by Aaron Thomas
Leviathan’s King
Book 3 in, “The Search for the Brights”
Copyright © 2016 by Aaron Thomas
All rights reserved.
Cover design by Sabrina Sherman
Book design by Aaron Thomas
Map Designed by Michelle Rene Goodhew
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No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Aaron Thomas
Visit my website at www.kylan514.wix.com/weapon-bearer
Printed in the United States of America
Prologue
Chapter 1 - Stones of Water
Chapter 2 - Charger
Chapter 3 - Early Parting
Chapter 4 - Basham
Chapter 5 - The Crowned King
Chapter 6 - Atmos
Chapter 7 - Releasing Souls
Chapter 8 - Long Live the King
Chapter 9 - Mrs. Augustine’s Estate
Chapter 10 - Stable Master
Chapter 11 - Skill of a King
Chapter 12 - A Wager
Chapter 13 - Into Darkness
Chapter 14 - Into Darkness
Chapter 15 - Lighting Deuterium
Chapter 16 - Rising Sun
Chapter 17 - A Hammer
Chapter 18 - Ellipse
Chapter 19 - On the Border
Chapter 20 - Banquet
Chapter 21 - Defenses
Chapter 22 - It Begins
Chapter 23 - United Cause
Chapter 24 - Crushing the Walls
Chapter 25 - A New City
Chapter 26 - The King of Flames
Chapter 27 - The Darkness
Chapter 28 - The Battle of Legends
Chapter 29 - Factions
Chapter 30 - Thrones
Epilogue
Prologue
Mary looked back before she entered the pass between the Earth and Fire Realms. It was as if there was a line drawn in the dirt. On one side the land was lush with green trees shading the grass. On the other was nothing but sand, barren jagged rocks, and the unrelenting heat of the sun.
She looked back longingly at the only realm she had ever known. She smiled and waited for the last few soldiers to pass her. When she looked back towards the Fire Realm Pada stood to stare back. He’d taken charge of the men in King Rekkan’s absence. Together the highest ranking men chose to take what was left of their veteran army and return to the queen.
Pada waved her on and she followed. He was busy handing out small scrolls of paper to the Fire Realm’s version of wind wielders. The wind wizards she knew all used their robe to catch the wind and travel in the skies. These men wore no such attire. Each man strapped on leather triangles from wrist to ankle and from ankle to ankle. She supposed the leather cutting would perform much like the extra flaps of cloth in a wizard's robe.
Each of the men strapped the scroll into a small satchel and took flight. She watched them disappear before Pada started to walk down the mountain path.
“How long until we reach your queen?” she asked.
He stopped, “No longer than a month. Some of the men will break away to their homes as we travel. We will be left with very few by the time we arrive.”
Mary was excited to see the Fire Realm. She had finally taken control of her emotions so that she could be happy. Before the battle, she had been torn by her emotions for years. She had dreamed of training in the Fire Realm. The only thing that had kept her in the Earth Realm is that she had the responsibility of being a councilman. It was a seat of power that she could look out for the interest of the one place she wanted to go. The two choices caused a constant conflict in her life that she was unable to gain control over her passions.
After she had attacked King Atmos, the choice was simple, and it had set her emotions in balance. Finally, she was not a danger to those around her. Mary looked at her hands, waiting for the familiar spark to leap off but none came.
Pada looked up from down the path, “Are you coming?”
She nodded and bounded down the path to keep up with him. She was very happy that he was the leader of the troops now. Pada was almost the only one that did not look at her as if she was the enemy. Still, she slept with a dagger in hand waiting for someone to try to slit her throat in the night. She remembered Pada saying that men were the least of her worries while crossing the desert.
Giant lizards called dragons waited to kill you if you came too close to their eggs, deadly scorpions slept in the sand and under rocks, and of course, the aggressive giant pigs that would kill just because they like the taste of human flesh. Pada warned that the scorpions were probably the most dangerous to her because they liked the warmth and fire wizards were always hotter than a normal being.
Being a fire wizard would have its advantages while in the desert. The heat from the sun would not touch her as it touched the others; it would rejuvenate her instead of wearing her down. With that heat, she could make an endless supply of fire as long as the sun was up.
Pada’s tent was the only one left standing. They would leave it as they crossed the desert. They had no need for tents or wagons. The Fire Realms soldiers traveled light and quick for soldiers with no imbuements. Each man carried their weight, and that was a problem for Mary. She had traveled by horseback to the battle, and before that, she had spent her days lounging in the castle. She was out of shape and had barely made up the mountain pass with weak knees and sweat soaked leathers.
Before following Pada inside his tent, she watched as men filled their water skins before starting their journey across the desert. The sun was a setting which gave the best conditions for non-wielders to travel. Once their water skins were filled, they began jogging into the desert in a long line devoid of rank and file. Their run was silent and determined. She watched as the line of men began to disappear in the fading light.
“Mary, can you come in here?” Pada said from inside.
She walked through the tent flap to find a blackened tent. Holding up her hand, she lit her fingers a flame and found Pada smiling back.
“I could use a bit of torch light before heading to sleep,” he said looking down at a couple of scrolls laid out on the ground.
“Will you be able to teach me more as we travel?” She questioned.
He looked up from the map he was studying, “Of course.” He reached to his side and pulled a leather satchel to himself. While he searched the contents, she could hear metal clinking against metal. Finally, he pulled out a thin silver rod and held it out to her. “You are going to want to learn to use this; it will help the men get to know you.”
She raised an eyebrow, “How will this help the men get to know me better?”
She took ahold of the smooth rod and felt the power of water flow through her. Twilix once let her hold the imbuement she gave to Kilen a month before the graduation. She taught her how to use it just in case Twilix had to leave her.
Mary knew she wasn’t very good at water magic but had been able to summon a trickle before.
She closed her eyes and concentrated on the magic of water and soon felt the cool liquid dripping off of her hands. When she opened her eyes, Pada was collecting it into a pan. She stopped, and he took a long drink before handing the pan to her.
While she drank, Pada spoke, “Water is a precious thing in our lands. During the day you will be able to refresh your energy in the sun and summon water for all of us to drink. Giving the men fresh water during their travels will keep them alive and give you a moment to engage each one.”
“What if I didn’t know how to use this?” she asked.
He did not look up when he replied, “Then I would have taught you. Just like I will teach you to use a sword, and a knife.”
She concentrated and filled the pan with more water and then tucked the rod into the leather lacing along her thigh. She had always looked at the leather clothing as a hindrance, or as a label put upon her. Seeing the people of the Fire Realm dressed in similar leather outfits made her feel more at home. She felt as if she had finally found her people.
Pada wore only leather covering from his hips to just above the knee. A strap holding his swords crossed his chest but did nothing to cover it from her view. He saw her looking at him, and she glanced away when their eyes met.
He spoke as he attempted to look busy unpacking for one last night, “Do you think that the weapon bearer was being truthful?”
She stopped, “I told you before Pada, he had no reason to help Atmos. King Atmos had tried to kill him on a couple of occasions. Atmos even sent him to his death by having Kilen force the Elder Wizard’s hand or die to try. He was honest in his dealings. Besides, if you look at the situation, he gave you the upper hand.”
Pada scoffed, and she continued.
“Think about it; he controlled all three elements except for fire. When the meeting started, it was all that the wizards council could talk about. They were scared we were being led into a trap. They tried not to show their fear by laughing, but they were scared. At any moment your forces could have burned them to ash.”
He seemed to accept the answer given to him and rolled out a blanket to lay down for the night. She began to unroll hers but was startled by his voice.
“We have no fire tonight, if I’m to survive the night you will need to sleep beside me and keep me warm,” he said.
Without saying anything, she moved her blanket next to his and laid down. With a thought, the torches light extinguished. She lay flat on her back in the darkness listening to him breathe. Amongst the noises of the night and his deep breath, she heard him slowly shuffle his bedroll. The sound crept closer until his back casually pressed up against her arm. She smiled in the darkness feeling his bare muscular back resting on her flesh.
Chapter 1 - Stones of Water
The second day’s sunrise was just as impressive as the first. Leviathan sparkled and cast rainbows in all directions with its prismatic shaped walls. Large fish jumped as the first reflections of light started hitting the lake’s surface. Kilen overlooked the sparkling city from a hallway outside of the throne room. Twilix had done her best to fill him in on everything that had transpired over the last few weeks. He did his best to understand everything she had said and turned the information over in his head.
What city inhabitants they had managed to get inside the walls from Keepers were starting their work day far below. Jobs were still being assigned, and mostly everyone just pitched in anywhere a job needed doing. Kilen could see a man in a green jacket walking along the walls with a long trail of people following behind.
Bowie, in his supposed only functional jacket made of dark green wool, had taken the mantle of ensuring that the Earth Realm’s soldiers would not try and traverse the gates at night. Bowie looked oddly out of place displaying the dark green color as he walked the battlements. He carried a bow in hand and a quiver that was bristling with arrows as he paced. Even though the Earth Realm had come to claim their fallen soldier’s bodies, they had not attempted any further attack. Bowie kept a vigilant watch anyway.
Behind him followed two women. The first one walked at his side with raven-black hair and the other with deep red followed shortly behind. Kara, with black hair like their mothers, had a new body and still seemed foreign to Kilen. It was odd hugging her. He felt as if she should still be trying to learn to cook or sew with Sahera. Instead, she followed Bowie asking questions about the army’s capabilities and what he planned on doing if they all attacked. She was a fire wizard and had the ability to kill as swiftly as his bow or the wind imbuements he carried.
The red-haired girl, Auburn, was a bit younger, but only just. She would grow at the same rate as a normal person because she was not a wizard, which was good for Bowie as he possessed only imbuements as well. Kilen was confused by the girl’s odd loyalty to his friend. She followed him everywhere and watched everyone in Leviathan as if they were enemies. Kilen was grateful that she didn’t aim her bow at him as she had done when they first met.
Behind the two girls followed a fire wizard by the name Al’tore. The man had taken to following his sister because of her success in helping him control his emotions. The man was large and had only a few pieces of tattered clothes. In the last few hours, Al’tore had managed to cut his hair, which was quite an improvement. Cutting his hair, he also revealed a pair of eyes that looked about wildly as if he was having trouble understanding the world. The wizard would often cast dirty looks or stare at normal things as if he had not seen the world for a long time. Kilen couldn’t help but feel happy that his sister wasn’t in the dungeon as long as that fellow, but still, the man would have to be watched.
Al’tore had also begun teaching the other fire wizards how to use their abilities. Each of those wizards looked to Al’tore as a leader, and he gladly accepted the role. Kilen wondered when the day came that it would be safe for them to leave where they would go. Would they stay? Would they return to their homes? Perhaps some of them would do as the wizard law states and move to the Fire Realm for training. Kilen hoped that the majority would. It would certainly help his relationship with the queen of the southern realm.
Lastly, Brent followed behind the group of fire wizards waiting, for them to erupt. Kilen laughed at the skinny wizard’s poor ability to pretend not to follow them. The man continued trying not to upset the delicate nature of the fire wizards which he pursued. Kilen was glad to have Brent along. He was experienced in things that Kilen had only scraped the surface of, such as politics. He smiled at the memory of Brent taking great care of his sister during the days after her awakening.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Twilix said, joining him at the balcony.
She startled him. He was so involved watching the business of the morning he hadn’t paid attention to his water vision. He watched her a moment, golden curls flowing over her crown and shoulder, down her blue dress. She seemed in a constant state of bliss since the wedding. He wondered why, since he has spent so little time with her privately. He slid closer to her, touching his elbow to hers, trying to apologize in a way.
“It is very beautiful. Thank you for all your work,” Kilen replied while Twilix slipped her arm through his.
Twilix had taken to carrying around the book he received from the Elder Wizards. It revealed many secrets about Leviathan that none of them knew. Turning the pages carefully, she would find something and then go running around the city to bring it life. She used magic to bring about never ending fountains and small pools of water that contained fish from the lake. She was currently searching for a secret chamber deep in the castle’s underbelly that contained books fitting for the wizard's library.
The book was secured in a satchel on her side. He wondered what mysteries of the town she would uncover today. She had said something about an irrigation system that would bring water directly to each shop, street, and home in the city. These are things that only the Elder Wizards would thin
k of when building a city on a lake.
They stood there a moment just watching the sun rise. She laid her head against his shoulder. She felt warm whenever she touched him. He had truly begun to like the feeling of having a woman at his side. They had professed their love for one another and given their promise to be loyal. It was an oath that Kilen knew he would not take lightly.
A gentle breeze ruffled the ribbons on the hilt of his blade. Kilen looked down to make sure they were both intact. Two ribbons; both blue in color to represent two of the most important people in his life. He smiled, glad to have both Kara and Twilix with him. He needed only to regain the presence of his mother to correct decisions made long ago.
Kilen’s pocket was laden with a small heavy book. It was one he had taken to writing in for others to learn through his adventures. He had not shown the contents of the book to anyone other than his elemental friends. Pulling the book out, he handed it to his new wife.
“I would like you to see something. I started writing this book just after the first time we met. I mean, I didn’t start writing because of you, but because of the path you helped me start.”
Twilix ran her hands over the brown leather cover and began untying the knot of string holding the pages closed. Opening the first pages, she read aloud.
“To become a weapon bearer,” She smiled as she read it. Turning the pages slowly, she looked over his drawing and scribbles with much thought.
He did not speak to her or point out some of his favorite parts. He simply watched her learn about him through the pages she turned.
Kilen saw someone approaching through the water vision and turned to see his good friend Leroy, son of the castle’s head chef.
He bowed deeply and waited for Kilen to wave him forward.
“Your majesties, a council has been gathered in the main hall. They request your presence at once,” Leroy said, bowing again.