The Callindra Chronicles Book One - First Quest (11 page)

“
I think that’s enough for
today Callindra; you’ll need a full nights rest to recover. Your
mental stamina is at its limit and pushing that too hard is very
dangerous.” Said Glarian, looking at her with a concerned frown on
his face.

Grimacing as she rubbed the stinging ointment
on to the burned palms of her hands she replied, “I don’t think I
can even hold him anymore today anyway. I’m getting sick of
constantly failing but I won’t stop until I master it.” With her
mouth set in a determined line she sat cross-legged with her
sheathed sword sitting across her knees, “At least I can practice
meditation, that seems to help somewhat.”

As her meditation began he could see sparks
of Weave like fireflies circling her in rhythmic patterns, matching
the speed of her breathing and the pulse of her heartbeat. Her
connection was stronger than any student he had taught in the past
and while she was in a meditative state she was in complete
control. It was when she attempted to bend the weave to her will
that things went all wrong. There had to be a way to break her
block, before it was too late.

Leaving his Disciple to her meditation
Glarian walked back to the house, lost in thought. Much to his
surprise there was someone waiting for him outside his house.

“
Dear Master Sol’Estin. It’s
been far too long.” The man was wearing the green and gold of
Inquisitor and held a wand at the ready. The short sword sheathed
at his side had a ruby on the pommel that seemed to gleam with
inner light. “I’ve been feeling some rather unnerving disturbances
in the Weave and my search leads me here.”

“
Inquisitor Shojin, it has
been a long time hasn’t it?” Glarian kept his eyes on the other’s
face as he spoke, “Come in for a cup of tea perhaps?”

“
Sadly no, I must attend to
the business at hand. Where is she?” He hissed, “I know that fool
Thaeran has made a deal with you or been somehow manipulated into
feeding us false information. I know you are teaching that strange
girl who seems to be a hole in the fabric of the Weave although I
cannot imagine to what end.”

“
A hole in the weave? I
don’t know what you are talking about Shojin.” Glarian said, trying
to buy some time.

The snap of a breaking branch captured the
Inquisitors attention and Glarian seized the moment to draw Sakar
in a blurring silver arc, running his hand down the blade and
summoning forth a spell. The spell took effect and his enemy began
wandering aimlessly around humming to himself, his mind momentarily
clouded.

He looked up and saw Callindra standing at
the edge of the clearing, her sword in her hands. Now he saw what
Shojin had seen, her power was turned completely inward and she
appeared as a negative shape against the glow of Weave around
her.

“
RUN CALLINDRA! They found
me out, you have to run! Get as far away from here as you can,
don’t look back! Find yourself another master to finish your
training, for I won’t be able to do it from here on out. I’m sorry
Callindra; my past has caught up to me but there’s no need for it
to ruin your future. “

”
I won’t leave you here to
face this alone, I finally feel like I’m worthy to be your
disciple.” Callindra said, her voice wavering between proud and
afraid.

“
I know you don’t understand
but you must learn to trust your weapon, your magic and yourself.
Until you do you won’t be able to move forward. I don’t intend to
die here, this fool may be more than my equal in magical power but
he’s no match for me with a sword.” When she still didn’t move he
took an amulet from around his neck. The heavy gold cylinder that
hung from it made it easy to throw towards her.

“
This is the sigil of a
Blade Mage Callindra, what we call a Focus. Go forth from this
place and survive using your wits, your magic and the edge of your
blade. Return in a year and I shall give you the sigil I have
forged for you and reclaim my own.”

Her back straightened and she swept her sword
in an elaborate salute. “I will return in one year Master. I will
prove myself and claim my reward.” She sheathed her blade and
turned to run from the clearing, not looking back even when shouts
of pain and explosions of power rang in her ears.

Chapter 10

Callindra crouched, easing forward carefully
through dead leaves and dry twigs. She had been surviving thus far
on snared rabbits but if she was going to survive the winter larger
game was going to be needed. The deer lowered its tail but its ears
kept twitching, obviously knowing something wasn’t quite right.

She stilled her breathing, using the
breathing exercises she had learned from Glarian. The deer turned
its head to nibble on a twig and Callindra sprinted forward, sword
in hand. Using him like a wolf would use its fangs; she hamstrung
the animal as it attempted to flee and smoothly sliced its throat
before it could escape.

Her sword shone in the sun as she whipped him
sharply to remove the deer’s blood from his blade. He was so
bright, her beautiful fang. As she thought this, something clicked
in her mind. Brightfang was his name, she was as certain of that as
she would have been if he had whispered it in her ear.

“
Brightfang? Aptly named,
well chosen.” She set about gutting the deer using the only sharp
thing she had around; the pace-length, razor sharp edge of
Brightfang. It was easier than she anticipated it being to her
pleasant surprise. Before long she was dragging the animal back to
the rough lean-to she had built in a copse of sweet-smelling fir
trees.

The familiar cries of the ravens that roosted
above her makeshift home greeted her arrival. Mindful of
scavengers, Callindra poked her fire into life and set about
skinning and butchering her prize. She didn’t have as much
experience preserving food as she did hides, but drying meat didn’t
seem terribly difficult. Keeping it safe from forest creatures
would likely be more of a problem.

The sun was falling behind the horizon by the
time she had finished cutting the venison into strips and hanging
them over the fire to dry on a lattice of green willow trees. For
her supper she sliced up the deer’s heart and roasted it, knowing
it wouldn’t keep and that it had the most nutrition.

With a sigh, she decided she could allow the
skin to sit until the morning and after carefully cleaning
Brightfang climbed into bed.

-

It was a year to the day since she had left
and it was not without some trepidation that Callindra approached
the homestead. Her clothes were tanned hides of various animals as
the thin wool she had been wearing when she left Glarian to his
fate had long since disintegrated. Although initially she had
thought to make some sort of breeches she eventually adopted a
short skirt out of necessity; she couldn’t make the stitching
durable enough without proper thread.

Besides, she had to grudgingly admit it was a
lot easier to move when your legs were totally free. After her soft
boots had fallen apart over the winter she made an attempt to make
a pair of shoes but her attempts had failed. After a month she
found her feet had become accustomed to standing up to the
abuse.

After another month she figured out how to
cushion her feet slightly with air and began to spend entire days
sitting on the peak of the tallest bare hill she could find
meditating and listening to the winds as they blew around her. Once
or twice while moving through the Stances she thought someone was
watching her, but if they were actually there she never saw
them.

With her nerves on edge she walked into the
clearing and towards the silent house. Upon not seeing any signs of
life she squared her shoulders and opened the door, “Master I’ve
returned…” her words were softened by the layer of dust on every
surface, no one had set foot in this room for months. The door
closed behind her as a breeze curled around her ankles swirling the
dust into the air.

With a sneeze she walked through the house,
searching for any sign of Glarian but to no avail. Despite the
doors and windows being closed a slight breeze moved the curtains,
catching her attention. She calmed her mind as she had been taught
and the breeze changed to a whisper.

“
Callindra I am sorry I am
unable to be here to witness your return and personally bestow your
reward upon you. I have instead left it for you in your hidden
place to keep it safe. Keep my sigil against the day we meet again.
I will find you; refrain from looking for me, the path I must now
travel is far too dangerous for a young pup like yourself even if
you are a wolf cub.”

“
Like hell I’m not looking
for you Master.” Callindra shook her head ruefully as she went into
the tiny room where she had slept; he knew about her hiding place
the whole time did he? Using the first piece of magic she had
learned to reliably control she unsheathed Brightfang and ran her
hand up one side of his blade to the guard while inhaling. Turning
him over she ran the same hand down the other side while exhaling
and pointing the tip of the blade at a small crack in the
wall.

Arcane energies sparked from the edge and a
sudden razor thin gust of air rushed off the end of her sword;
forcing a stone in the wall to move out a fraction of an inch.
Sheathing her sword she knelt and pulled the stone out the rest of
the way revealing a small cubbyhole. Lying inside was a silver
cylinder a little smaller than her fist holding down a piece of
parchment.

“
Replace the pommel of your
sword with this; it shall serve as a spell receptacle until you
have used your blade enough that he can hold your magic for you.
Eventually the affinity will grow and he will take on a life of his
own. Meditate with him after you join the two and you will
understand.”

She carefully unthreaded the counterweight on
the end of Brightfang’s hilt and attached her Sigil in its place.
When it seated completely there was a minute ‘click’ and a jolt of
Weave crackled through her body and her blade. Although she was a
little frightened, Callindra cleaned off the hearth, laid a fire
and unrolled her mat of tightly woven reeds to sit upon; the
rituals of the past coming back to her with ease. Laying Brightfang
across her knees with one hand on the Sigil and one hand on the
flat of his blade she let herself slide through the Korumn Glarian
had taught her and a new world blossomed in her mind.

-

“
We know you’re in there
Sol’Estin, come quietly now or we’ll have to resort to force!” A
man’s voice shattered Callindra’s reverie and she realized she had
been sitting for hours. Rising stiffly to her feet she stretched in
an attempt to work the kinks out of her legs and strode to the
door. She felt her anger begin to rise; these people were the
reason her master wasn’t here to meet her. It was THEIR fault and
she was going to make them PAY.

“
He’s not here.” She had
opened the door and cast a disparaging glare at the man standing in
the yard. Sheathing Brightfang with a flourish she went on “I think
you’d better leave before he comes back though; unless you don’t
value your pitiful life.”

The man roared in laughter, “Those are some
strong words from a little wench hiding inside.” He threw his cloak
back and drew a thick bladed short sword, “Let’s see if your bite
matches your bark.”

Callindra stepped through the door and as the
man approached whipped Brightfang from his sheath making the blade
sing. The man rushed forward confidently, aiming a strike at her
head. She contemptuously sidestepped his swing and carved a bloody
line across his torso with ‘West Wind Blows.’ He snarled and turned
to attack again, however she was too fast for him, her blade biting
into his sword arm, ‘Lightning Strikes First’. Two more men came
into the clearing, surprised to see their companion in combat with
a young girl.

“
Having trouble with that
little chit Shojin?” Her opponent took two quick steps back;
whirling his blade over his head and chanting but Callindra didn’t
hesitate. She jumped forward stabbing him just above the knee
‘Kingfisher Dives’ and the spell scattered.

“
You might be fast girlie,
but you can’t hit all three of us at once.” The other two men began
closing on her, each holding their weapons at the ready.

“
Care to make a bet on
that?” Callindra spun her weapon in a complex series of flashing
arcs, first stopping pointing at one, then the other two men.
Knowing full well she couldn’t handle all of them, it’d been a
miracle that she had done as well against an experienced opponent
this long, Callindra used her fancy weapon swinging bluff to move
her back to the house. She kicked the door open and stood in the
doorway, “Bring it on boys.”

“
I’ve had enough of this
bullshit. I’m taking the house apart; you two just don’t let the
little bitch get away.” The man began calling mystic runes up on
the blade of his sword, and as he touched each one, they burst into
flames, their fires flowing up to form a large sphere. She was
bracketed on both sides by the other men, so Callindra took a quick
step back through the door, closing and barring it behind
her.

As soon as he had begun casting she
recognized his face. He had come and forced her to answer questions
about Glarian. Callindra bit her lip; she couldn’t remember if she
had told him anything incriminating or not. Was it all her fault
they had come? Had she betrayed the man who had saved her life?

Thinking quickly, she decided to run to the
other side, but when she arrived at the window she sought to leap
out of there was one of her enemies waiting. It was the same on the
other two sides that had windows large enough for her to escape
from. She was trapped as surely as a rabbit in a snare. Not knowing
what else to do she moved to the innermost room of the house and
waited to see what would happen.