"The Path of Ascension" by José Manuel López Vega

Chapter 1

Summer in Isgrel was particularly warm during the year in which Zadier made his home there. The white sphere of the sun blazed overhead, unmercifully punishing the citizens as they hurried about their business in the dusty streets of the Rajenian capital. The heat waves rising from the baked earth streets gave the entire scene a dream like look, as if the people and the entire place were but a fleeting illusion. Wiping the sweat from his forehead with a faded white handkerchief, Zadier trudged through the narrow alleys of the older and more unsavory part of town. He was a tall, thin young man with a preoccupied, sweating face. Zadier had traveled far and wide through the lands of Gaehar but he could never couple with any climate that wasn’t the biting cold of his homeland so far away, however Zadier had not traveled to the arid lands of Tel Rajen to enjoy himself or the climate, he was there on a mission of extreme importance and he was not about to renounce to it because he felt uncomfortable, so with his hands shielding his eyes from the sun he walked on feeling a rare breeze blow lifting the sand from the street blinding him temporarily, he noticed that no one else seemed affected by the blowing sand or the heat.Shaking his head he tried to concentrate in putting one foot in front of the other. The sky was astonishingly blue with absolutely no clouds in sight , the air was very still but would blow every now and then lifting the sand that had filtered from the desert outside which threatened with smothering the city with its vast immensity. Zadier’s barely open eyes traveled from one side of the street to the other, not missing a single crack in the cramped stone houses that seemed to be built one on top of the other, which was almost true since Isgrel was built on a rocky hill and the city seemed to rise from the desert, divided into different narrow terraces on top of which loomed the king’s palace. Few people walked the streets now as Zadier trudged to one of the lower terraces. Most of the people who lived in this part were or too poor to buy a better house in one of the higher terraces or the sort of people no one really wanted around, thieves and killers the most.

By the time he reached the ruined old shack located in a deserted alley on the lowest terrace the sun had already settled and a cool breeze blew the sand off the streets. It was a very old house with planks missing from the roof and boarded windows, a faint light shone from within. Sighing a long, quavering sigh Zadier opened the door which creaked loudly in protest. Inside the single bare room stood a little table with a candle in the middle which sputtered continually throwing abstract shadows in the walls, the weak light barely outlined the form of a woman standing before the table, her face hidden in shadows by the cowl of her long green cloak. Zadier now became really uncomfortable and the wild idea of running away suddenly griped him.

“Sit” the woman commanded in a stern voice pointing at a chair Zadier could’ve sworn wasn’t  there before.

“So?” she asked after Zadier had seated himself heavily in the chair. “have you found him?”

Zadier shifted uncomfortably in his chair and nodded.

“Who is he?”

Again he shifted in the small chair and then, hesitantly, he began to speak “ He is Alros, the son of general Anvarac. I met him a couple of days ago when I went to the palace, you remember? You told me ‘look everywhere for him’ and I had been searching all the city districts when it occurred to me that he might be somewhere about in the palace and…” he stopped short at an impatient gesture from her hand.

“Are you sure he is the one?” she asked with an irritated edge to her voice.

“He has the eyes” Zadier assured her hastily not daring to dwell any longer in his explanation since obviously long-winded speeches bothered her. They are all like that, he thought to himself, can’t they be a little less grim and irritable about everything. He  brought himself up short from his sullen musings, noticing that her eyes were still on him.

“Have you told him yet?”

“No” his voiced quaked slightly.

 “Why?” her voice was flat and toneless, and Zadier knew her patience was drying quickly.

“It just doesn’t seem the right time yet” he explained hurriedly knowing immediately he had commited a grave mistake.

Her eyes flared suddenly in anger and she seemed to grow taller than him “Time!” she hissed “Time! What time do you think we have left? Everywhere west of Hourahnn is crawling with the Avatars, Vhadom’s armies are massing in the east and ready to strike at us at any moment and you speak as if we had any time left to do anything, you will tell him tomorrow and that is the end of it!” her voiced echoed through the small room and the candle look as if in danger of dying away altogether.

Zadier sat there, his face flaming, the words stinging horribly, he opened his mouth trying to get words out of a dry throat 

“It just seems so…hard, on him I mean, the consequences it would have when I told him- it would rip his life apart, and I couldn’t bear to carry all that guilt with me”

Her hard eyes softened when he had finished giving his explanation. It was a very difficult task, the one he had readily accepted readily  to do when he came into their service. Personally she had not believed he could’ve done anything, but the boy was very determined when he had a task in his hands and he had proved a happy choice, even if he had trouble every now and then.

“I know it is difficult for you, Zadier but it must be done. The time is near when he must come and free us of the threat of Sehaenidas. We have waited too long for this moment and we shall not let it pass” she apologized and sighed a long, tired sigh her eyes far away in times long gone and forgotten by mortal man.

She was brought back from her reverie by a meaningful cough from Zadier.

“Ahh, yes” she said mistily” I thought it might be you”

Zadier looked baffled, but said nothing.

“Hmm?” She inquired” ahh, yes about the other matter…”

“The rebellion seems to be serious”

“This does not bode well, Zadier. A confrontation in our ranks is what we least need right now”

“But the change of rulers would.” he began “The current king is an incompetent, who would be of little use to our… I mean your design. The leader of the rebels, general Vashim appears a strong man, he would be ideal to lead the forces of Tel Rajen into war”

“ You are right Zadier I believe tha-”

“ And there is also the fact that general Anvarac supports him” Zadier said before biting his tongue and bracing himself to the chair remembering what happened the last time he had interrupted her in mid-sentence, some of those burns still hadn’t healed entirely.

This time, however, fireballs didn’t fly.

“Interesting, very interesting. Do you know when the strike shall be?” she asked

“No, not yet” he said sounding defeated, Can’t I ever do something right? He asked himself. And yet, even if I did do something right they wouldn’t notice.

“ I told you to procure that information!” She snapped, bringing him to attention.

“ I am sorry my lady, but…”

“I do not care! We must know that before we act! What is it you do all day?! Acquire that information by tomorrow or else! Now go! …… I am sorry again, Zadier but this have been very trying times and all this problems have me at wits end. Just forget about it and leave, you must be tired.”

“Goodnight, Lady Eala” he said bowing low and exiting through the creaky door, moments after he left a quick breeze blew the candle leaving everything inside dark and empty.

Zadier made his way slowly through the darkened streets, the cool night breeze brushing against his face, thinking over his recent interview, he had known the Lady Eala for some time now but she was still a complete mystery to him. Sometimes she would seem sad and distant and others stern and grim and even happy every now and then, her moods shifted as much as the desert sands that surrounded Isgrel. Zadier didn’t like the desert very much. It was too empty, he thought with nostalgia creeping all over him of the majestic snow capped Aldaren Mountains that could always be seen from the narrow window of his quarters in the Idelhem of Asevon and of the moons that

shone so beautifully in the star strewn sky.

He stiffened suddenly, his sharp elven ears picking up furtive movement behind him, warily he lifted his hand, creating a small flame in his finger he pointed it at a dark alley in which he could faintly see a tall form slinking into darkness. “Avatar” he swore under his breath hurrying along the streets trying to put as much distance between himself and the monster. Finally he reached the small, shabby inn where he was staying and fell asleep almost  immediately when he reached his equally small and shabby room not without before thinking of tomorrow’s mission and the strange, uncertain fate of the boy Alros.