The Legend of Cambria Book One-Dawn of the Guardians

Chapter 1-The Butterfly Effect

Like the pieces of a puzzle scattered on the floor, the earth's continents drift in the ocean, the puzzle undone. But in a long ago age, the land was once whole. It was one large landmass, one continuous labyrinth of mountains and valleys, rivers and streams, deserts and caverns. It is known as Pangaea, but its inhabitants called it Ilyador.

 "What does it feel like?" the blonde boy asked, cocking his head to one side.

"It..." the other boy hesitated, trying to think of the right words as he gazed down at his cupped hands. A delicate, many-colored butterfly was perched there. He raised his hands skyward and it fluttered away. The boys watched it until it was lost to the mosaic of leaves and branches and sunlight.

They were high up, amongst the leaves, the fair haired Will on a branch adjacent to Legend, who leaned against the trunk with his legs dangling.

"It tickles, like..." Legend paused, thinking. "Like how it feels when the wind blows your hair and it brushes against your ears." They both sat quiet for a moment, the one trying to explain and the other trying to understand. "Or...or like when you're gathering in the fields at harvest time and the grain brushes against your arm."

"But," Will persisted, "but how do you do it?" He had his hands together, as if he were hiding something inside and he appeared to be concentrating very hard.

Legend cupped his hands together too, at first closed like Will's hands, and his face took on a similar expression of determined intent, his eyes closed.

"I close my eyes and imagine it in my mind first," he opened his hands, but kept them cupped together, for they were supporting a bird. It was small with silky brown feathers. It looked real, except that it had an intangible shimmer. This little bird was familiar to them both. It was one of the first apparitions the boy had created and the one he made most often. It was like an old friend.

Will's eyes lit up in delight. It never ceased to amaze him. Legend lifted his hands towards the sky, encouraging the bird to take flight. It did so, flapping noiselessly until it caught the breeze.

The boys sat in silence, watching the apparition glide away. The world around them was dressed in late summer splendor. Will shook his head in amazement, still gazing at the bird. He drew in a deep breath of warm summer air, and had just started to exhale when both boys' attention was caught by a small black shape in the sky, afar off behind their sailing bird, which was rapidly growing larger.

Neither boy spoke, but curiosity was replaced by alarm as the creature came into view. It was dark, shiny as obsidian, and even from a distance it was menacing. It was headed straight into the line of flight of their small bird, with a speed and posture of attack.

Legend reached out, as if to change fate, but the black bird's shadow overtook the smaller creature and its craggy silver beak pierced the body of the little bird. The small form burst and disappeared in a smattering of ethereal dust through which the massive bird swept without hesitation. They'd never seen a creature like it. Obviously it was a bird, but it was much larger than any they had ever seen and it had an evil look in its eyes which seemed to have a purpose.

At once the boys' startled faces turned to terror as they realized the creature had a new target—them! The boys looked at each other in disbelief for a split second, then turned to scramble clumsily down. As their feet contacted the ground, they heard a flapping of wings against the foliage of the perch they'd just left.

A few leaves floated to the ground from overhead, where the creature was still flapping, its eyes searching the shadows below the canopy. It found the boys and for a heartbeat, caught Legend's gaze. They stared at each other, more like two people than human and beast, and a cold fear shot up Legend's back, making the hairs on his neck perk up. Legend was first to break the trance.

"Run!" he yelled and Will started sprinting, with Legend right behind. They could hear the crashing of leaves and branches, but didn't pause to watch as the beast tore at the foliage in its way. Once below the branches, the bird surveyed the scene, and then set off in agile pursuit of the boys.

The bird's flight was almost silent, but the boys could feel the ominous presence of their attacker and surged forward towards home, their own strained breathing and clumsy escape filling their ears with terror.

The bird was gaining like an arrow flying in slow motion. Meanwhile, the boys were breathing hard, beads of cold sweat on their foreheads and red scratches on their arms from careening through bushes.

Will could see the edge of the trees, beyond which he knew was Legend's home. He burst out of the hillside, only twenty feet from a cottage, Legend right behind him. The boys rounded the corner of the home, skidding to make the turn, and slammed directly into a man, who'd been heading in their direction. The collision made him drop his long-handled ax.

"What?...Boys!...Why?..." the man spluttered, but a moment later, the explanation flew into view, stopping in mid-air to find its prey. Its wings flapped like a heavy blanket being shaken of dust. The bird had a smooth, black head and a shiny silver beak that looked more like steel than living matter. Its wingspan was as wide as both the boys had they stood side by side with arms outstretched. Its breast was bulky, thick with hardened muscles that bulged as it flapped above them.

The man did not wait for an explanation from the boys. He picked up his ax and swung it at the bird. The bird rose, just out of reach, calculating its options.

Just then, Legend remembered something in his pocket. It was a sling-shot—roughly made from a tree branch—the thicker part making a handle. Where it thinned and split in two there was a bit of leather that formed a pouch. He snatched a walnut size rock from between Will's feet. Legend placed the stone into the pouch and swung the slingshot backwards in a wide arch. As he whirled the slingshot forward, the stone hurled at the bird, but the beast easily evaded the shot.

Legend snatched another rock and took aim again, this time pelting the bird hard on the chest. They all picked up rocks and started throwing them at the creature, which withdrew further to evade the hailstorm of stones. Though no harm was done, the bird's eyes narrowed and it glared at them with mild annoyance before taking to the sky. The massive winged creature grew smaller as it gained elevation. The bird took three swooping turns around the sky, taking in the whole valley, its neck craning to look every which way before turning northward and flying back in the direction from which it had come.

The man and two boys below watched this with rapt curiosity, as did several others from the village beyond. When the bird was no longer visible, the man, whose forehead had taken on a deep, worried crease, turned to the two boys.

"Go in the house and stay there until I return," he commanded.

"Yes, sir," they said in unison.

"But where are you going, father?" Legend asked as his father strode away. He turned back, his mind already lost in thought.

"To gather the council."