The Contention
The Contention
Book Four of The Blood and Brotherhood Saga
By Jeremy Laszlo
Kindle edition Copyright Jeremy Laszlo 2012
Edited by Stephanie J Dagg
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Prologue
Within the span of a few months the entire future of the world had been rewritten. Out of obscurity two new champions blessed by the gods had arisen upon the face of Thurr. Believed twins, these champions were blessed with abilities that made them each an asset in battle. Heeding the call of their kingdom, the twins Seth and Garret had marched to war against the black horde, an unbeatable army comprised of orcs, trolls and goblins.
*****
Using his unparalleled magical abilities, Seth created new races of men to serve the kingdom of Valdadore, melding wolves with men to create werewolves. At their head, Seth appointed Borrik, a once-human priest to the goddess Ishanya, who now served loyally as the alpha werewolf, a vicious predator designed for killing. Garret, trained by the mighty Knights of Valdadore, became a warrior unlike any other, impenetrable to physical harm by any weapon. Together with their allies, the brothers faced the previously undefeated black horde. Though the battle had eventually been won so, too, had much been lost.
Taking an arrow to the neck, Sara, Seth’s young wife, had fallen in the battle. Losing control of his powers in his anguish and rage, Seth unleashed his magic with devastating effect to both friend and foe. In that final blast, the battle was won as thousands of enemy troops were obliterated. However, the King of Valdadore and several of his blessed warriors were also destroyed by it. Seth and Sara were nowhere to be found. Most assumed them dead, as no trace remained of the young couple.
*****
His brother, king and mentor, Lord Sirus, slain, Garret had no choice but to ignore the emotions threatening to overwhelm him as his new duties begin to stack up in service to the kingdom. Witnessing the suicide of Sirus’s wife Sasha, he was charged with looking after their beautiful daughter Linaya. Each overcome with their own sorrows, Garret and Linaya sought solace from one another and became closer by the day as a deep-seated love began to grow between them.
*****
Seth and Sara found themselves transported to a foreign land following the magical blast that had ended the battle with the black horde. Though Sara had been mortally wounded, Seth managed to save the woman he loved by using his powers to combine her life force with that of a local species of bat with amazing healing abilities. However, he soon began to realize that his abilities came with untold and sometimes devastating consequences. As Sara was restored it quickly became apparent that their lives together would change immensely. Sara had become an agile, powerful, bloodthirsty predator who could no longer abide in the sun. Together the pair set out to find their way back home, but were captured and delayed by a small tribe of miniature men and women. Hearing these people’s sad tale of persecution by the mysterious Zoomba, Seth and Sara allied themselves with the small race in hopes of defeating another immense enemy. Little did they know that the enemies were cat-sized insects that numbered in the millions.
*****
Borrik, the alpha werewolf, sent his hybrid troops in all directions to seek out Seth following the battle with the black horde, believing his master still alive. Leading a small contingent of wolf troops himself, he was approached by more of Seth’s creations in the night. The pair of feline girls Seth shaped prior to the battle swore that they knew the location of their creator. Changing course, Borrik followed the trail laid before him by the feline sisters, racing east towards the mountainous border of Valdadore. As he and his men raced day in and out to reach their master, the lunar cycle progressed. Under the influence of the twin full moons in the sky, the contingent of hybrid wolfmen were filled by lust-induced rage, and brutally raped the inhabitants of the small community before fleeing the scene to again seek out their master.
Cresting the mountains the pack of werewolves were accosted by a giant and took several casualties before finally bringing the immense beast down. Rejoined by another pack of his troops, Borrik led his men onwards and soon witnessed Seth’s magical fire in the distance. Leaving his injured men behind, Borrik and his troops raced with no regard for their own safety to his side.
*****
Reunited with his troops, Seth formulated a plan to defeat the insect army. Together with the help of the werewolves and the miniature race of warriors, Seth and Sara managed to destroy the queen of the insects. Their leader lost, the remainder of the Zoomba dispersed as Seth, his lover and his hybrid soldiers headed back to the capital city of Valdadore. Along the way they were rejoined by the remainder of Seth’s small personal army of mutated men before reaching their destination.
*****
Garret sought to help repair the kingdom, and now upon the royal council in his role as a Knight of Valdadore, he had the means to do so. He used his meager influence to help vote good people into positions of worth within the kingdom with the help of allies in the council. When it came to selecting a new king, however, two unexpected events occurred. First, Garret made an enemy of the powerful battle mage Vladmere who fled the city after setting the mages’ tower ablaze once he realized he would not be elected as king. Second, Garret was tricked into the most powerful position within the kingdom, and within weeks a crowning ceremony was held in his honor.
If being crowned king of a mighty kingdom was not enough to make a memorable day for Garret, Linaya had also professed her love for him the night before. To top that off, little over an hour after being crowned, Garret was surprised yet again as his brother apparently returned from the dead with his resurrected lover in tow. But that was not the end of the most memorable of his life. No sooner than is the new royal family reunited than a messenger from the western border of Valdadore arrived to announce that the kingdom was being invaded by their neighbors led by King Sigrant. Bloodshed, it seemed, would not remain a thing of their past.
*****
Thus the world of Thurr is awash in uncertainty and war is upon the horizon, though this is not limited to the petty squabbling of mortal men. In the immortal plane, the domain of the gods, pieces are being moved strategically in preparation for a battle unlike any other witnessed before. Ishanya, the goddess who had made a champion of Seth, has made plans to destroy her fellow gods, and her scheming has not gone unnoticed. Even now some of her peers work in secret to thwart her intentions. More champions of the like never seen before are being unleashed upon Thurr to do the bidding of the gods and soon a battle will erupt across the entire world as the gods fight for dominion over the souls of men.
Chapter 1
Burdens placed and Blood spilled
Garret paced his study nervously, oblivious to the others standing in the stone chamber with him. He had only been crowned King of Valdadore five hours prior, and already the world had been flipped upside down by news from one of his own loyal messengers from the westernmost post of his kingdom. King Sigrant of neighboring Drakenhurst was moving to invade Valdadore in a plan to usurp the young, new king and claim the kingdom for himself. With the return of his missing brother, Seth, and his crowning, today was supposed to have been among the best days of Garret’s life. However, with the dire news he had been presented with just a few hours before, Garret’s mood was dark and rage threatened to overtake him.
“Twenty-five thousand?” Garret asked as he paced, then paused to stand behind his desk as if pondering something. “Where in the abyss did Sigrant get twenty-five thousand men? Twenty-five thousand!” Garret shouted and in a single swoop, swept the piles of scrolls and books piled high upon his desk to the floor with a crash.
“We have four thousand men, a third of whom are still recovering from the battle with the black horde, and now this!” Garret continued to shout and began pacing again.
“Garret, calm yourself.” Seth began, looking to the woman Linaya who sat in the corner, near to tears. “We are outnumbered, or so we believe, and the enemy has fire-breathing beasts to serve him as well, but we need more information. More than that, we need more time, not to mention more troops. But most importantly, we need a plan,” Seth concluded.
Garret continued to pace for several minutes, however, now he uttered not a single sound. As his thoughts played out in his head, those in the room with Garret could almost see the ideas come and go as his expression changed time and time again. Suddenly Garret froze mid-stride and turned to face those in the room with him, a menacing grin upon his lips.
“I have an idea, though it will take a fair amount of luck. First we need information, and I must get things in motion,” Garret announced, his smile fading as seriousness once again claimed his features. “Sulvis!” Garret shouted in a deep booming tone, calling upon his blessing to enhance his voice.
“Your majesty?” replied the old, grizzled war veteran, general to Valdadore’s main armies, marching into the room with a look of gravity on his face that matched the king’s.
“I have great need of your counsel, old friend, and I have a plan I should like your input on as well,” Garret stated. “Send several parties west with all haste to gather up as much information about Sigrant’s force as possible. I require numbers, troop types, and by the gods. I need to know what these great armored fire-breathing beasts are.”
Sulvis called two of his captains in from the room beyond, gave his orders, and without even waiting for his men to depart, turned to face his young new king again.
“What else, your majesty?” Sulvis asked with one white bushy eyebrow rising.
“We need more troops. I realize there will not be another Choosing ceremony for two years, but if Valdadore is to survive this battle I will be forced to bolster our numbers by other means,” Garret stated, then paused to think a moment.
“Shall we try and call upon the dwarves and gnomes again for their aid?” Sulvis asked.
“Yes, but that is not what I have in mind,” Garret replied. “Send messengers to every town, city, castle, village and hamlet in Valdadore. I am drafting back into the service of the Valdadorian army every man who has served within the last twenty years and is still able to lift a weapon. Also, every boy who will be eligible for The Choosing within two years is to be called into the service of the kingdom.” Garret paused, a solemn look upon his face, but was interrupted before he could continue.
“What of women, Garret?” Seth’s wife Sara demanded, an annoyed look upon her face. “Can women not fight to defend their homes and their kingdom as well? Or are we to sit back and watch our men die for us?”
“Your point is well taken, sister,” Garret replied, then continued after pondering a moment. “Woman are to be drafted as well, however, only if they do not have small children whom they need to look after. Those with older children may come as well, as we can put them to work with the fletchers. We will need a lot of arrows.”
The conversation went on for hours and occasionally another council member would be called upon for input, or given orders to carry out as Garret saw fit. Already messengers were pouring out from the city gates headed in all directions from the great white castle city of Valdadore. Within days those called upon by the king would begin gathering at the castle. Several scouting parties thundered westward upon great imperial war horses with orders to only rest in their mission if their horses could carry them no further. The king needed information and the scouts vowed not to disappoint him. Makeshift forges were being constructed outside the city walls for all of the blacksmiths who would soon be gathering and large tents and canopies were already being erected in neat rows outside the castle walls.
A plan was forming, and with that plan Garret began to feel that there was hope. Seth was given multiple duties to accomplish, and even Sara and Linaya each had something of import to attend to. Late in the night the city bustled as the final plans were made, orders given, and duties were established. However, before Garret could even think about rest, there was still much more to discuss.