"Delina Lasalana, step forward." The girl hesitated only a moment, looking first to her left, and receiving a smile of encouragement from Pargonal, then to her right, seeing nothing but pure loathing in the face of his cousin, Beralore. His obvious chagrin at her being selected for the next test before him only made her more resolute in her determination to win it. As Delina stepped forward to stand before the Master, her eyes sparkled with new intensity. Grendolynn gave her a small, almost unnoticeable smile. "In my hands, child," she began, "I hold two stones. One of them is but a simple pebble from the ground at your feet. The other is a precious gem from the Monastery's treasury room." "Your task is a simple one," Grendolynn continued, "choose correctly, and let us see what the Dragon wishes us to see." Delina looked up into the grey eyes of the old Master, and boldly reached up towards Grendolynn's bony, wrinkled right hand. At the last second, she decided against it, and placed her small forefinger on the Master's left hand instead. Grendolynn's expression was unreadable as she lowered her hands to her sides. "Did I choose the right one, Master?" Delina asked hopefully. Seconds passed in silence as Grendolynn stood unmoving, her eyes fixed on a point somewhere just above little Delina's blonde head. "Master?" Delina asked again, "Did I choose correctly? Does it mean I'm The Chosen then?" "Yes, child. Yes, indeed!" answered Grendolynn, smiling her best smile. "But Master," Delina asked, "chosen for what?" "In due time, my dear, you will come to know. In due time." Taking Delina's small hand in her own, Grendolynn again felt the telltale twinge of raw power that the girl practically exuded, and knew that she had indeed made the correct decision. No other being the Master had ever known had exibited such a high degree of power as this waif of a child, a power the child did not seem at all aware that she even possessed. But how could she know? Only one tutored in the use of such power became fully aware of it, and even those with the most training sometimes failed to see their own true potential. "Yes, child," the Master continued, "in time. For now, though, let's get you out of the damp air and into some clean clothes for a change. You'd like that, yes?" "Very much so, Master!" "Good, child! Good!" As Grendolynn led Delina toward the East exit of the courtyard, the old Master opened her other hand, her left one, and dropped the small, ordinary rock into the gravel walkway at her feet. Delina, silently pondering what the future held for her, did not notice. ------------------------------------------------- This is another excerpt from the book I'm writing; Dragon Saga. (for more of this story, look back at the 10 part series I uploaded a while back.) As always, thanks for looking and I appreciate the comments.