1

The ancient stone room was shrouded in darkness. A large sandstone alter sat in the center. The surface was worn from use and time. Hovering just a foot above it was a great crystal ball. The interior of the ball swirled like light smoke illuminated from the inside. The light filled the room with an eerie glow.

Standing before the altar, a black robed man gazed intensely at the swirling smoke. It flicked with tendrils of different pastel colours. The man had cold dead eyes sunken deep like bottomless wells. He had waxy yellowish skin and thin colourless lips. His hooked nose looked more like a beak. He was odd looking, even for a human.

Another black robed figure entered the room from behind and glided towards the man at the altar. He looked very similar but appeared to be older.

As if sensing the presents, the first man spoke. “I am tracking a new subject, a young human boy,” it was a dead emotionless voice with which he spoke. It echoed deep and gritty in the chamber.

“Has he used the true power?” The second man questioned. His voice was even darker and more foreboding.

“Yes, I saw it in the gazing glass. He has awakened,” the first man replied.

“Well now, maybe we need to bring him in?” The second man put a lot of emphasis on the last three words. His lips curled into a tight evil smile.

“No!” The first man decreed. He still stood facing the crystal ball. “He is not ready yet.”

“Why not?” There was an air of disappointment in the second man’s voice, like a child that just had his favourite play toy taken away without reason.

“I fear that he maybe too young and not experienced enough yet. He’s awakened but is unaware of his own condition. I don’t like to bring the subjects here in that state.”

“I don’t see why not? The less they understand, the better the conditioning process will take hold.” The second cloaked figure pointed out. He emphasised the words conditioning process with a sinister tone.

“We have had others crack, lose their minds. They become useless to our purpose when that happens,” The first man reminded him. “This boy would be the youngest we ever brought in.”

“But if we leave them out there too long, they grow in strength. They become arrogant and gain more power to resist us…” The second man countered.

“I understand. I don’t want to leave him out there too long without guidance either. We will wait until the next time he uses the power. After that happens, we can send someone to investigate.”

“Who shall we send?”

“We’ll send the girl,” the first man said. “She is also young, but very capable.”

“Is this boy that important?” The second cloaked man questioned.

The first man turned away from the crystal ball and stared the other one in the eyes. He spoke slowly and with the authority of knowledge beyond that of mere mortals. “The potential that he has… his capacity alone… It is beyond our wildest dreams!”

“Will he be able to serve the higher powers?” The second man questioned and raised an eyebrow.

“Only time will tell my friend,” The first cloaked man said. “But if I’m right about him and I believe if we can control him… than he will be the key to our entire plan!”

“I understand,” The second man said with a slight nod. “As you wish, we will wait until he is ready.”

2

They were five miles south of the town on the other side of the ridge before the party finally stopped to rest. It could have been late afternoon or it could have been the middle of night, it was impossible to tell. The dark unnatural cloud above blocked out the sky like an evil opaque cloak. They appeared to be out of immediate danger. The worst thing they found this far south was the odd gust of white ash coming down.

Elwin checked his pocket watch. It was midafternoon, about six o’clock.

The horses were still shaking from the horror and Selby worked hard to keep them steady and calm. He petted them gently and talk to them in a cool soothing voice. As the rest of them were quickly discovering, Selby had an extraordinary way with animals and horses were his specialty.

Elwin was having trouble with his thoughts. He kept replaying different parts of the day over and over in his mind. It was stuck, beyond his control. The dead woman, crushed by the rock was common reoccurring image. He could still hear the screaming and the crying. He had visions of bloody and smashed bodies lying all over the street.

But worst of all was the sight and sound of the wall of ash and hot gases that he had narrowly out run. If it had not turned and followed the terrain of the town down to the river, he would not be alive right now. Lucky was the word that kept coming to his mind. Elwin my dear boy you are the luckiest man alive! He thought to himself.

How had they and other been lucky enough to survive such an event? He pondered. He did not know or understand the Gods. Did they protect him for some reason? Did they cause this volcano to explode? Was this the Fire Lord’s doing? Were they trying to kill him? Was there meaning behind this or were they just random events? And who kept calling to him? Damn it! That feminine voice echoing around inside his head was so distracting!

With a shake, Elwin was jolted out of his thoughts.

“Elwin are you sure you’re alright?” It was Myra-Lynn. She had a deep look of concern on her face.

“I’m fine,” He replied in a flat dead voice. He was vaguely aware that she was wiping his forehead with a damp cloth.

Myra stopped what she was doing. A look of bewilderment crossed her face. “Are you sure? I’ve asked you half a dozen times now… this is the first time you responded…”

Elwin just stared blankly at her. He wanted to speak to say something that was reassuring, but the words were failing him. Through the thick haze in his mind, he could not think about what he should say. Why couldn’t he just shake this experience off like all the others? He wondered.

“Elwin, you’re in shock! You have to stop thinking about what happened. We need you back Elwin, desperately!” She said as if she was answering Elwin’s own thoughts. But if he understood her, it did not register in his expression.

3

Myra got up to her feet leaving Elwin sitting next to the cart. The rest of the party were talking to two men. Myra shook her head in frustration and rejoined their conversation.

“I don’t think we have much of a choice. Regardless of whether the Gnome’s watch says its past six o’clock,” The one man said to them. He was a tall brawny person smeared from head to toe with soot. “That volcano is still far too close. The women and children are scared to death. We have to keep moving.”

“I’m not arguing, but to what end? Where are we all headed?” Emerson questioned. Myra thought it strange to see Emerson taking the active role. Usually, he sat passively by and let Elwin or Selby take the lead.

“Nobody knows. They’re all still too frightened. We were hoping you people knew. We thought your friend there was in charge,” The man said pointing to Elwin.

They all looked to Myra. She shrugged. “He’s still in shock. If I can get him to snap out of it, we can talk to him.”

“Will he know what to do if he does snap out of it?” The man asked. He and the other man with him exchanged sceptical glances. Myra knew what they were thinking. That Elwin and his friends were too young to be the leaders of men.

“Absolutely,” Rith stated. He felt he needed to contribute to the conversation rather than just stand there like a moron. He added. “He always has some kind of a plan.”

The two men nodded. The second man finally spoke up. “I think there is a large field about five miles south of here. It could be a good camp site, at least for tonight.”

“That sounds fine,” Elwin said. While they were talking, he had woken up from his own thoughts. He was still covered with soot and ash like most people that passed them by. He once sandy brown cloak appeared white with the ash that had ground into it. “I don’t think we should go any further than that today. Gather everyone together at that point. We’ll figure out how many survivors are here.”

“Who are you people anyway?” The tall man questioned.

“We’re adventurers. We belong to the guild. We work for the Empire,” Elwin stated with an air of superiority. It was all a sham of course. Being adventurers meant nothing really, but it sounded impressive to small town folksy-type people. The fact that they belonged to the guild did not give them any special rank, neither did they work for the Empire as such, they were simply doing an assignment for an Emperor they had never met. The town guards would have been higher in rank, but none of the people who had narrowly escaped death knew that. Right now, the terrified citizens needed someone who could lead them to safety.

4

Mayor Ashborn and most of his soldiers did not survive as near as anyone could tell. Elwin had gone through the crowd earlier looking for anyone with authority, but all he could find was a dozen soldiers and they were completely lost without their commanders.

Elwin worked hard to clear his mind as they continued south again. He thought about what he could say that would make everyone feel better. What would put people at ease? His first instinct was to take them to Verant City. But it was what? Six hundred miles down this very road? He shook off the idea. There were over a thousand of them and they had almost no supplies. They needed to contact the government immediately. Could it be possible that the Emperor already knew? There was no way for him to tell, but an event of this magnitude would not go unnoticed. Word would spread fast. But would it be fast enough?

“Rith, I want you to guide the horses,” Elwin ordered. “Emerson, Selby, I want you to come with me. We’ll go to the front of the column and tell everyone to gather at the clearing a few miles up ahead. Some people may already be there anyway. Somebody needs to take charge. The Mayor is most likely dead. No one else is stepping forward to do it. So, it falls to us, understand?”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Myra-Lynn had the baby in her arms once again. The baby had been crying and she held the infant close and rock gently trying to sooth the crying. But she knew what was really wrong. She spoke up. “I’m coming with you!”

“Are you sure? What about the baby?” Elwin questioned.

“Well, that’s my point, we need to find someone to look after him,” she replied.

“Him?” Elwin said with a raised eyebrow and a wry smile. He was starting to feel like his old self again.

“Ah well, I checked on that earlier. Look I think he really needs food,” she blushed and touched her own breast. “Ah, you know what I mean, mother’s milk. But I can’t help him, I’m not a mother, nor am I human,” she explained.

“He needs a wet nurse,” Emerson said cutting to the point for her.

“Exactly,” Myra confirmed.

“We’ll try and find someone suitable,” Elwin said. “I wouldn’t get too attached to this boy. I don’t think you can keep the baby. We need to find a real human family for him.”

Myra nodded grimly still holding the infant tight against her. She looked like she might cry.

“I’m not saying that you wouldn’t do a good job. I mean…” Elwin was still struggling with his words.

“I know what you meant Elwin. And I know that you are right,” Myra said as she struggled to keep her emotions under control.

5

As the four of them moved their way up the mile long column of refugees, they talked to everyone they could find. It was unlike anything they had ever seen before. Hundreds of people moved as if on a death march. Soot and ash streaked their features and clothing. There were some wooden carts that had been used to gather important goods like food and water, but for the number of people, it would not be enough for more than a few days at the most. Many of the people were gathered together in families and clans, some missing various members, most often the father.

They told the refugees to gather at a clearing not far away as the tall man had told them. Indeed, there was a large clearing off a few hundred yards from the road. Those who knew where it was directed the people as they arrived. According to Rowdy’s pocket watch it was well into evening already. The stars and moons were completely blocked out by the black cloud above them. The air even this far south smelled strongly of smoke and sulphur.

As the people gathered, Rith led the cart into the clearing. People made way and he brought in into the center of the area. Elwin saw the opportunity to speak. He wanted to strike while the iron was hot. He had thought about it long and hard, but there was not much that he could say that was going to make everyone feel better. He climbed up onto the cart and shouted for everyone to pay attention.

The crowd gather around waiting intently for his words of wisdom. They stared up at him. Some of the women and children had tears in their eyes. Other only had the dead blank stare of shock.

“Many of you have seen me earlier today!” He looked around trying to look as many people in the eye as possible. “I recognise many of you! My friends and I told you all to come here rather than the river. If you saw what happened, if you dared to look back, then you know it was the right decision. I hope that we have saved many lives with our advice!”

There were murmurs in the crowd and many nods and the odd thank you could be heard about the light noise.

Elwin raised his voice a bit more so everyone could hear him and continued. “Five days ago, my companions and I arrived at Domara. We are adventurers and we had been sent on a mission from the Emperor. We came up the main road from Verant City, the same road that we are now heading south on. Everyone has been asking me if I have a plan. The simple answer is no!”

At this the crowd drew back in collective fear and more whispers began the cycle through the crowd.

Elwin held up his hands asking for silence. He continued. “I don’t think that its possible to plan for such an event! I’m not a man of God. I don’t claim to have all of the answers, but what I do know is that we are all survivors of one of the worst tragedies in Verantian history!” Once again, the crowd fell silent and listen carefully. “We’re in the middle of nowhere, with few supplies. The nearest town is hundreds of miles from here. No village in the area could feed and shelter this many people. I don’t know if the government is even aware of our situation. So, the question remains, what do we do? I have given this some thought. The main road leads south all the way down to Verant City itself.”

“That’s a month’s travel at least!” One man shouted from the crowd.

“We’re aware of that!” Emerson shouted back in Elwin’s defence.

Elwin nodded in appreciation to him. “We don’t have much of a choice. Our best chance of being found and possibly getting help is to stay on the road and keep heading south. In another day we will come to a small stream where we can get fresh water at the very least.”

“And then what? We need real help!” Some woman shouted out. Other voices were now starting to chime in. Elwin felt like he was losing a bit of control over the crowd.

“Listen! I understand you are all frightened. Don’t you think I feel the same way? I’m just as much a survivor as all of you! Our best chance to get help from the Empire is to be found and our best chance of being found is to stay on the road and continue heading south. Understand?”

There were some nods and murmurs of agreement.

“I promise all of you, as soon as we are able to get a message to the government, we will not hesitate to do so! Tonight, we must rest. Tomorrow, we have a long journey. I thank you all for listening!” Elwin concluded and got down from the cart.

“I’m sorry,” Elwin said to Anna as she hugged him. “I wish I made a better speaker.”

“Rubbish!” Anna replied in his ear. “You were honest and told the true whether they wanted to hear it or not. That’s what they will remember now. They will know you aren’t going to lie to them!”

Elwin pulled Anna tighter and whispered thank you back at her.

People from the audience began crowding around him asking all kind of questions, most of which he had no answer to. His companions all stayed close protecting him like bodyguards.

Elwin did find a new mother who was able to nurse the infant that had come into Myra’s care. Myra kept close by making sure that baby was safe, much to the annoyance of the nursing mother. Elwin hoped that Myra was not becoming too attached to the baby boy. As an Elf she could never adopt a baby human, especially here in Verant. He hoped she was not thinking such nonsense.