Tales From a Thousand Worlds

An intense rumbling peel of thunder rolled across the darkening sky, a cacophonous report that promised much more to come. Across the gloom laden sky, vast banks of clouds piled up, spilling over each other in their haste to sweep down on Ardanium. The smell of approaching rain suffused the warm air. Soon would erupt one of the sudden summer storms that at times would crash across the plains, swelling the river fit to burst.

 

Follow this link for Part Seven of The Red Blade

Soft light drifted into Athradies’ study. It came in through the wide open doors that lead out onto a balcony that overlooked the gardens of the villa, light curtains that swayed in a breeze pulled across the opening. Bundles of dusty old scrolls were piled up on a smooth polished wooden desk, with ink pots and quills scattered amongst them. More scrolls lined the room, packed tight in shelves that reached from floor to ceiling. Athradies rolled up one scroll with great care, binding it closed with a red cord before setting it down beside him.

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Carse drew himself up to his full height, his adolescent frame growing tall, though it had not as yet filled out to match, giving him a lanky appearance. He let air fill his lungs, breathing deep, as he prepared to let voice a song. Madame Natazde, of the cold, northern Navodian lands, stood across from him in the large and airy room she used to train him in, tapping a beat with one booted foot. A tall woman, taller even than he, with pale hair and eyes rarely seen among Akuvians, she had drilled Carse relentlessly from the day he had arrived at Athradies’ villa, day in and day out, no matter what other lessons he also had. Reading, writing and languages, swordplay and knife work, disarming traps and locks, the use of crossbows and the art of stealth, all had been imparted upon him, yet always Madame Natazde insisted that he spend each morning with her, moulding and strengthening his singing voice.

Follow this link for Part Five of The Red Blade

Carse probed carefully at the heavy lock with the thin piece of wire. His eyes had been bound by a thick band of cloth so that he could see nothing at all. Gently he turned the wire, feeling for the minute vibrations that travelled through it into his fingers, building up a picture of the lock’s inner workings in his mind. A twist, a turn, and he heard a faint click as the lock came undone.

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The training sword, made of tightly bundled reeds, slithered through the air like a striking serpent, beating aside Carse’s flailing thrust with ease, before rapping him upon the ribs, adding yet one more blow to the numerous that had already slipped by his defences. Even though it was just a training sword, the arm behind it was like tempered steel and no leniency was given for his age. His weekly training sessions in the noble art of swordplay always ended with his ribs a mass of bruises.

Follow this link for Part Three of The Red Blade

Athradies led the boy Carse though the winding streets of Ardanium, headed for a string of hills scattered like pearls along the banks of the river Shalahir, a surging torrent fed by distant mountains, uncertain and temperamental in nature, quick to rage and prone to floods. Only in the hills could refuge be found from the surging waves when such occurred, and there the villas of the rich and powerful stood, building of marble facing spread out among the immaculately crafted gardens of roses and tall trees, sheltered from the city below.

Follow this link for Part Two of The Red Blade

The lilting tones of a young boy’s voice drifted high above the murmur of the market forums, above the endless susurration of conversations, and of shopkeepers competing with one another, hawking their wares to potential customers, the raucous bursts of laughter, the barking of dogs and the clinking of money as it changed hands. A clarity of tone as fine as delicate crystal rung in the voice, enough to rend the heart of any who listened, yet it strove to compete with the babble of the market that blended into one solid sound, and with the apathy of those within.

Follow this link for Part One of The Red Blade