Fade To Black, The Curseborn Saga, Book 1

Chapter 9 - There Comes a Time

Storm stirred and sat up, rubbing his eyes. Someone had placed a woolen blanket over his body, and for a good, long moment, he appreciated the warmth of it. He looked over to where Ronin had been sitting before, but he was no longer there.

Gazing away at the sky, the last touches of the sun's light were streaking across the horizon, bringing forth a swirl of a thousand different colors. High above it all, he could see the two moons beginning to open their eyes, both shining down on his world with a faint blue hue.

Storm stood to his feet and took the blanket with him, returning it to the cabin. The inside of their home was warm, cozy, and quiet, and nothing stirred from within. The glass door in the ceiling was wide open, and Storm knew that their grandfather was admiring the sunset, as he always did.

A few minutes later, Caim came into the cabin, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. Over his shoulder was a similar woolen blanket, and he blinked a few times, seemingly surprised to find his brother. He didn't say a word, and after resting his blanket on top of Storm's, Caim began rummaging through his things. Storm watched him for a fleeting moment, noticing their two wooden swords leaning against the far wall.

Storm took note of his own wooden sword and felt nostalgia for the good times passed. Lying next to the swords were Caim's collection of rocks, and sitting next to his own bed was a small stack of books, with a copy of the Rings of Chaos sitting right on top. It was a thin book of all the myths of Soria, and although Storm did not give them much credence, he secretly enjoyed some of the stories within. He picked up the book and gazed down at the leather-bound cover; it was a rather small book, not overly thick, and he liked it partially for that reason.

Might be nice to have while we're gone, he thought and placed it in his back pocket.

Storm looked down the hallway at their room. He remembered sneaking out of it late at night with Caim when they were kids to come sleep next to the fire, and before they had even realized it, they had both moved their beds into the common room. They had never gone back to sleeping in their rooms after that, and Ronin had changed it into a little study stacked with books.

"We should get going," said Storm, turning to Caim. "We'll have to hike through Neverend in the dark, and it's better that we try and get through most of it before midnight."

"We're going tonight?" Caim yawned. "Why so soon?"

"You really want to risk missing the most legendary tournament in all of Soria?"

Caim's yawn turned to a smile. "Good point. Now, where are my sandals?"

Storm collected the few things he needed, put on his black boots by the door, and swung his hooded jacket over his shoulders. He quickly caught his silver necklace from swinging, and gazing down at the thin stone that it held, pressed his fingers against the runes that spelled out his name.

One day . . . I will learn where we came from, Storm thought of the parents he never knew.

Walking out of the cabin, Storm grabbed his new sword and equipped it to his side. Just as he was looking at a silver ring on the end of his hilt and thinking about attaching his necklace to it, Caim walked out. Looking over, Storm noticed that Caim had already equipped his own sword across his lower back horizontally, and hanging from a similar silver ring on the end of his hilt, was his own necklace.

Figures, thought Storm, abandoning the idea. Definitely not copying Caim.

"Where's grandpa?" Caim asked, stretching down to his toes. Storm pointed up at the roof.

Caim walked around to the front and looked up. "He's not up there."

Storm walked out to look, but sure enough, he was not there.