Ascendants of Ancients Sovereign (Worlds of the Crystal Moon, Book 1) (57 page)

Southern Grayham

The City of Brandor

The King’s Castle

Mosley appeared in the bedroom of Keldwin Brandor. With the king sleeping, the wolf’s green eyes settled on the shallow glow that emanated from a pile of embers inside a circular fireplace that was located at the center of the room.

The chamber was spacious and sculptures of previous kings stood in every corner. The stone walls between these six figures were covered with tapestries, weapons and shields, and large, heavy, wooden shutters had been left open to allow the night air to infiltrate the room.

The wolf took his eyes off the fireplace and moved to look out one of the windows. From this position, located at the top of the highest tower, Mosley could see the city of Brandor’s longest street that led away from the castle. Thousands of torches lined both sides of the street, and they lit every storefront until it ended at Brandor’s arena, which acted as a beacon. The glow from hundreds of torches that lined the top of the structure softened the darkness of the night and the vista appealed to the wolf’s senses.

Mosley moved to stand at the foot of the king’s bed. He scratched at the footboard and waited for Keldwin to wake up. When he did, the king leapt from his bed, grabbed his sword, and prepared to strike.

“Easy, Keldwin! I’m not here to hurt you. I trust that I’ve found you in good spirits. How is your son, Aaron?”

Hearing his name, Keldwin looked through the fading light and waited for his eyes to adjust. “Mosley, is that you?”

“It is. I have come to speak of important matters. I request that you get dressed, and gather the leaders of your army. Please meet me in your throne room.”

“Since when do you give orders to a king? No one has given you permission to call me by name. What on Grayham possessed you to think that entering my chamber was permissible?”

Mosley continued to push. “Keldwin, you would be wise to join me in the throne room. I’m not the wolf you once knew. I now command a vast pack. You may come or not, but I shall be there nevertheless. I intend to speak with your army.”

“I’ll have you flogged, wolf! How dare you talk to me this manner! Guards, remove this pest from my room!”

“The guards cannot hear you, King of Brandor. This ‘pest’ is no longer just any wolf. I’ve been given immortality. I am now one of the gods. I would appreciate it if you would choose to conform. Please gather your men, and meet me in your throne room.”

“Mosley, you bore me with your lies. You, a god? Ha! Since when would the gods want the likes of you to join them? Leave me to my rest, and I may forget you had the arrogance to enter my chamber.”

“I’ll leave as you request ... but…” Mosley smiled within as he finished his statement. “...But I suspected that I would need to seek out a better man than you to listen to what I had to say.” Mosley sniffed the air in the room. “The air is stagnate. It smells of a king’s weakness.”

Upon hearing the insult, Keldwin attacked. He lifted his sword and brought it down across the top of the wolf-god’s back. The blade passed through Mosley’s body as if it had hit thin air and collided with the stones of the floor.

The king watched in horror as Mosley turned to face him. The wolf growled and exposed his fangs. His dark fur stood at attention on the back of his neck as he maneuvered Keldwin into the open arms of one of the statues of the past monarchs.

Once the king’s royal bum had been pressed tightly against the sculpture, Mosley snarled, “Keldwin, you can do as you choose, but I would think twice before you turn your blade on me again. I am the new God of War, and you will respect my authority. Gather your men and bring them to the throne room. I, and the others, wish to speak with them.”

“Others? What others?” Keldwin demanded

Mosley moved toward the door and sniffed at the stones on either side. Once satisfied he had his mark, he lifted his leg and released a continuous stream while he looked up at Keldwin. “The other gods, of course.” Mosley vanished.

It took a while for Keldwin to recover, but eventually, the king managed to get dressed. When everyone had made their way to the throne room, the group consisted of the king, his son, Aaron, the General Absolute, Justin Graywind, and the gods: Mosley, Helmep, Alistar, Keylom, Calla, and Bailem.

Bailem stepped forward to introduce everyone. He kept his beautiful, white wings close to his back and adjusted his robe to a better position around his portly belly. “This conversation is private for those of us in attendance. We cannot be heard by anyone outside this chamber. We can speak freely.” The God of the Sun focused his gaze on Mosley. “You should tell the king why we’ve come.”

“Keldwin, your god, Bassorine, is no longer. I have taken his place. We haven’t come to make demands, but we are here to inform you of events that will soon occur. You’ll need to strengthen your army to its full potential and make ready for war if you are to survive. There is an enemy building, the likes of which this world has never seen. For now, the threat is minimal, but it will be powerful.”

The king’s brow dropped between his eyes. “Does this have something to do with the closure of the temple?”

Mosley nodded as a wolf would. “The Crystal Moon has been stolen, and its pieces have been scattered throughout the worlds.”

“Who took them?” the king demanded, forgetting the company he was keeping.

Alistar was the one to respond. He pushed back the hood of his robe. “Lasidious has decided to mold the fate of the worlds. Two pieces of the crystal are to be placed on Grayham, and the gods have been divided. Three of the crystal’s five pieces must be secured, or the worlds will change and Grayham will fall into darkness.”

“And if we capture these pieces?” Keldwin responded, seeking a glimmer of hope.

Mosley answered, “If we succeed, the world will be without suffering, and your bloodline shall continue to rule the grandest of packs. You should prepare for war. The pieces need to be rejoined to keep the worlds from sure annihilation. I’m certain you have felt the tremors of the ground beneath your feet.”

The General Absolute spoke out. “Sire, I would like the opportunity to speak.”

“By all means, General.”

Justin faced the gods. “There have been no tremors in Brandor, Lord Mosley. The ground beneath our feet has remained still, but reports of this shaking have made it to my ears from Angels Village and the town of Lethwitch. If these tremors relate to matters of war, then this will require my full attention.”

The general walked forward and approached the gods as if they were mortals. “I have received word from the village of Angels that their ground shook on two occasions. It was said to be a short series of moments, and no damage was done. I also received similar word from Lethwitch, except the shaking lasted much longer. You said an evil builds, yet I have no reports of this from my runners. Our only foes are the barbarians to the north, but we haven’t been at war for many seasons. I’ve heard nothing of a plan to attack.”

Bailem stepped forward. “I can understand you’re skeptical, General, but I can assure you this force does strengthen itself, and it will make itself known without warning. Like we said, the gods have been divided. The threat is real.”

The leader of the king’s army rubbed his head as he moved around the room, his biceps bulging as his arm moved back and forth through his long hair. “Your point has been made. Every man will be called into service to prepare for battle. How long do we have before we see the first signs of this movement?”

Keylom stepped forward, his hooves clapping against the stones of the throne room floor. “General, this answer is unknown.”

The king moved to take a seat on his throne. He grabbed a wooden goblet filled with ale and took a drink. “You would ask me to call every man in my kingdom into service and wait for an undisclosed period of moments? The finances for such a calling would be tremendous, and it would ruin the kingdom’s economy.”

The God of the Harvest responded. “Keldwin, your crops are due to be harvested in 45 Peaks. I’ll bless the soils of your land. Your crops will be bountiful. You can use the finances from such an abundance to fund your preparedness.”

The king thought a moment and then took another swig. “It would take three full harvests to make this kind of coin. I would like to know your intentions to address this issue. Without your help, Brandor will have to take its chances and wait for the first sign of war.”

Alistar’s response was swift. “Send word to every farm, village, town, and city. When the crops are harvested, they are to plant again before morning. If they do this, I’ll bless the soil. The following morning, their crops will be grown again. This will continue until three full harvests have been gathered. I assure you, they’ll be abundant.”

The general interjected. “This is good news, but how will the people transport this abundance to Merchant Island? They don’t have the means.”

Once again, Alistar answered. “General, I’ll bless an area of soil outside of each populace. You can use this area to plant Garanto Trees. They will grow through the night and become tall and strong as if they have grown for hundreds of seasons. Use the wood from these trees to build harvest wagons. Use them to carry the harvest to the coastal cities of West Utopia, Haven, South Utopia, and Carlosam. Once there, use the king’s fleet to transport the harvest to Merchant Island. You will also need to build barns to store that which you are unable to carry in one trip.

“Make sure you have the people stock their homes. This will assure your men that their families are fed while they’re away. The harvests will give your economy enough coin to sustain this calling. You may also harvest enough trees to rebuild the run-down areas of your kingdom.”

Alistar pulled a map of Southern Grayham from beneath his robe and then continued. “Your first harvest is not for 45 Peaks. This gives you the moments necessary to build the wagons.”

Alistar circled a number of key areas on the map with the tip of his finger. A mark was left behind. “I’ll take my leave to bless these areas. You should plant the trees quickly.” The god waved his hand across the wall behind Keldwin’s throne. Bags of every kind of seed appeared, each bag clearly marked. “I will place similar bags throughout your kingdom. You will find them inside the royal storehouses.” With that, Alistar vanished.

The king stood from his throne and walked to Mosley. “It appears there’s work to be done. Forgive me for my earlier temperament.”

“Wise King,” Mosley responded as he reached up with one of his back paws to scratch his neck, “I’m sure I would’ve displayed similar arrogance if someone claiming to be a god woke me from my sleep.” He smiled, wolfishly.

With that, all the gods left for Ancients Sovereign.

CHAPTER 22

Minotaur

Just Outside the Town of Lethwitch

AS THEY SAT AROUND the fire within the Enchanted Forest, George informed Amar of the trouble he was having controlling his new power. However, he tried to steer the conversation to keep the focus on Amar. The manipulator did not want to give anything away that would cause him to lose whatever advantage he might have over the mage.

Kepler understood what George was trying to accomplish. At one point, the cat winked to show his support as he licked himself clean by the fire.

George was relieved when he learned that Amar would be helpful while learning to control his new power. Kepler’s skeleton warriors would no longer be necessary.

Amar had grabbed 10 rats from the cellar of his brother’s store before coming to the forest and threw them into a small cage. One by one, he pulled them out and gave instruction.

It took only four deaths before George had his first success. He was able to limit the transformation to a single leg. The rest of the rat had been spared a solid death, and George watched as the rodent hobbled off into the forest.

Kepler lifted his head from between his legs and stopped licking himself long enough to comment. “It appears you’re getting the hang of it. You just might be able to keep from killing us now.”

George rolled his eyes and then pulled another rat out of the cage. During this series of moments, nothing happened. He smiled as he tossed the rat into the air and watched Kepler snatch it up in his mouth. A crunching sound could be heard as the rat’s bones snapped beneath the demon’s heavy chomp.

Amar had to dodge as a squirt of blood shot past his face. The mage frowned. “This is a new robe, George. I don’t want it soiled. I have no desire to smell as foul as my brother.”

Kepler stood, walked over to Amar and sniffed. “You’re human ... you will always smell foul.”

George snickered. “Knock it off, Kep. We’re here to learn, remember?”

Kepler growled and lowered to the ground as George reached into the cage and pulled out another rat by its tail. He lifted it into the air without changing any part of it.

“That’s good,” Amar praised. “But can you change its heart without turning the rest of it?”

“I can try,” George responded with a questioning look. “But how will I know if it worked?”