A Quest of Heroes (Book #1 in the Sorcerer's Ring)

black in there, and Thor could not
tell if only the wind had pushed it open. It was so dark, he could not see how
anyone could be inside.
    Thor reached out, gently pushed
open the door, and stuck his head in:
    “Hello?” he called out.
    He pushed it wider. It was
completely dark in here, save for a soft glow on the far side of the dwelling.
    “Hello?” he called out, louder.
“Argon?”
    Beside him, Krohn whined. It
seemed obvious to Thor this was a bad idea, that Argon was not at home. But
still he forced himself to look. He took two steps in, and as he did, the door
slammed closed behind him.
    Thor spun, and there, standing at
the far wall, was Argon.
    “I’m sorry to have disturbed you,”
Thor said, his heart pounding.
    “You come uninvited,” Argon said.
    “Forgive me,” Thor said. “I did
not mean to intrude.”
    Thor looked around, as his eyes
adjusted to the darkness, and saw several small candles, laid out in a circle,
around the periphery of the stone wall. The room was lit mostly by a single
shaft of light, which came in through a small, circular opening in the ceiling.
This place was overwhelming, stark and surreal.
    “Few people have been here,”
Argon replied. “Of course, you would not be here now unless I allowed you to
be. That door only opens for whom it is intended. For whom it is not, it would
never open—not with all the strength of the world.”
    Thor felt better, and yet he also
wondered how Argon had known he was coming. Everything about this man was
mysterious to him.
    “I had an encounter I did not
understand,” Thor said, needing to let it all out, and to hear Argon’s opinion.
“There was a snake. A Whiteback. It nearly attacked us. We were saved by my
leopard, Krohn.”
    “We?” Argon asked.
    Thor flushed, realizing he had
said too much. He didn’t know what to say.
    “I was not alone,” he said.
    “And who were you with?”
    Thor bit his tongue, not knowing
how much to say. After all, this man was close to her father, the king, and
perhaps he would tell.
    “I don’t see how that is relevant
to the snake.”
    “It is entirely relevant. Have
you not wondered if that is why the snake came to begin with?”
    Thor was completely off guard.
    “I don’t understand,” he said.
    “Not every omen you see is meant
for you. Some are meant for others.”
    Thor examined Argon in the dim
light, starting to understand. Was Gwen fated for something evil? And if so,
could he stop it?
    “Can you change fate?” Thor
asked.
    Argon turned, slowly crossing his
room.
    “Of course, that is the question we
have been asking for centuries,” Argon replied. “Can fate be changed? On the
one hand, everything is destined, everything is written. On the other hand, we
have free will. Our choices also determine our fate. It seems impossible for
these two—destiny and free will—to live together, side by side, yet they do. It
is where these two intercede—where destiny meets free will—that human behavior
comes into play. Destiny can’t always be broken, but sometimes it can be bent,
or even changed, by a great sacrifice and a great force of free will. Yet most
of the time, destiny is firm. Most of the time, we are just bystanders, put
here to watch it play out. We think we play a part in it, but usually we don’t.
We are mostly observers, not participants.”
    “So then why does the universe
bother showing us omens, if there’s nothing we can do about them?” Thor asked.
    Argon turned and smiled.
    “You are quick boy, I will give
you that. Mostly, we are shown omens to prepare ourselves. We are shown our
fate to give us time to prepare. Sometimes, rarely, we are given an omen to
enable us to take action, to change what will be. But this is very rare.”
    “Is it true that the Whiteback
foretells death?”
    Argon examined him.
    “It is,” he said, finally.
“Without fail.”
    Thor’s heart pounded at the
response, at the confirmation of his fears. He was also surprised by Argon’s
straightforward response.
    “I encountered one, today,” Thor
said, “but I don’t know who will die. Or if there is some action I can take to
prevent it. I want to put it out of my mind, but I cannot. Always, that image
of the snake’s head is with me. Why?”
    Argon examined him a very long
time, and sighed.
    “Because whomever will die, it
will affect you directly. It will affect your destiny.”
    Thor was increasingly agitated;
he felt that every answer bred more questions.
    “But