The Chronicles of Lumineia: Book 01 - Elseerian

by Ben Hale

  How many would lose a father before the end? How many would grow up like him?

  For the first time he saw more to his own life than a desire to find his family. Settling deep into his gut, a steel resolve to defeat this enemy spread through him. No more children would go fatherless because of him.

  No more children would be alone because of him.

  A stirring nearby yanked him from his thoughts, and he darted to Liri’s side. Carefully, he carried her to the water's edge and cupped water in his hands to drip onto her. After several endless minutes she coughed and her eyes fluttered.

  "Er . . . wha' happened?" she slurred and tried to sit up, but he forced her to stay down.

  "You were knocked out. I fought until Jack—who wasn’t really dead—managed to surprise and kill him."

  "Really?" She was slowly coming to her senses, so he helped her sit up. "You didn’t kill him?" She seemed disappointed for some reason, but he smiled at her.

  "Nope, all Jack," he said, flashing a weak smile.

  Gratitude flooded him as he heard Siarra’s voice from close by. "Stupid thief." But her voice was kind, and he could tell she was smiling, too. Looking back, he saw Jack wiping her forehead with a wet cloth he’d torn from his shirt. Inexplicably, they both had goofy grins plastered across their features.

  "I don't feel the fear anymore," Liri said next to him, and her flashing smile lightened the grotto more than the fire ever could.

  In that moment, a feeling of intense hope surged through his frame, blossoming into a joy that brought tears to his eyes and wrapped his heart in a warm soft blanket. For the first time in weeks he was released from the cold chains of terror that Death had wrapped around him and he had to swallow at the overwhelming happiness.

  "Neither do I, Liri. Neither do I," Taryn exclaimed, joy coloring his tone.

  Liri suddenly started to laugh as elation flowed through her. Taryn, Siarra, and Jack joined her, all of them laughing. The light sound, restrained for so long, washed over each of them, cleansing the magical oppression that had yoked their emotions.

  In the back of Taryn's mind he knew they shouldn’t be laughing, that too many had died already. But the very lack of fear after feeling it for so long caused him to swell with joy. They had won, they had defeated the greatest assassin—and Liri and Siarra were still alive.

  The feeling of supreme happiness lasted only a few minutes before it began to dissipate, and each one found themselves remembering Siarra's words.

  Someone had sent Death—someone far more powerful.

  Chapter 25: Answers

  Trin leaned back against the bench and sighed. Constant stress and tension had left the crew on the verge of snapping with several sailors starting fights on the slightest pretext. Patrolling the ship with weapons drawn, Trin and Mae had been tasked with keeping the peace, a grueling and thankless effort. Their presence had gone a long way towards preventing bloodshed in the endless week since they'd seen the desolation of Terros.

  "Want to play a game?" Braon asked half-heartedly, already knowing the answer.

  "Nah, maybe later," Trin replied, too weary to consider concentrating. In just the last hour he'd prevented two stabbings, three beatings—although one sailor had broken his arm—and a man being thrown overboard—but that wasn’t the worst part. The worst part came from seeing the utter terror in each man's eyes . . . reflecting his own. Almost every moment he felt the desire to hurt someone else, with the exception of Mae and Braon, and it required all his willpower to stop others doing what he felt the desire to do. He’d given up wondering why he didn’t have any animosity towards Braon or Mae. He just didn’t have the energy to consider it further.

  Braon stooped and peered at the still unconscious form on the bunk beside them, "Any change?"

  Trin shook his head. "Maemi said he still didn’t wake up today." Looking down at the man, he wondered how much more he could endure before simply wasting away. He certainly looked worse than when they had found him. "I'll keep an eye on him tonight, you should get some sleep," Trin said to Braon, who had taken to watching over the woodsman.

  A rapid shuffle of booted feet above them signaled another conflict brewing and Trin listened for the sign that Mae had stopped it. The muted thud of a flat blade coming in contact with a head was followed by silence.

  "How soon until we get to Tallendale?" Braon asked, a tremor running through his voice. On the first day after Terros someone had tried to gut the boy, screaming that he was a spy. Since then he'd stayed below and out of sight.

  "One week," Trin said, but he knew Braon had only asked to make conversation. The boy was scared out of his mind, too, and Trin wished he could do something to reassure him.

  "Get some rest kid; I'll be back in a minute,” Trin said and stood up. Slipping through the door, he returned to the deck and joined Mae against the rail. She gave no sign that she heard him until he stood next to her.

  "You should be sleeping. You know I have the night watch," she said in low tone.

  "I wanted to get some air.”

  She didn’t reply and they stood facing south in silence, broken only when footsteps passed behind them. Both tensed and reached for their weapons, but the man didn’t stop so they relaxed and continued watching the black sky. The clouds deepened the darkness as they slowly covered the moon and all light was extinguished.

  Despite his exhaustion, Trin stayed by her side for several minutes, enjoying her company. It felt right when they were together, like the whole crew was against them and they could only count on each other. He knew it didn’t make any sense, but that was how he felt.

  Suddenly Mae tensed beside him and pointed out over the water. "Did you see that?"

  He looked where she pointed. "See what?"

  "There was a flash of something . . . like a flash of darkness?" Her tone carried confusion and doubt.

  "What do you mean—" He stopped when he saw a dark mist explode towards them. It moved so fast that before he could say anything else it blew right past them. And abruptly every shred of fear that had been suffocating their hearts . . . evaporated, disappeared so completely they both gasped at the gaping hole left behind. Without warning the natural hope that resides within all beings returned with a fury, surging through their souls like a warm spring wind, lifting their heels off the deck by its sheer intensity.

  Trin reeled as the feeling of hope and faith flooded his frame, and found himself gripping the rail for support—and he was not alone. All over the ship, hearts struggled to handle the tremendous outpouring of happiness as the chains of despair were stripped away. Some sailors started to cry, some collapsed to their knees in grateful prayer, and others simply laughed out loud.

  After several minutes, Trin finally got his emotions under control and opened his eyes. Mae stood next to him, just grinning and looking at him with a very non-Maemi expression . . . joy.

  Trin grinned right back, happy for the first time in weeks. A door slammed behind him and he turned to see the captain stride out of his quarters calling for information, but he was smiling as well.

  "Frey, what just happened? Trin, Mae, did you see anything? Does anybody know what is going on?"

  Several people called back that they had no idea what was happening until Mae stepped forward and happily explained what they had witnessed. Her explanation only seemed to cause more questions than answers, and Erix scowled. "So no one knows anything," he stated.

  "Pretty much, captain," Trin said with a trace of his normal sarcasm. (It was good to have that back.)

  The captain abruptly relaxed. "Well, whatever happened, it must have been good." He shrugged and looked at the two of them. "It doesn’t mean you are off duty for the night. Stay sharp." With that he shouted for Frey to stay awake in the nest and returned to his quarters.

  Mae chuckled. "Wow, I had forgotten what it was like to believe."

  "What do you mean?" Trin asked, cocking his head in confusion. The feeling of euphoria had already begun to
diminish, but the fear hadn't returned.

  "That evil feeling, it slowly took away every belief I had that things would work out."

  "Aaah, I'd lost all hope as well—and my sense of humor." He voice was full of anguish at losing the latter.

  She laughed out loud, probably the first time he had ever heard her open up so freely, and he discovered he liked it tremendously. He laughed in response, and they both returned to the rail to look south. The feeling of exhaustion was creeping back, but he fought it. Leaning against Mae, he keenly felt the absence of tension from moments before and the blanket of peace that had replaced it. A board creaked beside him, and Braon appeared next to him.

  "It's safe to come up . . . right?" the young man asked tentatively.

  Trin smiled and nodded. "I think so."

  Braon sighed deeply. "Good. It's nice to have fresh air for once."

  The three of them stood together and stared over the dark water for over an hour, each of them reluctant to let the moment end. Braon finally broke the stillness. "Sleep well, Trin, I know I will." With that he left and went below, his steps much lighter than before.

  "I should go too," Trin said sadly, knowing he was very tired.

  Mae nodded and turned away. It seemed her usual reserve had returned, and Trin felt a sharp pang of sorrow to see the moment pass. Descending the stairs he went to his bunk and fell asleep in seconds, slumbering peacefully for the first time in a long time.

  A muffled cry came from above and he awoke groggily, taking a few seconds to remember what had happened. Someone yelled again, a cry of warning, and he rolled out of his bunk, cursing as he smashed his knee. Roughly he shoved his boots on and fumbled for his weapons before bolting up onto deck to see what the commotion was about.

  Stepping through the door, he was surprised to see it still night, without even a hint of dawn. Silver light from the moon cascaded over everything and Trin wondered when the clouds had cleared. Stifling a yawn, he asked the time from a passing sailor.

  "Just after midnight," he replied before hurrying to the port rail.

  "Wait—what's going on?" Trin demanded and followed him to the rail to look south. It only took him a minute to see what the fuss was about.

  In the distance, a wave of water—impossibly only a few feet wide—streaked towards them at incredible speed.

  "By the gods. . .” someone breathed beside him, and then he saw it, too.

  There was someone on top of the wave, riding it towards them. It had to be magic, and whoever it was had to be powerful. After several moments, the person came close enough for them to see in the moonlight and it became clear that it wasn’t a person . . . it was persons—apparently headed in their ship’s direction.

  “Get ready for a battle mates! We got a mage comin’ at us!”

  Men jumped to prepare for battle but Trin stayed where he was. There was something familiar about them . . .

  Mae suddenly spoke excitedly beside him. “It’s Taryn and Liri!”

  “Are you certain?” Trin asked, and she gave him a disapproving look.

  “Never doubt an elf’s vision,” she said.

  He grinned widely. “Captain," he called, "they are friends; don’t worry about a battle.”

  The captain stood up from where he’d been stringing a bow. “What? Who are they?”

  Trin grinned wider. “It’s Taryn and Liriana.”

  Erix guffawed and called off his men before eagerly coming to see for himself. Trin looked back at the incoming wave and saw they had gotten much closer. Now he could make out four individuals riding a log at the crest of the wave. A female elf stood sideways on the precarious ride, her long blond hair billowing behind her, while Taryn, Liri, and an unknown man straddled the log behind her.

  Within another minute, the magical wave carried the log right onto the ship, causing water to crash over everyone. Taryn was on his feet in an instant and jumping towards Mae, picking her up and embracing her warmly.

  “Maemi! It's so good to see you!”

  Others stepped forward to greet the old friends but the female elf that had been standing on the log called out, her loud voice carrying over the ship, “Captain of this ship, we have no time to waste, how fast can your vessel go without coming apart?”

  Erix responded with pride, “As fast as the wind can push her.”

  She didn’t smile but one eyebrow lifted upward. “We shall see.” With that she faced the front of the ship, leaned back, and took a deep breath. Something intangible seemed to gather around her and everyone warily took a step back. Abruptly she took a step forward and slammed her foot down at the same time she swung her arms forward in a ringing clap. Instantly the wind began to pick up, stronger and stronger. Within seconds it howled and screamed to push the sail forward, forcing the thick mast to bend as it strained to transfer the momentum into the large ship. The Sea Dancer protested loudly but began to crash up and down as its hull split the water.

  “Tie her down mates,” the captain called, exultation evident in his voice as he accepted the challenge. “We’ve got a gale to ride!”

  The sailors jumped to their tasks and before Trin could ask what was going on, Taryn turned to the elven maid and exclaimed dryly, “So . . . I see what you meant about having more power.” He swept a hand that indicated both their ride and the high wind.

  She smiled and relaxed for the first time. “It feels good to be unbound.”

  Trin stepped forward, speaking loudly over the howl of the wind. “I take it nothing new happened with you guys . . . right?”

  Liri laughed. “Not exactly. But let’s go below so we can talk.”

  The reunited friends led the way to the galley, the only place large enough for all of them. As soon as they were as comfortable as possible and introductions had been made (including Braon), Taryn spoke first. He began where he and Liri had left the ship and explained what had happened up through meeting the Oracle.

  “You’re the Oracle?” Mae interrupted, her tone sharp.

  “And Taryn’s sister,” Liri said with a smile.

  Trin’s jaw wasn’t the only one to fall open, but before he could respond Taryn jumped in, “Half-sister, but let me finish before you ask any more questions.”

  Without waiting for a response, he continued with their tale, describing each battle with the figure of Death and their eventual triumph in the hidden grotto.

  “After we buried Denithir, we thought we’d camp for the night, but sometime after midnight . . .” He glanced at the Oracle and tilted his head, inviting her to finish.

  “After midnight, the rest of my magic was freed, and I became whole. It didn’t take me long to sense the extent of what is happening in Lumineia and who sent the assassin. Now we must hasten to Azertorn. Every second we delay, lives will be lost.”

  Trin started to ask the question but Braon beat him to it, “Who sent him—you mean it isn’t over?”

  The Oracle smiled kindly at him. “No, it's not over. Death was just the forerunner of the war.”

  “Who was this assassin?” Braon asked, his expression calculating.

  "I can’t explain everything right now, but I will say this. Death was sent to do two things. Kill specific people to ensure victory, and spread fear—”

  “—that would divide people so they would be easier to destroy.” Braon finished her statement with a nod to himself, and she looked at him with newfound respect.

  “Very good.” She appraised him for a moment and then cocked her head to one side. “You have a very . . . unique power, young man. I've never seen anything like it.” She spoke softly, as if she didn’t quite understand what his power was.

  Jack spoke for the first time. “Is there anything in here to eat?” he queried, seemingly oblivious to the conversation as he looked at the counters of the galley.

  Siarra lips thinned, but Trin pointed to a drawer. “Meat and bread should be in there, if you want it.”

  Jack nodded and, finding the food, dug in without
another word.

  “How did you know where we were?” Mae asked.

  The Oracle smiled. “We weren’t actually looking for you, but we were looking for the others. I could feel a multitude of people heading west, many of them mages, and we wanted to catch up with them. When we got close, Taryn and Liri recognized this ship so we came to you.” She leaned in. “Why are there so many people heading west anyway?”

  Trin grimaced at the memory of the carnage at Terros. Briefly he described what they had seen. By the time he finished, they'd turned pale.

  “Terros is gone? I can't believe it.” The Oracle seemed shocked and shook her head in confusion. “Something isn’t right. They weren’t ready . . . wait, that might give us more time.” She sighed, and for the first time Trin noticed how worn they all looked.

  “Let’s get some sleep," he said firmly, ignoring his craving to know more. "I’m sure we can figure it out in the morning.”

  Siarra yawned. "We should get to the coast of the elven homeland by tomorrow, or is that today?"

  "Today of course," Jack exclaimed through a mouthful of food, and she glanced at him in irritation. Trin wondered who he was and where he fit into the picture. They hadn't been very clear about where he'd come from. Reluctantly, Trin ignored the impulse to ask and stood up. "I think it's time for bed, then."

  Each of them nodded, so Trin led the new visitors to bunks or hammocks where they could sleep. As they settled into some spare beds, he nudged the Oracle. “Mind if I ride a wave like that sometime?”

  She chuckled tiredly. “Sure,” she said as she lay down.

  Before he even left the room, she was asleep, along with the rest of their party. Trin yawned and returned to his own bunk, expecting to fall asleep right away. But one thought kept repeating itself until he finally fell into a fitful sleep.

  The assassin had been killed, but who destroyed Terros?

  Chapter 26: Healing

  Taryn kicked his heels into the horse again, urging his mount even faster. Beside and around him Siarra, Liri, Trin, Mae, Jack, and Braon, who was a surprisingly good rider, urged their animals faster as well. The only other person with them was the unconscious man from the ship, whom Siarra had insisted be brought along. He lay strapped to a spare animal behind them. As Taryn rode, he couldn’t imagine how they'd gone so far, so fast. Less than twenty-four hours ago they had been over a week's voyage from Tallendale, but the magical wind had pushed the Sea Dancer faster than it seemed possible. They'd sailed right past the refugees’ ships like they'd been anchored and arrived at an elven port that would give them the fastest route to Azertorn.