The Awakening (The Stones of Revenge) by Justin Sargeant Page B

darker secret his father wished him to know? He decided he would ride to town and speak with this Daxis as soon as the field was planted and uncover what knowledge he could.
    Setting down the letter, Landon held the ring up to the light. Inside the band he could make out letters crafted into its curve. As he rolled the ring in the fire light, he could read the words:  food life water death. He remembered his initial fear of not wearing it, but somehow, now that it bore the words his father had left, it felt right to wear it. His duty to wear it. He slipped the ring onto the fourth finger of his right hand. He decided he would never remove the ring until he discovered the meaning behind them. Tonight, however, Landon needed rest. It had been a long day. He tossed dirt upon the fire to quell it then headed towards his room. Setting down the letter upon the trunk at the end of his bed, Landon disrobed and eased back onto the straw bedding as he closed his eyes. He lay there for a brief moment before slowly fading into nothingness. But between closing his eyes and losing consciousness, Landon could have sworn he heard a deep rumble come from the night sky.
     
     

 
     
    Chapter Seven
    Trials and Tribulations
     
     
    A thin wisp of cloud shaded the moon’s light in the black sky. A dark ocean of grass spread out before Landon. Behind him, a precipice dropped sharply into black nothingness. Landon’s brow began to condensate due to the sweltering heat. He tried to breathe and gasped as his lungs filled with water vapors from the humidity. He knelt on the ground to get as much cold air into his lungs as he could. When that did not help, he attempted to walk. But his feet felt like bricks and he strained at each step. Suddenly, far away in the distance a figure began to walk towards him. Landon stopped moving to focus on the shadow shimmering in the night. It appeared to be a man, but he was unsure. The figure closed in on him. A feeling inside urged him to hide before he was seen. Looking around he saw only grassland; there was nowhere to hide! He did not want to be stuck between a strange man and a cliff, so Landon focused all of his energy on moving away from the cliff.
    Walking, however, was very difficult for Landon. It was as though his legs would not obey his command. Step by step he had to force himself forward. The strain made him grow weak and tired. The gap between the two men quickly dwindled, and Landon could see clearly that the man was wearing a dark robe to mask his face. The man stopped suddenly in his advance, and threw back his hood. Shockingly, the man’s head was solid black with no distinguishable facial features. Landon halted as well. Abruptly, a low rumble surrounded the two men on the field. Static energy appeared to live in this place. Lightning flashed across the sky illuminating the grassland.  A second flash sparkled throughout the clouds above them. Another flash streaked across the sky and struck the grass. Suddenly, the two men were surrounded by a conflagration. The ring enclosed them pushing them towards each other. Immediately, the robed figured raised both arms as if carrying a massive object over his head. Before Landon was aware, he hurtled the invisible object towards the ground. A deep fog formed blanketing the entire area and hiding the flames from view. It was so thick Landon could no longer see his enemy standing right before him. Rolling thunder drowned out all other sounds. Panic began to engulf him. He knew his enemy was within a striking distance but there was no way to know exactly where he was. He reached down to withdraw his sword but found it stuck in its sheath as if frozen. A cold, piercing laugh rippled through the area.
    Suddenly, Landon was cold in the midst of the flames. The sweat on his skin stung like frostbite. Rage began to build inside of him. Slowly he began to focus all of his strength onto one source, the unknown man.  In his mind, he tried to picture where