The Path Of Destiny

by Mike Shelton

  They ran through the field to the nearest road and began to head back towards the school. It was later in the afternoon now and they hoped that classes hadn’t started up again. A drizzle in the air made everything wet. They would have to find a place to clean up first.

  Without paying attention, they almost ran directly into a group of other boys walking down the dirt road back towards the school.

  “What are you guys doing,” said one of them to Darius, “skipping out of school?”

  “Huh?” Darius hesitated. He recognized these boys and had never liked them. They were younger sons of some minor nobles who always tried to act tough. Darius had run into a few of them just a week earlier, when they had been bullying a younger student. Darius had helped the young man and stood up to the bullies. Remembering the sword in his hands still, he slid it behind his back.

  “Don't worry,” said the boy. “We won't tell.”

  The other boys laughed and started joking among themselves about what they had just done.

  “What's going on?” asked Kelln.

  “We were messing with some outsiders, that's all. Nothing too important,” said the apparent leader of the group.

  “Yah, some little kid thought he was real tough, but we showed him,” said another.

  “You mean we shoved him,” laughed a third. “Shoved him right in the mud. He looked like a pig. Stupid outsiders!”

  Darius’s breath quickened and his face reddened. He tried to walk away and ignore the other boys. “Come on, Kelln. Let’s go.”

  The first boy continued talking to them, however. “His sister was a little excitable though. She thought she controlled the situation, I guess. I still say she was cute enough under all that mud and water. She just has to learn her place in life. I mean there is an order to things, right? Us nobles, the merchants, then the outsiders.”

  “I am not a pig,” mimicked one of the boys in a high girl’s voice. “My name is Christine.”

  Darius, a few yards away with his back to the young nobles, turned around so fast that everything blurred in front of him. Some residual effects of his manifestation of power still clung to him. He felt a new anger build, which he hadn’t felt before. It was the power reacting to the other boys’ conversation. “What did she look like?” asked Darius with new interest.

  “Before or after she was covered in mud?” the leader laughed with the others.

  Darius, with hardly a step, appeared suddenly in front of the braggart. He stood at least twenty pounds heavier and three inches taller than the younger noble. “Before!”

  “Well . . . she . . . ” stumbled the leader of the group as he backed away, “she was tall for a girl, sixteen or seventeen years old, blonde hair.”

  “And the other kid?” quizzed Darius. He sensed his newfound power surging within him. The force needed a release. He tried to keep the rage under control. He was not used to these types of feelings. Anger emerged and his eyes blazed bright.

  “Uh . . . A few years younger than the girl. Jain, I think it was. He was . . .”

  Before anyone knew what happened, the leader of the boys crashed to the ground with a thud. “Ouch . . .Hey . . .”

  Events happened so fast that no one really noticed Darius hadn’t used his fist. His anger rose beyond control and he thought about knocking the other boys down, and with a quick motion of his hand, the next thing he knew another boy was on the ground. He wanted to hit him again, but he maintained control over the power, just barely. He struggled to maintain an outward calm that he did not feel.

  Thoughts of Christine being pushed around by these boys was hardly more than Darius could handle. Christine Anderssn was one of the nicest and sweetest girls he knew. Her parents, Stefen and Caroline, and her siblings, Jain and Emily, accepted Darius’s presence with Christine quite well. Stefen was a very educated farmer who raised cattle and grain. He taught his children many things, including how to read and write. Increased tensions had risen recently between the farmers and the city people, but Christine’s family seemed to always keep a positive attitude and to do their best.

  Two of the other boys in the group jumped at Darius. Kelln, still trying to figure out what had happened, jumped in between them.

  “Don’t!” he said as he tried to stop them. They pushed him aside but the delay gave Darius time to pull the sword out from behind his back. He held the blade by the hilt with both hands over his head. It glowed again.

  Everyone else seemed to freeze in time. Mouths hung open. Fear spread across the leader's face as he looked up from the ground, wiping the red blood off his nose. The other boy sat up slowly. None of them held any weapons at all, and they recognized that the sword could slice all of them within a few moments.

  Kelln was the only one to move. He moved over to Darius and grabbed his arm. Darius first tried to pull the hand away, but soon he seemed to focus on Kelln and he blinked his eyes, wiping the misty rain from them.

  The other boys took off running.

  “Not a good way to keep a secret,” mumbled Kelln.

  Darius pushed Kelln away and took off running. How could he have let himself lose control like that? He was normally so calm. It must be his new power. It fed on his emotions. Darius was afraid of what the power would turn him in to. At first he had felt a profound sense of his destiny to help others and secure the Realm. But the anger was new. He needed to learn to balance it with a purpose.

  His thoughts turned to Christine. He hoped she was not hurt. His heart pounded with thoughts of her being pushed around by those boys. He ran harder, down the hill from the school into the merchant section of town. The large stone buildings with their colorful flags were blurred in his vision. Horses tied up with their carts waited to be unloaded. Ladies with silk dresses and bonnets had servants holding umbrellas for them in the drizzle. His steps sounded loud on the wet cobblestone street. The guard at the north gate gave him a quizzical stare and a shake of his head as Darius ran out of the city with the sword swinging in his hand.

  Darius panted so hard he thought he would faint. Power continued to surge through him, pushing him harder and harder. He let the power in, fueling his body. The exhilaration was amazing. He had never felt such raw strength. What was this new magic that seemed to have awakened within him? Was it an evil magic as he had been taught or was there something good to be found in it?

  Into the farmlands he ran. Orchards of fruit trees blurred by as he pushed himself harder down the dirt road. He passed cattle grazing in the fields, and spring vegetables just poking up out of the ground. Two deer ran across his path, running behind a small whitewashed home with a thatch roof, reminding him he needed to be more careful. He loved these farmlands and the fields. To him they signified a simpler time and way of life. One that did not hold to so many prejudices that the nobles in the city had developed over the years. His father was one of them. Senior Councilor to King Edward, his father, Richard San Williams, seemed to detest the “outsiders,” as he called them. Darius didn’t understand. These were good, hardworking, simple people.

  He knew he needed to slow down, but he couldn’t until he saw Christine. Digging his feet into the mud he stopped in front of Christine’s small wooden cottage and gulped in breaths of fresh air. He hooked his sword through his belt and leaned over, hands on knees, until he found his breath again. The rain stopped and he pushed his wet brown hair out of his eyes. Christine stood on the small front porch. Spring flowers sat in pots lining the landing to the side of the door. The thatch roof was steep and almost as low as Christine’s head. Her simple dress held spots of mud, but she seemed to have cleaned herself up.

  She looked from Darius’s face to the sword hanging by his side. “What’s wrong, Darius?”

  Darius continued to try and slow his breathing. Taking a few steps, he reached out and grabbed Christine in a hard hug. “I’m so sorry, Christine. I know it isn’t fair.”

  “But how did you know?” Her eyes opened wide.

  Darius rubbe
d at his eyes, trying to get the rest of the rainwater out. He reached over and held Christine’s hand. “Let’s take a walk.”

  “In the rain?” Christine asked. Her long blond hair usually held a slight wave, but now hung down the sides of her slender face. She ran inside and grabbed a dry cloak to wrap around her.

  Darius didn’t say anything but pulled her gently along. The two friends walked in silence, heading farther west into the farmlands. From the dirt road they ducked under a forest of trees onto a small path. A breeze fluttered the oaks and birches, dripping drops of water onto their heads. Darius glanced at Christine out of the corner of his eyes. Her long blond hair still stuck to her head with the previous drizzle, but her green eyes sparkled with intelligence and beauty. He breathed in deeply and then tried to exhale the frustration of the day out of his lungs.

  “Where did you get the sword?” Christine asked, breaking the silence.

  “One of Kelln’s adventures,” was all he said.

  She nodded and raised her eyebrows as if knowing there was more to the story than he was willing to tell at the moment.

  Soon the two emerged from the trees onto the top of a gently sloping hill.

  Looking down, Christine whispered in a soft voice, “Look. It's beautiful!”

  Darius nodded, afraid that by speaking, the scene might disappear. As the sun broke out from the rolling dark clouds to the west they beheld a field of deep green, in which the recent drops of rain sparkled in the emerging sunlight like the stars on a clear night. Beyond the grass, to the west, lay a small, beautiful lake of clear blue, reflecting the disappearing rain clouds. They listened to thunder rolling through the dark, shadow-filled Superstition Mountains in the distance.

  As if on cue they both began to descend the small hill. Their wet shoes flattened the raindrops into the soft carpet of grass.

  “The rainwater sparkling on the grass looks like jewels or silver.” Christine twirled around with her arms held out from her sides. Her dark blue cloak flew out around her wet cotton dress.

  “Or like diamonds,” said Darius.

  “A field of diamonds,” said Christine with excitement in her voice. “Let's call it our Field of Diamonds.”

  “OK,” agreed Darius as he walked towards a lone oak tree in the field. Its gnarled trunk was the width of three normal trees. The newly emerged, irregular green leaves spread a canopy over a considerable area. He felt like a little kid hiding the secret of a faraway place. When younger he had always dreamed of being a famous explorer or traveler.

  He climbed up on a limb for a moment to view the landscape better, but it was hard to see through all the leaves, and the droplets of water from the leaves kept getting in his face. He poked his head through some of the branches to see better.

  “I would love to have this big tree at my house,” said Christine.

  “Why?”

  “When I was younger we had a huge walnut tree almost this big. My dad built the biggest swing coming down from it. He would push me and Jain for hours.” Christine paused, as if seeing it play out in her mind once again. “But one winter the snow was heavy and the tree fell. The other trees never seemed the same.”

  They walked down to the edge of the small lake and threw a few small stones in, watching the reflection of the clouds and sky break into tiny ripples traveling to the center of the lake.

  “Christine, I don't know why they treat you so badly. Someday I will change things. I love the Realm and I want all the people to be treated fairly. Someday, somehow, I will make that happen.

  He knew she probably didn’t believe him. What could he ever do? He would need to try and talk to his father. When his schooling was done he would train to be in the army. He would protect the Realm from invaders and work to bring her people together. He didn’t want to just sit around like his father, in an office, running errands at the whim of the King. He needed to do something.

  “Darius.” Christine lifted her hand to his face and wiped some remaining droplets of water off with a tender touch. “Something happened today. You seem different.” She looked him in the eyes and leaned in closer next to him.

  Darius wrapped his arm around Christine in a tight embrace and together they watched the clouds continue their exodus towards the mountains. Darius felt calm once again.

  Chapter Three

  A CONTEST OF WILLS

  The city of Anikari was the center of the Realm. It was where the King resided and where the central government made their laws. The Realm had been founded over five hundred years earlier by a man named Anikari. He had brought together the smaller kingdoms of Belor, Mar, Denir, and Sur, and along with his capital city of Anikari, formed the Realm. Bordered on the south by the Empire of Gildan, the west by the Kingdom of Arc, the north by the forgotten lands, and the east by the Blue Sea, the Realm had been at peace for quite a few years under King Edward and his father, King Charles. Only recently had resistance been forming in some of the cities and minor skirmishes had been fought on the borders with the other kingdoms.

  Being the center of the Realm, Anikari hosted many tournaments, contests, and celebrations every year with the partial purpose to keep her people at peace with one another. In late spring before school ended for the noble’s children and before the heat of the summer set in, an archery contest was held. Today was no exception. The archery contest would be the last fun thing before the young men had to hunker down and start studying for their graduation exams. After that they would spend the summer running errands for the King and his councilors before advanced training or internships started up in the fall.

  Three weeks after Darius had found the sword, he and Kelln walked across the green practice field behind the academy. This was where they prepared for the archery contest. With his hand Darius shaded his grey eyes from the early morning sun. On the other side of the large grass area on the competition field, a dais was raised where the king would sit and watch the contest. Flags from the four major cities, as well as Tean and Forest View, joined the Anikari flag on top of a tall pole. The wind did little to lift them up.

  The two young men stopped in front of a group of younger kids practicing their archery skills. Darius leaned down to one of them who seemed to be struggling.

  “Here, let me show you a better way to hold it,” Darius said to the young boy.

  The youngster looked up at Darius with a startled look in his eyes. He handed the bow to Darius. “You’re the councilor’s son, aren’t you?”

  “Yes I am. My name is Darius.”

  “I want to be a councilor someday,” said the young boy.

  Darius reached down and showed the young boy how to hold the bow for a more steady shot. “And why is that?”

  “They get to do all the exciting things.”

  Darius thought of his father and sighed deeply. His father seemed to be behind closed doors with the King more and more lately. He was hardly ever home. When he was it was only to tell Darius that he shouldn’t go to the farmlands and that he needed to act more like a noble. He loved his father, but as he got older he realized that his father just didn’t understand him and what he wanted to do in life. All his father wanted was to look good in front of King Edward. It was hard for Darius to watch happen. “Not everything is exciting as a councilor. They spend a lot of time in meetings.”

  The boy shrugged and then thanked Darius for the help. He and Kelln continued walking across the practice field. Darius continued thinking about his father and hoped that he would be there today to watch him. It was his father who had taught him how to shoot. They used to go out each week and practice. Though those memories were now so far between that he couldn’t remember the last time they had spent time together.

  “Darius, pay attention!” shouted Kelln.

  Darius looked up to find that he was walking in front of some other archers practicing.

  “What were you doing?”

  “Nothing.” Darius moved out of the archers’ way.

  “We bet
ter get over to the sign-in area or you won’t have any chance this year,” said Kelln.

  “Any chance?” Darius repeated. “I’m going all the way!”

  “Oh, so you’ve set your sights on the entire tournament,” mocked Kelln. “Maybe I better give up now and just watch from the sidelines.”

  “Maybe you should.” Darius laughed as he pulled back his bowstring. Feeling the string taut in his hand, he slowly let it go. “Because when I let this baby go, you are going to see more bulls-eyes than you've ever seen at the noble’s tournament.”

  “Well, aren’t we the big shot today?” laughed Kelln. “But I guess you are one of the favorites to win this year.”

  “I just hope I can concentrate. Christine’s going to be here.”

  “Seems like you two are inseparable these days,” Kelln teased.

  Darius blushed. “Enough about me. Do you think you’re ready?”

  “Archery is new to me, but I think I can do all right. If it was a sword tournament I would have you beat.” Kelln puffed up. “Well, I used to be better than you. With that new sword of yours I don’t know now.” Darius shook his head and glanced around. “Kelln, not a word. You promised.”

  “No one is around, Darius. I know you have been holding it and practicing with it. But you don’t even talk about it at all. Come on. What about the power? What’s going on with you?”

  “I don’t know. Sometimes it’s here. Sometimes it’s not. When it is, I can sense everything around me. It makes me think and see more clearly.” Darius stopped talking and turned to his friend. “It’s hard to explain.”

  “Sounds fantastic.”

  “And scary.”

  “Yeah, I guess so, but what else can you do? You know, the fire in the palm thing was great!”

  Darius saw someone walking up from a distance. “No more, Kelln. Not now. I need more time to figure it out.”

  “Later, though. You have to talk about it.” Kelln had tried to get Darius to open up for the past few weeks since they had found the sword in the library basement. He wasn’t ready though. He knew that Kelln didn’t understand. Kelln would have just rushed into things and shown his abilities to everyone. That was Kelln though. Rash and fearless. Darius tried to determine how he felt about it. Was it evil or not? He needed to be very very careful and make sure that no one knew about it until he understood what he could do. He would have to be prepared to defend his magical abilities or else he might be banished.