CHAPTER 23
Destiny is a layered maze,
A twisting labyrinth
With thousands of dead ends
And even more unseen possibilities.
No one can fathom their destiny.
-FROM THE BOOK OF ST. ALBANS-
Cedric settled down onto the flat plain just outside the small, fortified city of Oslon. Climbing out of the saddle I tried to stretch and revive the numbed, almost-frozen body of mine. The birds of Gawain and Gawaith came gliding in for a soft landing on either side of me. Glancing at the faces of my two young wards I smiled. They–like me—were almost frozen to the bone. A dozen yards away the serpentined, leathery winged form of Ankor Mauk’s Winged Beastie, Upasha, settled into the snow. Immediately he curled his head and long spiked tail around himself and folded his wings tightly around the moment
