Dawyn sat in the Dancing Mare Inn, nursing a mug of cold ale. Anwyn sat across the table from him, contemplative as she held a glass of wine in her hands. So many thoughts were whirring through his head. The prophecies had begun to come true, heralded by the appearance of an alien creature referred to in the texts as a Krai’kesh, and the prophesied Age of the Saviors had come. Dawyn’s role to play was clear, for the letter he had been given so long ago lay in his pouch. He knew where he had to go.
But balanced against the needs of the world was his desire to find his long-lost sister. He had thought her dead, killed at the hand of an unnamed assassin years ago when they first came to the world of Tar Ebon. His shock at seeing her as the veiled assassin had almost cost him his life during the fight with her, but he had survived, and in turn saved his sister's life from a would-be assassin. The hope he harbored of being reunited with his sister in that moment had faded as she turned and fled from the Five Daggers Inn. He had tried to pursue her, but she was already gone, like mist in the wind.
The other companions with Dawyn, Alivia and Favio, had both gone their separate ways. Alivia had been awarded the rank of master for her battle prowess against the powerful mage Nikki. She would now have the opportunity to travel where she wished and do as she wanted. She had chosen to become a recruiter for the Tower of the Seven Stars, so she could help youngsters and others who sought to control their magic by bringing them to the Tower and imparting her wisdom upon them. Stories of what she had done within the inn named Five Daggers had spread throughout the Tower and she had been given the unofficial nickname of Lightning O'Leary.
Favio, after his successful infiltration of the network of assassins and thieves surrounding Lord Garik, had been given a royal commendation from the king for his outstanding service and a royal pardon for all past debts and crimes against the kingdom. He had taken one of the first ships headed south to the port city of Valnos, where he would continue on to the Citadel by the Sea, the largest port in the known world. He claimed he had a story to tell, and by the Founders why not tell it where he would have the biggest audience? Besides, he said, there were other lands to visit and people to see. Of particular interest to him was the great storm wall and rumor of the lands that lay on the other side of the equator-spanning super storm. Dawyn wasn’t sure if he would ever see Favio again, but he hoped so.
Anwyn, on the other hand, was sticking close to Dawyn. When Dawyn had explained the prophecy and shown her the secret note he had kept safe for many years, her eyes had lit up and she declared she would accompany him east to the foothills of the White Mountains, where the prophecies predicted the saviors of the world would appear “as if from nowhere”. Anwyn confided that perhaps the very same prophecy Dawyn was responding to was the sole reason she had been exiled. Aside from that, Dawyn and Anwyn had fallen in love during their travels. Now that he was released from all oaths to the kingdom, Dawyn hoped that he and Anwyn could be together.
Epilogue: A Flash of Light
Blood and Shadows Page 32
