But this was not to be. One cold winter's day, as the first snow began to fall, his father came to him and said, "My son, you do not understand, but there is a shadow growing upon the Four Kingdoms, and against it the sword is not a weapon that can ever prevail. I will not so easily lose my last and only son, and all that remains to me of my love.

"There is a Wise One who dwells in the far north that I know of. Though I have always told you that there is naught but peril and death in the empty northern countries, nevertheless it is also home to a great wizard who is proof against this evil. You shall dwell with him and learn his ways, for I must leave you, and leaving, I must know that I have given you the best possible chance for the future."

When his father had made clear his intent, Anest's world seemed to come crashing down for a time. He was so listless and dispirited that he hardly noticed any of the details of the long journey north from his home in Woodfalen.

When they finally arrived at the bridge fortress on the White River, which lay in the valley of the Blackcrest Mountain range, they were met there by Pip, Caspar's younger son. Introductions were exchanged. Then, without so much as a word or backward glance, his father left.




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