He had gone to see Adrien primarily, but Avera had caught his ear when he came. She was asking questions about the stories Adrien told and why things happened as they did. Some claimed such things were unknowable, but he knew. He knew as surely as he knew life.
So, Benjamin smiled at her when she asked and said, "Because the world is broken, we see suffering and pain. The heartbreak that we feel is the brokenness of Caldor. The breath that we have is the spirit of our King. Himmel isn't something so fantastic as you think. It is alive within us now, and it reigns above us, drawing us ev
Fire, ash, smoke, death... the city was in flames, as were its people. Screams pierced the night with the red tones of danger and death which pervaded the seemingly endless darkness. Men and women fled from their homes and scattered families ran panicked through the streets seeking for sanctuary, but there was none to be found from the children of darkness and their monstrous fiends as they assailed what remained of the city in violence. Blackness gripped the night, the moon red like the blood of the streets, and a single word was spoken her: "Escape."
He awakened to a loud knocking at the door, and he jumped up from the bed, frantically grabbing his sword, and throwing open the door of the room. He dashed determinedly out into the hall, running with the blade, and slipping into the den with due caution, his heart racing and adrenaline pumping."Well, Blackridge," Kypher said, standing by the door with his sword at his side, "I see you've still got it. You made good time in coming. If we were under attack, I'm sure I would be quite relieved to have you here. But, as it is, it's only Ben. Though, it is good you're up." He turned to fac
'I've never seen so much blood...'There was a scream, then another, and his ears grew tired of the droning of the locusts' wings as they flew, hopping about and latching on to their victims. The scene was dark, the torment of the people on the blood covered streets only visible by the red light of the blood moon and the orangey glow of the crackling fires all around him.
They had dismounted, resting their horses for a time as they sat upon the flat faced rocks of the stoney hill crest watching over the darkened trees of the forest below them.Eliezer sat a short distance away from the rest of them, looking out into the night as he watched the black monsters which circled the skies above Elkshire. He could see the fiery light which flared against the darkness as the city burned, and he looked on sorrowfully as he watched it, his eyes hurting for the solemn scene of flame and death.
She had wondered how a cabin built for one man with the hopes of an eventual family would properly accommodate all twelve of the people in their growing party. Apparently, that was a question which had entered the minds of some others, also, because Ignatius had run after them, stopping Webber before he had led them far from the old man's humble homestead."Eliezer!" Ignatius called after them as he rapidly approached.
He had gone out into the woods away from the cabin alone, seeking some form of solitude, some room to think and straighten his mind. The events of the past month and particularly the last week had been a bit much to handle, and he was having trouble internalizing it.'They tell a story in Pyre of the man who said too much. He walked into the city, marched in through the palace doors, and went before the king proclaiming himself to be the heir. He thought the people would rally to his call... but he was wrong. Zephyr had him beaten and dragged him through the
Kallida slapped the pale faced man again, a quick correction for another smart remark from the sharp tongue of the prisoner, and Kelvin watched astonished as the man touched with his tongue the blood of his lip. There were mere seconds of silence as the thin lips of the man, cut and bleeding, curled tightly into a contemptible sneer.'Five days of this... Kallida's been beating him ever since we got here. It's incredible to me, but he keeps making these snide comments anyway. The man can't seem to control his tongue. Well, no. He does control it. He controls
Eliezer and Dorcus sent for Samuel by letter, and Adrien carried it faithfully to Rivdul for them, placing the sealed letter into the hands of the friendly farmer.It was nearly a decade ago that Samuel Garner had gone to Pyre to visit his brother at High Palace, and it was during his trip that he had stopped in at the North Pyre Kingsmen Congregation for a service. There, Eliezer had renewed acquaintance and befriended him under the guise of his false identity. Eliezer wasn't sure how much Samuel knew or whether he had recognized him at the time. Still, he had insisted on taking him to
Eliezer stood before the mirror in the cramped washroom, carefully guiding the straight blade razor across the skin of his cheek, and he watched as the bristly grey hairs of his face wafted down into the sink in front of him.
The sky had calmed, the warriors collapsed, and the guardsman that remained had ceased to fight after the sudden silence which had crossed their transmitters. Justice and Kypher had made their way up to the top of the tower where Zahaynei stood giving orders, and they threw him down. So, now there were no orders to be had and there was no more reason for them to fight.Kelvin could see on the faces of the remaining guardsmen that their will to fight had ended. The battle was lost and they knew that it was. Even so, she wondered how things had gone for the others on the inside of those castle
Benjamin entered the grand throne room with his sword in his hand as his heart beat heavily in his chest. He had run through the castle walls to the place which Adrien had described for him - a large room devoid of light and fashioned out of darkness itself.There was on the throne a man who sat on the throne in a reclined position, seeming to float in the darkness above him, and relatively unbothered by the disturbance of his guest. This man Benjamin recognized as the reclusive king whom he had seen before attending Eliezer's trial. This was Almast, the glorious king on whom the kingdo
Adrien's sword clashed against metal and he performed a sweep kick maneuver, knocking his opponent to the ground just as he had done with many men before him."Stay down and surrender your sword," he commanded, holding the pointed blade to the guardsman's chest.Adrien smiled with some faint relief as the m
The clacking of his boots echoed in the empty halls of Zephyr's fortress as he ran, sword in hand, back towards the battle.'Why?'The scene replayed in his mind, tormenting him. It was all so surreal.
There was a faint noise like footsteps coming from the hall, and Eliezer heard it, so he left her there alone with a sweet kiss of her cheek."Stay here," he requested softly with a brush of her hair and a loving squeeze of her neck. "I'll go and scout it out. I want you safe."Dorcus offered a short nod and an appreci
They ran together through the vacant halls of High Palace, and he took her hand in his, keeping her close to his side as he led her through the dark interior of hidden stairwells to the dungeon depths below the castle.They had infiltrated Zephyr's fortress, having left the others to strive with his forces in the field, and parted with Benjamin, wishing him well in his confrontation with the wicked King who ruled over Pyre.
The sirens blared and the halls convulsed with magic as the mages prepared a defense and the guardsmen ran off to battle. An announcement rang out through the stone walls around him, and the voice of the man from the intelligence corps came seemingly from all around him, yet remained as clear in his head as were his own thoughts."The enemies have broken through the walls, and are now approaching the eastern lawn. They are not to reach the palace under any circumstances. All members of the army, intelligence, and magicians' corps are to report to their
Adrien raised his head to the sound of the black waters ritual as the unending voice of the tiny, minuscule dragons berated him. To the others there, it was a sound like a high pitched scream, but to him it was the words of the dragon tongue which led to the creature's summoning."Dezu draco mortek, dominus mundus, dominus coelum. Dezu exsindo haxikus vestris mortek. Detraxis amarte portentik glaukxis. Exuros pux hominus exis fazik malumi provenias," the voice of the dragons repeated in the harsh tones of their dark melody, and it drained in his