Legacy of Seven by P. J. Flie

Author:P. J. Flie [Flie, P.J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781777733926
Publisher: P. J. Flie

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

¢

Bradai sat on a bench staring down at his plate of food. He readjusted his brown robe. Then he scratched a tuft of dark hair beside his ear and extended the action down into his short beard.

A warm breeze blew through the planted vegetables surrounding him. Sweet perfumes of the many crops wafted into his nose. From the Lumenary’s courtyard, the deep green of the Enchanted Lands lay all around him, far below. Steam lifted off of the trees, disappearing into the bright sun directly overhead.

Bradai grabbed his fork. He dug into his food with his usual zealousness. His mother had once told him to eat only one meal a day. One meal … what could his mother have been thinking? He needed at least six meals a day just to feel right. Any less and he became as dizzy as a cat when you swung it by the tail.

His mother thought that way because they lived a very poor life, with little money for food. Consequently, Bradai could never stop the rumbling of his own stomach.

He found that if he watched people for long enough, he could tell when a home sat empty. This made it very easy for him to break in, steal their most valuable objects, and then sell them for money. Bradai only ever took from wealthy homes. He figured their owners possessed more than enough, so they wouldn’t miss the extra items. He explained to his parents that he got the money from panhandling. They looked extremely unconvinced, but they found it hard to turn down money that paid the rent and—most importantly to Bradai—put food back on the table.

Life returned to the good times for a while. That ended when a law enforcer came to their door. Someone saw Bradai leaving the home of a councillor. He had stolen from the wrong person, someone who prized his possessions. Unfortunately, Bradai, in his stupidity, kept a few items under his bed for an occasion when he really needed them. He’d made the mistake of a novice: never hide what you’ve stolen beneath your mattress, it implies guilt. The law enforcer obviously thought the same when he arrested Bradai.

His parents wailed with grief. They begged the councillor not to throw Bradai in jail. They asked instead that he be rehabilitated. So, they sent him to learn the ways of the Embertree and to seek forgiveness from the God of All. He spent several years learning their ways, becoming an exceptional Ember.

At last, the time had come for him to revisit his old life, one of the many steps on the path to enlightenment set upon by the Embertree. When he met his mother, she looked at him with disapproval and sadness in her eyes. Bradai stared in confusion, certain that she would be elated.

“It’s not that I’m not proud of you, Son. I am. Really, we’re very proud. We tell everyone that our son is in the Embertree. Everyone’s very impressed when they hear of it.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.