New Short Story!

Legends is finished! Pretty excited about this one.  It took a while longer than normal, because, as some of you know, it wasn't quite right the first time.  The original version had way more "holes" than anticipated, but unlike delicious swiss cheese, it just didn't cut.  Ah cheese jokes!  Look what I/we've resorted to--see how I include you in my mishaps and poor jokes?   Okay, before I tangent for hours, and so I can get back to making some final edits on the NEXT step (hint hint, nudge nudge, cough, short story, cough, etc), I present to you, my loyal Roninites, a small blurb of "LEGENDS" (the highly revised and updated version).  Be ready to get excited and share the next phase in the movement of the Ronin Saga!   ............................  

Kail’s footsteps resounded on the stone floors.  His hand fingered the item in his pocket, feeling its smooth surface. On his right, the dawning sun shone through the column of pillars.  The hallway was open, unveiling a city to rival all cities—the legendary Morrow, city of wind.  At the end of the corridor, he saw the huge metal-strapped door flanked by two hulking guards. The eight other Ronin at his side echoed his urgency as they strode through the crowded halls.  Guards, servants, couriers stepped back to watch them pass. They reached the door. The guards moved for the handle, but Kail didn’t slow.  He summoned the flow.  With a current of air the door burst, and shards of wood filled the air.  The others casually stepped passed the guards who were now hunched, protecting their heads and coughing from the screen of dust. “Ah, good, I never understood why there was a door there anyway,” Maris said at his side. Omni, the closest to him, whispered through the white cloth shroud that hid the Ronin’s face, “Be vigilant and wait for Kail’s command.” Kail strode through the debris, entering the room, the others close behind.  The chamber was large and circular.  Thick pillars ran the edge of the room.  They held up the arched ceiling carved with a fantastic scene – a man walking across the ocean, nine others at his side while silver and gold clouds roiled from all sides as if the very heavens were his entourage. Beyond the pillars was an impossible drop.  It was as if the room itself sat perched upon a cloud, overlooking the world.  They were too high for even birds to fly, the air thin up here. Kail had always marveled at birds and their power of flight.  They above all others were light and free.  Boundless, even, he thought enviously.  He had often wondered what it would take to fly, though he had never tried.  To attempt it would require a death wish.  Something many would argue he had, he supposed. In the center of the room, a dozen men and women stood around a stone tablet.  They looked as if only moments before they were arguing over a pile of maps. He felt several of the Ronin embrace their power.  Arm at his side, he raised a single finger.  They released the flow, reluctantly.  Patience, he ordered.  We will find the betrayer and the truth soon enough, he thought, touching the item in his pocket, again. Fendary’s grand cloak fluttered as he turned from the podium, striding forward. “What happened?” The High General was an almost ordinary looking man—to a fool.  With a grizzled beard and brown eyes that pierced one’s soul, the man was the most brilliant tactician the age had ever known.  He had seen more battles in one lifetime than any one man.  Following Fendary’s gaze, he realized his right arm was still caked in blood.  “We were betrayed,” he answered clearly, voice cold as ice.

  .... To be continued Back To Ronin Saga Blog