The Crimson Claymore

Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Shivers traveled along Searon’s partially frozen body as he stared through the orange ice, giving the world a lightened appearance. The color made the trees look a dark brown, almost black, eerie. He shivered as the cold ice encased his body. The surrounding orange clouds and deep-brown sky infused him with a lifeless feel. His face was finally free of the ice, and what he heard was far from lifeless. The sounds of animals hit him like a loose pebble tumbling from a cliff, and at first he felt overwhelmed. Life seemed to flow more there than he had ever imagined before. Each plant made a different sound and moved in a different way, as if they whispered to each other as they stared at Searon. Birds of all kinds sang in chorus with each other instead of the sonic competition he’d grown so accustomed to. He could hear the contrast of blue jays, robins, doves, eagles, and so many others he couldn’t name.

Searon studied the trees surrounding him and realized he wasn’t in the same place. His shoulder no longer pained him, and he wondered if something in the ice had healed it. No longer were there bare autumn trees with scattered colorful leaves; now he stared at a forest of pine trees. The scent overwhelmed him with mint from the pine needles strong enough he could taste them in his mouth. He allowed the pleasant smell and taste to settle through his nostrils and mouth, soothing his mind. He recognized the white-and-red cedar trees, thick and bushy with leaves soft to the touch. He also saw white fir trees, tall and thinned through the trunk. The needles were small, filling each branch. Red fir scattered the area, as well, and had different traits than the white fir; they were thicker and held longer needles. Most impressive, though, had been the sequoias draping the land surrounding Searon. The sequoias scraped the sky, nearly touching the clouds. Searon felt like a gnat in comparison. The trees looked older than time.

Searon struggled as he broke an arm free of the ice and fought to rip chunks off of his body. When he became free, he took a few steps forward and stumbled on the rough ground covered in pinecones. He noticed he stood alone, the arrogant wizard nowhere to be found. His horse was also nowhere to be seen, and besides the animals and chilled breeze, sound remained absent. He rubbed his neck, looking at the various bushes on the ground with small green leaves and red berries. His hand brushed against one plant he’d always heard tales of but had never been so deep into the forest to see. It was a fern, one of the most beautiful plants Searon had ever seen. The branches came out with a scattered variety of leaves tapering off the long branches and grew shorter until reaching the end, each branch looking like a long triangle. A smile reached his face as he studied the forest surrounding him until his stomach rumbled from hunger. Behind him, hooves patted against pine needles, crushing them. He felt the hilt of his claymore and swiftly turned around.

Behind him he saw the wizard riding a large, shining brown horse, and his own white-and-black striped horse traveled alongside. The wizard held three rabbits in one hand and two ducks in the other, with a grin upon his face. He tossed the animals toward Searon, who had been about to say something about being dragged to such a place, but fell silent as his stomach grumbled even louder.

“Well, don’t just stand there. Prepare a fire!” the wizard barked.

Searon hurriedly organized small branches and logs in a cube, wedging dried pine needles and bark between the legs. Carefully, he pulled out his flint and steel, making sparks to light the dried needles. His stomach barked with hunger. He carefully tied the rabbits and ducks to branches with green vines to spin around the fire.

“What is wrong with you, old man? You can’t just force people to go where you choose,” Searon spat.

“Of course I can. I’m a wizard. You’re just being stubborn.” Karceoles smirked.

“Who’s more stubborn, the one who doesn’t agree, or the one who drags him along anyway?” Searon grumbled staring at the orange pool of water at his feet.

“You’ll learn that I always get my way. If you weren’t going to come of your free will, then I knew I would have to pursue other avenues of convincing you,” Karceoles snickered.

“What is it going to take to get rid of you?” Searon snapped.

“Come with me to the kheshlars, and ask for their assistance,” Karceoles said, motioning forward.

“What makes you think they will join our cause?” Searon asked. The course of action the wizard wanted to take seemed useless, knowing the stories of kheshlars. Searon remembered the stories told of a selfish race who only cared for themselves and the trees.

“They won’t … but one will.”

“One? One. You froze me in a block of ice to drag me halfway across Calthoria for one bloody kheshlar!” Searon spat.

“Yes,” Karceoles paused. “Let me explain,” he sighed, pulling out a long-stem pipe he carefully filled with tobacco. “A long time ago, a kheshlar touched the untouchable. She did what every other kheshlar was too scared to do, in an attempt to save her own mother. For the kheshlars, dark magic is forbidden, but that was precisely what she studied. Foolishly, she thought dark magic was the only way to save her mother. The problem with dark magic is it is too powerful for a single person to control, and she was consumed by it. Her sister was forced to murder her to prevent her use of the dark magic further. When they searched for her remains, they were nowhere found.

Dark magic is a very powerful thing,” he continued. “It can reverse death, but it comes with a cost. The dead walk in a shell of their former selves. That particular kheshlar, filled with dark magic, strayed away from the other kheshlars until she found the draeyk settlements. With her intelligence, she united the draeyk tribes with her as their leader. Then she launched an attack against her own kind. The only thing she had left was revenge, revenge for the kheshlars killing her. This was nearly a hundred years ago when the kheshlars defeated her. She fled, injured, never to be seen again. Her sister still lives. I have a feeling that for the kheshlars, there is still a need to know what happened to their kin who strayed away from the path of the light.”

“And this sister is the one you seek?” Searon asked.

“Ah, yes. You are smart indeed, boy. Blood is thicker than water, they say. Well, I say they are fools. Blood is thicker than molasses, and twice as sweet.”

“What is her name?” Searon asked.

“Starlyn is her name. What do you think this remaining Starlyn desires more than anything?” Karceoles asked.

Searon thought for a moment before stating the obvious. “She wants to find her sister. Depending on her condition, help her come back to how she was.”

Karceoles grinned. “Yes, you do learn quickly.”

“And her sister is with the draeyks?”

“She was, years ago. I do not know where she is now, but Starlyn thinks she is, and she spends a lot of time hunting draeyks. The sister does not matter, what matters is an alliance with the kheshlars, and if they believe she is with the draeyks that can be an advantage.”

“And if she’s not?”

Karceoles grinned from ear to ear, “We’ll improvise. Kheshlars are very protective of their lands … and all those who tread on it.”

“I can see your logic, wizard, and so I will assist you, but if this doesn’t work, I’m off on my own way,” Searon said reluctantly.

“Fair enough,” Karceoles agreed.

“So where is this kheshlar?”