Arius is the apprentice of a merchant. But when the legends he believed only as stories begin to unfold around him, he quickly becomes something more. From the snow capped peaks of the Rondail Mountains to the enchanted elven city of Sartanae, Arius journeys through Farahdin with his dragon, Guardus, fighting for a cause he believes is greater than any one being-restoring Farahdin to its former glory, a prosperous land where all forms of life can live harmoniously. That harmony once existed under the Ryù, when they were led by the elf Navarro and the dragon Faleor. But after Navarro and Faleor went missing, the Ryù fought amongst themselves for power. The sorcerer Contemno saw an opportunity to usurp Farahdin's benevolent ruler and took the throne for himself. With his increasing power, he stole a magical scepter from the elves that can be used to control the dragons, living or dead. With this threat against the inhabitants of Farahdin, Contemno shattered the peace that once blanketed the kingdom. The shards were left broken for almost a hundred years until a dragon egg hatched for a merchant's apprentice and thrust a young boy into a world of perils. With only Guardus and a small band of friends by his side, Arius must learn to navigate the dangerous realm of magic, legend, and betrayal, or Farahdin may fall to a fate even worse than Contemno.

The Silver Talon

CHRONICLES OF THE RENSU GUILD: BOOK IBy A.J. Cunder

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2010 A.J. Cunder
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4520-1722-8

Contents

Prologue: The Birth of Destiny.............................1One: A Journey Begins......................................10Two: A Message in the Night................................18Three: A Tale of Power.....................................27Four: A Different Path.....................................41Five: Destiny Reborn.......................................56Six: City of the Elves.....................................65Seven: A Ry in Truth......................................87Eight: A Ry's Training....................................92Nine: Lessons in Magic.....................................109Ten: The Frozen City.......................................134Eleven: Departure..........................................144Twelve: The Underground City...............................161Thirteen: A Ry's Feast....................................189Fourteen: A Dwarf's Past...................................200Fifteen: The White Dragon..................................211Sixteen: The King's Plan...................................220Seventeen: Ring of Deception...............................238Eighteen: A Traitor among Them.............................258Nineteen: To Fight a King..................................277Twenty: Dreams and Destiny.................................290Twenty-One: A New Heading..................................299Twenty-Two: Dragon Marked..................................310Twenty-Three: Matris.......................................332Twenty-Four: Servants of the Forest........................347Twenty-Five: The Ferrier of Souls..........................363Twenty-Six: Return to Sartanae.............................382Twenty-Seven: A Familiar Place.............................392Twenty-Eight: Weighty Decisions............................403Twenty-Nine: Calm Before the Storm.........................414Thirty: March to Helsguard.................................422Thirty-One: A Deadly Encounter.............................430Thirty-Two: A New Friend, or Two...........................433Thirty-Three: A Better Solution............................449Thirty-Four: Closer than they Thought......................454Thirty-Five: Arrival at Last...............................461Thirty-Six: To Discover Destiny............................466Thirty-Seven: The Power of Forgiveness.....................485Language Guide.............................................497

Chapter One

A Journey Begins

A gentle snow fell in the land of Farahdin, coating Lodus in white powder as he steered his wagon along a dirt road. He wore a brown jerkin underneath a plain woolen coat, and a wiry, jet-black beard without any trace of gray sprouted from his face like a hedge. His hair was gathered at the nape of his neck, and a small gold ring inset with a sapphire adorned his right middle finger.

A boy sat next to him in the carriage, a thin beard sprinkling his cheeks. His dirty blond hair was cut short in contrast to Lodus' mane. He wore breeches, black boots, and a simple coat. Leather gloves protected his hands, and a short sword with a tarnished silver hilt was housed in a plain leather scabbard buckled to his belt.

Lodus watched the sun fall low in the western sky. "A village lies just ahead. We will lodge there for the night and try to sell our daggers in the morning. If we attract no business, we continue south."

"I wouldn't mind a nice fire and some hot food along with a break from this weather," Arius conceded, rubbing his hands together. The road they traveled ran through the heart of Navarrowood Forest, a smaller province of the larger Roedanth Forest, named after the guardian who had once patrolled the magical woods on the back of a dragon, one of Lodus' legends purported. "Tell me again why they call it Navarrowood Forest," Arius pleaded.

Lodus laughed and ruffled the boy's hair. "All right, that story was always your favorite, so I'll recount the tale of the first dragon rider, or as the elves called him, the first Ry." He cleared his throat. "Navarro was his name and Faleor his dragon." His voice boomed like the troubadours on feast days. "Together, they formed the Order of the Ry and gave peace to the villages and cities across Farahdin." Lodus paused as he noticed the grin on Arius' face. "You don't believe in dragons, do you?"

"Everyone knows they only exist in legend, as do the elves, dwarves, and tales of magic you always tell." "Humph," Lodus interjected. "If you don't believe me, well, that's your prerogative. But I'll tell it to you just the same.

"Dragons were the first inhabitants of this land and remained apart from the elves, dwarves, and humans when they later immigrated to the territory we call Farahdin. They were their own separate society, sequestered behind the Rondail Mountain range far to the north. But several thousand years ago, there came a disaster. The ground shook with unearthly violence, mountaintops came crashing down, and tremors ran through the lands north of Farahdin. The crags in the Rondail Mountains where the dragons nested were threatened by this quake, and so too was the elven village just two leagues from Thiafin's Peak. The skies blackened and the heavens opened, raining down hail the size of human heads, shattering the dragons' eggs as lightning forked from the roiling clouds, flickering as it carved vicious furrows in the earth.

"The dragons tried to protect their young, but the hail ripped through their outstretched wings. Many young dragons died, and many eggs did not survive. The thunderbolts blasted nests, flinging earth and rocks hundreds of feet into the air. The sky was too dangerous for flight. Any dragon that ventured near the heavens would be struck down by the merciless lightning.

"The village didn't fare much better. The vicious storm destroyed homes and killed countless elves, the ground splitting beneath their feet. One elf, only twenty years old and named Navarro, was desperate to save his family and friends. The dragon Faleor-at the time unnamed and about the same age as Navarro-also was frantic to save his kin."

Arius interrupted, "Navarro and Faleor were twenty years old? That's not very young."

"For an immortal it is. Elves and dragons will never die from age and often live for centuries, even millennia if they're careful!" Arius narrowed his eyes, but Lodus shrugged off his disbelief.

"In any case, while they both rushed through the mountain passes, they stumbled upon each other, brushing limb against paw. Suddenly, a dream-like trance ensnared them both; the life of the one flashed through the mind of the other. Navarro and the soon-to-be-Faleor became the first dragon and rider pair, the first Ry, joined together in the time of their most desperate need.

"With Navarro as a focal point, Faleor was able to release his innate magic and stop the hail, abate the lightning that poured from the sky, and cease the destruction that nature had wrought on both the dragon and the elven village. Together, they rescued all of the elves from their mangled homes, ferrying them on Faleor's back over a great chasm that blocked the path to safety. With elven mind power and logic, they helped the dragons rebuild their nests in the quieted air."

Lodus took a breath and wiped the sweat beading on his brow despite the chilly weather. "Without Navarro and Faleor, that village and those young dragons would never have been...