The Legend of Asahiel: Book 02 - The Obsidian Key by Eldon Thompson Read Free Book Online Page B

used in the shaping of this earth and the shepherding of those who lived upon it.”
    “And the Dragon Wars?”
    “That’s when the Swords passed from these avatars into mortal hands, given to the Finlorian elves that they might withstand the armies of the Dragon God.”
    It was clear that Darinor did not recognize him, nor recall that he himself had once related to Torin much of this mythology. Torin was emboldened bythe fact that he knew something the other did not. In any case, he was always proud to share with others the knowledge of his favorite study. With even this brief overview, his enthusiasm for the topic fortified his voice.
    “In the millennia that followed the defeat of the Dragon God’s minions, the Swords were lost, one by one, save that which was passed down along the lines of Finlorian royalty to the high king Sabaoth, some three thousand years ago. Finally, even that blade disappeared, when Sabaoth and the entire city of Thrak-Symbos were buried by an earth-shattering cataclysm.”
    Torin waited, silently daring the other to contradict his account. For a long moment, Darinor made no attempt to do so. He stood with that brooding glare, waiting, it seemed, for Torin to say something more. As the weight of his pause increased, a determined Torin held his gaze.
    “In other words, you know nothing but what you’ve been given to know.” A menacing smile tugged at one corner of Darinor’s mouth.
    Torin frowned, but guarded any further reaction to the man’s theatrics.
    Darinor crouched close to Marisha once more. “That is not Sabaoth’s Sword,” he said, indicating the weapon in Torin’s lap. He reached up once again to finger the heartstone Pendant on its silver chain—the Crimson Stone, as they had nicknamed it.
    “This is.”
    Torin did well to hide his interest. But he was undeniably excited by what he was about to learn. What little Marisha knew of the secret talisman had been revealed to him only guardedly—and only after Torin had discovered for himself the Stone’s existence. Even then she had kept him at arm’s length, clinging to her childhood oath to a man who had deserted her, honoring his memory, fearing for her own safety and that of the artifact. Pretending to understand, he had respected her wishes, allowing the matter to remain a quiet source of bitterness. For he could not help but wonder if she knew much more than had been revealed.
    “My daughter was granted no knowledge of the Pendant’s true history or purpose,” Darinor remarked, as if to dispel Torin’s unspoken suspicions. “She knew only a father’s stern command that the talisman never be revealed to anyone.”
    Once again, father and daughter shared a quiet moment. And yet Torin noted that Marisha’s features had taken on a stern and demanding cast, as though her own understandable anger was beginning to win over her shock and adoration.
    “A charm by which to remember me,” Darinor added, echoing his words of long ago. “A talisman to keep her safe.” While addressing Torin, he continued to stare into Marisha’s eyes, the slightest tremor weakening his voice. “But most importantly, the means by which we might one day be reunited. That I might share with her the truth of her family’s legacy.”
    Like the lull in a storm, the moment of tenderness passed. Darinor turned his head, a mask of dark clouds once more.
    “Sabaoth was a fool. Like you, a seeker of glories he was not meant to attain. The Finlorian Empire had reached the height of its majesty. Its peoplebelieved that all manner of art and industry conceivable to mortal minds had already been achieved. Thus, their thoughts moved beyond the mortal toward the immortal. They thought to ascend to the heavens, to connect this world with that of the Ceilhigh.”
    A strange excitement began to bubble up within Torin at the realization that tragic secrets, centuries old, were about to be revealed. Despite the circumstances, he felt himself leaning