God Mage - D.W. Jackson Page 0,44
days straight.”
“And at night I can still see wisps smoke in the distance,” Cass argued. “There is no telling how strong or skilled their mage or mages are. We need to keep pushing forward until we can find a more secure place.”
Bren could tell that none of the ladies liked his decision, with the exception on Phena who was of the same mind. The only real rest any of them got from the road was purchasing new horses and some supplies.
As he mounted, it felt nice to have something else do his walking for him even if it meant that his back would be sore for a day or two. His horse was a little thinner and had less muscle than his last horse, and even as unknowledgeable as Bren was, he knew that the horse was not meant for long rides. With the small selection they had to choose from, it was the best he could hope for.
As soon as they reached the exit to the village, Bren noticed that Hayao was acting was nervous that normal. The man always looked as if he was watching for someone to have a go at his back, but now he looked strung so tight that he might snap at a whisper.
Carefully, Bren nudged his horse to ride alongside the wary man. “Everything okay? You look as if a demon is lurking behind every shadow,” Bren said after the man had acknowledged his presence.
“The Deadlands are just past those hills,” Hayao said, nodding his head toward the direction they were traveling. “As the elders of my village told you, we send a few children, usually before their tenth birthday to the lost city every few years. What he didn’t tell you was that those chosen are from low families or ones that are not…looked well upon. As children, we are told stories of the Deadlands and the horrors that live within. Honestly, it is not a place I wish to go nor a place we should go.”
“Whether we should go or not is not a question,” Bren replied with a deep sigh. “We have to go…. Or at least I do. If you do not wish to go, then you may turn back at any time. This is my quest, and no one else should have to carry a burden they do not wish to carry.”
Hayao shook his head. “Where you go, I go,” he said adamantly. “I have sworn to follow you and your family until my line dies out and returns to the ether. If I go back on that oath, I might as well end my life and line here; otherwise, my family shall be forever cursed.”
“I will freely release you from your oath,” Bren began to offer, but the look on Hayao’s face made him quickly reconsider.
“An oath cannot be released nor taken back; otherwise, it would have no real meaning,” Hayao said darkly as he looked to the massive storm clouds that spread out across the horizon. “I have found you an interesting and honorable man. I have always been taught that for those who walk a path, there is always a reason for that path, and I would like to know the reason and outcome of yours.”
“I have told everyone that I am just looking for a way to return my father to me and my family,” Bren said as his eyes wandered to the dark overcast sky.
“Yes, you have said that, but that is not what I meant,” Hayao said with a short huff that was as close to a laugh that the man came to. “I want to know the reason the world has put you on this path. All things are from the ether, and to the ether all things return. In our lives the world sets the paths in front of us, and we chose which to take, but each one has a meaning—one that most of us never see for what it truly is.”
“I don’t think I can believe that,” Bren said, shaking his head. “If that was true, wouldn’t that mean that there was no such thing as free will and personal choices? That would mean that nothing I did was of my own accord. I think life would lose a little luster if that was the case.”
“You only hear half of what you listen to my friend,” Hayao said with a shaded smirk. “There are many paths, and we chose the ones we wish to take, but that does