The blog of my stories and poetry, including "The Cleansing of Darnuth Keep" my fantasy novel, as well as humorous poetry and other poetry, science fiction and fantasy stories, as well as general writing and blogging information.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Posted by admin on June 5, 2009
There is no darkness in my heart,
Only shadows have lost their way.
The mind, the craze,
the simple thought
That brings to me a lighter sense
I love, I know,
but not quite right
A twisted form of midnight light.
Posted by admin on June 3, 2009
Doctrine comes as
Devily fly. Place your
Rites in spirit’s eye.
To self, to serve to
Others give. Work, learn
life to live.
Posted by admin on June 1, 2009
The Cleansing of Darnuth Keep is a fantasy novel describing the adventures of Colter Halfspear as he becomes a man and an initiate of magical powers.
We sat, both of us staring at the leaf for a long time. I wondered what it meant, how it was possible, and if Pascalli would teach me more. I can only imagine the thoughts he had as the full realization of the power of the curse he had been given settled on his mind.
“At a glance I could have destroyed a forest,” he mumbled bitterly. The look in his eye burned with a hatred that sent shivers down my spine. I had never before seen him filled with dread or indignant anger. That moment was the only one in which I feared for my safety while in his presence, but the moment passed quickly. “Matters have changed, Scratch,” he said with a finality that brought me quickly to attention. “Now you must become fully my apprentice, at least for a short time, until I can find a more suitable master, which I am afraid may not be possible. Clearly Tylos thrust you upon me to break my heart again.” He winked. “On a more serious note, if it is possible to be more serious, I must take you even more into my confidence now. First, you must not share this experience with anyone, ever.”
I already knew that much, and had not intended to tell anyone anyway.
“Second, you must understand that this means that the enemy can use magic.”
That too was obvious.
“Also that these enemies, for there will be more than one of them, will have had probably eighteen or nineteen winters more than you to learn magic. That is to say that there is at least one Kaarum shaman in this world who has been practicing magic since before you were born.” He seemed completely distracted as he spoke.
“What does all this mean for us here and now,” I finally asked him. “Are we still going to Darnuth Keep?”
“Yes, my boy, oh yes,” he replied. “We very much need to get there, now more than ever. You’ve managed to get a decent handle on that pig-poker, but unfortunately I won’t have time to really train you up properly in case of a real duel. Pray, lad, pray. In the meantime our plans do not change, other than you will have to work extra hard.” He caught my resigned sigh. “I don’t mean cooking and cleaning, Scratch, although there will be plenty of that to go around. You’ll find that these old hands can be useful sometimes, and we’ve a third pair now. I hadn’t counted on using magic until now, so you’ll have to learn to deal with that before you’re really ready.”
We rode into last gate early in the morning. The mud houses looked golden gray in the reflected sunlight. Smoke from cooking fires drifted through the still sky. Though a few dogs called out to each other, only our slow wagon stirred the streets. The village seemed as undisturbed by time as by our small intrusion. The enormous wall, built centuries before, loomed like a large dark hand over even the tallest of the buildings. A wide, worn highway wandered north and stopped abruptly at the enormous black gates. Soldiers sat idly atop the parapets, smoking pipes and watching our approach.
Getting the guards of Last Gate to open their ancient charge proved to be much more hassle than anticipated, but Pascalli took it all in with a laugh. Listening to Pascalli haggle with the gate captain did nothing to ease the building sense of dread inside me.
“The Last Gate has not been opened in over a thousand winters,” said Garret, leader of the guards. “Our law strictly forbids it.”
“I know the law,” said Pascalli. “By the light of Tylos, I made the law. I closed the gate. By the demons in Hieron I made the wall.” His eyes were a blaze of fury that quelled the other man. “Now open the gate or I will, and for good measure I’ll leave it open too. Send word to your master that a ragtag named Pascalli has run off with a bandit and the daughter of the great Taradurk through the Last Gate. Have me hunted if you dare, but do not impede me today.”
In the end Pascalli had his way of course. Only the very stubborn and stupid could repel him for long. The great iron gears, whose teeth were each larger than a man rolled painfully along a course they had not traveled in a millennium. A small crack, just wide enough for our wagon, and then they lurched and yelled and slammed shut, leaving us in silence to face a path that no longer led anywhere.
“I had hoped to go on ahead,” said Pascalli. “There is much to be done before winter, but I dare not delay your training Scratch.” He surveyed the broken, overgrown land ahead. The foothills of the Northern Crown lay covered with thick shrubs and tall unhindered timber. Finding a path for the wagon would be both cumbersome and slow. “We’ll try it this way for a day or two and see how it goes. Once there was a very great highway that ran through here, perhaps it has survived the test of time.”
Only long summers of hard labor would uncover the remains of that ancient thoroughfare. We managed to stumble on an occasional brick, but that was more inconvenience than help. The wagon proved to be utterly useless and an even worse hindrance than first thought. After two days the decision became clear. Either we abandon the wagon and make haste to Darnuth Keep or we keep battling the wagon and risk reaching our destination after the first snows. Either way we would be faced with a lack of critical food-stores.
“Well, what shall it be children?” he asked, though I am sure he guessed our thoughts.
“Ride while we can,” I answered.
“I am a huntress,” said Dina. “We can hunt food when we get there.”
“Perhaps we can,” said Pascalli. “If there is anything fit left to eat in these parts. So be it. Pack all of the grain and blankets, the salt, sugar, gear, and as much of the dried meat as possible. We’ll walk if we have to, but we must make haste.”
Something picked up our trail almost immediately after crossing the Gate. I imagine that our entrance into that solitary territory disturbed a great many creatures. I knew that a skillful hunter tracked us nearly from the beginning. A shadow would move, or occasionally a leaf shuddered against the wind behind us or off to one side. Never close enough to hear, always near enough to make me very nervous. Pascalli also knew immediately that we were being tracked. Only Dina appeared oblivious. The first day Pascalli tried to get me to concentrate on the air while we rode, attempting to repeat the same lesson as before. The lesson proved a complete failure as neither of us could divert enough of our attention away from our followers.
Copyright 2008 Kelly David Tolman
On to The Cleansing of Darnuth Keep Fantasy Novel Chapter Thirty Seven
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