Kael Wildborn's Arc

Chapter 1 of 3

Kael Wildborn stood on the treehouse deck and stared at Voidspire's black peak. He wanted that summit. No mortal had ever ruled it, and he meant to be the first. But the mountain was a stranger to him. He had never climbed its lower slopes. He had no map, no path, no way past the tangled forests at its feet. He knew the goal. He did not know the first step. Walnut climbed the rope ladder in his little silver boots. He carried two bowls of fruit and smiled that easy smile. "You've been up here since dawn," he said. "You forgot to eat." Kael took a bowl but did not eat. Walnut was his protege, the boy he had trained since he was small. He was also the person Kael most wanted beside him now. That made the next words harder. "I'm leaving," Kael said. "For the peak." Walnut set his bowl down. His grey eyes went bright and fierce. "Then I'm going too." "No." Kael took his shoulder. "Someone has to lead the village. You know these people. They trust you. If I take you, who feeds them? Who settles their fights? The treehouse falls apart." "You always said we do the hard things together." Walnut's voice cracked. "Now you leave me behind at a house." Kael pulled him close. "Running a village is the hard thing. Any fool can climb a rock. Only you can hold this home for me." Walnut pressed his face to Kael's chest. He was quiet a long moment. Then he stepped back and wiped his eyes. "Fine. But you can't even find the mountain path. You'll wander in circles and die." He was right. Kael had no route. That was the whole problem. A low rumble came from below the branches. Green scales caught the light. A dragon rose on slow wings and landed on the deck, claws gripping the wood. Its luminous eyes fixed on Kael. Walnut grinned through his tears. "I sent for him last night," Walnut said. "I knew you'd try to leave me. So I found you something better than me. He was born on those slopes. He knows every path through the lower forests." The dragon dipped his head. "The boy is clever," he said. "I can guide you past the roots of Voidspire. Beyond that, no creature has gone. Beyond that, you climb alone." Kael looked at the beast, then at Walnut. His route to the mountain stood before him at last. His guide had come. His path was found. He clasped Walnut's hand hard. "Hold the home. I'll come back a king." Walnut nodded, jaw tight. "You'd better." Kael climbed onto the dragon's back. The wings spread wide. The treehouse dropped away below them. Ahead, the black peak waited, and now a road led toward it. The wandering was over. The climb had begun.