T'Lan'toria

Chapter One

Chapter 1

Kelaine and Joel flew over the ridge on Tanreal. Flying had always been a fun outlet for the group but now it had a purpose. Three days ago, two young men and a slave had decided to go venturing over the mountains ____ and into the Wilds. Leaving only a note behind saying they would be back in a day or so, the youths had tromped off with reckless abandon- at least, that was Kelaine's opinion. Journeying into the Wilds was forbidden by the Klicch and ordinarily anyone who wandered and went missing would have just been stricken from the records. But one of the boys wasn't just an ordinary boy; he was the only son of the Regent Taringael, personal advisor to the Klicch. Which is why Kelaine, Joel and Tanreal were on a fools mission to bring them back.

The Wilds was a large, unruly region south of Corun, a small village on the border of Nakia. It was home to all sorts of wild and strange things- things that were "unmentionable" and forbidden inside the Klicch's realm.

"Today is a wonderful day for flying, isn't it Tanreal?" Joel asked, patting the black, scaly neck of the Nerea. Tanreal, half bird and half lizard, only nodded his beak.

Kelaine grumbled at his ever cheery sister, "Too bad we have to spend it looking for those blasted kids. Let's just hope they haven't gone too far. Otherwise, it will be our necks the Klicch will want."

"Sour today? Don't be so negative! Just look at the day. Besides I'm sure they haven't gone past the Noreinta."

"Well, if they have, then the Gijnites will have them and we'll be on the short end of the stick. You see, the problem is, no one really believes that T'lan'toria ever existed or that the things in it exist. And it's not as if the Klicch will ever let the people read from the Histories," Kelaine rambled on and Joel's eyes glazed over. "Only a select few are even allowed into the Great Libraries. And those few who do get in typically never come back from tower grounds. They die from accidents."

Joel chirped at him, "Stop grumbling Kelaine and think. where could the three boys have gone?" She paused, "Where would you go if you went on a glory run?"

"Glory run? More like a bloody gauntlet. I think I would rather have stayed nice and quiet at home," Kelaine muttered. "Joel, this is hopeless. Even you have to recognize that."

Joel just shook her head and pulled out what seemed a small stone from her hip pouch. Closer examination of the stone revealed it to be perfectly spherical and it let out a faint glow, even in the bright, morning sunlight. Softly Joel began to sing in what seemed an unearthly voice. Kelaine floated in his sister's voice as the song filled the air around them, echoed off the ridge below. Even the sounds of the forests subsided into silence at the sound of Joel's voice. There seemed no melody to the singing, the notes floating eerily in the air, but the sphere in Joel's hand throbbed and pulsed to the music. As abruptly as she had started, Joel stopped her tune and stared into the circle. The usual smoky white surface had turned crystalline. The sphere showed a small room, cramped and dirty with wooden walls and a dirt packed floor. A few books were on the loor by the fireplace but nothing stirred in the room. The image faded and the sphere resumed it's soft glow.

"I was hoping she would be home," Joel said, tucking the seeing crystal back into the pouch. "Maybe she could have helped us."

"Probably not Joel. She is just a blind, old hag, crazier than the idea of us actually finding those kids in all of the T'lan'toria."

"Stop calling it that. People look at you sideways enough."

"Just because they don't call it by its proper name doesn't mean that we should stoop to their primitive level," Kelaine snapped. Taking a deep breath, he said, "I'm sorry Joel. I just don't know why or how we ended up here. I mean, even our parents would never have given in to serving the Klicch."

"Kelaine, they disappeared shortly after their refusal. Besides, you know of our duty," Joel said dangerously quiet. Suddenly Joel's pouch started vibrating and the soft melody of a brook filled the air.

"Janorda," grumbled Kelaine, "is summoning you."

"Don't be silly," Joel tittered, "she just wants to know what I wanted earlier." Joel pulled the crystal out of her pouch but instead of seeing the expected wrinkled, warty face, she saw a man, swathed in black, darker than dark.

"You called Joel?" He smirked through the crystal. "Janorda and I can't wait to see you again." The hair on the back of Kelaine's neck rose up. Praetor was one of the worst men that had ever touched the face of this world. Sly, cunning, deceitful were a handful of this serpents better qualities.

"Praetor," Kelaine said, stiffly nodding his head and making himself visible to the dark man in the crystal. Praetor's smirk dropped for a minute before it was back up again.

"Joel," he smiled but dropped it a little when he continued, "Kelaine, I suppose we will be seeing you both shortly." His image disappeared and the crystal went cloudy again.

"I don't like him and I don't want you to be around him, Joel." He had the tone of deliberately picking up an old argument as if to hound in his disapproval.

Tiredly, Joel repeated the same response that she always gave on the subject, "Kelaine, I'm sure I can watch out for myself." Kelaine knew she could. She had more of their mother in her than her father when it came to the powers she possessed, but Kelaine also possessed the same potential.

"If you really want to visit Janorda that's fine," he sighed. "But I do not like Praetor."

"Neither do I Kelaine, you know that."

"Tanreal, head toward Trichtion Lake," commanded Kelaine. "We get to go visit Janorda."

Tanreal growled in disapproval but followed his master's command. Tanreal had a personality a lot like Kelaine's. He hated going to Janorda's, if for a different reason. After flying one hundred and fifty leagues west, they spotted the marsh that was misnamed a lake. Tanreal flew lower, circling the small village on the edge of the ever growing water line. The stench of the marshland grew as they came closer to the ground but that was comparatively clean when put up to the stench of the village. Tanreal landed on a small, muddy path behind Janorda's small hut.

As Kelaine slid off Tanreal's back, the back door of Janorda's hut flew open and an old woman hobbled out with her cane in hand. "Joel? Is that you?" she called.

As he helped his sister down, Kelaine whispered, "Remember, no magic around Janorda or Praetor. It is enough that you gave Janorda a Crystal. She barely has enough ability to operate the crystal when you make a bridge to contact you. Other than that, she is nothing but a scabby old woman who knows some herbs."

Joel elbowed her brother, "I know all that, Kelaine. It's just that risks must be taken because the blind usually see more than ones with sight." Joel raised her voice, "Janorda! It is Joel. How are you?"

"As well as I can be with it being so wet lately," Janorda smiled a great toothless smile. "Come in, come in!" She motioned them into the open doorway. "Hello Kelaine. Do you still stick your nose up at a poor, disheveled old woman?" She cackled, a horrible, throaty cackle.

After Janorda and Joel had disappeared into the hut, Kelaine turned to Tanreal. "TAnreal," he whispered, "stay here and stay out of trouble. Be prepared to leave at any moment."

"Your fondness for that thing is very amusing," sneered an oily voice. "The sad part about it is that that animal is more stupid than the average cur." Tanreal growled in the back of his throat but not so loud that Praetor could hear him.

"Ignore him," murmured Kelaine as he scratched between Tanreal's eyes.

"What's the matter Kelaine?" Do you honestly believe," he moved toward tanreal and laid a hand on the beasts scaly back, "that it can understand you?"

"Be careful of what you may say Praetor, or someday your words may bite back at you."

"Oh how sweet! Now you are concerned for my well being." Praetor practically shook with held back laughter.

The rising contention was quickly sliced by Joel's melodic voice floating out of the hut, "Kelaine! Where are you?"

Praetor straightened up and made sure he appeared presentable before pushing Kelaine into the swampy muck at their feet. "Now you can be comfortable with the animals you so care for," he smiled as he strode towards the hut.

Grumbling, Kelaine picked himself off the ground. His whole side was covered in the oozy, green slime. Quickly and quietly, to avoid any unnecessary attention, he hummed a simple song to remove the slime that covered him. His clothes looked and smelled as though they had been freshly washed. Kelaine went over to Tanreal and opened on of the rucksacks. Slowly from the depths of the back, he pulled out a small black bag and tucked it in his pocket. Kelaine then grabbed some clay that had collected on Tanreal's hind leg and began to rub it on his clothes and body, to make himself look travel stained. With a nod at Tanreal, Kelaine walked into the hut.

"There you are Kelaine," Joel cried, happily seated on a stool by the fire. "We were starting to get worried."

"Just settling Tanreal in, that's all," Kelaine leaned against the closed door. Quickly, the group's conversation turned to the mundane babble of how life was going, Janorda's health, if Joel could help, that type of stuff. Kelaine sighed; he hated socializing. After a few minutes, Kelaine caught his sister's eye and gestured to the bulge in his own pocket. She lowered her eyebrows slightly, questioningly, before casually reaching her own hand into her jacket pocket, towards a matching bulge.

Kelaine?! You are always telling me not to use these except in an emergency and well this doesn't look like one to me. What's up? Praetor had made a joke and everyone but Kelaine was thoroughly enjoying it. Something about what someone had asked him the other day. Kelaine chuckled a little to not appear rude, but his mind was elsewhere.

Joel, can Janorda help us or not? his thoughts came across tense and sharp. There is a worse feeling about this place than usual. Darker, denser.

Joel had just asked Praetor what was the latest happenings in his life and of course, Praetor was coming up with some elaborate tale of how he had gone to Girondeck- a scummy village full of thieves, half men, and other unmentionables. While there he had run across some interesting characters.

I talked to her before Praetor came in. She said that there had been news of a disturbance in Taveirnuck- some kind of a fight between some newcomers and Ike, the ruling half-man.

Oh how wonderful. Another by-product of the destruction of the Order. Kelaine thought dryly.

Kelaine, Joel was strangely hesitant, the only thing is, she thinks we should take Praetor with us.

JOEL! I will not stand the man! Besides, we are using Tanreal. There isn't room for a third... Kelaine trailed off as he suddenly became aware that everyone in the room was looking at him. Guessing by the heat in his face, Kelaine could tell he was bright red and probably looked more than a little off.

"I said," Praetor queried, "what is the matter with you? Someone steal your boots?"

"My brother," Joel broke in apologetically, "is just a little distracted." She glanced at Kelaine, watching her brother's jaw clench as she turned to Praetor, "We are on assignment right now. We need to find three boys who wandered into the Wilds a few days ago. Actually Praetor, Kelaine and I were hoping you could help us."
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