The Portal...

1

Borth and Nellis ran quickly along the trail among the rocks. The two had been friends since birth, sons of a patroller who served in the war against the gobins. That was fifteen years ago, and these two had been born two years later, at least that was the estimate of Borth's age. Nellis' father had found Borth as an infant, abandoned in a crevice that smoked with volcanic activity. Never before had a Vagha baby been abandoned by its parents. Presuming that misfortune had befallen them messengers were sent to all Vagha settlements within a month's travel. All returned with reports that no one was missing and no one knew of this mysterious baby. Nellis' family had adopted him as their own and he had proven to be quick-witted and courageous.
Now that the boys were thirteen years old each had been apprenticed into his future profession. Borth's eyes were deep red as a child, so dark that they were nearly the color of ripe plums. His downy hair was streaked red and gold, and his face was completely bare. His adoptive parents took this as a sure sign that he lacked the strength to become a warrior. They apprenticed him to a Wizard even before he came of age. Now he was thirteen and his chin was finally beginning to sprout a few hairs. Borth's intelligence helped him to become quite adept at firecraft, although he had difficulty working even the simplest of the earthcrafts. He was not yet to his one year anniversary with Danlezan the Wizard, yet already he had mastered the basic fire enchantments and learned a number of the more powerful dweomers as well.
Borth ducked behind a large boulder on one side of the trail as Nellis scrambled up a gentle slope and climbed atop a small ledge. Nellis flattened himself on the ground and poked his head up enough to see Borth hiding below. As Borth looked up at his brother he saw the sun glistening upon Nellis' full golden beard. Borth had always been jealous of Nellis' beard. Nellis had a full complement of facial hair at birth, bright scarlet to be sure, but it had gradually turned the shimmering golden color more typical of the Vagha. Nellis also had orange eyes. These two omens in the same child predicted that he would become a great warrior some day. When the time had come, Nellis began training with crossbows and battle axes while Borth spoke fancy words to start small fires or seal a minor wound. Borth was jealous of his brother and often longed to be a warrior. Of course he had the basic training in combat that all Vagha received, but he knew that in a fight he would be hard pressed to take on more than a single opponent at a time.
Suddenly a shadow began to creep around the bend in the trail. The only noise was a slight sniffing from the thing that was tracking them. It came closer. The shadow grew until they could make out its shape. Its body was like a lion, but it was winged and it had the head of a man. The beast moved silently on its padded feet as it pressed its nose to the ground searching for the spoor of its prey. This was a mere cub, but even a young androsphynx was more than a match for two Vagha, especially when they were only armed with hand axes. Nellis slid backward to better conceal himself on the ledge. His belt buckle scraped across the stone. The androsphynx froze and lifted its head attentively. It slowly moved its gaze up the slope then paused and grinned, it razor fangs glistening in the sun. The beast's legs tensed briefly before it sprang in the air. Its wings unfurled and beat one powerful downward stroke that propelled it up to Nellis' hiding place. Nellis screamed, "Help me Borth! Its got me!"
It was too late. The andorsphynx was airborne again with Nellis dangling helplessly in its mouth. Gazing down the sphynx spotted Borth behind the boulder. It folded it wings tightly against it sides and plummeted toward him. Dwarf and sphynx came down full upon Borth. He fell supine on the stone, the wind was knocked out of him, and before he could move the androsphynx had pinned him to the ground. Its man-like face snarled, revealing the sharp teeth inside its mouth. Its warm breath ruffled Borth's hair as it inched its face ever closer to the dwarf.
Borth looked helplessly into the eyes of the sphynx. "Its no fun playing hide and seek with you Kessil. You always find us too quickly." Kessil licked his face happily.

Kessil was the youngest of the trio, not quite a year old yet. Borth and Nellis had found him when he was only a few days old. He had fallen from his nest and was scared and hungry. The brothers found him nestled among the roots of a Jungum tree crying piteously. Borth remembered the trouble it had been to convince his parents to let him stay. It was Borth's responsibility to take care of Kessil, to find him food and take him to the pool to bathe. At first this had been hard for the boy, but gradually Kessil learned to hunt for himself. Eventually he could find his own way to the pool. Borth liked Kessil much more after that. The pair became great friends and did nearly everything together. Kessil already knew a few words, but an androsphynx does not gain full control over its speech until it reaches maturity. In another year Kessil would begin to speak fluently.
The boys were happy to have a free day to spend together. Since they started their apprenticeships days like this became rarer and rarer. Apprentices lived with their teachers and were allowed only one day a week to socialize. Three out of four of these free days were spent with other apprentices in the same discipline. After all, for one to work well with other soldiers or craftworkers it was important to personally know and understand them. Today Borth and Nellis were together for the first time in a lunar cycle. They were now racing down the mountain path into the valley below.
Being accustomed to the thinner air at high elevations, the boys received a tremendous energy boost when moving down from the hills. They ran faster and faster with Kessil bounding happily along behind them until they reached the valley floor. All three tumbled onto the grass and lay panting and laughing. Once they caught their breath again Borth sat up and looked around. "Hey, we're not too far from the old battleground. Let's go and see it!"
Nellis stopped laughing. "You know that we're not allowed to go there. Even though that battle was long ago, there might still be trogs watching it from a distance."
"Oh, come on you big baby. There's no danger. Even if there was, I could get us home quickly." He puffed out his chest. "I know how to make a Path."
Borth was ashamed of his lack of skill in earthcraft, and bragging helped him feel better about this limitation. Nellis grimaced at this lie.
"Opening a Path is something only a powerful Wizard can do. There's no way you can do it."
"I can so."
"Prove it."
"I...I don't want to waste the energy unless we really need it."
"I knew you couldn't do it." said Nellis triumphantly.
"I can to do it, but if you don't believe me I don't want to be your friend any more." Borth turned and strode quickly away, toward the battleground. Nellis watched his brother as he left. He turned to Kessil.
"I'm not going." Nellis said firmly as he folded his arms over his chest. Kessil just purred and ran after Borth.

Borth and Kessil followed the path through the valley, eventually coming out onto a plain. At the far end they could see the forest. All across the expanse were piles of rocks stacked in the traditional formations of Vagha burial mounds. Borth looked at the runes on the closest pile. He had learned to read these ancient writings during the first weeks of his training. Borth read the engraving:

"We honor our fallen brothers and sisters, and take pride in knowing that as they died a score of gobins fell with each."
He turned to Kessil and patted his head. "I wonder if they did any crafting during the fight"
Borth knelt and spread his arms wide. He closed his eyes and murmured the chant of attunement. When he opened his eyes the battlefield looked much different. The forest and burial mounds retained their shapes, but became grey and lifeless. Scattered about the battlefield were patches of color. Borth had earned how to interpret the mystic residue of the crafts. Nearby him were patches of ground and sky that glowed a faint crimson, the mark of firecraft. The far end, near the forest was a haze of red. 'Must have been an ash storm', he thought.
Borth could also identify dim yellow places, almost as if the ground were jaundiced. Near the middle of the field the colors began to streak and move toward a common point like the flow of streams into a pool. On the ground near this point was an inky black stain. "Deathcraft", Borth muttered under his breath. Just then Kessil began to growl. The hair on the shpynx's back stood on end as he crouched low to the ground. Suddenly, a small stone struck the pile of rock behind Borth. He threw himself on the ground. Then he heard laughter. Nellis stepped out from behind another memorial marker, laughing aloud.
"I sure scared you," he said between chuckles. "I bet you thought it was some stinky old gobins come to get you." He doubled over with laughter at his prank.
Borth got up and yelled at his brother. "What is wrong with you, scaring me like that?"
"You're not really scared of gobins here, are you?"
Kessil faintly growled. They looked at him and saw he was still crouched low and on alert. Then Borth saw them. Moving near the edge of the forest were three figures, each glowing faintly yellow. He pulled Nellis behind a burial mound. "There are Trogs in the forest, three of them! And they are using Stoneskin for protection!"
Nellis' heart sank. Even with his battle axe, he was no match for three goblins at once, especially when they were guarded magically. With only a hand axe he would be luckly to take on one. "We have to get out of here!" he said. "You told me you could make a Path, now do it!" He hoped his brother really had not been bluffing.
Borth was nervous. "I won't do it until there is no other way!" he said. He peered around the pile. He could still see two of the yellow outlines in the forest, but the third was gone. He looked around wildly and caught a glimpse of the Trog on top of the mound a moment before it leapt upon him. Borth tumbled backward as the gobin landed on his chest. Dirty, ragged toenails ripped his shirt. Borth could smell its foul breath as it grinned wickedly and licked its lips with its forked tongue. The gobin raised a jagged stone axe to deal the deathblow. A roar of anger came from the Trog's left and it turned to face this new assault. Kessil leapt onto the trog, knocking it off Borth. They rolled apart and each regained his footing. The pair began to circle each other carefully, waiting for the right moment to strike. The sphynx would attack by instinct alone, while the Trog had combat experience on its side. The goblin finally lashed out with its jagged stone axe and struck a massive blow the the sphynx. The axe sunk deeply into the cub's side. Kessil howled in pain as the goblin wrenched his weapon free, then bared his claws killing the goblin with one swipe. Borth got up and chanted, his hands glowing red. He passed his palms along the gash in Kessil's side, sealing the wound. "You are going to need rest for that to heal." he said.
The androsphynx collapsed on the ground and moaned in pain. Then Nellis yelled, "The other two are coming, do something!"
Borth had no choice now. He had heard other crafters cast the Path at least a dozen times. He knelt and began to chant the words.
"Hurry up!"
Borth paused, desperately groping for the next phrase.
"Why are you stopping?"
Borth tried to remember all of the words.
"They're getting closer!"
He searched his memory for the right combination.
"Come on, Borth!" Nellis was screaming with all his might.
That was it, he was sure of it.
"Borth, for Nature's sake, they're on top of us!" Nellis' voice reached a crescendo.
Suddenly a stream of words lept into Borth's mind unbidden. Borth finished the incantation. He looked up at the approaching trogs, their yellow glow beginning to wane. He looked at his own hands. Something was wrong. His hands should have been brightly glowing yellow. Instead, a faint purple haze enveloped them. He had used the wrong words! Even so, purple was not the residual color of any known craft. He was frozen for a moment, puzzled at this turn of events until Nellis shreiked at him, "Finish it! We are out of time!"
Borth spoke the final word to invoke the power of the craft. The Path would normally have enveloped the trio in a stone shell and moved through the earth at his will. Instead, a gently pulsing ball of purple flame drifted slowly out of his hands toward the goblins. The trogs crouched to the ground as it approached, then chuckled as it passed them.
"Poor little dwarfy, can't even cast a simple craft right. Bet he tastes better than he casts though." one of the goblins hissed.
Nellis unhooked his hand axe from his belt. The trogs had undoubtedly heard his voice, but could not see him hiding behind the pile of stones.
Borth stood still as he watched the flame drifting, oblivious to the words of the approaching goblins. What had he said wrong?
The trogs moved closer. "Too scared to run, little dwarfy?" they taunted.
The flame began to move a little faster.
The trog in the lead raised his axe.
Nellis leapt out of his hiding place and gave a loud battle cry, startling the trogs.
The flame continued its flight, ever faster. Borth stared at it accelerated in its flight toward the point where the earthcraft and firecraft residues converged.
The lead trog turned toward Nellis as the other came after Borth. "Now it's a meal instead of a snack," the second trog hissed at Borth.
The flame stopped in midair, right at the point of convergence. It hung for a moment then began to flow outward, like fire spreading across a sheet of parchment. When it finished a huge hole hung in the sky. The grass in front of the rift was tinged violet by the light pouring through. Borth stared in amazement as a man stepped out of the opening. Not quite a man, for Borth had met men before when they came to council with his father. This had the shape of a man, but looked different somehow. It wasn't the bronze armor or the violet eyes. Borth couldn't place it. Then the trog leapt upon him.
Nellis was carefully circling his goblin, each being careful to ward off the other's attacks. Neither had managed to land a blow yet. The stranger closed the distance between himself and the scuffle in a moment. His curved sword shone brightly in the sunlight. With one stroke he felled the trog attacking Borth.
He then turned his attention to the other goblin. Nellis had managed to avoid the stone axe and score two minor hits as well. The stranger paused, timing the trog's movement, then ran the goblin through from behind.
The boys backed away from the stranger. He spoke. "Do not be afraid of me. I have watched all that occurred from the portal. I saw that there was no aggression in your intentions. So I chose to side with you against these foul creatures." He wiped his sword upon the grass.
"Tell me, what is this place?"
"E-Esfah," Borth managed to choke out.
"I have long watched it from afar. My awareness of it started with a great battle between those who looked like you, and some who looked like these others. Many died, and many more battles have taken place here since then. Never before have I been able to pass. Thank you for my freedom."
With that he grasped Borth's hand, shaking it vigorously. He wiped his sword clean on the garments of the dead trog at his feet, sheathed it and turned toward the rift in the sky. "I shall return soon," he said as he paused at the opening.
"Wait," Borth called. "We don't even know your name."
The man opened his mouth to speak, yet the only sound that emerged was a cry of panic for suddenly the black stain on the ground reared up like a serpent. The man reached for his sabre, but it was too late. The death snake struck him. He screamed as it coiled about him pinning his arms to his sides and entangling his legs. "Help me!" he shouted as he tumbled backward into the gateway. His cry for help was lost as black tentacles grasped the edges of the hole and pulled the rift closed, sealing it as if it had never been.
It took Borth, Nellis and Kessil several hours to make the short journey back to the village. Kessil was in pain and limping from his wound. They trio stopped several times at the small streams along the trail to let the sphynx drink. When they finally made it home, well past curfew their masters were outraged. They could not hide the terrible scar on Kessil's side so they told the story in full.
The village elders held an emergency meeting the night the boys returned. Among them were the boys' masters. It was readily agreed that a permanent outpost must be established near the old battlefield to guard against future Trog incursion. After all, goblins being so bold as to attack dwarfs who were within an hour's march of a Vagha village meant one of two things: The goblins were incredibly stupid or they had had sufficient time to bolster their numbers since the last major skirmish. All of the council believed the first to be true, but there was no need to take chances with the other. Besides, there was the matter of the stranger in the bronze armor.
Early the next morning Borth and Nellis returned to the battlefield, this time in the company of a small band of warriors and crafters. The boys retold the whole story and the bodies of the slain goblins were easily located. One had a large hole in its gullet, obviously made by Kessil's talons. The other two had been slain by the stranger and these were examined more closely. The trog the Nellis had fought had two axe wounds and his master, Harjan, congratulated him on how well he had handled the full-grown goblin. It had clearly received its death from a sword thrust through the heart. The final body had been cleanly shorn in half. The sword used had passed through bone as if it were paper. The elders were mystified. Never before had they seen evidence of a weapon capable of this type of attack. Plans were made quickly for the defense of the village.
In punishment for disobeying a standing order, the boys were not allowed to see each other for three months. Instead, each of their free days were spent separately, studying the history and law of the village. By the time they could meet again, Kessil was completely healed, although the location of his wound had crippled his left wing. He never flew again.
The first time the boys could spend a day together again, they were forced to march down to the site of the old battleground again. The elders had established a guard station in the entrance to the valley, a low stone wall with battlements and a sturdy iron gate that blocked passage to the trail. There was also a small stone building for sleeping quarters. The boys passed through the gate and onto the plain. Borth's master, Danlezan, was with him. "Please show me where you saw this stain and portal. We have been able to detect no traces of the passage."
Borth once again chanted words that allowed him to see the residue of the crafts. The fire and earth signatures had faded slightly in the three months since the incident, more than they should have in that short a time. He scanned the battleground, but detected to trace of the death stain that was on the ground last time nor the violet portal. He walked forward until he was nearly upon the spot where the portal had stood. Slowly he circled the place, desperately looking for any sign of the gateway he had created. When he was opposite his old master, he saw it! With Danlezan's bright robe as a backdrop it appeared almost intangibly, much smaller than before. It was no larger than a knothole in a board now. Borth strode forward and placed his eye against the hole. Around the small aperture was the sky and the ground of Esfah. Inside was a world far removed from his. The place he looked upon was barren and desolate. The few plants he saw were shriveled pathetically. The sun that shone upon it seemed cold and lifeless, its light the color of the darkest wine. Borth saw two beings near the opening. They were facing him and he studied their faces, They resembled the stranger, but looked harder and uglier, their mouths twisted into unnatural snarls. The armor they wore was tarnished and battered as though they had spent many years in relentless battle. The were armed only with the curved blades by their sides, and they carried no shields. The unadorned cloaks they wore whipped about them in the fierce wind.
Borth got the impression that they were guarding something. Of course! The gateway to Esfah! He remembered the stranger's words, 'Long have I watched this place.' The beings from this other world wanted to come to Esfah. The stranger had helped him, but these two looked malign and dangerous.
After explaining to Danelzan what he had seen, Borth tried to make his master see it as well. He described the other world in as much detail as he could, and pointed out the exact location where he had been able to look through, but Danlezan was unable see anything. Borth was in the second year of his apprenticeship now, and mature Vagha almost never told lies. Still the council remained dubious to his claims. After all, he had no evidence to support them. It was finally decided that Borth would need stricter guidance in the future to assure that he was busy enough that he had no time to daydream and make up outrageous tales. The boy was sent back to his master's home.

Then the council unanimously voted to double the contingent of guards at the outpost.

Part 2