As Rollan tromped through the tall grass toward the gate of Sunset Tower, a grim Greencloak astride a mighty horse rode into view. A girl walked beside the Greencloak on one side and a boy on the other. A panda ambled beside the girl, and a large wolf loped beside the boy. They were all headed for Rollan, so he picked up his pace. He knew the panda and wolf must be two of the other Fallen, Jhi and Briggan.
The Greencloak dismounted when he drew near, and Rollan sized him up. He was the sort of stranger Rollan would have avoided on the streets of Concorba.
The boy had blond hair and wore a green cloak, meaning he had taken the vows. Although he was average height for his age, he seemed young. He had a friendly, open face — the sort of face that hadn’t figured out what life was like yet. The girl was striking. She had sparkling eyes and a shy smile that stopped Rollan in his tracks. A faint response in her expression told Rollan that she appreciated his reaction, and he realized that her shy smile was practiced. Judging by her outfit and her features, she came from Zhong, which made sense, given her spirit animal. Rollan had never seen a real panda. Or a wolf. His only exposure to such creatures came from the Widow Renata, who used to visit the orphanage and read them picture books about the Great Beasts.
“I’m Tarik,” the Greencloak said. “I take it you’re Rollan?”
“I was trying to keep a low profile,” Rollan said. “How could you tell? It was the falcon, wasn’t it?”
“Meilin, Conor, I would like you to meet Rollan,” Tarik said. “He was born and raised here in Amaya. Just as you two summoned Jhi and Briggan, he called Essix.”
The wolf padded forward and the falcon fluttered down to stand before it. The panda moved in close as well, and Essix gave a soft screech. The three animals cautiously investigated each other.
“Do they remember?” Meilin asked, speaking Common. She had a nice voice. It matched her appearance.
“Perhaps,” Tarik said. “It’s difficult to pinpoint how much of their former lives they recall. Much of it might be instinct at this stage.”
“What about the fourth Fallen Beast?” Rollan asked. “Uraza.”
Tarik scowled. “Somebody got to Uraza and her new partner before us, much as Zerif attempted with you. The girl is named Abeke. We don’t know her present location, but we won’t rest until we find her. Lenori believes that she and Uraza are still alive. The challenge will be finding them.”
“Is Lenori how you found us?” Conor asked.
Tarik nodded. “Lenori is the most gifted visionary of all the Greencloaks. Thanks to her unique foresight, we suspected the Four Fallen were returning.”
“Her powers can’t be entirely unique,” Rollan pointed out. “Not if somebody beat you to the girl in Nilo.”
“If Uraza is currently lost,” Meilin said, “then the three of us must represent the Four Fallen. Aren’t we supposed to learn what’s going on, now that we’re together?”
“That information is Olvan’s to share,” Tarik told her. “You already know that we want you to join the Greencloaks and help us preserve Erdas.”
“From the Devourer?” Rollan asked, not hiding his skepticism.
Tarik seemed momentarily startled by this question. “Who mentioned the Devourer?”
“This guy I met,” Rollan said. “He was riding a moose.”
“We’re still not positive who we’re up against. If it isn’t the Devourer himself, it’s somebody very much like him. It shouldn’t be long before Olvan explains why we need your help. For the moment, you three should seize this chance to get better acquainted. You’ll see a lot of each other in the coming days. I’ll ride ahead to announce our arrival.”
“Get ready to be stared at,” Rollan warned the others as Tarik rode away. “It’s all people have done since I arrived. At first I worried I had food on my face.”
“People tend to stare at newcomers,” Meilin said. “Especially important ones.”
“I guess our animals make us important,” Conor said, sounding uncertain whether he believed it.
The conversation died out. Conor looked uneasy.
Rollan sized up the other two and their animals. Briggan was the most impressive beast. Rollan knew some people back in Concorba he would love to scare with a wolf like that. The panda just sat pawing at the grass. Conor seemed shy. Meilin acted uninterested.
“Judging by your clothes, I take it you’re rich,” Rollan said to her.
“Wealth is relative,” she replied with a cold look. “The emperor has much more treasure than my father.”
Rollan chuckled. “If the Zhongese emperor is your example of someone richer than you, you have to be loaded.”
“My father is a general and there are also successful merchants in my bloodline.”
“Yep, rich,” Rollan said. “What about you, Conor? Do you have a family or a bloodline?”
Conor blushed a little, glancing at Meilin. “A family. We have bloodlines, I guess, but we don’t use that word. We’re shepherds. I got stuck as a servant for a time, but I always preferred the outdoors.”
“And I’m an orphan,” Rollan said bluntly. “I’m only here because Essix was my ticket out of jail.”
“Jail!” Conor exclaimed. “What did you do?”
Rollan checked to make sure they were both listening closely, then leaned in. “Actually, I was innocent — not that I had any proof. I was arrested for stealing medicine from an apothecary.”
“Were you sick?” Conor asked.
“A friend had a bad fever. But I didn’t swipe the medicine. Another friend did. I was around when it happened, so they assumed I was in on it.”
“Which is the lie?” Meilin asked. “That you were in jail, or that you were there for stealing medicine?”
Rollan shrugged. “You got me. I’m actually Olvan’s son. He’s having me spy on you.”
Meilin didn’t challenge him further, but Rollan could tell she didn’t trust him. Maybe she wasn’t completely stupid. It was a pretty far-fetched story. Plus she hadn’t accepted a green cloak yet.
Conor peered over his shoulder at Sunset Tower. “What do you think they want us to do?”
“Maybe you should have asked before you put on the cloak,” Rollan suggested.
“I expect they’ll want us as soldiers,” Meilin said. “Leaders, probably. The war has already begun.”
The Greencloak dismounted when he drew near, and Rollan sized him up. He was the sort of stranger Rollan would have avoided on the streets of Concorba.
The boy had blond hair and wore a green cloak, meaning he had taken the vows. Although he was average height for his age, he seemed young. He had a friendly, open face — the sort of face that hadn’t figured out what life was like yet. The girl was striking. She had sparkling eyes and a shy smile that stopped Rollan in his tracks. A faint response in her expression told Rollan that she appreciated his reaction, and he realized that her shy smile was practiced. Judging by her outfit and her features, she came from Zhong, which made sense, given her spirit animal. Rollan had never seen a real panda. Or a wolf. His only exposure to such creatures came from the Widow Renata, who used to visit the orphanage and read them picture books about the Great Beasts.
“I’m Tarik,” the Greencloak said. “I take it you’re Rollan?”
“I was trying to keep a low profile,” Rollan said. “How could you tell? It was the falcon, wasn’t it?”
“Meilin, Conor, I would like you to meet Rollan,” Tarik said. “He was born and raised here in Amaya. Just as you two summoned Jhi and Briggan, he called Essix.”
The wolf padded forward and the falcon fluttered down to stand before it. The panda moved in close as well, and Essix gave a soft screech. The three animals cautiously investigated each other.
“Do they remember?” Meilin asked, speaking Common. She had a nice voice. It matched her appearance.
“Perhaps,” Tarik said. “It’s difficult to pinpoint how much of their former lives they recall. Much of it might be instinct at this stage.”
“What about the fourth Fallen Beast?” Rollan asked. “Uraza.”
Tarik scowled. “Somebody got to Uraza and her new partner before us, much as Zerif attempted with you. The girl is named Abeke. We don’t know her present location, but we won’t rest until we find her. Lenori believes that she and Uraza are still alive. The challenge will be finding them.”
“Is Lenori how you found us?” Conor asked.
Tarik nodded. “Lenori is the most gifted visionary of all the Greencloaks. Thanks to her unique foresight, we suspected the Four Fallen were returning.”
“Her powers can’t be entirely unique,” Rollan pointed out. “Not if somebody beat you to the girl in Nilo.”
“If Uraza is currently lost,” Meilin said, “then the three of us must represent the Four Fallen. Aren’t we supposed to learn what’s going on, now that we’re together?”
“That information is Olvan’s to share,” Tarik told her. “You already know that we want you to join the Greencloaks and help us preserve Erdas.”
“From the Devourer?” Rollan asked, not hiding his skepticism.
Tarik seemed momentarily startled by this question. “Who mentioned the Devourer?”
“This guy I met,” Rollan said. “He was riding a moose.”
“We’re still not positive who we’re up against. If it isn’t the Devourer himself, it’s somebody very much like him. It shouldn’t be long before Olvan explains why we need your help. For the moment, you three should seize this chance to get better acquainted. You’ll see a lot of each other in the coming days. I’ll ride ahead to announce our arrival.”
“Get ready to be stared at,” Rollan warned the others as Tarik rode away. “It’s all people have done since I arrived. At first I worried I had food on my face.”
“People tend to stare at newcomers,” Meilin said. “Especially important ones.”
“I guess our animals make us important,” Conor said, sounding uncertain whether he believed it.
The conversation died out. Conor looked uneasy.
Rollan sized up the other two and their animals. Briggan was the most impressive beast. Rollan knew some people back in Concorba he would love to scare with a wolf like that. The panda just sat pawing at the grass. Conor seemed shy. Meilin acted uninterested.
“Judging by your clothes, I take it you’re rich,” Rollan said to her.
“Wealth is relative,” she replied with a cold look. “The emperor has much more treasure than my father.”
Rollan chuckled. “If the Zhongese emperor is your example of someone richer than you, you have to be loaded.”
“My father is a general and there are also successful merchants in my bloodline.”
“Yep, rich,” Rollan said. “What about you, Conor? Do you have a family or a bloodline?”
Conor blushed a little, glancing at Meilin. “A family. We have bloodlines, I guess, but we don’t use that word. We’re shepherds. I got stuck as a servant for a time, but I always preferred the outdoors.”
“And I’m an orphan,” Rollan said bluntly. “I’m only here because Essix was my ticket out of jail.”
“Jail!” Conor exclaimed. “What did you do?”
Rollan checked to make sure they were both listening closely, then leaned in. “Actually, I was innocent — not that I had any proof. I was arrested for stealing medicine from an apothecary.”
“Were you sick?” Conor asked.
“A friend had a bad fever. But I didn’t swipe the medicine. Another friend did. I was around when it happened, so they assumed I was in on it.”
“Which is the lie?” Meilin asked. “That you were in jail, or that you were there for stealing medicine?”
Rollan shrugged. “You got me. I’m actually Olvan’s son. He’s having me spy on you.”
Meilin didn’t challenge him further, but Rollan could tell she didn’t trust him. Maybe she wasn’t completely stupid. It was a pretty far-fetched story. Plus she hadn’t accepted a green cloak yet.
Conor peered over his shoulder at Sunset Tower. “What do you think they want us to do?”
“Maybe you should have asked before you put on the cloak,” Rollan suggested.
“I expect they’ll want us as soldiers,” Meilin said. “Leaders, probably. The war has already begun.”
