Quarterstars Awakening

by David L. McDaniel

  Jaerick paused to reflect some more and then went to his knees in between the two benches. Traelyn pulled her knees up to her chest keeping him from getting too close. “Still you tease,” he laughed.

  “Yes, I do,” she said as she dropped her knees and leaned forward off the bench and wrapped her arms around him.

  Jaerick held her tight and felt her tremble as she did so many years ago. When he pulled away, he saw that she was crying and he wiped the tears off of her cheek.

  “What are we going to do?” he asked, but no answer came. “I think I have allowed this to become quite a mess,” he said, pulling away slightly to look into her eyes.

  “It has been a mess for quite some time, Jaerick. You allowed your father and his advisors to control you into this. You should have made your father keep the promise that he made to my father and me. You were weak, and you paid the price.”

  “You are right, I was weak, but I was just too young and afraid.”

  “I had your child, a child you never saw, a child that has long since lived a full life and passed away. No wonder I was filled with hate for all elves. Even though I couldn’t remember anything by the time the baby was born, I was still filled with a rage, a rage that I could not place until now.”

  “I am sorry. Traelyn. I wish this could have worked out better.”

  “So do I, but it didn’t and now we are paying the price for it.”

  “I will get us out of this, and we will finish our life together. You are so young and beautiful again. We can make it right for the rest of our lives.”

  Traelyn grabbed Jaerick and held him tight while he kissed her neck. “I do not know how long this form will last Jaerick. I am feeling weak already.”

  “We can fix this. I will find a way to make it permanent. I will get us out of here and we can finish our lives.”

  As Jaerick finished speaking, the carriage came to a stop and a few seconds later the door was unlocked and opened by an elven warrior. After the door was opened, he took two steps back and went to one knee. “Forgive me, my king,” he said looking to the ground.

  “Forgive you for treason? I cannot forgive this. What is wrong with you?”

  “Naemyn is our leader, not you,” he said, head hung low in shame.

  “Give me your sword,” The warrior stood up without a word, unsheathed his sword, and handed it to Jaerick hilt first. “Kneel,” Jaerick commanded as he lifted the sword to take the head of his disloyal warrior.

  “Jaerick no!” Traelyn screamed, stopping him before he brought his swing downward upon the warrior’s head.

  Jaerick turned around and looked at her incredulous. “What?”

  “Do not do this. It is not necessary,” she pleaded.

  “He is a traitor, but I will do as you ask.”

  Jaerick lowered the sword and for the first time he looked around at his surroundings and saw that they were at the fabled Lake Quarterstar, where legend told was the landing place of the 4th Quarterstar. He looked at the calm deep blue water as it lapped at the soft dark brown soil and was in awe of the beauty and splendor of the area. The lake was bigger than he had imagined as its shores stretched out far beyond to what he could see and the massive evergreens towered to the sky from massive peaked mountains.

  “I had no idea,” he said as the warrior got up from his knees and ran away.

  “Let him go,” Traelyn said after Jaerick took two steps to chase him.

  “I suppose you are right. Where can he go?” Jaerick laughed. Shaking his head, he went to Traelyn and helped her out of the carriage. As soon as her feet touched the ground, the earth began to shake violently. The carriage bounced up and down and side to side. Jaerick grabbed Traelyn and ran away from the carriage and towards the lake.

  The shaking became increasingly violent. The water on the lake jumped straight up into the sky, but then without warning a beast flew out of the water and hovered in mid-flight fifty feet above the water.

  “A dragon?” Jaerick mused aloud, shocked, as he watched a massive dragon with green and yellow scales spread its wings, covering the entire lake. As it flapped its massive wings, the trees swayed from the gusts, and the lake water roiled underneath and splashed upwards.

  Traelyn walked to the edge of the water as if in a trance. “I know you,” she said staring at the dragon.

  “Yes you do. I am a manifestation of your Kronn. I have been by your side all of this time. I am also a manifestation of your father’s Kronn. I protect the Quarterstar Shard that rests in this lake from harm, by using your Kronn. I will continue to protect this shard until the time comes for their rejoining. However, your time here is almost complete. You have put into motion the part of the prophecy that will combat the fire witch from taking this realm for hers. Your children will fight her, but the future is yet unwritten. The only thing that is certain is that you have now initiated the Quarterstars Awakening.”

  Jaerick, hearing this conversation, stepped up next to Traelyn, and took a knee before the great beast and then stood up. “Will I bring the elven people to this land?”

  “You will begin the process very soon, and I will welcome you. If you succeed in your endeavor, your race will build a beautiful floating palace above this lake. However, there is still much to be done before you move forward.”

  As the dragon finished speaking, Traelyn felt a sharp pain in her back. When she screamed, Jaerick turned and saw his traitorous warrior behind her with his dagger in her back. Traelyn fell forward, but before Jaerick could respond, a spray of water hit all three of them, knocking them down, followed by a sucking sound. The elf dropped his bloody dagger as his body lifted off the ground and continued through a stream of water leading to the dragon’s mouth. The dragon opened its mouth slightly and swallowed him.

  “What have you done?” Jaerick shouted.

  “I am completing the prophecy for you,” the dragon said.

  “She will die!”

  “Yes, she will, but she is not completely done yet.”

  “What do you want us to do?”

  “Go home, go back to your kingdom and she and I will do the rest.”

  “I don’t know how to get back.” Jaerick said as he put his hand behind Traelyn’s neck, propping her up.

  “It’s fine, Jaerick. It is time,” she whispered.

  “No it isn’t. I love you! We can fix you,” Jaerick said and then looked at the dragon. “I need to get her back, we can help her.”

  “As you wish,” the dragon said before turning into a massive tornado above the lake that quickly sucked up Jaerick and Traelyn into its midst.

  Chapter 33

  The men hacked and slashed at the tangle for hours to no avail. At times, they felt that they had penetrated some of the thick forest jungle only to watch the vines, trees and foliage grow back thicker and stronger than before. Voll and Urish grew weary of watching their soldiers’ futility and moved down from their hill to get a closer look. Voll jumped off of his horse and walked over to the cluster where it had once opened and grabbed one of the vines. As he did so, it wrapped around his hand and thorns began to grow out of the stalk. Voll ripped his hand out of the vine before it was able to take a strong enough hold.

  “This is magic. I think the only thing that can beat this is magic,” Voll said, clearly frustrated.

  “We have nothing to counter this, yet we cannot quit and leave now. There must be another way,” Commander Urish said.

  Voll mounted his horse and the two commanders had just rode away to look for another way, when the vines began to move quickly and noisily until they opened up. Voll was about to issue a command to rush the opening when elves, mounted o
n horseback, charged through the opening. They slowed their horses as they rode into the meadow without attacking, spotted Voll and Urish and then formed a half circle in front of them as hundreds of human warriors ran to the defense of their leaders.

  Voll saw Naemyn, raised his hand, and spun his mount around, signaling to his warriors not to attack. The warriors saw the signal, but pressed forward, itching to attack and decimate such a small force. Once they calmed down, Naemyn nudged his horse forward and stopped just in front of the two commanders.

  “What do you want Naemyn?” Voll shouted when he stopped his approach.

  “It is now time for you to leave,” he said shifting his weight in his saddle.

  “We are not leaving. Our forces outnumber yours, and we will storm your city, your fortress, and kill every elf if we have to.”

  Naemyn smiled at the threat. “There is no need. Our king and your Great Mother have left us. I do not know why, but they abandoned us just when both of us needed them the most.”

  “Where did they go? I think you killed them and are trying to throw us off.”

  “I am employing no such tactic. They went west. I do not know why. Perhaps you can take your force, follow them, and ask them. There are elves crawling around an ancient forest near a lake. Maybe you can satisfy your wanton lust by killing them instead. They are merely a barbarian and crude race of elves, very similar to you humans. Your men will enjoy the senseless slaughter.”

  “I don’t have time for your games Naemyn.” Voll spun his horse sideways and pointed to the end of the meadow at the barn that his men had under guard. “See that barn? We have a few dozen elves hostage inside. If you do not open this forest we will burn it down and kill everyone inside.”

  Naemyn feigned shock and then shook his head. “That is unfortunate. However, it is within reason to accept a handful of innocent deaths to save thousands within the city and fortress. However, I do beg mercy for their lives,” Naemyn said with spitting hubris.

  Naemyn’s smug and arrogant attitude angered Voll. Daegon did not entrust him with his army only to stop short of the elven capital. “Kill them, kill them all!” Voll commanded.

  Within seconds, swords, spears, and arrows were clashing and flying throughout the battlefield. Naemyn turned his horse and headed back towards the tangled forest. Voll began to chase, but the elves charged forward and engaged him, blocking his path. Voll, Urish and their men could only watch as the forest again opened up, allowing Naemyn to escape before closing behind him.

  The elves were outnumbered and had no defense to protect themselves from the massive onslaught of angry war-hungry men overwhelming them. Each one fought valiantly and took a fair number of humans with them before they died. Voll turned around and saw that Commander Urish was already in trouble being attacked by two elves on horseback. Voll charged his steed back towards them. The two elves were on each side of Commander Urish’s mount slashing to penetrate his armor or knock him off of his horse.

  Voll spurred his mount and took the arm of one of the elves as his arm was extended cracking Urish’s skull. The elf screamed in pain as he fell off of his horse. The other elf, still engaging Urish, plunged his sword in the commander’s side and Urish went limp and slipped off of his horse. Seeing one of their commanders die, two spearmen broke their engagement and plunged their spears into the elf’s side. When the elf fell off of his horse the spearmen took turns stabbing the elf leaving him a pool of blood.

  Voll spun around to look for another target, but his men were surrounding three more elves that were no longer on their horses. He smiled and let them take their frustrations out on the last of Naemyn’s small guard.

  Their small victory was short lived, as before the last elf of the squad took their last breath they all heard a loud thump coming from the north. Voll feared the worst. There was no mistaking that it was a catapult shot, but what would be raining down from the sky upon them?

  It did not take long to get his answer, and his worst fears were confirmed.

  Flying high above them was a gargantuan sized black swirling ball. The ball landed directly behind him in the middle of the valley, with a loud thud as it hit the ground. The swirling stopped and eight long spindly legs popped out of the black circle and a giant spider the size of a dragon finished materializing.

  Smelling human flesh, the spider took a few steps towards it prey. The skin on the bulb and back of the spider looked to be forming still as it crept one leg at a time towards the humans. They did not immediately run as they looked upon the creature in fear and awe. When the spider got within a hundred feet of them, they could see the movement and shimmering upon its back was not the spider still forming from the spell, but rather thousands of baby spiders coming to life.

  The giant spider shook its body and its small offspring took to the air. At first, it looked like a puff of dust was shaken off of the back of the spider, but now the small pumpkin sized spiders crawled towards the men with great speed. The men then realized their fatal error in hesitating and ran back towards the hill to escape the spider onslaught.

  When the spiders caught up to the men, the spiders crawled up the backs of the men and wrapped their spindly legs around the head and neck of their victims, and punctured their exposed necks with their poisonous fangs. To catch the men that were further ahead, the spiders shot webs at their feet, knocking the men to the ground so they could catch them. Men screamed in terror as the poison coursed through their veins.

  Once the small spiders were released, the giant spider stretched its legs and shook again. This time, giant dragon-like wings sprouted off of its back and it jumped up into the air and took flight. It took two low flying passes of the valley before it started spitting venom out of its mouth, splattering its victims below it. The venom ate through the leather armor as if was melting butter. The men screamed in agony as the venom worked its way from their armor to their skin, eating it to the bone and beyond.

  Voll ran his horse past them and up to the top of the hill to somehow protect the remaining force from becoming consumed by this terrible enemy.

  “Aegyn now is the time. I need you now!” he shouted into the air as he rode, hoping that she could hear his thoughts from afar.

  “I cannot. The elves have me prisoner,” she responded.

  “Call your mother then. We need help!”

  “She will not be happy with us.”

  “I do not care. She needs to free you so you can save me.”

  “As you wish,” Aegyn responded. “You will not like the outcome.”

  * * *

  Naemyn entered the lower side of the cavern on horseback. Aegyn rested, curled up in a tight ball. The cavern smelled of acidic smoke as he approached her. Her breathing was erratic and she twitched showing her anticipation for revenge. He could sense her stress, and it was where he wanted her. He wanted her to be angry at everyone, he knew by releasing her she could take out her anger out on the elves, but he wanted her so angry that she would attack more humans than elves as the humans would be easy targets in the open field.

  “It is time to go,” Naemyn said as he raised his hand and twisted the four fingers on his right hand, braiding them together and then snapped them apart. The metal mesh fell off of the dragon’s back and Naemyn charged his steed out of the cavern as fast as he could.

  * * *

  Voll was amazed as to how quickly the mother dragon arrived. She made two passes over the valley making an obvious survey of the damage and looking for her daughter. Voll instantly questioned his decision to have Aegyn call in her mother. His actions would soon become fate, as he would now have little control as to what would happen next. The spiders were down below, consuming and webbing his forces and he could not bear to watch any more.
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  On her second pass, the flying spider saw the dragon and flapped its large wings rapidly to catch up to the dragon. The two massive beasts maneuvered high in the sky above the battleground looking to manipulate the other into a favorable position. The spider rose above the dragon and then dove in front of her causing The dragon fly past the spider before the dragon could react.

  The spider then flipped over upside down in flight, and shot a large web towards the dragon. Aegyn’s mother dove to the ground as the fired webbing missed its mark. She flew underneath the spider, and then turned upwards blasting a large breath of fire encompassing the spider. The spider’s legs curled up as it burned and fell, splattering to the ground in burning spider waste.

  The dragon made one more pass from east to west, torching the lower valley and killing the spiders that were feasting upon their human prey. Upon reaching the end of the valley she flew straight up, stretching her wings using all of their force and power to raise herself so high above that she was a just a small speck in the sky. She floated at the apex for a few seconds and blasted a victory burst of fire, before descending back down to the valley.

  With great speed, she flew through the valley, then banked hard to the left, and flew straight towards Voll stopping just in front of him. She flapped her wings; slowly hovering just above him as he sat mounted on his horse watching in awe the whole scene. He was thankful for her actions in killing all of the spiders, and even his men, as he knew she had done them a favor by putting them out of their misery.

  “Where is my daughter?” she asked, her voice booming inside of his head.

  “The elves have captured her and are holding her somewhere. I do not know where.”

  “Why would the elves do this? You are lying to me?”

  “No, I am not. Talk to her yourself,” he pleaded.

  “I sense that she is in danger, but I would not expect the elves to be responsible,” she said as she lifted high in the sky. Voll watched her circle the area as she searched for her daughter from high above. He watched her and was fascinated as the beast flapped her wings gaining altitude and then corkscrewed back down to earth. She was only a hundred feet off of the ground when Aegyn appeared.