Blood of War

Blood of War Read Online Free PDF

Book: Blood of War Read Online Free PDF
Author: Remi Michaud
a massive earthquake had caused the land just south of the fortress to flood with what was now the Sun Sea.
    About a hundred years after the abandonment, Andrus had informed Jurel, a Salosian brother, hiding from the roving bands of the then newly formed ranks of the Soldiers of God, had happened upon this place and had sent out the message to all Salosians. Its remote location and the fact that it had been largely forgotten by the kingdom and the prelacy had made it an ideal place for the Salosians.
    Its martial mien remained. The wall towered some forty feet over their heads, and this side door that led out to the small plain beyond was set inside a tunnel some eight or ten feet long.
    In the near distance, beyond tall grasses that waved gently in the mild summer breeze, the treeline to a dense forest ringed the grounds like a border.
    By unspoken consensus, Jurel and Gaven made their way for the forest. As they walked, they spoke.
    “I heard you had some trouble earlier this afternoon with Andrus.”
    Jurel snorted. “Yeah. You could say that.” He shook his head as he stepped over a depression almost hidden in the carpet of grass. “He's just...he's so...” At a loss for words, Jurel simply went silent.
    “Birdlike? Boring? I've spoken to a few acolytes who are in his regular classes-”
    “Female acolytes, no doubt.”
    Gaven ran a hand through his hair and grinned boyishly. “Maybe. Anyway, they all agree on two things: One, he's a good man who simply wants to educate; two, he's as interesting as mud.”
    “And he's persistent.”
    “Okay, three things everyone agrees on then.” They shared a laugh. “So then what happened today? Why did you kick him out of your room?”
    So Jurel related the story of his experience during his trance. When he was done Gaven winced.
    “Ouch.”
    “Yeah. Ouch.”
    His mood curdled by the memory, Jurel strode into the shade of the first trees silently. Gaven hurried to keep up. He was tall, but not as tall as Jurel; Jurel's natural walk was a long stride that most people could only keep up with by loping.
    “So what are you going to do?”
    That was the question. That was what Jurel had been mulling over for weeks. What would he do? What could he do? He was supposedly a god but he could not touch his power. He was supposed to be the herald of some great future but he could not let go of the past.
    Sensing his friend's mood, Gaven changed the subject and soon they were off meandering along game trails that wound along the forest floor exchanging jokes and gibes until, after nightfall, they returned to the Abbey where Jurel sought his bed.
    Though Gaven had been moderately successful in raising Jurel's spirits, Jurel still fell asleep with dark thoughts and darker memories hanging over him like a shroud.
    * * *
    The sun shone on grasses that glittered with a million dew drops and the whole field seemed like a giant emerald. He stood on that emerald, breathing deeply the scent of wild flowers and he smiled. When he looked up at the sky, a sky so blue, so pristinely, purely blue that it would have made any artist weep with envy and lust, he let his breath out slowly.
    He turned, his black armor with the strange gold-gilt swirls making a sound like a footstep in fresh snow, knowing what he would see, surprised that he did not. The field was empty. Where were his men? Where were his armies? Confused, his smile fading, he turned again, and again. But the field was most definitely empty.
    What had his father called this place? His place. This was his place. He did not quite know what that meant but he knew it was significant. He thought about that for a while, playing his father's words in his mind over and over again— “Here, I will begin you on your path: It is your place.” —trying to pry loose anything new like someone might pick his teeth after a feast. But there really was not much to work with.
    Your place.
    Perhaps he should sit, get comfortable, give himself time to
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