"How exactly am I suppose to come out by them when I can not see them?" Darian asked with a touch of sarcasm.
"You can feel them, can't you? If you can feel them, you should be able to step right to where they are."
After not moving for a few moments, Darian remembered when Kane had thrown him from the ship. In his terror and desperation, he had reached out for the feeling of Kane and Patro, and dragged himself to where he could feel them. All he had to do was remember how. Now that he was thinking about that, he realized he had stepped much further that day, from the ocean to his benyans, than he had when he stepped across the room just a moment ago. He had barely made it halfway across this room by just stepping, but by pulling himself to Kane and Patro, he had gone a fair distance. Vowing to think more about it later, and possibly ask Bryol, he concentrated on pulling himself to Kane and Patro. As he stepped, he heard the two grunt, but before he could say anything to them, or question what could be wrong, he was stepping out right in front of Kane and Patro—both of whom looked like they were just catching themselves from almost falling over. Frowning at them, he turned around to locate Bryol, only to see him standing in the door with his head between his hands, shaking his head and muttering, "No, no, no…" Darian looked questioningly at Kane and Patro, but both shrugged their shoulders in confusion.
Watching Bryol warily, the three began to ease their way toward the door, where Bryol was standing. Finally, when they were about halfway there, Bryol lifted his head and with a deep sigh told them, "That is not how you do it."
Darian shrugged and said, "But it worked."
Bryol took a deep breath again and told him, "But you also almost brought Kane and Patro to their knees. Do you really think that would be the best way to enter a room when they call to you? By bringing your benyans to their knees, you would make them appear weak to others, when you will always need to appear strong. When I tell you that you have done something wrong, you do not tell me it worked—you ask me how it was wrong. You ask me how to do it correctly. But you do not tell me, with such arrogance in your voice, that it worked. It did not work. If it had worked, they would not have strained to bring you to them. They were straining as much to hold on to the connection as you were to walk it, maybe more so. I think—no, I know—I need a break. I am going fishing. I will be gone until the mid-meal. While I am gone, you will each practice stepping from the door to the far side of the room. Familiarize yourself with how it feels, and build on that. If you manage to accomplish that, and only if you manage, you will take turns standing in the middle of the room with your eyes closed and walking to the others." Glaring at the three, he continued, "You will do it without bringing the other two to their knees. In order to do that, you will set your mind on tracing the soul threads that bond the three of you together, and visualizing where that thread ends—which will be where that person is—and you will step to that location. I do not believe that you will manage to do that before the mid-meal, but every morning, you will return here and you will practice those two things until all three of you can do both of those things—stepping to each other, and not bringing your benyans to their knees. After the mid-meal, Darian will practice for an hour, trying to use soul vision until he can clearly see both of your souls. That will not come quickly to you, Darian, so don't give up. After that, you will all make your way back to this room, where you will practice your shields and swords until the evening meal. You saw what my shield looked like; attempt to make your shields like a suit of clothing you wear. And push your fire and ice tighter to your swords. When the gong sounds, make your way to the dining area for the mid-meal. Do not be late, and do not miss it. Maggie gets upset when people miss meals—she takes it as a personal insult. Do not insult her while you are here." With that, Bryol turned abruptly, left the room, and strode down the hall.
Darian turned to look at Kane and Patro, only to find they were both staring wide-eyed at him. Finally, Kane said, "Well, looks like he has our day planned out. Wonder what he plans on us doing after the evening meal?"
Patro shrugged, "I don't know, but did you see him in his armor? I say we get to work. It does not look like we will be leaving anytime soon to find our shadow walker."
With muttered agreements, Darian and Kane turned to face into the room and begin what they would later find out was a daily routine for them.
Later that evening, while they were eating the evening meal, Bryol gave them another task. "Your evenings are yours to do with as you wish; you have full access to the library, however, I would use the time wisely to learn to mind-speak with your dragons and with each other. We do not leave to find your shadow walker until you can step from one side of the training room to the other, step to each other, mind-talk to each other and your dragons, and Darian can use soul vision. How quickly you learn those tasks is up to the three of you."
"What about shields and swords, sir?" Darian asked.
Bryol shrugged, "It can only be to your benefit to learn those, but our search is not dependent upon that. You have an Elite to train you, while you are only twenty-five, and that is not something many Lyra can boast of having. Were I you, I would concentrate on learning as much as you can while you are here. When you advance a bit further in building your shields, I will teach you more, but for now, practice what I have told you to practice. The time before morning meal is your own, but the rest of the day will be spent as you spent today. You will see me at meals, so any questions you have, ask then. Every sixth day, you can take the day to do as you want, just remember—we don't leave ‘til you can do all I have set out for you to do, and ‘til your dragons say you are ready." Bryol wiped his mouth and rose from the table. When he reached the doorway to the dining room, he turned back. "Remember, when we leave depends on how hard you are willing to work." With that, Bryol walked out of the room, leaving the young men to stare at the doorway.
After a few more moments, the young men followed him out the door and made their way to the library to practice. They were each positive it would just be a matter of days before they left to find their shadow walker. If they had known it would be weeks before they left, they may have protested. It would have done no good; Bryol had very specific instructions about what the boys had to be able to do–not just to find their shadow walker, but also to bond the life thread and soul thread of this person to their soul threads. Weaving a Lyriant into the Deyarian tapestry of souls was not like weaving a one of their own. That was automatic and happened at birth. A Lyriant did not have the same connection, and the boys would need to be much more aware of their powers than they were now in order to do what they came to do.
Chapter Thirteen
Bryol was sitting in one of the chairs of the library, calmly reading a book while the three boys stewed on the other side of the room. Bryol knew they were unhappy, but until they remembered they needed to get permission from the dragons to continue, he would just continue to train them. They needed to learn to remember important information, and when they did not, they needed to know to ask for information. They had done neither. They continued to assume that he would suddenly pick a day and they would leave. They had been ready to go for almost two weeks, but they would not leave until the boys remembered or got up the nerve to ask what the hold up was. Bryol figured that should not take much longer.
Darian was furious—and worried. Kane and Patro were not happy either. They had been at Bryol's almost three months now, and they could now do all that Bryol had asked of them when they first started, but now he was adding things. At this rate, they would never leave. If Darian was being honest with himself, they could do everything, but that did not mean they could do it all well. And apparently, you could not hide anything from a dragon. It had taken weeks for them to finally form the connection to their dragons and each other, and although it was pretty incredible to be able to have private conversations with each other when Bryol was in the room, it was also a little dangerous. It seemed that while they were training, Bryol thought it rude
to mind-speak in front of him. He said that until they could learn to do it without giving it away, they could not do it in front of him. When he caught them, he would slap them upside the head, so they were rapidly learning how to do it without making facial expressions or using their mouths to form the words. Using their mouths was probably what got them in the most trouble. Seems Bryol could read lips, and usually what the boys were saying was not something they wanted Bryol to hear, or in this case, see.
Now Bryol wanted them to practice being in different rooms of the castle to step to each other. And he was apparently not pleased with how little distance they could travel while stepping from one point to the next. He also was not pleased with how pathetic their swords were, but he did have a little praise for their shields. They had learned several new things about themselves and their powers since coming to stay with Bryol, and sometimes they actually managed to forget for awhile that they did not actually come to stay with Bryol, but to find their shadow walker.
Darian looked at Kane and Patro, "What do we do? We have done all he has asked of us—maybe we are not good at everything, but we have done all he said we had to before we could leave. We mastered the last task two weeks ago, and yet we still sit here day after day, practicing whatever he comes up with each day."
Kane shrugged his shoulder and mournfully said, "I don't know."
Patro, trying to read a book, looked up and asked, "Why don't we ask him what we have left to learn before we can leave?"
Darian shot him a disgusted look and said, trying to mimic Bryol's voice, "Practice boys, what you need is more practice."
Patro shrugged, "Well I, for one, am tired of sitting here wondering. I am going to ask him."
Getting up and laying his book gently in the seat, he strode across the room to ask Bryol the question that had been slowly driving them all crazy. "What will it take for us to be able to leave in search of our shadow walker?"
Bryol had watched Patro approach after hearing bits of the conversation, as Darian was not quiet when he was upset. Bryol answered him, "I told you from the beginning, once you have the dragon's permission, we will leave."
Patro's shoulders sagged, "Seriously, that is all we are waiting on? Um, how do we get permission?"
Bryol smiled in relief. The boys were starting to understand that sometimes you have to know what question to ask. "If you are ready to ask them, ask."
Patro turned his attention inward, searching for his dragon connection. After a moment, Bryol watched him mouth the words, "May we start our quest to find our shadow walker?"
After a few moments of watching Patro hold what looked like a silent, one-sided conversation with his dragon, Bryol saw his face light up in excitement. Suddenly he jumped around shouting, "We can go, we can go."
Bryol thought to himself, and that reaction is how you know what the dragon says even when you can not talk to dragons. He spared a brief moment to be glad that the boys were so young and inexperienced that they could not yet hide their mind-talking. They were getting better at making no sound and keeping their lips still when talking to each other in the same room, but they were failing miserably at trying to do the same thing with a dragon they could not see and had never laid eyes on that was a half a world away. As the boys began to shout over each other in their excitement Bryol silently got up, and moving to the door, he made to leave. Turning back to the room, he told the boys, "Pack your bags—we leave on the morrow after the morning meal." He quickly exited the door and headed down the stairs to let Maggie and Larcen know when they would be leaving. He expected the next few weeks would not be pleasant when the boys realized they still could not just go directly to their shadow walker, but would have to travel around the country feeling for the stronger threads and chasing shadows. When hundreds of people could be your shadow walker but only one would be, they were going to find they had a lot of shadows to chase. His Lyra assured him that the boys would know beyond all doubt when they found the person. If there was any doubt at all, he was to assure the boys that whoever they were looking at was not their shadow walker. He was to use his reputation to the hilt. His Lyra had told him discouragement could cause them to desire the next one found be the one. He had assured his Lyra he would do all in his power to guide the boys. That was all he could do from this point on, just guide them and hope they found the correct person.
Chapter Fourteen
"Come on Darian, we've been searching for weeks, you must be able to do something." Kane was disappointed and discouraged, and you could hear it in his tone.
Darian turned to glare at Kane, "Oh, sure I can. I can lead us right to them, but I thought it would be more entertaining to wander around the countryside, meeting strange people and sightseeing. Didn't you enjoy the mountains, or the seaside stops? Or looking at the strange trees? Or maybe you are not enjoying the sparring practice every day?"
Kane's shoulders drooped with each sarcastic word from Darian's mouth. Bryol had been right, traveling with the three was no fun at all. The fights were getting better, and he did not mean the sparring. The actual fights when the tempers would rage and the boys would lose control. Now that they could use more of their powers, it seemed to be a contest as to who could move from one spot to the next and come out swinging the fastest before stepping away again. Learning those things was important, though. The boys would need to know how to flee danger while attacking.
Just as it looked like the boys would get in yet another fight, Bryol saw all three heads come up and swing rapidly to the left. He gave a deep sigh. Another one. He had long since recognized the signs of when the three sensed a potential shadow walker close by, as one the heads would swing toward the person they sensed, and in a moment they would jump from the moving carriage and take off running. Calling to the driver to halt, he was almost quick enough this time to stop the carriage before the three jumped out and were soon dashing away. Motioning for the driver to follow the boys, he hoped this time they managed to stay out of trouble until he got there. He could have stepped from the carriage to where they were, and continued stepping until they reached their destination, but he really tried to keep the general populace from knowing what people of his race could do. Fear caused people to do insane things.
As the carriage closed in on the location the boys had rushed to, Bryol heard fighting. With a deep sigh—he seemed to do that a lot lately—he hurriedly jumped from the carriage and rounded the corner to rescue yet another Lyriant from the three idiots. Stopping in disbelief at the sight in front of him, he smiled. It was not any of his boys doing the fighting, instead they seemed to be in an intense conversation with each other, with lots of hand gestures. Before he could reach them, much less stop them, he saw both Kane and Patro summon large balls of ice and throw them at one of the opponents, knocking the man down and out. Darian was—Oh no, the idiot was not going to throw a fireball at the person. He stepped to Darian's side in a flash and knocked the boy’s hands down. Turning on Darian, Bryol demanded, teeth clenched, "Are you trying to kill him?"
Darian, barely looking at Bryol, nodded his head, "Yes, of course. It is our job."
Bryol blinked a few times and managed to slap Darian's hand, again, to knock the new fireball away. Then he saw Kane and Patro approaching the other man left standing, a very furious man. Grasping the collar of Darian's shirt, he pulled him along with him toward the other two boys. Before they could reach them, the new man threw punches at both Kane and Patro, who looked stricken at the attack. Bryol stopped short at the sight. Kane and Patro did not even raise a hand to defend themselves, and instead were both pleading with the man. Another deep sigh, and Bryol continued dragging Darian toward the new fight—if you could call it a fight, when his charges were so busy defending themselves with nothing but words. When he reached the new fight, he pushed the stranger away from his charges, only to have them turn on him furiously. Bryol realized at that instant that he had made a grave mistake. Seems the boys had finally found their shadow walker, and to
a Lyra, no one messed with their shadow walker. Stepping away and back again, he began to slap each boy upside the head, and before each one could react, he had moved on to the next one. The stranger stood watching in shock at the display in front of him. Suddenly, the stranger muttered, "Sorcery," and with one last disgusted look at the felled man on the ground, he took off running.
Just as suddenly as the boys had turned on Bryol, they now turned to him frantic. "He is getting away!" one of them yelled, and with that, the boys took off at a run.
Bryol turned to look at the carriage, now beside him, and climbing in, he gestured toward the running boys. "Follow ‘em," was all he said. Looks like I’m going to have my work cut out for me, if the reception the shadow walker just gave the boys was any indication. Good thing I excel in diplomacy—looks like I’m going to need all my skills to fix this mess.
When he caught up with the four, he found the stranger with a board in his hands, in the middle of a stand-off with his three charges. Walking up to the four, he cuffed his three upside the head, and in a voice that could not be denied, demanded they all three return to the carriage and stay there until he could try to fix the mess they had made of the situation. Though they were protesting the entire way, they reluctantly headed to the carriage. As they turned away, Bryol asked one question over their protest, "Are you sure?"
With equal looks of disgust, the three almost snarled at him, as they all agreed—they were certain this stranger was indeed the one they had been looking for this entire time.
Nodding, Bryol gestured for them to continue to the carriage. Once they had climbed in, he told the driver to take them to the inn on the outskirts of town, where he had arranged lodging for the night earlier that day. When it looked as though the three would jump out of the carriage, Bryol snarled at them, "If you get out of that carriage, if you so much as think about returning here, I will make you wish you had never been born. Go—before I leave you to your own devices and watch you spoil any chance you will ever have."
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