The Chronicles of Lumineia: Book 01 - Elseerian Read Free

trained until the age of fifty, but humans completed at twenty-one.
    Without realizing it, Taryn had drawn closer to the swords that were his parents’ legacy and he reached up to caress the hilts in the darkness. Drawing both blades in one smooth motion, he left the sheaths on the wall and returned to the beam of moonlight to study the weapons.
    The swords were almost identical in every way. Perfectly weighted, they could be balanced on the edge of a chair and remain that way for days. Taryn knew—he’d tried it. Not a single chip marred the razor sharp edges. Shimmering in the moonlight were twin dragons of blue and green, etched down the length of both blades in perfect detail, twined together in an embrace. The only real difference between the two swords was a bright blue sapphire above the hilt in one, and a perfect emerald in the same location on the other. Below the gemstones, black leather had been braided and fastened tightly down the double long hilt, allowing the wielder to fight without losing his grip.
    Catching his uncle looking at him, Taryn said, “I wish they could be here for this, Murai.”
    Without responding, his uncle placed a hand on his shoulder in a token of comfort. They remained there in silence until Murai gently pushed the swords aside while moving to stand in front of him. “You would make any parent proud today,” he said as a spontaneous grin creased his features, “except me. I can only be proud of you if you eat breakfast with me.” At the same time he scrunched his face up in mock haughtiness and looked away.
    Taryn grinned. “Alright, just let me get dressed and I will meet you at the dining hall. By the looks of things, you need to get dressed anyway, so I may even beat you there.”
    Murai’s mock angry face shifted to one that welcomed a challenge. “We will see about that!” Leaping for the bed, he exited in a diving roll through the same window he had entered.
    Taryn chuckled to himself and returned the katsanas to their sheaths before preparing for the day. Not ten minutes later the young man stepped out the door and took a deep breath of the cool morning air. Tightening the straps of the two swords on his back, he took a moment to enjoy the view. A light fog hung in the air, although the first rays of dawn could be seen on the horizon and it would burn away soon after sunrise. His little cottage faced south but sat west of the village, nestled into the trees close to the cliffs. To his right the terrain rose sharply to the only mountain on the island, while on his left the ground sloped gently to the sea several miles away.
    At just over 50 miles in length, the island was dotted with small villages, most of them hidden in the forest near the mountain. Smoke from other dining halls could be seen drifting lazily out of chimneys and darkening the fog before breaking free into the sky. On the other side of the mountain, to his right, a sheer cliff dropped hundreds of feet to the breaking surf.
    Taryn turned and walked briskly through the village, listening to the the soft sounds of people waking and preparing for the day. By the time he reached the main street, the early risers were already going about their business. Today would be busier than normal because of the Acabi, an elven word meaning “finish with honor.”
    Turning towards the center of the village, he nodded at the people he passed as he followed the savory smells coming from the dining hall, grateful that his day to cook was still several days off.  Not that he minded helping, but the food never tasted good on his day. Last week it had been particularly dreadful, eliciting more than a few complaints. At least Murai had never seemed concerned. He’d always told him not to worry about his lack of culinary skills because he was 'born to wield a blade'. The phrase had lost its significance though when his uncle had begun to apply it to other things. Frowing at his thoughts, he opened the door and stepped in.
    He