them a ride.
Abram laughed aloud at the sight. “It looks like the word is out.”
Whill said politely that they would be walking, to the lads’ disappointment. “We could use a good walk anyway,” he told Abram, who simply chuckled.
The kids followed them for a while but soon gave up on the prospect. Whill and Abram walked in silence for a while as the sun set beyond the city walls. The streets were not crowded; only the occasional horseman or guard rode along. Women in long gowns and men in an assortment of autumn colors strolled from shop to shop. Couples walked hand in hand, laughing and talking in excited voices. Some children still ran about, letting off small fireworks from the previous night.
After about a half hour Whill and Abram reached Ocean Mist and enjoyed a fine dinner of seafood and wine. They talked over their plans for the ship and made plans for the days ahead. They had estimated that it would take a month to build the ship, and by that time Abram would be almost fully healed.
The next day Whill brought his horse out beyond the city to give it some exercise. He rode for hours up and down the coast, the fresh saltwater spraying his face as his horse raced along the beach for miles and miles. It was nice to be out of the city. As much as he liked it, he liked the freedom of the open land much more. He had always loved his life of travel, going from town to town, never making any one place his home. He figured he would settle down one day, but not any time soon. He looked forward to setting sail in his own ship, with nothing between him and the setting sun but the gentle blue ocean. There was nothing better than a night on a ship on calm waters. Sometimes the stars seemed so bright and close, he felt as though he could reach up and touch them. When the sky was clear and the water was still, there were times when he could not tell where the earth ended and the ocean began. He was truly at peace on the sea, where the mysteries of the water were more complex than his own. It was a place where he could let go of all his worries and be lulled into quiet tranquility.
As he sped along the beach, he thought of his childhood home. The beaches of Sidnell had been his favorite place to think. He would sit for hours on the sand and read. Abram brought him the most interesting books, some with facts about Agora, some a complete history of each kingdom. Then there were his favorites, the books of the elves. As soon as he had learned to read Elvish, he had been fascinated by them. They had come to Agora in the year 4650, five hundred years before Whill was born. Their story was one of great loss and suffering. They had lived in a land called Drindellia, far to the east. They had thrived there for tens of thousands of years and had built great cities within. The books then told of a great foe, the Draggard, who were created through the evil works of the Dark elf Eadon. Using what people call magic, but the elves call Orna Catorna, he combined an unborn elf with a dragon egg, in the hopes of creating a powerful breed of elves. The Draggard had the shape of the elves, but in appearance they resembled dragons. Their skin was dark green and was rough and scaly upon their backs. They had hideously sharp teeth and claws, and strong thin tails that could whip or impale a man. They were stronger than elves, but like them they lived long, dying only from injury and not age. Like their dragon kin, the Draggard also laid eggs, which was where they found their real strength: great numbers. A queen Draggard could lay thousands of eggs a year.
Eadon proclaimed himself lord of all Drindellia, and with his followers and the Draggard began a bloody war against King Verelas, ruler of the Elves of the Sun. The war raged for nearly 110 years. The Draggard were many in number, but the elves were skilled in body and in mind. Slowly the elves were pushed to the west of Drindellia, where they were to make their final stand. It was then
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