Galdor and the four swords PART 2. Original Steemit fiction
Introduction
I'd like to take a moment to say thank you for all the support on part 1 of this story, with special mention to @curie for upvoting and bringing more attention to my tale. If you missed it, catch up by reading part 1 here.Its been fun challenging myself to create a minimum one piece of original art to go with each chapter of the story. There were a couple in part 1, but for this chapter I spent more time on one piece. I hope you enjoy part 2. I may create a behind the scenes post showing the steps of this chapter's artwork creation before part 3 is published. Let me know if that's something you'd like to see.
PART 2
Galdor set out with two companions: Elyon and Almar. Elyon was eldest of the group and Almar similar in age to Galdor, but he had received Ysara’s wisdom four years prior. They were the other volunteers to venture east, tasked to find any sign of another race exploring on the other side of the mountain range.
The valley their route would take them through was wide: half a day to reach the mountains on either side. The trees were thicker along the base of the mountains than anywhere back home in Valisara. The middle of the valley on the other hand was mostly free of them, the only vegetation being patches of short grass and berry bushes scattered on the hard, rocky ground. It made travel easy.
“When I heard Ysara’s voice it wasn’t so much what she said,” Almar was explaining, unsolicited to Galdor as they walked. “Her words were beautiful, but it was like a new portion of my mind had opened. I see things in the night sky I couldn’t before.” Galdor couldn’t tell if his peer was trying to gloat or be friendly.
The weather was mild, clouds mostly covering the sky, the terrain a gradual rise; nothing made the journey difficult at this point. The three continued in a brief silence until Almar spoke again.
“My grandfather stood in the presence of Ysara, before my father was born. She spoke of the other gods and how she considers them kin. The world is large and each race has been given a portion to tend. Some of the gods want our people to meet, unite, but there are others who wish to be left alone.”
This piqued Galdor’s interest. “What are the other gods like?”
“The goddess didn’t say. Just that in time, we shall find them.”
“All the more reason for caution,” Elyon chimed in. “It seems the Dverg want to be left alone, and what if these others we’re looking for are worse? If Ysara knows the gods who are friendly towards her, why doesn’t she show us where their people are instead of us blindly seeking out?”
“I hope you’re not questioning her calling,” Almar replied sharply.
“No,” Elyon said calmly. “Just seems that things could be a little easier.”
“Maybe it’s not so simple. We’re not completely bound to Ysara, we’re more the stars of her nebula. She knows the other gods, not necessarily their races. If she and another hold an accord perhaps they wish their children also become friends, but they’ve given us freedom, which bears risk.”
Almar was the most talkative in the group, but Galdor decided what he said usually held some wisdom. Galdor felt the other two scouts knew more than him, so he mostly kept quiet. Almar’s father remained in Valisara where he’s a scholar. His grandfather likely did stand before Ysara when she last visited, as Almar’s line was one of the selected to represent her people to the other gods. But that time was long to come, as the Valdari were yet to establish solid relations with another race, let alone ask audience with their gods.
Elyon and his father were shipbuilders. His mind focused on the expanse of the world yet to be explored; a practical thinker. Ysara guides him with the stars rather than reveal deeper things as she does for Almar. If you looked in Elyon’s eyes you’d find many specks of light, glittering like stars scattered in the night. Almar’s eyes lack a plethora of stars, but green nebula bloom throughout. Their eyes seemed to bear reflection on the different relationships with their goddess.
On the second evening of their journey as the sun was setting, the three heard a unique sound. A short burst of rapid clicks carried through the air from a distance.
“That was loud,” Elyon said. He looked off to the north.
“It sounded far, maybe from the mountains?” Almar added.
“Is it Dverg?” The other two seemed calm and collected. Galdor didn’t want to show concern, but he couldn’t refute an uneasiness inside.
“I can’t imagine,” Elyon answered. Although none of them had ever seen a mountain dweller, they were all familiar with descriptions of the Dverg. They didn’t seem capable of making such a noise.
During that day’s travel the incline gradually increased. The valley was ending in a bowl leading up a ridge of the mountains. Two dips in the ridge either side of a small peak offered easy passage to the other side. Their plan for tomorrow would take them up the north dip, keeping them far as possible from an incredible mountain directly east of the bowl. It was the largest mountain any of them had ever seen, the only peak capped with snow, surely holding a Dvergrinn city inside. The scouts established camp with simple sleeping mats and a small meal. Darkness fell, the clouds cleared, and the stars came out above.
While they were resting Elyon occasionally glanced to the sky here or there in a methodical manner, his expression calculating, like someone figuring a sum in their head. Almar was laid on his mat and wouldn’t remove his gaze from the dome above. Galdor knew their eyes saw more than his were capable of, so he mostly examined how the mountains obscured the stars at the skyline. Galdor was nibbling food, his thoughts less occupied than the others, when he heard a rustling in the trees.
“Did you hear that?”
“Probably a small creature.” Elyon remained casual, his demeanor unchanged. “Everything sounds bigger at night.”
There were more trees now they were higher in the bowl. The night sky only offered enough light to reveal the nearby treeline, nothing beyond. A quiet series of clicks came from the trees uphill. Galdor sprung his blade from its sheath and stood.
“Something’s there!” He took a step forward. The other two rose to their feet. Looking to the sky Almar slowly raised a hand, palm facing upward. A small speck of light rose from his fingers shining bright like a star. Just at the edge of the trees two creatures tall as the Valdari stood. Their bodies were dark and wide, covered in a pattern of hard plates like armor. They stood on what looked like a dozen legs and reared back, raising their front limbs.
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You know, I've just come to think I might not be doing this right. If the manager of this replies to comments at all, perhaps you could answer. Is this verifying the originality of the parent (original) post, or just the content in my comment that calls for OriginalWorks to check? I'm guessing this properly works only if the tag to call the bot is a part of the parent post..... yeah, that would make more sense.
Oops.
EDIT: Well hang on, it does say to call OriginalWorks "reply to any post"... so maybe I did do it right. Oh well.
I am enjoying.
Thank you.
The story is shaping up nicely, and having the original art work blended in makes it seem more complete. Like when paperbacks would have chapter art before the publishing company got to penny pinching.
Thanks bashadow! I appriciate you following and leaving a comment on each chapter so far. The next part will reveal yet another piece of the puzzle, bringing the crux of Galdor's tale into focus by part 4.
Congratulations @aksounder, this post is the seventh most rewarded post (based on pending payouts) in the last 12 hours written by a Dust account holder (accounts that hold between 0 and 0.01 Mega Vests). The total number of posts by Dust account holders during this period was 2388 and the total pending payments to posts in this category was $544.96. To see the full list of highest paid posts across all accounts categories, click here.
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