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Dawning
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2022-07-22 23:25:26Related chapters
Ryder; 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 : 2022-09-07Ryder; Lord of Astaroth Sacrificial Mistake
Xanth stood by the window, his full attention outside and waiting for any sign of Ryder or Lyra emerging from the forest. Ryder had asked him to meet up at Fang Peek meaning after he must have found Lyra, he had no plans of returning back here, he would proceed straight on to Venzor, Erstonia.He worried for Ryder journeying alone into the kingdom of Erstonia because of the history of the place and the connection it had with Ryder’s past. He sighed and turned away from the window, he should never have let Ryder go alone.Iris sat by the fire with the gypsy woman, Lillian as she tended to her injuries. People of Astaroth were incapable of healing on their own but they were very good when it came to endurance, Iris showed no sign of being in pain as the gypsy sewed her stab wound close, the cuts on her arms and back had already been cleaned and patched up and she reclined against the chair like she could feel no pain.“You’ve stood at that window for over four hours now,” Lillian pointe
Last Updated : 2022-09-07Ryder; Lord of Astaroth Face Off
Xanth was mortified, what Lillian had just revealed to them could not be the actual truth, or could it? Had they been hunting and killing Khione women for naught? For thousands of years they had kept this sacred duty of resorting the seal over Osyron with the blood and life of pure breed Khiones, if their deaths had been in vain and the whole thing had just been exaggerated, then they were responsible for it.Xanth gasped again when he thought of Lyra, right now she was on a journey with Ryder and he was oblivious to this new revelation. He was going to kill her at Fang Peek.“Lyra…” He said out loud, both Lillian and Iris looked at him but both with very different facial expressions. While Lilian looked at him with a knowing smirk, Iris looked at him in annoyance. Xanth ignored her.“But how are you so sure about this?” Xanth asked Lilian, he wanted to make sure everything she had said was the truth and not that she was saying it to help Indie. The witch after all, wanted Osyron free
Last Updated : 2022-09-07Ryder; Lord of Astaroth Leaving The Forest
Lyra winced when Ryder tried helping her put on the coat. The huge gash on her shoulder had begun to heal but it was slow in healing, Ryder believed it was because she was weak now. She sat with her back against a tree trunk, the extinguished fire pit was to her left and Ryder was to her right on one knee beside her. The expression on his face was set and serious and he frowned slightly but he never for once met her gaze, she suspected that he was trying to avoid doing that and she wondered why. Was he angry at her again? Even if he was, he had never really avoided her gaze.“Can you walk?” He asked her, still not lifting his head to meet her eyes. She pursed her lips in a thin line and nodded slightly, her eye brows furrowed in pain as she tried to stand, he placed one hand around her waist and the other held her hand as he helped her to her feet. When she was standing upright, he let go of her and took a step forward.“We have to leave this place.” His voice was harsh like he was b
Last Updated : 2022-09-07Ryder; Lord of Astaroth The Need To Find
Xanth sat uneasily on the chair in Lillian’s small but warm house and opposite him sat Syrana, Kye could not sit and Iris busied herself by the window keeping a keen eye on the rest of the Khiones who had positioned themselves outside to guard the place. Xanth had one elbow propped on the table and his head resting in his palm, his head felt light and his thoughts swam in his head making the feeling even worse, what he had just been told today felt more than a bomb shell.He sighed heavily.Kye leaned on the kitchen counter with his arms crossed and a tight frown on his face, he wished he could unhear what he had heard, he wished desperately that it was not true but he trusted Syrana so much that he could not doubt her, it has to be true.It was true.“You’ve known this for how long now?” Kye asked her to which she sighed and looked up to Xanth.“Not long, I only suspected a while but it’s true, I could not deny it.”“My mother,” Xanth choked as he spoke and lifted his head up to face
Last Updated : 2022-10-14Ryder; Lord of Astaroth Rescue
“I’m freezing!” Lyra shouted out to Ryder who was walking on ahead of her. He stopped and turned around to look at her and then he gave a sigh. Of course she would be freezing, she barely had any clothes on. She had ripped the dress to make it shorter, had no shoes on and the only thing worthy of keeping the cold at bay was the thick cloak he had made her wear.“We are nearing the edge of the forest, into Zagaroth Mountain, it is always cold there. Erstonia is far up North and always covered in ice and blizzards.” He told her.One eye brow came up and she shook her head. “Okay, and? How does that help me right now?”The cold came from the ground to her exposed feet, she curled her toes in response and hugged the cloak tighter around her body now regretting why she had disposed of those worn out muddy shoes but then wearing wet shoes was way worse than being bare feet. She sighed.They could see the sea of white snow just past the trees ahead of them and Lyra heaved a sigh of relief th
Last Updated : 2023-02-04Ryder; Lord of Astaroth The Other Option
The snow this year had come earlier and fell more, so much so that it had already built up to two feet in depth. The sun was high above their heads and it offered a little bit of warmth even though it was far felt, Tezani sat upright on her horse right behind General Mavrek who was leading the small group journeying away from Kilead, to the north in the direction of Fang peek.The reason they were journeying there was to meet up with Ryder and to find out why the sacrifice had not happened because just the other day they had felt a tremendous tremble, the earth had quaked and there was a low rumble like a groaning sounds. The people had been terrified and the elders had been agitated. She remembered she had been in bed with the general in his room just as it had happened and right away he had called for a meeting with the other generals and the elders.The tremble had meant one thing and one thing only; Ryder had still not completed the sacrifice, some even wondered if he had made it
Last Updated : 2023-02-04Ryder; Lord of Astaroth At Lock Heads
Finding Axeris and Khiones together was an impossible sight except if one race was dead and the other was alive and standing over the corpse, but finding Axeris and Khiones working together was more than impossible yet it was where Iris, Xanth, Syrana and her Khione warriors found themselves in as they made their way through Oerth forest.It was very obvious and clear that the tension hanging in the air above them was heated enough to melt the snow and chase away the cold - which it literally did - but the party had a common goal and working together would help them in achieving their common goal faster, and the faster they achieved that goal, the faster they could be away from each other. But in the small tensed group, none was more disgusted than Kye.It was an irritation he didn’t bother to hide.“How long do you think it would take us to get to the other side of the forest?” Xanth asked Syrana as he slowed down to walk beside her.“Whenever we get to the other side, we get to th
Last Updated : 2023-02-12
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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
