The Banished Lands- The Complete Series

by Benjamin Mester

  “You first.”

  Sheabor let out a laugh and ushered his friend toward the palace hall. Then the two friends spent the rest of the day exchanging stories. Baron and Ariadra wandered in with Cora and took a seat, eager to hear the details of the battle for Cormak Castle. Blair and Durian filtered in last and the group laughed and celebrated and recounted all the amazing things that had happened.

  Near nightfall, the doors of the palace hall swung open once more, and Estrien walked through wearing an elegant white dress. Straiah stood to his feet quickly in surprise, turning red as the rest took note of his surprise, glancing to one another and chuckling. They were all quite unaccustomed to seeing her in such attire.

  “Now that's what I call an entrance,” Baron declared.

  Ariadra's eyes narrowed as a slow smile grew.

  “You're lucky I'm not the jealous type.”

  Baron smiled wide.

  “I'm lucky for a lot more than that,” he said, which brought a gushing look of affection from her.

  “Alright, you two,” Blair said, shaking his head in feigned annoyance, which brought a round of laughter.

  “I don't understand,” Straiah stammered as Estrien approached him. “Where did you go?”

  “I went home,” she replied. “I had to repair my dagger, after all.”

  “Your dagger.”

  Estrien nodded eagerly.

  “I had them fix something else as well.”

  Then she took a step forward and put her arms around his neck, gazing into his eyes and then kissing him. The rest watched in joyful surprise at the display of affection and Baron hollered his approval until Ariadra grabbed him by the arm, laughing, putting her hand over his mouth to hush him. Their kiss soon turned to smiles and the pair faced the group.

  Though none of them really understood what had been keeping the two apart, it was all clearly over and done. Everything had worked out perfectly. It was nearly unbelievable.

  But the day ended and the group was made to finally part company. None of them had the words for such an occasion, each knowing that what they had shared together was something that never before had happened and never would happen again. Their actions had changed the course of history forever and stories would be told of them throughout the rest of time.

  Some time later, Blair trotted slowly toward the town of his birth. Coming close, he smiled and shook his head as he saw the work of Baron in the newly constructed buildings. For Baron had certainly gained a flair for the extravagant somewhere along the line. The little flourishes everywhere showed that the builder cared more about the appearance than the function of his work.

  Riding through the narrow streets, the people all stopped with waves and bows, clearly thinking him to be Baron. It was strange to be home, especially with such newfound favor. But Blair had grown much these past months. He was no longer the sulking brother of the town jester, always in the background. Blair knew exactly who he was now and he was proud of who he had become.

  Coming to a stop at his family home, he dismounted his horse and glanced around. It felt so surreal to be back. But pushing the door open, he found the startled face of his mother. She came quickly to greet him.

  “Blair, my goodness!” his mother exclaimed.

  Blair smiled and embraced her tightly. Then Marin pulled back, staring into his face to make sure it wasn't Baron somehow tricking her. Blair could see the thoughts going through her head and he lifted his head back in laughter.

  “I see your other progeny has been hard at work,” Blair said with a smile. “I can't say I'm surprised Baron was here playing architect while the rest of us were off fighting a war for the fate of the world.”

  Marin laughed, and there was something in her eyes that looked like surprise mixed with admiration. Clearly she saw the change that had happened in Blair and she seemed to marvel at it.

  “Come, have a seat by the fire,” she said, adding a fresh log to the embers. “You must be hungry.”

  Blair nodded with a smile and Marin went to the kitchen and fixed a quick plate of food. Then she seated herself beside him, a contented gaze on her face as she continued to watch. Blair couldn't help but laugh as he poked his food.

  “Tell me everything that happened,” she said.

  “Not everything,” Blair replied. “I'd be worried your heart would give out.”

  “Then only the good parts.”

  Blair breathed in deep and sighed.

  “We won,” he said. “We stopped Corcoran. Just when everything looked hopeless, we discovered what we had to do.”

  Just then, she noticed the redness and bruising still around Blair's neck.

  “What happened to you?”

  “That's the heart attack part.”

  Marin smiled. Blair finished his meal and soon found himself out of doors again, wandering the streets of Suriya, watching his breath transform into vapor and disappear into the heavens.

  “Baron! You're back!” came a voice suddenly from behind.

  Blair didn't recognize it. Turning, he was surprised to see a young man he'd never met standing there. Beside him was a girl with sandy blonde hair. She was beautiful.

  “Sorry, it's Blair actually,” he said.

  “Oh,” returned the young man, stepping forward with hand extended. “It's great to finally meet you.”

  Blair took his hand with a smile, still in the dark.

  “I'm Jaden,” he said. “This is my sister, Shay.”

  “Shay. Like the river.”

  Jaden glanced to his sister, lifting his head back in laughter.

  “He's a quick one,” she said, trying to suppress a laugh of her own.

  “Come on, Blair,” Jaden said, slapping him on the back. “I want to buy you a drink.”

  Meanwhile, Baron and Ariadra trotted slowly through Thay Iphilus Forest, hand in hand. They knew the dangers. The Forest Guard could arrest them or worse. He could feel eyes on them, even now. But with everything they'd been through, Baron wasn't afraid anymore. Gazing into her eyes, he smiled warmly.

  It was a long journey to the walls of the city. They walked the pathway Malfur had carved only months ago. But with springtime in the air, the long scar on the forest was already being healed. At length, the looming forms of the Ruhkan Mountains, which were visible before they entered the forest, came once more into view, the air growing colder in the shadow of the mountains.

  Then they saw it, the city Ogrindal, nestled against the mountain range at the far side of the clearing. The large, charred gap still split the wall of wood in two. As they entered the clearing, Ariadra paused. Baron squeezed her hand tightly in his and looked into her worried eyes.

  Had her father been arrested after her escape? Was Whinden still in control of the city? Why hadn't the Forest Guard revealed themselves?

  “Come on,” Baron said. “We're doing the right thing.”

  As the pair entered the open clearing, behind them, multiple forms of the Forest Guard appeared, following them at a distance toward the city. Baron grew tense but Ariadra's gaze grew more and more stern as they neared the city.

  Finally, coming to rest just outside the wall, they waited to see how the city would receive them. A familiar form came into view. It was Gwaren!

  “Well isn't this a surprise,” Gwaren said.

  Just after, Ariadra's father, Tohrnan, appeared in the gap.

  “Father!” she said, jumping down from her horse as he ran to greet her.

  They embraced for long moments, Ariadra's sister, Aerova, also rushing toward them. Baron dismounted and took Gwaren's extended hand.

  “I hear congratulations are in order,” Gwaren said, smiling.

  “Father, I want you to meet my husband, Baron.”

  Tohrnan walked slowly toward him, looking him over.

  “So, this is the man who nearly got my daughter killed,” Tohrnan said.

  Baron opened his mouth to correct him but glanced to Ariadra, whose gaze told him not to dare say w
hat he was thinking.

  “I'm truly sorry, sir,” he said. “I don't know how I'll ever make it up to you.”

  A slow smile grew on Tohrnan's face.

  “Well you can certainly spend the rest of your life trying.”

  Baron nodded with a laugh. But Aerova came over to him in distress.

  “I'm so sorry, Baron, for tricking you in the forest. Can you ever forgive me?”

  Baron smiled wide.

  “Only if you tell me every secret your sister made you promise never to reveal.”

  Aerova blushed and Ariadra was horrified. But Tohrnan burst into laughter.

  “Come on,” Gwaren laughed, and led them into the city.

  “How long will you stay?” Aerova asked.

  “As long as it takes,” Baron said.

  “For what?”

  Ariadra glanced to Baron with a warm smile.

  “To rebuild the wall and make Ogrindal the great city it was before.”

  A short time later, a convoy of the Jedra rode slowly toward the alliance city, Sorren and Jaithur at the head of the party. Sheabor had requested their presence and met them at the gate as they dismounted. But great surprise appeared on Sheabor's face as Jaithur's horse grunted to him, and he realized that it was none other than Agur, whom Sheabor had lost when Baron rode away with him from the tomb of Sheyla.

  “Where in the world did you find Agur? I was going to tell you how sorry I was for losing him.”

  “He came home,” Jaithur declared. “Didn't you, boy.”

  Jaithur smiled proudly to the horse and Sorren rolled his eyes.

  “Agur had been missing all the delicacies my father would sneak to him in the stables,” Sorren replied.

  Sheabor laughed and extended his hand to invite them into the city.

  “Thank you for coming,” he said. “I wanted to thank you personally for coming to the aid of the coalition when we needed it most.”

  Jaithur and Sorren both bowed again.

  “You didn't bid us to come all this way just to say thank you, I'm sure,” Jaithur replied.

  “Not exactly,” Sheabor said with a smile. “The alliance can never truly thank you properly for all the assistance you've given us. But we'd like to try.”

  Jaithur looked at him curiously and Sheabor hesitated for the moment, trying to gauge from him whether or not he already knew what Sheabor was about to tell him. He'd only discussed the idea with a handful of others. Just how good was Jaithur's information?

  “I'll be leaving soon,” Sheabor said.

  “Back to the Banished Lands?” Jaithur asked.

  Sheabor nodded.

  “It's our home. The alliance thinks it's about time the Jedra have a home of their own. As of this moment, I'm formally surrendering control of the alliance city to you.”

  Jaithur seemed taken aback and Sorren was dumbfounded.

  “You'll never find a better location for a merchant city. It's central...a natural meeting ground for all the peoples of this continent.”

  Jaithur was still speechless.

  “We only have one condition,” Sheabor said. “Durian, of Suriya, has asked to build a library, to catalog the real story of what happened in the old world. We ask that you give him and his project a home in this city. From here, he'll collect books and resources from Kester, Forthura and Aeleos. Perhaps even the Horctura will come to him one day to have their story told.”

  “I am in your debt,” Jaithur said with a low bow.

  “Which is where all men should be,” Sheabor replied with a lower bow.

  A slow smile appeared on Jaithur's face until he lifted his head back in uncontrollable laughter.

  Deep underground, a form of molten stone hovered over a coffin of crystal in a dark room only lit by the meager glow coming of the form itself. Time was a blur as days and nights blended into one single moment in the darkness of the cavern.

  He was blind with rage as he stared down at the fair form of Sheyla, still encased in crystal. How had it come to this? How had they trapped him? It wasn't possible. But he had searched every corner of this cavern. There was no escape.

  He could feel King Euthor calling him down to the dead as he gazed at the face of Sheyla. In despair he turned away, nearly losing control and smashing the coffin to bits. He couldn't bear to look on her beautiful form any longer. But he couldn't harm her either.

  King Euthor knew the struggle would tear him apart until he did the only thing left he could – smash the piece of Soul Stone holding him there and leave this world forever. The molten form roared in hatred at the thought. He would never do it. This war wasn't over. Someone, somehow, someday would free him. Someday, someone would free him...

  The End

  Thank you so much for coming on this journey. I sincerely hope you loved reading it just as much as I loved writing it. Thank you so much for being a dreamer and exploring this bright new world with me. I would love to hear from you – either through a review on Amazon or by contacting me on Goodreads. If you do decide to leave a review on this series as a whole, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the individual books as well, which ones you enjoyed the most.

  Benjamin Mester

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  [*]The Maiden's Sorrow by William Cullen Bryant, paraphrased and abridged by Benjamin Mester