The Beginnings Omnibus: Beginnings 1, 2, 3 & Legend of Ashenclaw novella (Realm of Ashenclaw Beginnings Saga)

by Gary F. Vanucci

  “Can I have your attention up here, please?” he commanded, waving his hands as he spoke. “Form a line here, front to back and in an orderly manner so that we may begin the interview process! Please form a line here!” he repeated once more to the murmuring crowd.

  Numerous members of The Oakhaven Watch were present to make sure that things did not get out of hand. There had been a few arrests made already as some of the crowd had become overly excited, openly threatening one another with weapons drawn, so they were forced to intervene. And with the law allowing for any to freely carry weapons in the city, the Watch had to keep a consistent and authoritarian presence.

  Within a short time, order once more replaced chaos on the steps in front of the Hall of the High Council. One by one, the prospective fortune seekers were escorted in, and one by one they filed out, almost as quickly.

  Rose knocked on the door to the room where she had been instructed to go. She had been waiting most of the day and twilight had overtaken the city. As the shadows began to dance upon the halls of the building, an idea entered her head and she thought of a grandiose entrance that was sure to make an impression on the examiner.

  She peeked into the room via a crack in the door. A man with a very stoic look upon his face was seated at the table, waiting for his next interviewee. He was reviewing some documents with great interest when she arrived. She also noted that he was not unpleasing to the eye. His stout jaw and intense gaze actually made her forget why she was there in the first place.

  “Enter,” he responded simply, not even looking up from his reading and pulling her mind from an image that made her blush. A long while passed and he refused to get up. She knocked again.

  Frustrated, he pushed aside his parchments and made his way to the door, opening it and looking around quizzically. He saw nothing but the newfound shadows on the walls shifting sporadically with the movement of the flames of the torches on the walls.

  Rose smiled widely as she watched it all unfold from his recently vacated seat.

  “Hello,” called a sultry voice from behind him.

  Garius spun on the unknown guest and saw a leather-clad woman seated in the shadowed comfort of his chair. Her flowing red hair was framing a face with stunning, yet simple features and her smile was intoxicating. Her tight leather outfit was designed to flaunt her athletic body. She was obviously not a shy woman as she threw her cloak over her shoulder in a purposeful way to allow him that view.

  “I am Rose Thorne,” she introduced herself politely, with a smile planted on her face like the cat that swallowed the canary. She sat a little too comfortably in his chair.

  She was certainly captivating and seemed able to influence many with her sheer beauty alone—but not Garius Forge. His features remained indifferent, not wanting to congratulate the act, but he silently gave her suitable recognition for the maneuver and its flair.

  “Impressive,” Garius admitted, nodding as he gazed upon this woman, who sat with her legs crossed now, smiling in a way that conveyed that she was quite pleased with herself.

  “Thank y—“

  “I don’t appreciate it, however,” he interjected.

  “Which part?” she asked flippantly. “Having to answer the door or the admission that I’d taken you by surprise?”

  Garius turned a serious gaze her way, conveying a look that should convince her that he demanded a certain level of respect. He was a commanding presence to anyone who saw him, yet this woman seemed to be a bit reluctant to give him any immediate deference.

  He decided to sit down opposite her in order to restate his position.

  “I am Garius Forge,” the armored man introduced himself, speaking slowly and with a purpose. “I am an Inquisitor, as well as a warrior; a Faceless Knight of Order from the city of Safehold.” He allowed the facts to sink in before continuing. “I have many achievements and merits of honor within my faction. I am a seasoned combatant as well as a divine avatar for the entire Pantheon of Order.” Maybe that information would carry enough weight to bend her attitude into one of appreciation and admiration, but he seriously doubted it. “I also do not like to be made the fool,” he warned her. “While the impact of your…trick…is impressive—it is also disrespectful.”

  She said nothing at first and instead rolled her eyes. “I simply thought—“

  “I said it was impressive, did I not?” Garius asked rhetorically, pausing once more to allow her to accept the somewhat backhanded compliment. “Your point was made. Now, you know a bit about me, I need to know a little about you.”

  “Aye,” she agreed resignedly, either impressed with the man’s credentials and authoritative presence, or pretending to be. Either way, she was clearly disappointed in the tone he’d used with her. “My name is—.”

  “Rose Thorne, yes, you mentioned. Let us begin with a few standard questions,” Garius recommended to the uncomfortable woman.

  “Aye. But what exactly is it that you want from me?” Rose asked. “What is this dire task we are to undertake?”

  Garius mouthed a silent prayer to The Harvester, the goddess of nature and wisdom, in an attempt to discern Rose’s aura. He could not sense any masked evil in her using this divine ability, nor was there anything out of sorts with her at all that he could discern. Garius ignored her question and continued his interrogation.

  “So…Rose Thorne…first understand that all will be made clear in due time. Suffice it to say that the nature of this assignment will be divulged after—and only after—we have chosen the appropriate persons. Now…what makes you think that you are a viable candidate?”

  “I have certain skills and abilities that may come in handy of course, as witnessed by my entrance,” she stated, referring to her ‘trick’ and gaining slight confidence now as she tossed her long, red hair over her shoulder in a flirty kind of way. And if Garius were not so aware of it, he might have been swayed by it. “Why else might I be here?”

  “Do so inform me,” Garius said, gesturing with his hand for her to continue and ignoring the sly comment.

  “I am called many things…most are unpleasant. For the sake of answering your question, I can walk through the very shadows themselves, as you witnessed firsthand. At a young age, I found that I was able to walk into and out of them with a bit of concentration. I can also defend myself with these,” Rose declared, pulling a pair of long daggers from her thigh-belted scabbards gracefully and quickly, spinning them about her fingers with an ease that made Garius eye the display intently.

  “I am aware of your prowess,” Garius stated in a cryptic way. He was referring to a report of the woman’s fight with a handful of would-be muggers the eve prior. One of Garius’s many emissaries had reported this to him and it stood out in his mind.

  This woman seems to be a viable candidate, despite her levity and arrogance, he thought as he stared hard into her eyes. Rose met his gaze and held it. She appears to be worthy, capable and may prove useful.

  “Some call me rogue or thief, but never to my face, for fear of retaliation. I am not dependent on only my special abilities to complete my assignments either, as I have certain…charms…that allow me to get what I want. “

  She’d let the words come out in an attempt to incite a reaction from the Inquisitor again. There was a long pause as Garius struggled to maintain his expressionless appearance. She was certainly eye-catching, he admitted and she had a quality that he could not pinpoint that made her attractive to him, aside from her appearance.

  “I do not doubt that, Rose Thorne…but that is certainly not what I am looking for at the moment,” Garius explained to her, tugging on his long, braided beard and standing from his seat.

  “Who said I was offering?” she simply replied, offering a hint of a smile.

  “I do believe that your skills may be of use,” Garius concluded, ignoring her jovial comment once more. “Keep close to your home in the coming hours.”

  “What exactly is in it for me?” Rose asked him.


  “In order to discourage this continued line of questioning, I can tell you that there will be a better than average sum of coin paid to the claimants of the Covenant of the Faceless Knights, as well as certain lodging benefits within the city,” Garius informed her. “The exact details will be given once the mission has begun.” Garius scratched the chin beneath his beard. “Be assured that the rewards will not disappoint.”

  Rose stood and bowed low to Garius, whether in jest or out of respect, he could not tell, though it appeared genuine. As she turned to leave, she winked at him, and strode out of the room. Had she stayed a moment longer, she might have noticed a smile begin to form on his lips that he quickly stifled. He silently admitted that the woman was not only full of personality, but was quite attractive in so many ways.

  He held the door open and watched her exit the room. He motioned to a servant for the next candidate to be summoned. At that moment he realized that, despite her attitude, he could not deny her abilities, especially what his spies told him of her. He would offer Rose a place amongst the chosen, he decided.

  He hoped the fact that he found her unusually charming in an odd sort of way did not affect his judgment in any capacity, but he admitted that he could not be sure. He hoped he was making the right choice.

  Aeldur called in his next candidate for evaluation. He had initially been reluctant to perform the interviews, but Rolin suggested he should take the dwarf’s place as he was more ‘gifted with words’, which was how the dwarf put it. Aeldur could barely hold back a smile as he thought of how verbally tactless the dwarf was.

  He held his breath as a tall, severely muscled, striking woman entered. Aeldur guessed correctly that she was a survivor from the Chansuk tribe, as evidenced by her looks and numerous tribal tattoos, which were unmistakably reflective of a traditional barbarian culture.

  “I am Aeldur,” the blonde half-elf stated. “I am a High Council representative and Captain of the Watch.” He tried to keep things professional. He could not deny the immediate fascination that he felt with this fierce and obviously stout woman who, for some reason, wore a haggard set of armor that revealed a lot of her muscular and toned body. He quickly regained his composure and spun away from her to refocus.

  “Are you willing to undergo the necessary investigation? It is both verbal and magical in nature.”

  “Magical!?”Saeunn exclaimed in a flustered tone. She paused a moment and looked into his eyes fiercely. “I do not trust any magic, elf,” she warned, crossing her arms over her chest defiantly.

  “Not quite magical,” he corrected himself, attempting to defuse her apparent anger. “We need to perform a sort of divination in order to ‘see’ your aura. It is a simple and normal part of the interview procedure, you understand.”

  Seated at the table within the room was a weathered old man, who wore symbols and iconography indicating his link to the Inquisition. Aeldur shook his head as if to tell the man to remain seated while he handled the situation.

  “I will not be doing that,” Saeunn boldly stated. “And if it is something I need to do…,” she let the warning hang, unable to finish the sentence. She detested magic of any kind, Aeldur could plainly see, but he could also see that she wanted very much to fight for the cause. But, before he could give the situation any more consideration, she spoke again.

  “I shall…yield to your trials… if it is the only way,” she suddenly admitted in a defeated tone. This surprised the half-elf, for he believed she would not submit without further enticement.

  She obviously wanted to help and seemed quite capable of handling herself in combat, he considered. He studied this aggressive combatant and weighed the decision whether or not to follow conventions, or to deny the woman altogether, knowing this inclination to be wrong. He knew her to be a Chansuk survivor and he was aware of their legendary prowess and honor. He dismissed his doubts and then made a judgment call.

  “Very well. Perhaps we might be able to skip the divination,” Aeldur reasoned. The barbarian seemed to calm a bit with that knowledge. He realized that the recent loss of both her home and her clan must have been devastating and intended to go easy on her.

  “I know you are a surviving member of the Chansuk tribe and your deeds are legendary as a people. I feel that there is no further need for interrogation here as I can clearly see where both your allegiance, and your heart, lies.” He explained his thought process aloud as if to justify it to himself, and to the older gentleman who remained silent and listened intently.

  Aeldur suddenly spun away from her, hoping he’d made the right decision and thinking himself a bit foolhardy.

  “You obviously mean to help?” Aeldur asked her.

  “Aye, of course I will help,” Saeunn stated very matter-of-factly. “I walk upon this realm in the name of The Champion, the god of war, with one purpose. And that is to slay any creature or threat to the good people of Wothlondia.”

  Aeldur eyed her and nodded in affirmation of her beliefs. She stood and clenched her fists in what was either an agitated or an excited way, he could not tell which.

  “I am good at one thing, half-elf,” Saeunn stated, eyeing the man with a grim, almost dangerous look, as she sat in a chair across from him.

  “Aeldur,” he said. “My name is Aeldur.”

  “Aeldur,” she echoed, removing her gaze from his. “I am willing to send any and all who threaten our ideals and our freedom to meet face to face with whatever god or demon lord they align themselves. I promise to send my foes and any who would threaten us to meet their makers!””

  Aeldur walked toward the door, impressed by her brutal honesty and undeniable courage. “I believe you,” he nodded, eyeing the sage who still sat quietly in his seat, hood drawn to bask his face in shadow. The sage made no indication as to his thoughts one way or the other, his attention focused on a leather-bound book.

  “Let’s hope that you can take instructions well,” he said to Saeunn as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Stay close to home as the bells toll into the morn…for we will send word.”

  Saeunn leapt from her chair and stood, leveling a gaze upon Aeldur that seemed to convey an almost childlike excitement. The half-elf could not help but stare at this exotic woman.

  “If you are chosen, then you will be told in detail of the quest that lies ahead,” Aeldur informed her as he opened the door. “You are free to go.” He wanted to be done with this particular interview for several reasons. Tiyarnon brushed past the woman as she exited and he looked curiously at Aeldur.

  “What of her?” he asked, perplexed.

  “You will have to trust me that she is a worthy candidate…and that she is unsettled by magic of all kinds. It is obviously off-putting to her,” Aeldur explained emphatically. “Based on her recent actions and the actions of her past, she is pure of heart and an outwardly fierce warrior.”

  Tiyarnon leveled a sidelong glance at him and back to the seated man.

  “I would choose her over many others,” he boldly continued. “Ultimately, it will be up to the Inquisitor, but I feel that you will meet no one more courageous or pure of heart.”

  Tiyarnon pondered those words, rubbing his bearded chin and eyeing the sage again, who sat unmoving in the chair, and who still hid his eyes from them both.

  “That is my opinion,” Aeldur preemptively stated as he thought Tiyarnon might begin to lecture him. He looked away from the high priest, who stared hard at his fellow council member, then back to the sage once more.

  “I have interviewed many a cut-throat today and not one, regardless of their aura, has the heart of that barbarian!” Aeldur reiterated, gesturing toward the empty door frame where she stood only seconds ago and trying to convince not only Tiyarnon, but himself, that he’d made the right call.

  “Sometimes these things can best be determined by our gut and not by divinations or magic,” Tiyarnon whispered. “I understand. I also understand the great legend of the Chansuk barbarians and agree with you in this matter.
Most barbarians are fearful of magic—even that of their shamans.”

  “I am pleased that you trust me so,” was all Aeldur could manage as he walked out of the room.

  “If trust were an issue, you would not be Captain of the Watch,” Tiyarnon mumbled under his breath. “I pray that we have both made the proper choices.”

  After the interviews were completed, some applicants lingered a while but others were gone just as quickly as they had arrived. Some cursed their luck for not having been chosen or for having been denied for one reason or another. Others openly threatened the High Council, mostly verbally, and left in a huff.

  Within a few tolling of the bells and before this eve’s end, the interviews were completely and unexpectedly finished. Almost ten score people had been interviewed and the decisions now had to be made.

  As each viable candidate left, they were told that the High Council might send for them and that they should remain visible and available so that they could be easily found.

  The High Council members met once again in the main assembly room. There were the nine previous members present, along with Garius and the two sages, as well as one other—a dark-haired and curious-looking high elf.

  “I appreciate you wanting my input,” Elec respectfully told Nimaira wearing a slightly bashful expression. Her beauty was noticeably intimidating to Elec, who had never seen such a stunning half-elf before. He had seen many half-elves and women in his life, but none so spectacularly beautiful. She seemed to have been blessed with the best qualities of both the humans and the elves!

  “Your input as a representative of Acillia is invaluable,” she encouraged him. “And the information that you have brought us concerning the goblinoid army and all of the theories of your people has helped our cause significantly.” She stood close to him and held his hand in a tender manner to reassure his comfort. “For if there is some great evil coordinating the now misguided orcs and goblins, then we must dispense with it quickly.”