A game of power (book 1 of the Game series)

15.Zale

Zale arose with the first signs of dawn, and as the sun rose, he readied the large battle horse that had rested not too far away, and then prepared some food for himself, whistling as he did so.He wasn't able to find much in the surrounding forest and so settled for the loaf of bread in his bag and what little else he was able to grab before his rushed departure. Apologising profusely to Sekura for tearing her away from her life, he hauled himself up into the saddle, patting her neck softly as she eased into walk, careful to avoid the various things in the ground below.As he went, now with more time to spare, he took a few deep breathes before looking around him, noticing the tall, vibrant trees, flowers and various kinds of birds living in a peaceful harmony- a strange sight for the scarred boy, who's only scenery until this point was the ash-covered buildings of the kingdom.He took the time as they travelled to plan his next move, where would he go? He had no ship, or means of sea transport, so that was out of the picture, which left either Illustria or Caligart, neither of which sounded precisely perfect, but they would have to do.Which one would he choose though? He thought about it. From what he'd heard of the place, Caligart was ridden with crime, and he did not want to end up in a place that was practically identical to his home kingdom. He also did not particularly want to end up with the allies of those chasing.Illustria however, though harsh to those who crossed them, was fairly nice, despite the overwhelming sense of goodness. They avoided conflict however, so if he were to be found there, they'd most likely hand him over to protect themselves, and for that he could not blame them.Caligart it was then, at least, if he were to be found, there would at least be a small window of space in which he could escape, whilst they were trying to barter, being the notorious traders they were. Nothing came without a price, and although there was an awful lot of crime on them, it wouldn't be hard for him to disappear among the crowds.He spurred Sekura into a short sprint until she was panting below him, where from there, he lead her to a nearby river so that she could drink and he could fill the waterskin that had been in the bag he'd stolen. He slid off of his companion, bending down to fill it, while her large head bent to lap up the water. Zale sat down and waited, taking fistfuls of the surrounding grass and throwing them up in the air, burning them to a crisp mid-air. He had reasonable control over his power, but at that point in time, it was little more than a simple party trick, bar the times where the monster took over, then he lost control. He needed to find somewhere to master it, to be able to control it. Zale wracked his brain- where could he possibly go, when a whole nation was hunting him? It was at the moment that he remembered an old story that his mother used to tell him. About an island, where the fae ruled supreme, with magic and animals beyond imagine. Perhaps, if he could find this place, he could find someone there who would help him, or at least contain him- He didn't want to kill anyone else.He stood and clambered atop Sekura once more, directing her south, towards the mountains where the dragons lived. If he wanted this place, he would have to go to the dirtiest of the dirty, where the oldest storytellers lived.They carried on for hours upon hours, occasionally stopping for water or to kill a small animal for him to eat, blasted with his fire. This routine continued for several days until he looked up after a nap, while the sun was still rising and noticed something. The dragon mountains.The journey ahead would be long, but it was getting shorter each day. Hope lit in his heart and Zale laughed, a grin forming on his face.