The Chronicles of Aurion Page 8

  Genji unleashed another salvo. The wicked magic slammed into the king’s armored body with tremendous force, pinning him against the stone wall. Cracks spider-webbed across his charred plate armor.

  “Vaudrin, I know there is still good inside you! Just like your father before you,” groaned the king as he shifted his dimming eyes to the once-holy warrior.

  Vaudrin did not respond to the king’s desperate pleas. He watched as the king closed his eyes, destruction descending upon him. It appeared faster than thought. Lorenathi’s upturned palms burned with an intense swirling blue fire. Vaudrin wondered if it had always been there. Then with a simple flick of his wrist, a flash of light radiated out away from the king as Genji’s black lightning struck, and then came the screams.

  Lorenathi had deflected the magical attack, sending it ricocheting back toward the caster. Genji howled as he bore the wrath of his own incantation. The rending blast met no resistance as it tore through his abdomen.

  “Noooo!” screamed Yezreth as she watched her disemboweled brother collapse. The venomous queen snapped her eyes back to Lorenathi and hissed. In one fluid motion she thrust her arms forward, both releasing his blade from her coils and sending them after Lorenathi. The living serpent of black magic darted forward. The magical bonds instinctively wrapped themselves around the king’s neck and began to squeeze, quickly sapping his life-force.

  The king fought for breath, but he managed to say, “Vaudrin, it’s not too late. This…is your only chance, take it!”

  The words triggered a memory in the champion’s mind. Go ahead, hero. Kill me, take the stone, and end this, but remember one thing…when the day comes, you will only have one chance. When it comes, take it. They were the final words of King Temeriss. Vaudrin looked at his dark queen as she squeezed the life out of the noble Lorenathi’Liluon. He knew what he had to do.

  “Yez, we got it!” he shouted, holding the large ruby high in the air.

  Yezreth’s wild eyes locked onto the gem, revealing all of the sickness within her. “It’s mine! Give it to me,” she screamed.

  The distraction did nothing to loosen the malevolent matron’s hold upon the king. Lorenathi struggled to break free, but his strength was fading fast. The king reached for his sword, yet it remained beyond his grasp. He tried to summon the blade to his outstretched hand, but his weakened voice cracked as the dark tendrils choked him. He grasped at the incorporeal noose to no avail.

  “Give me the gem!” shrieked the queen.

  You will only have one chance. When it comes, take it.

  “Take it,” said Vaudrin as he tossed the gem high into the sky above. “And God help me…”

  Vaudrin was a bolt of holy lightning surging forward. The battle hardened warrior dove forward and grasped the nearest sword, the blade of Lorenathi’Liluon. His iron grip held firm to the massive weapon as he tumbled forward. Once his feet were back under him, the once-proud warrior charged toward his queen.

  Dying, the king watched Yezreth. Her eyes never left the glittering gem. The entirety of her being shifted its focus. The enfeebled king struggled to breath, while Yezreth watched the stone tumble through the air. Then the ruby Elder Stone fell into the queen’s hands.

  Lorenathi strained to speak, but he issued one final command under his breath. Imporum Gravitaas Masuto. The blue fire left his eyes and his hands. A bright flash of cobalt light filled the dark night sky as a pillar of blue fire crashed down, engulfing both the king and the queen. The heavenly fire shook the earth. The stones shattered and crumbled as the ground gave way beneath them. The queen stumbled before she secured her footing at the edge of the growing crevasse.

  The queen, now in possession of the fifth gem, looked at Lorenathi and laughed. “You fool, did you think you could kill me?”

  “I didn’t have to,” groaned the king with a wry smile; “your obsessions did.”

  Confusion swept over her face, but it was nothing compared to the twisted look of pain and disbelief that washed over her as Vaudrin drove the cold steel through her back. The queen’s cries were abruptly silenced, as she choked on the blood that filled her lungs. With her last breath, she looked once more at the stunning red gemstone and uttered, “It’s…mine.” Then the impaled queen collapsed into the rift that was cut deep into the ground, taking two precious gems with her.

  The now pale blue light slowly receded, but the ground continued to shake violently. Mortar crumbled and stone cracked as walls and towers began to collapse.

  “King Liluon, I need to get you outta here!” bellowed Vaudrin as he rushed to the king’s side.

  Lorenathi simply offered a weakened smile before saying, “I knew He was…right about you.”

  “Who, King Teremiss?” asked the confused champion.

  Lorenathi forced his tired eyelids open and spoke, “No, the King of all.”

  A tide of emotions welled up within Vaudrin, “Let’s get outta here, we can talk later!”

  “It’s too late for me,” whispered the king, as he struggled to hold his eyes open. “Just know…He is proud of you.”

  With that, the elven king’s voice fell silent and his eyes closed for the last time. Vaudrin felt as if his heart itself had climbed into his throat, as tears welled up in his eyes, but he had no time to grieve. The stones crashed down around him in every direction and the chasm spread further with each tremor.

  Vaudrin shook his head as he jerked himself back to reality. The city was collapsing around him. Stones toppled from their former resting places as the walls and towers trembled above the quaking earth. The ground continued to crack and split as Girielle was torn asunder.

  Vaudrin’s strength was nearly gone and his adrenaline had already been spent. He thought to just die there that day, and it seemed to be a fine choice. It was a strange feeling that had overcome him. It was a feeling that whether he lived or died, everything was okay, everything was—right. A lifetime of religious duty and devotion had passed, yet Vaudrin felt peace for the first time. Then he heard a gentle voice whisper to him.

  “My son, get up!”

  Vaudin felt his face twist in surprise. Something rose up inside of the champion. Vaudrin willed himself back to his feet. Then he ran. Falling stones exploded around him, but the mighty warrior dashed from the sacked city.

  Vaudrin survived the battle of Girielle with many scars and many regrets, but he escaped with something else too. He escaped with hope. The same could not be said of the elves of Girielle. They fought valiantly, but in the end, their defeat was absolute. By the time Vaudrin was able to call off his forces, there was nothing left to save. The war for Girielle was over.

  In the aftermath of the victory, Vaudrin Lightwell tried to get the army to disband, but despite the queen’s absence, the army rejected his rule. Some did it for the promise of glory, some for plunder, and others simply did it because the call of the Qarii, the allure of the magics, was too tempting to not answer, so the Mage Wars did not end with the fall of Girielle or the death of Queen Yezreth.

  7

  Taming the Dragon

  Do you really, truly believe that we will find it?” asked Arden.

  “Do I seem like the type to run off on an adventure for the fun of it?” asked Absell sharply.

  Arden couldn’t help but laugh. His teacher was definitely not the fun type, in any regard.

  Absell shot him a dour glare and frowned.

  “Come on. You act like life is just a giant frown, waiting for you to wear it,” remarked Arden with a smile.

  “Right, but that stupid grin of yours is okay?”

  Arden’s smile only widened.

  The two continued their journey toward the ruins of the elven city. The small region between Maeriv’s Crossing and Girielle was desolate, but at least it was flat. That might have made the journey boring, but it also made travel was easy. After just a few brief stops in small farming villages and trade towns along the way, Absell and Arden arrived at the ruins of Girielle on schedule. They b
egan their search right away.

  The crevasse where the king and queen had fallen had already been partially excavated. Treasure hunters had already laid claim to the riches of Girielle long ago. The famed blade that once burned with an otherworldly blue flame was gone. The king’s armor…gone. The king’s crown and signet ring…gone. Even the dark purple stone of power, Yezreth’s Amethyst, was gone. But little did the grave robbers know, another gem lay entombed in the earth below their feet.

  Some say, “To the victor go the spoils.” But it should also be said, “To those that know their history go the spoils.” After just a few weeks of digging, Absell and Arden found their treasure. There in that hole they found a large ruby, almost fully encased in a cluster of hardened mineral deposits.

  “I’m sorry we didn’t find the amethyst one too,” said Arden.

  Absell smiled and shook his head, “Two would have been better than one, but one is all we ever needed.”

  “Speaking of keeping them safe, what ever happened to the other stones?” asked Arden.

  “Well, it is hard to say, to tell you the truth,” said Absell as he rubbed his forehead. “We know that the Church of Providence, and much of Kiskarn and Rotenschoff, were destroyed near the end of the Mage Wars. What we don’t know is by whom. While there are enough written records from the time period, they all seem to conflict. Some give credit to elven forces, some to the dwarves, and yet others still to the human forces. While it is true that all of the aforementioned forces fought against the dead queen’s army, we still don’t know who finally brought the empire to ruin, as many lay claim to the deed. One thing we do know is that folks came from far and wide to plunder the city.”

  “So, no scholars have been able to figure out where the sapphire, topaz, or emerald ended up?” asked Arden.

  “Oh sure, so they could document, in detail, the location of the most powerful artifacts in our recent history?” huffed Absell as glared at his student.

  “That’s not what I meant,” groaned Arden as he tried to backpedal. “I just mean, there isn’t any record of the Stones ever again?”

  “Nothing of merit. Of course, throughout the years, rumors have popped up here and there, but most have proven to be nothing more than wild goose chases,” answered the elder priest.

  Arden was always focused on his studies. When the crew was drinking and dealing cards, he could be found with his nose buried in one of his tomes. He hadn’t been able to bring many books on the trip, but he his selection revealed his love of the world’s histories, both true and mythological. This stuff fascinated him, and seeing as they had plenty of time, he’d ask as many questions as Absell would tolerate.

  “So this wasn’t your first attempt at finding a stone?” he guessed.

  Absell’s naturally grumpy face tightened a bit. Clever boy, he thought. “No, not entirely.”

  “Oh Absell, you have to tell me!” demanded Arden with a big smile and wide eyes.

  “Well, it never amounted to much. Nothing like this…adventure,” said Absell as he tried to dismiss the youth’s interest.

  “You’re not getting out of it that easy. Spill it,” said the boy.

  “It was nothing really,” replied Absell.

  “Details,” said Arden with an eager grin.

  “Let me make a long story short. You’ve undoubtedly read about Duroc, the dwarven king,” said the priest.

  “Duroc Stonebrow,” Arden recalled, “left Dar Mar’kren to establish Duroc’s Refuge. History says that it started as a mining expedition. Their dwarven intuiting proved true and they found great wealth in those mountains, but ultimately sickness and disease overtook them, and they all died. Tragic really.”

  “Tragic indeed,” said Absell. The lines on his face drew a tired expression. “The mining expedition-turned-kingdom of Duroc’s Refuge went from a young, thriving city to a ghost town sometime in the year of 7378. There was rampant speculation as to the cause of the dwarves’ ill-fortune. The rumors and the theories they espoused varied greatly, but one in particular talked of a great treasure—and of sorcery.”

  “Dwarves and magic?” Arden twisted his face unnaturally to exaggerate his skepticism.

  Absell’s frown deepened and his tone sharpened. “Yes, dwarves and magic,” he snapped. “We began to research the rumors in depth, but the more we found, the more each one contradicted the next. None of them gave us anything to go on. As I said, just another wild goose chase.”

  The two servants of the Drakari priesthood fell silent for a few moments. Arden was deep in thought, while his mentor was simply happy to be done with the questions. In fact, Absell was very much looking forward to the return home, where he could finally get some time away from his protégé. Much to his chagrin, Arden broke the silence all too soon.

  “I wish we could have found all of them, you know, so we could keep them safe,” said Arden.

  “Well, this gem,” Absell said as he patted the leather satchel on his belt, “will be…well protected, once we deliver it to high priest Ekrin. He will know just what to do with it. Now, once we return, you are not to speak of this stone again with anyone other than myself. In order to keep it hidden and protected it must remain our little secret. You understand?”

  “What about the other priests and my other teachers?” asked Arden.

  “No one,” warned Absell.

  “But wh—”

  Absell snapped, “Do not speak of it! Do you understand?”

  Arden cringed at his teacher’s response, and his fearful eyes examined the priest. “Yes, sir.”

  The two traveled along the river in silence. The hungry cry of seagulls filled the morning air. They bickered and squabbled as they picked away at the washed up kelp. Occasionally one of them would score a tiny mollusk from the green roughage at the river’s edge. The gull would then proceed to sunder its prey’s armor. It was fascinating really. For the smaller crabs and clams the birds would simply hold them in their beaks and pound them upon the rocks. After a moment of persistent hammering, the shells would surrender the soft goodness that would be the bird’s meal. Occasionally though, the gulls would find a dead or injured crab that was too large to crack open this way. That is when the clever buggers would shift to their second strategy. The birds would actually fly with the crab high up into the air where they would then drop it upon the rocks below. After just a drop or two, the crab meat was served.

  The sound of the gulls was most welcome to the ears of Absell and Arden. It meant that they had nearly returned to the Red Dawn. Their journey had been long and exhausting, but they had done it. Then as they rounded the last bend, there in the shallows of the river fjord sat the Red Dawn.

  The mules were light and their cargo little, so once the ship was in sight, they boarded quickly. As they reached the ship’s deck, it was as if they never left. The crew scurried about performing their duties and Captain Edgar Ponterossi and his fine red hat loomed large.

  His eyes narrowed on the priests and he asked, “Did you find what you were looking for?”

  The nervous kid shot a glance at his teacher, awaiting his reply.

  “We did,” the older man said as he met the captain’s eyes.

  “Let’s see it!” shouted Ponterossi.

  Absell reached into his satchel, retrieved the large gem, and held it up.

  An incredulous look came over the captain’s face. “You came all this way for a ruby?” he asked.

  “Indeed,” answered Absell with a smile.

  “I realize you priests are a bit…out of touch with the times, but rubies are out. Emeralds and sapphires control the markets now. Besides, you could find rubies right back in Darnisi. Now that ruby is a fine one, great size, but still, it can’t be worth what you have paid for my services alone, not to mention your other expenses. Why?” asked Ponterossi.

  “You are correct, my business-savvy Captain, rubies are valued less on the markets. But as a religious artifact, this isn’t going on the market. This little
stone is worth far more than market price to my…employer,” replied Absell.

  Ponterossi nodded as he processed the priest’s explanation. His green eyes sparkled with a renewed intensity as he stared at the gem, and that handsome but dangerous grin returned to his face. “So, you really are going to tame the dragon?”

  A dangerous grin spread across Absell’s face, and then he answered, “Oh my dear captain, you have no idea.”

  Author’s Note

  I wanted to take a moment and thank you for going on this journey with me in The Chronicles of Aurion. The Chronicles was a short and exciting foray into the history of Aurion. While the characters that you met have come and gone, they have set the stage for a host of dramatic, world changing events that are to come in the Beating Back the Darkness series. To find out what happens next, please join me in the intense, action-packed epic fantasy, Dragon’s Fire.