“Are you sure?” whispered the Darkness. “Would you call Ummos and Balaru liars?”replied the Shadow.
Darius was born in a small fishing village outside Perhinelm and enjoyed a relatively normal albeit short childhood there. Growing up Darius was always well liked. Darius was liked even by the mean kids, and even the neighbors mean dog seemed to like him.
They came right after the last frost, I remember it well. The morning was cold but and the suns golden rays were like love and honey all rolled into one. The heavily robed and cowled men spoke to my father first, who was a big man, gruff, crude and a sailor. What they said to this day I do not know, but what I can tell you is that when my father spoke it was with such eloquent politeness that I thought him replaced by some fairy tale doppelganger. My mother on the other hand spoke with such fire that I’m sure that I could see the robed figures tremble…Maybe it was the cold..it was chilly after all.
In the end I was to go with my “uncles”. We traveled for a long time, and as we walked they told me stories of the hidden world, of kings and heroes, and possibilities within myself that are now truths. Ohhh how my eyes widened!
My uncles taught me many things, how to behave in front of a lord and his lady, the language of the people, how to draw strength from the land and to listen to the heartbeat of world. In time I learned things about myself that even my uncles found…unusual. I ran many errands in many lands for my Uncles, and still do, they still think me unusual, but I think they like me. Just like the mean kids and that mean dog back home.
