Both came out of the council chamber, while behind them she heard Kyros giving orders to go and call Queen Reanna. Sumon stood beside Nathan, as they proceeded down the corridor to the main gates from which the two rulers of the west and north would come. "What was that reaction from Athelstan?" she asked Nathan softly. "During the Summit five years ago, Taryn Fahan sneaked into Althea in secret... I think to be able to get the support of some king, but she ended up in the bed of Athelstan. Aislin told me that her brother had completely lost his mind for her, then I don't know what happened," Nathan explained, as they turned into another corridor. "Hadn't Elhias Ackard and Athelstan grown up together?" asked Taryn. Nathan shrugged. "And Elhias married the woman he is in love with?" Her husband shrugged his shoulders again. "A fiery encounter is on the horizon," Sumon reflected after a while. "And Kyros? Why that reaction?" "I have no idea, nothing good, Sumon... nothing good,"
Doreon The priestess had just finished the rite and in the sea other girls were fished out by the men on the ships, ready to sail. Doreon found himself at Aislin Neyer's side, silently watching the ocean as the last rays of the sun shone on them, reflected on the crystalline surface. Behind them the warriors were silent, except Barclay who was noisily chewing a piece of dried meat, not caring in the least for the hateful noise he was making. Pix had already boarded his ship, on the orders of the commander. There was no need for all the men to be present at the ritual and then, according to the commander, that way they would arouse less suspicion that she did not want to see the men coming from Aeris. Aislin loved to play games and keeping her identity a secret for as long as possible was the game she enjoyed the most. She had sent some of the allies to the other port villages, where the other two commanders were waiting for them along with some of their men. Doreon hadn't met t
Aislin shook her head. "It's like talking to a wall, do you ever listen to what I tell you?" she asked, turning to him. "Of course, but there's a gulf from there to agreeing with all your decisions. You'd solve half your problems if you decided to exterminate Werod's followers from the first to the last," Doreon said honestly. Barclay arched his eyebrows, but nodded as did Blake and Lyza. Everyone felt the same way, but no one had ever dared to say it openly. Doreon didn't understand exactly what they feared. That she freaked out? That she had a temper tantrum? As if she hadn't had enough in those last few days. Aislin, stunned, looked first at her warriors, then at Doreon. "Shut up, Doreon," she repeated again, this time angrily. Silently they reached the ship they were going to use for the long journey. A rope ladder had been thrown from the bridge. As soon as their boat approached the ship, Doreon got up and rushed to help Aislin, who turned away and climbed the ladder alo
The Old Man«Brr, such a cold», he whispered in the dark, rubbing his hands against each other, trying to warm them. He blew gently over it, hoping that his warm breath might give him some comfort, but nothing could prevent the cold of that autumn night from entering under his skin and reaching his bones.He was so cold he couldn’t walk. His legs began to fail because of his age, as he was no longer the young man he once was.The streets of the lower town were deserted, while the men were locked in the taverns between the pleasures of alcohol and the good company of some prostitute who would pay at the end of the night. In the distance, he could see the lights on above the walls, inside which had been built Sierra, the capital of the kingdom of Haefest. The latter was dominated by Urian Fannil, the place he had dreamed of seeing since he was a child. He was finally there, in the city of red leaves.It was so-called because, throughout the year, the streets were covered with red leaves
The Dark Man“What? You don’t like the sight of blood?”.The man looked at the hand in which he still held the old man’s heart, held it tightly, then, puffing, threw it next to the defenceless body and finally cleansed himself of the blood on the rags worn by the old man.“You made quite a mess of it,” he said, looking around. The killing that just happened had given him a thrill of emotion that had immediately dozed off.That’s what always happened. At first, when you are young and impudent, hunting, death, and feeling that you can be masters of someone else’s destiny, they always give a thrill of excitement that is difficult to doze off. Over time, the killing and deaths that a person caused became ordinary, a kind of habit.They no longer had the effect of the first time; he no longer felt the blame; they passed as when you cross a river through a bridge every day. At first, we stop to observe the stream, fascinated by the greatness of the mother; then, with time, we begin to look
The Soldier“For the four demons, that damned fire didn’t want to go out.”Dan put the helmet on his head, and both soldiers were on their way back to their post after spending the last few hours trying to put out a fire that came out of nowhere, which Brad never had.Dan was trying needlessly to clean his cheeks of soot, but all he got was the opposite effect, staining his face even more, which became covered with ash. So they were forced to stop at a fountain so that he could rinse his hands and face.“Not so bad for the first night, is it?” said the cheerful young Dan.“If you find it exciting to put out a stupid fire, you’ll go crazy when we have to stop the drunken brawls kicked out from taverns.” Dan took off his helmet and shoved his whole head into the tub filled with water, while Brad leaned against the wall from where the latter came out, watching the young boy’s head disappear into the water with his spear in his hand.The sun was beginning to peep from the mountains; the c
His limbs ached, and he could barely walk and hold his sword; he could no longer lift it. His mind dictated it, but his arm wouldn’t respond, so all he could do was drag it to the ground.The tip left furrows on the ground, still wet from the rain. His blond hair had stuck to his sweat-soaked forehead. The blood had dried, encrusting with the blond strands.He had blood on his hands and arms, probably his face too, but he knew that blood wasn’t his. It belonged to someone else, maybe more than one person.He kept walking, but he didn’t know exactly where he was going, maybe he was trying to escape the horrible view in front of him. Around were severed bodies’ parts. A hand, an arm, a leg, a head, a body cut in half, a body without a head. The further he went, the more he saw them.In that camp, he was the only living being, around there was only death. The sky was a vivid red, like all that blood surrounding him. He did not remember what had happened, he did not know why he was there,
NathanMyra always told him that he possessed a particular power given to him by the Gods, and he, as an eternal child, had always believed her. Growing up, he understood that every mother would say that to her child to make him feel special. Although Myra had never told Damien in retrospect when his brother woke up startled by some nightmare she didn’t want to talk about. Since he was a child, Myra had always told Nathan that he was a special person, destined to fulfill a great destiny and for Nathan had always been a dream.Upon reflection, Myra had never reserved those words for her son or Doreon when he was entrusted to her care. But maybe she just said that because she knew that Nathan, the only legitimate son, would become king.He shook his head.Why was he filling his head with all the memories of the people he loved?It’s the dream.It’s that damn dream’s fault, it had upset his mind and his heart and made him sink into anguish.They entered the council chamber. The dim sunli