Ascendants of Ancients Sovereign - By Phillip Jones Page 0,40

by one name? Shouldn’t midnight be a single moment?”

Mosley thought a while. “I suppose if our world understood your names for designated moments, it would be easy to call a single moment midnight. But since we don’t, let’s move on, shall we?”

Shalee and Sam shook their heads as Mosley continued. “When the sun is about to rise, we call this dawn, or morning. It was the Collective who named the moments of dusk, evening, dawn, morning, night, and midnight.”

Sam grabbed the hair on his head, looked at Shalee, back at Mosley and then spun around with his hands in the air. He laughed. “The people are so primitive. I wonder where these “so-called” gods got some of those names, Earth maybe? How in the heck do you live without clocks?” he asked, motioning to Mosley. “Hasn’t anyone ever thought to … ummm … I don’t know, maybe create a sundial or something?”

Mosley tilted his head. Once Sam realized the wolf had no idea what he was talking about, he turned and adjusted his attitude. He knew his tone would get him nowhere, and Shalee was giving him a look. “Okay, okay,” he sighed. “I’ll explain what a sundial is later. Shalee, let me have your watch. I’d like to get an accurate account of how long a Peak is here.” Sam turned to Mosley. “How many Peaks are there in a year?”

Again, Mosley looked puzzled and waited for Sam to explain. The fighter rolled his eyes. “Okay, okay. I’m 23 years old, and where I’m from, it takes 365 Peaks to make one year of my life.” He pointed to Mosley. “Do you understand?”

The wolf thought he understood. “I’m old. Many seasons have come and gone since my Peaks as a cub.”

“What do you mean by ‘seasons?’” Sam replied. “I’ve heard that expression more than once.”

Mosley grinned in his wolfish way. “The season we’re experiencing is called summer. We determine our age by the seasons. I was born in the winter and became one season old when the next winter arrived. The next winter I became two seasons old. This continued each winter until I arrived at the age I am now, which is none of your business. Sam, you said you were 23?”

“I did.”

“In what season were you born?”

“I was born in the spring,” Sam replied, knowing full well what the wolf was going to say next.

“We also have a spring, and a fall. The seasons go in the order of winter, spring, summer, and fall and then back to winter again. This would make you 23 spring seasons old.”

Sam laughed. “I understand, but that doesn’t tell me how long a year is on Grayham. It does tell me how you figure out your ages, so for that, I thank you. I’ll have to figure out the rest on my own. At least the names of the seasons are the same. Sounds like your gods were too lazy to think of their own labels for what they created. I swear, I feel like I’m in a nightmare. How can any of this be real? I need to pinch myself.”

Shalee nodded. “I totally agree.”

Mosley shrugged as he responded. (Fellow soul ... I hope you can imagine how it looks when a wolf shrugs.) “I told you the gods wanted to make your transition into this world as easy as possible. This is good, is it not ... considering you feel you were brought here against your will? Perhaps the seasons were named the same for this reason. I don’t know why you would want to pinch yourself, Sam. I’m sorry I’m not more helpful. If I knew more, I would answer to your satisfaction. However, I’m sure Bassorine will know the answers you seek.”

“Okay, okay. You said Brandor is many Peaks from here. I’m assuming since you don’t have clocks, then you probably don’t have cars either. Are we riding horses, walking, or ... I don’t know, river rafting or something? Give it to me straight. How many Peaks from here is Brandor?”

While he waited for Mosley’s response, Sam studied the countryside. Everything he could see was fascinating. It was all green. The valleys and mountain ranges stretched far beyond his view. He marveled at how clean the air was. It had not been poisoned like it had been on Earth. It was crisp, fresh, and pleasant. He took a deep breath.

Shalee jumped in before Mosley could speak. “Yeah, exactly how far are we going? And by the way, I’m