Endure - Sara B. Larson Page 0,16

did know about his father. I almost reached out to lay my hand on top of his, but he sat so stiffly, no longer looking at me, that I didn’t dare. It wasn’t my place to offer him comfort.

“Perhaps you had better find out what we are facing. To beat your enemy, you must know him. You must understand him. And if this knowledge has been passed down through the kingship and sorcerers of Dansii, then Antion is the only one left ignorant,” Eljin said.

“We are also the only ones left barren, stripped of sorcery, thanks to King Hector.” I wondered how different my life would have been if Hector hadn’t had every sorcerer in Antion put to death. If he hadn’t been intent on starting a war with Blevon and crushing our people with his vile acts in the name of battle.

Eljin was silent for a long time, most likely warring within himself. Trying to decide if he could really share his knowledge with me. Finally, he shut his eyes and swallowed once, hard.

“As you know, our temple is called Sì Miào Chán Wù, which means ‘Temple of Awakening to Truth,’ ” he began, and I held my breath, hoping he’d continue. “It’s called that because when a sorcerer goes there, he or she is taught the truth of how sorcerers came to be, and the sacred oath our people made.

“Hidden deep inside the temple is the original source of our power, a small waterfall with water the color of gold. Mokaro, a former king of Blevon, found it many hundreds of years ago with his brother, Delun, long before you or I were born. He and his brother were hiking through the Naswais Mountains behind their castle. Mokaro was on a spiritual quest, praying for answers on how to strengthen his kingdom and protect his people, and his brother had accompanied him to protect him in his weakened state. Mokaro was led deep into the heart of the mountains, where he found the waterfall.

“He felt drawn to the strange water and, when he approached it, he heard a voice, telling him to drink from it — but only once. He was warned that the consequences of drinking from it again would be dire. When King Mokaro drank from it, he fell to the ground, unconscious. His brother, who hadn’t heard the voice, also drank from the water, and he, too, fell unconscious on the ground. Mokaro had a dream where the voice spoke to him again — the Unseen Power — and told him he had been given a gift to protect his people. This king was a good man, and he swore he would only use this power for good. He and Delun awoke as sorcerers, and they returned to the castle.

“King Mokaro and Prince Delun kept their secret until the day Mokaro realized his sons had been born with the same power given to him. This king took his sons to the waterfall and told them what had happened there many years before. While they were there, the Unseen Power’s voice came again — only this time, all three of them heard it. The voice charged King Mokaro and his sons with the duty of protecting the well. The king had the temple constructed around it, hidden deep in the mountains, and had the pathway to the temple guarded day and night.

“Years passed without incident, until Mokaro’s sons began to grow into men and their powers grew stronger. Prince Delun was a well-intentioned man, but he had a weak heart and was prone to jealousy. He only had the power to manipulate water and earth. He couldn’t use his power to fight, as his brother, the king, and his nephews, the princes of Blevon, could. Unhappy with his gift, he began experimenting.”

Eljin stared ahead unseeingly, lost in the story, his voice almost mournful. I trembled with a strange, unnameable emotion that was part fear and part sorrow as he continued.

“Through his experiments, Delun found ways to increase his power, but it came at a horrible cost. He became the first black sorcerer. He gathered some followers behind his brother’s back. Over the years, his jealousy had twisted his love for his brother into hatred and bitterness, until one night, he led an attack on the castle. He hoped to kill King Mokaro, who was now very elderly, and take possession of the temple and the fountain of power.

“Mokaro and his sons fought Delun, the black sorcerer,