Legends of Marithia: Book 1 - Prophecies Awakening: Uncut and Extended Second Edition (20 page)

“The ancients rallied as we worked to free
them from their bonds, and together, we fought off the remaining
Forces of Darkness over hundreds of years of fighting. This began
an age of alliance between ancients and dragons. We built
Talonsphere, in accordance with a design created by Mother Dragon
and the ancients, as the ultimate weapon in case we would ever need
to face him again. I was lucky to defeat Shindar when the world was
all but lost,” answered Karven.

“If you have defeated Shindar before, can’t
you defeat him again?” asked Andrielle.

“Shindar has found his chosen one—Kassina.
She has been trained in dark magic over many hundreds of years, and
they would never again foolishly accept a direct challenge. If
there is one thing that Shindar is good at, it is learning from his
mistakes. Talonsphere is our only hope of vanquishing the threat
before she is able to summon Shindar once again. If the two were to
walk this earth side by side, I do not know if even Talonsphere
would be able to stop them,” said Karven, noticing Faowind
desperately trying to get their attention outside the layer of
light.

“Does Vartan know any of this?” asked
Andrielle.

“Vartan
is
aware of how to activate
Talonsphere, and naturally he returns Helenia’s love. Sadly, I fear
he will not have the heart to tell her of the sacrifice he must
make. This is a decision that I leave up to you.”

“I understand, Karven,” she replied, taking
notice of Faowind anxiously waving his arms around.

“
Solvo nos ex silentio,
” said Karven,
casting off the Spell of Silence.

“My queen and great Dragon King, please
forgive the intrusion, but I must speak with you immediately,” said
Faowind, bowing down on one knee.

“Whatever is the matter, Faowind? Forget the
formalities and spell it out,” said Andrielle.

“I’m sorry to interrupt you, but we have a
big problem. We have received an urgent message from the fairies
surrounding our city. Kassina’s scouts have found us. They tracked
their way easily through the darkness of the Elven Woods” said
Faowind.

Andrielle's face hardened as she stared into
the surrounding forest. “I see. Did our guards not dispatch
them?”

Faowind stared at the ground, his voice
shaky. “All but one of the scouts, my Queen, whom we could not
chase down after nightfall. It disappeared into the shadows."

"How certain are we that the source of this
information is true?"

A guardian elf approached with the messenger
fairy sitting on his shoulder, the fairy wept through bloodied
hands. He held out his open palms to show a dead fairy in each
hand. Their blood dripped from their grey lifeless bodies and
through his hands.

Andrielle's face strained as she recognised
the royal gems on one of the fairies. She bent down and studied her
face before taking a deep breath. "Send word of my condolences to
Queen Nicolai. She may not be aware of her daughter's death, and it
pains me to be the one to be giving her the news. They both deserve
an Elven Warrior's burial and we will see that it is done."

Faowind nodded and led the elf away
slowly.

“It is only a matter of time before her scout
reaches Greenhaven. We have to prepare to defend the city against a
direct assault,” said Karven.

Andrielle nodded as she pulled out a small
artefact attached to her necklace that appeared to be a seashell.
The shell was an elven artefact which amplifies the bearer’s voice
substantially. She raised it to her lips and drew her sword as her
voice filled the city.

“Inhabitants of our great city, all of you
who are brave enough to be here with us today—the time has come
sooner than expected for us to face our enemies. Our location has
been compromised, and it is only a matter of time before Kassina
launches an offensive in an attempt to destroy us all,” said
Andrielle.

The city was suddenly overcome with a roar of
talking and panic.

“Fear not, as we
will
stand together.
Humans, elves and dragons will unite as one to defeat this plague
of darkness that clouds us. We fight for our lives, for our
children’s future, but most of all, we fight for all of Marithia.
This is
our
time, and we will not cower away and hide in
fear. We have the advantage of Kassina foolishly believing that we
will just sit here and wait for our deaths. I say, let her come!
Let tonight be the turning point of this war. Let
this
night
be a turning point for Marithia!” yelled Andrielle, raising her
sword high in the air as the city erupted in cheers.

“For Marithia!” they all chanted.

Karven turned to Andrielle and nodded
knowingly before he flew to the centre of the city, shaking off the
dust cloud from his scales. The great dragon raised his head high
and flapped his giant wings gently to get the city’s attention.

“Your words inspire all of us, great Queen.
All of you are here, ready to fight and give your lives so that
others may live. This is the most noble of all sacrifices. Some of
you have travelled across the surrounding lands at great cost to
join us. If it is a fight Kassina wants, then let’s make sure she
gets more than she bargained for. Let us avenge the lives of the
fallen and make our enemies pay with their blood. Let us prepare
for
war
!” cried Karven.

“For war!” chanted the crowd.

All of the dragons in the city flew to
Karven's side in a protective circle, raised their heads as one and
roared, breathing jets of fire into the air and lighting up the
city as if daylight shone through the protective canopy.

Chapter 13: Rise and Fall

“The wheels of change are turning, and not
even the pathetic gathering that they call an army can hinder our
path to victory. Through Kassina’s power, I will walk the lands of
Marithia once again. I want to feel the pleasures that only flesh
can provide, pleasures that were torn from me so long ago.

Times have changed since the first war, and
now I have Kassina to fulfil the prophecy. The Blood Moon shall
rise again and even the so-called great dragons will all bow to me
as their new god, or die at my hand!”

(Shindar, Demon of Darkness)

Tusdar screamed as he plummeted down. He felt
as if his stomach was at his throat. The ground rushed up at him
with the promise of certain death. The reflection of moonlight off
the water below would have been almost beautiful, if it hadn’t been
for the impending impact awaiting him once he reached it. He turned
his head to the side and noticed a strange movement in the sky
through the flickering of his hair. It was as if there was a slight
shadow that was moving, but was only barely noticeable. He felt
something powerful snatch him out of the sky, holding him in its
firm grip. Feeling his way around, he felt invisible scales sliding
under his hands.

Tusdar now realised he was held within the
claws of a large creature.

He struggled to regain his energy and yelled
through puffed breaths, “What
are
you? Such a creature only
exists in fables and old stories. You couldn’t possibly be a
dragon
, could you?”

“Please stay quiet and stop your struggling.
I mean you no harm and I don’t want to accidentally drop you,”
responded the dragon quietly with a deep voice.

It continued its swift flight downstream
uninterrupted, pounding its great wings to fly as fast as possible
over the infested waters.

After what felt like an eternity of
discomfort, they landed on a small clearing beside the river, only
a short flight from Greenhaven. The mysterious creature dropped him
onto the soft soil and landed beside him, sending a dull shudder
through the ground and through his bones.

He shook off the dirt as he got back to his
feet, still shaking from the near-death experience. “Thank you for
saving my life – whatever you are,” said Tusdar, looking around and
wondering where the creature had gone. “So, where are you? And why
can’t I see you?”

Tusdar turned around to find nothing but
trees and the river before him. He looked around in confusion, then
jumped in fright at hearing a disembodied voice addressing him.

“You are welcome, Tusdar. My apologies for
the rough landing, but I had my claws full,” replied Nymira as she
slowly materialized before him, shaking out her wings.

“But… wha…” stuttered Tusdar, backing away
from the immense creature that stood before his eyes.

“Are you finally surprised by something,
Tusdar?” chuckled Vartan from behind him.

“
Vartan
? Ha! It certainly is my lucky
day today. Thank the gods!” exclaimed Tusdar, with a beaming smile
stretching from ear to ear. “Thank you both for saving me from my
plunge into the river. I would never have imagined having a real
dragon standing here before me—
truly
remarkable. I have
great news, Vartan! Aidan and I have avenged the murder of our
king. Derian is dead!”

“The tide of war is truly turning in our
favour. This will call for great celebration,” beamed Nymira.

“Is what you say true? Did you actually
see
him die?" asked Vartan. Approaching him, Vartan sniffed
the air and raised his eyebrow. "Have you been drinking again,
Tusdar?”

I sense only truth in his words, not
spirits. Mind you, I think the man deserves a drink after that
fall,
said Keturah.

“No, Vartan, I have
not
been drinking.
I saw it with my own eyes, and he died at my hands by an enchanted
arrow straight through his stone-cold heart. It’s just a shame that
we didn’t manage to kill them both. Then this entire war would have
been over and done with,” said Tusdar, shaking his head in
disappointment.

Vartan put a reassuring hand on Tusdar’s
shoulder and closed his eyes. “There’s nothing more that you could
have done, and you have done incredibly well to have dispatched
Derian and stand here before me. Stay still and relax, Tusdar. I am
going to see your last memories through my eyes. You won’t feel any
pain, I promise you.”

“What are you going to do? Are you
serious
? Where on Marithia did you learn such a skill?”
asked Tusdar.

“I have learned a lot in my time with the
dragons, and I learn new spells and improve my skills whenever I
find time. Anyway, we are already running out of time, and I need
to see the events that have taken place. We have to hurry,” said
Vartan.

“All right then, Vartan, whatever I can do to
help,” replied Tusdar, breathing deeply as he closed his eyes in
preparation for the unknown.

Vartan steadied himself and breathed deep
before whispering a spell. A blinding flash went over his body, and
he witnessed the events at Greenhaven as if he were Tusdar himself.
Vartan shook his head in throbbing pain as he let go of Tusdar’s
shoulder and breathed quickly to dispense the spell.

“You are a very brave man, and even luckier
than you are brave. I hope we don’t have to deal with that golem
again. Today marks a great victory in the war against the Forces of
Darkness, but we may have just stirred up a hornet’s nest by
upsetting its queen. I’m really glad that bastard Derian has been
wiped off the face of Marithia, even if he didn’t die by my hand
and the pleasure was all yours,” said Vartan, managing a smile.

“Yes, I understand. I can’t help but feel
that this happy moment is tainted by Aidan’s capture. Who knows
what horrors Kassina is subjecting him to?"

Tusdar looked to Nymira's mighty form. "You
have a dragon with you. Why didn’t you help us
both
get
away?”

Nymira bristled at the comment and narrowed
her eyes toward Tusdar. “There were too many of them, Tusdar. We
couldn't do anything by the time Greenhaven was in view, even with
you by our side. We all would have been overwhelmed and captured,
or even worse, killed.”

I’m with the dragon on that point.
Amazingly enough, I like the thought of both of us staying
alive,
said Keturah.

I also like that thought, Keturah, but the
reality is that everybody dies someday,
responded Vartan.

Vartan felt a wave of sadness emit from
Keturah and pass through his body. He brought his hand to his face,
observing it closely.
That’s a strange sensation,
he
thought.

“I understand. I didn't mean to offend you,
dragon. So what
do
we do now?” asked Tusdar.

“Her name is Nymira,” said Vartan. “She is
what we would call the Queen of the Dragons, so I would address her
appropriately if I were you. Now we continue on our path past the
city. There is something that I have to do, and we may already be
too late. Now mount up.” Vartan climbed onto Nymira’s back.

“I give my sincerest apologies to you, Dragon
Queen. I wouldn’t know the first thing about dragons, let alone
attempt to ride one. Hold on a moment, if we take to the skies,
won’t they see us flying past them?” asked Tusdar.

“You didn't see us coming, did you Tusdar?
Stop worrying. We will be high above them in the cover of night, so
as long as she stays hidden, we will be well-protected,” said
Vartan as he helped Tusdar onto the dragon’s back.

“I am happy for you both to ride on my back,
but my armour was not intended for anyone to ride it. Can you
please jump down for a moment?” asked Nymira.

They obliged, and took a few steps back as
Nymira prepared to cast a spell.

“
Vultus meus crusta pro veho,
” chanted
Nymira, and her armour shone before moulding itself into the shape
of seats and crude handles.

“That is the best that I can do. We can try
this now, but be prepared; this will be very different from flying
in the safety and balance of my clutches,” said Nymira as she
carefully lay down to aid their climb.

“Vartan, before we leave… I believe that this
belongs to you,” said Tusdar with a smile as he untied Vartan’s bow
from his backpack and handed it over.