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Legends of Coreign - The Gathering of Souls
By Seth Rex
Author's Note: I thought I'd post the Prologue and Chapter One of my new Novel, to get the opinion of you guys. Hope you like it, and do comment with thoughts, suggestions, and praise, or even complaints.
Prologue: Faith in the Blind
The rain made the scene look gloomier than it probably was. And so it should. The scene was indeed gloomy, looking upon the faces of the villagers that lined a path toward their village. A young woman, whom was actually blind, stood at the entrance. She wore white mage’s robes, and had a walking stick, though it was not a magical one. A hood covered her head. As she looked forward, the path, as outlined by the villagers, started outside the edge of a forest and went inwards. Villagers, whom were wearing very simple clothes that were made from animals of various kinds, numbered in a few hundred. They were both men and women that varied in size and age. The woman stopped and turned to her left. Though she could not see who was there, she smiled towards a small girl. It was as if she could sense the presence of the child.
“Do not be afraid. You will live this night to see victory.” The child cuddled up to another woman, no doubt her mother, and the blind woman looked towards the woman and nodded her head. The woman nodded her head in return. The blind woman once again smiled.
The woman continued her way through the path towards the village. As she got closer, the lights of the forest grew brighter. The village was not only on the ground but in the air. The trees held the village at multiple levels. Huts were seemingly made into the trees and around them. The same was on ground level. You’d almost have considered it a multi-level city. And this would have been seen from outside the village itself. Had she seen it, she would not have been impressed though. She didn’t hold size and beauty as something rare. To her it was everywhere and she valued it all the same. The woman made her way ever closer when on the edge of the village a man stood in front of her and she stopped. The man was a bit taller than her, in which she was around 5ft6 and he was 5ft9. He had the same clothing as the other villagers, only his were a bit more built for war. He was one of a few special guards sent by the King and Queen of the village to escort the woman to them.
“We have been expecting you Lady Eilana,” the man said. She nodded her head and set back her hood off her head. Long silvery white hair that went down to her shoulders was revealed. She looked on and glanced around. She felt safe here, though danger was growing, and she knew that she had come here for a reason. It was best that she didn’t delay that mission.
“Take me to him,” she said as she held out her arm and he gladly took it gently. The beauty on her face was immense. She couldn’t be any more than in her early thirties. The man could very well have loved her, for he handled her with great respect. The way he looked at her was with the greatest sincerity. Yes he had great love and respect for her, and it pained him to know that she couldn’t see the world around her. The village was massive. It must have spanned quite a bit of the forest. He wanted her to see it all. But what was certain, was that she was someone special to them, and that was all he needed to know.
When they reached the center of the village, he brought her to the main building. He led her into a room where 2 women and a man were sitting. The man looked towards her. He acknowledged her and stood.
“It is a great relief to see you here,” he said.
“I came as fast as I could,” Eilana said. The man nodded his head. He was Croell, the King of his people. Eilana walked closer, and Croell stepped aside. The woman, Aeni, held up a bundle. Inside the bundle was a baby. Eilana smiled. She heard the baby cough.
“A beautiful child,” she said. Aeni gave the bundle to Eilana. Sadness fell upon the young woman, and they knew it.
“Will you not change your mind? You will be safe with me,” she said again, as if pleading. Croell looked towards her sternly. He held his arm around Aeni. “We are sure. Our place is with our people, but the baby must survive,” he said. With a truly saddened face, Eilana took the child into a special pouch she had made specifically for the little one’s protection against the elements while traveling.
“I will protect her with my life,” Eilana said. The King and Queen both nodded their heads. But there was no time for goodbyes, as Eilana quickly turned her head and heard the sudden urgency of footfalls. The man that had brought her to the King and Queen had come in.
“They have come, and they bring a massive army,” he said. Eilana turned towards the King and he nodded his head. Eilana allowed herself to be pulled out by the man. He brought her to a hidden pathway and turned to face her.
“Be careful. We shall afford you more time to escape. I hope that all goes well for you,” he said, and then left. Eilana turned and walked out through the last bit of trees and out into the clearing where she kept going. She didn’t want to look back, and she didn’t want to hear any sounds of the imminent death of these people that had been her allies. She quickly found her horse and got onto the steed. She turned the horse and began riding off. She knew that the enemy had come from the Vampire’s Realm. She was fine if she stuck to her path towards the mountain range.
* * *
The forest was quiet. The warriors took their weapons and readied themselves. This was the tense moment. There were hundreds of them, but supposedly thousands of the enemy. They didn’t know what to expect. One of the warriors, a man named Zorren walked out towards the field of battle. What he saw didn’t sit well with him. There were whole battalions of soldiers waiting to attack his people. A single man stuck out at him. He wore nothing but black. It seemed to be armor, but he wasn’t quite sure. The wardrobe was more of a fancy ranger’s outfit. The man walked out from his troops and towards Zorren. Zorren walked out to meet the man. They met in the middle of the field between both armies.
“Who are you?” asked Zorren. The man chuckled a bit.
“I am Victor. Victor Volontra and this is my army,” he said as he looked back towards his own hordes of soldiers. He then returned his gaze towards Zorren. “And we ask only that you do as I say now. Give us what we seek, and I’ll let your people live.” Zorren didn’t like where this was going. It was give up whatever it is they had, or the man would send his army to kill them. The problem was that they’d already hidden what was important to Victor Volontra. And Zorren wouldn’t give it up if they hadn’t. It was now or never. His Kingdom would fall either way, for they didn’t have what Volontra wanted. And had they had it, he was sure that Volontra would have laid siege to his people anyway. He glared at Volontra. “It’s too late. We got rid of it,” he said.
“Then for your sake I hope you’re wrong,” he said as he took his sword and sliced upwards. First a glint of blood on the blade, and then the two halves of Zorren fell to the ground.
“Find it…kill everything,” Volontra said as the battle began.
* * *
As Eilana rode her horse towards the mountains, she took a quick glance, and noticed that the battle had begun. For all the pain that she had in hear heart, a single tear formed and slid down her cheek for these people that made their last stand against an army that wanted nothing but the destruction of their world. She turned back and rushed off. She knew that had she stayed, the baby would have fallen to her death and that was more than Eilana could bear. She had to protect the future of these people and that was her mission. A mission that would take her a couple of months and a bit of coaxing to get a family to take the baby in. And one day, that baby’s destiny would begin.
Chapter One: Welcome to Karsla
The town of Karsla, a town that held its great financial gain to the fishing industry, made its claim to fame by housing some of the finest fisheries within Melindor. Melindor was the lower half of Kuertzonia, towards the West of the continent. With all the great fishing coming there, their biggest profit came from Empetra. Empetra had a grand city that was centered in the middle of it, rightfully named Empetra City. But Karsla had something else that gave it a proper position. Karsla was where the Temple of Shan was. The Temple of Shan was a big temple that stood in the middle of Karsla. When it was built, it was a place where the leaders of Empetra and Karsla would go, outside of the city, to hold special meetings. These meetings were to decide the betterment of relations within the two places. The city and the village made sure that each other was populated with the proper foods and supplies. Empetra was a great city for trading, and Karsla was proper for farming and fishing. Today was no different.
Horses rode in from Empetra on this day, and everyone was excited. The royals from Empetra could be seen in the middle of the herd. They were on their way to the Temple of Shan. And it was no mistake why. The new trade agreement was ready to be passed. They were there to finalize all final details and gather support for the upcoming market season. The horses turned and made it up the main road that led to the Temple of Shan. On their way, the horses stopped and the King of Empetra spotted a young woman in her twenties. The young woman wore a beautiful dress that seemed to conform to her skin color, which was a slightly tanned shade. Her eyes were a beautiful color of Blue, though her hair was more a brown than blonde. It was more a dirty blonde.
“You there,” the King said gently. She turned her head in reply, to face him. She smiled as she recognized him.
“Hello,” she replied.
“Hello Aranda. Is your father, Belkas at the Temple?” he said. Aranda thought for a second, before replying. “He went there a minute ago,” she replied to his question. The King nodded his head in thanks, and rode off. Before disappearing, he called back a proper goodbye and waved. She waved back. She was of no Noble descent, same as her father, but the King of Empetra deemed her worthy of a chat when they saw each other none-the-less. Her father was one of the farmers that the King of Empetra dealt with personally. That put his family in good standing with the royalty of Empetra. For this reason alone, Belkas allowed her to grow up more of a Ranger and hunter, than her sister. Aranda was a great bowman. She handled a bow like other men. But she knew also when to be a proper lady. Aranda was 18 years of age after all. She had a smaller sister, 14 years of age. She was quite the beautiful young lass. Aranda and her sister, Tasia, grew up together on the farm that their father had built himself. But Belkas was more than just a farmer. He was also a part time Blacksmith when the village’s main Blacksmith, Kane was not around. Kane made calls to other towns and needed someone he could trust to help run the shop when he was not around. Kane was good friends with Belkas and made it his duty to aid Belkas in whatever he needed, and Belkas did the same for Kane. Aranda saw an opportunity and took it. She began running her best to get to her home. She wanted to get things ready for tonight’s hunt. And she wanted to make sure that everything went well with the house. Belkas, her father, had scheduled for her to go out hunting starting this night, and she would head towards the woods near the border of Empetra, Melindor and Laniden.
When she opened the door to her home, Tasia quickly greeted her.
“Hello Aranda did you meet the King of Empetra? He’s here this day for the Knight’s meeting,” she said. Aranda quickly smiled.
“Yes I did meet him; he was on the road to the Temple of Shan. He stopped and said hello to me. Asked if father was at the temple already,” Aranda replied. Tasia gathered the info, smiled, and went off. Aranda took this time to walk to her own room and gathered her things, readying them for the hunt. She had special wardrobes that she wore that allowed her more flexibility with her hunting, and archery. It was also form fitting to her shape, which allowed for comfort. Her hair she wore braided, but for the most part, let down. She hated ponytails at times like these. The one thing the other young adults of the village didn’t realize was that Aranda was quite strong as well. She was a fighter, taught how by her father. As she readied her bags for the trip, Tasia walked to the door of her room.
“You’re going hunting again, aren’t you?” she asked. Aranda turned to face her.
“Of coarse I am. I’m the hunter of the family. I have to get us meat for our personal use, and for the village stores,” she said.
“I hate when you go out alone. Mother wouldn’t approve of this. She’d want you to stay and be a proper lady,” Tasia said. Aranda sighed slightly.
“Mother would understand that this is what I like to do. I like to go hunting. And I’m never alone. I have a friend that comes to hunt with me.”
“Is it the Elf girl that you met years ago?” Tasia asked.
“The Elf girl is named Kara,” Aranda reminded, “And yes it’s her.” She then walked over to Tasia and kissed her forehead. “If you’ll excuse me I have to ready for work at the tavern,” she said as she pushed Tasia gently away and closed the door. Tasia felt though that Aranda shouldn’t go hunting at all. She was beginning to feel a bit lonely without her sister around during those days and nights when Aranda went hunting. It was saddening to know that her sister was a more adept person than her, but Tasia let it go and went to do her own thing.
* * *
The road ahead was perfect and clear, and Belkas was at the Temple tending to the needs of others. He was ready for the meeting that would take place, and he knew the King of Empetra would be there so he wanted to make the place extra neat. Belkas took one last glance around the place and smiled. He turned to one of the aids that had been helping.
“Is everything set?” he asked. The aid nodded his head. “Yes, all is ready and accounted for when the others arrive. Will this be a peaceful meeting?” the Aid said. Belkas considered all possible answers, and figured an honest one was appropriate.
“It should be but I see no real need for any worries. There are troubles in other areas of Kuertzonia but none so devious as to harm all of our lands,” Belkas replied. The aid nodded his head and walked off. Belkas could hear the nearby rumblings of horses as they neared. He walked closer to the door and looked out. In the distance he could see the horses of Empetra coming closer. Yes, they were coming and it was grand. But the news they were carrying. Would it be good or would it be bad? He didn’t quite have the faintest idea. With things going on in the world, what with the kidnappings, what would it do to the dealings here? As the horses drew nearer, Belkas readied himself by straightening his outfit and making sure everything was finalized. The horses stopped and many of the aids came to greet the people of Empetra with open arms, helping them off their horses and taking them to the stables. The King of Empetra, Belian spotted Belkas and smiled, walking over to him and giving him a gentle hug.
“Belkas it is good to see you,” he said. Belkas nodded and returned the hug.
“As is the same to you. I dare say this meeting is a bit sad of course, what with the goings on in the East,” Belkas said.
“Yes. But I do have good tidings on that and I will announce them once this meeting has begun. Now let us get inside,” Belian stated. Belkas nodded and led Belian and the others inside.
“I must say that I have seen your daughter on the road on my way here,” Belian said.
“She is quite grown for her age,” Belkas admitted. “She hunts for us, as a son would. I often worry for her safety. I also worry that no man will take her for a wife if ever the need arose, as they’d consider her as much a man as they are,” Belkas said and they both chuckled a bit.
“She is a fine young woman and I’m sure she knows her place when the time is needed,” Belian noted. Belkas nodded his head. “She is quite wise. As wise as her mother was, may the lord bless her soul,” Belkas said in agreement. Belkas led them to the meeting room, which was quite large, and full of chairs and tables. Belian and his men took their proper seats and now they awaited the last of the group of people to arrive so the meeting would begin. Belkas also took his seat and awaited the final arrival.
Soon everyone was there, from the main Governor of Karsla, to some of the trade groups that would represent the financial aspect of their village or Kingdom. The Governor of Karsla, Malk, stood up and called for order. Malk was a man in his 40s. You could tell that he was quite a powerful man by the way that he stood, and talked.
“We now call order on this meeting here. I would like all to understand that this is in private. It is meant for our ears only. Any and all bad news displayed to the public that we say here could cause panic and we need none of that,” he said. Everyone silenced and they listened to what he had to say. When he felt he had their attention, he continued on.
“We are here to finalize the new financial trade agreement between Empetra and Karsla. We also have some tidings concerning the new developments with the kidnapping of several villagers throughout Kuertzonia. To discuss this matter, the King of Empetra, Belian Starmair,” Malk said. Belian stood up and nodded his head. He then made a motion to make his statement.
“As many of you may know, there were many villagers throughout Kuertzonia being kidnapped. Empetra has listened to the cries of distress and has followed up with investigations. We have not turned up anything to concern us too much as of now, as to a bigger threat. We are however making an effort to bring those kidnapped back to us. We have hired one of our finer Rangers to take on the task of locating the villains responsible for this madness,” Belian said.
Outside the meeting, riding a horse and was just arriving, a young man in a ranger’s outfit. He stopped his horse near the stable where an Aid was ready to handle the horse for him. He got off and nodded to the Aid.
“Am I late?” he asked. The Aid shook his head.
“They just announced that you’re taking the job sir,” the Aid answered. He nodded his head and walked into the Temple. Making his way to the meeting room, he made sure he was as well groomed as possible for a ranger to be. He didn’t seem to be any more than in his twenties, and he was as skilled as he could be in his title. He was also a fine hunter, and that made it even better in tracking things such as kidnappers. He opened the doors and stood in the back, making sure to close them gently behind him. King Belian noticed him entering and nodded in his direction.
“I give you Davros Fletcher,” Belian said. Davros, the hunter and ranger, nodded his head and moved forward so that he could be seen by all. As he took a glance around, he wondered what they were all thinking. He wasn’t quite used to this but he had to let them all know who he was.
“Davros is a skilled hunter and has never let us down in times of need. I hope that he will be as victorious now as he has ever been,” he said, “A few words, Davros?” Davros was a bit nervous as he walked up towards Belian. He took a glance around as the others took a glance at him. He felt all their eyes on him and he almost could tell he was sweating a bit. He could handle taverns and such but all these people looking at him because he was going to do a job for them seemed a bit out of his ordinary routine. None-the-less, he was going to do his best in finding what was going on with the kidnappings, and he knew that they would put their faith in him. He turned towards Belian. “You can count on me,” he simply said and Belian obviously took it as a proper answer. Belian nodded towards him and allowed him to leave. The others simply clapped a bit as he walked out. He was going to need a drink before leaving. The local tavern would be fine and it seemed a good place to regain his composure. Once he left through the doors, he could hear the meeting continue with its other topics of discussion. But he was through with that. He’d rather not wait and see what they had to talk about.
* * *
As the meeting had been going on the tavern, the Tyiri, held a quiet atmosphere that the villagers liked. It was a peaceful day and for the most part, everyone had their way. Aranda walked in wearing her waitress outfit and she seemed quite content. The tavern was never really busy and the tips were good. The money she got from it helped pay for her hunting supplies. The best part was that the tavern knew that she was a hunter and they got some of their meat from her hunts as well. Belkas was always willing to give extra meat to the tavern for allowing Aranda work there. It turned out to be quite worthwhile as Aranda helped business boom with her polite attitude and helpfulness to the customers. So today when she walked in, she smiled and did her thing. Getting right to business and helping a new waitress deal with her first day. She smiled at a customer that complimented her eyes, and then he complimented her smile. She thanked him and did the usual getting an extra beer for him. He once again thanked her, this time for the beer. She then settled down for some of the more stretched out work. She served a few meals and took a seat to await the next rush of customers. That’s of coarse when Davros walked in and took a seat. She saw him and took a slight intake of breath sharply. She stood up and walked over towards him.
“What can I get you?” she asked. Davros took a glance at her and thought to himself that she was quite pretty.
“I’ll take a beer and some of your finest meat,” he said. She nodded her head and left to grab his things. He glanced at her as she left and definitely thought she was attractive. But his attention was turned towards a few men as they spoke.
“I hear Garnalia isn’t doing so well. You hear about the kidnappings?” one man said.
“No I haven’t. What’s happening with this?” the other man replied.
“Apparently there are strange people kidnapping villagers. I hear they’re planning on striking Garnalia next. But that’s just a rumor,” the first man stated.
“I hope they capture whoever’s doing it,” the second man said.
“Yeah me too. We could be next,” said the first man. Then they got up and walked out of the tavern. Davros found it quite interesting that they were talking about the kidnappings. He considered everything and made it a point to visit Garnalia first. If he could snatch the crooks while, or even before they could kidnap anymore people, it would make his day even better. He had to make a move, and he was just about ready to leave when the waitress Aranda came with his beer and a fine pork chop for him to munch on. He nodded towards her and she walked away to help other customers.
As night approached, everyone had set out and only Davros was left, as he had taken to drinking a few more cups of beer. Aranda was closing up, and surprisingly she didn’t feel like pushing him out. She saw that he meant no harm, and was taking his time. Perhaps he merely needed rest. She walked over to him.
“If you’re looking for an Inn, there is one down the road,” she said. He merely glanced towards her and nodded.
“Thank you but I feel I may not need that. There is a task I must accomplish and perhaps I should be going,” he said. It was Aranda’s turn to nod her head.
“If that’s what you wish,” she said. She went off to continue fixing up, so she can head straight home and get her things so she could leave. But Davros gently grabbed her arm, turning her around. “What is the name of this Inn?” he asked.
“It’s the Karsla Resting Place. Not the most creative but it gets the job done,” she said a bit jokingly. He nodded a bit, chuckling. “Well then I’ll take a look. Thank you,” he said as he got up and left a special tip for her. Aranda took it and smiled as she saw him leave.
Soon it was her time to leave, so she quickly got things ready and left, making sure to lock up. She turned to the road and began walking down it. As she did, she wondered what the man’s name was. He was rather handsome and he seemed to like her if he took her advice on the Inn even after he had said no. It didn’t matter much now. She was home now and it was time for the hunting trip. She went into the house, and straight to her bedroom where she began to change. She had bought everything necessary already and knew that Kara would have brought extra to share with her. She got into her hunter’s uniform and did some quick braids to her hair using special rope. Then, with a single motion grabbed her bow, arrows, and slung them to her back. Moving to the kitchen, she saw that there was a special note from her father that explained situations from earlier in the day. She smiled as he had left her some small food provisions for her trip. She went to the cooler where they stored some of their cold foods and grabbed the things that he had readied for her. She brought them with her in her own specialized cooler. There was one last thing that she needed to do. Making her way to her father’s room, she gently crept in and gave him a kiss. She also did the same with her sister, Tasia. She said a small prayer for their safety, and then left. With everything set, she was ready to go. She walked out of the house, closed the door gently, and was on her way.
7/1/2007 8:20:42 PM
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