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

that’s not fair,” Thor said.
“I need to know who it is that will die. I need to warn them!”
    Slowly, Argon shook his head.
    “It may not be for you to know,”
he answered. “And if you do know, there may still be nothing you can do about
it. Death finds its subject—even if someone is warned.”
    “Then why was I shown this?” Thor
asked, tormented. “And why can’t I get it from my head?”
    Argon stepped forward, so close,
inches away; the intensity of his eyes burned bright in this dim place, and it
frightened Thor. It was like looking into the sun, and it was all he could do
not to look away. Argon raised a hand and placed it on Thor’s shoulder. It was
ice to the touch and sent a chill through him.
    “You are young,” Argon said,
slowly. “You are still learning. You feel things too deeply. Seeing the future
is a great reward. But it can also be a great curse. Most humans who live out
their destiny have no awareness of it. Sometimes the most painful thing is to
have an awareness of your destiny, of what will be. You have not even begun to
understand your powers. But you will. One day. Once you understand where you
are from.”
    “Where I’m from?” Thor asked,
confused.
    “Your mother’s home. Far from
here. Beyond the Canyon, on the outer reaches of the Wilds. There is a castle,
high up in the sky. It sits alone on a cliff, and to reach it, you walk along a
winding stone road. It is a magical road—like ascending into the sky itself. It
is a place of profound power. That is where you hail from. Until you reach that
place, you will never fully understand. Once you do, all your questions will be
answered.”
    Thor blinked, and when he opened
his eyes, he found himself, to his amazement, standing outside Argon’s
dwelling. He had no idea how he got here.
    The wind whipped through the
rocky crag, and Thor squinted at the harsh sunlight. Beside him stood Krohn,
whining.
    Thor went back to Argon’s door
and pounded on it with all his might. There came nothing but silence in return.
    “Argon!” Thor screamed.
    He was answered only by the
whistling of the wind.
    He tried the door, even putting
his shoulder to it—but it would not budge.
    Thor waited a long time, he was
not sure how long, until finally the day grew late. Finally, he realized that
his time here was over.
    He turned and began to walk back
down the rocky slope, wondering. He felt more confused than ever, and also felt
more certain that a death was coming—yet more helpless to stop it.
    As he hiked in that desolate
place, he began to feel something cold on his ankles and saw a thick fog
forming. It rose, growing thicker and rising higher by the moment. Thor did not
understand what was happening. Krohn whined.
    Thor tried to speed up, to
continue his way back down the mountain, but in moments the fog grew so thick,
he could barely see before his eyes. At the same time, he felt his limbs grow
heavy, and, as if by magic, the sky grew dark. He felt himself growing
exhausted. He could not take another step. He curled up in a ball on the
ground, right where he stood, enveloped in the thick fog. He tried to open his
eyes, to move, but he could not. In moments, he was fast asleep.
    *
    Thor saw himself standing at the
top of a mountain, staring out over the entire kingdom of the Ring. Before him
was King’s Court, the castle, the fortifications, the gardens, the trees, and
rolling hills as far as he could see—all in the full bloom of summer. The
fields were filled with fruits and colored flowers, and there was the sound of
music and festivities.
    But as Thor turned slowly, surveying
everything, the grass began to turn black. Fruits fell off the trees. Then the
trees themselves shriveled up to nothing. All the flowers dried up to crisps,
and, to his horror, one building after the next crumbled, until the entire
kingdom was nothing but desolation, heaps of rubble and stone.
    Thor looked down and suddenly saw
a huge Whiteback, slithering between his feet. He stood there, helpless, as it
coiled around his legs, then his waist, then arms. He felt himself being
suffocated, the life squeezed out of him, as the snake coiled all the way
around and stared at him in the face, inches away, hissing, its long tongue
nearly touching Thor’s cheek. And then it opened its mouth wide, revealing huge
fangs, leaned forward, and swallowed Thor’s face.
    Thor shrieked, then found himself
standing alone inside the king’s castle. It was completely