Legends of Marithia: Book 2 - Darkness Rising (6 page)

Aldorus discovered Kari, her name
shortened through affection, abandoned and starving when she was no
more than a year old. Raising her as if she was his own daughter,
Aldorus took her into his home and discovered that she had quite a
talent for magic. When she was of age, he apprenticed her into the
arts.

She longed for adventure and to
discover the world beyond her village. She loved Aldorus, but his
grand dream for her to take over his duties when he was gone was
not the life she felt destined for. The recent events of the Blood
Red Moon prophecy had distressed the entire village, and she felt a
calling to begin her journey and find her real family.

The only clue she had of her families'
existence was a flawlessly crafted elven necklace in the shape of a
unicorn head, with rubies set into it for eyes. On the back of the
unicorn was one engraved word, 'Daessar’. This necklace was all she
had on her when Aldorus found her. It was the only link she had to
her mysterious family.

She stared at the name, wondering at
the strange familiarity of the word.

She quietly whispered to herself,
“Daessar,” biting her bottom lip as she always did when she was
deep in thought.

Kari breathed deep and took one final
look at the only home she’d ever known. The shelves were full of
mementos of years gone by that induced an overwhelming sense of
nostalgia inside her. Leaving a letter on Aldorus’ favourite bench,
she carefully tiptoed out to the stables with a heavy pack full of
supplies. Her heart pounded inside her chest like a drum with the
anticipation of what may lay ahead of her and equally stung with
the sadness of leaving her familiar grounds behind.

Marithians still hoped for the
Talonsphere prophecy to be fulfilled, but their faith would be
tested by the turning wheels of the Blood Red Moon prophecy. Like
the Talonsphere prophecy that they believed would save them from
the Forces of Darkness, the underworld had their own belief that
their seers had predicted for thousands of years. It was written in
dark scripture that a girl of both darkness and light would destroy
all living creatures and rule under the shade of the Blood Red
Moon.

Kassina, daughter of a high priestess
sorceress and vampire king, was believed to be the girl of their
prophecy. The wheels of the prophecy were finally set in motion by
the countless fallen souls at the battle of the Elven Woods, and
there had been new reports of clouds raining blood on the lands at
nightfall, under the eerie glow of the burgundy moon.

The dark scriptures stated that once
enough souls had been captured and reanimated in the underworld,
then the protective barrier separating Marithia from the underworld
plane would grow weaker and would gradually become one with the
underworld, starting with the Blood Red Moon and blood filled
clouds.

The balance of souls had greatly
tipped to the underworld’s favour and Marithia began the horrid
plunge into darkness. The sun still rose as a beacon of hope and
served as a continual reminder of what they all stood to lose, the
impending doom that all living creatures face, and what had to be
done to stop it.

Queen Andrielle did everything she
could for her people, human and elven alike. Many souls perished on
the battlefield of the Elven Woods. The few survivors journeyed
together to the badly damaged Elven City of Veldrenn to recoup, and
rebuild it as the new fortified home of the resistance.

Helenia was at her mother,
Andrielle’s, side and for the first time in her life she felt the
sickening pains of despair, as if heavy weights dangled from her
heart. The battle had failed to avert the Blood Red Moon, despite
the dark sorceress Kassina being struck down and the allies
seemingly emerging triumphant. Many of their people had been killed
or injured—including her love, who was battling for his own life in
a place far from her reach.

Ashes and charred trees littered the
once breathtaking elven forest, resulting in the location of the
great city no longer being a secret. The destruction acted like a
pathway that guided those seeking shelter and safety. Stragglers
and lost warriors walked the beaten path to reunite in the troubled
city, which needed all the help it could get.

Andrielle spent weeks clearing the
city of rubble and useless burned wood. Nicolai, the queen of
faeries provided great assistance and the faeries scouted out prey
for their hunters to feed the ever increasing population, as their
crops had been completely obliterated.

Many of the faeries had died or
suffered injuries in the battle of the Elven Woods, and their
wounded lay healing alongside the other inhabitants of Veldrenn.
Their entire population was forced to shelter in the city as their
homes had been destroyed along with the forest.

The majority of surrounding trees and
buildings were repairable, and many human, faerie and elven hands
worked together to restore the city. Differences were put aside as
they stood together to face a common enemy. Patrols had been set up
by Dryden to ensure the perimeter was kept safe from any intruders,
shadow or otherwise.

At the end of another exhausting day
of rebuilding, Andrielle sat with her daughter in their newly
restored home, drinking tea.

The elven queen sipped tea from a cup
she and her daughter had shared before the battle of the Elven
Woods. She gently ran her fingers along its fine, unchipped edge
and wondered how something so fragile managed to survive—when so
little of her city had. All inhabitants of Veldrenn were exhausted
from the back breaking work, but they all knew that they were
making progress and morale was lifting as a result.

Soon they would move on from
rebuilding the city to what it once was, and focus on improving and
fortifying Veldrenn.

Nicolai flew onto Helenia’s shoulder
and sat down, letting out a tiny sigh that would have sounded cute
to anyone who didn’t know the faerie queen. Her fine wings draped
down onto the fabric of Helenia’s dress. Helenia reached up and
gently rubbed Nicolai’s back with her fingertips to comfort her.
The faerie queen had her left arm in a bandage, as she had broken
it while helping her people escape the battle of the Elven
Woods.

“
I know that these
are
difficult times, but
even in difficult times we must remain strong,” said Andrielle, as
if trying to buoy herself as much as the others in the
room.

Nicolai, although small in
form, had a presence about her that commanded the attention of
whomever she was addressing. Sensing the elven queen’s efforts at
conveying strength, she remarked, “Andrielle, remember that you
saved our people when we were most vulnerable and we are forever
indebted to you. Although you have suffered greatly in battle, all
is not lost. Look around you. Veldrenn
has
a new beginning, and I am making
preparations to arm and train my people before we face another
attack.”

Helenia brought her cup up to Nicolai,
who dipped in her hands and sipped a hot mouthful.

She smiled kindly and her voice warmed
when she spoke, “Thank you princess.” She wiped the excess tea off
her face with her tiny, un-bandaged arm.

Helenia nodded and continued to drink
her tea, wincing at the pain in her shoulder that was taking a
longer time to heal than expected.

“
I for one am so relieved
that wench Kassina is finally gone. But it worries me to think of
what horrors may be sent in her place. I worry also for Vartan. We
haven’t heard anything from Trahoterra for some time and the last
messenger dragon only said that he lives but there were no signs of
improvement,” said Helenia, a tear streaked down her face and
twinkled on her chin before falling to the ground.

Andrielle sighed, wiped the tear trail
from Helenia’s cheek and held her daughter in a warm embrace.
Nicolai’s wings sprang into action and she flew to the nearby
table, dangling her legs over the edge.

Andrielle released her daughter,
looking deep into her eyes with affection, “I’m sure Vartan will be
alright, he is far too strong to leave us now. Besides, I haven’t
had a chance to chastise him for his involvement with you yet, and
that is my privilege alone.”

Helenia chuckled as her cheeks
reddened.

They were startled by a knock at the
door and regained their composure.

Andrielle sat up straight with a hint
of annoyance at her moment being interrupted and spoke sternly,
“Who is it?”

There was a pause before Dryden
stuttered an answer, “I… it is only I, your majesty. I come to
report our progress. Is this a bad time?”

She replied warmly, “Oh Dryden, please
come in.”

He entered the room and kneeled in
front of his queen.

“
Please, begin your
report,” she ordered.

Dryden nodded, smiled and spoke
proudly, “My queen, the good news is that we have scavenged all the
weapons we could find on the battlefield and training can resume at
your request, we have quite the stockpile of armour and can be
battle ready quickly.”

The queen managed a smile, but also
sensed that he had known more than just positive news.
“Magnificent, but what bad news do you bring?”

Dryden’s beaming smile dropped and he
sighed with annoyance, “A large number of weapons and armour were
already taken before we arrived.”

“
I expected as much.
Kassina’s army have not yet been eradicated and we could not have
been the only ones with eyes on the many spoils of that
battlefield. I am sure that thieves and vagabonds have already
plundered what they could carry before our arrival.”

Dryden seemed troubled and he looked
more nervous than usual.

“
I
can
handle bad news Dryden, is there
something else?” she asked.

He nodded knowingly and breathed out
his response, “I sent men to Vartan’s family home to retrieve the
body of Tusdar, the thief that aided Vartan, as you requested… but
they were unable to locate it. Also, the scouts we sent to
investigate Greenhaven have not returned and I fear for their
safety. I thought Greenhaven had been deserted.”

Andrielle frowned at this
news.

“
That is troubling indeed
Dryden. Continue on for now and let us hope the scouts return
safely. Once repairs of Veldrenn are complete this week, we can
resume training. Allocate half of your men to fortification duties
and the other half to train and rotate them,” she
ordered.

“
Yes my queen, as you
wish,” he responded and proceeded to open the door, his shoulders
dropping.

“
Sir Dryden?” she asked,
stopping him in his tracks.

“
Yes my queen?” he asked,
turning around.

“
Thank you, for everything.
I want you to remember that you cannot be held accountable for
deaths in times of war. We had no way of knowing that Greenhaven
had not been deserted and you are not to blame,” she replied,
smiling.

Dryden returned her warmth, bowed
slightly and continued out the door.

Andrielle turned to her daughter, deep
in thought. Tusdar had been a master thief, but redeemed himself
through saving both Leon and Vartan’s life and playing a key role
in dispatching Kassina’s pet, Derian. The queen’s breath stopped as
her throat closed, her chest pounded and ached as she pictured
Derian, the traitor, spy and killer of her husband King Arman. He
was a murderer and most painful of all… their son.