The Reclaiming
The
Reclaiming
The Keepers Saga: Volume Two
Written By
Dillon Patrick McNaight
© 2017 Dillon Patrick McNaight
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 0692867953
ISBN 13: 9780692867952
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A Special Thanks, a note from the Author
Maps
Chapter 1 The Shrine of Eillea
Chapter 2 The Tutelage
Chapter 3 Attack on Greenglen
Chapter 4 A Night for Celebration
Chapter 5 The Golden Army
Chapter 6 The Crossing
Chapter 7 The Road to Riverton
Chapter 8 City on the River
Chapter 9 A Family Divided
Chapter 10 An Unlikely Union
Chapter 11 Mother of the Trueborns
Chapter 12 An Act of Treason
Chapter 13 Forgotten Depths
Chapter 14 Eve of Departure
Chapter 15 The Road to War
Chapter 16 The Reclaiming
Chapter 17 Rebirth
Chapter 18 The After
Chapter 19 The Long Fall
Chapter 20 The Harlot, and the Soldier
A SPECIAL THANKS, A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
I would like to give special thanks to two people who have helped me tremendously with this book. The first would be to my mother, Julie Parkhurst, for always believing in my dreams ever since I was a child. The second would be to a dear friend of mine, Samantha Miller, who edited Volume Two from start to finish. She is also the inspiration to a special character in the book known as Cami, who is modeled after her real-life dog. Thanks again for helping me on this journey, and I hope you, the reader, will enjoy the second volume of the Keepers Saga, The Reclaiming. Enjoy.
MAPS
CHAPTER 1
The Shrine of Eillea
In the entire history of the Ela, their creator, Eillea the Beautiful, only traveled to Kranos twice, unlike the other gods Kaidian and Alvane. The first one who the heavenly goddess chose to reveal herself to was none other than the Shaman, and leader of the Ela, Erelorn, almost three hundred years before the Separation. He had only just recently been elected the first leader of the newly unified tribes of Ela. The goddess wanted to meet the man responsible for uniting her people under one banner, and was curious about the progression of his power.
Erelorn, then fifty years old and still very young, was awakened from his bed within Brethiel by a sudden voice inside his head.
“My dear Erelorn,” said the heavenly soft voice, “hear my words.”
Slightly startled, Erelorn didn’t know whether to reply out loud, or inside his head.
After deciding, he replied, “Hello? Who is this, and how do you speak to me inside of my mind? Is this a dream?”
“This is not a dream,” replied the voice, “look to your window…”
Erelorn sat up, and looked over to his window. He was confused as he saw nothing but the rays of the morning sun gleaming through the window. Just before he was about to shake his head and respond, a solitary white dove landed on his windowsill.
“Do you see it?” asked the voice.
Erelorn, still confused, replied, “Yes, I believe so, there is a white dove. Is this what I am supposed to see? Who are you? What does this mean? I do not understand.”
“Soon, you will, but first, you have to let me in.”
“Let you in? Are… are you the bird?”
“Let me in and you will see.”
Reluctantly, Erelorn stood up, walked over to the window, and slowly opened it as the white dove stood perched on the sill. As he opened the window just a few inches, the dove ducked under and flew inside. As soon as it entered the room, it suddenly transformed in the blink of an eye into a massive, beautiful white tiger. Erelorn stumbled over his feet at the sight of the transformation, falling backwards. The tiger gracefully landed on the floor of the Shaman’s room, and turned to face him. Startled, Erelorn scrambled until his back was against the wall.
“Are you frightened?” asked the voice, as the elegant white tiger stood still and stoic.
Erelorn didn’t quite know how to respond, but he mumbled out, “Sh… should I be?”
She continued to stare at him as she answered, “I need to know that as leader of the Ela, courage runs through your veins, allowing you to face the unexplainable, and unpredictable. To show me that these qualities control your heart and mind, you must prove it to me. Do so, and all your questions will be answered. Meet me on the other side of Kwetheil Bay, alone, and tell no one of what it is you are doing. Just inside the forest, you will find a small meadow of purple flowers. If you are there by dusk tonight, then I will reveal myself.”
Before Erelorn could respond in any way, the majestic tiger suddenly erupted into a cloud of butterflies, which all escaped out the open window, and disappeared into the morning sky. The Shaman was left speechless as speckles of white dust from their wings lingered in the rays of morning sun. As he stood up, he walked towards the spot where the mysterious and magical tiger stood mere seconds ago, and ran his hand through the specks of dust. He tried to decipher what had just happened, and wondered if the voice came from the heavens. He, however, did not suspect that the voice belonged to the creator of the Ela herself. He didn’t know if the heavenly presence’s intentions were for good, or for ill. He was curious in nature as it was, and with the mystery of the dove’s transformation into a tiger only added to his curiosity. He knew he needed answers, and decided to do as the voice commanded. As he moved to get dressed, he heard a soft knock at his bedroom door.
“My Lord,” said a boy’s voice from the other side of the door, “are you awake yet? I heard a commotion.”
Erelorn paused in his dressing as he replied, “Everything is alright Malvine, I just knocked something over, that’s all.”
The boy, a young Ela that served as the Shaman’s squire, said, “Alright then, well, when you are ready, I have the day’s agenda prepared for you. You are meeting with the Skyborn chief today to discuss the expansion of his territory.”
The Shaman had nearly forgotten his meeting with the arrival of the mysterious voice from the heavens.
He quickly replied as he continued to dress, “I am sorry Malvine, but I am afraid that I must reschedule our meeting, something urgent has recently come to my attention. and I must travel for Kwetheil this morning. Ready my Phalanx, I leave immediately.”
“What was that my Lord?” asked the boy.
“It’s alright,” said Erelorn, “you can come in.”
The boy opened the door and walked in, eager to assist his master.
“I said that I must leave immediately for Kwetheil on an urgent matter. Ready my Phalanx, for I leave in no later than twenty minutes.”
Malvine replied with worry, “But my Lord, you have already rescheduled with the chief three times… he will not be pleased.”
Erelorn paused in his preparation, and turned towards the boy, “Well, reschedule for a fourth time… now go.”
“But…”
“GO!” said Erelorn in a slightly raised voice. The boy served him well as his squire, but was stubborn at times.
Malvine stuttered as he replied, “Yes, my Lord, right away. Your horse will be saddled and ready for departure in ten minutes. I will talk to the chief once you are gone.”
“That’s more like it my boy,” said the Shaman with a smile.
Once the boy was gone, the thought of the woman’s voice came back to his focus as he continued to prepare for his journey.
Erelorn resided in Brethiel, the capital of the Ela. He lived in a fairly modest home, high in one of the many golden-brown Oaklings near the harbor that will one day be known as the Golden Harbor. Kwetheil was nothing more than a fishing village at the time, and rested at the end of a shallow harbor south of the mountain known as Eagle’s Peak. It was an entire day’s journey from the capital to the village, and Erelorn had to leave as soon as possible if he was going to make it there by nightfall, as the heavenly voice commanded. Once he was dressed in his traveling leathers, he tied his long golden hair into a knot. All he prepared was three days’ worth of provisions. He did not need a weapon of any kind, for he possessed the ability to control the elements. If there was an enemy that dared to confront him, he would easily be able to defeat them. Once ready, he said a quick prayer to his god Eillea, and asked for her guidance in meeting with the mysterious being before he left his room high above the forest floor. His dwelling was roughly one hundred feet above the ground, and was independent of the surrounding Oaklings and other dwellings. The staircase winding down from his home was only wide enough for one person at a time. Once he reached the forest floor, he was met by Malvine and his Phalanx stallion named Pheydra.
After Erelorn thanked Malvine for his cooperation, he mounted Pheydra and began to ride north through the Great Forest towards the fishing village. He was still unclear exactly where he was supposed to meet the fabled voice, or if it was even real and not a figment of his imagination. After several miles, the Shaman began to question his quest more and more. Just when he almost had himself convinced to turned around, he saw something rather peculiar. Several spring leaves left their Oakling masters prematurely, and fell towards the ground, but before they landed on the soft dirt, they remained airborne, and began to spiral in a circle. The leaves then moved north as if they were leading the way. The once again curious Shaman’s attention was then drawn upwards, as several birds of varying species flew in the same direction of the airborne leaves. With his spirits renewed, Erelorn continued towards the village of Kwetheil in the direction of the leaves.
After more than eight hours, the Shaman arrived at the shallow bay beneath Kwetheil. He could not be bothered to stop and speak with the locals, so he placed the hood of his cloak over his head, and traveled around the village unnoticed. With nightfall only a few hours away, Erelorn concentrated on what the woman said in his head, and about the meadow of purple flowers where they were to meet. He has traveled nearly every inch of the Great Forest, but has not ventured north of Kwetheil Bay often, and has no memory of a meadow like the voice described. He searched up and down the rocky coastline of the bay, and as dusk was nearly upon him, decided to stop his search, and turn to prayer.
“My Lady Eillea,” said the Shaman as he closed his eyes, “I do not know who this being is that can speak to me in my thoughts, nor do I know her intentions, but I ask that if it is your will, that you reveal the way. Show me where to go, or tell me to turn around. I will do whatever it is you ask of me.”
Suddenly, barley moments after his final words, the Shaman felt a sensation of warmth and love fill his body. The feeling was like nothing he has felt before, as if it was coming from the very heavens he prayed to.
The woman’s voice then returned, but this time, it did not speak inside him mind, but out loud, and for all to hear, “All you had to do was ask, and believe that I exist.”
Erelorn was stunned by the voice’s response. Could the mysterious voice belong to none other than Eillea the Beautiful? Was she the one who visited him earlier this morning? Before the Shaman could even finish his internal line of questioning, his attention was drawn to the trees in front of him. As if by magic, the trees began to slightly quake in an unnatural movement. Erelorn was fixated by the swaying and convulsing trees. Suddenly, several of them split in two, straight down to the roots. Then, like a noodle to water, the spliced trees began to shrivel towards the ground, decreasing in size and mass. As the boiled portions of foliage met the green ground beneath them, they all melted together, and became one with the earth. One by one, several more trees gave in to the magical reformation of the forest, creating a sort of road or pathway for the Shaman to pass over. Erelorn then instinctively began to walk towards the newly created path, as its course continued to carve its way through the thick forest.
The Shaman continued for almost a mile, before his path opened to a meadow of stunningly beautiful purple flowers. As he reached the meadow, he turned around to gaze upon the sculpted path he traveled down, only to see that it had corrected itself, returning to the former solidity of the forest. Astonished by the magic, Erelorn then turned back around to face the center of the unnaturally placed meadow of dreamlike essence. His fixation distracted his attention as he felt a slight flutter of wings next to his cheek. Slightly startled, he turned to see a pure white butterfly flapping its fragile wings. As he gazed upon its graceful beauty, he noticed that several more of equal grace and whiteness fluttered all around him, just as they did in his room earlier that morning. Soon, he was completely surrounded by hundreds of silk butterflies. They lingered around him for only a moment before they left, and floated towards the center. More traveled to the meadow from all around the tree line until there was a large cluster of white. They seemed to combine with each other, and form the shape of a person. The Shaman couldn’t take his eyes off the spectacular display of magic right before his very eyes. To his right, he noticed several animals of varying species congregating, also watching the formation of white butterflies. It didn’t take long until every last one was consumed by the outline of the being. Once it became clearer, it seemed to take the shape of a woman, with long flowing hair around her glowing and indistinguishable body.
Erelorn finally gained the nerve to speak as he said, “Who… are… you? How do you possess this power?”
The woman’s voice replied, but this time out loud, instead of inside his head, “I am the ground you stand on. I am the trees around you. I am the creatures that surround us. I am… She.”
“Forgive me,” he said as he began to walk closer to the illuminated shape of a woman, “for I do not understand.”
The woman did not reply, but instead began to allow her heavenly shape to become clear, revealing her true identity. Her pale face is flawless, and bestows upon it a beauty that is not known in this world. Her eyes are a pale blue, and almost gray in color. Her long and wavy hair is silver in color with a tint of blue, matching the color of her eyes. Her white dress is surprisingly simple, and seems as if it is part of her body, blending in with her pale white skin. The bottom of her dress drapes over the ground beneath her feet, and blends in with the purple flowers, almost as if it was a part of them. Her skin sparkles in the fading sunlight, as if a thousand diamonds the size of sand covered her flawless body. The same warmth the Shaman felt earlier in the forest once again radiates off the heavenly woman.
She smiled as she finally said, “I am the creator of all you see around you. You might know me by the name Eillea the Beautiful, for that… is who I am.”
Erelorn’s knees began to shake as the identity of the woman was revealed. He couldn’t control them as they buckled, causing him to fall forward.
He stuttered as he bowed down, “Mmy… my Lady Eillea. Forgive me, for I did not know.”
Eillea slowly walked towards the Shaman, though it looked more like she was floating as the bottom of her dress flowed over the flowers, becoming one with each it touched. Her long and silky white hair wisps around her body as she moves in an orchestrated manner.
She stopped within just a few feet of the kneeling Shaman, and said, “You do not need to show such a sign of respect, for I already know what is in your heart, my son. You believed in me when many others didn’t. I knew your heart before you were even born.”
Erelorn struggled to contain his nerves as he slowly looked up to gaze upon his god.
Eillea continued, “Do you think that your powers were randomly given to you? Once your heart
gave its first beat inside your mother’s womb, I knew that it had greatness, and kindness in it. That’s when I knew that you would be the one to lead our people against a darkness that will one day try and claim this world for its own. I bestowed upon you a power that will one day be used to vanquish that evil.”
“You… you gave me my powers?” stuttered Erelorn as he struggled to stand up. “That explains everything. Forgive me for not knowing. What is this evil you speak of?”
A subtle sense of sadness overcame the god as she replied, “I am afraid that I do not yet know. My visions come to me in pieces, without clarification or meaning. All I can tell you is that one of the Jailors will betray us, and give a great power to a King of the Drykans. Who and when, I do not know, but he will turn his gaze upon the Ela and Kain. You will join forces when the time comes, and vanquish the Drykan King’s evil from this world.”
“But my Lady,” he replied, “the Drykans have no King, nor have they ever.”
Eillea continued, “Not now, but someday they will, and that is the day you will know. Watch him carefully, but tell no one of your knowledge, nor that it was me that gave you your gift. This you must promise me.”
“I swear it with my life, my Lady,” humbly replied the Shaman.
“That is not all,” she added, “I saw a vision of what is to come of the Drykans who were loyal to the King. They were being exiled from Kranos by the Drykan’s new leader. They will be sent to the Frozen Isles in the north. You must go there and make sure that they never again rise against the Ela, or the Kain. It saddens my heart to bestow such a responsibility on you, my child.”
“Do not,” replied Erelorn with pride, “for I was born to serve your will. If it is the Frozen Isles you want me to travel to, then they will become my new home. But my Lady, how will this be possible? If you say that you do not know when this will all take place, then what happens if old age takes me first?”
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