“Yes,” Qurrah said softly. “I think they will be.”

Harruq rolled onto his side and stared at the floor. Yes, things were different now. He wasn’t sure how, he wasn’t sure why, but a new chapter had begun. The question was, what awaited him in those unwritten pages. And more importantly, why was he so troubled by it?

Qurrah fidgeted, remembering the death of Velixar, and remembering the dust his master had become, nothing but a swirl of gray and white piled underneath garbs of black. It was the fate of all things to become ash and earth, he knew, but what fate lay beyond? He remembered Velixar’s haunting words, and the thought of meeting him again did little to warm his heart. A soft voice, tiny and often ignored, dared speak up in his mind. All men turned to dust. Perhaps his life determined whether his soul, if it existed, would also turn to dust. The path he walked, dark and distant from so many, could it turn him to where the road faded into lightless forests of thorns and graves?

Neither slept well that night, despite their full bellies and warm blankets.

3

A swift kick stirred Harruq from his dreams. He grunted, forced open a single eye, and then shut it when he saw Qurrah frowning down at him.

“What do you want?” he asked, the phrase coming out as a single, drowsy word.

“Sunrise nears. Get up.”

Then Qurrah dropped Harruq’s heavy leather armor onto his head. The warrior groaned in response.

“Why should…”

“My life depends on you,” Qurrah said. “You’ve never been trained before. Here is your chance. Now get up.”

“Fine. Fine. Fine.” The bleary half-orc rolled the armor off his face and glared up at his brother. “Remember, I’m doing this for you.”

“I doubt you will let me forget,” Qurrah said, vanishing down the stairs.

N o games,” Harruq said. He stood behind the tower, his armor buckled tight and his blades in hand. Dew covered his boots. A soft breeze sifted through his hair, the scent of morning awakening his mind. It was still cold in the shadow of the tower, the grass short and thick. The King’s Forest stretched out before him, the woods wide, their branches intertwined along the top canopy.