. Regular people bad, temple people good, and regular people must be guided by the temple people. And by guide they mean rule, even if only from behind the scenes.


    The rest of the day and the next couple days followed a similar pattern. Good meals, lectures on religious history, the duties of the priests, the theory behind Calling and the nature of the relationships between the called and the caller. It was all rather dull, though learning about how one can consciously Call without being terrified or angry. It wasn¡¯t until half way through the third day that things got rather interesting.


    *                      *                      *


    I stood in a room; thick stone walls surrounded me and the other three students. Priestess Rihanna stood before us, and six circles with strange geometric symbols inlayed with metal and bits of stone decorated the circles. They looked similar to the one I stood within just a few days ago, but simpler and far less ornate.


    ¡°This is the room of Calling. These circles will aid you in focusing and concentrating and make it easier to reach through to Corana¡¯s Realm. With enough practice you won¡¯t need circles like these, but they can always be used when you have enough time to get to a prebuilt one or draw your own. It is far less taxing to use a calling circle than it is to use only your mind.¡± The priestess told us.


    ¡°Now pick a circle and kneel next to it. I know we discussed this process this morning, but I will still guide you through your first controlled calling step by step. Eventually you will be so practiced at this that you will run through each step so quickly that it all seems to happen at once and in an instant. Before you can reach that level of skill you must follow each step in order and do so often. Practice makes perfect and you will have the opportunity for lots of practice.¡±


    The four of us each kneeled next to one of the circles as instructed. I must admit, I started to feel a bit of excitement, we were about to call upon a magical being that would do whatever we wanted. I thought back to the huge turtle I called back in the desert, I hope I don¡¯t call him up again. A little wriggling worm of worry burrowed through my mind at the thought of Quintar¡¯s servant.  Kadeem warned me not to call on any of the other gods¡¯ servants, just the servants of Corana. If I want his help in finding Cat, I need to seem just like everyone else.


    Once we were all in position Priestess Rihanna continued ¡°I know each and every one of you managed to call on one of Corana¡¯s servants, as that act is what led us to you. But the first Calling is always the product of extreme emotion and most of the time ends in some form of destruction. When a servant is called during extreme emotion, some of that emotion passes into the servant and they are difficult to control and they tend to lash out at the cause. This is why you must maintain a calm state of mind whenever you Call. You will be trained to Call with a calm mind during stressful situations. But you don¡¯t have to worry about that right now¡± she said with a smile, ¡°this is training you will receive later and finishing the final test will graduate you from Acolyte to Priest. So you have six years to learn the necessary skills. Now I want each of you to close your eyes¡±


    After glancing at the other students and saw them complying, I closed my own eyes.


    ¡°Later on you won¡¯t need to close your eyes, but for now it will help with the visualization. Now with your eyes closed want you to picture a door, it doesn¡¯t matter what kind of door it is but you must picture it clearly in your mind. Imagine its color, the grain of its wood, its shape and even what kind of handle it has.¡± The priestess lapsed into silence for a few minutes as the children before her struggled with this strange request.


    As I knelt there I thought about different kinds of doors, but one door stood out in my mind stronger than any other. It was a wooden door; the wood was smooth on one side and rough on the other. Instead of a door handle, it had a brass ring bolted to one side of it. It was almost perfectly square. As all the little details became clear in my mind I remembered where I saw this door before, it was the trap door to my childhood home, the door that led to the basement where I hid while my parents were murdered.


    ¡°Now once you have firmly pictured your door in every detail, I want you to feel it. This may sound strange but I want you to picture your hand touching the door. Feel the grain of the wood, the metal of its handle, and I want you to feel the warmth coming through from the other side. The door will feel very warm, like it has been sitting out in the sun all day soaking in the heat of our lady Corana.¡±


    I mentally reached out with my hand to touch the door. It was a rather strange feeling; my real hands were resting on my legs in front of me and I could feel the cloth of the robes they gave me, but my right hand could also almost feel rough wooden planks that radiated heat. ¡°I can feel it¡± I whispered. I heard similar sentiments from the other kids, each with a note of wonder in their voice.


    ¡°Now I want you to take hold of the door handle, and with your other hand I want you to reach down and touch the circle in front of you.¡± She instructed, and I followed her direction, I assumed the others did as well. ¡°Now while you are touching the circle, I want you to open your door. Open it into the circle and Call. Just like you reached out with you hand I want you to reach out with your thoughts and call out, invite someone to come to you.¡±


    I pushed open the trap door, while it used to lay flat on the floor of my child hood home, now it stood on its side and swung out and I felt a wave of heat course over me. I could feel something on the other side of the door, something intelligent, something with power. I reached; I called to it, beckoning it to come to me.


    I felt the heat suffusing me, not a terrible rush like before, but more like the rising tide, inexorable and powerful. The heat from the open doorway reached its crest then flowed smoothly out of me. I felt the power flow from my core, up to my shoulder and down my left arm. It flowed through my fingers and swirled through the myriad of lines that made up the circle. It swirled around and around collecting to a single point in the center of the circle.


    Once all the energy collected to that single point, there was a small flash of light and heat. I opened my eyes and stared, before me in the center of the circle floated a small flame the size of my thumb, looking like that on the tip of a candle. It had a small bluish orb at the base of the flame, where the wick usually is usually found, and the yellow, orange and red flame rose from that small ball.


    As I stared into that small flame, I noticed that I could feel it. I don¡¯t mean I could feel the small heat from the fire it gave off; rather I could feel its vitality, its energy, its life within myself. Almost the same way you can feel the sun on your back when your eyes are closed, I could feel this creature, I could feel its pressure from within the center of my being, I could feel a connection between me and it. I was filled with wonder at seeing this strange and beautiful living creature, and it was alive. I can feel a pulse coming from it, like a strange heartbeat beating against my skin and beating in time to my own.


    ¡°Congratulations Irnoc and Tempe, you two have successfully called for the first time under your own conscious control¡± The priestess suddenly stated. It startled me so much I lost the connection to this amazing creature and I felt a door slam shut in my head. I didn¡¯t realize I had risen to my knees until I fell back and my backside struck the stone floor. My head buzzed and I felt slightly nauseated and dizzy.


    ¡°You all did well, and eventually you will be able to hold your connection to the servants of Corana and to her realm longer and even when startled or distracted. For now though, it is time for dinner, you need to eat to rebuild your strength, and get plenty of rest. You will be practicing this for a few candle marks each day, and it will sap your stamina until you become stronger.¡± Priestess Rihanna said, dismissing her weary students.

 Chapter 12

    Chapter 12


    Cat


    ¡°Now that each of you is able to Call a sprite successfully and each time you try, we can move on to learning how to utilize these blessed creatures.¡± Priestess Rose instructed her students.


    Cat smiled, she was actually enjoying her time here with the Hathan priests and priestesses. They all had fascinating stories about where the world came from and how it was made, and the ability to Call on such magical creatures like the Sprites was just wonderful.


    Priestess Rose¡¯s smile turned stern as she locked eyes on her students. ¡°I know I told you this before, but it bears repeating. You must never, ever try to take in any of Hatha¡¯s servants within yourself; Corana¡¯s servants in your case Cat. The last person who tried was almost three hundred years ago, his name was Kinathe. Kinathe was a rogue caller; he rejected the service to the gods and his people and sought out more power for himself. Calling on the gods servants without serving the gods wasn¡¯t enough for him, he drew a Totem of Selena within himself and it drove him mad. He gained great power but at the cost of his mind and his soul. He became a creature of destruction. Kinathe nearly tore the lands asunder, until all six orders worked together and stopped him.¡± The priestess let out a deep sigh. ¡°He is not the only one to ever attempt such a desperate act. Some attempted it for power or glory, while others tried out of the need to help another. Regardless of the motivations or the strength of will, the results were all the same, madness and destruction.¡±


    Pausing for a moment to let the warning sink in, the Priestess looked into the eyes of each of her students. Hints of fear and worry filled most of their eyes. Cat¡¯s eyes shone with fierce determination, unlike the rest of the students. With an inward shake of the head Priestess rose continued with the lesson.


    ¡°On a brighter note; we will learn how to use one of the more useful abilities, the ward. This skill ranges in complexity depending on the kind of ward you are setting up. The simplest ward is the alarm ward. This will notify you if anyone or anything crosses the line. Now Call your Sprites and I will show you how to direct the sprite to form your first Ward.¡±


    *                      *                      *


    Irnoc


    ¡°Irnoc, congratulations on your first Calling. It¡¯s a truly awe inspiring feeling isn¡¯t it, that connection strait from the gods.¡± Kadeem said with a deep sigh and quiet smile of shared bliss.


    I looked up from examining a rather expensive looking tapestry hanging in the hall. It was after dinner, but not yet time for all good acolytes to be in bed. I looked around to see if anyone was close enough to hear before, in a low voice, I asked ¡°is there any word on Cat? It¡¯s been three days already.¡±


    ¡°The Master has found out some information and is ready to meet with you. He wants to talk to you personally and will tell you what he knows in person.¡±


    ¡°Are you here to take me to him finally? Learning to Call is great, but the rest of the lessons are just a waste of time. Cat needs me and I must find her, sooner rather than later.¡± I tried to keep my voice low, but the heat in my chest made it difficult.


    ¡°You may need to exercise a bit more patience, but yes it is time to meet the Master. Once we leave the temple, there is a quiet side entrance we will use; your sight will need to be bound temporarily. Secrecy is of the upmost importance and until the Master is sure you can be trusted. It will be removed once we arrive, just not to or from the location.¡± Kadeem told me, keeping his voice quiet yet firm.


    Being blindfolded would make it more difficult to know where I was going, but not impossible. I was trained to work in both near and total darkness and felt confident that I could find my way back if I felt the need. Though likely this secret meeting place won¡¯t be the home of this Master person. If I were setting this up I wouldn¡¯t bring someone like me to my home, and I would have guards out of sight just in case. I need to go into this carefully, too eager and they will be suspicious and too distant and they won¡¯t help me find Cat.


    ¡°I understand, let¡¯s go.¡± I said, projecting certainty and confidence. Light shimmered before my eyes for a moment, and then everything went dark. No crude cloth blindfolds or hoods for them, magical blinding, guarantees I can¡¯t see a damned thing, wise of them. Though not wise enough to knock me out. I thought as I was carefully led out of the temple.  I could feel the temperature difference, and slight breeze tickled my cheeks and the evening sounds reached my ears.


    I heard a carriage pulled by two horses approach, when it stopped I was guided inside and sat on one of the deep plush cushioned benches. I could practically feel the wealth this carriage represented. It smelled clean, no hint of dust. Only the light creek from the springs and the iron shod wheels made any noise as it rolled forward. The lacquered wood under my fingertips was smooth, no rough spots or splinters. In short it was well maintained well-built and extravagant by most standards.  This master person is obviously rich, probably one of the high nobility, not that it¡¯s really surprising. It would take someone of vast means and power to contend with the temples.


    After riding for at least half a candle mark, the carriage pulled off of the cobbled streets of the heights and onto gravel. A few moments later the carriage pulled to a stop and I was guided out. I picked up the scent of green growing things, a true luxury in this hot and dry land; I was guided down the gravel path for a short distance, then I heard the sound of a latch and a heavy door swinging open.


    ¡°You have done well so far Irnoc, we will now be going down some stairs so be careful.¡±  Kadeem told me quietly. I nodded in response and carefully put my foot down on the first step, feeling my way through the darkness imposed on me, it wasn¡¯t nearly as unsettling for me as it would be for most. I knew darkness, I thrived in it.


    Twelve steps later I stood on solid stone floor, I heard the echoes of breathing, the snap and hiss of fire from torches. I was brought to a halt and the darkness faded from before my eyes.


    I had to squint in the harsh light of the torches. While blinking several times trying to get my eyes to adjust, I tried to pick up a few details from the room I was in. The room was fairly cool and dry and, from as far as I could tell, made from squared stone blocks, the room was fairly bare except for a table between the torches and me. A shadowed man sat on the other side of the table, the torches positioned behind him so I couldn¡¯t make out his features in its glare.


    ¡°Thank you for coming to see me Irnoc, I am pleased to hose the chosen one.¡± The shadowed man, the master in all likelihood, said in a smooth cultured voice.


    Chosen one? What in the abyss is this Master person talking about? I pondered for a moment then remembered that Kadeem told me something along those lines back after getting Assayed. Something about the blood of Kim, or Kohath or something like that. Skepticism rose up within Chosen one, yeah right.


    He must have seen something of my confusion then skepticism on my face when he continued. ¡°Ahh I take it our mutual friend here didn¡¯t tell you much of the prophesy and your fate. Please come have seat and I will tell you about it myself.¡±


    My eyes finally adjusted to the glare of the torches and I looked closely at the table, there was another chair there that I didn¡¯t notice before. Cautiously I stepped forward, I could feel the presence of magic, but I couldn¡¯t tell what it was doing. I sat down and looked and the man before me. At this angle the glare from the torches no longer left him in complete shadow. I could see the red and gold silk robes with gold scroll work on the hems and sleeves and the heavy gold signet ring with a large carved ruby depicting an eagle in flight set. When I tried to see his face however, it was like there was a heat shimmer covering it. I could see his eyes and his expression, but his features were warped and waivered before my eyes. That was the magic I sensed.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    We both sat there for a moment, I was sure the ¡°Master¡± expected me to say something, but I knew better. It is better to be silent and wary than it is to talk with no point, you can give away more than you intend with careless words and in this situation I couldn¡¯t afford any mistakes.


    ¡°You are what we call, The Blood of Kinathe. Hundreds of years ago Kinathe was a powerful caller, blessed by not one but all six of the gods and goddesses. During a time of great strife he rose in power and saved us all from constant war and destruction. After he brought peace to the land and unified the nations under one banner the temples worked in secrecy and sent assassins to kill him in his sleep. He was a threat to their plans to control this new empire, reducing the rightful rulers of the land to mere puppets and paws in their desire for power.¡±


    I nodded slowly, it didn¡¯t surprise me any. After all the temples seemed to gather anyone with the Calling ability, and they sent men to kill my parents. After a moment passed while he let me absorb this information, I finally spoke ¡°what does that have to do with me?¡±


    ¡°After his death several of his followers had visions in their sleep. Kinathe visited them from beyond the veil and told them of what was to come. From the blood of my blood, will another rise, he will take up my mantle and free the people from the repression and tyranny that the temples will enforce. These followers went into hiding to escape the executions the temples ordered through the mouths of the new puppet regime. All of Kinathe¡¯s officers and powerful supporters were executed. Those who had the visions and heeded the warnings they represented formed the Order of Kinathe, to keep the prophesy alive and to prepare for your eventual arrival.¡±


    ¡°A mysterious vision and prophesy is all well and good, but it means nothing to me. My friend needs my help, she was sold into slavery at the same time I was and I doubt her time since has been as pleasant as mine even considering the river monster sinking the ship I was on and nearly dying in the desert from giant scorpions, the slavers and the bloody heat. All I care about is finding Cat and setting her free.¡± I let cold hard determination fill my eyes and set my jaw. On this I wouldn¡¯t budge. ¡°I bear no love for the temple, they sent men to kill my parents eight years ago, left me orphan and I had to fight to survive on the streets. If you can help me find and save Cat, like Kadeem here implied you would, I will help you.¡±


    ¡°I understand your need to help your friend, and you have no reason to aid us in our fight against the manipulative and tyrannical temple orders yet. I am willing to put my considerable resources to aiding you in saving your friend. I hope in time you will be able to direct that considerable and admirable loyalty you hold to her to us as well.¡± He seemed to be projecting understanding, concern and respect in his tone. He was very good at it, but I knew conmen when I saw them. He was far from the best at projecting sincerity.  But if it really did help in saving Cat I was willing to play along.


    ¡°While my men are searching out your friend, they must act discreetly of course they can¡¯t bring too much attention to our order, we will supplement the training you receive at Corana¡¯s Temple. They can teach you much about fire magic and the calling of Corana¡¯s servants, but we will show you how to access all of your formidable array of talents. Before long you will be able to reach into each of the Gods realms and Call upon their servants, allowing you to have more power at your fingertips than any priest of any order.¡± He said


    ¡°We have secured a private residence on the Rise; we have placed a young woman there who will pose as your elder sister. Tomorrow she will arrive at the Temple seeking you, young temple acolytes with family in the city are allowed to visit family every seventh day. She will have enough information about you to satisfy the priestess Rihanna that she is your sister. Once that is settled you will be allowed each week to visit this residence. Once there we will quietly train you to reach the other five realms. Is this acceptable for you?¡±


    I was glad they didn¡¯t try to have someone pose as one of my parents. That I wouldn¡¯t allow, but I never had any siblings so pretending she was mine would be no hardship. Extra training while Cat was being tracked down wouldn¡¯t hurt either. The more power I had; the better of I was and the easier it would be to keep Cat safe, not that I would ever be stupid enough to actually tell her that. ¡°This arrangement is acceptable, as long as we find Cat before anything happens to her and bring her safely home.¡±


    ¡°Your new sister¡¯s name is Iona and looks enough like you to pass off as a relative, she came to us from our Lundness chapter where I¡¯m sure at least one of your parents came from¡± he said.


    I figured one or both of my parents came from up north, given my relatively fair skin, hair and greenish blue eyes.


    ¡°Kadeem said he would tell you what happened to me and Cat, have you started looking for her yet?¡± I asked


    ¡°Actually we have. My men have managed to find out that a girl fitting your description was sold then led to the docks with several other slaves, they then took ship. There are only two likely ports they would have gone to, either Lundness or Tai Koku. Depending on how this meeting went, I planned on sending men to both locations to try to find where she ended up and if possible for them, to bring her home immediately.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean if possible?¡± I asked, suspicion rising within me.


    ¡°Depending on who she was sold to, it might not be easy for my agents to re-acquire her. If they can¡¯t then they will send word to me with the details and we can plan a way to get her away safely.¡± He said, trying to be reassuring.


    I took a deep breath, calming myself down then said ¡°If you can save her; I¡¯ll help with whatever you want, but only if she is brought back safely. I want to know about any updates as soon as you get them.¡± I couldn¡¯t entirely rid myself of the hard edge to my tone.


    He smiled, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t expect any less from a friend as devoted as you are.¡±


    *                      *                      *


    ¡°Excuse me, Irnoc?¡± a young page boy approached me as I finished another delicious and filling breakfast packed away in my stomach.


    ¡°Yes, what can I do for you?¡± the warm feeling of full belly spread contentment through me.


    ¡°Priestess Rihanna wishes to speak with you¡± the page said with a slight bow. ¡°If you would follow me I will take you to her office.¡± I got up, took my empty tray to the bin at the end of the dining hall and stacked it with the rest then followed the page.


    The page left me at the priestess¡¯s door with a small bow. I knocked on the heavy wooden door and heard the muffled reply through the door ¡°Come in Irnoc¡±.


    I entered into her office and gave a polite bow, I learned quickly the proper manner of address to the priests; I don¡¯t care for scrubbing dishes or the floors. ¡°You called for me Priestess?¡±


    ¡°Yes Irnoc, I have received an unexpected visitor for you. It turns out your sister was looking for you and managed to finally track you down here.¡± She said in a level tone, looking at me carefully.


    I stood there for a moment, blinking a couple times as my mind churned in confusion. Then I remembered the plan I was told last night. ¡°Iona is here?¡± I asked, letting some of my previous confusion slip into my voice. ¡°I never thought I would see her again.¡±


    Priestess Rihanna just looked at me as the silence stretched on.


    I let my head hang a bit and looked at my feet for a moment then continued my lie. ¡°After my parents died, my sister tried to take care of me. But I ran away and became a street thief. Not long before I was caught and sold into slavery I went back to where my sister and I used to live, but she was gone.¡± I looked up a bit to gauge her reaction. Her eyes looked a bit softer, and her head nodded a bit.


    ¡°That would explain why you didn¡¯t mention that you had family in the city. Well it is Seventh day; if you wish it you may spend this day and every seventh day with your sister. This is normal practice for the acolytes with family nearby. The break from studies and training refreshes your mind and enables you to learn more and faster.¡± The priestess paused for a moment and then added ¡°you do wish to visit your sister do you not? It isn¡¯t mandatory should you wish to cut ties, some of our acolytes do, especially when they come from¡­ ahem, humble beginnings.¡±


    ¡°Yes Priestess, I believe I would like to visit my sister. It was foolish of me to run away like that, and could have easily left me a mine slave instead of being brought here.¡± I said with as much sincerity as I could muster.


    ¡°Very well, your sister is in the entrance hall. I had her wait there for word if you were coming or not.¡± She smiled then ¡°I believe you can give her that word yourself.¡±


    I smiled back at her, turned around and left her office.

 Chapter 13

    Chapter 13


    Irnoc


    I sat in a meditative pose, trying to block out the street noise coming from outside the modest town home the order of Kinathe rented for these lessons. The final trainer sat before me, his voice a faint drone as he described the sensations I should seek to open the final door, the door to Celestia, the realm of Selena.


    ¡°Feel the vitality, the golden glow that invigorates life; the light that Nurtures all that lives.¡± Kenton said


    I pictured the sixth door, it seemed rather similar to my first door, but there were subtle distinctions. The light and warmth from this door felt softer than that of Corana, less intense and not as fierce as Corana¡¯s fire, but more pervasive. I reached with my mind to the door¡¯s handle and turned it, swinging it wide open. The golden light poured through me as I reached through and¡­Called.


    I opened my eyes and found a small glowing, almost transparent figure about the size of my hand. The golden glow nearly obscured it¡¯s almost human like appearance, and small graceful feathered wings sprouted from its back. In its light, the small aches and pains I have always had, and never really thought of seemed to vanish. I felt revitalized and rested; better than I have felt for many years. With a pang of regret I released this beautiful creature back to its home, its glow fading to a pinprick of light before winking out altogether.


    ¡°You have done well, and managed to bridge the gap between our world and the worlds of every god. You have opened more doors than anyone else in living memory.¡± Kenton said, awe filling his voice. ¡°Now that you have reached this point in your training, the Master wishes to meet with you again. He has fresh word on where your friend is, and believes you are now ready to aid in his project.¡±


    ¡°Where is Cat? Is she on her way back home?¡± I asked, tension filling every fiber of my being.


    ¡°It is for the Master to inform you about the results of the search. If you are ready, I will take you to him now.¡±


    ¡°What, no blindfolds? No mysterious winding routs meant to confuse the destination?¡± I asked suspicion clearly evident in my tone.


    ¡°No young sir, the master has decided that you will be shown the way to him directly¡­as a sign of trust and as an expression of hope that you will aid in his project and overthrow the terrible stranglehold the temples have over this land.¡± Kenton said, his posture showing respect and deference to his master, even though he wasn¡¯t here.


    ¡°Then take me to him directly, if he has found cat then I want to know about it as soon as possible, if not sooner.¡± I told him.


    ¡°Very well¡± he replied with a slight bow and left the room. I saw through a crack in the shutter; a runner boy bolting off into the street, to notify the transport most likely.


    After about a quarter of a candle mark a fancy carriage rolled in front of the house. It was either the same carriage as the one that brought me before the Master, or one just like it. Kenton walked back into the room and said ¡°Our ride is here, we can go see the Master now¡± I nodded back and we both walked out of the room and got into the waiting carriage.


    The Carriage moved slowly through the mildly crowded streets, so it took nearly a full candle mark to reach the heights. Beautiful palaces lined the cliff edge, each one with sprawling grounds, granite construction and accented with limestone, making each palace gleam brightly in the sunlight. The cost of importing the huge granite blocks all the way from the Kulta Mountains instead of using local sandstone was astounding. Everything about the heights oozed wealth and status, the rich green grass, the full hedges trimmed in fanciful shapes and the color explosion that was their gardens.


    The carriage pulled up to one such palace, the guards at the gates didn¡¯t even stop the carriage, just opened the gates as it approached and let it through. I expected the carriage to once again pull around to one of the side entrances that lead to the basement. I was wrong, the carriage continued down the main path towards the huge iron banded wooden double doors.


    When the carriage pulled to a stop, a footman opened out door and placed a stepping on the ground then stepped aside with a bow. Kenton climbed out of the carriage, exuding dignity and didn¡¯t acknowledge the presence of the footman.  I climbed out after him, gave the footman a nod and followed Kenton up the wide stone steps.


    The guards at the door opened it as we approached, showing a tall thin man in richly appointed robes and holding a long staff with a silver crescent moon adorning the top. When we stepped across the threshold he spoke in a deep resonating tone ¡°The lord is expecting you, please follow me¡± he bowed at the waist, holding the staff perfectly straight. As he straightened up, he turned and began to walk down the great hall in a stately fashion.


    We were guided through several halls, going deeper into the palace. The wealth shown outside paled in comparison to the riches held within. Silk tapestries, marble busts, gold ornaments, light globes held in place by gilded silver mounts and other treasures on casual display. My fingers itched to pocket a few trinkets, but I held it in check and followed the Seneschal and Kenton. Cat was more important than any mere trinket I could filch.


    We were brought to what looked like a small waiting room. A pretty woman with long satiny black hair sat behind a small desk, she looked up from writing in a scroll as we entered. The seneschal nodded to her, and without a word she got up from her desk and knocked lightly once on the door behind and to the side of her desk before opening it and going inside, closing the door behind herself.  A few moments later she emerged along with a tall nobleman, he had grey in his full beard, and shoulder length brown hair held back from his face by a silver moon crested gold band resting on his forehead. A broad smile that didn¡¯t quite reach his eyes stretched across his face when his eyes fell upon me.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Irnoc my boy, I am Lord Yazid. We have met once before; though you, no doubt, do not recognize me¡± Yazid¡¯s voice was full of resonating and cultured tones. It sounded rather pompous to me, but I could hear a thread of steel hidden in there, reflecting the control and determination this man possessed.


    I nodded in understanding. This was the master, the man who would help me get Cat back in return for help in some kind of special project. After a moment I remembered my courtesy lessons from a couple weeks ago and bowed from the waist, upper body parallel to the floor. I kept my mouth shut, remembering that I shouldn¡¯t speak until he asked me a direct question. It wouldn¡¯t do to antagonize this man, at least until he told me where Cat is.


    With a soft chuckle, Yazid said ¡°Enough of such formalities my boy, I get enough of such nearly constantly. I grow weary of all the pomp and ceremony. Come with me into my study and we can talk candidly.¡± I didn¡¯t buy it for a moment, to my ears, his chuckle rang hollow and his eyes looked hungry, not amused. I had to play along though; I straightened from my bow, gave him a crooked smile and nodded.


    Yazid¡¯s eyes fell on Kenton, his tone serious again said ¡°thankyou Master Kenton, you may refresh yourself if you wish before returning to your other duties.¡±


    At the clear dismissal, Kenton gave half a bow and respectfully muttered ¡°my lord¡± and turned and let me alone with Lord Yazid.


    Yazid watched him leave for a moment then looked back at me, stretching his mouth into a smile again and gestured for me to follow as he turned and went back into his study. I followed, keeping a few steps behind him as I did. The study was filled with floor to ceiling shelves adorned with numerous books and scrolls, a few glow bulbs hung from his ceiling from a gold and silver chandelier decorated with the silver crescent moon motifs.


    The Lord moved around his large; darkly stained solid wood desk, it seemed to be all carved of one piece rather than with boards with small silver crescents inlayed around the entire outer edge, and sat down in a stuffed armchair with a high winged back and gestured for me to take the sole other seat in the room, a much simpler wooden chair with plush cushions tied to it. I took the indicated seat and prepared myself to wait for this meeting to really begin.


    After the Lord sat in his chair, he touched several of the silver crescents on his side of the table in a seemingly random order; I took special note just in case. When he touched the last crescent, I felt magic energies spring up around the entire room; it covered every wall, the ceiling and the floor. It felt like one of those wards I recently learned about, but I wasn¡¯t sure which one exactly. ¡°Now that we are secure, no one can overhear anything we say, we can begin. I believe you are aware of why I called this meeting, yes?¡± he looked at me intently and I knew he wanted me to answer this time.


    ¡°I was told you had new information on where Cat is and some mention of a special project was made to me.¡± I did my best to keep the intensity of my need to know where Cat was throttled, but I knew I wasn¡¯t as successful as I would have liked. It didn¡¯t matter much on reflection, they already knew how much I needed to find and save her. It¡¯s why this Lord Yazid A.K.A. the Master was comfortable revealing his identity to me at this moment.


    ¡°Accurate and succinct, I approve¡± He said. ¡°I will begin with, what I am sure, you wish to know most. Your friend Cat.¡± I nodded and he continued ¡°One of my agents, the one sent to Lundness discovered some rather interesting news. Your friend arrived there by boat a few weeks ago. She was sold to one of the, shall we say, more specialized brothels, catering to more selective tastes.¡± He watched me carefully when he said this, probably reading all the little cues that betrayed the tension and anger I felt at this information.


    ¡°Fortunately for her, but rather unfortunate for the proprietor and some of his clients¡± he continued ¡°that particular brothel burned to the ground, killing several people including the Jarl¡¯s eldest son. A Hathan Priest took her into his custody and has kept her at his temple in Lundness since. My agent couldn¡¯t get any more information from within the temple, but there are other channels I can use to gather more intelligence and possibly extract her safely.¡±


    I visibly relaxed when I heard she was safe. She was still a prisoner in another temple on the other side of a mountain range, and at least a week¡¯s travel away, but she was alive. I was about to ask when she could be extracted when Yazid spoke again, cutting me off before I could utter a sound.


    ¡°Now, I have already incurred great expense in this search for your friend. Following these other channels to learn more will cost magnitudes more in bribes and gifts, not even to say getting her out of the Temple of Hatha safely and brought back here.¡± He steepled his fingers in front of his mouth and gazed at me over them. ¡°Now we are friends here, and friends help one another. You already indicated that you would be willing to help my little organization if I were to help you find your friend. I am more than willing to go to these great expenses for my friends, but I must know Irnoc, are you my friend? Will you aid me in my Project with the same zeal and passion that you seek out your Cat?¡±


    There was no attempt at joviality anymore; his face was hard and serious. I had the feeling, despite my newly acquired abilities with each of the god¡¯s realms, that if I gave the wrong answer here and now, I would not leave this room alive.  I swallowed against my suddenly dry throat, looked him directly in the eye and said ¡°of course, as you said, friends help one another. I would be rude and ungrateful to accept all your help in finding Cat and not helping you with this project of yours in return.¡± I was mildly surprised at how steady my voice was, confident even.


    Yazid¡¯s stern demeanor eased again, and he was once again projecting the kind and pleasant image of a man who just wants to help his friends. ¡°I was hoping you would feel that way.¡± He looked over at a tall thick candle, marked with a line about every inch or so, the only open flame in the room. ¡°You still have a few candle marks before you are due to return to the temple for the evening. Why don¡¯t we go for a bit of a walk, and we can discuss my Project and the role I envision for you.¡±


    After a slight hesitation I nodded ¡°yes, a walk does sound quite pleasant my lord¡±.


    ¡°Please, when in private, just call me Yazid; all my friends do¡± he said, then he tapped another sequence of crescents on the desk and I felt the wards fall away to almost nothing. I could though feel a slight trace of the magic in the air, almost an echo of what was there only moments ago. Lord Yazid stood slowly from his chair and I followed suit. He strode over to one of his massive book cases and pressed on what looked like a knot in the natural grain pattern of the wood. There was a very slight vibration as the shelf slid backwards and then to the side, revealing a staircase spiraling down into the very bones of the heights.

 Chapter 14

    Chapter 14


    Irnoc


    The Redstone Stairwell was smoothly polished, so much so that light seemed to dance across the wall from the sparkly placed light globes. It wound down in a tight spiral, sinking deeply into the rock of the cliff.


    After what felt like a candle mark following Lord Yazid down the endless staircase, my legs aching from all the steps, we finally came to the bottom. The stairs ended abruptly and opened out into a hallway leading deeper into the cliff. I had to pause for a moment as the world seemed to spin around me, those stairs were tightly spiraled. Yazid paused to let me regain my bearings then lead me down the hall.


    At the end of the hall was a large iron banded wooden door. Yazid took out a large bronze key and unlocked the door. The door opened to a small chamber with a table, a man in robes sitting and eating some bread, cheese and olives. He stood as soon as the door was open and bowed to Yazid, hastily brushing crumbs from his beard.  When he rose from his brow, he looked at Yazid, and at a nod from the lord, he walked over to the far wall. On that wall was a strange pattern of inlaid metals and gemstones forming an intricate arch.


    The man closed his eyes and bowed his head. I could feel the building of power making the room vibrate. The energy building felt somehow fluid and cool against my skin. The pressure from the power built in the room until it reached a breaking point, there was a small flash of indigo light between his cupped hands, revealing a foot long fish swimming in circles through the air. It was a vibrant gold color that shifted in hues when the light glinted off of its scales. It had long flowing fins with the gold radiating out to their tips where it faded to translucency.  The man and the fish made eye contact and the fish swam to the arch, flowing along its contours, the fins rippling and gently brushing the pattern. Each time it passed a gem, the gem began to glow. I could feel the power radiating from this fish and flowing into the gems and from them throughout the metal inlays.


    Once all the gems glowed with power, the fish made once circle around the other man¡¯s head and vanished in another flash of light. Even as the fish disappeared, the glow from the gems flowed along all the inlayed metal patterns until the entire arch glowed. The glow then began to spiral inwards to the center of the arch until the inside glowed a bright white. The glow seemed to bow inward and a point of darkness appeared at its center, as the glow bowed further the spot grew until it was no longer a dot of darkness, but another room where solid stone was a moment ago.


    Yazid nodded at the Caller and gestured at the arch, ¡°after you my fine young friend¡±


    I looked at the arch again, it still contained a good bit of power, but I could feel it slowly draining away. It would not stay open forever. I took a deep breath and walked through, Yazid following closely behind.


    On the other side of the portal was another underground chamber. This other room was much larger, it had a high vaulting ceiling and the stone was drastically different. The stone was dark with tiny flecks that glittered in the light cast by the several light globes attached to the walls. In the center of the room was a large clear crystalline pyramid. It looked like it was grown straight out of the stone floor, and on closer inspection looked to be hollow.


    ¡°Magnificent isn¡¯t it¡± Yazid said, making me jump. I was too engrossed in the new environment; I forgot he was here with me.


    ¡°Um, yes it is. What is this place?¡± I asked as I tried to slow my heart rate.


    ¡°This is the God Forge. In this chamber, the most secure and stable location in Hierium, seismically and magically. It is here that you will aid me in taking down the power of the temples and return the power to where it belongs, and stop their tyranny and assassination policies if you are blessed with the ability to Call, but lack the inclination to serve in the temples ¡± Yazid intoned


    My mind went back to the day the priests came to my home, killed my parents and destroyed my home; and for the first time in a long time I recalled that little stone figure that huddled with me. I used to think I had imagined it, until I learned about Calling, but perhaps my mother or father was a Caller. Maybe that is why the priests killed them. I fixed my eyes on Yazid as he continued.


    ¡°There are many Callers who do not wish to be under the rule of the temples, but fear for their lives should they disobey. Our order has given sanctuary to these disaffected Callers and given them purpose and leads to their own freedom.¡± Yazid continued.  ¡°It is here that we will create the ultimate tool to overthrow the temples. What is the greatest obstacle we face in taking down the temples Irnoc¡± he asked.


    I thought for a moment then ventured a guess ¡°All the Callers they have serving them?¡±


    ¡°True to a point, but we are gaining more supporters all the time, numbers alone won¡¯t stop us. Any other ideas my boy?¡±


    I thought long and hard about the answer to his question, it couldn¡¯t be man power or wealth, the nobles could probably pull together an army fairly quickly, and they had vast fortunes at their fingertips. ¡°I¡¯m not sure¡± I said finally.


    ¡°It¡¯s the Gods. Any individual caller can be overcome or taken out by other means, but there is once force the temples can call upon when things are at their most dire. The gods themselves. No group of callers can overcome this momentous gap in available power. The temples can call the Gods and crush us and there isn¡¯t a thing we can do about it right now. That is why our most brilliant and innovative callers and engineers managed to design the Gods Forge. With this we can forge our own god to combat the temple Gods.¡±


    I gaped in astonishment at his statement. Creating their own god, it seemed ludicrous and impossible. I shook my head and asked ¡°how is such a thing possible?¡±


    ¡°It has taken several years to create and fine tune the design, but the end result is this¡± Yazid gestured to the hollow crystal pyramid, as my eyes followed I then noticed the circles of inlaid metal on the floor next to the pyramid. Complex runes and sigils followed every line and contour, connecting the circles to the pyramid.  I may have started learning about runes and sigils used in Calling, but the complexity of this design left me confused and unable to parse out their meanings.


    ¡°Within these two pentacles, the elemental servants of the gods are called. The moment they are called into existence, their power activates the runes and their power is channeled through the lines within each star to the outside lines of the circles and gets funneled into the pyramid. Both elementals power collects inside the pyramid, condensing into a new creature with almost as much power as each elemental had separately but in one body.¡± Yazid said with pride. ¡°There is some power loss when just using elementals from the same godly plane, but we discovered that when the elementals of different planes are combined in the right order, the power the new creature gets is magnitudes greater than both the elementals combined.¡±Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    ¡°Is this what you need me for? My access to the other god¡¯s realms?¡± I asked


    ¡°While your aid in calling and forging these elementals into a new being would be useful, we have disaffected callers from each of the temples in our ranks already. No, in order to control our newly forged god, a caller with an affinity for each plane that went into its forging must be used. And even with those who have dual affinities, we would still require at least 3 callers to control one such creature. That leaves their control somewhat imprecise. You my boy, you have the ability within yourself to be able to control our newly forged god on your own. You would have fine control over its powers and can use it to greatest effect in taking down the temples.¡±


    I thought about my parents, about the last seven years I struggled to survive, the beatings I took while learning to break in and steal from others, being sold into slavery when I finally got caught. The priests, who were so determined to kill my parents when one or the other didn¡¯t want to live as a slave to the temples, it was their fault. They left e for dead, sentenced to live alone and fend for myself, never to hear my father¡¯s kind words, my mother¡¯s warm embrace again. All because they wanted absolute control over everyone. I felt my face flush in anger, my heart pounding in my ears, all those years of living in fear of the priests turning into anger. ¡°I¡¯m in; tell me what I can do to bring those bastards down.¡±


    ¡°I was hoping you would say that¡± Yazid replied. He looked over at the caller who opened up the portal for us; I was so distracted I didn¡¯t even realize he followed us through. I cursed myself internally for not paying attention, sloppiness like that can get you a knife in your back, I knew better.  ¡°Send in Adam and Jordan would you please¡±


    He bowed silently and turned to the wall, the inlayed archway was on that wall too. He called the fish like elemental again and quickly had the portal open again. this time the moment it was open two men in gold colored robes strode in and bowed to Yazid then said ¡°milord, are you ready for the demonstration?¡±


    ¡°Yes thank you for attending, please show Irnoc the process we use¡±


    ¡°As you wish milord¡± both men strode towards the Gods Forge. One at each circle on opposite sides of the pyramid. They both knelt on one knee, hands placed on the outer ring of the circles, and Called. I could feel the vibration in the air as they reached through to Selena¡¯s Celestial realm. A swirled of golden smoke spiraled through the circle, coalescing into two very similar figures. They were each about a foot tall, manlike in appearance except for avian heads and large (for their size) wings attached at their shoulder blades.


    The moment they solidified at the exact center of the circles, the runes began to glow in a golden light. They looked down at their feet, then their heads swiveled to look at their Callers, I could see pain, confusion and betrayal in their eyes as they stared at their masters. They opened their beaks to shriek, but no sound escaped from the circles edge.


    Golden light streamed out of them, looking like a blend of gas and liquid. It collected in the lines and flowed through like water in a riverbed. It collected in the outer ring of the circles like Yazid said and began flowing along more lines attached to the corners of the pyramid and it started to fill with swirling golden gas.


    I could see the Sprites, their faces twisted in agony, their forms becoming less distinct as their essence was drained away, diminishing in size and detail. I could feel an echo of their pain and betrayal, they knew they were dying, everything that made them what they were being drawn out of them forever. My heart ached at the sight, the terrible rage I felt at the temples being replaced with horror at the sight before me.  I felt wetness on my face, I reached up and felt tears streaming from my eyes and running down my cheeks.


    It only took a few minutes, sprites didn¡¯t have a lot of power I knew, and they were the weakest rank of servants to the Gods. When the forms of the sprites were gone and the last bit of power flowed into the pyramid, I could see the golden gas condensing into a new form. It was vaguely humanoid, almost twice the size of the sprites that died to make it, but its form wasn¡¯t set like the ones that were used to make it. Its shape kept flowing ad shifting, twisting and doubling over, trying to form wings one moment, then collapsing into a pulsating sphere the next.


    I looked at Yazid to ask him how they could do such a terrible thing to these elementals, I saw his eyes locked on the pyramid, pride and greed filling his eyes as he saw another small step in his plans. I could feel menace radiating from him as he stared at the newly forged creature. I couldn¡¯t say anything to him now, I knew men like this. If I tried to stop him or argue, I would be killed. Anything in his way would be destroyed. I swallowed hard and quickly wiped my face on my sleeve. I couldn¡¯t go through with this, but I couldn¡¯t stay at the temples either, not with knowing that they killed my parents now. I know where Cat is now, I can go rescue her and get away from all of this. I know enough about my abilities to get by and survive and even get stronger. I can¡¯t let myself be drawn into this Mad plan, there had to be another way. I quickly composed myself before Yazid turned to look at me.


    ¡°I know it¡¯s unnerving to watch at first, but you must remember, sprites like these are barely smarter than animals. They can¡¯t think like we can, and it¡¯s for the greater good. Their sacrifice will allow freedom for you and your fellow callers, and bring our country back to the way it was before.¡± Yazid told me in a comforting tone, I didn¡¯t take any comfort from it, but I nodded anyways. I let my eyes droop a little.


    ¡°You look exhausted Irnoc. It¡¯s still a bit early, but you¡¯ve had a hard day. Why don¡¯t you go back to the temple and get some rest. We will talk more soon.¡± He smiled at me.


    ¡°thank you sir, you are right. I feel exhausted from everything. I think I will get some rest. I look forward to aiding you in knocking down the temples, and being truly free once more.¡± I hoped he didn¡¯t notice that I was lying through my teeth, and accepted it at face value. I learned well how to control my expression when dealing with the ruthless and backstabbing rats on the street.


    Yazid gave me a smile and gestured to the gate keeper. He opened the portal once more and Yazid led me back to the chamber under his palace. I was in a nervous sweat the entire way back up the winding stairs and into his office.


    Yazid took his seat behind his desk once again and said ¡°rest well Irnoc and study hard. Our plan will take some time before it reaches fruition, so you have time to learn and master your abilities. You will need to be very skilled in order to aid us as much as I know you can. We have had some setbacks to our plan as we worked out the best way to succeed, but now that we have the process figured out, we should be ready to topple the tyranny of the temples in three short years. We will continue to tutor you in the different specialties your ability gives you access to. Learn hard and fast what the temple teaches, using the enemies skills and knowledge against them is a time honored tactic. I know you will do well.¡±


    I bowed low and said ¡°thank you again for the special training so I can have full use of my ability as a Caller. I will study hard and master these arts.¡± I allowed myself to stagger a bit when rising from the bow. ¡°My apologies Yazid, I think I really must rest, and thank you¡±


    ¡°Yes, you may leave, the carriage is waiting for you outside and the driver already knows to return you to the Temple directly.¡± Yazid said with a wave of his hand.


    I bowed once more, and left his office and walked back to the entrance I was shown. Shit, I thought, if the driver takes me directly to the temple I will have to sneak out of the temple tonight after everybody is asleep, and get past the priests guards and the mundane guards as well. The mundane guards will be easy enough, but the priests with their totems Called, will be much harder. With a deep sigh I set to planning how to break out rather than breaking in on the bumpy ride back to the temple.

 Chapter 15

    Chapter 15


    Irnoc


    I thought long and hard about the best way to reach Cat without being caught while I lay in bed waiting for my dorm mates to all fall asleep. The fastest way to Lundness, without a flying beast anyways, would be by ship. Would the priests, once they realized I was gone, think to look for a former slave on a ship? The priests in general don¡¯t know about Cat, and wouldn¡¯t think I was going to Lundness, but Kadeem knows about Cat, as do the Order of Kinathe. They wouldn¡¯t hesitate to look for me by ship, but going on foot would take too long, and either the priests or the Order would find me rather quickly. I could try to steal a mount, but having never ridden anything in my life and would probably kill myself.


    Perhaps a combination of ship and travel on foot would work. According to what sailors say when drinking, there are several villages along the coast that most trading ships stop in at on their way between the cities. If the captain and crew thought I was going all the way to Lundness on their ship; but sneak off the shipjust before we get to port when no one is looking, I could leave a false trail and no one would know where to look for me, giving me a chance to find and escape with Cat.


    About half a candle mark later, once my dorm mates were all deeply asleep, and the hall monitors went to bed themselves, believing their charges were all deeply asleep. It wasn¡¯t until nearly three full candle marks past midnight when I felt it was safe to move about. I put my acolyte robes back on, the clothes I came in were probably burned I thought as I dressed quietly. I reached beneath my mattress and extracted a small wrapped bundle, careful not to let it clink. I slipped a few gold and silver pieces, after I got back to the temple, which would fetch me enough at a good fence to grant me passage on a ship to Lundness.


    The hallways were hauntingly empty and cloaked in shadows, three out of every four light globes shut off to conserve the charge. I could hear a few echoing footsteps from the booted feet of the temple guards. I looked both ways down the halls, listening carefully for a long moment trying to catch any hint of movement. I slipped barefoot down the hall, heading towards the side entrance. I knew the main entrance would be closed for the night, but if I was lucky the side doors might not be so secure.


    After nearly half a candle mark of slowly moving through the halls silently and hiding from guards on patrol, I finally reached the servants entrance in the side of the temple, not far from the kitchens. As I approached the door, I could see the locking bar was engaged and a stout lock holding it closed. I reached into the pocket inside my sleeve and extracted a set of lock picks I managed to fashion, they were crude but they should get the job done at least.


    I reached for the lock on the door, but froze scant inches from it. There was a slight buzz of energy coming from the door. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I relaxed my mind and unfocused my eyes like I was taught. I opened my eyes and the door was a blur in my vision, but there was a soft radiance of red light coming from the sides of the door and coating the sliding bar and lock. Shit, I thought, they even have the servants doors locked and warded. I looked around; frantically I looked around trying to think of another way out of the temple that wouldn¡¯t be too heavily guarded. In the quiet of the night I heard the rattle of wagon wheels on cobblestones. The morning shipments, perfect. If I can¡¯t get out that way, I deserve to be caught.


    I immediately changed mental gears and quietly sped off towards the servant¡¯s quarters. This would require a change of clothing. Slipping into a servant¡¯s room, I pulled a uniform from the chest at the foot of a sleeping servant¡¯s bed. I took it to a nearby supply closet and changed into it. The uniform was rather baggy on me, so I folded up the acolytes robe I just pulled off and slid them under the tunic and trousers, giving me the look of a rather rotund servant. I openly walked from the servant¡¯s quarters and went to the kitchens. When I got there servants were helping unload the wagon already.


    ¡°You, lazy bastard, get to work or I¡¯ll get to work on you¡±


    I glanced up and saw what I assumed to be the mistress of the kitchens. A rather large woman herself, standing at least six feet tall with thick slabs of muscle covering her arms and a large apron covering a round belly protruding from her broad frame. She held a large wooden spoon the size of a club, though it looked smaller in her hands. She had a fierce scowl on her face and steel grey hair up in a tight bun. Her hard eyes were locked on me.


    I bowed my head at her and scurried past to help unload the cart like the other servants. It took less than half a candle mark to unload all the goods and store them into the pantry. While the mistress of the kitchens and the wagon driver compared counts I slipped out the open doorway, hopefully she wouldn¡¯t remember an extra servant with the breakfast preparations ahead of her.


    The wagon is fairly large, but uncovered, and there was nothing left in the back to hide behind or under. I could see the guards manning their posts at the gate in the wall surrounding the temple. I looked at the wagon again, trying to think of some way to hide in it, and then I caught a flash of movement and ducked quickly. I heard the squeaking chirps of bats and let out a deep breath. While I was kneeling I noticed a few gaps in the frame and springs and other parts of the underside that I didn¡¯t know the names of. If I was careful I could wedge my feet in to a couple of them and grip with my hands. It wouldn¡¯t be comfortable, and would be tiring but it would get me out of sight of the temple and I could make my way free.


    I rolled myself under the wagon, situated my robes and plunder on my belly but secured under my servants uniform, positioned my feet and hands, and shortly after the driver came out and climbed aboard.


    I heard the driver cluck at his horses and snapped the reigns slightly and the two horses started walking forward at an easy pace, the racket the wheels on either side of my head made drowned out all other noise. The wagon paused at the gate as the guards checked the back of the wagon and exchanged a few words with the driver, and then we were off again, gradually picking up speed until we were moving at a fast walk.


    Once we were far enough from the temple, and I was as certain as I could be that I wouldn¡¯t be seen, I eased my aching feet out and dropped quietly but quickly down to the ground and let the wagon roll past me. I felt a soft warm cushion in the middle of my back as I landed, and the smell of fresh horse manure filled my nose. Of course, one moment sooner or later and I would have avoided it. I¡¯ll need a different shirt anyways before I get out of the city.


    I stood up and shook the moist clumps from my shirt and took stock of my current location. I was in the middle of the hills, halfway between the Heights and the Warrens. I didn¡¯t look completely out of place in my current garb, but I would raise some eyebrows if anyone saw me wandering around. I moved deeper into the city, avoiding eyes for the most part and going to the warrens.


    After about a candle mark I arrived at Jorgen¡¯s, a second hand clothes dealer. I knew he paid street thieves who pilfered clothes and stole handkerchiefs and the like. He had reasonable rates on decent clothes for the warrens, I was sure I could at least trade in the servants clothes, made from good cotton, for one full set of clothes a bit more worn, and wouldn¡¯t make me stand out. The store was in reasonably good condition, I opened his front door and walked in. there were clothes piled in several bins and some folded on tables around the shop.


    ¡°Hey Jorgen, how have you been?¡± I asked after reaching his counter.


    ¡°Irnoc, is that you? I heard you got caught and sold to the mines¡± he said, an affable smile on his face.


    ¡°An exaggeration I¡¯m sure, no iron collar around my neck¡± I grinned back, ¡°got a deal for you, I happened to come across this lovely, almost brand new uniform. High quality cotton weaving, I¡¯m sure they will fetch you a silver mark at the least.¡±


    He cast his measuring eye over the uniform I was wearing, reached across the counter to feel the weave between his thumb and forefinger. ¡°Hmm, decent weave, light weight but good quality. The temple emblem embroidered in reduces the value a bit though. It will have to be taken out and will leave holes in the garments. Are you looking to sell or trade?¡±


    ¡°Trade, I¡¯m in the market for some good traveling clothes, got anything to suit?¡±The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    He looked me over up and down and thought for a moment. ¡°I think I got a pair of canvas trousers and a canvas shirt that is sturdy and reasonable wear, hardly stained at all. Traveling are you? Where abouts you headin?¡±


    ¡°I got a sudden errand I need to run out of town, I¡¯ll be back in a couple weeks. Got any foot wraps to go with the trousers and shirt?¡± I asked


    ¡°I might have something for a bit extra.¡± He said and strode over to one of the bins and started digging around. He extracted the shirt and trousers then went to another bin and with a small exclamation came out with leather and canvas footwear. A pad of leather stitched to canvas wraps with a cord to bind it to the foot. He walked back and placed the items on the counter. His descriptions of the items were fairly accurate, great condition for the warrens, and could even get by in the poorer sections of the hills. Sturdy enough to take a bit of weather and road wear. They should do well enough to suit my purposes.


    Jorgen walked around me, examining the clothes I was wearing, his footsteps paused for a moment as he saw the wet spot between my shoulder blades.


    ¡°For the uniform you are wearing, minus the cost of removing the embroidery, and the stain on your back reduces the value too, I¡¯ll give you the foot wraps and the shirt and trousers for the uniform and four silver pennies.¡± Jorgen offered.


    ¡°C¡¯mon, Jorgen you and I both know you will get at least 5silver pennies for this uniform and you will take out the embroidery yourself. The stain will come out easily, since it¡¯s fresh. Those clothes can¡¯t be worth any more than 3 silver pennies, foot wraps included. You will still make a profit with a straight trade.¡± I countered.


    ¡°I have 5 children and a sick wife to take care of, do you really want to take the food from their very mouths?¡± he asked with a sad look on his face.


    ¡°I know you don¡¯t have any kids or a wife Jorgen. Let¡¯s just make the even trade and call it a night, you know you will still make a profit from this deal.¡± I said with a laugh.


    With a deep sigh he replied ¡°Can¡¯t blame a poor shop keep for trying. It¡¯s a deal¡± we shook hands and I pulled off the trousers and shirt right there, carefully setting the bundled robes with the loot wrapped up in them to the side and pulled on the new clothes and secured the foot wrappings on my feet.


    Once I finished I grabbed my bundle and gave Jorgen a wave and said ¡°fare well, say high to the wife and kids for me¡± and chuckled as I left his shop.


    Now that I had my clothing problems taken care of, time to make some coin. This won¡¯t be as easy as Jorgen; the Weasel is tight with coin and drives a hard bargain. The fox¡¯s pawn shop was only a few blocks away and I arrived quickly. I saw the sign hanging in front of his shop. Three gold coins, the universal symbol of the pawn broker. Showing for every two coins he gives, he gets three back.


    I entered through the front door, the shop was divided in half, many low cost items lined the shelves in the front half, a wall with a barred window in the middle and a locked door separating the more expensive items and the items held as collateral for the loans he gave out. Weasel was sitting behind the barred window, going through his ledger while the shop was empty.


    ¡°Hey weasel, how you been¡± I asked.


    ¡°Roach, heard you was made a slavie, did you do a runner?¡± he asked pointedly looking at my neck.


    I pulled down the collar of my shirt and said ¡°Nah, you know the rumor mill; them cackling old bats can¡¯t keep a story straight.¡± I knew if he thought I was a runaway slave, he would turn me in quicker than you can blink for the standing reward of a gold mark.


    He looked carefully at my neck for a moment then looks in my eye and says ¡°well what do you want then?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve got some gold and silver baubles for you, looking to sell.¡± I said as I pulled out a small silver candle stick, a gold paperweight and a few other small pieces.


    ¡°Let me see here¡± Weasel said as he pulled out his scales and weights. He placed each item carefully on one dish and added weights to the other until they balanced out, made a careful note on a roll of parchment and moved on to the next. After comparing the weights to his notes on the value per ounce on a chart, he pulled out his abacus and did some quick calculations. ¡°I¡¯ll give you half the value by weight.¡±


    ¡°Only half? C¡¯mon Weasel, you can do at least three Quarters value. You know you¡¯ll still get a good profit. This is high quality gold and silver here, not alloys.¡± I said.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you half and you¡¯ll be happy with it. There is no guarantee on the purity and you know it, not until it¡¯s melted down. I know it¡¯s stolen, and I know you need the money bad, otherwise you wouldn¡¯t be here. I¡¯ll give you seven gold marks and six silver marks and you will be happy with it.¡±


    I knew when Weasel wouldn¡¯t be budged, and he knew he had me over a fence. Seven gold marks should be plenty enough to get me to Lundness; just a couple months ago it would have been a vast fortune for me. ¡°It¡¯s a deal¡± I said, resigned.


    Weasel handed me the coins, the gold weighing heavily in my hand. I looked around and saw a leather purse on the shelf, ¡°you mind throwing in this purse?¡±


    ¡°You know what, I like you kid. I¡¯ll throw in that purse for nothing.¡± I could see the glint of greed in his eye, with a cold feeling in the pit of my gut I knew he was going to have me jumped as soon as I was out of sight of his shop.


    I put the coins in the pouch and tucked it inside my shirt, grabbed the bundled robes, they might make it easier to get on a quick ship out of here if the ship captain thinks I¡¯m on temple business, and went out the door. As soon as the door was closed I took off running. If I could get to the docks quickly enough I could get on an outbound ship on the morning tide and avoid anyone Weasel could send after me.


    It took nearly a full candle mark to get near the docks, I stopped a little ways off and pulled the robes back on over my other clothes and walked in what I hoped was a dignified manner. I strode up to the dock master with purpose; I stood before him, with the two golden ropes stitched on his shoulders signifying his office and said ¡°I need to book passage on a ship to Lundness, on temple business. Could you direct me to a suitable vessel that will be leaving shortly?¡±


    ¡°Temple orders you say, do you have any papers to support your story?¡± his eyes roved up and down me, measuring everything about me.


    I extracted a gold mark from my pouch and told him ¡°I¡¯m sorry dock master, but some rather uncouth ruffians chased me and my papers were lost¡± I placed the gold mark in his hand subtly.


    He glanced at the mark, grunted and pocketed the coin and checked his large pocket watch. ¡°The Gulls Wing is set to depart in a candle mark once the tide begins to flow out. Pier seven, slip thirteen. She is traveling to Lundness and might have a room available¡± and after giving me direction he turned away and started shouting at one of his deputies. I darted off to pier seven and hope the captain had room for me, and not too dear.


    Pier seven wasn¡¯t too far down the dock, and I found it quickly. The Gulls wing was a massive three mast ship its gangplank was down and one of the ship¡¯s crew was standing at its foot. I strode up to him asked ¡°is the Captain available?¡±


    The crewman looked at me, noted the pastel red robes I was wearing and asked ¡°what business do ye have with de captain?¡±


    ¡°I need passage to the city of Lundness, the dock master said you that was your destination.¡± I answered


    ¡°Aye we be heading to Lundness, and we might have room for another passenger, just a bit¡± and he turned to the ship and yelled up. ¡°Oy Skal, go fetch the captain, we has an important visitor seeking passage¡± one of the crew on board stuck his head over the railing, saw me standing there and nodded then disappeared.


    A few moments later, a very large and grizzled looking man wearing a three pointed leather hat faded and cracked from the sun and saltwater walked down the gangplank He had a black and white streaked beard that fanned out over his chest. In a deep rough voice he says ¡°I hear you do be looking for passage aboard my ship to Lundness. And that ye be an important guest.¡± He looked me up and down and took in the robes I was wearing and my rather unkempt hair. ¡°Ye be wearing the getup of one of them Corana priests, but if ye be old enough to be a priest I¡¯ll eat my hat. What be yer business in Lundness and why should I give you one of my few rooms left. Will ye be payin fer the voyage?¡±


    I kept my composure over the barrage of questions the Captain threw at me. ¡°I am looking to book passage, no I am not a full priest, but rather I am an Acolyte of Corana, serving her chosen on this mission. My business is that of the Lady of the sun and I may not speak it to one of the uninitiated, but yes I will be paying for the passage, a reasonable passage fee anyways.¡± I kept my gaze firm and my chin held up. I tried to mimic the haughty air some of the priests at the temple affected. I could feel a few drops of sweat trickle down my back from the strain.


    ¡°Well as it happens I do have one or two rooms left to let, they are neither fine nor fancy. But they are secure and comfortable enough. And I¡¯ll be askin fer three gold marks, in advance.¡± The captain said with a grin. I could see several gaps where his teeth had been knocked out or pulled.


    Three full gold marks! That¡¯s nearly five month¡¯s wages for a Journeyman Craftsman; I looked up at the sky, and could see the lightening with the rising of the sun. This was the first ship out, and would be sailing in under a candle mark. I took a deep breath and said ¡°agreed, three gold marks for passage to Lundness, and Corana¡¯s blessing be upon you.¡± I slid my hand up my sleeve and extracted the purse from within the pocket sewn in there and pulled three gold coins out, leaving the pouch in my sleeve at least I still have three gold marks left and a handful of silver marks. I placed the three gold marks in the captain¡¯s hand and he put them in his coat pocket. He snapped his fingers at his crewman who then darted up the gangplank and came rushing back with a portable writing desk.


    The captain pulled out a parchment and quickly wrote out a bill of sale, passage to Lundness for three gold marks. He filled out two copies and sealed both with a blob of wax and a stamp he pulled from the writing desk. He handed me one and put the other away. ¡°Here ye are, Skal here will show ye to yer cabin. I trust your voyage will be pleasant and smooth.¡±


    I looked up the gangplank and saw the same scruffy young man that fetched the captain standing at the top, waiting for me. I nodded at the captain and said ¡°thank you captain, will we be under way soon?¡±


    ¡°Aye, we will. About another half a candle mark and the tide will be just right.¡±


    I turned and strode up the gangplank, nodded at Skal and was shown to where I will be living for the next five days if all went well.

 Chapter 16

    Chapter 16


    Cat


    Cat stood before the large set of double doors that lead to the Patriarch of Hatha¡¯s office. She marveled at the beauty of the doors, made from the palest Rock Maple wood with large pieces of clear faceted crystals set in a stylized whirl wind pattern that glittered in the light of the enchanted globes filling the halls with their soft white luminescence. The whole temple was decorated like this, though some areas not as lavishly. Even the Acolytes dormitories, where she had been staying for the last few weeks were richly decorated. She wished her parents could see where she was now, and Irnoc.


    Irnoc; the thought of her best friend sent a pang of guilt through her. Here she was living in the lap of luxury like some noble woman while Irnoc was likely breaking through rocks in one of the mines in Sydan¡¯Kulta. It was her fault that they were both sold as slaves, her idea to rob the Justice that sold her parents into slavery.


    Cat shook herself mentally. There was nothing she could do for him right now. She was summoned to appear before the Patriarch himself and she was stalling at his door. She reached for the large crystal knocker on the door and just as her fingers were about to touch it, the doors swung open revealing a tall beautiful blond woman in the ivory robes of a high priestess. ¡°Ahh Catharine, the Patriarch is expecting you. Please come in.¡± her voice had a rich warm velvety smoothness.


    ¡°Cat please ma¡¯am¡± cat replied as she entered into the front office.


    ¡°Yes of course, Cat. The Patriarch is ready to see you now¡± she said as she opened the door to the inner office.


    Cat gave a slight curtsy at the priestess and walked into the Patriarchs personal office, head bowed slightly in respect. These were not people to get on the wrong side of, and besides they rescued her from being a sex slave in that brothel. She was grateful for freeing her and teaching her the basics in how to use Corana¡¯s gift. These last few weeks had been a wonder. All the good food she could eat, no worry about rats biting her when she slept, or having to sleep with a knife in her fist in case one of the boys got some ideas in their heads.


    ¡°Hello Cat, how have you been adjusting these last few weeks?¡±


    Cat looked up and saw an old man sitting behind a beautiful white marble desk with a bunch of crystal animal figurines decorating it. He looked in good shape for someone so old, wearing a stark white robe, and long blond and grey hair flowed over his shoulders to his chest.  Cat dropped into a wobbly curtsy, she had only learned how to do one a short time ago, and it still made her knees ache from the awkward position. ¡°I am doing well Lord Patriarch¡± she said.


    ¡°Please, you may call me Patriarch or Father, whichever you prefer. Please have a seat¡± he said and gestured to one of the armless but cushioned seats in front of his desk.


    Cat took a seat as she was bid and said ¡°Yes Patriarch¡± she couldn¡¯t call anyone father except her own. She didn¡¯t know if he was still alive anymore, but he was a good man.


    ¡°My child, you suffered terrible circumstances before Hathas will brought you before us. You were so injured, and suffered much cruelty. How has your recovery been?¡± the patriarch asked in a kindly tone.


    Cat thought back at Leif, the man who paid specifically to take young girls maidenheads. She tried to suppress the shudders at the thought of his touch against her skin. She wanted to bathe again. the thought of what he almost did to her made her skin crawl and she felt dirty deep inside even though he didn¡¯t succeed.  She shook herself mentally and looked the Patriarch directly in the eyes and in a firm tone said ¡°Yes Patriarch, I had a hard time before I was brought here. My injuries were not too severe and by the blessing of Hatha, I was healed of them fairly quickly.¡±


    ¡°Very well. I called you here today because I¡¯ve spoken with Corana¡¯s Matriarch recently, and she is eager to have such a talent as yourself brought to her temple where you can receive the best training for your abilities. Fortunately the early training in each temple is fairly close to each other. Close enough that we can help guide you in discovering your abilities and gaining some basic control over them. The Matriarch understands that you needed time to recover from your ordeal, but would like you to be sent to her as soon as you are able to travel safely.¡± The Patriarch said.


    Leave? Already? I just got used to this place, and learned so much. They want me gone so quickly? Cat thought to herself.


    Something of what she was thinking must have shown on her face because the Patriarch followed up with ¡°I know this is rather sudden for you, and we do not believe you are quite ready to travel yet. I tell you this now so that you may grow accustomed to the idea as you finish up your initial training. I believe that in about another fortnight you should be ready to begin the more specialized studies that each temple can provide its initiates.¡±


    ¡°I understand patriarch, I will ready myself for the journey in a week¡¯s time¡± cat said, tone even and controlled.


    ¡°very good my child, you may go back to your lessons now¡± he said with a gentile smile.


    Cat rose, gave another curtsey and left the Patriarchs office.


    After the outer doors closed behind her, Maja entered the Patriarchs office and said ¡°poor child, she didn¡¯t take that very well¡±


    ¡°I know, but she will do better in the long run with others of her kind. The temple of Corana is a better home for her than here, though she has been doing very well in her studies and adapting from the wretched life she lived before being sold as a slave.¡± The Patriarch said.


    Irnoc


    The cabin I was given was fairly small but comfortable. The bed frame was bolted to the floor, the knotted ropes holding up the straw filled mattress was tight and held up the thick mattress well. The flat topped chest, also secured with bolts to the floor doubled as a table, with wood ridges all around the edge to keep small items from easily rolling off. A fish oil lamp bolted to the wall was the only light source in the room. It was one of the middle rooms and had no window, so the air felt stuffy and had a faint scent of mildew.  The room was a far cry better than many places I¡¯ve had to sleep.


    The ship made way just after the peak of high tide, letting the oceans current carry us out to sea after the pilot boat, a small galley ship with twenty men at the oars, pulled us out of the slip and into the ship lanes.


    Once the ship cleared Quintar¡¯s Fingers and the docks were out of sight I climbed up the ladder, or are they stairs? I can never remember which they are called on a ship. I could feel the difference in the ships movements once we left the deep shelter of the bay. The ship began to dip and rise more, the rolling increased. I felt a sudden unease as my stomach seemed to fall a moment after the ship did. I swallowed hard and tried to ignore it. The ship seemed to slip sideways and I lost my footing on the ladder leading up to the deck and nearly hit my head before I caught myself with my hand.


    Once I reached the deck, I was nearly blinded by the bright blue sky, the sun just clearing the horizon. The salty sea air filled my nose, and the cries of sea birds filled the air between the snap of canvas in the wind, the humming of ropes tied tight and the shouts and curses of the sailors as they went about their tasks.


    Once my eyes adjusted, I could see the open see all the way to the horizon on the left side of the ship, port? Starboard? The cliffs that made up Quintar¡¯s fingers rose to the right but were slowly shrinking in the distance. The ship rose and fell with the waves, my legs felt unsteady in the unfamiliar movement, I could barely stay upright. How are the sailors able to stay upright, let alone move so easily and quickly without stumbling around? I thought.  I looked around at the ship, and the rising and falling waves, my head started to swim and my stomach felt like it was rising into my throat. I stumblingly lurched to the nearest railing and proceeded to bring up every meal I have ever eaten.


    For two full days on the open sea, I was either lying in my bunk or heaving over the side of the ship. At the end of the second day, the first mate took pity on me and gave me a foul tasting oily concoction, but it seemed to work. I still felt uneasy, weak and dried out, but it stopped the heaving of my stomach. I was able to start keeping down water and the fish soup that seemed to be the staple of the ship. By the middle of the third day I finally gained my sea legs as the sailors called it. I grew used to the constant up and down and sideways shifting movement and was able to move reasonably well across the deck.


    I stood on deck, enjoying the warm sunlight and the cooling breeze when the coolness of the breeze dropped; it became cold in what seemed like no time. The wind picked up and the sun¡¯s light began to fade. I looked up and saw ominous clouds racing towards the ship. The sea turned grey, and the large but steady waves began to churn back and forth, whipped to froth by the wind. The ship began to lurch unpredictably and I lost my footing as a particularly large wave crashed against the side of the ship. I heard the captain shouting unintelligible orders to his crew, I could hear the sound of his voice but the now howling wind distorted the words to gibberish, the crew seemed to understand what he wanted at least as they darted around the ship, securing  everything and doing tasks I didn¡¯t understand.


    I just stood there while freezing rain began to pound against my skin. It didn¡¯t make any sense to me. I¡¯ve never seen such a storm whip up so quickly.  One of the crewmen grabbed me by the shoulder and shook me to get my attention. He shouted in my ear, and even that was difficult to understand. ¡°YOU NEED TO GET BELOW DECK SIR, GO TO YOUR CABIN AND HOLD ON. YOU WILL GET WASHED AWAY IF YOU STAY UP HERE.¡±


    I looked at the crewman, the stress and fear in his eyes told me more than his words that this was bad. I nodded my head and staggered against the fierce wind and rain towards the hatch that lead below deck. I staggered to my room, barely able to keep my footing and fell into the bed to ride out the storm.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Hours passed as the ship was tossed abut like a twig in rapids, then as quickly as it blew in, it was over. There was sudden silence as the sound of the wind died off. I could hear every creak of wood and the muffled sounds of the sailors on deck. As I lay there getting used to the quiet and recovering I heard a sharp cry of pain and muffled whimpering. I got out of bed to investigate, I knew I could Call on one of Selena¡¯s Daemon level servants to aid I healing if it was needed. I heard shouts and jeers as I approached the ladder to the deck. I climbed to see what was going on.


    The sailors stood clustered around a young boy, couldn¡¯t have been more than ten years old. He had long tangled black hair, wore only a loin cloth and an iron collar around his neck. His back was crisscrossed with scars from a whip, and his leg bent at an unnatural angle in the thigh, blood pooled under the boy from the white splinter of bone sticking out of his skin. This is bad; it would likely lame the boy if he didn¡¯t die from fever first.


    I heard the captains voice cut through the noise from the crew. ¡°The boy is shark bait. He will never walk right again, the clumsy little shit. He was a poor barging to begin with, I don¡¯t need him wasting supplies while he dies slowly. Throw him over board, may Quintar¡¯s mercy take him quickly.¡±


    The sailors grabbed the boy by his arms and legs, he cried out in agony as one grabbed his broken leg. He screamed and writhed in their grip, his eyes wide in absolute terror. The sailors could bare keep hold on this skinny slave boy, he fought so hard. As they reached the railing and his backside rested for a moment on the rail as they prepared to shove him over I felt a wild surge of power come from the slave, light blazed through him and a sudden gust of wind, as strong as the storm from just a few hours ago, knocked into the boy and the sailors; sending them sprawling to the deck. I saw a faint glimmer of a ribbon like creature, translucent and barely noticeable, and heard the boy scream as he fell to his damaged leg. Fortunately for him, that last shock of pain was enough to make him pass out.


    ¡°GET UP OFF YOUR LAZY ARSES AND GET THAT USELESS SACK OF BONES OFF OF MY SHIP BEFORE I THROW YOU OVER MYSELF!¡± the captain roared. The sailors scrambled to their feet and prepared to grab the unconscious boy and cast him into the sea.


    ¡°STOP¡± I shouted. The boy was a caller, a new caller if he was still a slave. He could be useful to me later and I couldn¡¯t just let them kill him. It wasn¡¯t long ago I was a slave on a ship and barely escaped with my life.


    The sailors either didn¡¯t hear me or ignored me. I took a deep breath, reached through into myself and called to one of Corana¡¯s servants, just a small one. I only needed one to make a display of power and get their attention. A small dancing flame appeared in my palm and I mentally showed it what I wanted it to do.


    I strode forth a wreath of flame spinning around my head and rolled a wave of heat towards the sailors, not very intense but very noticeable. When the sailors noticed the wave of heat and saw me with a ring of fire dancing over my head I said in a firm voice ¡°In the name of Corana, Stop right now before I reduce you all to ashes.¡±


    The sailors staggered away from me as I walked into the crowd. The captain stood firm as I walked up to him. He said ¡°what is the meaning of this. It is my right to do as I will with my own property.¡±


    ¡°This boy is no longer your property, this boy is a Rogue Caller, and as such he is under the jurisdiction of the six temples of Heirum. If this is the first time this boy has called, then it is my responsibility to take him to the Hathan temple in Lundness and see he is properly trained.¡± I made sure I stood as tall as I could without making it obvious that I was straining for each inch and stared him directly in the eyes, asserting my assumed authority.


    ¡°You can¡¯t just steal one of my slaves boy, you are no priest. You are just a sampling of a boy playing dress up. You may be of Corana¡¯s get but you have no authority here.¡± He said, glancing at my flaming wreath.


    I banished the ring of fire and let the sprite fade back to Corana¡¯s realm. ¡°You and I both know this boy is a caller, you were going to throw him overboard so giving him to me won¡¯t cost you anything.¡±


    ¡°He will still cost me valuable resources and provide me with no work in compensation.¡± The captain replied.


    I knew what he wanted, more money. The little this boy would eat and drink wouldn¡¯t put a dent in this man¡¯s profits for the voyage. I could try to force the issue, making an enemy in the process and likely have to worry about sleeping too deeply for the rest of the voyage, or I could go the easy way and grease his palms with gold. With a sigh I said ¡°I know the loss of this slaves work and the resources he would consume might damage the profits for this trip. I also know unskilled slaves like this boy are fairly cheap, and since he is damaged as well, the temple of Corana is willing to compensate you for your loss with one gold mark.¡± Is I said the last bit I extracted one of my gold marks from my sleeve. I tried to do it quietly, but the soft clink of coins could be heard. I held up the gold coin.


    ¡°This slave wasn¡¯t as cheap as that, I¡¯ll need at least three gold marks for compensation and to pay for his passage to Lundness.¡± The captain countered.


    Of course he would try charge passage for the boy, but I knew that slaves were seen as luggage and were not usually charged for passage. ¡°The boy will stay in my cabin so will not need extra accommodations, I will give you two gold marks and not a copper penny more. While the temple of Corana is considerate of its devotees, that consideration is limited.¡± I said, trying to play the hard line while still giving in a little to the captain.


    ¡°Deal, though I will still lose money on this slave. I appreciate the concern Corana has for her humble servants¡± there was a distinct sarcastic tone to his voice.


    I extracted one more gold mark from my sleeve leaving the silver and sole remaining gold mark. I handed him the two gold marks. ¡°I will need the boy¡¯s papers as well of course¡±.


    ¡°Of course. Come with me to my cabin, and the rest of you lot, leave the boy where he is and get back to work. We need to get back underway quickly, that storm blew us off course, and will need to put in at Fjoll for some minor repairs and fix that damned cracked mast soon.¡± He said and strode to his cabin, bare feet slapping on the deck planks.


    The captain¡¯s cabin was at least twice the size of mine, but still fairly small. His furnishings were of better quality, and one wall had diamond shaped cubicles mounted to one wall filled with large scrolls, maps and charts probably. The Captain rummaged in his desk full of papers, and extracted a sheet of paper and handed it to me. I looked it over, it was the standard bill of sale for a slave, his name listed as Craig and the term of service was for life, so he wasn¡¯t just indentured. The seal at the bottom looked legitimate and it seemed in order. I slid the paper in my sleeve pocket; those pockets are useful and keep things from being obvious.


    The captain watched me read the sheet of paper and put it away. Once he saw I was done he said ¡°I won¡¯t be havin that boy damaging my ship. I will hold you responsible if he does goes wild and wrecks me ship. Oh and I don¡¯t keep a leach or barber on board me ship, too costly to pay, so I¡¯m not responsible if he catches the fever. No refunds if he dies before reaching port.¡±


    ¡°I will keep him under control, and tend to his injury myself. You will not be held responsible for his health on arrival. Just be sure there is plenty of food for him and myself.¡±


    ¡°Aye ye shall have it, now I must be on deck or me crew might do something stupid and tangle the sails. Be off with ye.¡± He said with a negligent wave of his hand.


    ¡°Would you have some of your men carry him to my cabin, I will tend him there.¡±


    ¡°Fine, be off with ye. I¡¯ll have one of my lads cart him down there.¡±


    I left the captain¡¯s cabin and went down to my cabin to wait for Craig to be brought down. I noticed a few other passengers on deck; they eyed me warily and kept their distance. They must have seen my display of power, and any display of magical power, the power of the priests made people nervous. First people avoided me with my sea sickness now they will be avoiding me thanks to my efforts to save the slave. As I climbed down the ladder leading to the cabin section of the ship I could hear the captain bellowing orders to two of his men, tasking them with delivering the unconscious slave to my cabin. I waited in my room as the men brought my new slave to my room. They carefully placed him on the floor of my cabin, careful to avoid eye contact with me. One of them gave a jerky kind of bow before they darted out of my room and away from me.


    The boy moaned slightly as he lay on the hard wood floor. I could clearly see the shard of bone poking out of his thigh, the leg swelling grotesquely and a dark purple splotch was spreading around the wound. I touched the leg and it felt as hot as fire. This was way beyond my personal ability to help, but I knew something that could fix him up better than he was before.


    I closed my eyes and reached into the part of my mind that held the doors to realms of the gods. I reached out to the golden glowing door that went to the realm of Selena, opened the door and Called. A human looking form coalesced out of a golden fog, with birdlike wings sprouting from its back and the head of a sparrow on its neck. It was the size of a small child, perhaps as big as a three year old.


    The Daemon looked at me and let out a series of whistles and squawks. I got the feeling of a question emanating from the creature.  I looked at the Daemon for a long moment and considered ¡°I will call you sparrow.¡± the newly dubbed Sparrow nodded ¡°please heal this child for me.¡±


    The daemon turned to Craig and rested his tiny hands on either side of the injury. A golden light flowed like liquid from its hands and saturated the leg. When the healing energy entered the injury I felt a strange resonance from within him. I could feel a slight echo of the same energy coming out of Sparrow deep within Craig. Damn, he must have a dual affinity. The ability to Call on Hatha¡¯s servants and Selena¡¯s, that could be extremely useful. I can¡¯t let the temples have him; they would ruin this boy¡¯s potential. He would be forced to train in only one of his two affinities.


    The bone shard slid back under the skin, the muscle and bone seemed to writhe under the skin then settled moments later. The gash where the bone poked out through sealed itself closed and the swelling lowered until it matched the other leg and the dark coloring faded until it was a healthy tan color. In less than a quarter candle mark the boy¡¯s injury was gone and he was back to normal, as the golden liquid light turned to mist and fade away the echo of that power within Craig faded as well.


    While Craig was still unconscious, I left the cabin and acquired a few rags and a bucket of water from one of the crew and used those to clean up the blood from his injuries. When I was finished he was still out cold, so I sat on my bed to wait for him to wake.


    It was about a quarter of a candle mark later that Craig woke up thrashing and screaming. It took him a few moments to realize that he wasn¡¯t being thrown off the ship to his death and another moment to realize his leg want injured any longer. His eyes were wide with shock and looked about until his eyes fell on me. ¡°Wha...What happened s-sir?¡± he managed to stammer out.


    I got off of my bed and knelt on the floor next to him, and as gently as I could I told him ¡°Right before you were thrown overboard for that broken leg, you managed to Call on one of Hatha¡¯s servants to save your life. As a Caller myself, I saw and felt what you did and prevented the captain and crew from trying to throw you over after you passed out from the pain. I bought you from him and secured you food to eat for the remainder of the voyage. Once I depart this ship, you will accompany me.¡±


    ¡°Yes, mi lord¡± his eyes fell to his thigh as he rubbed the spot that had bone jutting from it not long ago.


    ¡°I used my Calling ability to heal your leg; it and the rest of you should be fully recovered and as healthy as any half-starved boy.¡± I said, noting his gaze and movements.


    He looked back at me, eyes watering and gratitude suffusing his face. he got to his knees and placed his head to the floor and arms stretched out before him. Quietly he said ¡°you are a kind and mighty master, this humble slave swears to follow and obey you to the end of his days.¡±


    My face flushed with embarrassment at his actions, no one ever bowed to me, let alone prostrate themselves before me like this. I squirmed a little at his accolades of me and said ¡°please, no. don¡¯t do that, get up.¡±


    ¡°As my master commands, so I will obey¡± he said and rose to his knees, eyes cast to the floor.


    I sighed, what was I going to do with a slave.

 Chapter 17

    Chapter 17


    ¡°Thank you for coming to this emergency meeting of the Conclave¡± Matriarch Adelmira of Corana¡¯s Temple said. She let her gaze slide around the chamber, meeting the eyes of each effigy formed from the element each leader presides over.


    On her left sat the shimmering gold form of Johnathan, Patriarch of Selena; next to him sat the rippling form of Akane, the Matriarch of Quintar; next to her seemingly carved from the very stone of the chamber was Grymir, the Patriarch of Galan. Next to Grymir the whirling dust devil formed the shape of Eric, the Patriarch of Hatha; and to Adelmira¡¯s immediate right at the circular table sat the darkness made solid form of Jade, the Matriarch of Loratha.


    ¡°yeah, yeah, enough peasantries. I¡¯ve got a lot of work to be getting on with back in my temple. What is the big emergency you have?¡± Jade asked, before Adelmira could say another word.


    ¡°Yes, We all have much work to be done.¡± Akane agreed in her well enunciated but clipped speech.


    The others nodded in agreement. Adelmira nodded to the others and got to the point ¡°within the last few days, one of my more unusual acolytes managed to slip out of the temple and taken ship towards Lundness. While this would not normally be an issue to summon the full council in an emergency meeting¡­¡± here she paused as she took a deep breath before continuing ¡°however, this boy is a rather unusual Acolyte. The results of his Assessment for affinity are rather odd. The report showed him to have a single affinity for fire  as is common for my region, but during the assessment, there was a rather large surge of power in the assessment device.¡±


    ¡°how large a surge?¡± the gravely sound of Grymir¡¯s voice could be heard.


    ¡°reports show that nearly six times the power coursed through the device than would be expected for a single affinity test result.¡±


    Silence filled the room as each temple leader processed this information.


    ¡°Are you saying what we all think you are saying?¡± Eric asked through the soft moan of wind his avatar made.


    Adelmira looked into his eyes and nodded ¡°this boy Irnoc may have more Affinities than anyone born in the last three hundred years, and he is on his way to your city.¡±


    *                      *                      *


    ¡°Lord Yazid,  we have found where Irnoc has disappeared to.¡± Kadeem said as he entered the lords office.


    ¡°Ahh my friend, excellent. Where has that boy run off to?¡±


    ¡°it appears that he has taken ship to Lundness. The Dock master reported that he saw a boy matching Irnoc¡¯s description seeking a ship to that port, claiming to be on temple business.¡± Kadeem answered.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Yazid sat in silence for a few moments as he pondered this. His eyes slowly hardened and in a grim tone he said ¡°he has betrayed us, ran away to get that whore of a friend and flee. He knows too much to allow to roam free. He must be hunted down. capture him and the girl if possible, if not then eliminate them. We are not yet ready for the temples to know of our activities yet. We are still a few years away from being able to begin to bring them down.


    ¡°The Temples will be hunting for him as well.¡±


    ¡°Yes, no doubt they will. They must not be allowed to take him either. Send out the Prototype with the Controllers. But make sure they know, no witnesses or survivors aside from those two children¡± Yazid pronounced.


    Irnoc


    The port village Fjoll rested between two craggy cliffs of grey stone, the tail end of the Sydan mountain range. As the ship slowly approached the bay between the cliffs, the skies were patrolled by gold and tan griffons the size of horses mounted by brightly colored, uniformed soldiers.


    ¡°All right ye pickled swine¡± the captain roared at his crew, ¡°get ready to be pulled into port, it won¡¯t take more than half the day to get that mast replaced and other repairs made, so no shore leave ye greedy buggers.¡± The crew muttered at this, but nodded to the captain. The captain turned to the passengers and in a bit less gruff a tone and with far less cursing he said ¡°if ye be wanten to step on dry land, ye may, but if ye are no aboard my ship by the time we are ready to leave, ye will be findin yer own way to Lundness. And no refunds¡± he nearly spat at the word refund. The passengers all gave their assent, some muttered, others nodded, but they all agreed to be back in time or risk being left behind.


    Once the pilot boat with one of the port officers on board approached the ship, I went below decks to collect Craig. In my cabin, Craig sat waiting for my return and instructions; I looked at him and said ¡°we are getting off this ship for a few candle marks, I¡¯d like solid ground under my feet again and we defiantly need to get you some proper clothes, just a loincloth might work on a ship, but it won¡¯t do later and will just draw more attention than we want.¡±


    Craig tried to protest¡± s-sir is too generous, I don¡¯t need such things. I¡¯m just a cheap slave.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t be having any of that. Once I¡¯m able I will get that collar off of your neck, you have potential to have lots of power and be able to help me get my friend free. I don¡¯t want a slave, but I could use another friend.¡± I looked him in the eye as I said this. ¡°By the way Craig, how did you end up as a slavie?¡±


    Craig¡¯s eyes went wide at my words, swallowed and in a quiet tone; almost a whisper answered my last question. ¡°m-my mum and da had too many mouths to feed. They couldn¡¯t afford to feed all of us littles, and needed money for Dream. So instead of just kicking one of us out, they sold us to the Lashers and I was bought by the captain here for labor.¡±


    Dream, it was a nasty drug. It would leave the users in a pleasant haze for hours and induce vivid dreams if you took enough. It was highly addictive and fairly cheap for those in the Warren and I¡¯ve seen many people waste away as they forgot to feed themselves, and perform any act just to get another bottle. I could see the pain in Craig¡¯s eyes as he relived his past. It was bad enough ending up on the streets when your parents die or are arrested for taxes, but to be sold off just so your parents can get another bottle of Dream, it¡¯s just terrible. I felt for the boy.


    ¡°Well Cheer up Craig, we are getting you proper clothes and get you free soon. Come along and we will get the first part taken care of. ¡°


    He nodded and followed me up to the deck. I checked my coin pouch by touch once again, still had the last gold and the six silver marks. It shouldn¡¯t cost more than a mark or two to get Craig dressed and shod.

 Just an update and maybe a fun little poll

    I just wanted to get an update out there and apologize for not getting a chapter finished and posted today. I¡¯ve been running hard for the last several days to make a tight delivery and I¡¯m exhausted. I managed to write about half a chapter, but it¡¯s not ready to be posted.


    Tomorrow should be an easier day and I should be able to finish chapter 13 and have some good progress in John¡¯s journey home. I¡¯m sorry I wasn¡¯t able to keep to my intended schedule of a chapter posted Monday Wednesday and Friday each week.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Trucking can be chaotic and you never know what might be around the next bend in the road even though you¡¯ve traveled it hundreds of times. Be safe; be well and hopefully I¡¯ll have the newest chapter ready for your enjoyment by tomorrow evening.


    P.S. I¡¯ll be deleting this tomorrow once I have the chapter ready to go. Not trying to increase views or anything. Just don¡¯t want to leave you all hanging.