someone will be me.”
The father was certain his son had lost his mind.
“Look at yourself. You know nothing of fighting. You are small and lame. The goblins will snuff you like a candle whenever they choose.”
“They have crushed me already,” Darrow replied, “but I still stand. I can find others. I can’t be the only one willing to fight. But someone has to take the first step.”
Now his father was on his feet. He shouted that Darrow had lost his mind. He warned him to say nothing to his brother, Mempo, who was hiding outside, listening to every word. But even in the face of his father’s tirade, Darrow stood calm and firm. In the end, exhausted by the ordeal, deeply pained by the fate that awaited his son, the father decided to share his deepest secret in hopes that Darrow would grant him one request.
“My son, as you know, your mother died when your brother was born. She was not from Ael. I have never told you this story.
“She and her younger brother were the children of a noble family in a kingdom not far away, but what had been a happy childhood disappeared when they were kidnapped for a horrible task.”
“What did she have to do?” Darrow asked.
“There is a rare spider that lives in narrow crevices in some caves. Evil wizards prize the venom of the spider, for it is an essential ingredient in many of their potions. Children were kidnapped for their small hands and forced to reach into the crevices of the caves where these spiders lived. Your mother and uncle were among the children taken to the caves. When their hands became too large for this task, their captors disposed of them. One day, deep within the cave, your mother and her brother met a hermit who had rescued them. The hermit had led a terrible life, performing many cruel deeds. In his downfall, he found repentance and learned a strange magic that she said arose from forgiving others.
“Your mother used her new powers to tell her father that they were alive and guide him to their hiding place. Her father sailed to Globenwald. He brought soldiers and engaged in a great battle with the wizard. In this battle, your mother used her powers to help her father, but at a crucial moment, her hatred of the wizard returned and her powers failed. Her father was killed. Your mother, now almost seventeen, fled with her brother, the goblin soldiers close on their trail.
“Once the goblins saw them, the goblins fired arrows that struck your mother in several places. Wounded, she knew that she could no longer elude the goblins, so she pretended to be dead so her brother might escape. Before he left, she gave him a gift. I asked about this gift, but she never told me what it was.
“I found her, a stranger, still alive at the side of the trail not far from Ael. I carried her to my home and after a long time she recovered. I never expected her to stay in Ael. After Mempo was born, as she lay on her deathbed, she made one request. She told me that one day you would leave Ael. When you did, I must send you to see her brother.
“So before you go charging the goblins with swords and spears, do me one last favor. Find this uncle of yours. He is a wise man. Seek his advice. Ask for his help.”
Darrow marveled at this story. He had no idea how to begin his quest. Maybe this uncle could indeed be helpful. So he turned to his father and spoke.
“Of course I will go see him. But where does he live?”
“He lives in a forest somewhere on the other side of the plains.”
“And what is this forest?”
“Hexenwald.”
“And what is my uncle called?”
“His name is Asterux.”
• 16 •
A Magical Journey
H
igh in the mountains, the last gasp of winter struggled against the awakening spring. Small patches of snow lay far apart on the ground and the frozen dew painted the landscape with swaths of sparkling white.
His great journey under way, Darrow hardly knew enough to be afraid. In his whole life, Darrow had ventured barely ten miles from Ael.
The father was certain his son had lost his mind.
“Look at yourself. You know nothing of fighting. You are small and lame. The goblins will snuff you like a candle whenever they choose.”
“They have crushed me already,” Darrow replied, “but I still stand. I can find others. I can’t be the only one willing to fight. But someone has to take the first step.”
Now his father was on his feet. He shouted that Darrow had lost his mind. He warned him to say nothing to his brother, Mempo, who was hiding outside, listening to every word. But even in the face of his father’s tirade, Darrow stood calm and firm. In the end, exhausted by the ordeal, deeply pained by the fate that awaited his son, the father decided to share his deepest secret in hopes that Darrow would grant him one request.
“My son, as you know, your mother died when your brother was born. She was not from Ael. I have never told you this story.
“She and her younger brother were the children of a noble family in a kingdom not far away, but what had been a happy childhood disappeared when they were kidnapped for a horrible task.”
“What did she have to do?” Darrow asked.
“There is a rare spider that lives in narrow crevices in some caves. Evil wizards prize the venom of the spider, for it is an essential ingredient in many of their potions. Children were kidnapped for their small hands and forced to reach into the crevices of the caves where these spiders lived. Your mother and uncle were among the children taken to the caves. When their hands became too large for this task, their captors disposed of them. One day, deep within the cave, your mother and her brother met a hermit who had rescued them. The hermit had led a terrible life, performing many cruel deeds. In his downfall, he found repentance and learned a strange magic that she said arose from forgiving others.
“Your mother used her new powers to tell her father that they were alive and guide him to their hiding place. Her father sailed to Globenwald. He brought soldiers and engaged in a great battle with the wizard. In this battle, your mother used her powers to help her father, but at a crucial moment, her hatred of the wizard returned and her powers failed. Her father was killed. Your mother, now almost seventeen, fled with her brother, the goblin soldiers close on their trail.
“Once the goblins saw them, the goblins fired arrows that struck your mother in several places. Wounded, she knew that she could no longer elude the goblins, so she pretended to be dead so her brother might escape. Before he left, she gave him a gift. I asked about this gift, but she never told me what it was.
“I found her, a stranger, still alive at the side of the trail not far from Ael. I carried her to my home and after a long time she recovered. I never expected her to stay in Ael. After Mempo was born, as she lay on her deathbed, she made one request. She told me that one day you would leave Ael. When you did, I must send you to see her brother.
“So before you go charging the goblins with swords and spears, do me one last favor. Find this uncle of yours. He is a wise man. Seek his advice. Ask for his help.”
Darrow marveled at this story. He had no idea how to begin his quest. Maybe this uncle could indeed be helpful. So he turned to his father and spoke.
“Of course I will go see him. But where does he live?”
“He lives in a forest somewhere on the other side of the plains.”
“And what is this forest?”
“Hexenwald.”
“And what is my uncle called?”
“His name is Asterux.”
• 16 •
A Magical Journey
H
igh in the mountains, the last gasp of winter struggled against the awakening spring. Small patches of snow lay far apart on the ground and the frozen dew painted the landscape with swaths of sparkling white.
His great journey under way, Darrow hardly knew enough to be afraid. In his whole life, Darrow had ventured barely ten miles from Ael.
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