'Ben...'
She sat on her heels with her back against the wall and her eyes watching the ceiling. Kypher stood across from her, leaning against the wall with his face serious, arms crossed, and head down. There was a door to her left through which Justice had entered and behind which Eliezer still slept. Ellis and Mira had gone to make ready some provisions for their eventual, seemingly inevitable journey to somewhere, and Avera had elected to assist the Wellses in their preparations, which both Dorcus and Kypher had agreed was probably for the bes
The room was dark when he opened his eyes. He blinked, his mind adjusting back to reality. The dim lighting suggested it was somewhere past dusk, but whether it was the time after dusk or the time before morning would be difficult to determine with surety. He sat himself up, throwing his legs over the side of the bed. He put his hand to his face, pressing it against his tired skin, and stopped for a moment, staring at the blurred shadows in front of him.'Well... here we are.'
They were talking in the hallway about a place she had heard of but never been, a town called Elkshire. Sometimes referred to as the "Kingsmen Capital", Elkshire was a forest town and the most prominent of the eastern region. The town itself was relatively unremarkable with two notable exceptions. The first: that the Council of the Kingsmen was seated in Elkshire and from there they judged the Kingsmen from throughout the empire. The second: that Elkshire was itself a city-state, entirely independent of Altruon and its government.It was vital that Altruon and Elkshire should remain in
He rode at the front, Dorcus to his right, and Benjamin behind them with Justice and Alexander at his wings. Avera followed behind Benjamin with Joseph and Adrien accompanying her. It was a familiar journey and one which he had been given the task of navigating. Still, he was not accustomed to it by night, and he kept his map open as they moved quickly through the forest by the fading grey of dusk and twilight.
It was early in the afternoon when Mira and Ellis arrived in the wagon filled with supplies which everyone helped them to unpack at the direction of the kindly Phia Carder, who saw to it that all were properly settled and appropriately cared for, and all was now at peace as they approached the evening meal.Jordan had left for the Council meeting that morning, as was usual, determined to arrange a meeting between the Council and their Ambassador, but he had not yet arrived back, though it was near evening.
Jordan Carder called the meeting to order and, once they had finished the formalities, they were ready to begin."Well, Ambassador, say what you will," Jordan said, smiling. "The floor is yours.""Thank you, Chairman Carder," Webber said courteously with a short bow, taking a step forward. "Members of the Council
The next morning, Jordan and Eliezer once again departed for the meeting of the Kingsmen Council, this time with Benjamin."Members of the Council, may I submit to you yet again Ambassador Webber," Jordan announced as he began the meeting, extending an open hand toward Eliezer, who stood at the edge of the platform, "and may I introduce to you, also, Prince Caliphus," he concluded, moving his hand to the left towards Benjamin. "I remind you that the Ambassador and the Prince are here as our guests for the purpose of our own benefit, and I ask that you should address them appropriately a
'Among other things...' His mind was filled with thoughts and memories of all those "other things" as he walked out of the meeting accompanied by Benjamin and Jordan.
'Oh, Timothy...'She strolled thoughtfully along, several steps behind them, pondering his state and hers.'Funny how our lives change. Funny how time marches onwards. Funny how...' she looked over to Eliezer and smiled,
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