Legends of Marithia: Book 1 - Prophecies Awakening: Uncut and Extended Second Edition (18 page)

“Are you serious? How do you ever make sense
of it all?” asked Vartan, rubbing his hands through his hair.

“I understand your frustrations,” replied
Karven. “Really, I do. Visions are something that even we struggle
to master, but it does get easier with time.”

“We must head to the farm and make sure that
my parents are okay!” pleaded Vartan. “After all, they are of
dragon's blood. Nymira, I beg of you—
please
take me home,
and we can regroup back at Veldrenn.”

“As you wish, Vartan, but you should remember
that we are far from your home. You’d better prepare yourself as
best you can for what we may find there.” Nymira broke formation to
head in the direction of Greenhaven.

“Thank you for your understanding, Nymira. We
must at least try to save them if they are still alive, or I’d
never be able to forgive myself,” replied Vartan.

“I truly understand, and I will do what I can
to protect you in your journey, no matter what we face,” she
said.

Vartan breathed deeply and tried his best to
calm his wrecked nerves. He thought back to the farm, of happier
times before the war… before life became so horribly complicated.
He suddenly realised that his pack had fallen over in Nymira’s
claws and the trader’s bag had almost fallen out.

"I had better clean this up," he mumbled.
Carefully, he opened the bag to look for the artefacts from the
trader in She’Ma’Ryn. He fumbled inside and retrieved the first
shiny artefact, twisting it around in front if his face It looked
like a metallic golden egg, which was generously covered in various
jewels. It was obvious to the eye that it could be opened in the
middle.

Laughing to himself, he tried to force it
open. No matter how hard Vartan worked to prise it open, it
remained firmly shut.

I suppose this one is not for me,
he
thought.

Vartan reluctantly returned the egg back to
the bag and resumed his exploration of the artefacts. The second
one he retrieved was attached to a long and shiny silver chain. At
the end of the chain was a woman’s face, naturally formed in what
looked like half a pearl set in a golden star. It was covered with
strange engraved markings Vartan did not recognize. What amazed
Vartan the most was that it appeared to emit its own light as it
sparkled and lit up Nymira’s belly like a starry night.

What a fascinating piece of jewellery. I
should probably wear this so I don’t lose it,
thought
Vartan.

As he reached for the clip, it let off a
slight hiss as it opened.

My goodness, that is strange,
he
thought as he shrugged it off and clipped the necklace onto his
neck. The chain let out a watery sound, and he felt its weight fall
heavily on the back of his neck. Vartan tried to open the necklace
again, but no matter where he searched on the clip, it felt solid
and he could not find an opening.

“Great. Now look what I’ve gone and done. Who
knows who this was intended for,” he sighed. He rested his arms on
his knees.

Oh please, don’t get so upset over it,
replied a woman’s voice in his mind.
I’m sure we can get along
just fine.

Vartan almost jumped out of his skin at the
sudden loud voice.

“Nymira, are you playing games with me?” said
Vartan. “This is hardly the time. Don’t be so loud, we don’t want
the whole world to hear us!”

“Vartan, I have no idea what you are talking
about. I haven’t said a word,” she replied.

Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me. Just what
I need—another voice in my head,
thought Vartan.

He raised the necklace to his face and found
an odd surprise. The face in the star now looked like it had human
skin and features. The woman’s image stared at him oddly and raised
an eyebrow.

No, I’m not kidding you,
she said. Her
voice sounded like a blend of human and animal tones
. You
seriously use that word in conversation? ‘Kidding?’ Vartan is your
name? Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Keturah… I'm obviously not
from around here, and I certainly do not come here often. But it
appears that you and I are bonded together. Well, at least until
the time of your death.

Oh, that’s reassuring. How come nobody else
can hear you? And why is your voice unlike any other in this
world?

I can tell this is going to be a long night,
young one, and I was not created with the intent to be reassuring.
That would be the job of a Faith Talisman. I am a Truth Pendant,
made by the highest order of wizards, and my job is exactly that—to
seek out the truth. As to why nobody else can hear me, well, that
is quite obvious, is it not?

I see you have been blessed with the power
of sarcasm,
Vartan replied.

My dear, what good would a Truth Pendant be
if everyone could hear it? You are the only one who is able to hear
me, as my magic is bonded to you. The pendant requires a living
soul as part of its creation. Before you ask, at one time I was
indeed alive like you are now, but this is what fate has intended
for both of us. Now, tell me about you.

Well,
began Vartan
, since we are
obviously stuck together—

That
is
observant of you, Vartan.
Any other moments of genius you would like to share?

Well aren't you a delightful soul,
he
replied, laughing silently
. I can see that this will be a long
night indeed. Let me start from the beginning.

Chapter 11: Fool’s Courage

“Our numbers grow stronger by the day, and
the addition of such a large supply of weaponry and armour will
surely turn the tide in our favour. The knights learn quickly, and
have also taught us proud elves a thing or two about sword
fighting. Our spirits are high, but I truly hope that Vartan
returns to us soon.

We could use the reassurance of his presence.
Refugees have flocked into the woods to escape the war, and
ironically have found our city. Though all have chosen to join the
fight against the Forces of Darkness, it will only be a matter of
time until it is one of Kassina’s scouts that finds our defensive
perimeter.”

(General Faowind of Veldrenn)

As the arrow entered the room, its blue glow
betrayed hints of its presence. Kassina snapped her head toward the
arrow and her eyes glowed as her body moved at an unnatural speed.
She barely moved swiftly enough to avoid the arrow piercing her
heart. It sliced through her lung instead. Her acidic blood
splattered onto the bed, burning the satin sheets beneath their
bodies. After passing through Kassina’s body, the arrow cut its way
through Derian’s heart and finally exited the room through the
stone wall. Derian's scream pierced Aidan and Tusdar’s ears as his
blood spattered onto Kassina’s chest, attacking her flesh.

Aidan and Tusdar watched in horror as
Kassina’s wound rapidly healed itself, while Derian shrieked in
agony as his body disintegrated into dust beneath her. Kassina
snarled in their direction as she leapt off the bed and spun
around, like a tiger ready to pounce on its prey. Her face
contorted and she spat out her words. “Whoever you are, you will
pay dearly for this cowardly intrusion!”

Tusdar's body shook as he pounded his fist
into the bottom of the enchanted circle, sealing the window with a
flash of light.

“Run as fast as you can, and whatever you do,
don’t look back and don't stop running!” cried Aidan. He turned and
fled down the stairs with Tusdar close behind. Angry bolts of
lightning blew a giant hole straight through to the outside wall.
Chunks of Greenhaven’s golden stones fell heavily to the ground
below and sent shudders through the earth.

Kassina's growling voice echoed behind them.
“You
dare
to come into my city, crawl through my walls like
filthy little insects, and try to kill me in my own bedroom? In a
moment of pleasure?" She blew another two holes through the walls,
and sent even more stone to the ground as she screamed in
frustration.

“So, you think that you can escape me so
easily, do you? Think again!
Acerbus et ingens!
” she
chanted.

“She is casting a spell! I don’t like the
sound of that!” yelled Tusdar, grinding to a halt.

“I
said
, don't stop!” commanded Aidan,
pulling him forward with all his might. “Just keep running, damn
you!”

As they neared the bottom of the turret, they
both slowed down and stared at each other with widened eyes as fear
sank in.

“What
is
that? It feels like the
ground is shaking underfoot. Can you also feel that?” asked
Tusdar.

The vibrations ceased as Aidan took a few
careful steps forward, listening intently for any signs.

“Well at least Kassina’s not following us; I
can't hear her anymore. It could have been so much worse," said
Aidan. "For a minute there, I had a ridiculous thought that the
shaking was from footsteps—"

Aidan’s words were loudly interrupted by a
gigantic stone fist that smashed through the outer wall and wrapped
around him tightly, pinning his arms to his sides. Struggling
uselessly against its grip, Aidan cried, "Get out of here, Tusdar!
Go
!"

The enormous fist ripped him out into the
open, into the land surrounding Greenhaven before a sheer drop to
the river below. He was brought up to the face of the Stone Golem
it belonged to. It grimaced as it stared him in the eyes and roared
at his face. Aidan's hair blew wildly in the gale from the giant’s
maw.

“No! I
told
you that I want him
alive!” shouted Kassina from her window, roughly dressed in her
loose clothing. “Now check if there are any more intruders!”

Tusdar ran as fast as his legs could carry
him, while narrowly dodging the golem’s other fist crashing through
the wall. When the fist broke again through the wall in his path,
he managed to catch a glance of the golem. Aidan was clutched
tightly, and struggling hard to free himself. Tusdar could clearly
see the megalithic as it roared in frustration and prepared to
strike once again. As he neared the secret entrance, another large
hole was broken into the wall.

A flying fragment of stone struck him in the
chest and winded him for a few moments as he limped to the nearest
outside wall. As the golem retracted its fist, Tusdar leapt up and
out of the hole in the wall to land on the ground beside it,
quickly running in the direction of the bridge.

“Ha! I
knew
there was another one of
you crawling in these walls!” cried Kassina. “But you won’t get
away so easily. Archers ready!”

The sound of hundreds of skeleton archers’
footfalls echoed through Greenhaven. Tusdar rolled under a stone
hand as the golem tried desperately to get hold of him. The gust of
the fist’s passing rushed over his body. The ground shook with each
powerful step as the golem gave chase.

Boom…

Boom…

Boom…

Aidan managed to pull his better arm out of
the golem’s fist while it was distracted. He repeatedly beat on the
golem as hard as he could, but his strikes had no effect. Aidan
shifted his attention to reaching for his sword as it dangled at
his side. As he stretched for it, he pulled at his fresh wound and
winced in pain from the flesh tearing from where the arrow had
pierced it.

Come on, you can do it… pain is all in
your mind,
he thought as he reached out with all his might.

Tusdar narrowly ducked another swipe from the
giant’s stone hand as he continued his sprint for the bridge.

Kassina's face hardened as she pointed to her
target and relayed her order. “I’ve got you now, you little insect!
Archers, aim ahead of the bridge!”

Finally Aidan grasped his sword with the tips
of his fingers, and with a painful grunt he shifted his weight to
pull his sword higher. As the golem raised its arm to strike again,
he threw the sword upwards and caught its hilt with his fist.

“Fire at will,” ordered Kassina, and a dark
cloud of arrows pierced the night sky and flew towards Tusdar.

Aidan screamed, “Tusdar, turn around now and
run towards the golem!”

“Are you insane?
Why
do I listen to
you?” Tusdar yelled through puffed breaths as he reluctantly
followed the order.

The golem raised its enormous fist once
again, and Aidan thrust his sword as hard as he could into its
mouth. With a thunderous roar, the golem dug its feet into the
ground as it attempted to dislodge the sword from its face. Tusdar
ran through the gap between the monster’s legs, while the arrows
rained down to hit nothing but dirt.

“Archers,
ready
!” growled Kassina with
annoyance.

Aidan continued to struggle, but the golem’s
grip was far too tight for him to escape. Skeleton warriors were
closing in quickly from Tusdar’s new direction, weapons drawn.

“Tusdar, you’ll have to leave without me,”
shouted Aidan. “Find Vartan and tell him of our victory today. The
king’s murderer has been slain—we must tell the others.”

The golem roared with anger, smashing its
fist into the sword and sending the now-dislodged blade spinning
through the air. The golem shook its head and focused on its
fleeing target. The ground shook as it resumed chasing Tusdar.

“Archers, take aim!” ordered Kassina.

A stone fist smashed into the ground, barely
missing its target and sending a cloud of dirt into the air. Tusdar
leapt off the chunk of earth, which then broke off into the river
below it.

Kassina's raised hand dropped as she yelled,
“Fire at will!”

Aidan watched helplessly as the arrows flew
towards Tusdar. This time there was no way he would avoid them by
running in any direction.

“You’re not getting away this time!” laughed
Kassina.

Tusdar looked up at the rain of death about
to fall on his head and swallowed hard.