As Cal’edor lay in the long grass he felt weary, all those moons ago his now bandaged wounds wouldn’t have even slowed him down but now the years were catching up with him. His once blond locks now grey and he was tired, deep in his bones, soon he would move beyond this world and on to the next.
Not that this held fear for him, 172 years was a long time and he had done more in his life than many could dream of, seen things most people wouldn’t believe, loved… and lost.
The people of the village had offered him a place to stay, a soft bed, hot food, but he had no interest in those things. He had been shown the wonders of the world and now felt most uncomfortable sleeping without the stars looking down on him. He knew so many names and stories about those stars, each night as they lay together Lyssa would spin her tales, Elven princesses crossing the night sky, the pride of Wizards and Warlocks and beings on unimaginable power looking down on their little world…
He shifted against his bedroll, settling in for the night, closed his eyes and as he had every night prayed:
“Dol Arrah by your grace I serve, thank you for all you have given me, please watch over my love that I may be with her again soon”
…
Cal’edor knew he was dreaming, the sky was a bright blue, the world was just too perfect, this was not his world.
His blade was gone, he had carried that blade by his side for the best part of half a century he would never let it leave his side. He looked down and saw he wore fine silk clothes, not his normal travellers fare, he would never wear this, he hadn’t worn anything like this since…
He span instantly at the scent, he had missed it at first but now it filled his senses, a smell he had not experienced in so long. There she stood in front of him, the vision of beauty he remembered.
Allyssa…
He dreamed of her each night, but here she was always like a half forgotten dream, colours muted by the passage of time, but not this time, now she stood so vibrant in front of him as if he could reach out and touch her.
As if she could read his thoughts her hand reached out to brush his cheek, he felt her warm soft touch and she smiled, smiled as she had done all those years ago and melted his heart.
He scooped her into his arms vowing to never let go again.
“Cal, we must talk, we don’t have long so just listen okay”
He knew when she was being serious, this wasn’t the time for games, something important was going on, he nodded his agreement.
“You have already given so much but you have one last thing to do before your done. Don’t ask why just please trust me, The Blade of Dawn must find the 4, the 4 who can help you. Through them you can finally do what must be done, they won’t be easy to find but you must succeed”
Looking into her eyes he saw flashes of people he had never met and her voice in his head:
The Brass-armed Tinkerer
The Wizard of the Sands
The Lightning Pilot
The Clockwork Man
“One way or another this will be your final journey, it may last a day, a year, a decade, I can’t say but this is the path you must take, and these will be your companions”
She looked up at him and he felt her press something into his hand, squeezing it closed around the item.
“There are so many eyes on you now Cal, some want to help, others would like nothing more than to see you dead. Please Cal, be careful, come back to me”
…
Cal’edor jolted awake, lying on the grass he found himself already grasping something painfully tight, by the light of the moon he opened his hand and saw the leather thong he always wore round his neck with a lock of her hair preserved in a perfect moment by magic. He never took it off, had he undone the strap during the night?
He rolled to his side, propping his head on his hand looking out over the hills, the grand city of Sharn twinkled in the distance. He sighed, sat up and began to pack away his makeshift camp, Cal’edor found himself smiling as he did “She never could stay put for long, always rushing off in search of the next story” and with all he owned in the world on his back he began toward the city…
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