Free Stranded Mage by D.W. Jackson Page B

exclaimed as the port came into view. The sun was close to ending its arc in the sky only barely peeking over the horizon lighting up the port in bright orange and red.
    Crusher felt Avalanche rubbing up against his leg. Looking down he saw the pain in the creature’s eyes. “Ya worried about tha lad ta, eh boy?” At Crusher’s words the large rock hound whined and looked back out toward the water.
    He wasn’t sure where Thad might be but he knew where the lad would go if he was still alive. Thad had made it no secret that he planned to return to the Farlan palace and that was where Crusher intended to wait for him.

CHAPTER VII
    Though the city was beautiful there was little for Thad to. The marketplace only held the most mundane of objects, meant for the bare essentials of living. With little to do Thad made his way back to the house of Emeriss.
    The day before when he had arrived Thad had not been keen on looking around, but now in the full light of day he could fully see and appreciate the splendor of the great house. Every inch of the front of the house had been decorated with carvings of every kind; trees, falling leaves, elves dancing, and animals of every kind. The great door easily stretching ten feet high was the greatest of masterpieces. Instead of being made of large planks the door was made of oddly shaped sections no bigger than his hand, each one carved with its own individual design.
    Thad ran his fingers over the individual pieces, tracing the intricate designs with his fingertips. It didn’t take Thad long to notice the tiles told a story when viewed from left to right. The small words were slightly different than the common tongue but Thad was able to understand them for the most part. It was the small carvings that really brought the story to life before his eyes and it was apparent to Thad that it was a story of the elves creation by their god.
    In a time when the gods wept for the loss of their mother they retreated from the world of men. The eldest god Alomar who shared his mother’s love of nature went to the east where great and large forests flourished and animals of every kind lived in harmony to weep for his loss. His heart heavy laden with pain he spent centuries alone but the burden of loneliness weighted heavily upon him.
    A large silver leaf maple heard the cries of his heart, and gave up to him a small seed that its beauty may be a balm upon his heart. Alomar planted the seed pouring his lonely heart into it as it grew.
    When the young silver leaf maple had reached an age of maturity, a young elf maiden steeped from the boughs of its trunk and approached the grieving god. The maiden was far lovelier than anything the god had seen before and he quickly fell in love. From this union elves were born into the world.
    Thad’s fingers lingered on the carvings for a brief moment and he once again recalled his parting with Brianna. Every time he thought of her death he was overwhelmed with a sense of great loss as if everything in the world had lost its color and meaning. He had never cared much for the personal wrongs the world seemed to heap upon his shoulders. He had always been plagued with some misfortune or another and at some point deep inside he had accepted that as his lot life, but why did his misfortune have to include Brianna.
    Small sparks of energy arched across his fingers as he opened the door to the large house. As he mindlessly wandered the halls Thad looked at his hand. There was so much magical energy in the area he could tap into without thought. Thad had a few guesses as to why it was so strong but nothing concrete. It could be a natural occurrence but most likely the elven god stayed much closer to his children than they might believe.
    “Do you require aid My Lord,” a shaky voice said from behind Thad.
    Thad turned to see that the elf was looked upon him his eyes wide with fright. Thad was confused at the elf’s demeanor until he noticed his whole body had tendrils