When I came to the great gates, I slid a bolt back, eased a gate open, and stepped out onto the plateau. The giant pillar of flame warmed me as I stared back the guild house with its battlements, guard towers, dragon gargoyles, and red-tiled rooftops. My friends were still inside, but it was better that way.
Faryn had been pleased to learn I was given my first mission as an outer disciple. She had wished me luck after we’d slept together. The beautiful wood Augmentor desired to accompany me, but her troubled past meant she couldn’t leave the region. I promised I’d return to her, and she made me swear it upon the Sundered Heart.
When I’d told Vesma and Kegohr that I was going, they had both looked perturbed. They’d talked about how I should stay at the guild, take some time to recover, do more training before I went out into the world. If I’d tried to leave while they were up and about, we would have ended up rehashing those arguments, and I didn’t want to leave them like that. Better to finish on the happy memories from the end of the previous night’s celebrations, as we’d once again toasted to our success against the Wysaro.
I valued Kegohr and Vesma’s friendship in a way I’d seldom valued anyone in my life, but they didn’t understand the forces pulling at me. They had spent years dreaming of joining the guild, of becoming Augmenters and doing their families proud. For me, the guild had been a new adventure, one more novelty among the many I had pursued. The Seven Realms was full of novelties and I wanted to see them all, not just this one that had briefly been my home.
More than that, I needed to know how I had got here. Someone had arranged for me to be wrenched from my world and into this one. Nydarth was part of that, and I suspected Tolin had a hand in it too. But there was more going on, and I wanted to know what. I didn’t like to be used, even in a good cause. Besides, if I learnt how I got here, perhaps I could find a way to send a message back, to let my mother know that I was well, that I still loved her, and that I was doing good work.
I had to go out into this world, and my friends…
“Ethan!”
I turned my back to the guild house and saw Kegohr and Vesma standing beyond the fire pillar. Vesma had a bag strapped to her back, a blanket neatly rolled on top, and her spear in her hand. Kegohr wore a sack over one shoulder and his great mace resting on the other.
“What are you doing here?” I asked them.
“What do you think?” Vesma asked. “We’re coming with you.”
“Yeah , yeah, yeah,” Kegohr said. “If you’re going adventuring, we want in.”
“But your training,” I said. “Your studies at the guild. . .”
“We’ve explained to Master Xilarion,” Vesma said. “He said that, after completing the tournament yesterday, we are not initiates any more. We are all outer disciples, free to come and go as we please. He hopes that we will come back for further training, but if we choose to help a friend in need, that’s up to us.”
“This could get dangerous,” I said. “Especially with the remnants of the Wysaro out there.”
“That’s why we came armed.” Kegohr hefted his mace. “Always ready, yeah?”
I tried to hide my smile and shrugged. “I guess you can come along.”
“Like we’d let you do this without us.” Vesma snorted. “Lead the way, fearless leader.”
We headed down the track toward the valley. The sun was shining on a fresh spring day, and its rays lit up a scene full of wonder and beauty. The gleaming snake-like curves of the river glistened, and the majestic mountains on the far side of the valley stood tall.
The world was ours to discover, and ours to save from the cruel and greedy men who sought to dominate it. There would be more Jiven Wysaros out there, looking to bend others to their will, more petulant bullies like Hamon. But as long as I had my friends, as long as I had my power, I was ready to face them all.
“You seem very pleased with yourself, sweet man,” Nydarth said in my head.
“Why not?” I replied. “Friends at my back, a world to explore, new techniques to master. Oh, and messages to deliver.”
“You truly think it will be that easy?” she asked.
“No,” I answered. “But whatever we face in the Diamond Coast will make me stronger. After all, I have to become an immortal.”
“And a swordslinger,” Nydarth added.
“Yeah, that too.”
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About the Author
Dante King is an author of Men’s Adventure fiction in various flavors. His books involve strong male protagonists who know what they want and do what’s required to get it.
