Free Once We Were Kings (Young Adult Fantasy) (The Sojourner Saga) by Ian Alexander, Joshua Graham

that unquenchable thirst for knowledge.  The very thirst which over the years had driven him to liberate the multitude of books from Bobbington's dust-blanketed library—if you could even call it a library.  They were probably artifacts he'd either inherited or found.  Render had never actually seen Bobbington read. 
    Now, with unlimited resources at his disposal, Render devoured knowledge like a starved cat.  Which did he enjoy most, Astronomy, History, Philology?  And then, there were the arts: painting, sculpting, and music—the lute became his instrument of choice.  There was always one more line of music to master, one more vista to paint.  Sir Edwyn had to chase him from the classroom nearly every night. 
    After two and a half fortnights, the only discipline in which Render failed to excel was the one he cared for least:  The Martial Arts.  Weapons, armor, tactics, and mounted combat.  Of what use were these to him in this enlightened society which was now his home?  How much more satisfying to wield a paintbrush than a longsword.
    "Daylight is fleeting, Render."  Edwyn stood at the door to the Artist's Chamber.  He stretched and yawned and said, "Need I remind you of the rules, again?"
    "I'm almost finished," Render murmured, unsatisfied with the way the blazing amber hues of the setting sun illuminated the back of the mountains in his painting.  At least, he presumed it was sunlight.  Still, something in it resembled fire, a beautiful inferno behind the hills.
    Sir Edwyn approached and peered over his shoulder.   He then made that growling noise which meant he was trying to understand.  He pointed at the painting  "Surely you've never been there before."
    "How could I?  This place exists only in my thoughts, my dreams."
    "Oh, no.  No, no, no.  I assure you, this place does indeed exist.  But there is little chance you have been there.  Perhaps you've seen other paintings?  Though, I doubt—"
    "I have been seeing it in my dreams, in my sleep and during my more contemplative waking moments.  But never have I seen it with my eyes.  Nor have I derived such a landscape from other paintings or drawings.  It's original."
    Edwyn rubbed his beard and squinted.  "So real, though.  Are you certain you haven't ever been there, beheld it?"
    "I've been a slave since childhood.  Aside from my little adventures with Kaine and the twins, I've never wandered far from Talen Wood.  At a great distance have I seen the eastern mountain range, from the top of Smyth's Hill.  But it looks nothing like this."
    "No, it does not.  The view from Talen Wood could not reveal this westward perspective."  Edywn pushed his way in front of Render who, without question, stepped aside.  "What you have depicted here, and with remarkable accuracy I might add, is not visible from Smyth's Hill.  This here is the tallest of all mounts and deepest into the desert.  It separates Valdshire Tor from the Eastern Kingdom."
    "Tian Kuo?
    "Yes." He pointed to the subject of the painting, lit up with a fiery glow.  But the sun didn't set over the Western side of that mountain.  That was what seemed wrong and caused Render to suspect that the light he painted was not in fact sunlight, but perhaps fire.  Edwyn continued.  "This is Mount Handara, subject of legend and lore.  But more importantly, it is a natural barrier between us..." he pointed out the window to the east, "...and them."
    How had he seen it so clearly?  And why?  Render gazed upon the painting which for some reason did not seem like something he could have created.  Although he recalled the sensation of the brush in his hands, the strokes against the canvas, and the image coming to life before his very eyes, it all seemed oddly detached.  As if someone or something else had painted it.
    "In any case," said Edwyn, beginning to clean up the classroom, "it is late and you were supposed to have been in your room by now."
    Render placed all his brushes in the