Landmoor by Jeff Wheeler

Author:Jeff Wheeler [Wheeler, Jeff]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Amberlin Books
Published: 2003-04-01T05:00:00+00:00

* * *

Thealos and the others marched up and down the undulating hills just within the borders of the Shadows Wood. Sweat streaked down Thealos’ face, and he mopped it up with his sleeve. He glanced backwards, watching Flent struggle to keep up, his thick legs leaving him slightly behind. The Drugaen had tried early that morning to teach Justin how to play Bones, but the game was lost on the older Shae, who smiled bemusingly at him and made all the wrong moves. Sturnin Goff walked with his sword strapped across his back. He was sweating heavily in the glinting armor, but he was stronger and more fit than any of them and marched without complaint. They stopped to rest at midday, savoring the break from the humid, scorching air.

Sitting on a crooked stump, Thealos withdrew his water flask and carefully doused the sack of Everoot with it. Then he splashed some of the river water on the back of his neck and savored the coolness. As it dripped down his back, he watched the Warder Shae draw near.

“You have it,” Justin said.

Thealos cocked his head curiously, cinching the bag strings and stuffing the bundle in his tunic. “Have what?” he replied in Silvan.

“A connection with Earth magic.” His pale face was the only one not dripping with sweat, and he looked almost cold in his dark blue robes. Thealos studied his long, narrow fingers – bony and elegant – then opened his cloak wide to reveal the blade of Jade-Shayler. The Shae’s eyes gleamed and he nodded, looking at the weapon respectfully.

“Last night, I felt the magic nearby,” he said. “I knew you were there, before you attacked. Are you one of the Shae Guardians?”

Thealos shook his head. “No, I am not. I found this magic, and I feel some of it working in me when I use it. What do you know of it?”

The frail man squatted near the stump Thealos sat on. “I have kinship with the ones who forged it. It was made with the skill of my kind. The Shae Warders.”

Thealos looked at him curiously. “I know of the Sian Council in Avisahn, but I did not know there were Warders living down here…”

Justin shook his head, forestalling him. “I am not from Avisahn. Tell me – who is the Shae King today?”

“What do you mean, today?” Thealos asked, confused. “King Silverborne has ruled for nearly sixty Silvan years; surely you are not that old.”

Justin smirked. “He was a young man when I last knew of him. Does he have any sons? Who is his heir?”

“But that doesn’t make any sense. You are scarcely older than I am!”

“You do not understand the nature of the Shae Warders. We do not live as long as the rest of the Shae as a price for the powers we invoke. I, myself, have lived out twenty Silvan years. No more. But I have not seen Eroth’s light for many years…I have slept in the Earth magic protecting the Warding that I was called to defend.

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