Chapter 6
The Pillar-dweller
Pushing his shuddering legs those final few steps, Otchigen held his breath and leaned against the stout quarterstaff he held in his right hand, given him as a final blessing by the Dar himself. By this time, four days into his journey, calluses from the rubbing of the oak-wood had formed over the soft, blistery flesh—an embarrassing reminder of how much of a city-dweller he had become. Many were the days in his youth when he had spent weeks in the wild, hardening his body in preparation for an ordeal. Now, even his sword-hand had become soft. He hadn’t realized it, not until these days in the wild. It made him think that perhaps he knew even less about himself than he thought he did.
Finally, he crested the peak. It had taken him most of the day to slog up
