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A Really Long Time Ago
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2022-06-06 03:59:07Related chapters
Ryder; Lord of Astaroth To Whispercrest
They were back at the inn, all three of them gathered in Xanth’s room with Lyra sleeping safely in another room. Ryder paced quietly, his arms crossed on his chest, his eyebrows furrowed and his mind still trying to grasp what Xanth had just revealed to him. It caused him to worry because this could prove to be a hindrance to his plans. They would have to move.“And you are certain?” He asked Xanth for the umpteenth time. He knew his answer would still be the same and he trusted in his honesty but he just had to ask again.“She claimed to be the girl’s mother.” Iris spoke up. “But from what I saw she was probably much too young to be anyone’s mother. I say she’s not.”“No, it is not just a claim. I am certain that she is Lyra’s mother.” Xanth spoke out.They had returned to the inn early in the morning, an hour or two before dawn. Iris had been the first to return after Xanth had told her to, and he had returned less than two hours after she had. Xanth had come in, behaving rather str
Last Updated : 2022-06-20Ryder; Lord of Astaroth Distant Family
“…then if it’s a boy?” She asked her sister, a soft smile on her lipsShe watched her sister’s soft eyes look up at her and smile, her hand rubbed gently across her stomach. She smiled, her cheeks heating up and Syrana knew that her sister must have been thinking of Dixon.“Xanth.” She said. “I’ll name him Xanth if it’s a boy.”She woke up.She felt light headed and oddly calm after she had woken up, her body was relaxed like she had just had the best sleep in years, her head was free and her mind was empty for a while and she felt at peace for the first time in a long time. And she smiled, briefly.“Xanth…” She whispered softly and chuckled, her eyes burned with tears and she brought her palm to her mouth as she chuckled again, and again. And again.The last time she had felt like this had been over fifty six years ago, the year she had given birth to her daughter, before the massacre in Qeorin. She had been five hundred and ninety six years old then, young enough to hold a grudge a
Last Updated : 2022-06-20Ryder; Lord of Astaroth Whispercrest
If the thought that Nuxvar was the most unwelcoming place in Dergesier ever crossed their minds, then Whispercrest had put that thought aside. If unwelcoming was a person, it would be Whispercrest. The town was a desolate place and hardly did they see a living soul cross their path. Lyra was cautious and felt vulnerable even as she rode her horse steadily with Ryder to her left and Xanth to her right, leaving Iris to follow behind.She shivered underneath the thick cloak she had on and she knew it was not because of the cold. The snow had settled here thick and it was still coming down heavily, there was no sign of foot prints in the snow left behind by someone who had walked by. She swallowed and from the corner of her eye, glanced over to Ryder. He sat up straight on the horse, his senses heightened and sharp, his eyes darting from the left to the right and she could tell that he tried to smell the air. She would give anything right now to be seated with Ryder on the same horse. In
Last Updated : 2022-06-20Ryder; Lord of Astaroth The Last Straw
Ryder and Xanth sat by the small round table with Lillian in front of them, she had a large round glass ball placed in the middle of the table, supported by its stand and her hands placed on the table on either side of the glass ball. She wasn’t smiling at them this time, she had on a serious expression and so did Xanth and Ryder.She had mentioned Indie and that had immediately put Ryder on edge, not that he feared the witch goddess but he was wise enough to know that he needed to be weary of her. And he was.“She spoke to you…” Ryder mentioned again so that she could clarify.“She speaks to all of us.” Lillian replied and Ryder narrowed his eyes at her. “All of us here follow her, we listen to her and she speaks to us, we consult her and she reveals to us the hidden secrets. There is nothing she doesn’t know, no where she doesn’t and cannot reach.”“Okay and if she told you that we would be coming here, she must have mentioned something else.” Xanth said and Lillian flashed a smile
Last Updated : 2022-06-20Ryder; Lord of Astaroth The Red Trail
The red drops of blood on the white snow led Ryder further into the forest, he walked fast and brisk, without seeming to be cautious of his environment, he needed to find Lyra fast, and the witch goddess as well. The shadows he had sent out earlier gave him feedback telepathically, it was not much of an information because they could not seem to locate Lyra, it was like she had vanished completely but he could still feel her faintly.He walked on, deeper into the forest where the snow could hardly reach because of the very dense treetops. It was even more chilly in here than out in the snow and a part of Ryder worried about Lyra, he had seen her cloak by the entrance of the forest, all messy and bloody. He knew what she had been wearing underneath could only do so much to keep her protected from the cold.He really had to find her fast.As he walked deeper into the forest, he called back the shadows he had sent out after Lyra earlier and from wherever they had gone, they were sucked b
Last Updated : 2022-07-02Ryder; Lord of Astaroth Embers Of Desire
The wind picked up speedily and it ran through the forest, picking up debris and flinging it in every direction and in that split distracting second, Indie vanished and the howling wind settled. Ryder looked around the small clearing but could not find her, he held on to Lyra who was still unconscious in his arms ad he pressed her into himself. Sh was cold and she was shivering, she needed warmth.He placed her on the ground by the base of a tree and moved to gather pieces of wood, dried leaves and broken branches that the wind had scattered around. He placed them all together close to where he had placed Lyra, cupped his palm over the bundle of wood and transferred energy to it. Black smoky mist sipped from his palms and swam around the bundle continuously until the wood caught on fire.He sat back on the ground and allowed the fire to build, part of his mind wondering how they would ever be able to get out of this forest. He had no idea in which direction hey should go. He let out a
Last Updated : 2022-07-02Ryder; Lord of Astaroth Dawning
He watched her as she slept, her exposed body illuminated by the glow from the fire as it burned. He listened for the crackling in the fire, for the wind as it fanned the burning embers, for the cacophony of the night life all around them, and for her heart beating steadily and calmly.He should be feeling fulfilled right about now, she had told him exactly what he had been wanting to hear since he had her taken from Dragonsbane, what he needed to hear for the sacrifice to be on the way and he knew that she had meant it as well.“I love you…” She had whispered softly into his ears. It had caught him completely and totally off guard, and in that moment, everything he had been prepped for as ruler of Astaroth had come crashing down on him. The responsibility and weight and burden of the sacrificial year of Osyron dropped on him like a bomb shell, shattering his will into many unrecognizable pieces.He was the Lord and Ruler of Astaroth, an Axeris who had the ultimate duty of seeing to i
Last Updated : 2022-07-22Ryder; Lord of Astaroth Sense Of Perception
“This is the place they were last seen.” Kye said to Syrana.They stood a good distance from the Inn, observing and being cautious, Syrana could already feel her eagerness rise and all she wanted to do at that moment was to burst into the Inn and locate her daughter. She grabbed a handful of the dress she had on and squeezed tightly, the thought of her daughter together with an Axeris irked her, especially an Axeris as Lord Ryder himself.She breathed in and out to calm herself down, she had not seen her daughter in almost sixty years and she was just as excited to see her as she was excited to see this Lord Ryder. She could battle him where ever and whenever and she would do so to keep her daughter as far away from him as possible.Then on thing struck her mind again, the other half Axeris, her sister’s son, Xanth. The fact that he had pledged his loyalty to the man whose father had caused the death of his own mother angered her but she knew that it was not his fault, he probably did
Last Updated : 2022-09-07
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Ryder; Lord of Astaroth Extra
“Lord Dixon and lady Annora won’t be staying, they wish to travel the lands, and maybe find settlement somewhere unclaimed.” Xanth said to Ryder as he joined him on the balcony. He had dismissed the elders and generals, taken Iris body to be prepared for burial, settled with Lady and Lord Axeris d’Croix, Ryder’s parents, and arranged with Syrana for her stay and departure the next morning. “They have been away too long,” he sighed. “I can understand that they would feel strange in this place which they once considered to be their home.” “Iris’ body will be buried tomorrow.” he said and then sighed. “Her mother can not be consoled, she was hacking away at Mavrek’s body down in the courtyard outside the castle doors.” Ryder frowned in unbelief and looked at Xanth. “Hacking away?” “With a sword,” He nodded. “It is a mess down there, Ryder.” He looked away from Xanth and leaned on the railing with his elbows, then lowered his head. “Mavrek’s body was never going to be buried anyway,
Ryder; Lord of Astaroth Finale
“He’s killed her too.”He allowed the talk spread around the room without saying a single word as he watched the men talk and whisper among themselves, picking out with his eyes those who believed and those who doubted by the way they reacted to the talk spreading around the room. “How many of you in this very room knew of Mavrek’s journey to Fang Peek and the reason he was going?” he spoke up and everyone hushed.The room fell silent and nobody was willing to give him a reply as they all feared what he might do. He looked around the room once more, studying the expression on their faces, none of them had their heads lifted to meet his gaze and he was beginning to get impatient. He gripped the reins of the horse and whipped it so the animal neighed loudly, stood up on its hind legs, and fell back down on all fours.“How many of you knew?!” he asked again, this time in a louder voice.“All of us knew,” Ulric spoke up. “He had called for a meeting to announce it, but he had known of th
Ryder; Lord of Astaroth Back Home
“That’s Iris’ body in the snow over there,” Tezani said to Xanth in a whisper. It had been a day and a half since they moved from Mavrek’s camp, the warriors journeyed with them as they made their way back to Astaroth. The cold here was minimal but the snow was still thick on the ground. Mavrek shivered in the cold, his body and feet were bare and Ryder had not for once stopped to rest. They didn’t run the horses, Ryder didn’t seem to be in a hurry, and all through the journey, he had kept to himself, even Xanth knew to keep a distance because he knew this ruler of Astaroth was troubled and in pain and anger, but he would have to disturb him now as Tezani had just shown him something.He lifted and fist up in the air, signaling for the troop to stop which they did, then he snapped the reins on his horse, hurrying it up to get to Ryder.“Ryder,” he called out, fishing him out of his thoughts and drawing his attention away.“Hmm?” he hummed and turned his head to face Xanth. He was ti
Ryder; Lord of Astaroth The Villain
"Xanth and I will enter the tent, the rest of you, wait outside, where he cannot see you."They sat on their horses afar off, where Mavrek’s camp was now visible to them, Tezani had led them here and they had found his camp to be exactly where she had predicted it would be. The general journeyed slowly, and it was not just the size of the warriors that slowed him down. He had already spent weeks on a journey of just a few days, it was the general’s pride, to think he could make it to Fang Peek before Ryder would.“His tent would be the one positioned close to the forefront,” Tezani said to Ryder. “And it would be the largest too.”“Good,” Ryder hummed and kicked his horse in the side. “That should give us the advantage of surprising him.”* * * * * * *“General?” a warrior positioned at the tent’s entrance as a guard called out to Mavrek from outside. “You have a er…”Mavrek frowned, struggling to take off his armor. “I have a what?!” he yelled out in frustration, nothing
Ryder; Lord of Astaroth Reunite
“Ryder…” Xanth called calmly as he quietly approached Ryder who was kneeling down by the edge of the ledge. The fiery pit had grown cold and was quiet now and the cave was slowly losing the heat, welcoming the cold.“She is gone,” Ryder said softly and lifted his head up to the cave ceiling. He let out a sigh, folded his lips, and raised his eyebrows, his eyeballs darting from left to right as he felt tears coming. His heart ached terribly and his body shivered. “She is gone,” he repeated with another sigh.Xanth turned around when he heard footsteps running, only to see Syrana and Tezani. Syrana looked at him asking him questions with her gaze, but he just blinked once and looked away from her. She sucked in a breath and her body crashed into the cave wall, she clutched on to her dress around her chest area and slowly fell to the floor as tears pooled out of her eyes.“Lyra…” she sobbed. “My baby girl.”Ryder turned his head to see who had just come into the cave and he saw the white
Ryder; Lord of Astaroth Last Gift
His wound refused to heal and he was losing blood fast, he groaned and leaned on the horse as it slowed down to a gallop, approaching the mouth of the cave. His body felt extremely weak and he wondered what indie must have applied on that sword she stabbed him with that was stopping his body from regenerating.He groaned as he fell off the horse and onto the hard, hot ground. Never in his life had he felt this way, and he hated it, the feeling of being vulnerable as he was now. He knew that if anyone was to come for him, to kill him, they would succeed in that, he couldn’t even muster the strength to use his powers.He managed to get on his feet, leaning against the cave walls, he stumbled further into the cave where he found Borox, sitting up and propped against the cave wall with a small knife wedged into the side of his neck.“Borox,” Ryder called and went to him, crashing on the ground on his knee beside him, he took the man’s hand and had genuine pain in his eyes. The pain of see
Ryder; Lord of Astaroth Stop The Sacrifice
They had all heard the noise, the loud bang from far behind, toward their far left and they had turned just in time to see a mushroom of fire rise up and then die out. The noise had spooked the horses and they stopped riding.“What was that?” Tezani asked no one in particular.“The wizard maybe,” Xanth replied. “But a blast of such magnitude? What is he doing?”“Practicing spells?” Syrana chipped in. “Prepping for a battle.”They both turned to look at her and Xanth’s heart fell, if they could not find Ryder in time and get him to perform the sacrifice with Tezani, then Osyron would break free of his prison and it would be bye-bye to the world as they knew it to be.“What if we can’t get to Ryder in time?” Tezani asked Xanth as if she had been reading his mind.He let out a breath. “Can you go back to Mavrek?”She shook her head and looked down at her horse, she didn’t want to go back to him. She couldn’t. She hated herself for still loving him when all he had ever done was lie to her
Ryder; Lord of Astaroth With Your Child
“They are close now,” Vixra said as she galloped on her horse. She had Pythias riding beside her, Royn and the rest of the warriors rode just behind. “I can sense the girl.”She pulled out the bow hanging on the horse behind her and an arrow, she let go of the horse’s reins but still managed to stay perfectly positioned on the horse. She positioned the arrow in the bow and drew it as far back as she could, closed her eyes and whispered a spell then released the arrow to fly. Without delay, she drew another arrow, whispered the same spell, and let it fly as well.She flung the bow to the side and gripped the horse’s reins, taking control of the animal’s movements. Within seconds, Ryder and his team were within sight. Vixra smirked when she saw that Lyra had been knocked down to the ground, one of the arrows had pierced the horse she had been on, and the other arrow had struck Ryder in the shoulder, causing him to fall off his horse as well.“Do not let them escape!” she yelled out the c
Ryder; Lord of Astaroth Sick
The group traveled in silence with Lyra at the forefront, Ryder just tagging behind her, Borox and the rest of his men followed behind. They had ridden way past the city of Beor and were far away from the Erstonian castle so it was safe for them to just allow the horses to walk for a bit.The landscape was slowly changing the further they journeyed, the snow here was lesser, and from a distance, she could see mountains different from the ones she had been used to seeing in Erstonia, these had no snow covering them and nothing grew in the ground around them.“Fang Peek,” she whispered and felt a chill run down her spine. Fear engulfed her as the weight of what she had agreed to do rested on her heavily. In only a couple of hours, she would be dead, Ryder would head on back to Astaroth and life would continue for them just as normal.She thought of Xanth, the man was softer than Ryder, and a lot more understanding, and yes she would miss him dearly. The last time she had seen him was we
