Lodestone Book One: The Sea of Storms

Prologue

Prologue

 

“And so it was, that Kal the wise did beseech Ail-Kar, and Ail-Kar did cast from the firmament the heavenly stone.

The stone of constancy and change; of boon and bane; of creation and destruction”

Blessings of the White Sun, Fourth Stanza, Ninth and Tenth Lines

                                                                                   

It was early in the afternoon when Kal first saw the flying rock.

Well, perhaps “flying” was a slight exaggeration; a subtle embellishment that he might have used later when trying to impress his younger brother, or his friends after third-day prayers. It was at least enough to break Kal out of his reverie. Hymarr’s reaction was the last thing he had expected.

He had been rehearsing in his mind for days beforehand how he would ask her to accompany him to the Spring Gratitude Service. That morning, as he lay in his bedchamber, before even Ail-Gan, the yellow sun, had risen over the western horizon, he determined that today was going to be the day.

He found her outside a clothing shop just off the curia. She was taller than he was, with long brown hair which hung loose about her shoulders, and large deep brown eyes. When she smiled, they shined brighter than all three of the suns–or so it seemed to Kal. She wore a simple unembroidered red-brown supertunic, woven from a soft-looking material.

As Kal approached, he saw that she was accompanied by two other girls. She seemed to be involved in an animated conversation. He stopped in mid-stride, locked in mortal combat with his fragile resolve. A voice within screamed at him that this was a bad place and time, but something within him caused his legs to start moving forward once again, and a few moments later he was standing in front of Hymarr.

She stopped, seeming to notice him for the first time. “Kal?”

The other girls looked irritated, but he ploughed on. “Hymarr, I... was just looking for you.”

Her brows knotted together into a frown. “Excuse me?”

“Are you going to Spring Festival?” It was a stupid question. Everyone would be going. The two girls standing just behind Hymarr suppressed a giggle. “I was wondering if you would care to–”

“No,” she interjected. “No, thank you.”

“But–”

“No!” Her speckled cheeks were flushed as she turned on her heel and strode away down the street, away from the curia, her tail swishing behind her. Her friends burst out laughing and followed in her train.

Kal simply stood stupidly for a moment. He had no idea what his expression was, but he drew a couple of curious stares from passers-by. Then he turned and began running to get away from the place and time of his humiliation. As he ran, feelings of anguish broke over him in waves, but he only ran faster so as to blot them out. A part of his mind recalled dimly that his father would be expecting him at the smithy, but he did not care.

As he neared the edge of the village, he passed the pen where graylesh were kept. One graceful animal raised its pointed snout from its manger and regarded him. On impulse, Kal vaulted the fence, swung himself on the back of the nearest beast and kicked hard. He was nearly thrown as the creature lurched forward. It cleared the barrier and suddenly Kal was in open countryside. He had a sudden image of the animal’s imagined owner and how angry they would be… and then how angry his father would be. But he pressed his mount’s striped flanks and urged it forward.