Legacy of Dragonwand: Book 1 (Legacy of Dragonwand Trilogy)

by Daniel Peyton

  Crystal brought Markus to her home, where Treb was fixing a traditional Rakki breakfast. Markus was a little embarrassed to have been brought into their home so suddenly. The way Treb was half dressed, and the fact that Kiin was still getting herself ready for the day, only made Markus even more self-conscious about being there. But, on the other hand, the food smelled really good, and he was starving. Treb was wearing only pants, which showed off his rather impressively muscular physique. After getting a good look at Treb, Markus felt a little less manly, having shown Crystal his not-so-muscular physique.

  Crystal directed Markus sit at a large round wooden table, with a circular bench around it that seemed to have been carved out of a single piece of wood. On the table were plates of cooked hen eggs, a pot of soup, and some fresh biscuits Treb had just pulled out of the oven.

  Upon seeing the unexpected guest, Treb looked at Crystal with a knowing expression. “I wondered why you asked for a big breakfast this morning. You could’ve warned us you were expecting to bring him over.”

  Markus gulped and smiled at him. “I’m glad to be invited. I don’t wish to be any trouble, though.”

  “Oh, you’re no trouble. I made enough food for several guests. Crystal must think the Humankind eat a lot of food.” He set a bowl on the table with a pile of berries in it. His attitude was downright surly, with a hint of sarcasm in every word.

  Crystal gave Treb a frown, then turned to Markus. “This is a complete Rakki breakfast. Do you approve?”

  Markus smiled, knowing how much she wanted to impress him. So, he looked around and nodded. “Yes. It all looks very tasty. The Humankind eat a lot of the same stuff: cooked eggs, biscuits, and fruit. The soup is a little different. We don’t often eat soup for breakfast.”

  Treb set an empty bowl in front of Markus. “That’s probably the most common breakfast item on our table. This is a soup made of the leftovers from dinner the night before. Chicken, vegetables, spices, sometimes potatoes, sometimes breads—whatever we have.” He set a bowl in front of Crystal, and then set another bowl on the table, right between the other two bowls.

  Markus frowned at the bowl placed between his and Crystal’s. There wasn’t room for another person to sit between them. Besides, the table had more than enough room for several more people, but he said nothing.

  Treb plopped a ladle into the soup pot and went to get some cloth napkins and spoons from the counter. “Go ahead and serve yourself.”

  Markus picked up his spoon and looked at the pot of soup. “Do you mind if I taste it first?”

  Crystal was so eager for him to try it, she didn’t even say anything; she simply nodded.

  He dipped his spoon in and scooped up a single piece of chicken, along with a bit of the heavy broth. First, he blew across it to cool it, then he carefully put it in his mouth. The first flavor was the bright herbs and spices of the chicken. It was good. Then it hit him.

  The spice grew and grew. It felt like it was burning a hole through his tongue. His forehead began to sweat, and there were tears forming in his eyes. The burning started on his tongue and then moved to every soft part of his mouth. In fact, his teeth might just have melted. His very first instinct was to spew, but he happened to glance up and see the earnest look on Crystal’s face as she waited with a big smile, knowing he would love this soup as much as she did. He didn’t want to offend her, and he really thought she was cute, so he didn’t want to screw anything up by insulting their food.

  Against every ounce of common sense and the fear in his stomach, he swallowed. The whole way down, he felt the spice trying to eat holes in his body. He wasn’t sure if he would survive it. Finally, it was down, and the burning was barely beginning to subside. Calmly, and with the appearance of simply having another drink, he picked up his water glass and drank. It was supposed to be a sip, but he downed the whole glass in one single gulp.

  “Do you like it? Isn’t it wonderful? Treb makes the best soups.” Crystal was happy that Markus had gotten to try one of the best foods in all of Gallenor.

  Being a teenage boy, he couldn’t tell a pretty girl he didn’t like her food, especially when that pretty girl showed any interest in him. So, he managed a smile, used his napkin to wipe the sweat from his brow and the tears in his eyes, and nodded. “Oh, it’s certainly . . . good.” He had done himself in. How was he supposed to eat without having a bowl of that soup? He was doomed.

  Markus, always the gentleman, reached over and took Crystal’s bowl and filled it first from the pot in the middle of the table. Just as he was about to hand it to her, there came Treb with the napkins. He reached over and sat them down on the table, which blocked Markus from handing her the bowl. Then, the big, beefy Rakki squeezed himself in between Markus and Crystal. He literally pushed Markus down the bench by a good two feet. The whole time, Markus held the bowl, waiting to finish his gallant gesture.

  “Oh, I’ll get that.” Treb picked up Markus’ empty bowl, filled it, and then sat it down in front of Crystal.

  Markus was defeated and finally sat the bowl down in front of himself. Crystal was rolling her eyes at Treb, nearly snarling at the same time.

  “Treb?” Kiin came into the room and called her husband over to her.

  “Yes, dear?” He craned his head around, not budging an inch from where he was sitting.

  Kiin quietly, but sternly, gestured for him to come over to her.

  He reluctantly got up and obeyed. Kiin was already dressed in full armor and glaring at him. When he got to her side, she whispered, “What are you doing? You were practically sitting on them.”

  “She brought him over and . . . well, he’s a boy.”

  “Yeah, I noticed. The problem?” Kiin knew perfectly well what the problem was, but she wanted to hear it from him.

  “He’s a teenage boy. And . . . well . . . you should’ve seen the way he was drooling all over her last night.”

  Kiin patted his chest. “Sweetheart, you’re going to have to relax. They hardly know each other. Besides, I think we have other things to worry about.”

  “Like what?”

  She pulled him over to the window near the door and pointed out. “Look, Norl returned only moments ago, and from the looks of the horse he rode in on, he was racing here.”

  This quickly got his attention. “Why do you suppose he’s in such a hurry? Norl wasn’t going to return for another two weeks.”

  “Something must have happened.” Kiin was extremely concerned. The ride from Thendor usually took two full days, and the horse looked, the journey had been completed in just one night. “I don’t like it. We should head to the court and find out what’s going on.”

  “Do you think something bad has happened?”

  Kiin picked up her bow and slung it around to her back. “I don’t know, but I doubt he raced home to bring us a basic court report from Thendor.”

  Treb looked back at the two kids sitting down to eat. “We should wait until breakfast is over.”

  “Honey, she’s sixteen and has proven herself trustworthy. I’m sure we can leave them here to take care of themselves.”

  Treb growled a little. “He is also sixteen—at least, he looks about that age—and I don’t trust boys around our little girl.”

  “She isn’t a little girl anymore. Besides, Grandmother is upstairs; she’ll keep an eye on them. We really do need to go and find out what is going on.” Kiin was more logical than Treb when it came to Crystal. Treb had always been the overprotective father, ever since Crystal had become their daughter four years ago.

  Treb let out a huff and then nodded. “Fine. I’ll go get ready, and I’ll wake Grandmother.”

  “Good. I’ll prepare some food for us. Hurry up.” Kiin patted his bare chest one last time and then walked toward the kitchen.

  Markus strolled through the village with Crystal. He did his best not to pant again, but the sweat across his brow only gave away his discomfort.

  Crystal frowned as she observed him wipe his for
ehead again. “Are you well? Do you have a fever?”

  “I’m fine. I’m just getting over the soup. I don’t think I’ve ever eaten anything that spicy before.”

  She giggled at him. “We always eat soup for breakfast, and it’s the spiciest food of the day. Wakes you up.”

  “Sure does. Though, I suppose my stomach wasn’t quite prepared for that level of . . . waking up.” He breathed heavy for a moment and gathered himself. “So, who was that kind old lady that helped clean up the kitchen?”

  “That’s my grandmother, Korini. Well, she is Treb’s mother, so she isn’t really my grandmother.”

  Markus shrugged. “It’s okay. I’m sure she thinks of you as a grandchild. She didn’t speak much.”

  “Grandma is one of the oldest Rakki in the village. She was raised to speak in the old tongue. I can understand her . . . mostly. But, I suppose she didn’t want to confuse you. She’s a tome of history, though. I could sit and listen to her for hours, talking about the history of the Rakki.”

  “Speaking of tomes, when are we going to see this library of yours?” Markus tried to hide his impatience, but he was eager to see what the library held.

  Crystal gave him a shy grin. “It’s just ahead. I’ve been walking us that direction.”

  “Oh. Good.” He looked ahead and then around. “There aren’t any large buildings around here. Where is it?”

  “Follow me.” She took his hand and pulled him around the wooden walkways and dirt paths of the forest village. Each step seemed to become lower and lower. The paths were leading down to the lowest part of the forest floor.

  As they headed lower, Markus saw a large cleared area at the base of some of the trees, where a group of Rakki were practicing with their bows. Some were very young and had teachers all around them, giving direction; others were shooting with the precision that had made the Rakki archers famous.

  “Hey, Crystal. Do all Rakki wear the same armor?” Markus noticed even the younger kids had the same style of armor on, which was mostly leather with only a few metal areas for protection.

  “Of course. The armor we have is specially made for archers. It moves better with the body so that they can shoot their arrows. Why?”

  “I noticed Treb doesn’t wear some of it. In fact, he only wears the shoulder pieces on each arm. Has he not earned his armor or something?”

  She laughed heartily. “Treb is a master archer—one of the best of the Rakki. The only armor you earn are the shoulder pieces, because they have the symbol of the Arrowguard on them: an extreme honor for any Rakki archer.”

  “Then where’re the leather parts? You know—that cover the chest and back?”

  Crystal snickered. “He won’t admit this, but when he first courted Kiin, she said that she liked his chest. She liked to look at it. Since then, he’s never covered it unless he has to. He’ll never say this, but he is a romantic at heart, and his heart is devoted to Kiin.”

  “That’s fine and all, but it must get cold never putting on a shirt.”

  “Cold? He’s got enough fur,” Crystal stated very plainly and then laughed.

  They walked on and climbed farther and farther down, where the tree trunks grew so thick, it was hard to see around them. The daylight was nearly impossible to find, and the air grew a little cooler with each step.

  Crystal stopped them just as they reached an extremely dark area. Markus looked ahead and saw that they were almost beneath the village. He was looking at huge tree roots jutting out from rocks and dirt—the same trees that held the village in place and protected it. In the middle of the intertwining roots was a massive wooden door that was intricately carved with two Rakki warriors, one on each door. The door itself was three times as tall as Markus and very imposing. It did not help that the two carved warriors were snarling at anyone who approached.

  “Crystal? Why does this look like a dangerous place?”

  “The Rakki were entrusted with many volumes of lore from all over Gallenor. When this facility was first built, only the scholars and leaders were allowed inside. The common people and any outsiders were not welcomed. These warriors on the doors were a message: Enter at your own risk.” She started pulling on his hand again to head for the doors.

  He stopped her. “Are you absolutely sure I’m allowed?”

  “Of course. Three generations ago, the library was opened to the world. The only rules you’ll need to follow are to not take anything out without permission of the leader of the Rakki . . . And, of course, to not destroy anything.”

  He cleared his throat, and the little cautious voice in his head began to tell him all the good reasons he could use to back out. But, the prospect of seeing some old spell books, and even a map to where he was headed, was more exciting than his fear. So, he let her tugs finally bring him to the door.

  Crystal softly knocked on a special spot on one of the doors. Markus was sure no one could have heard the knock and was about to step up and bang on the wooden door himself. But suddenly, one of the doors opened, and an old Rakki woman stood there, a permanent sour expression on her canine face.

  “I wish to bring a friend in to study,” Crystal stated.

  The old woman glared at Markus for a moment and then nodded to them. Without a single word uttered, she turned and walked away. Crystal pulled Markus inside, her enthusiasm growing with each moment.

  Markus came in and was astounded with what he saw. The library was truly built into the trees, with roots growing down everywhere. Huge shelves were built into and around these roots, appearing as though they had grown right out of the tree. On one side, shelves were filled to the brim with books of all descriptions, some bound in leather, others bound in wood. A whole section of shelves were devoted to scrolls from every era of known history. A few texts were just a bit of rolled up paper, while others were massive and held together by large wooden spindles. There was also a collection of special, magical crystals that stored information through unique spells and various other methods of information keeping. There were scribed hides, etched stone, carved bone, and even a few phials of information keeping potions.

  “Crystal, this place . . . it’s . . . amazing!” Markus was breathless at the sight of all this accumulated knowledge.

  Crystal giggled at him. “I told you it was impressive.”

  He let go of her hand and looked up at the mass of roots growing across the ceiling. “Is the entire Rakki village built over the library?”

  “Yes. The village’s first purpose was as guardian of this library. It still is an important facet of our lives, but not our only mission any longer. To this day, all Rakki are taught that keeping this place safe and adding to it is our responsibility.”

  Markus ran over to a shelf and picked up a huge blue crystal with hundreds of ancient Bilmlec letters floating around on the inside. “Is this a memory crystal?” Before she had a chance to answer him, he put it down and grabbed a large black mirror on the same shelf. “It can’t be! A mirror of scribing! Is it filled? Whose memories are kept inside?” Again, he ran off before hearing an answer. He snatched another crystal, this one red and glowing. “I heard that the old firebirds crafted these to hold spell knowledge. Is that true?”

  Crystal finally broke his frenetic, excited questioning. “Markus! Markus! Calm down, slow down.”

  Markus realized he was hardly even breathing. Swaying a little, he caught his breath and forced himself to settle down. He calmly set the crystal back on the shelf. “I’m sorry. This is like a dream come true.”

  “You know so much already. Did your home village have a good library?” Crystal was truly amazed at his knowledge of information keeping.

  Markus knew most of it through his strange dreams, but he wasn’t quite willing to tell her so just yet. “I, uh, have heard about such items. Just haven’t ever seen any.” He touched a phial of lore keeping potion and smiled. It was like stepping into one of his nicer dreams about magic. He wanted dearly to bring stuff of this kind out into reali
ty when he woke so he could use them in the real world. Until now, he had wondered if it truly existed; it was awesome to behold.

  Crystal pointed off toward another part of the library. “Let’s go find a table where we can sit down so you don’t explode. I’ll bring you some of the texts I used to start learning about magic, and you can read them there. We have all day. If you want, I’m sure there’s much you can learn in that time.”

  “Lead the way.” He would let her take control of the day, because she knew this place.

  Once he sat down, he waited for her to bring his first books. A part of him wanted to stay for a month and study, but another part knew he had a mission to complete. This was an opportunity for him, but it was also a temptation, so he needed to stay focused.

  In another part of the village, the large doors to the Rakki courtroom opened, and a single person walked in. It was an old Rakki who came with little fanfare, but all the same, everyone bowed as he passed. Lord Kellus was the leader of the Rakki. He was revered for his wisdom, judgment, patience, and gentleness. Hardly anything happened within the village of which he was unaware. His fur was tinged with grey, his face was drawn a little from age, but otherwise, he was a strong man with a commanding presence.

  Kellus walked past the gathered people and nodded with a smile to his most trusted adviser, Lord Norl. Turning around, Kellus addressed the two people who had asked to be informed about what happened to bring Norl back so early from court. “Master Treb and Lady Kiin, I have heard troubling news today. Lord Norl has returned from Thendor with a revelation suggesting the King may be plotting against the kingdom.”

  Treb stated what he had thought for four years. “That seemed apparent when he ordered all wizards imprisoned for no good reason.”

  Kellus continued. “What is even worse is that the King is about to send his scouts once again into our lands, searching for more wizards to imprison.”