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35 • LARICE
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2024-10-29 19:42:56The Sun Palace was a place full of eyes—either it was from the guards patrolling on the ground, walls, and towers, or from the servants and gardeners outside, or from the slaves building pillars and walls using mud bricks. Wherever Larice went, she could feel she’s being watched, or even followed as she walked outside, trying to pretend that she’s having a stroll. She needed to find some ways how to escape. But the high curtain walls and towers had the palace completely sealed.
Larice sat on the lip of a stallion fountain. The clear waters spurted above and then sprinkled down on the pool surface. She found the sound of the splashing water quite therapeutic. But her thoughts were too clouded by what had happened earlier from the throne room. If the Emperor was indeed lying about her question, then she had to figure out the truth, and why he lied about it. Estevan might know something about the Emperor. She couldn’t trust anyone e
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A Symphony of Frost and Flame 36 • RAEHERYS
“Aren’t you going to talk to your brother?” Aravyr spoke from the other cell.Raeherys pursed his wounded lips as he leaned on the wall, hugging his knees. He couldn’t speak with him. He couldn’t even look at his eyes for two seconds. Hatred overwhelmed his despair the moment he knew Aravyr was the one still alive—not his father. All of these conflicts and deaths started because of his foolish brother.He wanted to yell and blame Aravyr for what he did.But he couldn’t find his voice—only that memory he found instead.Raeherys, seated on the dragon throne, was trying to listen to the petitions of his brethren. But his thoughts were still off, clouded because of what happened to his father. King Sevyrion’s death ceremony had passed a few weeks ago, but Raeherys couldn’t stop thinking about him. He was so shattered when he had received the word, telling his father was ambushe
A Symphony of Frost and Flame 37 • LARICE
The Right Wing was the place for all laborers and non-lord guests. Larice walked through the ground halls, passing by doors after doors. Sevyh’s chamber could be found on the third level, she knew, because hers was on the fourth.Maids, cooks, bakers, tailors, cleaners … all took notice of her and watched as she went past them. They must’ve known her as the hunter who had captured the last hyborn. But Larice ignored. She never considered herself as a dragon hunter—and she had no plans of serving this dark empire, ever.She reflected on the Emperor. All people had been so stupid of believing him—but not Larice. Did he really think he could fool her just like everybody else? Even Estes was so afraid to mess up with the Emperor. She hated him … she hated Emperor Sargan … and all these stupid people here in this palace—and Quarth, especially Quarth. She swore he would be the first one whom she would
A Symphony of Frost and Flame 38 • RAEHERYS
Blood dripped down from his red knuckles. Raeherys struck another punch against the stone wall, but it was too hard. He couldn’t make a crack. Only traces of blood were marked on the stone cold surface. He hissed out the pain in his soaking red fist, and after a few more strikes, he finally gave up.Raeherys leaned back on the wall and sat down, shaking his fist. His screaming muscles ached like hell throughout his entire body. He had already spent hours searching around his dark cell, but what he found was only dust and stones. It was hopeless. His brother was right. There’s no way of them getting out from the inside.They couldn’t transform their arms to break the stones nor breathe fire to melt the bars. But there must be something in here, Raeherys thought. If only he had Fetyr, but his cell was too far away.“Just give up, brother,” Aravyr said from the other cell. “We can never get through these ba
A Symphony of Frost and Flame 39 • LARICE
The air in the underground dungeon was far worse than she thought. The stench and foul smell of the cells made her stomach turn. Larice wondered what her life would be like behind those bars. But she couldn’t imagine herself spending the rest of her days in this wretched place. It would never happen, she thought.The prisoners went wild, calling and begging for her to set them free. But she just ignored them, because there’s only one person she planned to take out of this dungeon.Larice held the cold, metal bars as she found Estevan, asleep inside his cell, and lying on the dirty stone floor. She squeezed her grip, feeling so bad for him. He didn’t deserve this. He never did.She inserted the key in the lock hole and twisted it. After hearing the heavy click, she opened the bars and stepped inside.The cell was grim. It was a lot harder to breathe when one’s underground—and much worse here on the lower
A Symphony of Frost and Flame 40 • RAEHERYS
The metal bars clanked and screeched all around the dungeon as Raeherys and his brother opened one cell after another. Upon doing it, his thoughts kept on coming back at Sevyh. The sellsword helped them out, but why? What was he trying to achieve by doing this? Raeherys already pushed him away, yelled at his face, and poured out all of his anger. And yet, Sevyh still left him these keys earlier.Raeherys might be wrong about him, he thought …But no …The memory of that night when Sevyh betrayed him flashed back into his mind. He had learned enough from his mistake, and so he would never risk another chance of trusting that sellsword again.When he got to Fetyr and opened his cell, the Lawdra went out to embrace him. Then he held Raeherys’ jaws and shook his head with a frown.“Look at what they did to you, My King,” he said. “You shouldn’t have tried to escape from those hunters. I
A Symphony of Frost and Flame 41• LARICE
All hope had gone to nothing. Larice found herself kneeling along with Estevan, all bruised and beaten up after the hunters dragged them out of the dungeon. The fight was pointless; she realized—ten hunters, including Quarth, all against her? What was she thinking? But it surprised her when they didn’t kill her immediately in the dungeon. She thought they would torture her here with Estevan, but she had spotted no torturing equipment around.The Black Solar spoke up to its name, revealing its gray-painted walls, dark ceilings with no windows, and floors of black quartz. At the center of the solar—a circular, iron plate with a meter in diameter—covered the lip of an iron tube like a large can. Larice had no clue of what the wide tube contained, but it seemed to be connected underground. Was this their punishment? Would the Emperor throw them inside that iron-covered tube? Whatever it contained, she had a very bad feeling about it.
A Symphony of Frost and Flame 42 • RAEHERYS
Every swing, every hit of their swords brought more pain in his tired arms, legs, and gut. Raeherys clenched his jaws, wrenched his aching muscles, and gripped his sword tighter as he parried his opponents’ attacks. He could feel his body breaking apart. But he had to keep fighting. The entire realm was counting on them to escape this dungeon and end the war once and for all.“Curse you! Vile beas—“ The hunter choked more blood as Raeherys drove the point of his sword through the throat. He swiped the man away and rushed towards the other enemies. Aravyr and Myrdin were still holding off. They’d slain a few and were still struggling.Raeherys yelled as he waved his sword to an enemy charging his way. When the hunter blocked his blade, steels sparked against each other. Raeherys grunted as the heavy impact hurt his arms, causing him to get pushed back.“Bloody hell!” Raeherys pulled over his face, t
A Symphony of Frost and Flame 43 • LARICE
The feast in Harman’s Hall began with the welcoming words of the Emperor. However, he didn’t stay long with the guests as he announced he had a very important errand to run this night. Larice paid no attention at all as she could feel the stares of the nobles and lords and ladies around her. She didn’t like the setting. The air was too warm and too loud. She hated the environment, more so the people.The curtains, long table cloths, even the carpet—all were dominated with white, red, and gold. Jasmine and white roses surrounded the two small pools, along with the water lilies and lotuses floating on the surface. Long candles rested on every table that provided warm light around the hall. The noises of chats and laughter gave life to the feast, but not Larice, as they only made her more irritated.The nobles and lords wore elegant clothing of very long silks, reaching to their toes, locked by belts of leather and silver and
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“COME NOW, MY DEAR WHITEWIND,” her father said, reaching out both hands. “We will tell you everything you wanted to know … every memory we’ve made during your childhood. Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted? It’ll be fun.”Larice found herself standing in the middle of a vast meadow, watching her parents ahead of her, surrounded by checkerblooms and red lilies. Behind her parents was a cliff—but connected to a bed of clouds, extending beyond far into the blue horizon. Cool breeze brushed against her face. She blinked twice. Seeing the clouds made her recall of something very familiar … like she’d been over those white beds of cottons before … with someone.Her eyes traveled around, almost turning her head, but then her mother spoke, “Don’t look, Larice … Don’t look.” A smile lingered on her lips. “What do you mean&md
A Symphony of Frost and Flame 56 • RAEHERYS
What the hell just happened? Raeherys stood in shock as the fountain of orange liquid, falling from the hole at the ceiling, was all covered by frost. The circular pool at the center turned into icy blue. He recognized the same energy … was it Larice? He wondered. This frost must have belonged to her since she was the only one here in Drava who had such powers.Although the freezing of the fountain had surprised them all, it didn’t stop the fighting in the Alchedra. The shelves, books, wooden tables, and chairs—all burned from the fire blasted out by Myrdin and Raeherys. The Sun Guardes kept on using their purple capes to protect themselves. But this time, when one of them charged to attack Raeherys, Myrdin breathed in and blew another swirling fire—the guard covered himself with his cape, but the fabric burned out instantly into black … and then into ashes. He screamed out
A Symphony of Frost and Flame 55 • LARICE
The air in the long hall was burning hot. Larice could feel the growing heat as they approached towards the end—their wet bodies and garments from the rain slowly drying out. Then she turned to Estevan. He was using his shield in front of him to hide from the heat waves as his sweat broke on his blushed skin.“We’re close,” he said.Larice nodded. She could feel the intense power radiating ahead of them. The wall at the end of the hall glowed in orange light as if there was fire awaiting them. Now that she had thought of fire, she tried to give herself more courage. She shouldn’t be afraid now. She shouldn’t let her fear take over her this time.“Come hide in my shield. Aren’t you affected by the heat?” Estevan asked.
A Symphony of Frost and Flame 54 • RAEHERYS
It was a lot harder for Raeherys to make haste as his numb legs felt like two logs of wood, moving and bending, and would break any second now if he exerted more. Every movement screamed with pain. The wounds and bruises he got from their escape earlier in the dungeon had yet to heal, all because his body’s recovery was too slow. The regeneration in his blood would only take in full effect when he’s in his true form.With one hand covering his bleeding ear, Raeherys tried to rush as fast as he could towards the throne room. He grew more worried, wondering what’s happening to Larice and the others now. They must’ve been in serious trouble already, he thought.So far, Raeherys only found the Grand Hunter as one threat for them. But the rest he still hadn’t encountered; the Emperor, the three left of the Sun Guardes, and the two Archon Hunters. So he had to go fast to reach them in time.The same path he took on
A Symphony of Frost and Flame 53 • LARICE
The Sun Palace shook and trembled. Chandeliers swayed above the ceiling, and the glass windows cracked and broke from the screeches of the dragons outside. Larice, Estevan, and Myrdin rushed through the long hall, their bodies, garments, and boots all dripping wet from the rain while leaving tracks on the quartz floor. Her thoughts gathered on Raeherys worriedly. She couldn’t believe she just left him there facing that skilled Grand Hunter. With that wounded and bloody condition, Raeherys wouldn’t stand a chance against Lorath, she thought. And she could never forgive herself if something bad would happen to him again.They encountered more Palace Guards, five of them, heading their way in the hall. Larice didn’t give them the opportunity to make their stance, so she advanced in a flash, driving the point of her sword straight through the eyehole of the guard’s golden helm.The man shrieked and died as Larice pulled out th
A Symphony of Frost and Flame 52 • RAEHERYS
Thunder clapped through the rain clouds as the swarm of dragons stormed down into the palace. Their loud screeches echoed amidst the night sky, their wings folded to pierce through the air and speed up their fall like meteors raining chaos upon the land.Raeherys found the scorpions and archers all facing south. These foolish humans indeed hadn’t expected their surprise attack, he thought.When the dark sound of the bell rang from the palace tower below, Myrdin called out to all his brethren in their dragon forms. “Now! Wipe out those defenses!”And so the battle began …Rain poured heavily, so the dragons couldn’t breathe fire. They had to use their physical strength—their claws, tails, and razor teeth to destroy those weapons and archers above the curtain walls and towers of the Sun Palace.As Raeherys and Myrdin landed over the highest roof, carrying Larice and Estevan—the rest of
A Symphony of Frost and Flame 51 • LARICE
Larice stood, gazing at the night sea with the waves trying to touch her feet. Her black hair danced with the strong rhythm of the breeze. In a few hours—the red dawn would finally come to paint the skies with blood and chaos. She believed it signified the end … but what end?The end of the dragon realm?The end of the Empire?Or the end of their lives?Larice mesmerized at the ends of the horizon while reflecting if they could survive the red dawn … or not. The odds were completely against them as they lacked in numbers and strength. Little chances they had, she knew. But they’re still gambling on it, since this would be their last chance to save everyone. She found herself remembering Faran. She promised she would return to the inn to live with them … but that promise was already walking on a tight rope; she feared.“Are you alright?” Estevan came and stopped beside her, facing t
A Symphony of Frost and Flame VOLUME 4 - SLAY THE DRAGON : 50 • RAEHERYS
From the east sea, the salty breeze sighed at Raeherys with his hair flailing. It was still dark. The sound of the waves crashing on the shores came by and by and by repeatedly. He sat on the grains of sand, facing Larice and Myrdin, with Estevan who was drawing a map of the palace with a stick. It was only the four of them, and they needed to devise a plan to storm the palace and get the orb before sunrise. The rest of his brethren Raeherys ordered to take the watch at the top of the ranges, in case the host from Sunvar City would show up.“… so that’s when I found the other Archon Hunter,” Larice continued. “Quarth arrived at the Sun Palace, leaving the command to the generals for the war.”“Why did he come to the palace?” Estevan asked.“I’m not sure. But when I was at their office, he said something about the new weapons ready for the war. I heard they’re already drivin
A Symphony of Frost and Flame 49-2 • LARICE
Ever since she left Sunvar City, Larice didn’t notice anyone from the imperial army riding south. The Emperor didn’t want to chase the dragons, she knew, so he might’ve been planning something else against them.Looking up, the dark clouds covered the sight of the stars in the night sky. The last time she spotted the dragons—they were flying towards the southeast. They might’ve gone to the mountain ranges of Palav, near the eastern shores of Drava.Larice galloped through the drylands of the Jahara Desert with the night wind against her. Her mind was troubled, wondering how she would talk to them when they would meet. She knew how much Raeherys hated her. He might not listen to her or even give her the chance to speak. But she would still try … no matter what.It was a long ride. She wanted to stay in the inn and live a peaceful life with Faran and her kids. But something felt missing for her—some
