“Hurry Zen!”

“Come boys. We have to get there now.”

“Zen get up!”

My ears were ringing. I couldn’t put anything together. Last thing I remember we were walking and Snell shouted to run. We did and then Baby was flying past us right onto Snell’s shoulder. A growling started behind us then nothing.

Wasn’t the danger past? Or was I just out cold. Why did my head hurt?

“Shino take Baby on your shoulder. Run. I have Zen.”

I felt myself lifted off the ground then blackness again. Did it come for me after we left the town? No this was different.

The smell of a fire woke me.

“Welcome kid. Mighty hero of the giant scorpions.” A woman’s laugh almost as deep as Snell’s filled my ears. “Glad to see you alive there kid. I was supposed to be hunting that thing. A giant scorpion if your wondering. Funny name for a growling spider if you ask me. They are as large as you are.”

“What happened?” I asked. My head was still fuzzy and my throat was dry.

“You see. I realized that beast set a trap in my tracking. Snell was running with you over his shoulder. Hah. I thought Baby had grown huge.” She smirked at her own joke. “I chopped that thing in half.”

“Zoran is Zen awake yet?” Shino sounded distant.

“Yeah. Tell Snell he’s okay. Now he just needs to open his eyes. I’d say he might still need a nap!” She chuckled again at her own joke.

Zoran was a guys name. What did Shino mean and why hadn’t I opened my eyes. I gently pulled my eyelids open. Beside me sat the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. She had a side of he dark brown hair shaved and the rest in a braid coming off the other side.

“Did Shino call you Zoran?” I was all confused. Was I hallucinating or dead?

“Hah! Yes he did. And yes it is before you ask. My parents hoped for a boy. I was their last chance. My sister’s Sarah and Claire make up for all my feminine whiles. Don’t worry I’m just another guy at this point.”

“But.. but…” I couldn’t get the words out. I could feel the blood rushing to my head.

“Hah! Snell, Shino!” Her excitement was weird. “Come quick another has fell into your wonderful trap!”

Snell burst in looking as if the world was going to end. Then stopped and surveyed the whole tent. Shino soon followed with his fading laugh still following. Snell then burst into his own fit of laughter.

“Zoran. Hungh. Hyack.” Snell started to cough trying to contain his laughter. “Why do you purposely sit on your good side for them. You know how they always do. You are the enchantress of men. You trap them with that posture. Don’t worry give him a couple of days and his crush will be gone.” Snell started laughing again.

Shino sat down beside me and touched the hairline above my forehead. “Zen I did the same thing first time I met Zoran. Her beauty took me. But her manners are worse than her lost eye.”

“How bad is it Shino?” Snell was watching intently.

“Not bad at all. Looks like the fangs missed him but he does have a huge knot. But I doubt anyone will see with his mop of hair.”

“I’ve got an idea!” Zoran jumped up. “It’s been so long since I did something like this. Everyone deserves to shown their spoils of battle.”

Zoran went into a pack beside her and pulled out a small knife and a piece of string. She pulled back the top of my hair and started tying it up into a tight bun. After she finished tying the bun she started cutting the rest down to shoulder length.

“There. That should let it be more manageable.” She put everything back into her pack and pulled out a cloth. “Hey want to see something cool now that you can see.”

“Sure I bet it will be amazing.” As I said this Snell and Shino both backed out of the tent. I felt like I would regret this.

Zoran took the cloth turned around and a small sucking sound could be heard. Next she held up an eye!

“Eye see you!” She screamed with laughter as she turned back around. It was then that I noticed that the eye in her hand was a slightly different color than her real eye. Now Zoran was putting an eye patch over her right eye. It kind of had an evil but caring vibe all around it.

“Feels much better now Zen. I swear that thing starts to hurt when it needs a good cleaning. Or even in general. But I use it when meeting people. I much prefer my eye patch you know.” She readjusted it just a smidge and smiled.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

Shino and Snell came back into the tent. “We need to get going Zen. Eat and then we will head off to the tests.”

“You mean it’s possible still Snell?” Zoran had a gleam in her eye.

“Yes Zoran. The committee agreed. But on one stipulation. Pass or fail you will be on the journey with Shino, Zen, and I.” Snell released a wincing grin.

“You know how my wife will feel about that Snell.” She was grimacing. “I will get…..”

“Zoran! The committee summons you to the testing grounds! Come now into the masses for today you become guide or tracker!” An interrupting voice boomed outside of the tent.

“Good luck Zoran.” I waved. “I better get everything dismantled here. I can help with that as you prove yourself in your tests.”

Zoran smirked at me. “I’ll try not to be to tent alizing.” She almost died at her own joke again and I couldn’t help but smirk.

“Shino help Zen pack the equipment. I can’t have you seeing any part of this test. You will have your own soon enough.” Snell was already heading out of the tent with Zoran. Shino stopped but almost reluctantly.

“Zen?” Shino was glancing at me. “Is this how it felt every time we excluded you from what we were doing way back then?”

“I don’t know Shino. When it was all you know yes it’s lonely but you’re used to it. It’s was no different with my mother.” I started to let my thoughts flow out loud. “I mean is there any way to really feel? I know I was able to enjoy the company of myself. I learned that I have me to always look out for. Yes people may be there, but often times I know that with any problem I could listen for a solution. Sir priest taught me the listening though.”

“What do you mean by listening Zen? Like that thing he had me do when I named Silvey? It can’t actually work without his power as a priest.”

“I will teach you Shino. It’s easier than you think. You just have to let your mind calm.” I almost had the packs completed. Then an idea struck me. “Shino…”

“Yes Zen?” He seemed to be eagerly waiting.

“As we tear down the tent think of the most peaceful song you can. Sir priest taught me the drawven hum. I can hum it if you want.” I started my warm ups for the hum. “It’s the same one he used when we named our items.”

“Please Zen. But what do I do when you start to hum?”

“Just listen. Sometimes it’s the wind that speaks. Sometimes it’s something beyond. The answer might never be what you want to hear but it’s the answer to your biggest question. Once the wind told me that every life deserves a chance. All I had thought was how I hate spiders. But I needed to hear it. Now let’s be calm and get this tent down.”

“Okay Zen. I’ll trust you this time. I’ll do the left side and you do the right.”

I cleared my throat. As we both grabbed our pole to release the front on the tent I began the hum that the priest had taught me so well. A sound like rustling grains started to fill my throat. I felt a calm come over me. Shino seemed distracted but kept up pace for work we were doing. Before I knew it the tent was down and my vocal cords seemed to say the tune was done.

“Shino?” I glanced over at him. “Did you find the answers you were looking for?”

“Zen? Do you know what the prophets stone is? Or even where it is?” Shino seemed lost in thought. “All I heard on repeat was the prophets stone.”

“I’ve heard about it from the master scribe Shino. But I don’t really know what it is. All I know is it’s powerful and only the ruling tracker can find it. But I think that’s just a legend.” I thought about that grueling lesson with the master scribe. He had said that a time before towns and the choosing, there had been a realm. A realm where people chose their own fate instead of the artifacts. It almost sounded like the legends that were told about the elves that live past the black mountains. But the main thing that stuck out was the amount of times I had the master scribe poke my forehead with his quill. I still had a round scar from how deep that quill went. It took forever to heal.

“Shino.. I remember the scrolls talking about a time before now. A time so long ago that the master scribe said that history forgot. He said it was the time of legends. People were free from artifacts and the twelve lords were unlimited under a golden king. I wish I could remember something more. But he did mention the prophets stone. It leads heroes to destinies that they could never master.”

“Did I just hear prophets stone and golden king?” Boomed Snell. “Last person I heard talk about those was Drakon. He said he needed to meet the Tracker Lord. Hah. I honestly believed it was me for the longest time. Sometimes I dream I still could. Or at least I dream that I could meet them.”

“Sir?” Whack. I was picking myself up off the ground again.

“Don’t revert on me now Zen.” Snell was almost amusingly looking at me.

“Don’t worry Zen. I did the same thing for a year before I learned.” Zoran was approaching us. Her eye almost sympathetic.

“Snell… I thought those were just legends.” I was still rubbing my lip from where Snell had landed the blow.

“Zen legends are based off truth. The prophets stone and the lost history were real but we can’t tell just how much was actually real. Very few in those time recorded the history.” Snell almost seemed smug that he knew more than the rest of us. “I believe there will be a time where we will have passed this point of history. I believe the lost history and the current history will combine. Most people refer to this future as the chosen history. I among them believe in this dream.”

“Snell we need to find the prophets stone!” Shino almost seemed panicked at this point. “I believe that is were we need to start our search.”

“What makes you so sure Shino?” Snell seemed entertained by the idea.

“I had him listen. I did the same as sir priest did for our naming of our items.” I felt kind of guilty. What if I held up our search for my father by trying to help Shino learn how to listen.

“That Albert has no idea what he did when he taught a child the song of dwarves. And let alone a child the power to listen.” Snell almost seemed as if rage would take him. “No wonder the dark came for you Zen. If you can learn to master the song of dwarves it will never be able to latch on to you. You were a target the first time you hummed the first note.”

“Snell is the song of dwarves that bad?” I started to panic. Was the priest out to get me? Was he working with the dark? Then why would he help me?

“No Zen. The song of dwarves is a very powerful melody. If mastered it means you can quell any anger or fear you ever have. The priests believe that the song was brought by the saint of music. Only problem is when you can subdue your own darkness the external darkness tries that much harder to destroy you.” Snell was finally seeming to settle down.

“Snell you will finally have the bard you wanted for your long trips. Hah. Even eye can see that!” Zoran shrieked at her joke. “ By the way Snell we need to stop by Stoneroot. I need to talk the Heather about our trip. Also need to give her the good news.”

“What’s the good news?” We all jumped with a start as a short blonde came up to us.

“Heather!!!” Zoran shrieked and lifted her high into the air. “Snell we can talk on the way but now to Stoneroot. The home of my love, and the home for my wife.”