The Silver Arrow (23 page)

The sun rested on the horizon
when Samuel walked over to Gabram. He had made his decision.

“I will do anything for my
family,” he said in a tone that left no doubt, “and will stop at
nothing to find them.”

“Good,” Gabram said, pleased
with his decision. “Lowman will work on getting you physically
ready, and he will be waiting for you in the morning.”

Gabram began his instructions
as the sun slowly slip below the horizon.

“The mind is like a spider’s
web, and everyone’s web is different. At the core of each web is
what is known as your true self. Accessing the core brings back
locked knowledge and abilities long forgotten. It allows you to see
beyond regular sight−you may hear and even understand the language
of the earth and many other things hidden from men. A few know how
to command the elements. Once the core is awakened, it cannot be
changed; and for a person not fully prepared, it could drive them
to madness or even kill them. This is the choice we all have to
make.

“Now, there are three things
you need to know and remember before we begin. First, everything
around us is alive and connected. Second, and this lends itself to
the first, every living thing has knowledge in its own sphere. This
means you can seek or use their help; an example of this was when I
called you at the port. I had my call whispered in your ear by the
wind.”

Samuel remembered the feeling,
hearing Gabram whisper in his ears several yards away.

“The third and final thing you
need to understand about the unlocking,” Gabram said, his tone
emphasizing its importance, “is this process does not only awaken
things in your mind, but it also, over time, severs ties to things
and people you love. This process can be accelerated by how much
you use this gift.”

Gabram paused to let the
information sink in before continuing with his instruction. This,
you could say, was the beginning or the turning point in what would
become Samuel’s new life.

They arrived back at the
cottage later that evening. Samuel was exhausted both mentally and
physically, and he fell into bed without remembering to
disrobe.

Samuel was woken up before
sunrise the next morning by Gabram, who didn’t say how early his
meeting with Lowman was going to be.

Still exhausted from the night
before, Samuel dragged himself out of bed, got dressed, and made
his way to meet Lowman, a man of average build with narrow eyes and
jet-black hair tied in a knot behind his head. After several
painful mistakes, it didn’t take long for Samuel to become more
alert, as Lowman showed him different self-defense techniques,
including proper posturing and motion. He showed Samuel the proper
way to cover a blind spot and how to use an opponent’s strength to
his advantage.

“Remember, flow with their
force and let their strength become your energy,” he reminded
Samuel again and again in his instructions.

Samuel learned about the
different pressure points in the human body and how to balance
properly on a horse with a weapon, while Gabram instructed him, in
between his physical training, on the current rulers of the four
Kingdoms and their various customs.

In addition to all this, Samuel
was instructed on the different Patrons that would be gathering
soon to meet him and what each would contribute to the process of
connecting the web that would reveal his true self.

He spent long hours learning
and practicing how to survive different terrains using only
material that would be available in each setting. Lowman taught him
the tricks to hiding in almost plain sight and how to quickly set
up a trap and create a deadly weapon. He learned how the wind
affects velocity and the proper positioning of one’s self, on and
off a horse, when using a weapon such as his bow. While the first
few weeks were overwhelming and exhausting, Samuel quickly picked
up on this training and soon was up almost as early as Lowman, who
was always ready to begin his next lesson.

He’d grown an additional three
inches since he first arrived.

“They are here,” Gabram said as
Samuel turned to face him. He knew, seeing Gabram in his silk blue
Patron’s robe, that this day was going to be different. “Could it
be?” he thought.

“Get your things together,”
Gabram instructed. “We have a long ride ahead of us today.”

So Samuel returned to his room
and changed into clothes suitable for riding.

“One more thing,” Gabram said
when Samuel came back to the main room. “I was asked to give this
to you.” He stretched out his hand, which held a small wooden
case.

As Samuel extended his hand to
receive it, his eyes caught the ring on Gabram’s finger. The ring
seemed to pulsate with flashes of lightning. He’d never seen Gabram
wearing the ring before around the house. As soon as the case
rested on his palm, it made a clicking sound, which caused Samuel
to flinch, almost dropping it.

“What is it?” he asked, his
curiosity piqued.

“That is for you to share,”
Gabram replied.

Samuel opened the unlocked box,
revealing a silver necklace with a black centerpiece that rested
perfectly inside the case. The rectangular-shaped piece was
intricately designed, with a single arrow encircling it like a
serpent.

Samuel thought there was
something familiar about it, like a lost memory he should
remember.

“Iseac wanted you to have it,”
Gabram said. “Go ahead, put it on.”

So Samuel did, placing it
around his neck with the centerpiece resting on his chest.

“We’d better get going, then,”
Gabram said, walking past Samuel, who followed.

They rode from dawn until the
sun was past its zenith when Mount Va’lenna came into view between
the trees. As they trotted up the spiraling mountainside, Samuel
placed his hand over his forehead to shield his eyes from the
sun.

As they got higher, Samuel
could see four large pillars that supported a larger piece
overhead. Each pillar had a symbol on it, but he couldn’t make out
what they were because of the angle of the glaring sun. They soon
arrived at the magnificent structure on top of the mountain. A side
gate led into a courtyard, with the main entrance to the building
on their left.

Everyone, from the moment they
rode in, greeted Gabram as he passed by, and he courteously nodded
his head in response.

They made their way from the
stable to a massive double door that dwarfed those close to it.
When the door closed behind them, it seemed to shut them off from
the world. Gabram took off his shoes, as did Samuel, and they were
handed damp towels by two young men standing at the entrance to an
open room off the main hallway. The young men stood there, waiting
to take away their towels when they were finished.

Once done, they made their way
along the hallway. Samuel started feeling nervous, not sure if he
was ready for what was going to happen next. As if sensing Samuel’s
tension from the way he was looking around, like a bird ready to
take flight, Gabram began to speak.

“We are heading to the Council
room, which is going to be on our right.”

“The place is amazing,” Samuel
thought as he continued to admire the tranquil beauty of the
building. It had a tan marble floor that was an extension to the
one on the wall that rose to his shoulder, covering every
passageway. The rest of the wall from his shoulder up was midnight
blue, like the sky without any clouds. Fire crystals like starlight
were set several feet apart along the way.

“Remember, the Patrons are here
for you,” Gabram said. He led Samuel to a double door that was
intricately designed.

“Wait here until you are
summoned. Don’t worry, you will be fine,” Gabram said before going
in.

* * * * *

In the circle of Patrons,
Thorlak, the chief Patron asked, “Is he ready?”

“Yes, he is ready,” Gabram
replied.

“Everyone needs at least two
years to prepare,” Buldric said. “We all know this could kill
him.”

“Yes, it could,” Gabram said.
“But there is a reason he was chosen by the Anamerian. I do not
know why, but I feel he can do it.”

Some of the Patrons were
concerned and, to a degree, shared Buldric’s view, even though they
said nothing. No one had ever been presented in such a short period
of time before, but they all accepted Gabram’s judgment, nodding
their heads to show their willingness to proceed.

“Very well,” Thorlak said.
“Since there are no objections, let us proceed.” A voice whispered
in Samuel’s ear as he stood outside the chamber waiting. It wasn’t
a familiar voice, but he knew that was his cue. He took in a deep
breath just before he pushed the doors open and walked inside.

The door closed behind him as
he made his way to the center of the circular dome-like room. The
room was so quiet that he heard the sound of his own heartbeat. He
saw the Patrons sitting on straight-backed marble chairs that rose
over their heads. Each chair was built from the ground up with
white marble that made each Patron appear dreamlike as he sat
waiting.

He felt their eyes on him as he
stopped in the middle of the circle facing the chief Patron, as he
was instructed by Gabram.

The room, like the rest of the
building, was cool and crisp. When the chief Patron spoke, his
voice filled the Great Hall. “The Anamerian has found the first,
and Gabram has set his path,” he said ritualistically.

“‘We have come united to
unseal, that heart and mind out of the darkness might see, the
truth once known to all revealed.

“And I so freely offer,” the
chief Patron concluded.

“And I so freely offer,” Gabram
said, as did each person in the room.

Cyriac was the last Patron to
join in agreement, and when he was done, Samuel responded, “I
accept the gift so freely given.” And then there was silence.

The light in the room slowly
became dim, and Samuel suddenly felt alone. A surge of energy like
a drop of rain before a storm started building around him. His body
drew on the source of the energy; he had no control of it as it ran
through every part of his being. The energy settled in his head
with an intensity that could only be compared to a plum smashed
against a rock.

Samuel felt his mind being
seared like silk in a furnace, unlocking unknown chambers in his
mind. He screamed and dropped down to his knees while grabbing onto
his head and trembling uncontrollably. His heart pounded as if it
were going to rip out of his chest. His eyes were shut, squeezed
from pain, but underneath the pain, a sweeter sensation followed of
equal intensity.

Memories once part of him
flooded his mind like a tidal wave as a new fabric began to weave
itself inside his mind, with old ones burning away.

Samuel continued to tremble as
the physical manifestations of the changes going on inside his mind
started to appear externally. Each hair on his head, beginning at
the roots, slowly began to change into silver as if he was being
cleansed from inside. When he opened his eyes again, they glowed
like the moon, as they too had changed.

The arrow around the
centerpiece on his necklace unlaced itself to reveal a sky-blue
crystal, and the single arrow split into two straight ones resting
on opposite sides of a now pure silver frame.

Samuel slowly rose from the
floor, but it was a different person looking around the room. He
had a slight smile on his face as if waking from a dream. He had a
silvery
aura around him like the moon in
the shape of his adult self. When he spoke, it was the sound of a
thousand men held within the bounds of a young man’s voice, but it
carried the strength of one not bound by mortality. His lips did
not move as he addressed the Patrons, staring into their eyes.

The Samuel that now stood in
front of them could see in their faces the energy he’d had to pull
from them for his awakening, but the Patrons all held themselves
up, their faces hiding the strain he could feel from them.

“I can sense an inbalance, and
it is all around us,” the thing inside Samuel said. “The Anamerian
is alive, even though my sense of him is fading due to his wavering
link; it makes it difficult to tell where he’s being held. What
does the Council know about the shift?”

“Bollan, Nor, Tylan, and
Kathleen, protected by the marble seal, have vanished, and one of
them has taken the Anamerian,” the chief Patron said.

“I will find him and my
brothers,” referring to the two others like him, and he began
walking to the door.

“Great Lord of the Moon,” the
chief Patron spoke with the reverence of a servant, stopping Samuel
in his tracks. He turned to look at Thorlak with his eyes shining
bright.

“My Lord, if I may so freely
speak, I do not think the people are ready. You might want to keep
it on the crystal,” Thorlak said. “And your men will be waiting to
follow when you are ready.”

Samuel had forgotten he was
still glowing and would have drawn the attention of everyone in the
building.

“
Tora fanarum
,” he said
and the glow around him faded, leaving only his dim silver eyes. He
walked out the room with the Patrons staring at a true Ackalan,
endowed with the power contained within the scrolls of
creation.

At that point, they remembered
the third record from the prophecies of Ryham: ‘They shall again
return on that day when men shall lose all hope, scarred from the
whips of bondage and death. On their backs will they carry the
wings of freedom for all men.’ They all knew that day was truly
upon them.

Two men dressed in ashen gray
stood watching as Iseac tried to stop himself from falling over
after being shoved into a room he thought was empty. He’d been held
against a wall next to an open door a few minutes before while the
lock around his neck was removed. The guard did not follow as they
shoved him in through the door.