by M. J. Sewall
“Guards. You two there. The king would like some fresh air,” said Trunculin. The guards seemed to understand as they came towards Asa.
Asa tried not to look frightened, remembering the 'punishment,' as the firstcouncilor called it. Asa didn't know any way to fight Trunculin, but he still stood there.
Trunculin smiled. “The king would like a closer look. I think by the ankles would be the best view.”
The two guards grabbed and lifted the small, defenseless king and held him by the ankles over the railing backwards, so he was staring straight down at the kingdom of Thure. The wind was cold and Asa told himself that he would not yell out.
Trunculin taunted, “Do you see them yet, my king?”
Asa said nothing.
Trunculin asked the pilot, “Are we close to the docks?”
“Yes, firstcouncilor, we're almost there,” replied the pilot.
The guards held Asa, suspended by his feet over the railing. Asa's shirt slid down his body to reveal his bruises. The guards that had made them laughed as they held his ankles. It was freezing cold on his bare skin, but Asa refused to cry out.
“How's the view, boy?” asked one guard.
Another guard said, “Did you spot them yet? Even from here you should see the fat one.”
Asa raised his head the best he could and shouted over the wind to Trunculin, “Why don't you just kill me?”
Trunculin replied, “Oh no, my king, that would be far too easy. For your insolence, and the crimes you have committed against me, staying king is a much worse punishment for you. I can't wait to meet your family when we get back. I have some punishments for them as well.”
Asa closed his eyes. He wished he'd never seen the palace, never put his name in that tower.
He opened his eyes again and was starting to feel a little dizzy. He saw the lights at the docks, all the ships. The night was windy, but clear. There were so many lights. It was almost like staring down at the sky full of stars. Even at this height, Asa could smell sea water.
Then, something strange happened. The lights started flickering off, one by one. It was as though every light of the dock was being snuffed out like a candle. Asa watched, as what must have been a thousand little lights blinked out. It made the area very dark.
“Firstcouncilor, you need to see this,” said one of the guards that had punished Asa.
Trunculin said, “What is it?”
“The lights at the docks,” said the guard, “…they are all… going out.”
Trunculin rushed to the front of the airship and the guard was right. Every light at, or near the docks was nearly gone. Even lights that should be lit for the boats were out. They were looking down into pitch black. It was though they were floating over nothingness.
Asa smiled as he heard the firstcouncilor yell of anger. It was a deep, enraged sound.
The guard said, “There's no way to find them, not in that darkness.”
Asa's dizziness stopped, as he felt the firstcouncilor grab him and yank him back onto the deck of the airship. Asa slowly rose to stand. He thought he'd seen the firstcouncilor angry, but his face had never looked like this. Asa was glad for the dim light on the deck from the lanterns. More frightening than Trunculin's rage, was what slowly turned into the most terrifying smile Asa had ever seen.
Chapter 50: At the Docks
Brenddel and his men were running for the docks in Artoth. He had left only two men on the airship just outside the kingdom gates. He would take no chances this time, with his men behind him. He reached the docks to find soldiers from both kings waiting for them.
“What is the meaning of this attack?” asked one of the blue king's men.
A guard from the orange king's army said, “You dare attack our kingdom? Do not mistake the fact that we have two kings for weakness.”
Brenddel motioned for all his men to put their knives away. “We are not attacking your kingdom. I was attacked in the street by a man. He and his men are hiding on these docks. I am Brenddel, firstman of the kingdom of the thirteen. I know our kingdoms have not always been friendly, but I swear to you this is not an attack. I am here on behalf of my king to look for the men that poisoned the king of Thure.”
“These murderers from Thure attacked you?” asked the blue guard.
Brenddel tried not to be frustrated. “I was looking for the murderers when this other man attacked me. The man is very large and has a black leather patch over one eye.”
“That sounds like a man that died a long time ago,” said the orange guard.
Brenddel said, “I thought so too. But I saw him in the streets and I know he's on these docks somewhere. Will you help us search?”
The blue guard said, “We will have to ask the king's councilors first. We have only your word…”
The orange guard interrupted, “Why did you kill our men?”
Brenddel said, “We killed no one. It must have been Mantuan, trying to get here to the docks. Will you help us search for those that killed your men?”
The orange guard said, “We will have to ask our councilors.”
“Can you at least stop ships from leaving the docks? They could be escaping as we argue!”
The blue guard said, “You are a guest here. You will watch your tongue.”
The orange guard asked, “Is that your airship?”
Brenddel tried not to snap at the man, but replied calmly, “Yes. We paid both proper king's fees and agreed to keep it outside of the kingdom. We will put it back in the air as soon as we return with Mantuan.”
“Brenddel?” said one of his own men behind him.
Brenddel turned around, “What!?” he shouted, losing his temper at the interruption. The man looked terrified and said nothing. He simply lifted his finger and pointed. Brenddel whipped around in fury and followed the man's finger.
His airship was floating away.
Brenddel watched one of his men fall over the railing of the airship. Although he could not see the faces of the people on board, he could see arms waving at him and knew that Mantuan had stolen his airship.
“Why would your men leave without you?” asked the guard of the blue king.
“I don't think those are his men,” one of the orange guards said, laughing through his sharpened teeth. The guards of both kings all began laughing.
Brenddel did not cry out. His rage could find no voice.
When the guards stopped laughing, a blue guard said, “I think it's time you talked to our kings. All of you, come with us.”
Brenddel turned back one more time to see his airship flying off. It looked very small now. He turned away from it and went with his men to go meet the two kings of Artoth.
END OF BOOK 1
We hope you enjoyed reading Dream of Empty Crowns. If you have a moment, please leave us a review - even if it's a short one. We want to hear from you.
The story continues in The Trials of Boy Kings.
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Best regards,
M.J. Sewall and the Creativia Team
Author Note
I just wanted to write a note to explain why this book leaves everyone hanging off the proverbial cliff. It was a hard decision, but the book I originally wrote was just too long. To tell the story properly, it needed more than one book. This was not a marketing gimmick. I just didn't want to scare off my first readers with a 900 page book.
I hope you continue Gordon and Asa's story.
You'll like what happens next.
M J Sewall,
June 2015
Thanks and Acknowledgements
To everyone that helped me with my story at every stage, thank you.
But especially:
Anthony Pico
Brian Hall
Danielle O'Brien
Irene Getchel
Janet Wallace
Jenna Elizabeth Johnson
Lizann Flatt
&n
bsp; Marshall Jones
Michele Casteel
Nellie Sewall
Rose Torres
Ryne Torres
Sarah Harris
Terri Jones
The McAlister family (John, Susan, Aidan and Colin)
A special thanks to you Aidan, for being the first boy to read my book.
Index of Names and Terms
Adinn (Pronounced: AYE-DINN) – King before Stathen. Almost died on third trial, saved by Loren, and was later killed in a riding “accident.”
Aline (UHH-LEEN) – Girl that helped Gordon.
Alonnia (UH-LONE-EE-UH) – Former queen of Dard, grandmother of the queen of Thure.
Anthsia (ANTH-SEE-UH) – Mountain in Dralinn, dormant volcano.
Arasta (A-RASS-TA) – Councilor and Trunculin's agent.
Arm arrows – Small wrist mounted arrow gun, like a small crossbow.
Arrow guns – Similar to crossbows or large arrow weapon like a ballista.
Artoth – Also known as the kingdom of the gods, rules by two kings.
Asa (ACE-SUH) – King after Gordon.
Asgonan (AZ-GO-NAN) – Island between Extatumm and Artoth, in dispute for centuries.
Aspora – Also known as the land of a thousand kings.
Banner of The kingdom of the thirteen – Banner with a triangle in the middle, surrounded by thirteen longknives pointed outward.
Borenn – First king of the kingdom of the thirteen.
Brenddel – Firstman for the kingdom of the thirteen.
Coltun – Assistant to Extatumm leader.
Copway people – The friendly people of Yajan.
Corinn – The firsthealer of the kingdom of the thirteen.
Dard – Kingdom that was overthrown and renamed Extatumm.
Darion – Younger brother of Russel the third, king of Thure.
Daymer – a.k.a. Slaver king. Ruled the kingdom of the thirteen.
Denogg of the family Xoss – Wealthy merchant of Thure.
Dinmar - Asporan leader saved by Stathen at the marshes.
Dralinn (DRAY-LINN) – Port, dangerous, a.k.a. Murderer's Bay, on same landmass as the kingdom of the thirteen.
Enricca – A girl Gordon and Asa know.
Extatumm – Formerly the kingdom of Dard.
Eyonna – Queen of Thure, married to King Russel the third.
Family Xoss (Pronounced ZOSS) – Wealthy merchants, Denogg and Santovan are brothers from this family.
Fasgonn – Creature that can use two front legs like hands. Prefers cooked meat.
Fire bugs - They are explosive when agitated. Their natural defense is like a bee – to sacrifice themselves to damage an enemy. Left alone, they are like lightning bugs. They are naturally attracted to sugar cane. By themselves, one exploding bug is like a spark. When enough are together, they can start a small fire.
Fire gun – a.k.a. rainmaker – Fire weapon mounted on airships.
Fortress – Home to a group of people in the haunted forest of Aspora.
Giber (GUY-BURR) – King of old, kingdom of the thirteen.
Gordon – A thirteen year old boy.
Haunted Forest – Forest of large trees in Aspora.
Jaiwan (J–EYE-WAN) – Referred to as Number Eight, warrior from Yajan.
Jannfarr – Thurian king of old.
Jenae (JA-NAY) – Serving girl, works for Denogg.
Jhalgon Fish (JALL-GONE) – Giant flying fish, also known as shadow fins. Can reach up to sixty feet in length. Their flight capability is limited, they rarely venture over land. The wings can get them to great vertical heights, but their weight appears to limit mobility over long distances. Like any fish, they cannot survive out of water indefinitely.
Jorann the blood king - Grandfather of the former queen of Dard (Alonnia).
Joreh (JORE-UHH) – King that was chosen, but was scared and refused the crown.
Kingdom of the thirteen – a.k.a. the new kingdom – Gordon's kingdom.
Lantovas (LAN–TOE-VAH-SS) – Firstman of Thure.
Lawkeeper – 1) Workers that attend to the great law rooms. 2) Name of elusive person being hunted for knowledge.
Longknife and shortknife or great knife and Smallknife – Similar to long swords and short swords.
Loren (LORE-ENN) – Gordon's uncle.
Mantuan (MAN-TOO-UNN) – Has a patch on his right eye.
Mural of the 100 kings – In Thurian throne room, painted by Ninian.
Ninian (NIN-EE-ANN) – Famous artist, painted the mural of the one hundred kings in Thure.
Ninnith – Blue king of Thure.
Outlands – Many of these lands are unknown.
Pact with man – Faith of the blue king of Artoth.
Rainmaker - Fire gun weapons on airships.
Rolem (ROLL-EM) – Trunculin's assistant at the palace.
Rolenn – King of old, Kingdom of the thirteen.
Russel the Great – Thurian king of old. Ancestor to the current king Russel.
Russel the third – Current king of Thure.
Salenn the peacemaker – Queen of old, kingdom of the thirteen.
Sandrell – Aline's mother.
Sanjee – Eight year old girl that chose Gordon.
Santovan – Denogg's brother.
Skyler – Friend of Gordon and Asa.
Sochatt & Norum – Boys that see Brenddel come out of water at Murderer's Bay (Dralinn).
Sour cake – Cakes that Loren makes Gordon for the sweetblood, helped lower blood sugar. Purple medicine cakes that contain insulin from animals.
Stathen (STAY-TH-ENN) – King before Gordon.
Swamp rot – Tranquilizer on the dart that Aline uses.
Talinna – Eight year old girl that picked King Stathen.
Tanlum – Famous old ruins in the kingdom of Artoth.
Tethon, son of Torr – Orange king of Artoth.
Thorny root – Poison.
Thure – aka Old kingdom.
Tobee – Guard of prisoners in Thure.
TrTorrin (TRUH-TORE-INN) – Ruler of Extatumm, also called the father.
Trunculin (TRUNK-YOU-LINN) – Firstcouncilor of the kingdom of the thirteen.
Valren – Mystic from the mystic guild.
Yajan – (YA-ZSAH-NN) Island lands.
Zoress Bread or dough – Used to extract poison.
Author Biography
M J Sewall is a native Californian and a lover of all things strange, magical, mysterious and awesome. Loves writing about the fact that he hates talking about himself. He is the father of four, and glad that he did not pass on any of his bad habits. Well, maybe some. He is sometimes subliminal, often nebulous, only occasionally trepidatious and other fancy words. Writing since the age of twelve, Mr. Sewall has a backlog of stories that may have already filled the Sargasso Sea. He had a strange fascination with lemurs, until they became cool. Now he's on to ocelots.
For more information please visit,
MJSewall.com
Preview from Book 2 in the Chosen King Series
The monsters were getting out of hand.
The large watership bobbed in the gray day, the waters mesmerizing the man standing on deck. The cold wind swirled around his muscular frame, the wind playing with his beard. Bare chested, he refused to let the cold touch him. He willed it away.
“A fin, two hundred feet off shore, father,” said one of the crew rushing up to him.
The man knew this was the first time the boy had been on a ship, the son of a young man from the inner council. He patted the young man's face that held only a wisp of a beard, “Let's go kill it.”
The young man smiled, and yelled to the crew, “Long boats at the ready!”
The man smiled as he saw the crew begin to lower the long boats, just like the legends, he thought. He jumped into one of the three boats as the winches lowered the narrow wooden vessels.
The man shouted, “Are you ready to reclaim your place in history?” the six men on each boat cheered as the
man spoke, “Our ancestors hunted these monsters back in the mists of time. Now they have returned. Let's send them back into legend!”
The crew of young men cheered louder. The men treated him like a god. That worried the man. The old superstitions must die for us to finish our work, thought the man. Best to show them that I am a man, and that man is more than any god ever was. He couldn't tell his crew that he had other reasons for killing these beasts. Three of his airships had gone missing. That was not a coincidence. All of them had been lost over the waters, no survivors. I will not let these things take my ships one by one. Time to fight. If it raises the moral of my men by leading them like a hero… well, some lies were necessary, if they served a greater purpose.
The man cranked the device. His thinkers said the creatures must be attracted to the sound of the airship's rotators. Trunculin has written of similar problems, but of course we are both liars, he thought.
To the man, the sound the device made was different than the noise of the rotators, but before he had a chance to decide if this would bring out the beasts, a Jhalgon fish erupted out of the water to the right of their boat. Its leathery wet wings pushed it straight up into the air. The longboat rocked both their boats, and the third boat just twenty feet away.
It was massive. He had read the reports, interrogated those that spotted them. But to see sixty feet of monster go straight into the air was a marvel. The men were all frozen with shock. They look more like boys than ever, thought the man.
The monster arced, and the man realized it was coming down. It opened its massive jaws to reveal three rows of teeth. Each tooth must be bigger than my hand… but his thought turned to the other boat. The sea water rained from the giant fish, but they realized what was happening too late for them to get away. His own men were frantically rowing to escape wherever the beast might land. The monster landed on the second boat, the beast forcing the longboat under the waves before it snapped in two under the pressure.
The shock of new waves hit the boats. It felt like a tidal wave as the two remaining longboats fought to stay upright. A circle of red emanated out from the where the beast had gone under, fragments of the broken longboat no bigger than the size of a plate floated there, riding the waves.