Wielder's Awakening by T.B. Christensen

like it had the night before when he came out of the forest.
    “Traven!  Hurry up and get down here.  We are on a schedule.  We have had a long enough break.”
    Traven hurried down the hill the moment Hank called his name but still had to rush to scramble atop Dapple so as not to be left behind.  They were soon back on the road and making their way around the base of the hill.  He could still barely make out the silver line in the distance far ahead of them and asked if it was in fact the Blue River.
    “Well, the Blue River is in front of us,” John replied wrinkling his forehead.  “You can see it from here?”
    Traven nodded.  John squinted in the distance and shook his head.
    “We’ll reach it sometime around midday.  Once we get to it, the road will follow it all the way to Kavar.  That’s one of the good things about the road to Kavar, you never run out of fresh water.”
    It took them longer than Traven thought it would to reach the river.  He was learning that it was hard to tell distances on the plains, because he could see so far unobstructed.  As they finally pulled alongside the Blue River, Traven gazed down into the water.  He had heard that it was called the Blue River because the rocks that lined it were dark blue, but the rocks seemed more black than blue to him.  He guessed that people would rather drink water from a blue river than a black river.  The river flowed along swiftly and was several arm spans across.  He was amazed by the size of it.  He had never seen a body of water larger than the creek at Oak Tree.
    “What are you staring at Traven?  It’s just a small river.  When you see the Adrinavelle you won’t even remember this little thing.”
    Traven wasn’t sure if Hank was serious or not, but he ripped his gaze away from the river.  They continued on at a steady pace down the road.  As the day continued on, it became hotter and Traven became sorer.  Hank and John kept arguing about something having to do with whether or not they had gotten more wool this trip or the last.  Traven only half listened as they bantered back and forth between each other.  They never really had anything interesting to say, but he definitely preferred traveling with them than traveling alone.  Whenever he tried to ask them about the city, they would just tell him to wait and see for himself.  Hank would always say that the anticipation of what the city was like would be far more interesting than the city itself.  However, John said that the city was truly amazing and that Traven would love it when they finally reached Kavar.  When the sun was directly overhead, they stopped to eat quickly and fill up their water skins.
    They had barely gotten off their horses when Hank had them back up again.  Traven rode on in silence wondering if the day was ever going to end.  He was not sure if he could spend two more days traveling at this pace.  John kept assuring him that it really was not that bad and after another day he would be used to it.  He wasn’t sure if he believed John but figured that it had to get easier over the next couple of days or he was going to die.
    “Hey Traven, have you heard about that army that’s being raised in the north of Balthus?”
    “An army?” Traven exclaimed excitedly as his wandering thoughts vanished.
    “That’s what I said.  My neighbor took a load of wool into Kavar a few weeks ago and heard all about it.”
    “It’s just a rumor John.  Don’t fill the boy’s head with a bunch of nonsense.”
    “It’s not just a rumor Hank.  There were several people in Kavar who had actually seen the army.”  John then turned back to Traven.  “Apparently, there is an army that’s being gathered in northern Balthus.  No one’s sure exactly why it’s being raised.  Some say it’s just some noble who wants more land but others are saying that it’s a powerful wielder trying to cleanse the world.  It seems that it’s made up of mostly bandits