CHAPTER FOUR

Sol led the group through the foothills on the back of the large black horse and it was obvious his horse was trained to perfection from how it behaved and responded to both its rider and the conditions. The trail was a dangerous one and at some points it was barely wide enough to the horses, one misplaced step could send both horse and rider into the deep gully below. The horse Sol rode was good at picking its trail and the other horses noticed and followed the carefully placed tracks by the black mount. Here there were no trees covering the path, only a few scraggly pines still holding stubbornly in the steep purchase of the rock face on one side of the trail.

On one such point in the pathway Sol heard the distinct cry of the golden eagle, one of the High Priestess’ messengers. The large magnificent bird of prey swooped down to the group of riders. The Shadow Warrior held out a steady leather clad arm so the eagle would have a perch and something to stick its talons into for a good strong hold. The eagle’s feathers were golden on top and smoky gray on the bottom so that when the bird was high up in the sky it was camouflaged when one looked up. The eagle’s eyes were silver and held a deep wisdom in their depths.

Sol continued holding his arm steady for the giant bird. Up ahead it looked like there might be a place for them to rest and camp. He knew he would have to explain things to his companions.

Rajj’s disapproving gaze was boring into his back, he could practically feeling it dissecting him but he steadfastedly ignored it. He knew the Thief Leader disapproved of him on principle and for the time being he felt no overwhelming need for the man to like him.

Damon’s interest and curiosity he felt and knew would be present without needing to look.

“The old one is smart,” The golden eagle ‘told’ him. “He keeps his eyes open at all times. A good choice to bring with you on the journey.”

“It was not my choice to bring him,” He responded through the link. “But I’m glad he meets your approval.”

“The young one is inexperienced,” Taki said. “But powerful in his own way. Mistress sent me. She says to make haste and that they are expanding the search for new Shadow Warriors for training. There was fire burning outside the city you came from.” Taki added as an afterthought.

“Fire,” Sol frowned. “How did it start?”

“Magic," Taki sounded serious as he ruffled his feathers. “The flame is green as it burns, not natural.”

Sol’s frown deepened. Green flame was the sign of Dras Kilan, one of the Dark One’s most sadistic Chosen. He had never met or come across Dras Kilan himself but he had heard much about the Chosen from those who had.

He was no coward but he hoped fervently not to meet Dras Kilan face-to-face and that meant staying ahead of him. The thought of Dras Kilan getting a hold of either the ring or the boy was not a thought he wished to entertain. He would have to play the game of hide and seek with Dras Kilan and he would have to be very clever to win.

The closest city was two days away and the Dark One’s Chosen and Oath Taker were sure to be on superior beasts in comparison to their own. He toyed briefly with the idea of putting Damon on his mount and getting the boy to the city, his horse was as good as the beasts Dras Kilan would be using. But there were dangers behind and probably ahead and the boy did not know the way to Tor Alin.

The group came upon the pasture just off the trail, the deep gully still just off the other side of the trail. There was a small spring which meant water for the mounts and fresh water for their skins. Sol did not want to spend the night here, the trail was the only way to escape and that made him uneasy.

“Are you certain the flame was green?” He asked Taki as the others entered behind him.

“Yes,” The eagle answered.

“We will make camp here,” Sol spoke gruffly as he made a quick dismount with Taki. “There will be no fires. It’s not safe.”

“What do you mean ‘it’s not safe’?” Rajj demanded.

“Let us first make camp,” Sol said unsaddling his horse as Taki moved up to his shoulder.

Rajj grumbled and aimed a glare at the Shadow Warrior but began to help set up camp for the night. They had gotten used to working with each other over the past few days and it took only a quarter of an hour until things were arranged to Sol’s satisfaction. The horses were all unsaddled and rubbed down, the bits of twig were picked out of their tails and manes. They picketed the horses near the water and grass before filling their water skins full of fresh water. Sol broke off some jerky, hard bread and cheese from their supplies for supper. Damon eyes the food with total disinterest.

“Eat boy,” The Shadow Warrior calmly ordered but the order was without bite and sounded rather tired. “You need to keep up your strength until we can get fresh supplies.”

He watched the boy begin to eat, it seemed that Rajj needed no such orders which was just as well. Sol ate his own rations half heartedly, alternatively feeding strips of jerky to Taki who sat on his shoulder. He had no desire to explain anything but resigned himself to the task because Rajj would never let it rest and there was no way to explain or not explain Dras Kilan to them. If something were to happen to him his companions would need every advantage his knowledge had to offer them.

Sol handed off the last of his jerky to the eagle. Rajj glared at the Shadow Warrior who had finished eating, waiting for the explanation to begin.

Sol was straight forward in his explanation, “This eagle is Taki, the High Priestess’ messenger. There are four such eagles all together, Taki the golden, Rekka the blue, Farkin the red and Hoka the black. They are her eyes and messengers. Taki was sent because the trance is not unsafe to use unless in extreme emergency. On his way to us Taki flew over Ryjuk and outside the city a green colored fire burned, the sign of Dras Kilan the Dark One’s Chosen. He is following us so we can’t have any fire’s, it’s not safe.”

The Shadow Warrior knew the questions would come and he would have to explain further about Dras Kilan.

“Dras Kilan is the title of a special servant,” Rajj said.

“No, Dras Kilan is a person, one single person,” Sol shook his head. “He was granted what we at Tor Alin call the Test for Immortality. Dras Kilan is a sorcerer and he hunts us. During the Great War his green flame was a common sight. The last Shadow Warrior he killed was three hundred years ago but there are those of us who have fought him and remember him well.”

“And you’re taking the word of that damn bird?” Rajj frowned.

“You distrust the High Priestess?” Sol asked calmly.

Rajj mutely shook his head. Not even the bristly Thief Leader would make so bold a statement against the High Priestess.

“How do you talk to it?” Damon gestured to the eagle on the Shadow Warrior’s shoulder.

“All Shadow Warriors have the ability to communicate with the High Priestess and Priest’s messengers,” He said. “It comes from a magic bond we share with Tor Alin and two god-born there. I speak with Taki as I would with anyone else but we speak mind to mind.”

Damon accepted this answer, “What’s the Test for Immortality then? Did you pass it?”

The Shadow Warrior had known that questions about him would be asked but he would have to take care in how he explained exactly what the Test for Immortality was. Sol studied Damon briefly. He wondered if the boy would be trained as a Shadow Warrior when they reached Tor Alin, if he would ever be one of those who took the tests and if he would be granted the Test for Immortality. He decided that during this trip he would study and get to know the boy so he could present a thurough analysis to the High Priestess and Priest.

“The Test for Immortality is a title that means one has passed the tests and been granted immortality,” Sol began. “Being granted the Test for Immortality does not make you like the god-born. You can die only by those who have also been granted the Test and even then your head must be severed or your heart removed from your body. Every one hundred to two hundred years a year group of Shadow Warriors is able to take the tests. All in Tor Alin have long life spans of about two hundred and fifty years. I passed the Test one hundred years ago. I’m roughly two hundred years old.”

Damon’s eyes went wide but he remained silent. Rajj looked disbelieving but said nothing to challenge him.

Sol felt some of the tension he had been holding in leak from his tall frame. He had expected the questions to be more difficult than they had been but he felt more prepared now should Rajj pull him aside. He almost wished the Thief Leader had remained in Ryjuk, it would be easier journeying with just Damon, but as Taki had pointed out Rajj missed very little.

“The old one is suspicious of you,” Taki observed.

“I know and you pointing it out isn’t helpful,” Sol snapped.

Taki clicked his beak in irritation and hopped off Sol’s shoulder. The golden eagle took a few small steps towards Damon and cocked hi head to one side studying the boy. The eagle’s silver eyes were serious and curious as they regarded the boy who was nearly a man.

“Can you hear me boy?” Taki asked.

“What makes you think he can?” Sol asked the bird.

Damon paled. Rajj came to his side.

“Are you all right boy?” Rajj asked with some concern.

Damon nodded as he continued to stare at the eagle. His eyes were wide and he seemed as though he had received a shock of some kind.

“What is it then?” Rajj asked.

“It was like whisper but all disjointed,” Damon blinked. “And it didn’t make much sense but I heard something. I know I did.”

“What did you do to him Shadow Warrior?” Rajj’s gaze was challenging and demanding.

Sol looked at the golden eagle who was also looking back at him.

“He is different,” Taki said calmly like he had known all along.

“Very,” Sol replied ignoring Rajj for the moment. “And since you discovered this talent you and your fellows may help him to develop it.”

Taki said nothing to contradict him.

“I did nothing,” Sol declared. “The messenger attempted to speak with the boy and it seems he had the gift, nothing more. Damon, the messengers will instruct you in developing this gift. For the moment Taki will work with you. Hold out your arm and he will go to you.”

Damon nodded, a look of determination setting across his face. He held out his arm and the golden eagle went to him.

“Instruct the boy for now,” He said. “I need to think.”

Sol turned away and moved off towards the horses. He heard Rajj’s quiet footsteps coming after him. He closed his eyes and took a breath. He did not mention that only Shadow Warriors or those gifted with the bond by the High Priestess or Priest were the only ones able to communicate with the messengers. The boy was like those from the Old Age, out of the Prophecies. Sol knew the Prophecies were real but as most Shadow Warriors he did not trouble himself to learn more than necessary. He chose to leave those worries to the scholars, scribes and prophets. His duty was to Tor Alin, the High Priestess and Priest and the Gods. He tried to avoid confusing things such as Prophecy so why must something clearly involving Prophecy cross his path? Sol could not even begin to fathom the answer and probably would not like it if he did.

“You seem worried,” Rajj came into his line of sight. “And that worries me.”

“I’m not worried Thief Leader,” Sol grunted. “Just tired and uneasy. This camp site sits unwell with me but the horses and boy needed the rest.”

“There’s nothing wrong with this place,” Rajj looked around from something wrong and found nothing.

Sol snorted, hardly believing that a person could be so naïve but the Thief Leader had grown up in the city and did not know the ways of the land. So he supposed that thinking Rajj was stupid was not accurate. He did not feel like pointing out the obvious that should they be attacked there was virtually no escape for them. Sheer cliff walls rose up behind them and the deep gully was still in front of them. The trail was the only way to safety.

“See what you like,” Sol turned. “But I’ll not rest easily here.”

The Shadow Warrior chose not to argue with the Thief Leader, he had much bigger issues on his mind. If there were any other options Sol would have chosen not to spend the night here but the boy had nearly been falling out of his saddle at times and the horses were also tired. He had a suspicion that the horses would need to be at full strength when they came out of these foothills and that meant rest for more than a few hours here and there. The horses would get rest as would the boy. Sol had no problem with keeping watch the entire night. He figured there was no need to set up shifts for the night watch when he would not be sleeping regardless of watch duty or not.

‘If it were possible this would only have been a brief stopping point,’ The Shadow Warrior said to himself, but even in the privacy of his own mind he did not continue with such thoughts.

“Who takes first shift?” Rajj asked to break the strange silence that had settled between them.

“I will keep watch this night,” Sol stood watching the boy and eagle. “You and the boy need the rest. I will wake you after sun up.”

Rajj looked as though he wished to object but managed to hold his words. The Thief Leader was opinionated. Sol felt that Rajj would have made a good scholar or even a Shadow Warrior but he did not mention that to Rajj. The latter thought almost made him smile.

“Taki,” Sol called to the eagle. “Fly to Ryjuk and observe the fires again. Come back and tell me if they’re still green. Go quickly Taki.”

“I’ll return,” The golden eagle assured as it launched itself into the air off the boys arm.

The eagle rose quickly above the cliffs and turned back toward Ryjuk, taking care to mingle in with the clouds. His form disappeared quickly from sight.

“Where’s he going?” Damon asked approaching the two.

“I sent him back to Ryjuk,” Sol answered using the truth. “I want a better report on how things stand.”

“You don’t trust what that bird says,” Rajj said.

“I trust Taki,” Sol frowned, angry at the implied insults. “I want to know how the city and country side fair before I send a message back to Tor Alin. It is you who don’t trust.”

“I trust what I know to be reliable,” Rajj stated. “And that doesn’t include you or that damn bird.”

“Trust what you like,” Sol said unconcerned. “Eventually you’ll believe but for now it’s not important.”

“I trust you,” Damon broke in before Rajj could respond.

Sol gave Damon a hard look but it seemed the boy was serious. He did nothing to show the boy he was grateful, there was no need.

Instead Sol faced Rajj, “It would be wiser if you kept an open mind.”

The Shadow Warrior did not care if Rajj trusted his word or not. There was time to gain the Thief Leaders trust. Sol was accustomed to having outsiders dislike and distrust him and he had enough experience dealing with their prejudices.

The glorious deeds of Shadow Warriors from the days when Tor Alin was visibly pitted against the forces of the Dark One really were the stuff of myth and legend. For Sol they were memories just beyond his reach as told to him by the other Immortal Shadow Warriors who had lived in those times. To him the Great Wars were barely ended before his time, as it was for all the other Shadow Warriors and the people for Tor Alin, not fifteen hundred years ago as it was in the human mind. To people such as Rajj the Great Wars and other events were from a very distant time when collassol legends lived, fought and died. A time when strangers helped strangers not for reward but because it was the right thing to do, but that time was very distant indeed. Glancing at the boy he felt that those times might return and he could not help but wonder if that was a good or bad thing.

An hour later when the sun was just beginning its decent Taki returned.

“Well?” Sol said to the eagle allowing it to perch on his forearm again. “Is the flame green?”

“It was green just like the first time I told you,” Taki responded as he shifted to get a better hold on the leather.

“I need you to take a message to the High Priestess,” Sol was tense. “Will you leave tonight?”

“I will leave as soon as you give me the message,” Taki promised.

“Tell the High Priestess that Dras Kilan hunts the ring,” Sol began the message. “Inform her of the green flame burning outside Ryjuk. Ask her if I should begin to train the boy as a Shadow Warrior and inform her of his talent in communicating with you. Tell her we will attempt to make for Duke Cerrin’s keep and that I predict our arrival there to be a little less than two months time.”

“Understood,” Taki bobbed his head.

The golden eagle vaulted off the Shadow Warrior’s arm into the air. Sol watched until the eagle was nothing more than sky in the twilight before returning to his companions. Rajj stubbornly ignored his presence as he sharpened two throwing knives. Damon’s eyes tracked the movements of the Shadow Warrior, flicking back and forth between Rajj and Sol.

“Where did you send Taki off to now?” Damon asked.

“He flies now to Tor Alin with a message to the High Priestess,” The Shadow Warrior replied. “Taki or another messenger should return with instructions within a few weeks.”

Rajj halted the sharpening of his knives, “And what do we do until you get these instructions? Wander blind?”

Sol recognized the Thief Leader was tired and the insult lacked its usual sting. He decided it was only fair to answer civility with some of his own.

“I shall attempt to assess the situations we come across as best I can,” Sol said as though he were used to such questions. “When I receive word from Tor Alin then I shall know what we must do. The sun sinks, get some sleep. I’ll keep watch this night.”

Happily Damon went over to his bedroll and crawled in, collapsing in a tired heap. The boy was asleep within minutes. Rajj tucked his knives back into his saddlebags. The bearded man weighed Sol with his eyes and the Shadow Warrior was reminded of a time when he had been little more than a novice at Tor Alin, but Sol had quickly become accustomed to the strange glances that were meant to unnerve him and now was no exception.

“Don’t go falling asleep on watch,” Rajj said heading over and settling himself on his bedroll.

“Don’t worry,” Sol responded as he stared at the area where the ledge dropped away. “I won’t find rest here. I’ll stay alert, if only because Dras Kilan is a few days away. Just be sure you don’t sleep walk off the edge.” He jerked his chin towards the drop off.

Rajj gave a dry chuckle, “You’re not half bad, on rare occasions that is.”

The Thief Leader turned on his side purposely facing away from the Shadow Warrior. Sol took the hint and fell silent. Rajj’s deep breathing soon accompanied Damon’s signaling that both were asleep.

Darkness pressed in on Sol. He heard the restless movements of the horses tethered off near the water before they too settled down for the night. He felt no peace or relaxation. It was difficult to conceive of sleeping in such a place when his senses were screaming at him that it felt like an ambush. Looking around, with limited visibility available to him because of the dark, he could tell that this was a good ambush sight.

‘Jumping at shadows that aren’t even there,’ He admonished himself. ‘Next I’ll be expecting Dras Kilan to be around every corner.’

But Dras Kilan might just be there and Sol had been told countless times and had been taught that it was best to be prepared and ready then to be caught unaware. Especially if the situation involved one as notorious as Dras Kilan.

‘It would be great to bring the bastard down for good,’ He told himself.

Those thoughts were unadvisable. His mission was to get Damon and the ring to Tor Alin. Getting either of them close to Dras Kilan would be a stupid risk. Complicating the mission would only result in some kind of failure, perhaps even death.

Sol had a feeling that regardless of how careful he was people would die. People tended to die needlessly or in excess whenever Dras Kilan was let out to play. The Shadow Warrior had heard enough accounts to know that no matter how cruel or deranged Dras Kilan appeared he had a brilliant mind and an uncanny sense that kept him alive thus far.

Soon the Thief Leader would have to begin to trust him or it might get them killed or captured. Though Sol was prepared to die for the High Priestess and Priest he was not ready to put the fate of the world in the hands of the Crazed God or the Dark One. Allowing Dras Kilan to get close to either the ring or the boy would give the Crazed God the upper hand.

“We’ll make it,” Sol said aloud. “May the Gods protect us and guide us to the gates of Tor Alin.”

Sol hoped the Gods were listening.

He tucked the black cloak closer about him. The night was cold and long but the stars were good enough company.