CHAPTER ONE
Lightning flashed across the sky.
Wind howled, rolling across the grassy hills. The noonday sun shone high above, peeking through the passing clouds. Bright flashes arced among the clouds. The wind and lightning were common most days, although rain was not as abundant.
Isaac perched on a large rock jutting from the hillside, shaded by the Seras Woods behind him. Below, a group of men moved about a circle of four wagons, preparing the midday meal. Bird songs drifted through the trees to him, combining with the sounds of horses whinnying and men cooking. As always, Isaac felt that there was a certain music to the noises around him, and the lightning overhead seemed to dance to the rhythm.
He returned his attention to the tattered and faded piece of paper he held delicately in his hands. As he had done every day for the past three years, Isaac read through it, tracing the flowing words that he had committed to memory long ago. He remembered well the hand that had written it, and the girl to whom that hand belonged. Of course, she would not be a girl any longer. She might not even be his friend anymore, after the way he had left.
With a sigh, Isaac carefully refolded the note and tucked back into the pouch hanging on the side of his belt. He should have been helping the others set up, but they had newer, younger assistants now. He was not lazy, but he had needed a few minutes alone to think before they arrived to their destination.
A pudgy man stood in the center of the group of wagons, pointing in different directions and giving orders. Master Hamm—suitably named, in Isaac’s opinion—was a merchant of some renown. Three years ago, just after Isaac’s twentieth birthday, the man had visited his home city, Seras, selling his wares. At that time, Isaac wanted nothing more than to see the world, and so he decided to join the man’s team.
Now, they had come back to Seras. He wondered if Master Hamm remembered leaving the city with a surprise new apprentice. Isaac was an odd case; he had no aspirations to be a merchant. It would be a stable living once people knew who he was, true, and he could travel all he wanted. But the life of a merchant did not suit him, he felt.
He stood and stretched, watching again as lightning danced among the clouds, giving the perpetual appearance of impending rain, although such was not the case. It was the Storm, Isaac had been taught; the innate life force that ran through the world and all things in it. Very rarely were the skies ever completely clear—not that he would want such a thing. Days without the Storm’s presence were odd. Everything seemed to lose a touch of color, making the world look almost bland; lifeless, even.
Sometimes, he wondered what it must be like to be lightning, to be completely carefree, not worrying about what he was going to eat or where he was going to sleep. It was an odd thought, he knew, but he had always been something of a dreamer. His daydreams had gotten him into trouble before, when he was younger, but he had always had Claire then to back him up.
Now, he was not so sure he still had her. She had been his best friend growing up, despite the fact that he was four years her senior. They had been like siblings, reinforced by the fact that Isaac himself had no parents. He knew he had hurt her when he ran off, and so she had simply left a note for him. Reading over the note had become a ritual for him, a reminder of the life he had left behind.
He broke out of his reverie and started down the hill. The meal would be almost ready by now, and Isaac wanted to get a few things in order before they entered the city tonight. Master Hamm would not like it, but Isaac had no intention of staying with the rest of the team for the evening.
As he approached the group, he took note of the other members of the team. Master Hamm’s second, Brand, was a large, grizzled man. Isaac suspected that he had once been a soldier, but Brand never spoke of his past like others in the crew did. Out of the seven other members, most were around Isaac’s age, although the youngest, Kabe, was just over sixteen. He was the most recent addition, and so the more menial tasks fell to him.
They were a close-knit group, for the most part. Brand generally tried to keep up his grumpy appearance, but sometimes he let a smile slip through. Master Hamm was content to let Brand keep the apprentices in line, although he sometimes joined them at night when they conversed about the day.
Brand and Kabe stood in the center of the camp, tending to a pot standing on a grate above the fire. The older man glanced toward Isaac and grimaced; it was almost a smile from him. He spoke softly to Kabe, and then approached Isaac.
“Did you enjoy your break?” Brand asked sarcastically.
“Why, yes, I did,” Isaac replied. He was accustomed to this kind of banter with Brand—preferred it, in fact, to the posturing Master Hamm was prone to sometimes.
“Go help the other lads make sure everything’s in order,” Brand said. “Can’t have our products looking like they’ve been sat on.”
“Right away,” Isaac said, moving to enter the back of the covered wagon closest to him.
He climbed inside and found Jensen, a man the same age as Isaac, carefully arranging large bags of seeds. Seras relied on merchants to bring seeds for growing crops; the soil in these parts was inadequate for growing most things.
Jensen turned and frowned at Isaac. “Nice of you to join me.”
“I can’t let you have all the fun, now can I?” Isaac said cheerily. He and Jensen had butted heads several times over the years, but Isaac usually let any disparaging remarks go.
“Well, I’m just about finished here,” Jensen said. “Why don’t you go see if Hamm needs any help in the other wagons?”
“Suits me.” Isaac leaped out of the wagon and started around the circle, stopping to pat one of the horses on the side. He was in no hurry; Hamm would not move until he had eaten his fill, and Seras was not going anywhere. He almost wished he could put it off, but it was his home, after all.
At least, it was the closest thing he had to a home. Despite his cheerfulness, he was unsure how the city people would react to his homecoming. Would they even remember him? If they did, would they welcome him back? Or did they think he had left to follow a foolish dream? That seemed to have been the popular opinion when he had left. Even Claire had been opposed to the idea, although he knew she would have gone with him, if she had been older.
He could not afford to worry about the past; it would only make him more agitated and uncertain, something he had been feeling a lot recently. Moving on to the back of the lead wagon, he found Master Hamm rapping his knuckles on the wooden frame, supervising two apprentices as they arranged products in tidy rows. Beyond seeds, Master Hamm sold a variety of other items, including wines and clothing from distant lands, as well as a dozen or so “treasures,” as he called them. They were, in fact, souvenirs he had acquired along the road, but some people, like Isaac, liked to collect useless ornaments.
“Make sure those labels are visible, boys,” Hamm ordered. He turned to Isaac and frowned. “Shouldn’t you be working?”
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out, sir,” Isaac said, flashing a smile. The portly man’s frown deepened.
Hamm shook a finger at Isaac. “You had better keep that wit of yours in check today, boy,” he grunted. Isaac wondered why Hamm always addressed those younger than himself as “boy.”
“I don’t want you angering any of my customers,” he went on. “I need a good sale here, or else I might have to let a few of you go.” The statement was, of course, an empty threat, but Isaac took it in stride and did not respond like he normally would. The merchant was not a bad man, but he certainly was not very amiable. Except to customers; those he could always be cheery with.
“Don’t worry about me, Master Hamm,” Isaac replied. “I won’t say a word to anyone I don’t know in the city.” For once, he was being completely honest with Master Hamm. Isaac had no intention of drawing too much attention to himself. However, despite his best efforts, attention always seemed to find him.
Hamm shook his head. “Tell me when the meal is ready,” he said, turning back to the men working in the wagon.
Isaac walked away from the wagon. It appeared that there was nothing for him to do at the moment, besides sitting on his hands waiting for lunch. His attention began to drift to the Storm overhead again. He never could understand what was so intoxicating about it; perhaps it was the mythos behind it.
Taking care to be quiet, he started up the slope on the south side of the camp. The landscape here was hilly and rocky in some parts, but grass covered the majority of the ground. It was difficult getting wagons through, for even with the road they had to go up and down constantly. Too much of that activity could put strain on the horses.
In the distance, Isaac could see the city. It had been built in a relatively flatter location, but parts of it still rose and fell with the land. It was not a large city by any means, but it was the most populous town for many miles in this region of south-eastern Aldera.
More clouds hovered above the city; the Storm was stronger where there was life. One would think that larger cities would be completely shaded, but sunlight always managed to shine through. It was as if the Storm knew that light was required for life to continue, and so it achieved an unnatural balance.
Movement to his left caught his attention, and he turned to see what it was. A large group of creatures was moving rapidly across the hills, heading northward. They were not too far away to make out the distinctive blue-green scales, red feathers, and hunched forms.
Isaac watched them, curious. Vorkyr were reclusive creatures, typically emerging at dusk. They traveled in herds, much like cattle, and tended to ignore humans entirely. Recently, rumors from the north said that Vorkyr had been seen attacking people, but Isaac tended not to put much stock in rumors. He had only seen the creatures a handful of times, and agreed with the idea that they were harmless.
They were exotic looking, though. Reptilian in appearance, but covered with feathers along their backs and heads, they resembled a cross between a bird and a lizard. Their beaks were lined with blunt teeth for grazing, although Isaac did not doubt that they could more than likely crush a man’s arm.
What Isaac found most fascinating about them was the reaction of the Storm. Herds of Vorkyr attracted it just as much as a large city. Isaac watched as groups of clouds clustered together, allowing the lightning in the sky to stay directly above the traveling animals. He had always wondered if, perhaps, they were more than just another strange species that roamed the world.
He heard the grass behind him rustle, and Kabe stood beside him moments later. The youth stood still for a moment, taking in the sight of the Vorkyr herd.
“What are they doing?” Kabe asked.
“I’m not quite sure,” Isaac answered, smiling at the boy’s curiosity. Isaac had always liked Kabe’s ability to question all things, something Isaac himself often did. It was not enough to see something; he needed to know the why.
“I thought they didn’t come out during the day,” Kabe continued. “What do you think it means?”
Isaac was pondering that same question. It was not the first time he had seen them out before, but that had always been an hour or so after dawn or before dusk, never at midday.
“I’m sure it’s nothing.” It probably was. He hoped. Isaac did not like to not know what was going on around him. However, no answers would be coming forth this time, so he was not going to let it eat at him.
The Vorkyr entered a patch of trees and disappeared from sight. Isaac watched the lightning high overhead, marking the path that the Vorkyr were following. At least they still avoided going near the city; he could only imagine what people would think if the herd charged down the streets.
“Come on,” Isaac said, turning back toward the camp, “let’s go eat. I actually am quite hungry.”
Kabe nodded and trotted behind Isaac. Hamm sat in an unfolding chair, eating from a fine plate; the man really did enjoy his niceties. The others sat in random spots on the grass, eating out of durable metal dishes. Brand and Kabe had prepared a simple stew for today’s meal, knowing that once they reached Seras they could eat their fill at one of the inns.
Isaac served himself and sat with his back against a wagon wheel. Kabe joined him, and the two ate in silence for several minutes. Finally, Kabe put his spoon down and looked at Isaac.
“So, is it true that you are from Seras?” Kabe asked.
“Perhaps,” Isaac answered, chuckling. The boy really was curious about everything.
“Are you excited to be going home?”
Isaac took a moment to finish his last bit of stew. “In some ways, I am. But I’m also nervous; I haven’t seen these people in a few years.” He regarded Kabe. “Where did you hear that piece of information, anyway?”
“It was just some idle talk one night, that’s all,” Kabe said.
“Well, it isn’t a well-guarded secret, so I don’t mind,” Isaac said.
Kabe nodded and quietly went back to his stew. The wind picked up for a few moments, providing a bit of cool relief in the dry summer air. Summer was important in Seras; it was a time to celebrate the lengthened days and good health. In fact, if Isaac remembered correctly, today was the summer solstice. It meant the Summer Festival started tonight.
Isaac smiled to himself. Master Hamm would benefit from the festivities that would take place tonight, as the city people would be more willing to buy more than they really needed. It would also be easier for Isaac to slip away and go about his own business.
Presently, the group finished with their meal and prepared to break camp. Kabe cleaned up the dishes as Brand supervised the preparation of the wagons. Master Hamm had already taken his place in the driver’s seat of the lead wagon, and was waiting for the others to finish up.
Isaac climbed into the seat of the last wagon beside Brand, who was already holding the reins. Master Hamm called out to the group, and the procession headed out, falling into a single file line on the winding road.
Isaac stole one last look at the grove of trees that the Vorkyr had disappeared into. The collection of Storm had moved on, meaning the herd had continued its journey north. Isaac knew the team would be heading that same direction in a couple of days.
Following the Storm.
