Coming to a stop, he took his leather pack from his back and sat it on the new grass at his feet. In a fluid, practiced motion he adjusted his sword belt. Sighing, he stretched his lean frame, his shoulder length hair shining golden in the light of the sinking sun.
“Jer, you tarry like and old woman!” he yelled, looking back to where his brother plodded along nonchalantly. “We could have been home hours ago.” He scowled at the thought of all the nights spent on the cold ground.
Jerrin smiled his disarming smile as he caught up to his impatient, fidgeting brother. “You worry too much Tyr. We’ve been gone for weeks. What’s another day?” He ran a gloved hand through his dark hair in a poor attempt to hide a yawn.
At first glance, no one would ever suspect the two of being related, especially not twins. Tyris’s tall, lithe frame and Jerrin’s shorter, more muscular one stood in sharp contrast. And then there was their hair--Tyris’s golden and light, while Jerrin’s sat thick and almost black on his head. Even their basic demeanor differed greatly. Tyris, always the serious one, had lines of worry in his young face. His brother’s light attitude for life showed clearly in his ready smile.
But a closer look revealed how alike they were. Both had the characteristic sky blue eyes of the Rashal family, eyes that could be as cold as ice or as warm as a summer day. They also shared the same fine, sharp features, and most importantly, the same valiant, courageous spirit for life.
Tyris shook his head and picked up his pack, weighing its lightness in his hand for a moment. It had been three days since they had last bought supplies. “Another day could make all our efforts a waste. You know how important our mission is.” A quick, intense look sent an unspoken message to his brother of the urgency he felt, then he turned and started off once more.
Jerrin, always sensitive to his brother’s role, and the stress it gave him, followed at a quicker pace. “You’re right Tyr. I’m sorry. I guess I am just tired from weeks of walking. I can’t wait to sleep in a soft bed again.”
“You and me both, brother!” Tyris said, slapping his brother on the shoulder. “A few more hours and we will be there. If we hurry we can be there by morning.”
The brothers walked on in silence, both now hurrying at the thought of soft beds and a warm bath. Tyris gazed south at the dark forest as it grew closer. The trees melded together in the deepening dusk, looking like a dark cloud lying against the earth. This journey had been hard on both of them. Long weeks of walking from village to village, always moving, never staying. He saw now even more clearly the Caridon Council’s wisdom in sending the two young, healthy brothers.
Pulling his heavy cloak around him against the growing chill of the coming night, Tyris glanced at his brother. How he envied his worry free attitude. How he wished he could face the trials before them as well as Jerrin did. His place on the Caridon Council left little room for the trivial pursuits that most of the city’s wealthy inhabitants enjoyed. Not that Tyris begrudged his position. In fact, he was very proud of his title, and the prophecy that at times seemed to control his life.
By the time the brothers entered the fringes of the trees, the sun had fully set. The nearly full moon stood high in the sky, and more than enough light shone through the branches of new growth to see clearly without lighting the lanterns. The Myrion Forest was one of the largest in the entire kingdom, stretching all the way to the distant Raven Mountains in the west and for over a hundred miles south. They would pass through just a small tip of the great forest to reach their home city of Caridon, the walled city bordered by the woods on three sides.
“Will you listen to the forest, Jer?” Tyris asked, turning in a slow circle to look at the
surrounding trees.
“Of course,“ Jerrin smiled.
They stopped and Tyris stood silently as he watched Jerrin use his gift. The Earthspeak ability was hereditary, but Jerrin was the first Rashal in over 300 years to have it. According to Jerrin, the Earthspeak was active all the time, whispering of the life and mood of the environment around him, but by concentrating he could push those senses even farther, picking out more precise details of what was happening around him. Tyris envied his brother’s talent and it’s usefulness.
Jerrin stood silently, eyes closed for a few minutes, his body tense. “The biggest threat I can sense is an upset family of quail we scared off,” he said grinning. “Other than that, everything is in harmony. There actually seems to be less activity in the animal life than I expected.”
“Thank you,” Tyris said, looking around slowly, trying to push his own human senses out into the night. “I just feel uneasy for some reason. Probably just the stress of our journey. Let’s get going.”
“Do you want me to listen again?” Jerrin asked comfortingly.
“No, Jer, I trust the Earthspeak. It has never been wrong before. It’s just nerves. Come on. If we hurry we can be home soon.”
Once again they set out through the dark woods. As they made there way through the dense trees, Tyris let his mind wander. His first memory of the prophecy concerning his life was when he was only five years old. He had fallen from the large tree outside their small home and broken his arm. After the healer had gone, his father had taken him alone into the barn and sat with him in the loose straw. He still remembered it as clearly as the day it happened.
Tyris watched with great interest as his father rubbed his hands together nervously, his aching arm forgotten. He was more intrigued by his father’s obvious discomfort than what he had to say. He had never seen his father lose control of his emotions.
“Son, yer different than the other boys. You see... What I mean to say is that yer meant fer greater things. The night you was born, Ol’ Faeris Prine, the Seer had a vision. Said as how a babe would be born that would save the kingdom, maybe the world from some dark happenin’ in the future.”
And then his father looked straight into his soul with those brilliant blue eyes. “You are the babe he saw, Tyris. You have the sign” He pointed to the small star-shaped mark on Tyris’s wrist. “Some day he says yer gonna save all of us.”
His father stood, and paced slowly across to the cow stalls, hands clasped behind him. After a few minutes, he turned briskly and came back to stand before him. Tyris could not help but notice the dampness of this strong man’s eyes, or hear the quiver in his voice with his next words.
“Soon you and yer brother will go to the Caridon to be trained in the ways of survivin’ and fightin’. There they will make sure yer prepared for yer destiny. Seems as like yer ma and me don’t have the proper skills to do it ourselves.
His voice broke at that and he turned away quickly, shoulders shaking. He stood there until he was in control again, then spoke again without turning.
“You have to be careful, son. Today it was just yer arm, but it could have been worse. As hard as it seems, you can’t go riskin’ yer life with so much at stake. Do you understand, Tyris?”
Tyris took a deep breath and spoke for the first time, his words showing maturity far past his five years. “Will you come to visit us, papa? You and mama?”
His father, filled with pride in his son’s courage, turned, raised him up and embraced him. “Of course we will, son. Of course we will. As often as we can.”
And then they both wept, his father no longer trying to hide the emotions from his beloved son.
Tyris was startled from his reverie by his brother’s sudden stop. They were in a small
clearing, perhaps 20 yards in diameter. The perimeter was a massive tangle of ancient oak trees, branches seeming to link to form a dark, shadowy wall. The moon, now almost directly overhead shown brightly upon the floor of the clearing, making details sharp and surreal in the silver light.
“What is wrong, Jer?” Tyris whispered, concerned at the intense concentration on his brother’s bowed head. He was suddenly aware of the sense of uneasiness he had felt earlier, only much stronger now.
“Something is wrong, Tyr,” Jerrin said without opening his eyes. The life around us...it’s disappearing...it’s...ahhhhhh!” Jerrin gasped and snapped his eyes open. “We have to get out of here, Tyr! Now! Something is wrong...run Tyr! Run!”
Tyris felt the hair on his neck begin to rise as Jerrin started to rush past him. “Jer, what is happening?? What does the Earthspeak say? Jer, wait! We have to...”
The two brothers barely had time to turn and see the creature before it was upon them. In the misty light of the moon all they could see was a massive shadow, looming up into the trees above their heads. Caught completely off guard, they had no time to avoid the onrush.
Tyris flinched in pain as the beast ran into him. For a split second he felt the creature against him, like damp moss and rot. The stench of dying things hit his nose like a blow. And then he was in the air, arms and legs spinning madly, not knowing which way was up. There was a sharp burst of pain and light in his head as he hit a tree, then fell face down to the ground. For a moment he lay there gasping, desperately trying to pull air into his lungs.
He heard a scream off to his left, and pushed himself shakily to his knees, afraid of what he would see. Shaking hands fumbling for his sword, his eyes darted toward the center of the clearing. He felt a scream rise in his own throat as he saw the massive creature looming over his fallen brother about 10 yards away, his own sword lying at the beast’s feet..
“Noooooo! Jerrin!”, he screamed, lurching to his feet and stumbling toward him. He could feel the blood running down his face, but the sight of his brother lying there chased all thoughts of pain from his mind. The beast had Jerrin pinned with one massive, clawed hand. Tyris screamed Jerrin’s name again as the other hand descended toward him. He wouldn’t be able to reach them in time.
Tyris stumbled to a stop and watched in horror as the head of the creature turned and looked back at him. In the blackness, the eyes glowed a bright green. The intelligence and violent intent was clear in them. The eyes spoke to him, inviting surrender, promising a painless end to this.
Truespeak...join usss...come...join...
With a great effort, Tyris tore his eyes away and looked again at his brother, now free of the creature's grasp. As the beast turned fully to face him, he saw Jerrin rise slowly to his feet, shaking his head as if to clear a nightmare.
The hulking monster advanced upon Tyris slowly. He could feel the eyes drawing his own, promising peace, soothing, so soothing.
Come...come to usss...uss...
He slapped himself hard on the cheek to break the hold on his mind. “Run Jer! Run!”, he screamed, knowing that they were no match for this monstrosity. “Ruuuuuuuuun!!”
He watched in relief as Jerrin turned and ran, dropping his pack as he fled. Now, if he could only buy enough time for his brother to make it to safety. The beast continued to advance slowly toward him. Again he felt the hold on his mind, tentative at first, then growing, soothing,
calming.
You are the one...the one...you...
With a start, he realized he was looking into the creature's eyes again. The voice in his mind soothed, and the eyes did not look so malevolent now.
He felt the crushing strength of the monster as it grasped him, felt again the mossy touch, smelled again the reek of death. His useless sword fell from numb fingers. Again the voice soothed, and again the beast was not so unpleasant. It lowered him to the ground, and somewhere in the back of his mind he knew that he was in the same position his brother had been in. He stared into the eyes. And the voice soothed.
You are the one...the one...join usss...join...one...
And when the darkness came he was at peace.