The Descendants Book One: The Broken Scroll

by Kurtis Smith

  They hiked up uneven ground to the nearest cave in the area, which looked unsurprisingly just like all the others. Even for an Ancient, they had covered a lot of ground today. Davin noted that he was worn out. Oddly enough, this didn’t bother him as much as he thought it would. It reminded him he was still human.

  At the cave entrance Davin waited. It was pitch black inside and he couldn’t tell how deep it went. Egan gave him a sideway smile.

  “Don’t worry. It looks ominous but none of these caves go more than around twenty feet deep. And there are no large animals in these parts.”

  They ducked inside the entrance and stood still, waiting for their eyes to adjust. It really was the perfect size for hiding out. It was about the length Egan had said and was just tall enough to stand in.

  Davin took a seat in cave on the wall opposite Egan. He watched as Egan took the strange red orb out and started a fire with wood they had collected on the way over. It was roaring within seconds.

  Egan took both the dark red and the light green orbs and stared at them momentarily, then he put them back into his pack. Davin gazed fixedly at them.

  “I had dream where Ancients were commanding elements like you, only they weren’t using circular glass things.”

  “They are called Driocht orbs. Through them we can access the magic of our ancestors.”

  Davin was shocked that Egan had actually given him an answer.

  “So I will be able to use them as well?” he asked hopefully.

  “Yes, with proper training,” Egan said, “but that is all we will talk about tonight. It is a long story and I’m tired.”

  The swell of excitement that had grown in Davin’s chest died quickly. He was excited about learning to use those orbs, but once again Egan shut him out and he didn’t want to continue that argument any more.

  “Why should I continue to travel with you and trust you? What have you done to help me?”

  “I saved your life,” Egan said.

  Davin stood up and paced back and forth. “How do I know you aren’t just going to leave me in the wilderness somewhere? Or aren’t working for the King yourself and leading me into a trap.”

  Despite the tension, Egan smiled. “I do not think you actually believe those things.”

  Davin tapped his foot on the ground impatiently, but did nothing else to indicate his foul mood. He didn’t want Egan to use his attitude as an excuse to keep things from him again.

  “I need some air,” he growled after a minute.

  He marched out of the cave and instantly felt foolish. He knew Egan had done nothing but help him since they escape from Lemirre. It was only his ego that thought he deserved to know everything that was going on.

  As he grabbed a small branch near him to whittle on, he heard something like nothing he’d ever experienced before. It was a fail voice on the air. He looked up momentarily, but figured his ears had simply been ringing. Almost instantly, it sounded again. This time he paid more attention. It resembled the painful scream of someone far in the distance. Immediately his body tensed. This was not the kind of thing you heard way out in the wilderness. He thought of calling out at first, but changed his mind.

  He turned and backed slowly to the cave, determined not to be caught off guard. Keeping his hand on the hilt of his sword, he tried to peer out through the haze. He saw nothing. It wasn’t time to panic yet. His ears still could have been playing tricks on him.

  Then he heard it a third time. But this time it was a different voice. It was the same pained, distant scream, but higher pitched. He didn’t sense anyone around him, but his hairs stood on end anyway. The palms of his hands became sweaty and his heart started pounding hard against his chest.

  A fourth time his hearing picked far away wails. But now there were more than one at once. They had grown louder as well. It almost sounded like they were communicating, though Davin had never heard of a language that consisted of tortured screaming. The voices overlapped one another, each with different pitches. Then they died out again.

  What kind of creatures made that kind of sound?

  Fearing that they were getting closer, Davin didn’t hesitate this time. He reached Egan within seconds and pulled to a stop inches in front of the fire.

  Egan looked up concernedly. “What is it?”

  “What did I hear out there? What were those screams?”

  Egan pondered his answer for too long in Davin’s eyes. His patience was definitely being tried. Davin had begun to open his mouth to complain when Egan answered.

  “They are called the Auki Spirits of the Southern Passage. They haunt the roads through the Aukish Mountains, allowing no one to pass. No one who has ever gone that way has ever returned.”

  Davin found this hard to believe. “I’ve never known those mountains to be called that.”

  “Well, not many know their true name anymore. In the past, most thought that a horrible curse would befall you if you spoke the mountains’ true name, so they were renamed the Asnine,” said Egan.

  “So not one has ever made it past?” asked Davin.

  “Not that I am aware.”

  “And we are completely safe from them here?”

  “Yes,” Egan confirmed, “they don’t come down, we don’t go up. There is a chasm that keeps us separated. It acts as a sort of barrier between safe passages and certain death.”

  His legs felt weak. He needed to sit. There was so much in this world he didn’t know about. But it was his fault. He was to blame for not caring. He still wasn’t sure if he cared. But right now what was important was surviving to rescue Roland and face Deverell again. If that entailed pretending to care for a little while, that’s what he would do.

  Egan’s voice broke through his thoughts. “We have enough to worry about already. There’s a long way to go yet. I’d like to make it down the mountains and to the Wading Pools within the next two days.”

  ***

  Two days after the caves, they were traveling downhill more efficiently. The snow under foot was becoming thinner and the air less crisp. The few high range wolves and birds were joined once more by the grazing animals. The rocky, cliff filled landscape gave way gradually to the greener hills. The giant redwoods were their constant companion once again. Travel was much easier going downhill. Davin felt like they were making incredible time.

  At dusk, Egan pointed down into the distance and said, “There they are.”

  Davin rubbed the tears out of his eyes and looked directly down below them to a flat plateau of thick trees. They stretched out for in the distance for several leagues.

  But what was more interesting was what was in between them. Tiny ponds, each one, from where they were, looked no wider than a small one room cabin. They lay freckled among the foliage. In fact, they littered as far out as their vision would let them see.

  Egan blew out a breath loudly. “This is the land of the Wading Pools, also known as the Pools of Confusion,” he explained.

  “Why are they called that?” Davin asked curiously.

  “They look harmless, but it’s easy to get lost down there. Nearly died down there myself once.” Egan paused for dramatic effect. Davin stared at him, almost not wanting to know how.

  This is where we’re staying tonight? Sounds like a right good time,” said Davin sarcastically.

  “Indeed,” Egan added sourly.

  They trudged down the mountain side that led into the trees. Just as with everything else, it proved a longer journey than it looked. The sky was completely dark when they eventually steered through the first of the ponds.

  They had entered another world, or so it seemed. The moonlight that reflected off the surface of the pools shone brightly everywhere within the confines of the landscape. They could see as clear as day, which was an incredible sight and lightened their spirits greatly. The paths were well lit, and for a long time they traveled smoothly along a linear road.

  “This is just the beginning,” Egan grunted when Davin implied that he f
ound the Wading Pools’ difficultly to be sorely overrated.

  Much to Davin’s dismay, Egan was right. The pools multiplied quickly and soon their road was no longer clearly laid out.

  When they stopped to rest for a few minutes, before tackling the maze in front of them, Davin pulled out his canteen and bent down to fill some water in it. Still admiring the spectacle of the seductively enchanting place, he didn’t pay much attention his activity. Egan cried out just as Davin put the tip of his canteen into the water. Davin jumped, nearly knocking himself into the pool.

  Davin gave him a skeptical look. “What is it?”

  Egan walked to the water’s edge and picked thick and wide-pedaled, white flower that that grew along the banks of the ponds.

  “Because of this.” He held it up. It seeped some sort of gray, gooey substance and let out a pleasant fragrance.

  “The Self Heal, as it’s called, cures all kinds of cuts and infections. It’s also used as cologne. But it poisons the water in these pools, making it undrinkable.”

  “Oh,” Davin said, empting his canteen back into the pool, “alright then. That’s why this place is so dangerous. No good water to drink if you run out.”

  “Exactly. We will spend the night just a little further down. The difficultly of navigating the Wading Ponds gives one good advantage. They make ones who doesn’t wish to be found hard to find.”

  Davin couldn’t help but wonder what gave them a better chance of making it out alive. Egan just said the last time he was here he almost didn’t make it. If that was the case, why would he risk it again? After all the effort he’d put to keeping them alive until now, it didn’t make any sense.

  The pools began to take on much more peculiar sizes and shapes as they journeyed deeper. Some were long, but not wide. Others were just the opposite. Several were circular or oval while others had no determinable shape at all. The worst kinds were the ones that wrapped around the paths and the trees like winding snakes.

  The path was becoming less clear and several times they had to back track quite a ways. Sometimes the path would turn them straight around, and they couldn’t even tell which direction they had just come. Truly, this was a maze that did not yield its secrets easily.

  Davin felt like they were traveling in circles. The look of concentration on Egan’s face told him he wasn’t far from the truth. After finally gathering the right path on the third try from a particularly nasty four way split, Egan began to speed up. This seemed like good news until they were stopped suddenly at another split.

  Egan turned to Davin. “I believe this is the right way.” He pointed to the path that veered off to the right. “But I am remembering less about this place than I thought I would.”

  “I’m so glad to have you as our guide then,” Davin said.

  They traveled down the path Egan’s mentioned and they found themselves in an area where the water was overflowing the banks of the pools. The ground was saturated and every step was a muddy, squishy mess. For the better part of the evening they trudged through. Egan finally stopped sharply when he saw there was no longer a path in front of them. Water was covering everywhere they could see.

  “This does not look right. I had a feeling this wasn’t right. Damn the Ancients,” he cursed, kicking a tree next to them. Davin stared at the frustrated man in front of him and his mood dropped even further.

  “We have to go back?” Davin asked, hoping faintly Egan would say no.

  “Yes, and we’ve drained our evening going this way. We have to return to the junction we were at earlier.”

  “It’s fine,” Davin said, not sure exactly how to encourage the man and not really wanting to, “we’ll make it back.”

  They made their way back where they came from and onto the soggy path. Davin didn’t try to talk to Egan anymore on their way back, he still looked grumpy. A growing thirst was making his throat sore and his legs weak. He wondered if Egan was feeling the same way.

  Finally, the junction point came into view and both men breathed a sigh of relief. “Start gathering up any fallen branches you see for a fire, Davin. We will not venture much farther tonight.”

  Davin nodded. They started down the only other path and followed it for a short time. Davin noted that the ground seemed brighter than before.

  He looked up. It was because the moon was at its pinnacle and everything was receiving the fullest amount of reflection. The pools glowed mystically with the light from the moon. As the water rippled slightly, the light danced smoothly on the trees around them. It made Davin feel as if this secret place was now inhabited by otherworldly beings.

  Finally, the winding path opened up into a circular area with a solitary tree in the middle of it. The area was about twenty feet in diameter and had no pools. Paths fed into the clearing from all the way around.

  Davin’s heart sunk. He dropped his arm load of wood. “This can’t be good,” he said.

  Egan smiled. “On the contrary, this was exactly where we need to be. We are somewhere in the middle. This will be good enough. We should be safe to relax.” Egan did seemed relieved to be where they were, which caused Davin to breathe easier.

  They moved about with very little conversation. Egan started the fire and Davin wandered about gathering more wood for later. Before long they had cooked and eaten the meat from Egan’s pack. They sat and relaxed, taking the opportunity to rest their tired bones. Davin was chewing on some berries.

  “What now?” he asked. “We’ve been out here for five days and I still don’t what we are doing.”

  Egan sighed, as if relenting at last. “Did you think to consider there might be some logical reason why you are being left in the dark?” He waited, Davin shrugged. “I’ve been testing you, Davin. And so far you have failed, miserably.”

  Davin’s attitude fell away as he became confused. “Oh…wait. Really?”

  Egan let out a gruff laugh, much more amusement with himself than Davin was. “No, of course not. If you were being tested you’d know it.”

  “Well, will I be tested?” he asked, still feeling a little lost.

  Egan sobered. “There is no doubt you will be. I might as well tell you now. There are two attributes you must have above all others to reach your full potential as Descendant. If you are lead by passion alone, you will be impatient and unable to produce logical actions, which will cause distraction. Driocht requires immense concentration. It takes patience and concentration together to fully access the power of our kin. These are key skills you need.”

  “Why did you not tell me this before then?”

  “Because you kept bothering me about it. It was kind of annoying.”

  Davin rolled his eyes. “Fine. I apologize. I will work hard at that then,” he said awkwardly. “The sooner we can go find Roland the better.”

  Egan feigned confusion. “What is this we you refer to? I have no connection to Roland. And not even the most powerful Ancient ever known could take on an entire army on his own. You need to start acting like we are on the same side. This isn’t going to be over in a couple of days.”

  “You must care about an innocent man being treated so unfairly? Roland did nothing wrong.”

  “He may not have,” Egan admitted, “but what I’m concerned about is bigger than that one man. That’s what you should be concentrated on.”

  Davin try to open his mouth to say something but no words came to him. He knew there was truth in what Egan told him, but he didn’t want to think about anything but Roland and Deverell. He decided to leave it alone for now.

  “Tell me about our ancestors.”

  “Yes,” Egan nodded. “There is much you need to know. I forget that you weren’t raised with our history teachings. This tale will teach you about Driocht too. They are one in the same. I must start with the story for you to understand the magic.”

  Davin shrugged. “I have a question first. Why did you kill that man, the governor from Daust?”

  Egan smiled weakly. “I was wondering
when you might bring that up again. Strangely, even that is connected to this story. Just listen carefully, and you will understand.”

  Davin adjusted to sit cross legged with his chin resting in his hands. Egan backed up against the tree.

  “This tale is not one you would consider happy. It is fraught with death and evil and I don’t like to recall it.”

  Egan cleared his throat and Davin waited patiently for once. This was something he didn’t want to miss.

  “The Ancients were the first beings ever to exist. They were around at the beginning of time. No one knows or desired to know how they came into existence. As far as we know, they’ve always existed. They were here thousands of years before man came to be. They were not creatures of supreme intelligence at first, but during their initial, solitary time on the earth, they had the time delve into their minds and achieve a higher plane of understanding. In other words, they discovered the powers of Driocht and others gifts within them. Control of the elements, life and death, deceptions of the mind, heightened senses, greater speed and strength were at their command.”

  Davin stared distantly as Egan spoke, remembering his dream and imaging himself surrounded by his ancestors. The bright moon and the reflecting pools and shadows scattered around them only made it easier for his imagination to run wild.

  “The time finally came when man and Ancient lived among one another. There were only two kingdoms then, that of man, and that of Ancients. The Ancients resided in the place you know as the Ancient Forest. It had a different name then, but I don’t recall it. Both races had good relations and all was peaceful in the world.

  For a long time this was seen as good. Their powers helped them and man flourish. They were respected as higher beings among men and were even requested to serve as enforcers of the law.

  But as with all power there became those who craved it, who became obsessed with it. They were obsessed so much that they began creating new powers for themselves, powers that the others considered to be corrupt, a misuse of the mind. It was during this time that these Corrupt Ones became arrogant. Why should they interact with such inferior beings as humans? So they stopped and began to treat humans as enemies. They sought to control all of man, using their powers to do so.”