The Realms of Animar (19 page)

Avryn spotted Thane and Felia standing near the front of the crowd, next to Javan and his parents that shared his significant girth.

On the stage Papio rubbed his hands together to generate warmth, secured his thick wool coat and slowly walked forward. He generally presided over large meetings and this was no different. He raised his hands to quiet the crowd.

“Friends, we appreciate your gathering this morning,” he began, speaking in a near yell so all could hear. “Rest assured like most of you I would rather be tucked away at home than standing in this weather. Believe me, this nose may be beautiful but few of you can rival my legendary sneezes!”

The crowd stirred with laughter.

Papio continued, “I wish I could say that we were here for a happier occasion but I’m afraid that is simply not the case.” He sniffled, wiped his snout and collected his thoughts. “As most of you have heard, the recent attack was ordered by the carnivore known as Fatalis. His tyranny is well known and was part of the reason we left our homes behind and traveled to this place nearly six years ago. My friends, we have called you here today because we have reason to believe that this man is building an army for the purpose of destroying our village.”

The crowd erupted with chatter.

Papio raised his hands and waited while they quieted. He then continued, “Please, please listen. What I have to say is difficult but we need your attention if there is to be any hope of survival.” He then motioned to Mordigal and said, “A…newcomer, Mordigal, has provided a great deal of insight into the thinking of our enemy. He believes that Thane is the object of this man’s rage. We believe this to be true because like you may have heard, Thane is indeed a…well…unicorn and he has demonstrated magical gifts that we have never seen before.”

Avryn watched Thane grow uncomfortable as the stares of countless eyes fell upon him. Always alert, Felia also picked up on this and quickly put her arm around her son’s shoulder and whispered something in his ear that made him smile.

Papio continued, “Avryn has offered to leave with his family but I think we will all agree that this is not an option. The army will come either way and we will not turn our backs on our own. Our only hope is to prepare ourselves for a war and seek help elsewhere. Friends, we have gathered today to call upon a brave number of you to risk your lives to save ours. With your help we plan to send for help in all directions in hope of finding others willing to join in our fight. The weather will be least of the dangers and there is a good chance those who are willing won’t return. If none will go, we will stand together and fight. This is our home and we won’t go easy.”

The crowd cheered in agreement.

Papio looked at Avryn then continued, “There are some that simply must stay to help prepare us for battle. Avryn, Urso and Semu are needed to help train those of us who lack fighting skills. The rest of you, think carefully and do not be ashamed…what we ask is—”

Papio’s words fell off when the crowed began to awe. He detected movement nearby and his jaw dropped when he watched Mordigal step forward.

“I will go,” Mordigal declared. “I promised a friend I would help free his people.”

“You won’t go alone!” a deep, unseen voice roared from somewhere in the gathering. The crowd parted while Caballus, the tall dark-skinned man who had recently joined them made his way to the front. When he climbed the steps he greeted Mordigal with a handshake and a pat on the back.

Avryn glanced at Trussil who was standing near the front of the crowd. She was obviously not happy and appeared deep in thought. Suddenly she also stepped forward and climbed the steps.

Mordigal held out a hand to stop her but she ignored his gesture and climbed to the top.

“Oh put your hand down,” she snipped. “I’m not going with you.” When she saw his sigh of relief she added, “I am going somewhere else. I have some old friends to visit. Perhaps they will help.”

“Trussil please,” Mordigal pleaded. “You can’t go.”

“So you can risk your life but not me? I think not. You can’t stop me. Just bring yourself back. I intend to do the same.”

Stealing the attention from the stage a female voice yelled from deep within the mass. “No!”

Avryn, along with most of the audience, turned and found the source - it was Joli and she was in a heated discussion with Guderian. In stunned silence the crowd watched as they argued. It was clear that one of them intended to go.

The couple looked up when they realized that all eyes had focused on them.

Guderian calmly turned to Joli. “Please let go. You know why I must do this.”

For a moment the coupled stared at one another and then Joli’s expression fell blank. She released her grasp of Guderian’s arm and her husband continued through the crowd and up the steps.

When he reached the top he nodded and Avryn and then turned to Papio. “I will head east to the sea, to the world of the Aquans and to the place where my sister was last seen alive.”

Papio bowed to Guderian and then turned to the crowd. He looked over their blank faces as he waited for others to volunteer. When only silence could be heard Papio addressed the crowd, “Very well, thank you all for your courage.”

“Wait!” A chorus of male voices yelled from somewhere in the gathering. They spoke in unison as if they were a trained group of troubadours. “We are going!”

Chattering erupted as those present separated and an unlikely trio of heroes made their way to the front. They climbed the steps, hand in hand, while the others watched in awe.

They were men of medium height and build, with somewhat ratty shoulder length brown hair and large features - most notably their feet - and were obviously related. Upon closer examination, indeed they were virtually identical in appearance, save for slight differences in their homely attire.

Avryn smiled slightly but shook his head in disbelief. He was filled with a sense of pride for his people. It is in the hardest of times that those with true courage step forward. These men were neither warriors nor adventurers. They were bakers, good ones at that, but certainly not known for valor. They had not trained in the arena and he suspected that they lacked formal combat training of any kind.

As they ascended to the final step, the middle of the three lost his footing. He stumbled and fell backward, just beyond the reach of the other two men. The crowd watched in horror as he shouted and tumbled slowly down the steps with his arms and legs flailing about. He landed in a heap and then quickly bounced to his feet, grinned and reached his arms out to the side and bowed. The children in attendance, as well as a few of the adults, burst into laughter.

The tumbler then winked at Avryn and climbed back up the steps where he joined his brothers at the top. Turning to Papio, the brothers, starting with the one on the left, said, “Blotch” then the middle, “Clotch” and finally the third, “and Splotch at your service!”

“And where will your journey lead you brave men?” Avryn asked with a smile.

They looked at one another as if deciding who should reply. They nodded in unison and Blotch said, “We will tackle the mountains and head into the plains beyond.”

An assortment of gasps sounded in the crowd when the brothers announced the most perilous route possible. Seemingly unfazed by the response, they simply smiled with grins of the naive or like men who had been filled with an unexpected courage that had chosen this very moment to be revealed.

Avryn then turned to the crowd, “Please join me in applauding these seven courageous souls who will journey forth. Let’s band together to prepare them for their travels. Our fate lies in their hands.”

Chapter 21

T
hane rubbed his hands together as he attempted to gather warmth while the icy touch of the morning air enveloped him. Although it was early, the arena was already bustling with activity. With the threat of war upon them, many that had never stepped foot inside the walls of the training grounds had come to learn the art of combat from any willing to teach.

Along the far wall nearly a dozen villagers, both young and old, were gathered around Joli. Her long black hair was tied in a ponytail behind her head and he watched as she demonstrated the ways of the bow and arrow to the group seated around her. For those not strong enough for hand to hand fighting, archery would serve as a viable alternative.

Elsewhere in the arena, men and women were paired up as they honed their skills in duels with swords, spears and other weapons that Thane was less familiar with. His focus, however, was on the two men standing just out of earshot – Avryn and the head trainer Urso.

They were clearly arguing, about what he was not sure, but he had deduced that it most likely had to do with him since occasionally they each looked his way before resuming the unknown debate. He had watched the two argue for nearly half an hour while he strained to hear what they said, yet never able to gather enough pieces to decipher the context.

Standing in the training grounds, surrounded by weapons and the sounds of combat all around, it seemed surreal. He should be in school, sitting alongside his friends, maybe even Alia. He wondered what she was doing while he stood in the cold and his fingers grew numb.

Like a dream from which he could not wake, it had all happened so fast. He was a unicorn. How could that be? A few days ago he didn’t even believe they existed! Now here he was, waiting to learn to fight so that he could defend himself against a man who wanted him dead. He wondered if he would eventually wake up and reality would resume.

His attention focused when Urso walked his way and, to his surprise, his father simply waved and headed toward the exit, apparently leaving his son to learn without him. The morning was not off to a good start.

“Alright then, I guess you’re all mine!” the burly man said as he approached. He noticed Thane’s somber look and added, “Wishing you were back in your cozy little school already?”

Thane was silent, quieted by his nerves.

“Your father explained what he knows about your new talent but we still have a lot of questions as I’m sure you do as well,” Urso said. He waited a few moments in case his pupil might speak and then said, “Alright then, I suppose the first order of business is at hand - what weapon would you like to learn with?”

Thane’s face lit up and he replied without hesitation, “A staff please sir.”

“Oh splendid! You are a polite fellow at least, not the wisest of choices though.”

“But you use it.”

“True but it has many weaknesses as well. If mastered, however, it can be quite effective.”

“Then I will have to master it,” Thane replied confidently.

The trainer laughed heartily, forcing him into a prolonged cough. Thane was not amused.

“Oh dear,” Urso said as he regained his composure. “This will be fun. Fun indeed.” He then clasped his hands together and motioned to an unoccupied area of the arena. “You head over to that corner there. I will go grab a staff and some other tools.”

Thane walked quickly to where he had been directed, anxious to begin his combat training. He watched as Urso disappeared into the blacksmith’s shop on the other side of the arena while he stretched his tight muscles and tried to look like he belonged.

Urso returned shortly thereafter holding a plain wooden staff, about five feet in length, and a collection of rags on which large black numbers had been scrawled. Without warning he tossed the staff to Thane who promptly dropped it to the ground along with his dignity.

Real smooth you moron
, he thought to himself and bent down and picked up the weapon.

Thane watched with a curious stare as his new teacher spread the numbered rags, a total of ten, in a large circle around them, about five feet apart. When he was finished the man admired his work and then looked up, “Alright young man, come stand on number one.”

Baffled but eager, Thane did as was asked and soon found himself standing on the numbered cloth. It was not exactly the start to his training that he had imagined.

“Alright then, so far so good.” Urso mused. “Now, go to number two.”

Thane took a step and then halted when Urso held out his arm. “No, no. Don’t walk to it. Disappear, vanish, whatever it is you do…get to it that way. Go on, back up. Start over.”

Thane scowled, unsure about the request.

“Oh come on,” Urso urged. “You can do it, or so I’ve been told.”

Thane nodded then closed his eyes and focused his thoughts. He pictured being on the ground where the cloth numbered two had been placed. He concentrated and waited. Something was wrong. A whisper had found his ears, the trainer was counting. Timing him perhaps? Now he was nervous. He started over. This time he breathed deep and relaxed his grip on the staff while he shook the thoughts from his head and focused. Then, like a wave crashing over him the air compressed and his stomach twirled – then it happened. He opened his eyes and he was near the second marker, about a foot inside the makeshift circle.

“Incredible!” the trainer roared with delight. “Even better than your father had described. Needs a lot of work though. No doubt about that.”

Thane looked down at the marker beside him then rolled his eyes in disbelief. He had just done something that nobody had ever seen yet he was being criticized.

“Pretty close,” Thane said.

“You can do better and you can do it quicker.”

“How do you know?”

“How do you know that you can’t?”

Thane pondered the situation and gave in. Perhaps if he just placated his trainer soon he could get to fighting. This was a waste of time.

“Listen,” Urso said. “I forget to ask. I don’t suppose you can take metal with you when you do this?”

“Nope,” Thane replied. “Father had me try that already.”

“Ah well, had to check. Now that would be truly deadly, deadly indeed. I guess the staff is more suited for you after all. Alright, on to the third one, let’s see it.”

Feigning acceptance, Thane did as was asked and looked to the next marker that beckoned him. He closed his eyes and concentrated. A painful yell suddenly broke the silence, stole his focus and forced his eyes open. Thane anxiously looked around for the source.

“Wasting time young man – don’t mind them. Whoever it is they will be fine. Get used to it. People get hurt in here all the time.”

Thane struggled to regain his thoughts but seconds later he vanished. He emerged near the third marker, perhaps a bit closer than he had been to the second. With a hopeful glance, he looked to the trainer for acceptance.