The Callindra Chronicles Book One - First Quest by Benjamin Fisher-Merritt Page A

she hamstrung
the animal as it attempted to flee and smoothly sliced its throat
before it could escape.
    Her sword shone in the sun as she whipped him
sharply to remove the deer’s blood from his blade. He was so
bright, her beautiful fang. As she thought this, something clicked
in her mind. Brightfang was his name, she was as certain of that as
she would have been if he had whispered it in her ear.
    “ Brightfang? Aptly named,
well chosen.” She set about gutting the deer using the only sharp
thing she had around; the pace-length, razor sharp edge of
Brightfang. It was easier than she anticipated it being to her
pleasant surprise. Before long she was dragging the animal back to
the rough lean-to she had built in a copse of sweet-smelling fir
trees.
    The familiar cries of the ravens that roosted
above her makeshift home greeted her arrival. Mindful of
scavengers, Callindra poked her fire into life and set about
skinning and butchering her prize. She didn’t have as much
experience preserving food as she did hides, but drying meat didn’t
seem terribly difficult. Keeping it safe from forest creatures
would likely be more of a problem.
    The sun was falling behind the horizon by the
time she had finished cutting the venison into strips and hanging
them over the fire to dry on a lattice of green willow trees. For
her supper she sliced up the deer’s heart and roasted it, knowing
it wouldn’t keep and that it had the most nutrition.
    With a sigh, she decided she could allow the
skin to sit until the morning and after carefully cleaning
Brightfang climbed into bed.
    -
    It was a year to the day since she had left
and it was not without some trepidation that Callindra approached
the homestead. Her clothes were tanned hides of various animals as
the thin wool she had been wearing when she left Glarian to his
fate had long since disintegrated. Although initially she had
thought to make some sort of breeches she eventually adopted a
short skirt out of necessity; she couldn’t make the stitching
durable enough without proper thread.
    Besides, she had to grudgingly admit it was a
lot easier to move when your legs were totally free. After her soft
boots had fallen apart over the winter she made an attempt to make
a pair of shoes but her attempts had failed. After a month she
found her feet had become accustomed to standing up to the
abuse.
    After another month she figured out how to
cushion her feet slightly with air and began to spend entire days
sitting on the peak of the tallest bare hill she could find
meditating and listening to the winds as they blew around her. Once
or twice while moving through the Stances she thought someone was
watching her, but if they were actually there she never saw
them.
    With her nerves on edge she walked into the
clearing and towards the silent house. Upon not seeing any signs of
life she squared her shoulders and opened the door, “Master I’ve
returned…” her words were softened by the layer of dust on every
surface, no one had set foot in this room for months. The door
closed behind her as a breeze curled around her ankles swirling the
dust into the air.
    With a sneeze she walked through the house,
searching for any sign of Glarian but to no avail. Despite the
doors and windows being closed a slight breeze moved the curtains,
catching her attention. She calmed her mind as she had been taught
and the breeze changed to a whisper.
    “ Callindra I am sorry I am
unable to be here to witness your return and personally bestow your
reward upon you. I have instead left it for you in your hidden
place to keep it safe. Keep my sigil against the day we meet again.
I will find you; refrain from looking for me, the path I must now
travel is far too dangerous for a young pup like yourself even if
you are a wolf cub.”
    “ Like hell I’m not looking
for you Master.” Callindra shook her head ruefully as she went into
the tiny room where she had slept; he knew about her hiding place
the whole time did