The Callindra Chronicles Book One - First Quest (35 page)

“
But why would she entrust
such an important task to us?” Vilhylm asked.

“
Why would Tryst’s Biscop
send us?” Callindra countered, “I think… maybe we’re making more of
this than we need to. There’s just no way people like us would be
sent on a mission that was actually as important as we’re
pretending this one is.”

“
You’re missing something
Callindra.” Tryst said, his eyes shining with the light of true
knowledge. “It’s not that she is taking advantage of us, or that we
are fulfilling a task that is mere drudgery. She has seen what is
inside of each of us. Jorda has named us her champions. Her
heroes.”

“
Heroes?” Callindra asked
incredulously, “I’m no damn hero.”

“
No.” Tryst whispered, “None
of us are, and that’s a fact. Not yet. Jorda did not give this task
to us, but to the ones we will become.”

He could feel Jorda smile as the seed can
feel the sun shining on it through the soil, and knew in his heart
of hearts that this was only the beginning.

End of Book One

Epilogue

A wind blew across the expanse of the
Ingurma desert, carrying with it the scent of dry, hot sand. It was
Austri, the warm and clever East Wind, and she was searching for
something she had lost. Rolling over lands usually outside her
purview, she began exploring some of the cooler areas, her warm
breath thawing the snows and making the rivers hurry toward the
sea.

Njordi frowned in disgruntled anger,
demanding what she was doing in his domain. With a laugh and a
mischievous gust of dry hot breath she swirled away, leaving the
stern North wind with a bemused flutter and the desire to misbehave
trickling through his being. Reaching out with his long, cold
fingers, Njordi found the restrictions that kept him locked in his
northerly domain were no longer in place. Having always wanted to
see the ocean, he headed South.

Sujordi met him halfway across the wide space
that existed between their domains. She was excited and smelling of
the seaweed, of salt, of fish and of the great storms that could
brew over the swell and roll of the ocean. He found her
fascinating, the way her winds could go from calm to suddenly
destructive without warning and the way she caused him to swirl
about in vast circles that gained force and life of their own.
After dancing with him for a time, Sujordi turned to the West,
seeking the place where the sun hid at night.

Upon exceeding her borders, she encountered
Vestri. His passion was storms, the great building thunderheads
that would sweep down onto the plains, shattering them with
lightning and flattening them with hail. Violent and blustery, he
had a tremendously loud booming voice. Vestri alone had no desire
to leave his domain, however he sent messages to the other Great
Winds, using zephyrs now that they were conscious and able to exert
their authority over the air once again.

His messages were short and blunt. The
Windfather was in trouble; either missing or dead. His followers
were scattered like dust before a gale and there was no clear
replacement. They must have a care, they must stay within their
proscribed domains and they must mind their flocks of winds,
otherwise he knew disaster would follow.

Njordi ignored his flatly stern words,
instead allowing his newfound ability to create breezes to run wild
over some of the lands. Austri found that it was difficult for her
playful nature to keep itself from spreading mischief, and many
winds, large and small broke away from her to run rampant over the
world. Sujordi had strict holds over her vassals, however some of
the ones who had mingled with Vestri became too powerful for her to
exert direct control over and began to wreak havoc upon ocean and
land.

-

All it could feel was hunger. The hunger
inside of it burned and in spite of all it had consumed, the hunger
remained. It did not feel anger or happiness or fear. It did not
long to procreate or to curry favor or be accepted by others of its
kind. All it wanted was to eat, to feast upon the essence of the
living. It saw motion and turned its head hungrily, emerald fire
burning behind its eyes.