The Black River Chronicles Collection - Books 1-3 E-Book

LG Surgeson

• Herausgeber: Next Chapter
• Kategorie: Fantasy und Science-Fiction
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Beschreibung

The first three books in L.G. Surgeson's 'Black River Chronicles', a series of fantasy novels, now available in one volume!
Summer of Fire: To speak of a time before the Summer of Fire is to speak of a time more than four hundred years gone by. Very few have a genuine understanding of what lead to the time known as the Summer of Fire, of the rising powers that had grown with the patience of mountains. Only in looking back could scholars completely understand the full scale of events that preceded it. It is particularly difficult to distinguish what came 'before', as this is a relative term. Each individual will have a point in time that they consider to be the time 'before', after which their life will have irrevocably changed. General consensus suggests that by 1099 AC it was already too late. But for some, it started long before that. For some of them will live, some of them will die, and some of them will last forever.
The Winter That Follows: The Summer of Fire has burned away. The younger gods and their champion have defeated Krynok the Hunter, General Salamander has been destroyed, and slowly Tartaria is reuniting to heal the Clans and the land. Those who survived find themselves standing amongst the ruins with empty hearts, waiting for faces they will never see again. It has not occurred to many that this might be the greatest challenge of all. For once the glorious struggles of the Summer are over, they will have to find their way through the Winter That Follows.
The Freetown Bridge: Any who believe the Freetown Bridge to be a monument to freedom have sadly misjudged the dark intent of the Frisian Inquisition. Thousands of slaves have been snatched to help with its construction, and the fears of its purpose are building across the continent. Shrouded in mystery and heavily guarded, the Bridge nears completion. Unable to stop themselves, a small group of adventurers from Aberddu seek to join those who would destroy it. A ragtag gang of mercenaries, priests and greenskins prepare to stand up to the might of the Red Inquisition, before they discover that the enemy is closer than they realised.

Leseprobe

THE BLACK RIVER CHRONICLES COLLECTION

BOOKS 1-3

L. G. SURGESON

CONTENTS

Summer of Fire

Prologues

Aberddu City 1093 AC

Tartaria 1093 AC

Jaffria 1094 AC

Tartaria 1097 AC

Aberddu 1097 AC

Arabi 1098 AC

Tartaria 1098 AC

The Elven Woods 1098 AC

I. 1099AC

The Dark Gate - not yet spring

The Dragon lands - spring

Aberddu City Temple District - spring

Aberddu City Guild District - a month or so later

Tartaria - Clan Stallion lands - summer

Aberddu City Mages Guild Library - late summer

Aberddu City Temple District - early autumn

Paravel - a small backwater - winter approaches

Aberddu City Turn Gate - winter

Tartaria - Timberwolf lands - the first snows

South West Albion - Port Selliar - a cold dark morning

Aberddu Adventurers Guild - feast of midwinter

Aberddu City State - the Pass Fort - the turn of the year

II. 1100AC

Ba’al - The Xarob Wastes

Aberddu Adventurers Guild

Outside the Sea God Temple

Ba’al - The Xarob Wastes

Hasselt

Aberddu Temple District

Aberddu City Mages Guild

Tartaria – Dragon lands

Aberddu City - Gallows Hill

Aberddu City - outside the Turn Gate

III. 1101 A

Tartaria - the border of Stallion and Timberwolf lands

Aberddu City Dark Gate

Aberddu Guild District

Aberddu City Temple District

Aberddu City State

Kchon - A quiet patch of woodland

Aberddu City East Gate

Aberddu Guild District

Tartaria Dragon lands

Alendria - Temple of Aesthetics

Aberddu City East Gate

IV. 1102AC

Aberddu City North Gate

Aberddu City Temple District

Tartaria Dragon lands

Aberddu City

Aberddu Temple District

The Middle Kingdoms

Aberddu Trickster Temple

The Middle Kingdoms

Aberddu City – the banks of the River Ddu

The Middle Kingdoms

Aberddu City Temple District

Aberddu Adventurers Guild

Aberddu City State

After the Ritual

Just before midnight

The Plains of Blood - battlefield of the God War

Aberddu City Temple District

Tartaria - Stonesnake-Dragon borderlands

Tartaria - Salamander Territory

Aberddu City - First Light

Stonesnake borderlands

Camp Salamander, formerly Ghostbear lands

Dragon

Fall

Rise

Flame

On the other side of Tartaria…

Salamander: Endgame

Epilogue - The Days that followed

Author’s Note

The Winter That Follows

1. Rebuilding

2. A Conspicuous Lack of Goblins

3. A Quiet Life

4. The Deal

5. Goats, Gates and Goblins

6. Appearances

7. A Mammoth Task

8. Cold Comfort

9. The Albion Ambassador's Ball

10. A Turnip for the books…

11. The Greenland Army

12. In for a Penny

13. Instant Access

14. The Greenland War Machine

15. The Chain Gang

16. The New Green Dawn

17. Private Communiqué

18. The Festival of Lights

19. Then, one night in Paravel…

20. Beggars at the Feast

21. An Act of Faith

Epilogue

Acknowledgments

The Freetown Bridge

Prologue 1: 791ac - Frisia

Prologue 2: Summer 1100 ac Frisia

1. Departure

2. Arrival

3. The Plan

4. The Road

5. The Border Challenge

6. A New Day

7. Disappointment

8. Bloodshed

9. First Impressions

10. Regrouping

11. Guts and Guile

12. Deception

13. Enslaved

14. The Switch

15. Panic

16. Contact

17. Advancement

18. Belief

19. Falling

20. Flight

21. The Bridge

22. The Edge

23. Breathless

24. Enemies

25. Truth

26. Trapped

27. Ascension

28. Fortune

29. The Rendezvous

30. The Cost

About the Author

Copyright (C) 2023 L.G. Surgeson

Layout design and Copyright (C) 2023 by Next Chapter

Published 2023 by Next Chapter

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the author’s permission.

SUMMER OF FIRE

BLACK RIVER CHRONICLES BOOK 1

For Krieg Clan Dragon and his boundless bravery,

Mori Sil'erbanis and her unswerving faith

& Dakarn Pringle and his hilarious trousers.

PROLOGUES

The Time Before…

One speaks of the time before the Summer of Fire in the same hushed tones as one speaks of the time before the cataclysm, as though the world was somehow softer then, as though we were more innocent and more lovely. As though no trouble existed. The golden age, not long ago but far away, seen as almost out of reach by those who don’t really know of what they speak.

To speak of a time before the Summer of Fire, a time truly before the cacophony of events that chose to confluence in those short months, is to speak of a time more than four hundred years gone by. Very few have a genuine understanding of what led to the time known as the Summer of Fire, of the rising powers that had grown with the patience of mountains, over centuries. Only in looking back could scholars completely understand the full scale of events that preceded it.

It is particularly difficult to distinguish what came ‘before’, as this is a relative term. Each individual will have a point in time that they consider to be the time ‘before’, after which their life will have irrevocably changed. General consensus suggests that by 1099 AC it was already too late, but for some it started long before that.

ABERDDU CITY 1093 AC

Severin drained his tankard and slammed it down on the table. He belched languidly and stood up, the brawl outside seemed to be escalating quickly. Flexing his knuckles, he noticed yesterday’s grazes were still raw and stinging but he didn’t care. He wiped his hands lazily on his threadbare tunic he belched again, then he looked down at his front and shook his head. Three months in Aberddu and this was what he had come to: third-hand clothes, drinking, belching and bar brawls. This was a far cry from Alendria, and this was hardly becoming behaviour for the High Elf Court. Mercifully, this was not the High Elf Court and that was what he loved about it. In Aberddu he was just another elf adventurer, and a grubby drunken one at that. He couldn’t remember ever being this happy.

Weighing up his options, he picked up his empty tankard. The bar had more ale and possibly some cheap Albion Brandy but outside the brawl was reaching a crescendo. Metal on metal, shouting and thumping feet told him that the militia was on its way. Celyn was already out there and he wasn’t likely to come back inside until the whole thing was done. Drinking alone was dull thought Severin, as he headed towards the door, cudgel in one hand, tankard still in the other.

Celyn slunk back into an alleyway panting as the militia patrol jogged past. It had just started raining and judging by the knotted bulging clouds above him it was set to get heavier. Something big was going on at the city walls judging by the racket. That was the second militia patrol to jog past in as many minutes. He didn’t really care what was going on if it kept the militia off his back. The last patrol had been heading for the Eastern Gate with some urgency and their swords already drawn, they had completely ignored the fight. Whatever it was was obviously a higher priority than a bar brawl.

There had been a few lackadaisical rumours of an invasion force coming this way but it was hardly news. As the northern-most trade port of Albion, Aberddu was constantly under threat of invasion even now it had Royal status. If it wasn’t the Frisians, it was the Paravelians or even the mighty war barges of Hasselt. Such was life in this cesspool city, among the mongrel nobles and flamboyant ship captains that liked to lord it over the rest of the pestilent rabble. In Aberddu you took your chances. But the ale was good for the price and the adventuring was lucrative, if this hadn’t been the case Celyn would have gone back to Frisia where he belonged long ago.

Tonight, however, he was on a personal errand. Somewhere, in the shadows across the thoroughfare that bloody dwarf was lurking, waiting for the rest of his beating. The rain quickened, falling in stinging sheets that soaked him through his leathers. Still, he was wet now and a guilder was a guilder. He would get it out of that tight-fisted stunty bastard if he had to garrotte him, turn him upside down and shake him until his gold fillings fell out. In the distance the sky grumbled, adding foreboding to the sounds of heightened conflict that carried from the Eastern Gates on the evening air.

Celyn exhaled and swung his sword at nothing in particular. His fingers were starting to go numb in the freezing January downpour. The orange light of the tavern spilled into the murk and he saw Severin stagger out. The elf stood stupidly in the doorway looking at the rain, his club hanging limply from his hand. Peering into the darkness, he was clearly wondering where the fight had gone. Celyn was almost tempted to ignore him, let the silly sod wander off alone into the storm. It would be an entertaining few minutes to be sure, but it would probably end in either a temple or a militia cell, neither of which were a good place to go when soaked through to the skin.

The wind picked up, racing up the wide street catching the rain and throwing it into curls. Stepping into the muddy light of the small square, he made himself obvious and waited for Severin to look his way. A third militia patrol passed by, sprinting and red in the face. Like the others they ignored Celyn. Peering into the gloom, he tried to pick out the dwarf. The little bastard had concealed himself well in the shadow of a tall boarding house opposite when the first militia patrol had appeared, however he hadn’t moved since. Celyn was prepared to stake his reputation if not his life on that much.

He skirted around the edge of the fountain that blocked the middle of the little plaza. Judging by the rank aroma of the stagnant water in the stone basin, the sluice had been closed for the whole winter and what was sitting there was accumulated rainfall. The raindrops pelted down into the cloudy pool with astonishing force, creating waves that splashed over the edge. The water level had risen in seconds. It would make a nasty dip for his dwarven friend when he eventually found him.

Then, without warning a much bigger wave slopped over the stone basin and a seven-foot figure erupted out of the foul water. It paused for a moment, illuminated by a sudden flash of lightning – the terrifying countenance glowed in the white electrical light. Not only tall but broad and made wider still by hide and furs draped about his shoulders, the warrior was gruesome to behold. His face was painted with fearsome patterns and across his eyes was a deep red stripe. In each hand, he brandished a well-worn bastard sword, ready for combat. His wild starring eyes flickered, and his gaze fell hungrily on Celyn. He stepped out of the fountain in a long sweeping stride, raised both swords to shoulder height and with one brutal, fluid motion cut Celyn down where he stood.

Severin, still in the door way, held his breath; a single movement could be his last. He was beginning to regret not going to the bar. The storm was almost directly overhead now, another thunder-clap deafened him and two more of the massive warriors appeared in the fountain. Their terrifying, greedy eyes glowing in night. They paused momentarily in the fountain, taking in the street. Severin prayed to any god that would listen for the ground to open up and swallow him. In his entire life, he had never seen warriors of this size or ferocity. Their bared teeth and sword blades gleamed as a fork of lightning arched across the city. All around him, chaos was descending. He could hear yelps and shouts of panic as more of these gargantuan soldiers appeared out of nowhere in the neighbouring streets. The Law Temple bells began a frantic, panicked peal, the round notes toppling in disorganised cadences and amplifying the fear he felt. The bells only rang like that when the city was under siege. Ashamed of his sudden cowardice, he slipped slowly into an alleyway and was about to run towards the Docks when he heard a swoosh and felt a cold dull lump contact the back of his head. His head spinning, sweat pouring from his brow, Severin pulled himself to sitting. The Law Temple bells were ringing a complex change in the dawn light. It must be the Feast of the Warden’s Keys. He had lost track of time. His heart was pounding and he was fighting to catch his breath as he went over the dream he had just been pulled out of, so vivid it felt like only a few seconds ago. He had no idea why, after nearly four hundred years that memory had suddenly appeared in his dreams but only one word was springing to mind: tartars.

TARTARIA 1093 AC

Clan Stallion Lands

Gathered with the other children in the shade of the mighty Indaba tree, Talia eyed the storyteller with suspicion. She had reached the doubting age and found it odd that he seemed to know about everything and have been everywhere, and yet he could only be barely twenty or so years older than her. It seemed like a lot of learning for that short time, particularly as she knew exactly where he had been for the last ten years or so. She had almost reconciled herself with the fact that she would not be able to listen to these stories much longer - more grown up concerns beckoned to her. She was reaching that awkward between point, she had left the age of believing behind her last summer. Too old and too tall to listen to the storyteller in the afternoon before supper; she had more duties and jobs now, brothers and sisters to wrangle, game to stalk, food to prepare - it was rare she got to the tree at all. She was fully grown nearly and it had been many summers in the coming. She wished for the excitement of an older life. But she wasn’t yet old enough or tall enough to come back to the tree after dark and a hard day. She was not yet old enough to hear the storyteller’s other tales and drink to them. She had not quite reached the understanding age.

She wasn’t listening to the storyteller now, she was watching Syrne. He was a season or two older than her but no more. His dark, piercing eyes were so still they could put you right off thinking. He gazed at the storyteller so intently that he had let his dagger slip out of his hand. Talia wished she could understand why he was still so gripped by this story: The Legend of Salamander. She had heard it so often she could pick up where they were without really listening, the storyteller never changed his phrases.

… soldiers stood taller than ordinary tartars, their muscles bound by wicked spirits and the power of the poison totem Salamander. Each one with glistening fangs and eyes like obsidian, a five-foot blade in each hand.

It was difficult to tell whether he was happy or horrified by the Legend of Salamander, his face was rapt but expressionless. Talia wondered what the Chieftain thought of her son spending so long with the bard that he was often late for training. Even now, when he was supposed to be a man, he never missed a tale. Talia thought he must know the stories so well by now that he probably didn’t need the teller to speak.

… stepped out of the flames of the camp fires and the waters of the rivers, weapons raised. They cut down all who stood in their way. Lead by a mighty general…

Bored with a story she had heard too often, Talia set out to entertain herself. She shuffled around the circle cautiously, careful not to stir up too much dust. She was going to find out for herself how hard Syrne was concentrating on the story.

… marched south west to the Albion territories. One night a foul storm plagued the port of Aberddu. Thunder echoed across the city and far out to sea. Lightning flashed through the rain that beat down on the buildings and the gates…

She had wriggled to within an arm’s reach of Syrne and his gaze had not yet broken. The hilt of his knife was sitting in the dirt, inches from her fingers. She waited for the story to reach its thrilling climax, as Salamander’s armies besieged Aberddu and lay waste to the city. Then, whilst his attention was held, she stretched forward until her fingers were wrapped around the hilt.

Her concentration was broken by the sounds of angry feet stamping across the dry earth. Then a voice bellowed

“Syrne,” and the teller fell silent. The story spell was broken. Talia looked around with trepidation, as did all the others. Varl the clan war-leader, enraged as he was, in his full fur battle armour with a six-foot broadsword balanced easily on one shoulder, was a terrifying sight even for his own clan. He was standing about ten feet away, his face and neck almost purple with fury, veins bulging and spittle flying as he hollered. Syrne’s face still registered no emotion. Even in the face of such anger, he appeared composed and assured. He simply stood up unhurriedly and checked his belt. Noting calmly that his knife was missing, he reached down to pick it up and came face to face with Talia. Talia had her hand wrapped firmly around the hilt of his knife and showed no intention of letting go. Syrne recognised a dominance challenge when he saw one. Unarmed as he was, he was not able to fight her in the traditional sense. Without a pause or even a change of facial expression, he ducked forward, grabbed her ear and twisted. Talia let out a surprised yelp and relinquished the knife. Syrne snatched it up and walked towards the still-seething Varl with a sureness of step that seemed to anger the war-leader even more. Talia snarled at the other children before they could crow, and then turned to watch Syrne’s back as he disappeared back into the village.

JAFFRIA 1094 AC

In the heat of the day, Jamar sweated. The white-hot sun glared down on to his head and his back, blistering the raw flesh where Danil’s spiked whip had contacted. Splayed on the temple step, heavily armoured acolytes kneeling on his wrists and ankles, he waited for the next lash. Twenty lashes for dishonourable behaviour, five more for cheek and three for squealing like a farmyard beast after the first one. Simultaneously, he heard the whip crack and felt the searing line of pain drawn across his back, adding to the agony. He bit his lip to stop himself screaming and blood trickled into his mouth.

He had lost count, although he was sure there were only a few left to go. He prayed hard for unconsciousness but was unsurprised when it did not come. Amroth could be a vicious master to those that came up short. As Danil prepared for another swing, the echoing harmony of three hundred priests rose up around him as they chanted the next verse of the contrition reel. Their voices resonated around the amphitheatre and another crack rang out. Jamar never felt the hot streak as the peppered leather skimmed his skin. The turmoil that came in the space of that whip-crack superseded all pain.

At first Jamar thought he had managed to faint as the world turned cold and dark, but then he realised that the pandemonium exploding behind him was not part of his unconsciousness. The acolytes on his limbs clambered frantically to their feet and, surprised by his sudden unrestricted movement, it took him a few seconds to follow. When at last he turned to look out over the amphitheatre, he was unable to process what he saw.

A thick, dark grey fog had rolled in, choking the gathered congregation, many of whom were starting to turn blue and purple through lack of air, and some of whom had already keeled forward on their prayer mats. Solidifying out of the sinister smoke were about a dozen dark, winged figures, the size of a tall man - perhaps a foot or so larger. As they began to take shape and detail started to form, Jamar struggled to his feet, adrenaline overriding the pain of his raw back.

The smoke eased and all eyes that were able had fixed on the black angels, that were now hanging two feet from the ground, fully formed and terrible. Their ragged wings spread out, casting chilling shadows over the crowds. The figures were broadly man-shaped but made entirely from smoke so thick that they were no longer translucent. Many of their features were ill-defined but their eyes were both bright and hollow. Slowly, with obscene grace, they started to rise up over the cowering crowd, spreading their arms wide in some kind of grotesque benediction. A white freezing mist crept over the ground beneath them, engulfing those who were prone and clinging to the ankles and feet of those who were not. The stunned congregation remained transfixed.

An unholy, guttural hiss filled Jamar’s head and he saw several beleaguered clerics clamp their hands over their ears, writhing and contorted with pain. He could feel the surprisingly chilly air circling the amphitheatre in the same way it did on the plains when a whirlwind was rising. Looking around, he could see no exit point that wasn’t crowded with people, nearly all of whom were hunched in pain or unconscious. There was nothing he could do for them, he had no power and he could not carry them all to safety. Getting out of here was the only way to survive. Those gargantuan angels floating above him were the opening chorus and he did not want to be here when the main act arrived. With no feeling of guilt whatsoever, he climbed over the bleeding bodies of the acolytes that had been restraining him only seconds previously and began to run towards the nearest exit tunnel.

The wind snatched his breath and froze his lungs. It was almost crippling to take in the air now, but he persisted. The tunnel couldn’t be much more than twenty feet away now. Chased by the wind, angry indigo clouds covered the white-hot sun and day turned to night in an instant. In the darkness Jamar stumbled and lost his bearings. A fork of black lightning arced menacingly across the sky, followed by a clash of thunder that echoed around the amphitheatre, deafening them all. Another lightning arc flashed and Jamar used the bizarre dark-light to reorientate himself in his dash for the exit. This time no thunder followed. Jamar did not stop to look around, he just fled.

On his knees on the altar steps, his face twisted in excruciation, Danil could only gaze up as the figure appeared from the lightning. It was not as big as the angels that had heralded it, but it was far more terrible to behold. It had once been a man - that much was apparent - still dressed in the opulent grey robes of a powerful cleric, although they were now tattered and scorched as though he had run through a fire. What had once been flesh was now charred and scabrous, flaking away in places, exposing the bone,which glowed white in another arc of lightning. More distressing still was the figure’s face. Half of the cheek skin had been peeled away and was hanging limply, displaying a livid patch of muscle and sinew around an ugly, skeletal grin. The other half of the face was sallow and clammy, the loose flesh green-grey and rotten. Piercing black eyes looked out at them all, gloating at the agony of the congregation. The thin, cruel half-mouth curled into a smile. Time slowed as Danil watched the figure raise a taloned hand. With a menacing hiss that seemed to resonate around the amphitheatre, the creature conjured tendrils of white fire that fountained from his hand and entwined themselves around each of the dark angels. The angels began to glow and in turn the same white flames poured from their outstretched palms, flooding over the cowering clerics on the ground. Racked with pain, and weeping for swift oblivion, Danil heard the creature hiss again, and within the swarming of the hiss he heard these words: I am the Defiler, you will fear me and die.

TARTARIA 1097 AC

Clan Boar Lands

Rurik pulled another chunk of flesh from the slowly charring goat’s rump and fell on it ravenously. His horse had been lost to enemy scouts and it had been a long way back to the war-band on foot. He had run further than he had imagined he could to bring the news to the clan chieftain, and he had thought when he had first opened his mouth to speak that he might vomit from the exertion instead. From the look on the chieftain’s face he would probably have been less affronted by the puke than by the news that Rurik had been forced to convey.

Within moments of speaking, he had been flung out of the command tent in the general direction of the firepit and the roast and the war-leaders had been called in. Rurik’s plan for the rest of the night was to get himself on to the outside of several large chunks of roast goat and oat bread and at least three flagons of the shaman’s best. Maybe then he would collapse by the fire and let the storytelling and singing wash over him. Maybe the dancers would dance, although it was unlikely as they hadn’t been in battle today and weren’t likely to be tomorrow. It didn’t really matter because most importantly of all he was not going to move, not even to find a snug tent space.

Far from being a delicate feminine display, Tartarian dancing was martial and adrenaline fuelled, an activity coupled with the heat of fierce battle. As a scout, it was a spectacle that fascinated Rurik. He rarely saw the thick of battle except from a distant concealed spot on a cliff top or at the top of a baobab tree. Different things made his adrenaline rush, his heart pound and his feet run themselves raw - like the news he had heard not twelve hours ago. It was not the kind of rush that made you want to dance all night. In fact, Rurik was hoping that if he ate and drank enough, he would pass out at the fireside quite soon so he didn’t have to think about it for too long. He certainly wasn’t going to be mentioning it to anyone else. He was chewing his last mouthful and licking the grease from his palms when a deep voice bellowed his name from the darkness.

“Rurik, come here.” The voice from the command tent carried out across the chattering night. Everybody at the fire turned and stared at him as he struggled crossly to his bleeding feet and hobbled towards the voice.

“Tell them what you just told me,” ordered the chieftain, nodding across at the gathered war-leaders. There was nothing ceremonial about a Tartar war council, the half-dozen war-band commanders were knelt or slouched on hide cushions or sprawled out on a vast patchwork fur rug that covered the majority of the floor of the command tent - only the chieftain sat on a carved wooden chair. The war- leaders were the six quickest-thinking, fiercest fighters in the clan; they felt no need to impress anyone, even the chieftain, with needless formality. It was unlikely that a show of such meaningless pretension would impress the chieftain in any case. The chieftain didn’t gesture for Rurik to sit, but given that he could feel the wounds on his feet oozing, he slumped down into a space at the chieftain’s feet anyway. All eyes were on him as he began to recount what he had heard.

Maran was the first to react. He was a particularly large tartar, known for speaking softly and slowly but always to the point.

“So,” he mused in a soft whisper, as though he was talking to himself, “Ghostbear have fallen, may all the Gods help them and Stonesnake.”

“No surprises there,” said Iri, a petite but muscular female who had cut down more of the enemy in their tracks than any two of the other war-leaders together. “They’ve been looking for an excuse to go over to Salamander for years.” There were mumbles of agreement from around the room. The chieftain nodded but didn’t speak, the voice of the Stonesnake chieftain at the Clans Council still echoed in his head: Unity can only mean strength, and strength brings the best for Tartaria. It was a fine sentiment to be sure, when talking about a clan but not about the whole nation. Unity may bring strength, but at what cost? Unity behind such a leader would lead to nowhere in the long run but humiliation, misery and death. “and good riddance I say,” she continued, malice in her voice.

“They are a big clan,” said Maran mildly, “Almost four thousand lost to him and strong fighters too.”

“Strong fighters,” scorned Iri, “yeah, sure, but all the same easy to take down, predictable.”

“And disloyal,” added a dark, burly figure who was leaning back on a bank of pillows and had not spoken since Rurik had come back in. “Strength may be an asset, but not if it is disloyal.”

Maran conceded his point with the faintest nod. “As you say, Rhine,” he said gently.

At this point, Rhine hauled himself up to his haunches, bringing his sharp, scarred face into the yellow light of the lantern. He was a theatrically striking sight, popular among the clan women - well- poised, almost graceful.

“That doesn’t trouble me,” he said coldly, “clans are going to fall. This is war after all; chieftains have a difficult choice to face, and they must protect their clan interests and save lives where they can, crossing sides may be their only way to survive.”

“Really,” interrupted Iri, her thin voice cutting like a knife, “So you think we should cross sides do you? To protect the Boar?” Her voice was cloyingly disdainful and Rurik watched in amazement as a dark cloud of fury passed across Rhine’s face. In fact, he was surprised that Rhine did not reach out and strike her.

“That’s not what I said,” said Rhine through gritted teeth. His ice- cold tone stopped Iri in her tracks, she had sense enough to not provoke him too far. “You need to listen more carefully, Iriani,”

Iri’s eyes narrowed at the use of a childish nickname that meant, quite literally, in the clan-tongue ‘impudent and strong-headed child’. It was an unfortunate deviation of her given name that had plagued her throughout her life. She had just touched her hand to her knife hilt to retaliate when the chieftain spoke.

“Enough,” he growled, his usually good-natured eyes steely, he was clearly not in the mood to indulge the war council in petty squabbles. Both Rhine and Iri looked away, bested by a single word. The chieftain continued, reasserting his authority with a firm, fatherly tone. “So, Rhine, if you weren’t suggesting we cross over to Salamander what were you saying?”

Rhine, his face betraying an edge of sullenness from the chieftain’s scolding, continued to speak.

“The movements of mortals are not as shocking as the defeat of the Phoenix. Men changing sides and armies being defeated are all part of the war. Stonesnake is a loss, but not an unexpected one and we can only pray for Ghostbear. Timberwolf will be the next large clan if I’m any judge and there's nothing that can be done to stop it. All that is nothing more than we expected. The fall of the Phoenix is far more troubling. That Salamander has the power to physically consume and destroy a powerful totem like Phoenix is something we hadn't prepared for. I had heard whispers of this, before you brought the news,” he nodded at Rurik, who was still rubbing his aching feet. “I'd heard rumours that Salamander’s army had slaughtered every man woman and child, and when the Phoenix appeared to protect them the General himself physically overpowered the totem and somehow imbibed its energy.

Even the idea chilled me to the bone. If he continues in this way, he will become undefeatable. If he can bring down the Phoenix, then tell me which clan remains safe from such an attack?”

“Dragon,” murmured Maran, either misunderstanding or plain ignoring Rhine’s impassioned rhetoric. “and Leviathan.” Rhine merely glared at him. There was another mumble from the group.

“So, what do we do?” asked a youthful voice who had yet to join the debate. Rurik had not looked much at this youngest member of the war council until now. Perched cross legged on a cushion, knees pulled up to her chin, she was an uninteresting sight. She seemed as out of place here as he felt, she was about his age and therefore very young for this.

He could see now that her plain, weathered face was trembling ever so slightly in the lantern glow. Rurik realised that this was probably Marta’s first real war council and if he had to guess he would say that this was probably the most serious war council to be held by Clan Boar for many, many years. No wonder she seemed utterly terrified. The chieftain, wicked and wily in his fatherly way, turned his full attention on the shivering whelp and said

“I don’t know Marta, what do you think we should do about it?” Marta was so taken aback that he had addressed her at all that she did not see the glint in his eye. She just turned pale and stuttered, unable to answer the question. Iri smirked cruelly at Marta’s obvious discomfort relieved at last not to be the youngest member of the council and Rhine snorted his derision at what he clearly saw as inappropriate levity. Rurik actually felt sorry for Marta, his jealousy of her position greatly outweighed by loyalty to one of his own age. Maran was just about to take pity on her and speak in her place, when, quivering she stood up and said

“We fight, until our very last breath, we fight.”

ABERDDU 1097 AC

“Stand back,” bellowed Elor, using his staff to shove the more curious and dewy-eyed adventurers unceremoniously backwards. “These ones explode.” Just as he spoke, there was a flash of red light and the body detonated spraying blood, viscera and shards of bone over them all.

Elor wiped the mess from his front with a magical flick of the fingers and turned his attention back to the rest of the room, searching for the Guildmistress in the hubbub.

“Erin,” he yelled, trying to raise his words above the rumbling of the guild as they tried to regroup. Where the dratted hell was the woman? She never seemed to be about when she was needed. He yelled again, aware that it was horribly undignified. “Erin!” The second call made the elf turn around, gore and sweat smeared across her face, her hand clamped hard against a bleeding wound in her side.

“Just let me get a bandage,” she grunted through gritted teeth. Elor nodded, abashed that he had thought her uselessly hiding throughout the attack.

It was true that she was not the most beloved of Guild leaders and Elor was well aware of his tendency to think badly of her in most circumstances. He did have to admit, grudgingly, that this was often unjustified and very unfair of him. At least on this score he had managed to maintain a dignified silence, unlike many of the other older adventurers.

He needed to speak with her because the last attack was troubling him. As a man of scholarship, he had travelled widely, and he was familiar with the clan people that lived on the vast steppes of Tartaria. He might not have found much affinity with the Tartars but he had found a great deal to respect there. In particular their straightforward honesty and their ability to put complex matters into the simplest terms had appealed to him. Born in feudal Paravel and sequestered, as he had been for many years now, in institutions of magical learning, he had spent most of his time with people who were able to turn the simple verities of life into complicated and meandering hypotheses. To see the other end of the scale was very refreshing. However, he had doubts as to the origins of their recent attackers.

It was true that they bore the build and traits of tartars but they were somehow not quite right, like a slightly inaccurate copy. The scarlet eye-stripe on all the warriors was unusual but what worried him more was that these tartars exploded once killed – someone had created a magical detonation device and was using tartars to transport it.

Trying to avoid dragging his coat tails through the pooling effluent on the guild hall floor, he located a clean seat not far from the wounded Guildmistress and sat down to wait patiently. He looked on unmoved, as the other adventurers raced around each other harem-scarem hauling the injured to the side of the room, clearing the floor in case of any further incursion.

Elor mused that even though it appeared to be an utter, chaotic shambles there was a surprisingly ordered approach at work. In this moment of silent contemplation amidst the pandemonium, he wondered wryly what the Law Temple would make of such a thought. Perhaps he would raise it with Ignatius later, if the cleric managed to calm down long enough to listen.

Someone sat down next to him, but Elor didn’t look around to see who it was. He was not in the mood for small talk, he had a lot to think about. In spite of this blatantly ungracious gesture, a voice that Elor found somewhat vexing started to talk to him.

“You don’t know what they are do you?” it said smugly. Elor turned to look into the self-satisfied face of Severin Starfire, an elf he truly despised. He did not respond, but the barely contained fury in his face said everything.

“I’ve seen them before,” continued Severin with a strange, grim relish. “I’ve fought them before, and beat them before.”

“Good for you,” replied Elor, trying not to snarl.

“They’re vicious.” So far, Severin had said nothing of use and he knew it. He could see the colour rising in Elor’s cheeks. He was taking a malicious pleasure in gently provoking this jumped-up little wizard who believed that in his humble forty years he had seen and learnt enough to give him the same authority as a five hundred year old elf. “And?” asked Elor, his voice under exquisite control so that it was cold but not cross.

“Heard of Clan Salamander have you?” said Severin his eyes glowing with mirth. Elor paused for a moment, took in what the elf was saying and said with a chilly tone of morbid curiosity,

“Are you saying that those… tartars… belong to General Salamander?” The mirth was gone from Severin’s eyes Elor was glad to see, replaced by a steely resolve. It was an insensitive thing to say in jest, but if it were true then it would mean the beginning of events that would touch every corner of the world and would reach out into the future like the dark tendrils of some vile, deadly creeper. The elf did not speak, he simply nodded.

Elor knew the legend. Every mage and scholar who had spent any time in Aberddu for the last four hundred years knew the legend and all its variations. The bare details of Salamander’s terrifying rise to power, the iron grip with which he had held Tartaria. The Tartar army that he formed and commanded with his equally terrifying and powerful sister Flamehair. The havoc they wrought across the continent in their quest for power and the thousands that they had killed in the Siege of Aberddu. It seemed hopeless, unstoppable; and then a small, ragtag band of mercenaries stood up - The Aberddu Adventurers Guild, a group of drunken ne’er-do-wells who, according to the stories at any rate, sought little more than their own personal pleasure. The citizenry of Aberddu did not have great confidence in their eccentric protectors. Only a handful of adventurers took the line with the Militia during the siege and when the storm came two days into the stand-off, the city had been over-run. Tales were told of massive tartars appearing from all the waters and every fire. Severin’s eyes darkened as he reminded Elor of this, and Elor realised for the first time that Severin was not simply repeating cradle-tales, he was a first-hand account still as vivid in his mind as it had been four hundred years ago. Even after all this time, his face still betrayed the horror of the night when he had seen Salamander’s army destroy the city. He had been among the Guild survivors who had fled with everyone else who still had legs to run. The capital of Albion, Auborn was safe and welcoming to the folk from the ruined outpost. For a few months they lay low, until summer came and with it Tartarian troops, marching to meet the glorious Albion Army. Severin had not been on the line that day, but he had heard the tales of the magic that the tartars used against the Albion. Vast columns of water wiped out whole battalions and wild-fire magic wiped out the rest. The flaming creatures that were conjured - drakes and elementals, were unlike anything even the mages could identify. Only a handful of soldiers survived, the tartars did not allow the privilege of retreat, their attacks continued as Albion turned and fled. Disgraced, Albion withdrew from the world stage and when, two months later, Auborn was overrun by the Tartar army there was little resistance.

Aberddu may have been destroyed, but the Adventurers Guild had not. They disappeared and for a while the word was that they had gone to ground across the Sea of Stars, hiding like the cowards they undoubtedly were. As the Tartar armies occupied Auborn and moved their way into Paravel and the Elven Territories, Albion adjusted to life under Tartar rule. Winter approached, and many feared a famine. The occupying forces demanded tithe and food was running low. Preparing for the onset of a slow starvation, the people of Albion waited for the frosts to begin. Then, in the cold white light of the first icy dawn, they awoke to find the Tartars retreating. Salamander and his sister had vanished.

Rumours abounded of terrible warlords, works of dark magic and even the hands of a God. Few seemed to know what had caused Salamander’s downfall. The Adventurers Guild of Aberddu, the seemingly useless gang of renegades and reprobates, had executed an act of heroism the like of which bards would sing about down the generations. With little aid, they had travelled deep into the heart of Tartaria and performed a binding ritual on Salamander and his sister Flamehair. They had blocked their powers, removing their command of both fire and water. Powerless, Salamander and Flamehair had fled before the adventurers could kill them. Again, Elor could see from Severin’s eyes that this was not hearsay. He lifted his tunic a few inches, exposing his side and Elor saw the faintest trace of a sword wound on his ageing skin. Both men sat in silence, Elor still gazing at the place where Severin’s scar had been, as they contemplated the ramifications of the evenings attack.

Erin, now bandaged but still bleeding, hobbled over and said tersely,

“What is it this time Elor?”

ARABI 1098 AC

A fierce wind blew across the gypsum, whipping up clouds of dust. The dirty yellow buildings of Khim Al Salar squatted in clusters around the base of the pyramid. In the height of the day, the streets were deserted giving the dust balls space to tumble and skitter. This was not unusual, few ventured into the white hot sun at this hour. Today though, it was not the heat driving people inside.

Only one building showed any sign of movement. Taller than the surrounding houses, it had a domed roof and a cloistered balcony surrounded by a pierced patterned wall. There was a wide arched doorway on the ground floor of the building and three shallow steps lead down to the road. A stone wall nearly ten foot high ran around the edge of the compound protecting the temple Grounds from the outside world, a large ornately painted wooden gate was set into the wall, providing the only other point of access.

A small obelisk-like tower in front of the main doors housed an iron bell that rang solemnly across the heat-ridden city. The sound of nearly a hundred voices reciting a long, laborious litany of faith spilled out through the walls. It was the only other sound. The volume of the litany reached a crescendo, ending in a resonating declamation of faith. Then there was a moment of genuine silence before nearly one hundred people all got to their feet and streamed towards the wide temple doors.

The Army of Law lined out without a word. Each soldier swathed head to foot in loose green fabric against the heat. Each soldier wore an identical polished breast plate and carried two identical scimitars crossed on their back. The front rank held identical shields bearing the arms of the God-King at exactly the same height. Then, when they were complete in seven ranks of fourteen, they stood at perfect attention and waited.

The massive wooden gate creaked open mechanically and a glorious golden chariot rolled out. The cream horse pulling it was liveried in a flowing green and gold trapper with a polished black leather halter that gleamed in the sunlight. In the back of the chariot, standing nearly seven feet tall was God-King Rabin Ibm Khim Al Salar. His armour, although exactly the same as that of his troops, was more beautiful, more finely wrought and almost glowed in the heat of the day. With terror-inspiring synchronisation, every soldier drew one sword, sank to one knee and raised their blade above their head in salute. In one voice that echoed out across the wastes they cried,

“Khim Al Salar Hail!” and the God-King acknowledged the cheer with a mere nod. Then with more breath-taking precision they rose to standing. Rabin Ibm Khim Al Salar turned to face his troops.

“Faithful,” he proclaimed, his voice dry and thin with age, “this is the day, this is the hour. All prayer, all honour has lead our feet along this road to this place. We fight not for glory or land we fight for a thing more precious than worldly concern. Today we stand firm against the forces of Chaos that even now are marching to destroy us. We will fight and we will win or we will go on to the next life knowing we have paid the highest price. For Law” He bellowed the next words and the army echoed them. “To arms.” The army turned smartly a quarter turn and in perfect step despite of the uneven ground marched, onward out of the city.

TARTARIA 1098 AC

Clan Boar Land

Marta scowled, her knuckles white on her bridle. Iri’s sneering words were still rattling around inside her head but she had not risen to the bait. Not because she wasn’t angry but because the imposing sight of Maran and his disapproving glare had quelled her. Even after the last twelve months, Iri’s attitude to Marta had not softened and Marta had not quite matured enough to let the deliberately provocative comments pass.

When the chieftain had announced that Marta would be accompanying him to the negotiations, small pink spots of furious envy had appeared on Iri’s pale cheeks. It had taken mere seconds for her to turn this on Marta in a low growl. If the chieftain had heard her hiss that it was obvious Marta couldn’t be trusted out of sight then he had chosen to ignore it. When you are one of the clan war-leaders, no one stands in front of you. If you choose not defend yourself from attack then it is up to you alone to deal with the consequences. Unfortunately for Marta there was nothing she could do to retaliate that would have any effect on the blatantly jealous Iri. She had turned to make a retort but Maran had been there. His disapproving gaze had silenced her. He knew, even if the younger war-leaders didn’t, that there was going to be more trouble on this day than these petty territorial squabbles and power-plays.

Reigning in her vitriolic, humiliated anger, Marta looked down on the camp they were approaching. There must have been two thousand souls living down there on the veldt. In the centre stood the gargantuan command tent of General Salamander, painted with vibrant red and orange knots and patterns, the front opening into featureless darkness. Around it, in the shimmering heat haze, spiralled about a hundred tepees and around the edge a ring of maybe two or three hundred moktis: three-poled frames build to support the weight of two soldiers’ fur and hide battle armour hung strategically to form a low lying makeshift canopy just big enough for two soldiers overnight. Bare now, as the armour was in use, the moktis made a strange frill on the edge of this giant war-like doily.

To Marta, who had never seen two thousand souls in one spot, it was more than intimidating. The year had not been kind to Clan Boar in terms of casualties and there were barely seven hundred of them left all told. It was the first time she had seen the might of Salamander displayed impressively and she could hear her words of twelve months previously.

“We fight, until our very last breath, we fight.”

It seemed like childish hubris now, to think that the Boar could stand against this. Surrender and acquiescence, these things were not of the Boar. They did not back down, they were stubborn beyond even what was usual for tartars. This could be seen as spirited or foolhardy given their smaller than usual clan but however it was seen it could not be denied that Boar were as good as their word. Marta couldn’t help but wonder if today that might change. The chieftain hadn’t said what he intended to do. He had heard them all out but had chosen not to share with them his final verdict.

There had been quite some disagreement amongst the clan council about what the Boar should do next. For once, the voices of the war-leaders had been united against capitulating to Salamander. The shaman had made a case for a more placatory approach, and the elder, whose business was the clan’s economic and materialistic welfare, had argued that dead clans held no ground. Marta admitted it was not a decision she would have wished to make. She was grateful, as she picked her way on horseback slowly down the bank to the camp, that she didn’t have to.

The pink dots on Iri’s sullen cheeks hadn’t faded - she was still hot with envy. She didn’t bellyache about it, fair wasn’t a concept that held any place in the world of the war-leaders. The chieftain had chosen Marta because had wanted to take Marta, he hadn’t wanted to take Iri and the reason was largely unimportant. Maran at least had the decency not to scorn her but Rhine on the other hand had simply screwed up his face into a horrid visage of mock sympathy and shaken his head. The conspicuous loss of Kern, another of the war-leaders, not three days earlier and his brother Valdan’s overdue return from a scouting mission had left the three of them alone and unnerved. Sitting dejectedly on the steps up to the council table at one end of the great hall they felt and looked oddly diminished. The three of them had very little to say, but that didn’t stop them from talking, trying to clarify their thoughts out loud on what might happen in the next twenty four hours. Hunched over with his swords in his lap, Maran did not look at the others as he spoke.

Of the three of them, he seemed the one least certain that the chieftain wasn’t about to surrender the clan to Salamander. This was no reflection on Maran’s opinion of the chieftain. He had always respected him as a wise and courageous leader, a man with the best interests of the Boar running through his bones. It was because of this that Maran had his doubts. Older than the others by a good five or so summers, he knew that an element of practicality would be involved. Salamander’s army numbered more than twenty thousand at the last count and to stand against them would be suicide. If they went over, some of them might survive. Maran really wasn’t sure what he would do in the chieftain’s position.

In his quiet halting manner, he was trying to find a way to articulate these thoughts to the other two when the warning bell clattering across the village interrupted him. Without a pause all three of them jumped to their feet and sprinted down the hall, their weapons drawn before they had taken three steps. They burst out of the dingy hall into the afternoon sunlight, blinking to focus. The resounding clang of the warning bell filled the air as the clan scrambled into action. Mustering around the bell, every man and woman and every child big enough to wield a dagger was ready to defend. Standing on the bell-plinth, Maran was the only one who could see the full extent of what approached. He swallowed hard, his face white as he addressed the gathered rabble.

His sudden pallor did not go unnoticed, panicked mutters filtered through the crowd as heads turned to see what Maran saw. As they did, they too felt hot lead swell in their stomachs and crash towards their abdomen. Hearts pounded and blood filled ears so that Maran’s words were a blur. Outnumbered at least three to one by the fast approaching soldiers of Salamander’s army they were starring in horror at their last few minutes.

They knew, without being told that this army were not coming to capture or contain them. This was not the next step in the chain of surrender to General Salamander. This was destruction and they had only one choice: to meet it with their heads held high. As one, a roar swept through them, drowning the last of Maran’s useless words.

With giant strides, Rhine took the plinth, elbowing Maran to one side. He was not of such sensible constitution. His eyes glowed with adrenaline, spittle glossed his lips, there was an almost palpable energy exuding from him. As his lifted his sword above his head and bellowed “Boar!” all eyes were on him and the response was staggering. Six hundred desperate voices echoed their name. “BOAR!”

Then, they turned and with few tactics and no restraint at all, sprinted into the open arms of their enemy.

THE ELVEN WOODS 1098 AC

Gul pushed the sweet berries into his mouth and chewed on them haphazardly, spraying juice and pips into his matted beard. The edge of bitterness as he swallowed them made him wonder if he shouldn’t have waited a day or two more. But he was hungry now. He grabbed another handful of berries and guzzled them noisily. His slurping startled a sleeping grey finch on the branch above him. The bird let out an indignant caw, fixed him with a look of disgust and took flight. Gul let out a guttural snort of amusement as he gulped down another handful of berries, spitting stray leaves into the air, and forcing escaping juice clumsily into his mouth with his fingers.

Sated at last, he leaned back against the mottled trunk of the towering tree in whose branches he had been swinging for nearly an hour. The warm pale yellow light dappled down through the canopy of leaves above, falling in fussy patterns on his grubby skin. Like a cat he sunned himself, turning his face from side to side to get the best of the soft warmth. A gentle breeze tickled his ears and wafted the scent of ripe summer fruits under his nose. He could smell the elderflower and sugar grass, the strawberries and the cherry blossoms; all singing to him of the glorious sweet taste of summer after the sharp taste of spring and the muddiness of a meat-filled winter diet. Dangling his legs in the air, he felt blessed and free. High in these branches, at one with a mighty tree that had been here before him and would remain long after, he felt safely cocooned in the glory of the Wyld and her munificent bounty.

Gul’s bliss was swiftly broken. A strong wind, neither warm nor fragrant, wafted over him. This wind didn’t tell tales of the forthcoming delights of summer or of nature’s glory. There was blood in the air, rudely spilt and fresh. He sniffed again. Definitely blood. Licking his teeth to rid himself of the smell, he started to scramble to the ground. He jumped the last eight feet and hit the ground running in the direction of his hut, all memory of his blissful stillness vanishing in his stride. With a racing heart, he flung aside the rag curtain and fell straight upon his stones. Snatching up the leather bag and the small clay basin he pelted down to the river and stopped dead on the bank. The portents do not speak to those who harry and force them.

Breathing deeply to force his heart rate to return to normal, he stepped into the river. Ignoring the icy flash as the water touched his feet he waited for a moment and then bent down to dip the basin into the flow. Pulling it out almost instantly, he had caught enough water for his purpose. Moving carefully so as not to spill or ripple the water, he placed the basin on the bank. Then he sat down in front of it, cross-legged and closed his eyes. When, after a few moments, he felt ready, he emptied the contents of his pouch into his left hand and scattered the tiny dozen stones into the water.