Legends of Marithia: Book 2 - Darkness Rising (36 page)

“
Nothing, I
thought
I saw a unicorn…
but now it’s gone.”

“
I saw a unicorn too; he
gave me the power to cast the spell that stripped the powers from
the moon.”

“
If you saw a unicorn, then
you met with the ancients. It appears that they want to help us,”
replied Vartan with hope resounding in his voice.

Anakari bit her lip and grew fidgety.
“Indeed it appears so, come on… we are almost there.”

Forcing their horses into a gallop,
they continued deeper into the forest until they came to a section
of the river which led to the gorge protecting Greenhaven. Yuski
led her horse to a section of the river that was shallower than the
rest. Their horses splashed water as they trotted to the other
side. There appeared to be nothing there but the edge of the forest
and the stony river bed.

Yuski dismounted and helped Anakari
down from her horse. “We are here.”

Vartan followed suit, looked around in
confusion and as they tied their horses to the nearby trees, he
raised his eyebrows and asked, “Where exactly are we?”

“
You mean aside from
standing beside Tr’arch river? Watch and learn.”

She moved to the centre of
a clearing and her voice swelled as she cast a spell.
“
Ostendo sum vestri ianua iacio nostrum
statua pro meus manuum
.”

The ground rumbled as giant stone
hands rose from the ground in a semi-circle beside her. She
concentrated for a moment and hummed a tune. She pushed one finger
at a time, each one glowing and emitting a sound until the tune was
played. The statues shifted back into the ground and rocks sunk in
on top of them. They watched as a section wide enough for the
largest man descended into the ground, one stair at a time. The
dust settled as the tunnel was revealed to them. Lit torches
adorned the walls of the tunnel.

Yuski smiled with satisfaction and
proceeded down the stairs. “It appears we came at a good time,
Barone is home.”

They proceeded through the tunnel
until they came to a large dug out home, rich with antique
furniture that was intricate in its design. They heard the ground
shift to close behind them. A man in a hooded robe lined with gold
threading stood from his chair and faced them. Vartan immediately
recognised him. “Hildar!”

He pulled a bottle of wine
from his bookshelf and poured them all a glass. “Hildar, Barone… I
am known by many names, but not many know me by my true
name…
Kai’en
.
Please call me by that name. We are, after all… old
friends.”

Vartan took a sip from the
wine and asked in shock, “
You
are a seer? This can’t be…”

Kai’en laughed and took a
swig of wine. “And why could it not? I have knowledge of this world
that many would kill to gain, and many tried. Nobody suspects an
innkeeper of being a seer, so when they asked me where they could
find Barone… I just send them in the wrong direction. When that
demon came… what was her name, oh yes…
Wumvarn
, I cleared Jade Inn of all
of good hearted people and left the rest who were sympathetic to
Shindar to die. Looks like I will stay here a while longer. Now,
you all came here for a reason, did you not?”

Anakari walked toward the
seer and raised her necklace. “Kai’en, my name is Anakari and I
come seeking knowledge about this. My master, Aldorus, found it
when I was only a baby in the woods. I have had it with me ever
since, and I want to know what this means,
Daessar
.”

Kai’en stared at the necklace and held
it in his hands as if it were precious to him. “This is an artefact
of the ancients, great woman of the stars.”

“
The ancient that helped me
in the woods called me by that name. What does it mean?”

Releasing the necklace slowly he
looked into her eyes as he spoke gently, “It means that you were a
god, or goddess, if you will… who has been sent down here in human
form with a purpose.”

“
By the gods! A goddess?”
asked Yuski, running her hand gently down Anakari’s arm.

All had gone quiet as the trio
absorbed the news. Vartan cleared his throat and asked, “Do you
know where to find Daessar? Talonsphere spoke its name to me before
I woke from a place of darkness.”

Kai’en took another sip of
wine and turned his gaze from each of them. “You still haven’t
worked it out yet? Talonsphere is
in
Daessar.”

“
What? Is it not buried
under Greenhaven? I have seen the protected scroll with its
location, but it was not found by Shindar’s forces, as far as we
know,” asked Vartan.

“
In a manner of speaking…
it is buried under us all, but far out of Shindar’s reach. The
scroll shows a map, and that map does not lead to the ground
beneath Greenhaven, but to the realm of the ancients.”

“
Realm?” they exclaimed in
unison.

“
Yes, as I said,
realm
. The ancients
disappeared from Marithia and have their own society in their
realm,
Daessar
and they took Talonsphere with them. That is why it cannot be
found beneath Greenhaven. To travel to Daessar, there is only one
place of entry. Mount Wayrin. I cannot tell you where the door is,
as I truly do not know… but I
can
tell you that you need a key to open
it.”

Vartan sighed loudly. “And where do I
find this key?”

Kai’en gestured toward Anakari. “She
is standing right next to you. I can see it as clear as daylight.
Look at the markings on her arms; they are the symbols of the
ancients. The key has been before you this entire time. I would say
that the ancients infused the key into her skin at the same time as
leaving her the vital clue in her necklace.”

Vartan smiled with the revelation.
“Then we will journey to Mount Wayrin!”

“
Not so fast, young prince.
You should know that you are not the only one who can activate this
weapon, and between you and Mount Wayrin lays the lowlands, where
Kassina’s tower lies.”

Vartan’s eyes narrowed at the mention
of the dark sorceress. “Kassina? We killed her at the battle of the
Elven Woods!”

“
Then you did not succeed.
Her dark magic stains our land once more. She has grown stronger,
as have you. After all, you both have dragon's blood in
you."

"Lies! What trickery is this?" growled
Vartan.

Kai'en raised his hands and
walked to a bookshelf, pulling out a book which hummed. "I see that
the dragons have yet to share this information with you, but
Kassina, daughter of sorceress Niesha and the vampire,
Delano...
is
part
dragon."

Opening the book on the table between
them, the pages were empty.

"Many have died to obtain this book.
Hold it and focus your mind on Kassina."

Vartan picked up the book, picturing
the dark sorceress in his mind. The book flashed as pictures
appeared on its pages. White squares seemed to hover above the
paper, tethered to the page by fine threads of magic.

"This is a book of ancestry, of anyone
you wish."

Vartan watched as the book sketched an
image of Kassina and scribed her name on the bottom square. The
strings flashed and the book sketched Niesha and Danton. Those
strings flashed and Vartan watched Niesha's connections closely.
Images of two humans appeared and the book scribed under their
pictures the names, Karven and Nymira.

To be continued

Peter Koevari is a writer that holds
fantasy dearly close to his heart. From an early age, he was
immersed in all media of fantasy that he could get his hands on.
Memories of movies such as The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, Star Wars,
Conan, The Last Starfighter, The Princess Bride, and many more are
cherished memories of fantasy nostalgia.

Peter’s hunger for storytelling was
growing from a young age. Feeding off movies, video games, and
books, the hunger had never been quenched. There was a yearning for
something, as if he was enchanted by a spell and did not know how
to release it.

The worlds held inside his imagination
had to be shared with readers of the world.

It took over 10 long years to unlock
the doors to worlds such as Marithia, and to pen them into books to
share with anyone willing to travel to his worlds, but once he
found the key and began to write… everything made sense.

Peter’s writing will surprise you, may
shock you and take your emotions by its talons, but will transport
your mind into a world of fantasy like you have never read
before.

www.peterkoevari.com