Lords of the Sands: An Epic Dark Fantasy Novel

by Paul Yoder

  As she spoke, Fin and the rest of the group became entranced, her voice commanding authority, measured and mature. Fin found himself wanting to explain himself to her, like a child needing to answer to a parent.

  “A dear friend of mine is a saren knight. She…used to wear her sigil.”

  Fin could see the woman stiffen at his explanation. Thinking that she might know Reza, he continued.

  “Perhaps you know of her? Reza Malay.”

  She seemed to ease up a bit, even closing her eyes for a moment to consider the revelation, then answered, “Yes, I know Reza. I was her matron. I oversaw her development in her youth. So, you lot are the ones she’s been traveling with these past few years?” the woman assumed.

  “No, only me,” Fin answered, relaxing somewhat once he knew the woman he spoke with knew Reza. “They’ve never met Reza, but we share the same goal, and have sworn to accomplish our mission at all costs. My name is Fin.”

  She considered the man for a moment before reciprocating the greeting. “I’m Lanereth,” she said at length, adding, “and these are my battle sisters, the high guard and priestesses of the Jeenyre order of the saren knights. I have a feeling, Fin, we may be here at this location for a similar reason. I think it best to speak freely in regard to our purposes here at this desolate formation of crags.”

  Fin nodded his head in agreement, offering, “Sensible. We have nothing to hide, and I don’t see how anyone would be opposed to our path. You know of the arisen army that’s harried these lands over the last year, yes?”

  “It is the reason we are here,” Lanereth answered flatly.

  Fin halted his exposition and cut to the chase.

  “This is our purpose as well. To foil their advances into Tarigannie.”

  Lanereth tilted her head slightly, showing a slight interest in Fin’s stated intentions. “Why do you do this? Simply for the good of the people you serve? Forgive me, but your band does not look as though they are employed by any backing entity of Rochata-Ung or Tarigannie. What’s in it for you then? Sareth herself has commanded my deployment in a vision. Who then ordered your aid?”

  Fin considered Lanereth’s reasoning for a moment, considering his groups motives, which were more complex than a simple answer as Lanereth had given him.

  “We here,” he indicated to Malagar, Hamui, Wyld, Yozo, and himself, “all have our own reasons for taking on this task. They’re not as simple or clear a resolution as yours, my lady, but I can assure you, we’re just as committed.

  “The darkness down in that canyon must be stopped, or many more will pay a horrible price, and so far, few have stepped up to face it. Someone’s got to, before it gets out of hand. We’re here to do what we can, though, I fear our small force stands little chance of truly making a difference in the end.”

  “Honorable,” she nodded in approval. “You have a brave heart, or we would not have found you here. Perhaps, working together, your efforts will go further than you worry it will. Seeing that we’re duty-bound by the same objective, would you be willing to work together?”

  Fin turned to scan his companions, none seeming opposed to the offer. Seeing the reverential look for the knight troop on Malagar and Yozo’s face, he guessed they’d be overjoyed to have help in the upcoming task of eliminating Denloth.

  “That sounds agreeable. We were going to set camp for the night and scout through the canyon on the morrow. What’s your plans with the approach?”

  The saren answered, “We plan to ride along the crag wall tonight and get a visual on the army from above. We can set up basecamp after we have an idea of where they’re at and what we’re dealing with. Until then, few plans can be made.”

  “This is wisdom,” Wyld voiced from the back, arms folded, Hamui nodding his head in agreement.

  Fin didn’t see the hurry in skipping sleep for another night in a row, but he could tell he was outnumbered on the matter. The smallest hint of weariness at the thought of another long night crept into his voice.

  “We have no mounts for the journey,” he pointed out, to which Lanereth offered, “None of you seem overweight, it will be no problem to double up with us.”

  Fin looked to the other women, high on their steppe horses. Putting aside thoughts that would likely get him in trouble, he agreed, “That would be much appreciated. Long have we traveled on foot. Too long….”

  He turned, looking back at the glow that was a sunset a few minutes ago and looked to the crags.

  “We trailed the arisen. We know they’re down in the crags, but where exactly along its stretch, we’re not sure.”

  “Then let us help you find them again,” Lanereth said heartily, offering a hand out to Fin, helping to hoist him up behind her on the saddle.

  Four other knights rode up to pick the rest of the group up, Fin noting the largest knight taking interest in Hamui, the strong lady picking the small praven up under his arms and plopping him behind her with a smirk of ownership on her lips. Fin wasn’t sure whether he should be worried for the little praven or humored by the pairing.

  It had just become true night by the time the sisters trotted to a slow gait, the edge of the crags slightly aglow in a ruddy red and purple light.

  Lanereth made a hand signal to the others, as she came to a stop many yards from the cliff’s edge, and they all dismounted, touching down on the cool, midnight blue sands, the troop sneaking quietly up to the drop-off, lying flat at the edge, slowly peering over to see the source of the unnatural glow deep within the canyon’s belly.

  A slow swirling mist covered the canyon floor, aglow in a royal purple hue. Hundreds of arisen stood at ready, other large platoons on rotted horseback strolled wearily through the canyon on an endless patrol, gleaming spears held high. Spectral blue wights stood at attention along the ruins of a large temple entrance upon the face of the hundred-yard cliff face, entering the side of the canyon. There were many large beasts—behemoths of ash and blood—terrible creatures. Some were recognizable, while some were simply monstrosities, pieced together rotted flesh and bones, not seeming to make anatomical sense. Lumbering, rotten cadavers, the reek of the hellish pit, all made looking over the edge all but unbearable.

  “What in the hell…” Hamui quietly let out. All nearby agreeing.

  “Abomination…” Lanereth hissed, covering her nose and mouth with her sleeve, Fin looking upon her, and to the all-too-familiar sight that often haunted his dreams since the terrible events of Brigganden a year ago.

  “Ever hungering for the sweetbreads of man. Only content to devour life and obey the will of the master. Miserable wretches,” Fin sneered, his disgust with the display of twisted mockery of life.

  “Each one of those…things…is a victim, murdered in the most horrible manner—and there’s thousands of them,” the priestess beside Lanereth whispered, horrified by the sight that stretched out before them.

  “This army…this army is beyond us. There is no hope here—only death!”

  Lanerenth looked to her priestess and waved for all to fall back, away from the sight that the group was getting lost in, returning to their horses that were more than a little uneasy.

  “Few have beheld such a sight,” Lanereth said in a somber tone, “so I will overlook your words,” she said, looking to the trembling priestess.

  “But we know why we’re here. And no matter how…beyond the veil our opponent seems, Sareth will outmatch them. She would not have called us here if not for providing a way for us to help end what blasphemy lies down there.

  “I need all of you to take heart now. Fear will be your undoing. Fear is the substance that will take apart your armor, your defenses. Keep strong in your faith and we will find a path through this, but not if you allow even an inch of doubt to paralyze your stride. We are in this together, and Sareth will watch over us. All of us,” she finished, looking to Fin and his group.

  “We’re here, and we’re not leaving until Denloth is dead, or we ar
e,” Malagar spoke, conviction firmer than Fin had ever seen from the haltia.

  “That old temple down there, he’s in there, I can feel it. Where else would that pompous bastard reside. Not out with the riff raff, that’s for sure,” Hamui added, speaking the truth that the rest of the group likely suspected.

  “I might agree with your assumption,” Lanerenth said, hand to chin as she thought through the group’s next line of action. “Within the ancient halls of the sun god, Dannon, our quarry lies. If we can execute the arisen leaders, the arisen army will no more be a threat. Their tie to this world is only held up by their connection to their master, so the records testify. We need to get in that temple, undetected by the bulk of the army. Once within, we need to find the avatar of Telenth, this Denloth you mentioned, and any other ranking followers of the lord of ash, and make our escape to avoid the fallout of the destruction of the arisen army’s leadership.”

  “I know I speak for our group when I say, we’re all in. Together, we might actually stand a chance at eliminating Denloth. If your order is anything like Reza, then the arisen are about to be pressed like they’ve never been before. May the light guide our path,” Fin added, gaining a bit of hope for the first time in actually having a chance at their mission.

  Lanereth nodded her approval of it all, giving a commanding order to two of the sister knights, “Hassa, Gilding, you’re on surveillance duty tonight. I want to know their schedule, sentry routes, headcounts, any information you can gather from up here. Stay hidden and safe; but keep an eye on them until I send the next shift.”

  The tall saren knight and the other priestess stepped up, bowing before the High Priestess, displaying their willingness to remain cliffside to suffer through the first shift.

  “I’ll join the sentry duty,” Hamui said, waddling over to the saren that had given him a ride earlier. Fin and Lanereth did not miss the small smirk Hassa gave the little praven as he joined her side.

  “Fin,” Lanereth called, bringing Fin’s attention back to the matriarch, “there is much to discuss. It seems you’ve been trailing this hellish troop for a while now.”

  Fin nodded, looking to the other three still at his side.

  “We all have.”

  “Come, we’ll set camp a ways out from here. The night is still young, but we’ll likely see it through filling each other in on what each party knows of the arisen lord. We prepare for a war like none of us have ever seen.”

  Though the stars were lit high in the heavens, the moon’s light tinting the land a bluish green, the darkness seemed more oppressive than it should have.

  Though through it all, Fin breathed easier than he had in some weeks. They had help now, and a fighting chance, but more than that, he felt that win or fail, whatever the outcome, a conclusion to it all loomed nearby. And that, more than improved odds, seemed to lighten the weight from his shoulders more than any of it.

  As they walked the horses a ways into the desert, Malagar’s line came back to him, again and again.

  We’re here, and we’re not leaving until Denloth is dead, or we are.

  From the Author

  This move across country has been a bit of a rough one. I had planned on having this book out a good three years ago! Life sometimes has other plans for you, and though it has been hard, there’s been plenty of opportunity for new growth in my life during this time. The important thing is that I kept at it and am proud to have continued this series.

  I hope you enjoyed this book! You can look forward to the concluding book in the Lords of the Deep Hells Trilogy next year. I’m refocusing my efforts as a writer and I’m looking to publish at least one book in the world of Una each year for the foreseeable future. This is where I’ll be—hope to see you here!

  Visit me online for launch dates and other news at: authorpaulyoder.com

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