The Legacy (The Darkness Within Saga Book 1)

by JD Franx

  Kiirein answered respectfully, “I am sorry to bother you and your men, Commander, but some friends of mine wish to be granted entrance to the islands so they make seek the Queen Superior’s unsurpassed wisdom. One of who—”

  With a dark frown, the Commander replied, “Friends? You use your docking privileges for personal gain? That is a prominent violation of your agreement with the DragonKin, Captain Lightfoot.” Having heard enough, Giddeon stepped up to speak, but Kiirein held him back, giving him a dangerous look.

  Kiirein turned back to Commander Zatassa and smiled. “My apologies, Commander, but I wouldn’t have brought them here unless the benefit weighed heavily on your side. One of my passengers is the ArchWizard, Giddeon Zirakus, and they have the tribute you would require for—”

  The Commander lifted his palm to stop Kiirein from speaking as he looked over Kiirein’s shoulder, closely studying each and every person aboard the Lightfoot vessel until he laid his eyes on Saleece.

  “You! Girl, come here now!” he ordered. With Kasik’s aid, Saleece made her way towards him. As she reached the end of the gangplank, Kiirein stopped Kasik from going further. Commander Zatassa took his place, helping her onto the dock.

  Looking up at him as she stepped off the boarding plank, Saleece said, “Thank you, sir. What can I do for you?”

  “You are not well, young one. You should not be here. Come, child,” he offered, in a calm voice. With a surprisingly gentle touch, and his arm around her waist, he guided her to a wooden crate, where he helped her to sit. Giddeon attempted to follow, but Kiirein shook his head and grasped his shoulder with a firm hand. Giddeon looked back towards his daughter, met by several, green, crystalline glass swords, all pointed at his chest.

  “We haven’t been granted permission yet, Giddeon. Wait,” Kiirein whispered, turning to the DragonKin warriors. “My apologies, we have no interest in offending the Talon caste.” He kept a hand on Giddeon’s shoulder as a precaution, his attention never leaving the tense Talon warriors.

  Once Saleece was seated, the DragonKin Zephyr checked her closely, feeling her cheek, and opening her eyes wide. “There is something I can do for you to help with the pain, young one, but you must be away from our islands soon, within a moon’s time. Sooner would be better. Some people cannot tolerate the magic of our home. You… You are one,” he said, seemingly hesitant to continue. As Saleece sat on the old storage crate, Commander Zatassa stepped forward and put his hands on either side of her head. Speaking in the native tongue of the ancient Dragons, a language long forgotten to any but those on the island, a deep hiss issued from his throat and vibrant green magic swirled from his hands and through her head as relief flooded the chaos of her mind.

  “The pain’s gone,” she gasped. “What did you do? Thank you.”

  “Your magic was reacting with ours. I have shielded you from the affects of the island’s magic, but you will have only one moon, less probably and your own magic will be greatly weakened while you are here. If you remain here by that time the pain will return much stronger. It may even be lethal,” he warned her. Then turning to the others, he said, “If the rest of you seek council from the Queen of the Fer Skala, you must have at least two binding stones on your person. The first will grant you entrance to the island and you must give it to me, now.”

  Receiving a nod from the Commander, the Talons sheathed their swords and stood back. Giddeon stepped off the boarding plank and handed him the stone they had taken after destroying the WraithLord over a month ago.

  “We have two, Commander,” Giddeon said. “Here is the first.” Commander Zatassa took the stone and held it in his palm. The moment he touched the stone, it glowed and throbbed with a sinister black essence.

  “I am very surprised you have two, wizard. That is a great accomplishment for men and women of magic. This stone is full and therefore will grant you access to our lands along with an audience with Queen WhiteScale when you reach the crystal city. If you lose the stone that you carry for her majesty, you must leave our lands immediately. When you are stopped by a patrol the second stone will prove that you have been given consent to travel our lands. If you have no stone and continue anywhere but back here to the harbour you will be killed on sight. Is that clear?”

  Yrlissa held up the second stone and nodded as Giddeon added, “We understand, Commander, and we thank you for your patience, as well as with your help with my daughter’s illness.”

  Commander Zatassa gave him a strange look. “Your daughter? She does not carry your blood in her veins. How many years has she been in your care?” he asked.

  “Twenty eight years now. She found us when she was four. You knew she wasn’t mine by blood?”

  The Commander gave Giddeon a slight bow and said, “It is easy to see such things for my kind. Physical contact allows us to see beyond what mortals see. You have done well raising her, wizard. She is a gifted young one… Young woman. That is what caused her pain. I will offer this to you before you leave. Advice, as your kind calls it. Straight west of here is the pass between the mountains. It will take you a week to traverse. Do not travel at night and never let your fire die out during the hours of darkness. The upper reaches of the pass are home to hundreds of wyvern nests. They don’t bother us, but they will bother you. A simple, large campfire will keep them away. The pass end will mark your entry to the Forest of Whispers. Nothing I tell you will help you there. You must pass through on your own and deal with those creatures that make themselves known to you while you are in the Forest. It is possible that the binding stone may help. Then again, it may draw them to you.”

  The commander paused and stared up at the sky before he continued. “There are five hours left till sundown. If some of your crew stays on the vessel it may remain docked here with no penalty and under my Talon’s protection. Are we in agreement, ArchWizard Zirakus?”

  Giddeon nodded. “We are, and thank you for the advice, Commander.”

  Ember approached the Zephyr, bowing as a show of respect. “Thank you for your hospitality and your help, Commander Zatassa. We are eternally grateful,” she said, and offered her hand for him to shake. With no hesitation he grasped her arm at the elbow and his fingers brushed against the exposed flesh of her arm.

  Ember gasped, her breath stolen by the image of a great white dragon as it landed in a castle courtyard, roaring with fury. Commander Zatassa stumbled for the shortest moment, his face blanched with fury and anguish. It happened so fast Ember wasn’t sure it had happened at all. As she released his arm, the Commander frowned, staring wide-eyed for several seconds before he bowed and whirled away, his squad of Talons following behind him.

  “What the hell was that?” Yrlissa whispered.

  “You saw that? I thought I imagined it,” Ember replied, shocked.

  “No, I saw the shock on your face and the anger on his, but I was the only one. What did you feel? What happened?” Yrlissa pressed in a whisper.

  “I don’t know. I felt his power and I saw, in my head, immense… The size,” she panted, as she shook her head. Out of the corner of her eye, Yrlissa noticed Giddeon approach. She stepped in close, in order to shield her. Reaching around to adjust the straps of Ember’s travel pack, Yrlissa kept her face hidden until he passed by and climbed the plank back onto Sorana’s Song.

  “The size of what, Ember?” Yrlissa asked, once Giddeon was out of earshot.

  “A Dragon. I saw a Dragon, as real as you standing here now, when he shook my hand. A massive white Dragon.”

  Yrlissa sighed a breath of relief as she laughed and gave Ember a hug. “It’s all right, Ember. You must have seen an imprint from Zatassa’s mind. The DragonKin are pure magical beings, and so they are immortal. I knew it would only be a matter of time before you experienced some kind of magic within yourself. He must have woken something small in you that allowed you to see a memory from his mind. A rare memory as well, white dragons are the Behemoths most powerful breed. Though the WhiteScale race is in power here an
d have been for millennia, the only white dragon ever recorded that I know of was their founder. ”

  “It was... amazing. How’s that possible? I wasn’t born here. I don’t have magic.”

  Yrlissa laughed, putting her hand across her mouth to muffle the sound. “No, you weren’t and you didn’t before, but this world thrives on magic. In some little way, it has left its mark on you. It has allowed you to see something this world hasn’t seen in over ten thousand years, Ember. It is a gift, a blessing, to see a Dragon Behemoth.”

  Ember smiled at her friend’s words but was still quite disturbed by her first-hand experience with the frightening power of magic. As she waited for Giddeon and the others to say their goodbyes to Kiirein and Sorana, who agreed to stay with the ship, she couldn’t help but wonder how much the magic of this world had changed her, and how much it would continue to do so. Ember shook her head and rubbed her sore eyes as her heart jumped at the terror of what she felt. She realized that Kael must have felt the same way, months ago, only on a much greater scale. It scared her, more than any other thing in her entire life.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  We have spent the last three days aboard the Lightfoot ship called Sorana’s Song. It is the first time I have been on an ocean where land has been out of sight for days. The air is crisp and more revitalizing than our own Pacific Ocean back home. It fills my body with gentle energy that calmed my rattled nerves. The salt water is an incredible shade of cerulean blue unlike anything that has ever graced the planet Earth. Sea creatures have been abundant as well. I’ve seen massive whale-like creatures far off in the distance, and horned, long-finned dolphins chase the boat everyday. Their antics bring a smile to all our faces as they jump and dance across the water on their tails, so much like their relatives from home.

  The mood between everyone on board, however, is not as light and enjoyable. Giddeon and Yrlissa can’t seem to be in the same room without an argument being brought to life. I don’t understand the magic that so proliferates this world, but it is always at the root of their fighting. I see the jealousy in Giddeon at some of things that Yrlissa can do, as well as the things she knows. ArchWizard or not, I don’t see how her life is his business. The fact that she is an assassin only makes him more suspicious. Sooner or later the tension will boil over, causing them to fight. What would a fight between two such powerful wizards look like? I would guess that it would be a lot more hazardous for those of us that are watching.

  EXCERPT FROM EMBER TOLLEN-SYMES TRAVEL JOURNAL

  END-WINTER, 5025 PC

  BLOOD WYVERN PASS

  ISLAND OF VER KARMOT

  The first night they camped in the pass, no one managed to get much sleep. Though they weren’t attacked because they kept their campfire burning high, the screams and cries of the wyverns, along with sudden blasts of air from their beating wings as they dove towards the group, ruined any chances of sleep. Giddeon and Saleece both debated whether to cast area shields so they could sleep without worry, but the size and the power required would leave them too weakened in case of an attack later on. Just like Commander Zatassa had said, the wyverns were gone by first light.

  The next six days passed uneventfully with the lone exception being the nightly chorus provided by the active, smaller cousins of the once mighty Dragon Behemoths. The entire group had gotten little sleep during their time in the mountain pass, but according to what the Zephyr commander had told them, they should enter the Forest of Whispers soon. The afternoon was almost over when Giddeon and Ember, along with the others, crested a small rise in the trail to find a vast forest below them. Several miles wide, it would likely take better than two days to cross as long as they didn’t stumble onto any problems. With their hopes higher than they had been in some time, they headed down the sloped trail towards the towering trees.

  One of Ember’s favourite pastimes back home was hiking and walking mountain and forest trails. With the Olympic National Park only a few miles from Sam’s Bay, where she and Kael made their home, they spent nearly every weekend there. From the moss-draped, big leaf maples near the Hoh river, to the downed western red cedars and the gorgeous views after the short hike to the Sol Duc falls, the national park was their escape from the bustle of life. Such trips had become a regular thing after Kael had recovered from the shooting. The fresh air and invigorating scents of the forest helped pull him from the depths of depression he suffered when he was told his arm would never work again and that pain would be a part of his everyday life.

  Naturally, the forest that grew before Ember now had many species of trees and birds that she didn’t recognize. They existed only in Talohna and with the aid of magic. Even so, the expansive forest was more beautiful than anything back home. Pink lichen grew on the bottom of the trees and a purple-tinted, green moss hung from the higher branches like Spanish moss back on Earth. Flowering plants in an array of florescent colours bloomed everywhere and filled the air with a calming scent unlike anything Ember had ever smelled. As she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, paradise was once again the only word that came to mind.

  She watched as Kasik loosened the heavy greatsword on his back and Giddeon checked the pouches on his belt with shaky fingers before he cracked the knuckles of both hands and then stretched his fingers several times. Saleece pulled her long, straw-blond, silver-tinted hair back into a ponytail and then wrapped the leather strap all the way to the end, leaving no lose hair to fly free.

  Ember waited for Yrlissa, who had been walking together with Max, to catch up. When the assassin tied her copper hair into a tight bun, Ember’s stomach did a cold flip.

  “Why is everyone so jittery about this place? It’s beautiful. Is it really that dangerous?”

  Yrlissa looked at her strangely as she wrinkled her brow. “I don’t... What does jittery mean, vehr nahlla?”

  “Oh, sorry. I never…” she started to say before stopping and shaking her head. “It means jumpy or worried. It’s a slang word from our world. I never even thought that you wouldn’t understand. I’m sorry, Yrlissa.”

  The misunderstanding made Max chuckle. “I’m surprised, actually,” he said, stepping up beside them. “We’ve only had a few misunderstandings because of the difference in dialect. Most people here speak English, like back home, just a bit more stilted sometimes, right, Ember?”

  She rolled her eyes as she answered. “Yes, Max, I figured that out a while ago. It was more than obvious,” she said, smiling.

  Yrlissa started to laugh as she joined in. “We call it the common tongue, Max, and I don’t mind if you point out the obvious, you know.”

  “He can point out the obvious, but he sure can’t see the obvious, can he? I think you might be waiting a long time, Lissa, before he realizes that you might be interested,” Ember teased.

  Yrlissa snorted, surprised at Ember’s comment, but seemed unable to resist the opening it gave her. “Oh, trust me, dear,” she said, just loud enough for Max to hear. “I have been trying to be more than obvious about what I want.”

  Using the back of her sleeve to wipe her forehead, Yrlissa lifted her left hand to fan her face as if she were sweating. “We need to stop now. It’s getting a little hot over here.” She snickered louder as she fanned her face even faster with both hands, shivering. Ember noticed that Max couldn’t have been any more embarrassed. He shook his head at their antics.

  “I am going to watch our…” Clearly realizing saying the word ‘rear’ would only make things worse, he hesitated then muttered, “Our back trail, at least it’s not as dangerous back there.” He smiled, his face still flushed bright red. “Even if we are being followed. God, you two, I swear. If it’s not Saleece and you,” he stammered, as he looked at Yrlissa, “then it’s you and Ember.” He mumbled to himself under his breath as he walked backwards away from them.

  Ember nudged Yrlissa. “Ah, he just dropped back there so he could watch your back trail,” she said with a mischievous smirk. Yrlissa nearly choked a second time as
she snorted and burst out laughing once again. Max continued to shake his head, his cheeks flushed with a brighter red than before as Yrlissa winked at Ember before they moved on.

  Several minutes passed before Yrlissa could stop laughing, a habit she clearly enjoyed of late, but as her giggling faded, she answered Ember’s original question. “That was fun, but the answer to your question is not so much. People are nervous about this forest because there are many myths and legends about it, both good and bad. About all such places like this in fact. It is one of the last Kaellendha, or lands of power. Giddeon’s people call these places enchanted forests and the Elvehn call it a Kuhnee’Larre. Either way, things happen here that are beyond even what magic can sometimes explain, at least how we understand magic. Only a fool claims to know all when it comes to mystical energies.”

  “Kael... lendha? It sounds like a female version of Kael’s name,” Ember chuckled, uneasy with the direction the conversation was going.

  “It is, in a way. Somewhere in a forest like this are several vents or rifts of raw magic that rise from deep within the earth. These lands have a life and personality of its own because of them. The forest guardians will emulate this power. A kael is the Dyrannai Elvehn term for these rifts, while Kaellendha is the term used to describe the land. Whoever named Kael had extensive knowledge of the ancient Dyr Elvehn beliefs to name him after a rift of power.”

  “Wow, that’s amazing. Will we see these guardians here?”

  “Let us pray we don’t. There are different kinds of creatures in a forest like this. The guardians will be the most dangerous and the most difficult to reason with,” she explained.

  “What kind of creatures, Lissa? They can’t all be dangerous.” Yrlissa stopped walking and waited until everyone was beyond earshot. Max had stopped walking behind them the moment she had. Putting a finger to her lips, Yrlissa looked up into the dense cover of the overhead trees looking for something.