Chapter 1: The Journey Begins
A fierce midday sun bore down on the sweltering land.
"A journey of a thousand miles," Soli said to no one in particular.
Stretched out like a snake baking in the desert sun, the road to Darcinus, capital of Demartine Province, lay before him. Heat rising up from the blue-black road surface made the air seem to shimmer and dance in front of him. Mountains in the far distance undulated like Gadi Dancers as Soli thought of the trek ahead, a disturbing reflection of the uncertainty he felt. He shifted the pack on his shoulder and started walking again, thinking of the omen of his birthmark, a crescent-shaped dark spot on his left temple that had made him the target of many cruel barbs in his youngest days. The taunters had learned, in time, a painful lesson: Soli knew how to fight back, and he did it in such a way that no one would dare to taunt him twice.
Left on their doorstep as an infant, Soli had been raised by monks in the temple of Ouranos. He was taught to read and write, an uncommon skill in such a primitive world and one that had proved its worth in the years since he left the temple. The monks of Ouranos also taught him a form of self-defense that was virtually forgotten by the other inhabitants of this world, his home planet Termis. It was a gift all the more valuable in the declining civilization in which he lived. As a child, an orphan dependent on the good will and donations given to the monks, Soli had learned all the hard lessons a young boy with no protectors must learn to survive. He found that an educated person was generally treated with respect by almost everyone, and he learned to recognize the ones whose respect could be earned only with great difficulty and avoided those when he could.
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In the mountain meadow where she lay concealed among scant cover - scrub trees and low bushes - Lanie pulled the bowstring taut, held it and released it as she exhaled. The bolt shot straight and true, piercing the heart of the young norbuck grazing on tender spring grasses. She intoned a silent plea, "forgive me brother, for I, too, have to eat."
Before she rose from concealment, Lanie scanned her wild surroundings, peered into the dark shadows of scrub trees around the perimeter of the meadow. Nothing aroused her suspicion. From past experience she knew patience wasn't always rewarded, but recklessness was invariably punished, so she scanned the mountainside once more. The brutal lessons of her youth had taught Lanie the value of camouflage, and she had learned well. A young woman alone in a primitive and violent world needed all the advantages she could find... or take.
A movement far down slope caught her eye. Distance and the gathering darkness revealed only a hazy image, too indistinct to decipher. She quickly decided it was best to remain hidden.
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Shifting the weight of his pack, Soli looked up at the sere landscape, noting the brown, grassy slopes, the stunted trees, rocky crags and majestic mountains - ones he must cross on this unwanted journey. The paved road ended as Soli climbed higher up the sloping land, but a rocky path continued on above him, winding across the face of the mountain range. Up and up the road to Darcinus climbed until it lost itself in the mists of high snow caps. He was tired and hungry, but the urgency of his mission drove him on.
A crescent moon, reminiscent of the mark on his temple, hung just above the highest peak. Locals called it Dragontooth Mountain, but no one could say what a dragon was.
A rustling in the tall grass attracted his attention. A small patch of darker brown showed through the waving strands of grass, a norbuck down on the ground. It lay there, unmoving, a fact which disturbed Soli's sense of safety.