Free Source Of The River by Lana Axe

spoke to her anyway, so walking in silence was fine with him.
    As they reached the village, River said, “I should
let my father know about tomorrow.”
    Lenora nodded. “I’ll see you tonight.” With a
smile, she turned and headed up the hill to her parents’ home.
    River approached his father’s home in the silver
tree and saw Galen waiting out front. “Afraid to wait inside?” he asked jokingly.
    “Ryllak isn’t exactly my first choice for fun
conversation,” Galen replied. “Anyway, I didn’t have anything else to do.”
    “Aren’t you supposed to be copying scrolls in the
archives? It’s required for your apprenticeship as a chronicler.”
    “Sometimes I have doubts about my choice of
profession. The words themselves interest me more than the histories,” he
admitted.
    “You want to write something else then?”
    “No,” Galen replied. “I think it’s the words and
letters themselves that I like.”
    “Maybe you should focus your attention on calligraphy,”
River suggested.
    “Maybe,” Galen said. “What have you been up to? I
didn’t see you by the waterfall.”
    “After I visited with the Spirit, I went for a
walk with Lenora.” His face lit up when he said her name.
    “I see,” Galen said, taunting his friend. “Did
anything interesting take place? Anything you are dying to share the details
of?” He grinned and nudged River with his elbow.
    “Nothing,” River said, shaking his head. “She does
have her Coming of Age Ceremony tonight. She promised to dance with me.”
    “Nice,” Galen replied, nodding his approval. “I’ll
tag along. I wouldn’t want to miss a party.”
    “I need to speak with my father, so I’ll see you
later,” River said. With a wave to his cousin, he stepped inside to find Ryllak
sitting in his library.
    “Father,” he began, “I have some news.”
    Ryllak shut the book he was reading and motioned
his son to have a seat. “You’re leaving the Vale,” he said.
    “How did you know?” River asked as he took a seat
next to his father.
    “The look in your eyes. You’ve never been away,
and you’re afraid.”
    River looked down at the ground, ashamed of his
apprehension. Never before had he traveled outside the Vale and the woods that
surrounded it. A journey to the mountains may as well be a journey to the moon.
    “Having fear does not make you a coward. Fear
prevents us from jumping into things that could be dangerous. If the Spirit has
given consent for this journey, then it is necessary for you to go. Doing what
must be done despite your fear is what makes a person courageous.”
    River nodded, taking his father’s words to heart.
Ryllak always knew how to make him feel better, even when he had been singled
out as a child. Ryllak had known his son was special and destined for great
things. He accepted his role as River’s father with great pride, and he hoped
to guide him until his own journey came to an end.

Chapter 14
     
    A s Darvil was
preparing to leave for town, he noticed a small group of dwarves crossing the
field to his home. There were three of them, but from a distance he could not
tell who they were. He rushed back to the farmhouse, hoping the men weren’t
looking for a fight. Kaiya’s abilities were strange to him, but he knew she was
capable of inflicting great harm. He had witnessed her powers occasionally as
she practiced, and her magic was terrifyingly strong at times.
    The three men paused outside the door to converse,
giving Darvil the time he needed to reach them. He was relieved to recognize
two councilmen, Anid and Gerry. They were known to him and had always been
fair-minded dwarves. He was less pleased to see that Rudi, foreman of the
mines, had come as well. Rudi was known to be a hothead, and he never seemed to
know when to shut his mouth.
    “Mornin’,” Darvil said to the men. “What brings
you out here?”
    Anid stepped off the front porch first, a friendly
smile on his lips. The majority of his face was