He didn’t know why he was feeling restless.
Ryder stood outside the front door, looking up into the sky. He took in a deep breath and let it out heavily. The army of Rocheveron and the ruckus they were causing at the Eldham border, he had be quiet about it for long, and that was what fueled their courage. He was not one to be quiet but he had other things to deal with, other things more important than going there himself to quiet things down. He believed in the capability of his soldiers there, Rocheveron would never be able to take control over Eldham no matter the number of attacks they staged.
He looked down to the horses ready in front of him, he had a little free time in his hands now, so he could spare to go to Eldham, his presence there would settle a lot of things without him having to lift up a sword. Most of what distracted him from going there had been settled now and top on that list had been Lyra. And speaking of Lyra, that dress she had worn today f
The autumn sky was fiery.They rode with only escorts, seven other men on horseback at full speed north east of Kilead. They had left the castle that morning and had been riding for hours now, Xanth had let go of the amount of time they had been riding, but the chills in the air and the orange sky told him that it was nearing evening time. None of the men riding with him knew where he had in mind that he was going to, not even Xanth, he had not bothered to ask when they had left the castle because it was Ryder’s hobby to go riding occasionally but this one bothered him a little because they had been riding head on and Ryder didn’t have the slightest will of turning back.They had just passed the outskirts of Kilead when Ryder pulled his horse to slow down and so did the rest. They had passed the last village only minutes ago but they were so far away that they could not even see the smoke rising from the chimneys. They were still in Astaroth, but had left t
He was rocked from his slumber.But not the kind of rocking that puts you to sleep or gently woke you up, it was the kind of rocking that shook you awake, uneven and loud.His eyes slowly opened and the first thing he saw was the roof of a carriage, a carriage he was in. He groaned and sat up, his head ached and his body trembled from the inside. He opened his palms upward and noticed his trembling fingers, slowly he clenched them into fists and took a deep breath in. The sun was up and very bright, shining in hot through the windows but it came with a chill in the wind, promising of an early winter season. He sat a while in the carriage, trying to gather whatever strength he could conjure from within him before he pounded his fist on the side of the carriage twice.It came to a halt almost immediately and Xanth ran to the carriage door, just as Ryder flung it open. His body was weak, he could tell and Xanth could sense that too, he placed a hand on Ryder’
She slept still and her breathing was calm.All night Ryder had remained awake, watching over her and pacing, a lot of things swimming through his unsettled mind; the dreams, the visions, the woman he kept on seeing that troubled him, and now, seeing Lyra in his dreams only added to his confusion. He knew there was something wrong with him that triggered these visions, they had started the year his parents had gone to war against the kingdom of Erstonia and they had been frequent ever since but never had they been this disturbing, and it never weakened him. Just a bad dream.And the dreams had stopped, up until thirty eight years ago when it came. And then now, again.“Still nothing?” He asked Xanth for the umpteenth time, coming into the room. It was now way past noon and Lyra had not woken up since last night.Xanth shook his head. He stood, leaning a shoulder on the wall while watching the maids clean her face and arms with moist towels. &l
She was back in Dragonsbane.She knew this because she recognized the castle, it was a place she had grown up in and lived for most of her life. She was back in that strange, dark hallway and had the cringe that she was not alone. It made her shiver, and caused a chill to run down her spine. She hated this feeling.“Lyra…”The voice that called to her was masculine but she saw no one in the hall, it was just a long and empty passage way that echoed every sound that it could pick up. She stretched out her hand and reached for the stone walls in the darkness, they were cold to the feel but she still held on to it as she could not see a single thing in here.“Red is a dangerous color on you, Lyra…”That voice again. It sounded all too familiar and it caused her to feel a prickly sensation in crook of her neck. She placed her hand which had caught on the coolness from resting on the stone walls, there to soothe it.
“It’s time.”The study was always kept dimly lit, there was a reason he had not allowed windows to be cut in the walls, and it was because he never wanted the knowledge of whatever was in here to get out, and although smaller windows that could not fit a person would do just the thing, still, he had his own way as to how he wanted his things to be run. But more so, because the darkness was comfortable, and it hid him. And it welcomed him.The study was like his get away place, his sanctuary and his safe haven and save for Xanth, no one else was allowed in here. No one else.Xanth put down the book in his hands and turned to Ryder sitting uncomfortably on the only table in the small room. “Time for what?”Ryder took a deep breath in and then focused his attention on Xanth. “Time to go in search, for another Khione.”Xanth gave him a puzzled look, although he was sure that Ryder might not be able to read his
Almost a month.It had been almost a month since a princess of Dragonsbane was forcefully taken from the kingdom, it had been almost a month of continuous deliberation and persuasion, with only a handful of them willing to risk going into the kingdom of Astaroth to rescue back princess Lyra. King Kade weighed his options, the queen, Gwyn, offered little or no input, and Jenny made her own choice clear that they just let everything be. But to let everything be was to allow Astaroth do as they wanted and be free, to let everything be was to give permission for other kingdoms to do the same if they so wished to.But then, the will to ensure the people of their safety within Dragonsbane dominated the King’s thought of peace, and he had no choice but to give his blessing. Finally, the plan to go rescue the Dragonsbane princess was being debated on and finalized, and no one could be more excited than Eris himself.He stood at the head of the table, surrounded by
It was getting dark quicker here.She stood by the window, looking out into the darkening orange sky, past the horizon and she rubbed her fore arm with both hands, hugging herself as she did. It was getting dark and it was getting cold and it was about this time of the day that people would be retiring to their homes to rest and sleep, preparing for the next day, but Lyra could not sleep. She could not bring herself to be calm either, and she could not sit in one place.She turned away from the window and paced a little in the room. The only thought in her head was the thing that that man had told her about; the year of Osyron. What did he mean when he had told her to find her truth? She let out a breath and looked to the ceiling, walking back and forth in front of the extremely large window. The curtains swayed in the breeze, reaching out to her like they wanted to wrap her up and cuddle her in their soft silkiness.She paused. To find her truth she would first
It had been a month.A month and counting since she last saw her mother and father, a month and counting since the last time she was in Dragonsbane. A month and counting since she had gotten here. They said she was important to the kingdom of Astaroth but they had not told her anything more than that, not the reason she was here or how and why she was important, just that she was.At least now she had the freedom to move about with the castle grounds, maybe because they knew she would not escape, or that she could not escape. The castle was not fully guarded when ever Ryder was around, that was something she had observed, he was probable capable of protecting himself and the people in the castle, and just like Tezani had told her, he had killed three soldiers with a wave of his hand instantly, chopping them into large pieces. Lyra had listened to her for the sake of her company, not that she believed it.“I’m telling you that it happened.” Teza
“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
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
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
“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
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
The girl is still alive.The thought rang in his head as he entered his chambers in the castle, one wave of his staff and he had his doors locked with a spell.“The girl is still alive!” he yelled and flung his staff away, it collided with the wall without making a noise and came back to him, floating in the air beside the wizard. He took in a deep breath but was unable to calm down, he thought he had dealt with everything that would hinder Osyron from rising. He thought it was finally all over.He paced the length of the room, from the window to the door, back and forth, deep in thoughts. He stopped abruptly and walked to a part of his room where a he curtain was hung over a wall, he reached behind the heavy curtains and slid out a huge, ancient mirror. The mirror held no reflection and was just black, he reached for his staff which was floating beside him and placed it to rest against the mirror so that the red jewel touched it.With a pin he pricked his index finger, placed that o
“So,” Borox walked up to Ryder atop his horse and took hold of the reins. “No detours anymore, I’m guessing?”Ryder glanced over at Lyra, who was being helped to mount her horse. She had agreed to the sacrifice and with that, he knew a part of him had died. He shook his head to respond to Borox. “No, no detours.”She sat on the horse and picked up the reins, adjusting the fur cloak she had requested for to protect herself from the cold. They all stood by the cave’s entrance, looking out, she, Ryder, Borox and about a dozen of his men were ready for the long ride to Fang Peek.“Erstonia lies in between this place and Fang Peek, is that correct?” Lyra asked Ryder as they eased their horses outside of the cave, behind them, Borox followed with his men.“That is correct,” Ryder answered her question. He could feel her coldness towards him and he hated it, the not caring attitude she had now developed was something he was sure he would never get used to. But then he sighed, he would not be
The night was long. Long and quiet.Tonight she had been made to sleep in her own tent instead of having to share one with General Mavrek, the warrior that had delivered the message to her had said it was because the General would be having an all-night meeting with the men in command of each section of the troop, but she knew it was because he had just killed someone in there and the blood was still fresh on the ground, and the smell of blood was still very heavy in the air. She was sensitive and would pick up the scent in an instant.But she was grateful she had not been made to stay with the General in his tent tonight because it might have been more difficult sneaking out of his tent. She didn’t wait for the morning, she didn’t even know what time it was, all she knew was that she had waited for everywhere to be quiet. It was easy staying awake as sleep had eluded her after finding out Mavrek’s plans for her.She felt heartbroken and betrayed because truly, she did love the Genera
“There has not been any earth tremor for days now, has Ryder completed the sacrifice?” General Mavrek asked Iris as she crashed into a chair in his tent, gulping down cup after cup of water. A day’s journey in the cold and snow-covered land had nothing on her, as her body could withstand some levels of extreme temperatures, but her body could not go on without water. She had not thought of that really.She had stumbled into Mavrek’s camp as they were making their way up to Fang Peek, and Mavrek had been shaken, expecting to see Ryder coming up a distance away with Xanth. But after a couple of hours with no sign of either men, he began to relax a bit.Iris looked away after her last cup of water, she had heard his question but what could she say in reply? That the girl they had all their hopes on was dead? That they should go home and prepare for war, promising death by the hand of the bloodthirsty god, Osyron? “We encountered some complications on the way.”“Complications?” that conf