Heroes Rise and Fall (Tales of Grandeur Book 1)

by C. J. Strong

  Tales of Grandeur: Heroes Rise and Fall

  By

  C. J. Strong

  © 2017 by Clifford James Armstrong

  Cover design © 2017 by Fiona Jayde | fionajaydemedia.com

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Dedications:

  To mom,

  Gone but never forgotten. I know that you’re with me every single day.

  And to dad,

  For always believing in me and supporting me.

  For all of those who donated to my kickstarter campaign and helped make all of this possible,

  I thank you.

  Head of Magniffs: Joe Haas

  Your unwavering support gave me much needed hope and enthusiasm to do the best job I could.

  Magniff Member #1: Dave & Lynn Bartel Sr.

  First flight and first book, life is never ending firsts.

  Magniff Member #2: Jimmy Keefe (77)

  True hunter and as tough as they come.

  Magniff Member #3: Jason Armstrong

  Great initial editor and the perfect brother, thank you for everything.

  Magniff Member #4: Samuel Robert Pearce 333)

  Fantastic tutor and a genuinely nice guy.

  Magniff Member #5: Manuel Lopez Jr.

  Math genius and a remarkable person.

  Chapter 1

  Andrum rushed through the castle doors, clutching in his hands the fate of the Nifflarian people. He was drenched in both rain water and sweat, but that didn’t deter him from finishing his mission. Andrum dashed through the main corridor, using his magik to light a path in front of him. He had put on a few pounds since his father’s death, and was pushing his body to its limit with a relentless pace, but he knew that he must press on. Eventually he came across a staircase, and started to head up to the next floor. Upon arriving at the top, he entered the room where the other four were waiting for him.

  “You’ve arrived at last,” Bandell said in her usual authoritative voice.

  “I’m so glad you made it back,” Uriella said before greeting Andrum with a hug. After a warm embrace, Uriella took a step back before asking a simple question. “Do you have it?”

  “He had better have it,” Ashurd said.

  Standing as the center of attention, Andrum pulled down his hood and greeted his fellow Nifflarians. His face was young, but told a tale of hardship. Andrum wasn’t the most handsome of men, with unkempt hair and a crooked nose, but what he lacked in looks he made up for in personality. As soon as he caught his breath, he spoke to the crowd. “Of course,” Andrum replied, choosing to ignore implications that he might have returned empty handed, “I wouldn’t have come back without it.”

  One by one each of the men and women removed their hoods in relief. They stood in awe as Andrum pulled the Sacred Scroll from his cloak and the entire room lit up as if hope had returned to each of their souls. Lightning struck from just outside the castle windows, brightening the dark room temporarily.

  “It is time to start the ceremony then,” Ashurd said. Ashurd was a large man, and his distinctly deep voice made him seem twice as big. His head bore resemblance to that of a bull, always intimidating and ready to fight. Small nicks and marks accounted for most of his face, but none that left him disfigured in any way. Long braided hair draped straight across his jaw line, gracefully connecting to his beard.

  Bandell, the black woman who stood next to him was middle aged, and had short dark hair which stayed permanently in a bun. Her face held a scowl that was so frequently there that Andrum thought it must be her natural expression—come to think of it, he couldn’t remember the last time he saw her so much as smile. Bandell had no wrinkles despite her age and wore no makeup. Though she was quite thin and of average height, her demeanor was nonetheless one of power. She turned to Ashurd and finally started to speak, “Not quite yet, we must first prepare our sacrifices.”

  Not seconds after having said that, Uriella let out an uncontrollable cough and the entire room fell silent. She had long blonde hair with streaks of gray throughout, and her face was full of divots and wrinkles. Her eyes were a glossy green and contained a mystique of worldly wisdom within them. She had a frail, almost shriveled up figure and was thus a very small woman, made even more so by the Infection that turned her already white skin even paler than usual.

  The man standing beside Uriella touched her shoulder and whispered something in her ear as if checking if she was okay. His name was Styir, and the voice he possessed was that of a soothing and calm breeze. He was a tall sunken in man with a yellowish skin tone, and the build of a feather. He had a scrawny body, a skinny face, yet his posture spoke of inner strength. His eyes were a darker brown than most, and his eyebrows were plucked perfectly even.

  With his head held low, Ashurd spoke once more, “You see! If not now then when? Even members of our council are beginning to fall ill,” he said, gesturing toward Uriella who coughed again, as if illustrating his point.

  “Sir Ashurd! You were temporarily brought in to the Council of Magniffs to fill the void left by your late brother who was general to our armies. You have no authority to speak out like this. We are here to save all of the Nifflarian people, and the ceremony must not be rushed,” Bandell exclaimed.

  “But the Infection is taking everyone we hold dear! There is no honor in the way our people are dying. It is Zorm’s doing, of that I am sure,” Ashurd said as his eyes filled with tears. Andrum always knew Ashurd was a passionate man, but this was the first time he had ever seen him cry.

  “We don’t know that, Ashurd. This may be the work of Zorm, but we don’t have enough evidence yet,” Bandell responded.

  “Whoever or whatever is causing this plague, we can stop it with this,” Andrum said as he gripped the scroll tightly in his hand and held it high in the air.

  Holding back another cough, “We must start the process…” Uriella said.

  “…Then let us begin,” Styir said in his usual calculated manner.

  “We shall reconvene at the podium after each of us have gathered our things. Ashurd, you go with Uriella and help her along,” Bandell said as she turned away from the group.

  “That’s quite alright, but I’ll manage. I wouldn’t want him to—“

  “It’s alright Uriella, we all have the Infection by now anyway. There’s no sense in delaying what has to be done on account of you taking forever to grab your things. Just let me help,” Ashurd said as the others except for Andrum scattered off into different rooms. Uriella nodded her head and smiled faintly as she followed Ashurd out of the room and down the hall.

  “Umm… Miss Bandell?” Andrum said as he approached the woman in charge.

  She quickly turned to him with such force that her cloak whipped across his legs before gently gliding back behind her. “Yes Andrum? You know your father would’ve been very proud of what you’ve accomplished.”

  “Well… Thanks, I suppose,” he said. “Is using the scroll really the only way?”

  “Andrum! We’ve discussed this at length already. Of course it is. Now go and gather your conjured belongings so that we may complete the ritual.”

  “Well that’s just the thing… I’ve never actually conjured much before.”

  “Of course you have, h
ow else would you have passed the Nifflarian Exams?”

  “When I took the test, I only conjured simple things like food,” Andrum said while itching his forehead. “Father was in charge of the committee and though I could tell he didn’t approve, he still convinced the others to pass me. Oh how I wish he was still around…”

  “Foolish child! The Nifflarian Exams are meant to be a rite of passage, proving that young Nifflarians are skilled enough conjurers to be a benefit to society. Besides, in order for the ritual to work, all four members of the Magniffs must donate all of their conjured items and conjuring book all while the Head reads from the Sacred Scroll,” Bandell said. “How could you not tell us this before now?”

  “I don’t suppose I could just conjure up a few new things now and call that good?” he said as his eyes lit up with the telltale bluish hue of conjuring, a book magically appearing in his hands.

  “Give me your conjuring book! There has to be something you’ve made before that you can donate…” Bandell quickly snatched Andrum’s book from his hands and began tearing through page by page. After a few moments she started to read the latest entries aloud, “Fried chicken, fried bacon, chicken fried bacon, ‘kool and mysterious cloak’,” she said before looking up at him.

  “What?! It’s a lot quicker to just conjure food rather than to cook it. And I’ve been eating a lot more since dad passed away…” Andrum said while avoiding eye contact. “The only thing that I’ve conjured besides food is a cloak which matches that of yours and the other council members.”

  “Don’t you realize that whenever you conjure something, your life force drains away little by little? You are wasting your precious gift on frivolous things, rather than using it to better your life. By your age, I had already conjured a nice house for myself, plenty of crops that I could grow, and a water well so that I had every resource in order to survive without ever having to conjure again. In fact, the only reason we sent you to retrieve the Sacred Scroll in the first place was because of your age. The Eternal Lands are rumored to drain your life force the longer you are there, and so we decided that who else would be better suited to go than the son of Yalden. But I digress, the ceremony must continue, and you did at least get us the scroll. Your conjured cloak will just have to do as a sacrifice,” Bandell said as she slammed the book shut. Within moments the book disappeared into nothing just as easily as it had appeared before.

  “Huh?” Andrum was confused. What did the ceremony have to do with the cloak he was wearing? Bandell began to walk away, so Andrum quickened his pace to keep up with her purposeful strides. “Wait up!” he called after her, “What do you mean the cloak will have to do?”

  Bandell turned and slammed him up against the side of the wall, knocking the wind out of Andrum and causing a small panic attack to erupt inside of him. “Listen! This isn’t some little game, you understand? Yes, you have acquired the scroll for us and we’re very grateful for that, but the job is far from done and you’d do well to start learning that, Andrum. There is still plenty to do to put an end to this. Our people are suffering and what are you doing about that? The only way we can make it right is by sacrificing our gift—something you don’t seem to take very seriously at all.” She paused, taking a deep breath as if to steady herself. “After all this time, do you mean to tell me that all you’ve ever used your gift for is to make food? You’re even more of an entitled brat than I thought you were.”

  It was at this moment that Andrum felt his proud satisfaction at completing the task start to fade. “Hey,” he shouted indignant. No one ever took him seriously around here. “You don’t have to explain to me what’s going on. I’ve been living this nightmare ever since the Infection took Dad. Look, I know he spoiled me, and yeah, I probably shouldn’t have passed my exams, but I’ve been fending for myself these past few months. I’m not a kid anymore! Who was the one who got the Sacred Scroll for us in the first place? Let’s not forget that I risked my life and soul in order to attain it.”

  Bandell released her grip and Andrum rubbed his arm, sore from where her fingers had pressed into him. “No one is questioning your heroism in doing what we could not. But making the trek to the Eternal Lands and back is just the beginning of your journey. Luckily your conjuring of frivolous things did not drain your life force as much as I feared or else you would not have made it back.” She paused, her eyes softening in a way that Andrum had not seen before. “I’m only so hard on you because once the ceremony of the Sacred Scroll is complete, I’d like you to take the mantle that your father once held; the Head of the Magniffs.”

  Andrum took a moment to respond, trying to make sense of what she was telling him. The Head of the Magniffs is the most prestigious title in all of hEtar. To become leader of his entire race is not something he took lightly. Although his father was able to do it, Andrum certainly didn’t feel prepared to fill his shoes.

  “I… I don’t know what to say,” he said as he stuttered back into the entrance of the doorway a bit. “But you are doing an excellent job as Interim Head, and I don’t have any idea how the job works. Shouldn’t you be the one to lead us out of this darkness Miss Bandell?

  Bandell didn’t get a chance to answer.

  “Excuse me, but we are ready,” Styir’s calming voice called from down the hallway towards Andrum and Bandell.

  “Very good Styir, we are coming,” Bandell said as she grabbed Andrum by the hood and drug him towards the podium room. Much had changed since Andrum had last been in here. Every morning Andrum would start his day by listening to his father speak to the council from within this room, laying out the plans for the day-to-day tasks and voting on decisions that had to be made. As they entered the room, a large symbol had been drawn across the floor which centered on the podium. Andrum had little idea about the rules of the ceremony, so he followed along as best he could. Each council member had already taken their place corresponding to the markings and were turned toward Bandell as if awaiting her orders on when to begin.

  “The scroll please…” Bandell said as she held out her right hand. Andrum cautiously took the Sacred Scroll from his cloak and placed it in her palm.

  “Take your place among them, Andrum. The time has come for the ceremony,” she said as she began to delicately unfold the scroll. Andrum looked around momentarily and then walked into an etching that had been made on the ground. “With the power of the Sacred Scroll as well as the sacrifice of each of our conjuring talents, we may finally be able to help our people,” she said as she made her way to the podium. “Far too many Nifflarian lives have been lost to the Infection…”

  She paused, opened the Sacred Scroll, and then placed it on the podium. “I, as Interim Head of the Council of Magniffs, ask the powers of the Ancients to help our cause,” She said as her eyes lit a crystal blue and the ground began to shake. An aura seeped up from the now glowing etchings in the ground and smoke filled the room. A magic portal of unfathomable beauty appeared from within the middle of the floor. “Ashurd, you are first! Thrust every last conjuring you have ever created into the portal.”

  “Yes Head Magniff!” Ashurd said as he let out a warrior’s cry and yanked out from behind him an enormous sack filled with unique weapons and items. One by one he quickly pulled from the bag and tossed each conjuring into the portal that was in the middle of the floor. Finally, as the last item sept through the portal, Ashurd activated his magik and his eyes turned a crystal blue. He called upon his conjuring book and it appeared out of thin air. With a monstrous swing, the book flew directly into the portal.

  Andrum was taken back by what he just saw. It was starting to make sense, this ceremony. If a conjuring book is destroyed, then that person loses his or her ability to conjure. It seems as though the Magniffs are to willingly sacrifice whatever magik items they have and their magik powers in this ritual. But if this is indeed what is happening, then the Magniffs will no longer be regarded as the most powerful Nifflarians in all of hEtar, an idea which scared Andrum.
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  “Very good. Uriella you are next!” Bandell said as Uriella grabbed her small bag. She dug through and emptied each and every object into the portal before coughing uncontrollably and collapsing to the ground.

  “Uriella!” Andrum said as he snapped back into consciousness and moved towards her.

  “No Andrum, she must make the sacrifices on her own,” Ashurd said.

  Andrum ignored Ashurd, caring only for the health and well-being of Uriella. But when he attempted to leave his circle, the glowing magik seal prevented him from moving. Just as sparks flew and Andrum struggled to get closer to Uriella, she crawled to her knees where in one last-ditch effort she summoned her conjuring book. She then tossed it into the void of the portal before completely collapsing in exhaustion.

  “It is no use, the barriers cannot be broken. Return to your sacrificing circle, Andrum. Styir you know what to do,” Bandell said as her focus remained on Uriella. “Quickly!”

  With a sigh, Styir began the process of unloading all of his conjured items. “A pity, I did a lot of good with these,” he said.

  “You’re doing a lot of good now by making this sacrifice,” Ashurd said as Andrum anxiously awaited his turn.

  Andrum’s eyes illuminated a blueish hue as he summoned his conjuring book in anticipation. “Not yet Andrum, Styir still has to finish,” Bandell told him amongst the chaos.

  “All done!” Styir said before he threw his book into the air, arcing it right into the portal. “Now your turn Andrum…” he said pointing in approval.

  Andrum looked both at Styir and then the portal with his book still in hand, “But I don’t really have anything to sacrifice.”

  “Of course you do! Your cloak… hurry the portal won’t stay open much longer,” Bandell said with her hands shaking, pinning the scroll against the podium while it attempted to fly away.

  “Oh, that’s right,” Andrum said as he ripped his cloak off and tossed it in the portal followed by his conjuring book without hesitation. He then stood in his underwear with his hands on his hips, looking back and forth at Ashurd and Styir who were staring at him.