Read Online Halfstone: A Tale of the Narathlands by Daniel White - Free Book Online

long way and I think it is about time you had some
burning questions answered.”
    Aldrick waited breathlessly for him to continue.
    Jon stroked his beard thoughtfully for some time. His natural soft
smile had faded from his face. “As you are no doubt already aware, Aldrick, a
certain wielder named Selayna has decided that she doesn’t want you around. You
have already encountered more than one of her servants. They travelled far to
find you. You wonder why, yes? Well, first you must know some things about your
birth parents… I knew them both well. Their names were Isobel and Gilthred.” Jon
looked away. His eyes glinted. “Aldrick, the things I am about to tell you are
no ordinary things. I’m sure you won’t find them easily acceptable as truth.
However, they are. I have little reason to keep anything from you now.” He took
a deep breath. “Your parents were wielders. They were great wielders, some of
the very greatest, in fact.”
    Aldrick’s mind ground to a halt. “They… what?”
    Jon lent forward. “Their son was a wielder too. Aldrick, you are a wielder.”
    What again? No, that wasn’t right. He wasn’t a wielder! “No, I’m
not a wielder, Jon. You must be confused. I’m just… ordinary… I am!” He looked
at Télia for some kind of reassurance, but it appeared that this had not been
news to her.
    “I’m quite sure you are, my dear boy!” cried Jon. “As sure as the
mountains rise you are. And that’s just the beginning of it!”
    His mouth hung half open. “H… how am I a wielder?”
    “How? Well, because your parents were, obviously! Wielders do not
bear humans. You are as much a human as you are a rabbit.”
    “How is it that I know nothing of this, then?!”
    “Because you have not been told. Well, at least not until now.”
    This conversation was impossible. Aldrick was only just becoming
accustomed to living in a world where wielders existed. Being one himself was a
whole different story. Surely he had been grievously misinformed. He shook his
head fervently. He was on his feet, tense. “It’s not true!”
    “Aldrick, be calm,” Télia said gently. “I knew this myself, but it
was news that needed to come to you from one more understanding and
knowledgeable than myself. Jon is very wise. Heed his words.”
    Jon chuckled. “Wise? I don’t consider myself as such. I’m just
old, far too old… now where was I?” He pondered. “Ah yes, I know where I was.
You are a wielder, my boy, as were your parents! Now your parents, Aldrick,
they were very special. When I said that they were some of the greatest
wielders, I referred not only to their noble characters but also to their
stormpowers. Storm, of course, is the term given to the magic we possess. We
are wielders of the storm. Many folk may simply refer to us as wizards or
sorcerers, but wielder is the preferred title.
    “Your parents were able to wield their stormpowers in unique and
exceptional ways. Your father, Gilthred, could influence the weather—turn the
rain to sun and the wind into a weapon.” Jon paused again, seemingly adrift in
an ocean of memories. “And your mother, she could do something quite
extraordinary. She could drain another wielder’s storm from them. It was an
ability feared by many.” He looked upon Aldrick with grave eyes. “Aldrick, you
are hunted because you are feared too, because you also have this ability.”
    Aldrick fell back to a seated position. Jon’s words continued to
numb his mind. How was any of this true? How had it been kept from him for so
long? Since being swept away on this journey he had not even entertained the
possibility of such truths being revealed. He had expected more trivial
explanations for the attempts on his life. Perhaps they came as revenge for
unpaid debts his parents owed to Selayna or something of the like. Never could
he have foreseen that it was he who was considered a threat.
    Télia came to him with a mug of water from the kitchen and placed
it in