Dawn of Man (Thanos Book 1)

by Watson, Thomas A

  Ahnon held out his right arm, and a blade swung out into his palm. “Yes,” Ahnon said and let the knife go, and it hung below his arm attached by a string.

  “What kind of string is that? I’ve seen what you do with it, and it should break,” Jedek said.

  “It’s braided troll hair, and the only thing that can cut troll hair is troll teeth. They are the sharpest thing known to man.” Suddenly, he whipped his arm over his head and swung it out, sending the knife sailing through the air. The blade chopped a limb off a tree forty paces away and shot back to Ahnon, who caught it. Jedek saw Ahnon flex his arm, and the blade flipped back to the brace. Looking closely, Jedek saw the outline of the blade in the shiny metal.

  Grinning, “I want one,” Jedek said.

  “We have a long way to go before that, sire,” Ahnon said, laughing.

  “How and why?”

  “I ran out of throwing blades once and really missed not being able to hit attackers at a distance, so I developed this. It took about thirty years, but I like it,” Ahnon said and lifted his left arm. The pyramid popped out into his palm. “I made this one so I could move away or grab something without using magic. I can control both with small muscle movements.” The pyramid popped back to the brace.

  “What’s with the outfit? It looks kind of like a uniform,” Jedek said.

  “I look ridiculous,” Kenna announced.

  They turned around to see her standing in Ahnon’s clothes, which swallowed her. His boots came up to her thighs. Jedek dropped to the ground in laughter.

  “No, sire, you never look ridiculous,” Ahnon said, raising his hand, and a ball of smoke floated to Kenna. When it left, the clothes fit her perfectly.

  Kenna just stared down at herself, amazed. “That was so fairy hair,” she said in wonder then looked up. “I want to do magic.”

  “And we shall start later, sire. Let’s eat and start moving,” Ahnon said, moving to the fire.

  They all sat on their legs, eating and listening to the forest. When Ahnon finished, he said, “Jedek, you were right. This is a kind of uniform. This is how hunters dress.”

  “Oh, my uncle is a hunter,” Kenna said, smiling.

  Ahnon shook his head. “No, Kenna, your uncle hunts, but he is not a hunter. Hunters are professionals, like farmers and soldiers. They move about the land, hunting things for bounty. Most hunt things that harm humans like trolls, goblins, giants, manticores, mangmyrs, wolves, and many other things. Some hunters even specialize in tracking down humans who run from the law.”

  “Where do you go to school?” Kenna asked.

  “With another hunter in the field, you apprentice for years. Then, you get your seal from your master.”

  “And you were a hunter too?” she asked.

  Ahnon nodded. “Oh yes. A hunter can go anywhere without drawing much attention, and most leave them alone. It’s a great way to gather information and see the world.”

  “What kind of seal?” Jedek asked.

  Ahnon pulled a ring out of his pocket. It looked like the amulets they had on: a large, black bird of prey with a sword in its talons. “It’s a seal so other hunters know you are for real and how you collect bounty. You accept a job by pressing your seal on a request, and if you deliver the request, the bounty is paid when you put your second seal on the request,” Ahnon said, putting the ring on a chain and putting that around his neck.

  “You love your blackbird,” Jedek mumbled.

  “He’s an ahus̆-roc, sire, not a blackbird,” Ahnon growled.

  Jedek groaned. “Ahnon, I’ve been asking to see this roc since I’ve known about him,” he whined.

  Reaching over, Ahnon patted his leg. “You will, sire. When we reach a spot to train, I will call for him.”

  “Really?” Jedek said, his face lighting up. “Let’s go,” he said, jumping up.

  As they packed up the meager supplies, Kenna put her hands on her hips. “I want to tell both of you I have only worn pants for a little while, and I like them.”

  “Only ladies of station wear a dress all the time, Kenna,” Ahnon said, kicking dirt over the fire.

  “Well, I’m passing a law that’s going to change that,” she said, crossing her arms.

  Jedek stared at her hard, really wanting Ahnon to change her hair back. “I don’t care, but you can’t cut your hair,” he said, stopping himself from asking Ahnon to change it back.

  “I can if I want to,” she snapped.

  Crossing his arms, “I’ll pass a law that you can’t,” he informed her.

  Kenna sucked in air to unleash a torrent. “Children,” Ahnon snapped, trying not to smile. “Let’s just go, please,” he said, putting on his surcoat, which came down almost to his ankles. They watched him tie a mask around his mouth, but it looked like cloth but had a pentagonal, box-like shape that covered his nose and ran under his eyes down to his mouth. Before they could ask, he put on a black, wide-brimmed hat, hiding his eyes in shadows. Then he picked up a large pair of reading glasses, but the spectacles were shaded. When he finished putting on his gloves, they couldn’t see any of his skin, and his face was totally hidden.

  “Ahnon, why do you need reading glasses that are dark? You never used them before,” Jedek asked.

  “They aren’t reading glasses, sire. They are just stained glass to block the light.” He took them off and passed them to Jedek, who put them on, and it was like he was looking at the world covered in shade but could see detail much better. He passed them to Kenna, who put them on as Ahnon explained, “Hunters mostly move about at night, so they protect their eyes from bright light.”

  “Why are you covered up? Isn’t that a hindrance in combat?” Jedek asked.

  “Yes and no,” Ahnon said, taking the glasses from Kenna. “Exposed skin can be envenomated by an animal or by a human attacking. My surcoat, pants, and gloves are made from negtro stag hide. It’s tough, supple, and very light.” He picked up the pack and adjusted it so it wasn’t hitting his spell pouches then grabbed his staff.

  “Oh, I have some gloves made from negtro hide. They are great,” Kenna said.

  “If you are talking about the ones you wore at the castle, sire, I’m sorry to tell you they were fake.”

  “Are you sure? Momma paid a lot for them.”

  “Yes, sire,” he said, holding out his hand. “These gloves are almost one hundred years old, and except for a few marks, they look new. Once negtro hide is cured, it’s very hard to cut. That is why I always wear a pair of gloves made from it. I don’t want to accidently cut myself on one of my blades and become envenomated.” Ahnon turned around and started off as the two fell in behind him, and Minos took off in front.

  “Minos, don’t get far. I’ve heard some three horns calling last night!” Ahnon shouted, and Minos ignored him, finding a rabbit.

  “Three horns?” Kenna asked.

  Jedek turned around, shocked. “An animal you don’t know?” he asked. Kenna narrowed her eyes at him. “It’s big, about the size of a house. Not as big as a mastodon but still really big. It has a shield of bone around its head with two horns over the eyes about four feet long and one on its nose about two foot long. Then on its tail, it has two-foot-long boney spikes,” Jedek rattled off.

  Kenna looked around nervously. “Are they dangerous?” she asked.

  “If you mess with them, they are,” Jedek said. “I saw some with Ahnon when we traveled Gratu. I watched a small herd kill a pack of danner beast.”

  “Danner beast is the thing that runs on two legs, right?” she asked, looking everywhere now.

  “Yeah, they’re about six feet tall with sharp claws on their arms and feet. Let me tell you they can run fast too.”

  “We don’t have any three horns or danner beast in Honch,” she said with a nervous voice.

  Jedek huffed. “Danner beast aren’t nothing. Wait till you see a mathus bear. They are huge, almost as big as a three horn,” Jedek informed her.

  “Jedek, you’re scaring her,” Ahn
on said, not turning around.

  Jedek caught up to her and put his arm over her shoulders. “Don’t worry; Ahnon knows everything, so we are okay.”

  Ahnon glanced over his shoulder. “Far from it, sire. I know very little,” he said then saw Minos digging under a log as a rabbit shot out the other side. “Minos, you idiot! The rabbit ran out the other side!” he shouted.

  Minos lifted his head, covered in dirt. “Oh, sneaky rabbit,” he said then jumped over the log.

  Jedek watched Minos jump and promptly fall. “He’s only a puppy, Ahnon. He will get smarter and better,” Jedek said before Ahnon could speak. “Ahnon, you were teaching me stuff even the councilors and mages of the court didn’t know,” Jedek said as Minos chased a rabbit and ran right into a tree. “Ow, that had to hurt,” Jedek said quietly.

  “That’s not saying much, sire,” Ahnon said.

  “What?” Jedek asked. “Your mask is smothering your words.”

  “That’s not saying much, sire. Those idiots don’t even read about what others are finding in the world,” Ahnon said louder.

  “Why the mask?” Kenna asked.

  “There is a special cloth in it that amplifies smells over the nose, and if I breathe through my mouth, I can’t breathe in poison. My mouth and nose have a block between them now.”

  “The scarf you wear all the time and you wrapped around me in the great hall stops poisons,” Jedek said.

  “That it does, sire, but it doesn’t amplify smell,” Ahnon said as they crested a hill, and Ahnon turned around, looking back at the Great Eastern Sea. “Take a look; we won’t be seeing an ocean again for a while.” The two looked back, standing beside Ahnon as Minos came over, shaking his head and wanting the stars to go away.

  “Ahnon, do you remember flying us?” Kenna asked.

  “The last thing I remember, Kenna, is you two yelling at me to keep going,” he admitted.

  “Why did you sink the Multar ship?” she asked.

  “They had wizards aboard that were using a spell to track and find magic being used.”

  “That’s why you were flying so fast,” she said in a low voice then looked up at him. “There’s a ship on the horizon. Do you think they are looking for us?” she asked.

  Ahnon squinted, scanned the horizon, and finally saw it. “Good eyes, Kenna. I doubt it, but we are going to avoid people anyway here in Racor.”

  “Ahnon, the horse kingdom really hates Multar. Why do we avoid them?” she asked.

  “Spies are everywhere, sire, and you two have told me you want to learn. Our goal is to remain undetected.”

  Kenna nodded as Minos took off, seeing a rabbit sneaking up on them. Jedek shook his head at Minos. “Ahnon, where are we headed?” he asked, thankful Minos caught one rabbit.

  “I’ve told you: into the Iron Mountains.”

  “That’s the elven kingdom. Won’t they get mad?” he asked.

  “No,” Ahnon said, turning around and walking away. “If you abide by their laws, they leave you alone,” he said as the two followed. Suddenly, Ahnon stopped and turned to his right and moved back into the forest. The two looked ahead, and they were mesmerized by a field of purple lilies. “Don’t get near them. Those are lecka lilies,” Ahnon said, stopping and turning to look at them. “The pollen on them will paralyze you.”

  They both jumped back. “Ahnon, I want one of your face scarfs,” Kenna said.

  “I will get you each one when we stop for lunch if it makes you feel better.”

  Kenna pulled on Jedek, but he was still looking at the flowers. “Ahnon, does the lecka wasp go near them?” he asked.

  “Yes, sire. If you look on the ground around the flowers, you will see small birds and insects. The wasp comes in and takes them back to the nest.”

  “Oh, here comes a poor hummingbird,” Kenna said with remorse.

  “No, Kenna, that’s a lecka wasp,” Ahnon said, and Kenna’s eyes got wide as a wasp landed thirty paces away, picking up a bird. It was yellow with red stripes around its body, but the thing that made Kenna want to run was that it was two feet long and as big around as her thigh.

  “I’ve heard of them but never seen one,” she whispered, wanting it to go away.

  “They pretty much shun settlements unless you mess with the hive,” Ahnon said. He saw the look of despair on both of their faces. “Sires, that is why humans live close together. The wilds are very dangerous. Few people live further than a hundred miles from a city and even less from a village. Humans actually only occupy less than five percent of Thanos. People stay close together so they can fight what comes out of the wilds. You have each seen capital cities; they spread out for leagues. It takes more than a day to get out of Velham on horse, and it’s not as big as some of the other cites.”

  “You told your nephew the wilds weren’t that dangerous,” Jedek reminded him.

  “Well, I might have overstated that some,” Ahnon admitted. “The cities, for the most part, are safe, and out of all the cities, Velham is the safest. Do you two want to change your mind?” he asked.

  They both looked up at him. “No,” they said together.

  “Well, let’s go then. I’m not in the mood to fight lecka wasps.” Ahnon said, walking off.

  Kenna turned around as the wasp lifted the bird up and flew off. “Are they deadly to humans?” she asked, afraid of the answer.

  Looking over his shoulder at her, Ahnon nodded. “Their bite is venomous and hurts like the abyss, and the sting is worse. If they bite and sting you, you die. The venom of both kills humans quickly.”

  They continued on with Ahnon pointing out plants to avoid, which to Jedek was everything green or grew in the ground. When Ahnon showed them a death tree, Jedek wanted to run. There were vines covering the ground and several animals hanging by vines from the branches. What shocked Jedek was he couldn’t smell rotting flesh. “The tree covers the smell, Jedek, or it would scare off other animals. The animals hanging aren’t really dead. They have been injected with a toxin that keeps them somewhat alive as the tree sucks the life fluids from them.”

  Jedek moved to the other side of Ahnon, pulling Kenna with him. Leaving the tree behind, they came out to a large, open, grassy glade. Kenna froze. “The hills are moving out there,” she said.

  “No, those are three horns,” Jedek said proudly. He knew if they left the three horns alone, they would be fine.

  Kenna sighed with relief, watching the huge beasts move about. “They’re eating grass,” she said, shocked.

  “Yeah, just think of them as big cows but a little bit smarter,” Jedek said as Minos came out of the woods and stopped. “Minos, leave them alone, or I’ll let Ahnon throw you out a window.”

  “Chase,” Minos said with his tongue hanging out.

  “No,” Ahnon said, strolling off into the glade. “Minos, if you chase them, they will hurt us.” Minos let out a whine and walked beside Jedek. “That’s a nest over there, so don’t let Minos go,” Ahnon said, pointing to the right with his staff.

  Jedek reached down and grabbed a handful of Minos’ fur. “Nest?” he asked, holding the fur tight.

  “Yes a nest. They lay eggs,” Ahnon said. “That one looking at us is a momma.” Ahnon pointed. Jedek looked over and could almost swear he could hear the mountain of flesh rumble, “Go away.” They left the glade and stopped for lunch with Ahnon showing them what plants they could eat.

  When the first sun reached the horizon, Ahnon stopped them for the day. Jedek moved out and gathered firewood, and Ahnon showed them how to use the flint on damp wood. Before the last light of day left, Kenna filled the water flask, and Ahnon set up the shield around the camp. Seeing the air shimmer, Kenna walked over and pushed her hand through, smiling. She was part of them.

  Chapter 19

  It was the third morning of travel when Kenna sat up, feeling someone kick her foot. Looking up, she saw Ahnon looking down at her, grinning. “Time for morning exercises,” he said. She gave him a weak smile and stretched h
er arms over her head as Ahnon cut up some of the deer he had shot the day before. She saw Jedek standing up, stretching before the exercises, so she joined him.

  Minos rolled over and cracked his eyes, seeing the kids up, but he knew what they were going to do, so he went back to sleep. The two went over the exercises Ahnon had taught them for the next hour while Ahnon fixed breakfast.

  An hour later, the two dropped down beside the fire, drenched in sweat. Ahnon handed over plates and a water skin. Neither one used the knife or fork. Instead, they grabbed the food and shoved it in their mouths.

  “Don’t choke, please,” Ahnon said, chuckling.

  Jedek paused in his shoving and looked at his sho-ka. “Ahnon, I didn’t know you still did exercises,” he said and commenced shoving again.

  “Yes, sire. Every morning, a hundred of each,” Ahnon said, leaning back, eating.

  Kenna stared at him. “A hundred of each of the twenty exercises we do?” she asked, and Ahnon nodded. “That’s what we have to work up to?” she asked.

  “Kenna, those are just warming exercises. We haven’t got to the training exercises,” Ahnon said.

  She lowered her plate to her lap. She had thought they were doing pretty well until she heard that. “When will I be able to do magic?” she asked.

  Ahnon shook his head, smiling. “Kenna, you have only been trying for two days. I’ve seen people take up to a year before figuring out the connection. It’s like making your ears wiggle; you just have to find that certain muscle.”

  “It only took Jedek one day,” she said, disheartened. “No one in my family has done magic since my great-great grandfather, and from what I’ve heard, he wasn’t that good.”

  “Doesn’t matter. I know you can. I can feel it in you.”

  Jedek looked at him with a weird look. “You can feel it in people?” he asked.

  “Yes, sire, and you can too,” Ahnon said. Before Jedek could say anything, Ahnon continued. “Jedek, when you are around others and you get that funny little feeling that that person is special, that means they have the ability. When you get the tingling on your skin, you know they have used magic.”

  Shock hit Jedek’s face, “Wow, I thought that was just a sour stomach,” he admitted, making Ahnon laugh. Ahnon stood and cleaned his plate off then started packing up. When Ahnon grabbed his bow, Jedek asked, “Ahnon, why don’t you ever let the bow down? All the archers at the castle said you had to.”