A New Journey

Warrin took a seat on the front porch.  Blazeran was right the house was empty.  How could this have happened?  This was not supposed to have happened.  They were supposed to have stayed safe and sound.  I was going to leave tonight to ensure that.  Warrin stood up and turned to look at the empty house.  He fell to his knees and gave a loud and long scream.  It took Warrin quite a while to compose himself.  After many minutes, Warrin stood up and walked into the house.
He was very cautious walking into the house.  Warrin noticed that it was dark and cold inside.  It was strange to Warrin that the fireplace had not been lit.  He walked over to the fireplace and put his hand over the ashes to check for any heat.  None came up from the pile.  “Blazeran this means that they were taken before the sun went down.  My mom always lit a fire when the sun went down.  That was about the time we were fighting the soldiers on the road.”  Blazeran stood at the door.  Looking at Warrin, he knew that Warrin was hurting for the loss of his family.  “This might mean that they were part of the raid.  That is just great then.  It means that there are fewer soldiers to take care of. There could be a lot more though.”
Warrin, we must get ready and get out of here. Whoever took your family could be back with more people.  My family is waiting beyond the hills behind your house.  Please hurry we must go.
“I am not going anywhere.  If they come back, they are going to find me waiting for them. I will make them tell me where my family is.  I do not have many family members so excuse me if I want to keep the ones that I do have.”  Warrin was furious.  He could not believe that this was happening.  He should have been here to help them.
Please Warrin; do not beat yourself up on this.  There was nothing, Warrin, you could have done then to help your family, but there is something that you could do now.  Why can you not see that?
“Because, like you said, they could be back here. When they do arrive, I will be ready for them.”  Warrin did not know why Blazeran was acting like this.  Warrin turned away from the fireplace, and walked to the kitchen.  She was preparing dinner when they stormed in and took them both.  She had not started preparing the meat since he had not come home yet.  “I should have been here.”  Warrin whispered.
Warrin, we have to go now. I know you want revenge, but now is not the time.  We both are not ready.  We must leave this place and meet up with my family.  They have been waiting all day.  As soon as we meet up with them, we will fill them in.  Mom would know what to do.  She always seems to know what to do.  Please Warrin, let this wait until we are ready.
Warrin knew that Blazeran was right.  He knew himself well enough to know that he was not ready to fight an army.  How could he be?  He needed to get a grip and grow up.  He stood up and looked behind him.  Where his lovely house once stood with honor, now stood as a reminder, a reminder of what he would have to work towards to get his family’s revenge.  He carefully walked inside what was left of his home and found a package with a letter addressed to him.  He picked it up and despite at that had happened around it, the package still smelled of his mother.  Did he dare open it now or wait?  Blazeran was outside waiting on him so that they could leave.
He put the package in his knapsack and hurried to get a few other things. He had to keep it light and take only what he needed. He had no clue how long it would take before he could come back here. Something told him that it would be next to never. They were about to leave the farm when all of a sudden, Warrin felt as though they were not alone.  
“Blazeran...we are not alone. I believe we have company around.” Warrin looked around the yard and towards the woods. “Blazeran, I have an idea. Just go with it ok?” Warrin whispered as he jumped on Blazeran’s back and off they went up the road, headed the opposite direction of the town.
As he watched them leave, the hooded figure stepped out of the shadows and towards that house. He had no idea where they were going or when they would be back. He had to find it and he needed to find it quick. He needed the proof, that’s all he needed. He went into the house and looked through everything. He seen the evidence that something horrible happened here but he could not put his finger on it. He made his way into the boy’s room... “It must be in there.” the hooded person said. He went through every drawer Warrin had. He searched every nook and cranky that he could find in the room and still no luck. He started outside, towards the barn. “Maybe he put it into the barn......it HAS to be there.” when he was stopped by the sight of a boy standing in front of him.
“What do you think you are doing here. What gives you the right to come into this house?” Warrin was fuming. How Could this stranger just walk up onto his property like that?
The hooded person just stood there, “It’s not what you think, and I am not after anything of value.”
“Then why am I seeing you come out of my house?” Warrin was livid. How on earth could something like this be happening to him now?
“I do not mean to scare you. I...I knew someone who once lived here, or maybe I am at the wrong place. What is your name?”
The hooded person did not budge. He did not offer to remove his hood. Warrin did not know what to think of him. His voice though, sounded so familiar. He did not ask him about it. “My name is of no significance to you. You do not need to know my name at this time. You have yet to answer my questions...WHO are you and WHY are you here? Why are you on my property?” Warrin shouted.
“My name...” he bows his head to Warrin, “is Marcus. To tell you the truth, I was sent here to find someone. I got here and nobody was here. I went inside to make sure no one was here, that was when I was going to check in the Barn. That, my friend, is what brings us here.”
“Then what is with the hood? Why will you not show me your face?” asks Warrin. He still couldn’t get over the fact that Marcus would not show his face. What was he hiding? Warrin would find out sooner or later. And if he had anything to do with it, it would be sooner rather than later.
“Because that is not what is important right now. What I need to know right now is how long have you lived here? All you life?”
“Maybe,” Warrin said with suspicion. Be careful Warrin.
“Then I was sent here to give you this message. But please, do not read it right now. We may have already lost precious time. Please, let’s mount up and follow me please.”
Warrin stood by Blaze and weighed his options. ‘Should we Blaze? I don’t know what to do.’ Let’s go with it for now. “Ok, we will go, but only on one condition...you tell me what I want to know and when I want to know it, just as soon as I read this letter.” Warrin was standing his ground. He wanted to be careful but something told him that they could trust Marcus.
“I will try my hardest. But I may not know all the answers. Fair?” And with that he whistled loudly.
“Fair enough. Lead the way.” Warrin got on Blaze and got comfortable and ready for a long ride ahead of them. “Where is you mount?”
“Just inside the trees...right over there. He should be here any second now. Ah, there he is now.” Warrin turned Blaze in time to see a beautiful white stallion emerge from the tree line. His elegance radiated, even at 50 yards away. Warrin could sense Blazes’ jealousy. Warrin put his attention toward the stallion; he had so much grace but was so muscular at the same time. He held his head up so that his pride showed many times over.
“Ah, there is Windsur now. Whoa, easy Windsur, calm down.” Marcus said with a laugh. He swung into Windsur’s saddle. “We must get going now. We may be too late as it is. They may have a good gain on me as it is. Come follow me before they catch us.” And with that Marcus and Windsur started towards the road. Warrin and Blaze run to catch up to them. Windsur is fast, thought Warrin, As they came to the road; Warrin saw the two take a left, away from town. Left also took them North towards the Border of the Forbidden Land.
As Warrin and Blaze made it to the road, they stopped, and turned to take one last look at their old home, one that they might not ever be able to seen again. They did not have a clue how long this trip would take, or how long it would be before they set eyes on the house again. Warrin did not know what the future had in store for them but he had a feeling that it would be a very hard and challenging one. However, he and Blaze would take what ever came at them in stride. Warrin turned Blaze and once again ran after Marcus and Windsur.

Dorlok had searched every hill for her in the area. He had nailed her, he was sure of that. She could not have gone too far, he thought. He was in his lair, at the very bottom of the castle. The king had been asking for him, he remembered. All week, all month. In fact, the king had been asking for him all day, every day for months now.
He turned back to the map. He had marked every hill, mountain, cave, and river with X’s. Those were the spots that he had his men search for Pheleria. She had already foaled, he just knew it. She was about to foal when he wounded her. The king did not know that detail, Dorlok thought. He looked at his map one more time of Daladamur. That was when he seen it...the small town of Travilamur. It was located just to the North east of the land.
“SHE HAS TO BE THERE!” he yelled. He could not believe that he had missed it. Granted it was small but still.
“He is down here!” yelled one of the king’s guards. They were looking for him, no doubt. He looked at the map one more time as the guards rushed in. “Stop right there Dorlok, the king wants you right now.”
“Ha-ha. You fools.” He laughed as he disappeared right in front of them.