The Queen Of Carleon E-Book

Linda Thackeray

• Herausgeber: Next Chapter
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

Darkness surrounds the land of Avalyne.

When Arianne learns that the birth of her son will bring chaos in the realm, she sets on a quest to ensure this terrible future will never come to pass.

Accompanied by the warriors Celene of Angarad and Keira of the Green, Arianne enters a race against time, as an ancient evil prepares to replace her son's soul with a monster.

The Queen of Carleon is a tale of adventure, romance and friendship, with an epic battle between good and evil for the soul of an innocent.

Leseprobe

The Queen of Carleon

Legends of Avalyne Book 1

Linda Thackeray

Copyright (C) 2014 Linda Thackeray

Layout design and Copyright (C) 2019 by Next Chapter

Published 2019 by Next Chapter

Cover art by Lordan June Pinote

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.

Prologue

The Veil was breached.

Her home was ablaze. The fires turning the forest into ash were no longer cackling but roaring in triumph as they continued to ravage the Wanderer's Wood. She could feel the intense heat prickling across her skin as she staggered blindly through the thick smoke, the hem of her dress greying with ash.

Under normal circumstances, her gift of Sight would be of use, but today it only added to the confusion. Already disorientated by the fire's victorious sound, adding to the confusion were the cries of her people around her. She could not just hear their terror, she could also feel it. She saw their fate rushing towards them and was unable to prevent any of it.

The protective shield keeping the realm of the elves separate from the world of men was torn asunder, and her city lay exposed, like the weeping wound from a picked scab. Berserkers warriors swarmed through the Veil, setting the forest alight. Fire raged through the undergrowth, engorging the trees, and enclosing the city built in the heart of the wood in a ring of fire. It was a prelude to a more direct assault.

Invaders rushed in through the inferno so quickly, and with numbers so large, it made her head spin. One minute, Lylea had been in her bed, and the next, she was overlooking the carnage from her keep in the Whispering Oak. Her people were taken by surprise, and she watched with horror as they rallied to save the forest, and their loved ones, despite being outnumbered by the heavily armed troops

Lylea's eyes glistened when she descended the keep and saw the world before her burning. Screams of terror whistled through the blaze from the trees that were ancient when she was young. In anguish, she watched them be consumed in columns of flame, hearing their wizened voices screaming in agony. Tears scalded her cheeks, as the forewarning of all she knew was about to befall her realm.

She turned away in time to see a berserker coming towards her where she stood. He rushed at her, this monstrous beast standing taller than most men, clad in heavy armour that bore the crest of the simurgh. Her heart sank each time she saw the crest because it had once signified hope, and now, it was the symbol of everything wrong in Avalyne. The beast swung his blade at her, and she raised her own to fight back. In her lifetime, she had prevailed against much fouler things than this soldier trying to end her life.

Although he was strong, she was skilled. She parried his attacks with vigour and determination, pushing him away with enough strength to send him staggering back a step or two. Giving him no time to recover, she immediately reacted in riposte by burying her sword in his neck. Dark blood, oily in its texture, spurted out of the wound as the beast uttered a strangled cry.

Through the smoke, another berserker emerged from the chaos, followed by more of his unit, until her world became engulfed in a clash of swords. The enemy's bodies lay strewn around her, and although she knew she was holding her own against them, they had kept her trapped and confined, unable to reach the others and soothe their panic.

When yet another soldier advanced upon her, she raised her stained sword to fight, ignoring the ache in her limbs and the minor wounds sustained during her battle. Five thousand years of rule had not dulled her skill, but no warrior could continue battle indefinitely without some injuries.

“Stand down!”

The voice was familiar, and when she discerned who it was, she understood how the Veil was breached. From the day of his birth, he was immune to her Sight. He was the one person in the whole of Avalyne whose future she could not see.

The berserker halted its advance and retreated, lowering his blade to allow his master to approach. Watching him step through the smoke, clad in his father's armour, the father whom he murdered to acquire the throne, was like a knife to her heart. Handsome and strong, he was Dare's son, but when she looked at his face, she also saw her daughter's eyes.

This was Arianne's boy, and her grandson. “Grandmother, will you yield?” His sword was drawn, and surrounding her were dozens of his servants, preparing to overwhelm her in sheer numbers.

“No,” she hissed in anger, knowing her refusal meant death, “I will not.” There was no mercy in his eyes only callous indifference. His answer was expected.

“Then die.”

* * *

It was the points of many blades piercing her skin that woke Lylea, High Queen of the elves from her bed in a cold sweat.

For a moment, she lay against the sheets, dazed. It took a few seconds for her mind to settle, and when it did, she found herself shrouded in the silence of night. Beyond her room, the city of Eden Taryn remained in its customary tranquillity. The Wandering Woods were intact, and the blaze haunting her in her dreams was little more than fragments fading from her mind.

Yet, Lylea knew this was not merely a nightmare. What she saw, like most of her dreams, often came to pass. This would be no exception.

Without understanding how, Lylea instinctively knew her daughter would soon be pregnant.

And the child she bore, would be a monster.

Chapter One: Unexpected Expectation

When Calfax confirmed the news, Arianne could scarcely believe it.

She had worked herself into vexation fighting the desire to place more importance on the symptoms she experienced. Until she knew for certain, she would not accept the signs of impending joy. She moved through her day, trapped in a state of limbo. Her mood drove her poor husband to distraction because he could not fathom what was at the heart of her temperamental state. She longed to tell him what was in her mind, but held back at the thought of disappointing him. That, and the possibility that he might become so terrified by the idea that he could take the first horse out of the kingdom and hide in Tamsyn's remote tower in the forgotten corners of the Jagged Teeth.

What was it with men of courage and strength, who could ride forth and slay a thousand beserker warriors without a flinch, but went into complete and utter ruin when confronted with the possibility of becoming a father? Arianne suspected not even the Gods could answer that question, and as a result, she chose not to torment her king with the possibility that he might have an heir before she herself knew without doubt.

Besides, there were other matters to occupy Dare's mind.

As the High King of the newly unified Carleon, the War Dragon was working hard to rebuild the kingdom in the wake of the destruction wrought by Balfure's war. Any person who thought being king was about power and glory would be shocked to learn how arduous it was to be architect of a country's restoration. Too many times Arianne stepped into the Great Hall to see him working tirelessly in consultation with his ministers to the late hours of the night.

When he paused to catch his breath, Arianne saw the glimmer in his eyes, longing for simpler days, when he was simply Dare—the exiled Prince of Carleon. Yet, he was a good man, the one she loved beyond reason or thought. He would carry the burden because his people needed him, and because he was the last of his house, at least until now. He alone left Eden Halas and stepped out into the world, with the courage and the will to see Balfure driven away from Avalyne for all time. Arianne would be at his side forever, carrying that burden with him, to fill his life with the simple pleasures, such as the news she was now about to impart.

Today, there was no longer any doubt in her mind once Calfax, the royal physician, confirmed her suspicions—she was with child. She drifted, if it was possible for a flesh and blood being to drift, through the halls of the palace, with her hands on her belly in secret delight. What a sight she must have been to the palace staff—the queen of Carleon sweeping about the place wearing the smile of a happy fool.

She knew they were probably grateful for her good mood, since she had been difficult of late. Arianne resolved to make it up to those who bore the brunt of her temper, especially Dare, who was a devoted and attentive husband as any woman could ask. After all, being queen did not excuse bad behaviour in any shape or form. Her mother taught her that.

Thinking of Queen Lylea made Arianne's smile widen, knowing how thrilled she would be at the news. Despite her sometimes aloof manner and her adherence to ensuring all forms were observed, Arianne knew her mother would like nothing better than to be a grandmother allowed to spoil her grandchildren shameless. It was a right after all.

* * *

As always, when he was with taking counsel with his counsellors and advisors, Dare was in the Great Hall when Arianne found him a short time after she had received her news. He spent a great deal of time in this room, attempting to portion out men and resources to the few lands still being plagued by scattered remains of Balfure's army. The beserkers, without their master, were even more dangerous than ever, as their rampage was now without purpose or direction. They were mindless beasts, driven by instinct and need, making their behaviour difficult to predict, and even harder to defend.

She watched him a moment, circling the large wooden table covered with maps, engaged in serious discussion with Aeron and Ronen, his most trusted advisers, while she stood there being so very proud of him.

* * *

Arianne remembered the day Dare first arrived at her mother's court in Eden Taryn.

He was but twenty-five, having spent much of his life in the court of Eden Halas. Arianne had heard the gossip of a human child being adopted by Queen Syanne, and how this action had caused much disquiet between her and her king. Naturally, she was curious as to what reason this human could possess to seek an audience with her mother—the High Queen of all the elves in all of Avalyne. He was taken through the Veil by Syanne's youngest child, Prince Aeron. Even so, Arianne was astonished that her mother allowed the incursion by a human into their lands, even if he was accompanied by an elf.

Lylea, who possessed the gift of the Sight, claimed this audience was one of importance. It could change everything.

Arianne found this difficult to believe at her first sight of him. He looked like a ruffian, with threadbare clothes, dusty from too much travel, and the leather of his boots were scuffed and worn. Sporting a day's growth on his face, his dark brown hair was unruly, and hung about his shoulders, like it had never known a brush. Still, he was beautiful despite the pains he took to conceal it. She wondered if he simply did not care enough to exploit his looks, or whether this was a guise he wore to disarm people into believing he was nothing more than a vagabond. Overall, it was not a good first impression.

At least, until he spoke in that soft spoken voice of his, revealing words that were remarkably eloquent, possessing a tone of humility and awe at being in their presence. Even without the gift of her mother's Sight, Arianne was capable of recognising liars, and she knew every word he uttered was issued with sincerity and reverence. When he addressed them, he did not bandy about words to flatter or posture. He spoke from the heart, and told them what he dreamed.

He dreamed of uniting Carleon to drive Balfure from Avalyne forever.

He was the last son of House Icara, and it was his duty to honour the kings before him by restoring Carleon to its people once more. Such dreams were nothing new from the race of men, Arianne thought. They were always quick to anger and easily prodded into war, which was why the elves wanted nothing to do with them in the past and remained hidden behind the Veil. It was what he said next that made everyone in the court sit up and pay attention.

None of them could defeat Balfure alone.

Prejudice and tradition prevented the races of Avalyne from standing as one, thus allowing their kingdoms to fall. All the people of Avalyne needed to work together, not just men and elves, but the dwarves too, and any race that felt their liberty threatened by Balfure's hunger for conquest. How much longer were they prepared to put all their faith in the Veil? What was to stop him from breaching the protection of Eden Taryn, if he set his mind to it? And, if he chose to come, were they certain they could stop him?

If we do not stand united, we will fall divided.

Arianne remembered how those words resonated with her, even after the conclusion of the audience. Dismissed until Lylea made her decision, Dare respected the lady's need for deliberation, and retreated to the woods where his circle awaited him. Before departing their presence, he paused long enough to cast a shy gaze at Arianne. When their eyes touched, he pulled away, embarrassed, as if he was caught spying upon something he had no business in seeing.

Intrigued, Arianne found him at his campsite later that day, and when she spoke to him, he was barely able to meet her gaze. She found it utterly endearing that he, who was so strong and determined before her mother, appeared flustered and uncertain in her presence. When he did look at her, Arianne found herself staring into eyes so blue, it was like staring into drops of sky. His spoke to her with the wonder of a man who could scarcely believe he was in the company of one such as her.

Arianne was a thousand years old, but no elf she met in all that time ever touched her heart the way Dare did when she finally got him to smile.

* * *

She hated to interrupt him when he was in counsel with Ronen, the Bân of Carleon, and Aeron, representing the elves, because Dare wanted the relationship forged by the Alliance against Balfure to endure beyond the war. They must be maintained, Dare told her, or each race would fall back into its old practices of isolation, and they would be in the same vulnerable place that Balfure found them.

Arianne did not have to hear what was being discussed to know the subject of greatest concern at this time was the rorting of the beserkers across Northern Province. Dare told her the night before he would have to dispatch soldiers to clear out the infested lands so the business of farming and industry could resume once more. They needed to feed and build to forge a new future, and this could not be done if towns were constantly besieged by the remains of Balfure's monstrous armies.

It was Aeron, with his keen elven senses, who first noticed her arrival. The others followed his gaze and stopped immediately what they were doing to face her. She stifled a laugh when she saw Dare's pained expression, as he wondered what sin he had committed to warrant an unexpected visit to call him out.

Poor Dare, she thought, and knew that she had many amends to make to her husband, who could not conceive of her unhappiness if there were something he could do to change it.

“Your highness,” Ronen, the second highest authority in the kingdom, greeted her. She always found that he was such a physical contrast to Dare. Ronen wore his dark blond hair worn loose, as was the fashion for men of Carleon and appeared well-groomed, unlike Dare's perpetually unruly locks.

“Ronen,” she answered with a slight bow of her head.

Ronen was the first captain to follow Dare, when the exiled prince returned to Sandrine, and rallied the forces needed to fight Balfure. By the time Dare arrived, Ronen's spirit was near exhausted from having to uphold Balfure's occupation of his homeland. A soldier with a good heart, he was not much older than Dare, and enforcing Balfure's law was driving him to breaking point. The arrival of the king renewed his sense of hope, and his loyalty became the basis of their deep friendship.

There was no need for such formality when she regarded Aeron. He was fair, like all her people were fair. Tall and lean, his brown, almost black hair, was worn loose, and always seemed wild and tousled even though it was braided in places to keep it from being untidy. Only the tips of his elven ears were exposed through the dark strands. Even though he walked Avalyne for a thousand years, he bore the appearance of a thirty year old.

“My queen.” He said, his dark blue eyes dancing with mischief while a small smile crossed his lips.

Arianne rolled her eyes at the formal greeting, wondering how it was that Aeron, with whom she spent many summers as a child during Lylea's visits to Eden Halas, could still remain as vexing to her as he was in those days. It was she who gave him his first kiss when they were eight years old and witnessed his first fall out of a tree. They were friends for most of their lives, too long for him to ever need to call her by any title. No matter how many times she reminded him of this, he continued to ignore her. Arianne was convinced he was doing it to be annoying, just like when they were children.

Dolt.

“Arianne, is something wrong?” Dare asked his wife gingerly, as she was easier to provoke these days than an ogre with a bad tooth.

“Nothing, my love.” Arianne assured him, and disarmed his anxiety with a smile he'd know was meant just for him. “I would just like a moment alone with my king, if my lords do not mind?” She glanced at the two men.

“Of course.” Ronen answered without hesitation, and he glanced at Dare for the King's leave to depart.

“I will send for you when we are done.” Dare replied, thinking absurdly that she wanted privacy so there would be no witnesses when she slaughtered him.

Both man and elf obeyed and left the room.

“If this is about where I left my boots again, I swear that affairs of state occupied my mind and I forgot…” Dare started to apologise before Arianne closed the distance between them, and silenced him with a kiss.

Caught by surprise, he stared at her with puzzlement for a moment, before the pleasure of it made him slide his arms around her waist and kiss her back with equal affection. She was the love of his life, and being King would mean nothing if she were not at his side. Her love had given him the strength to take back his kingdom, save his people, and be the man he was today. If he became a great king, it was because she had made him so.

“I am confused,” he finally admitted when they parted.

“Of course you are,” she said smiling, “I come here on an entirely new matter. However, now that you have made mention of it, is it so hard to put them away?”

“You are teasing me,” he retorted, a brow cocked over one eye in playful accusation.

“Yes, I am,” she confessed, smirking.

Dare drew her to him and kissed her again. He was glad to see that she was in a better mood than she had been during the past few days. In truth, his desire for self-preservation was superseded by his love for her, and so he worried what could have bothered her so greatly that she was lashing out so uncharacteristically. Arianne's nature was playful and spirited, but she was never biting in her manner. Her behaviour of late was a new experience for him.

Yet, it took only a kiss for him to fall in love with her all over again.

Her effect on him was always the same. Since the very first moment he laid eyes upon her at Lylea's court, Dare was lost. She was a vision of loveliness that almost made him forget everything he came to say to Lylea. Arianne took after her father, with shimmering dark brown hair framing her oval face with high cheek bones, full lips and eyes like the richness of the earth. Her skin, like all elven ladies, was pale, but to his eyes it was almost luminescent. She did not seem quite real, like something wandering out of a dream. Seeing her for the first time made his heart pounded in his chest like a boy.

To this day, Dare never understood why she loved him enough to give up her immortality.

“And what can the king do for his queen today?” he asked, considerably more at ease.

“I came to apologize for how I have been these past few weeks,” Arianne admitted first, and foremost. “I know I have been difficult.”

That was an understatement, but he wisely chose to remain silent.

“What troubled you, my love?” he asked, grateful at last she was talking to him about this. They always shared everything, and not knowing the reason for her foul mood had provoked his worst fears about their relationship. “I was starting to fear that you might have regretted the choice to give up your immortality for me.”

Arianne stared at him with disbelief at the mere suggestion.

“Fool!” She snapped, and swatted him on the arm for still harbouring such foolish insecurities. Did he still not grasp, even now, that he was her life? “You men can be so frightfully wrong at times,” Arianne chided.

“I warn you lady, striking the king is a mortal offense,” he returned playfully.

“I will take my chances,” she snorted dismissively. “I will tell you this once more, but if I have to do it again, I will call upon all the powers at my disposal to show you my displeasure. I love you and I always will. Immortal or not, you are my soul mate. If one lifetime with you is all there is, I will never regret it. You hold my heart, my king. Be secure in that fact, if no other.”

Properly admonished, Dare nodded in silence and knew that it was foolishness that allowed his mind to travel such dark roads. She proved her love for him on more occasions than he could count, and he had faith in her. Still, he could not help but wonder what in the name of Celestial Gods she saw in him to abandon her immortal existence and share a very mortal one with him.

“All right,” he conceded defeat, “but you must admit you were rather frightening these past weeks, and fear is not something I succumb to easily. I've fought monsters.”

“I have my reasons,” she said dryly, disappointed the surprise she intended to give him was waylaid by this old argument. Then again, what in life ever took place according to plan? “Something has been preying upon my mind of which I could not speak to you until I had confirmation of it. I am afraid waiting for an answer frayed at my nerves more than my disposition could endure.”

“What, Rian?” he demanded, a little alarmed she kept something so worrying from him. Theirs was a relationship that turned on their ability to confide everything to each other. It worried him what she might think too much for him to bear. “Did something happen? Are you alright?”

“I am fine,” she stilled him again her finger. “Dare, we are going to have a baby.”

The expression of stunned silence crossing his face was so acute, there was an instant she thought this news was not to his liking. All men wanted sons, did they not? She wanted to give him an heir, to consolidate his claim to the throne, and show him he was not the last son of his house. His astonishment was but brief, and her fears were dispelled when a great light flickered into being behind his eyes. Soon, it encompassed his face with a brilliant, and happy, grin.

“A baby!” he exclaimed, with the eagerness of a boy given a wondrous gift. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” she nodded, relieved to be finally able to tell him and sharing in the joy of it by his reaction to her news. “I suspected weeks ago I might be quickened, but I could not be certain until today. It is why I seemed so out of sorts. I am sorry I was upsetting but I so wanted to be certain before I told you.”

“And you are now?” he asked, staring at her in wonder before his gaze dropped to her stomach where his child, no, their child was growing within.

“Yes. Calfax confirmed it for me today. We are going to have a baby in the spring.”

“Oh, Rian!” he exclaimed, and he lifted her up by the waist and twirled her around in an uncharacteristic show of exhilaration. “I love you, and I will love our son!”

“Your son?” She gazed down at him with an imperious stare. “Are you so sure it's going to be a boy? It could be a girl.”

“I don't care what it is,” he admitted, immediately. “I do not care if we have a boy or a girl. I will love it either way. You have already made me happier than I ever thought possible but now, knowing that we have created this together—there are no words to describe it.”

“Oh, Dare,” Her voice was choked with emotion at the delight she saw in his face. Resting her head against his chest, she took comfort in the sound of his heart beating so close to her ear and wondered if her baby was listening to hers in the same fashion. “We are going to have a baby! Keeping this to myself has been so hard, I've wanted to shout it out from the roof tops ever since I first thought I might be with child. I am so glad I no longer have to keep this from you!”

“I wish you had told me,” he brushed to top of her dark hair with a light kiss. “You should not have to keep such a thing to yourself. It's no wonder you were so disagreeable.”

“I did not want to plant false hopes, my love. You have so much to worry your mind already, I didn't wish to see you disappointed if I was wrong.”

“Nothing that you do could ever disappoint me, my love.” Dare stared into her face, wanting her to see it was the truth.” Still, he could not deny he was delighted they were going to have a child. He truly meant it when he said that he cared little if it were a boy or a girl. “Now that we know for sure, I feel as you do. I want everyone to know!”

“Everyone?” She gave him a look, wondering what devilry he was conjuring in his mind.

“Yes,” he grinned, “I think it is time that the King and Queen of Carleon hold court with their friends again. How about we have a little party and we can make the announcement to the whole city?”

Arianne thought of her mother Lylea, the wizard Tamsyn, Kyou the dwarf, Celene, Tully and Keira of the Green. The last time they were all been gathered, it was during Dare's coronation and wedding. She would dearly love to see them again, and knew that Dare would also be pleased to spend time with the people who knew him before he became King.

“I think that would be most acceptable, my lord.” She showed her agreement with another kiss.

“Well then run along and arrange it.” He smirked, dismissing her with a wave of his hand.

“This was your idea!” She exclaimed, with mock outrage. “How is it the duty falls to me?”

“Well, celebrations are strictly your responsibility, my queen. I only deal with the running of the kingdom, fighting the wars and killing of the occasional insect in our chambers. If you wished the arrangement changed, I have no objection.” He winked at her.

“Really?” Arianne snorted and pulled away from him. In truth, her duties amounted to more than that. As his queen, it was her responsibility to ensure well-being of their people by seeing to the creation of schools, houses of healing and other public works. Nevertheless, her mind whirling already with all the things had to be done for such a celebration to take place. “I will do your bidding this once, my king,” she teased. “But only because it suits me.”

“Well thank you, my queen,” he returned, smiling as he watched her sauntering towards away. Knowing he was soon to be a father, by a woman he never thought could love him back, made the day's duty a little less tedious. Arianne was able to lift his spirit like no one else alive, and he still marvelled at the discovery someone so beautiful could also be as equally kind.

“Rian,” he called out before she left the hall.

“Yes, Dare?” She cast those magnificent blue eyes back at him with a quizzical expression.

“I love you,” he said softly.

“As you should, my love,” she replied as she left.

Chapter Two: Invitation

Visitors to the Green were rare.

Nestled in the western shadow of the great Baffin Range, the village was hidden away in the middle of Barrenjuck Green, the oldest forest in Avalyne. It was also the only community of size before one reached the distant fishing town of Lenkworth. Shielded by the mountains and flanked by the Brittle Sea, the people of the village were of human stock, but managed to remain untouched by Balfure and his armies. Mostly farmers, the folk of the Green found no reason to venture beyond their borders, particularly when they heard the tales of travellers who spoke of trouble happening in the rest of Avalyne.

Everyone noticed the rider from Carleon.

Garnering curious stares from the locals as he rode through the small community to deliver his message, the messenger knew his instructions. Deliver the news, wait for a response, if there was one to be received, and then leave immediately. He was to disturb nothing in this small community, beyond the duty he needed to perform. Once he left the Green, the town of Tumbur, which sat at the foothills of the Baffin Range, would be the only place he could stop for rest before crossing the mountain and returning to Carleon.

Although the presence of the visitor drew much interest, the locals knew for whom the messenger had come. There was not one person in the village who did not know the high king's connection to the occupants of Furnsby Farm. The couple was deemed foolish by most of the village for becoming involved in the whole business when they gave the future king of Carleon refuge from Balfure's Disciples. The consequences to Keira Furnsby were terrible indeed, but there was no denying the lady's courage or the admiration she earned for saving the king.

The messenger gave his news to Keira as soon as he was met at the door to their home. Keira gave her response immediately, aware it was a long ride to Tumbur, and he would have to make it again if she made him wait for an answer. It was more than a year since she and Tully last travelled, and she knew he would very much like to accept the king's invitation. Despite the fact Tully enjoyed his life in the Green, he liked to travel and would be thrilled to see what had become of the world since Dare was crowned king.

Sending the messenger on his way, after telling him the Furnsbys would be in attendance at the King's celebration, she left the house in search of her husband. Putting on her boots and her cloak, because the air was cool this morning, she went to the east paddock where she knew Tully was working. Today the spring calves were finally old enough to leave their pens, and she knew Tully would like to keep an eye on them as they took their first tentative steps into the world.

“Tully!” She called out to him as she neared the paddock, her red hair escaping the hood of her cloak and blowing over her face. Tully Furnsby was watching carefully the calves sniffing at each other in interest, trying to make sense of the world outside their confinement, when he heard his wife's call. Leaning against the fence, he glanced over his shoulder to see her approach, wondering what she was doing here. She was a small woman, petite in her stature, with freckles across her nose and brown eyes. Life on a farm had made her strong, although not even to withstand torture by Disciples, he thought sourly.

“Is everything alright, Keira?” He asked, as soon as she was near “You're not feeling poorly, are you?” He had launched into the familiar tirade of questions that was sure to annoy her, he realised belatedly.

“Tully,” Keira's expression darkened, wishing he would not treat her as if she were made of glass, “I'm fine. I would tell you if I wasn't.”

“No, you wouldn't.” Tully countered, perfectly aware that she'd keep silent him because she didn't want to worry him. He knew he shouldn't be so over-protective. Ever since the Disciples, Tully blamed himself for what happened to her, though he would never admit it out loud. Whenever she had a bout of sickness or woke up screaming in the night from a nightmare, he cursed himself again for letting this happen to her. He wished he could show her how much he admired her for withstanding the torture, and how strong she was but all that ever came out was his worry.

“We are pair, aren't we?” He smiled at her.

“We are.” Keira agreed, leaning over the fence to kiss him on the cheek. “So, what's happened? Did you need me for something?” He guessed whatever the reason for her presence here, it wasn't urgent.

“I do.” Keira nodded, reaching into the folds of her cloak to produce the invitation delivered to by the man of Carleon.

The envelope was very fine and did not appear to be stationery common to the village. Farmers were very sensible with their parchment, preferring function over ostentation, and they certainly wouldn't use one gilt with gold, if they even used it at all. In the Green, the fastest way to pass news was to go to the market and tell Mrs Birdweather about it. After that, everyone in village would know.

“What's this?” he asked.

“This,” Keira said, smiling, “is an invitation from Dare to visit him and the queen in Sandrine. It appears he is having a party and wants us to attend.”

As always, Tully's first thought, when considering such a trip, was how Keira would manage. Sandrine was quite a ways away. Despite the fact it was seven years in the past, Keira did not recover as she ought, and occasionally she had strange turns, but he also knew a change of scenery might also help the situation.

“I told the messenger we would go.” Keira declared in case his hesitation was due to his usual concerns about her.

“You did?” He asked with some surprise, and he felt himself relax in light of that revelation. If she felt well enough to go, she'd only get cross with him if he did. Keira didn't like being reminded she wasn't as well as she should be. “Then we'll go.” He grinned. “It would be nice to see Dare and that lot again.”

It still felt odd though, calling the king of Carleon by name, or to think of him as the War Dragon. To Tully, he would always be Dare, who appeared on their doorstep needing help, and showed them there was no such thing as hiding from evil if evil was determined to seek them out.

“Yes, it would,” Keira agreed, grateful he offered no protest.

“I wonder what the celebration is about,” he mused, not expecting an answer.

Keira knew, but she kept it to herself for now.

“I suppose we'll find out when we get to Sandrine. The 'why' doesn't matter much as long as we get to see our friends.”

“You're right as always, Tully,” Keira agreed, glad to be going on a trip to see everyone again.

* * *

Unlike the messenger, who was required to cross the Baffin Range to deliver the invitation to the Furnsbys, the invitation sent to Kyou, the Weapons Master of Carleon, did not have far to travel. At that very moment, the dwarf of Iridia was in the city, helping to reinforce the fortifications after years of neglect and damage from Balfure's attacks.

During the occupation of Balfure's forces across Avalyne, Kyou, like most of his people, was forced to flee to the other parts of Avalyne or fall under the yoke of the Aeth Lord. Balfure invaded their ancestral home of Iridia, in the Starfall Mountains, with his beserkers army to enslave Avalyne's greatest craftsmen so they would build him his weapons of war.

Years later, Dare sought out his people in the Jagged Mountains because, to unite the scattered dwarf clans of Iridia, he needed support from the son of their most respected chieftain. Kyou joined Dare because more than he wanted revenge, he wanted what his father had died for—the freedom of his people. When Dare left the Jagged Mountains, Kyou accompanied him while the rest of his people set to work giving the future king exactly what he wanted: the greatest weapons every forged.

* * *

“Master Builder!”

Kyou glanced up from the parchments laid out on the table before him. They were the plans of the work needed to be conducted to the western wall of the city; the one that was hit the worst during the siege of the city when Balfure first attacked Sandrine. During the occupation, the Aeth Lord neglected the city and did not bother to make repairs. Reconstructing these now would allow him to conduct the rest of the improvements he was asked to carry out by Dare.

Only the elf would be so bold to call him by the title. In truth, there were a number of rituals he needed to perform in the traditions of Iridia before any dwarf could assume the title of Master Builder. Kyou never completed them. He was too busy fighting a war at Dare's side.

“Must you persist in using that infernal title?” Kyou glared at Aeron with hazel eyes.

“Yes, Master Builder,” Aeron replied, amused by the grimace that crossed the dwarf's face. “I bring you tidings from the king.”

Kyou snorted in annoyance and turned back to his plans. “You may tell his Royal Highness that the wall must be rebuilt before I will add any weapons to it. If it cannot take the weight, it will be of little use to him. We are working as quickly as we can, and if he persists in hounding me, I shall return home and he can finish it himself!”

“I will tell him that if you like.” Aeron rolled his eyes sarcastically. “But he did not send me here to request an update about the progress of the work. I offered to come here in place of one of his riders.”

“Oh?” Kyou stared at him. “And what would he want of me, if not to know how his fortifications fare?”

“To invite you to a celebration,” the elf declared, always amused at how Kyou's temper could make him jump to foolish assumptions. After all these years of friendship and camaraderie between them, Aeron wondered if 'disgruntled' was the dwarf's natural state. “It appears that there is an important announcement forthcoming. The queen has summoned her mother, and mine, to attend. Meanwhile, the king has sent riders to the Green and the Jagged Teeth.”

“Interesting.” Kyou absorbed the news, and scratched the stubble on his cheek at what the announcement could be. “Do you have any idea what this news might be?”

“Not really,” Aeron confessed. “I know Arianne required an audience alone with Dare while we were in discussion about the trouble in the Northern Province.”

“Ah!” Kyou exclaimed, with a note of triumph in his voice. “It's a baby then.”

“A baby!” Aeron retorted, wondering how the dwarf made that leap. “What makes you say that?”

“Let us examine the evidence—a celebration involving the queen's kin, and the gathering of their friends, the closest that the king has to family, not to mention that we are speaking about the most serious man in creation, choosing to celebrate some grand news? What else could it be?” He gave Aeron a look of amusement, wondering how a thousand year old elf could be so naïve at times.

“Well, I suppose he did seem rather cheery after the fact, grinning from ear-to-ear as a matter of fact. It was rather unnerving.”

Kyou rolled his eyes once again, and muttered, “Aeron, you are in sore need of female company.”

* * *

If an invitation was sent to the tower in the mountains of the Jagged Teeth, there would have been no one to receive it.

A week before, the first of the riders set off Tamsyn, the last mage of the ancient Order of the Enphilim, departed his secluded domicile. He rode with all haste to the Wanderer's Wood to take counsel with Queen Lylea of Eden Taryn. The journey was long but the urgency of the situation demanded nothing less.

What he had seen in his Scrying Pool was convincing enough.

The city of Eden Taryn was not as lavish as Eden Ardhen, which had stood for thousands of years before its destruction by Balfure's beserkers. It was an infant, thirty-five years old, and although the elves constructed a beautiful city among the woods, it did not possess the grandeur of its predecessor. The city was built upon the branches of the great Whispering Oak, nurtured by the elves to reach its immense size, so it could take the weight required to bear it.

Tamsyn ascended the great winding staircase coiled around the tree, leaving behind the forest floor. Its branches were thicker than most tree trunks, and it spread across the sky until only a single stream of light could penetrate the dense canopy of leaves. He was greeted at the curtain separating the world from the Veil by the queen's guard, and suspected by now, Lylea would be awaiting him. This would be the first time they had seen each other since the wedding of the queen's only daughter, Arianne.

He wasn't sure how he would be received, now they would be facing each other alone.

* * *

Tamsyn first met Lylea when her father died fighting in the Primordial Wars, almost three thousand years ago. The young woman was called upon to lead her people as High Queen, and it was a role she did not expect to take so soon. Not even betrothed, Lylea was required to lead a war where the elves were the foot soldiers to the gods. Their immortality given so they could continue to serve in the war for as long as possible.

It was longevity that came with a bloody price.

The war against Mael and his Primordials already raged for two thousand years by the time Lylea became queen. Even with her gift of the Sight, she was young and unsure, certainly impressionable enough to accept the guidance of a mage, who as was as new to his role as liaison as she was to being queen. While he was far older than she, he bore the appearance of a man in his fiftieth year, with dark hair and equally dark eyes and, while he never considered it, he might be thought of as handsome.

Certainly Lylea found him so, and while he should have known better, he indulged the attraction, even consummating it. By the time he realised the folly of what he had done, she was deeply in love with him. While Tamsyn cared for her deeply, he was conscious she was a young woman, even for an elf, and probably would be better off sharing a life with her own kind, as opposed to a mage, who could be called on to serve his masters at any given time.

Instead of telling her any of his fears, he retreated to the mountains of the Jagged Teeth, and there he had remained, in a deep sleep lost to the world.

When he was awakened by the intrusion of the dwarves some two thousand years later, he learned that Lylea never took an elven husband. Her consorts were always human, and the marriage usually provided a child, the last being Arianne. Although proposals were made to her by her own kind, she accepted none of them, and Tamsyn feared his betrayal soured her on the experience of finding a soul mate for all time.

At the wedding of Dare and Arianne, they regarded each other for the first time two millennia, even though news of his return must have reached her ears before that. He could have tried explaining himself, but she treated their past association as little more than an old friendship from long ago. Not once did she acknowledge once upon a time, they made each other burn beneath the light of the stars.

* * *

“Mage.” Lylea gazed down at him from her single throne, elevated on a raised platform, resting atop the wooden floor upon which he was presently standing. While she now had the appearance of a woman in forties, she was still no less dazzling than she had been as a young woman. Possessing a lighter shade of hair than Arianne, Lylea wore it up with delicate strands brushing her long slender neck. Her cheek bones were high, and gave pronouncement to her elfin features, as she stared at him with blue eyes lacking their usual warmth.

Although her personal guards were present, the absence of everyone else in the hall made him uneasy. There was too much unspoken between them, and the substances of it lingered in the air, waiting to choke them at any moment. Choosing to remind himself he was here for a reason, he ignored memories of their turbulent history.

“My Queen,” he replied with a bow. “I am sorry to impose upon your realm but…”

“I have seen it too. I know that my daughter's life is in danger.” She cut him off abruptly, her voice hard, and he knew it was not usual for her to speak this way. He noted one of her guards shifting his gaze subtly in their direction, surprised by her response.

“Then, you have seen the portents,” he said grimly, ignoring her aloofness when he knew she had cause for her hostility.

“It came to me in a dream,” Lylea explained, thinking of the impending doom hurtling towards her youngest, and perhaps most beloved, child. “Since then, I have felt the growing malice coming from the north, but what causes it is unclear. It does not please me to tell my daughter her happiest day may soon be her darkest.”

“Nor does it please me,” Tamsyn spoke in sympathy. “Both she and her husband are dear to me, and this news will surely send them both into panic. But we must make haste to Sandrine and tell her while we still have time.”

“We have less time than you think,” she declared, rising from her throne and descending the steps to the floor. Approaching him, she held up her hand revealing a letter gilt in gold. “The announcement has gone throughout kingdoms. It is what the enemy has been waiting to hear.”

“I feared this,” Tamsyn grimaced. “He has been waiting since Balfure's end for this moment, when the people of Avalyne have grown complacent with peace.”

“And nothing puts anyone more at ease than the arrival of a new prince,” the high queen reminded. “A mother to be should not be embarking on any quest, not so soon,” she said unhappily.

“This is no mere quest,” Tamsyn pointed out quickly. “To strike at the most vulnerable place there can be is evil of the foulest kind.”

“I know.” Lylea turned away from him, not wishing to see just how much this pained her. With a human for her father, Arianne made the choice to give up her immortality, something none of her other children had done. While Lylea understood her daughter's reasoning, she would never come to terms with the inevitable end Arianne could face. This evil could usher that end all the sooner. “I wish this did not have to be Arianne's burden alone. She should share it with Dare.”

Her pain made Tamsyn wish to offer her comfort, but painfully aware any gesture he made towards the high queen would not be well received, he remained content to simply agree with her. “I wish the same too. He loves her more than anything in this world and would allow nothing to harm her or his unborn child, but he is just a man. The enemy has no reason to keep him alive if he becomes inconvenient. Arianne is an elf with powers of her own and because the enemy needs her child, he cannot risk harming her. If Dare knew, he will be determined to protect Arianne by going himself and that is something we cannot allow.”

“Perhaps, we do not have the right to make that choice for them. Perhaps, assuming what is best for them is wrong.” She turned around and stared at him directly.

Tamsyn swallowed thickly, aware that her question was not merely statement, but a barb at an old grievance. He ignored it for now, because it was too big a subject to delve into at the moment when there were real matters of urgency to contend with. As it was, he felt guilty keeping secrets from Dare. The young king looked to him for counsel, had come to him for help to restore order to the world. Through those shared trials, they had become friends.

After a moment, he answered her. “I love them both dearly too, and my heart aches in fear at the danger that Arianne will face, but it must be done this way. If she were to fail in the undertaking, we would face a danger far worse than any we could possibly imagine. This could mean the resurrection of powers so dark no army in Avalyne can withstand it. No race will survive.”

“So is she to go alone in this peril? When we dealt with Balfure, we had an army. Is Arianne not allowed to have such support?”

“She will find her own way. There are allies for her in the strangest of places and she will find them. Dare shall not be completely forgotten in this either, but it must be his queen that paves the way for him to act.”

At least that was something, Lylea thought. Still, she could not help feeling as if she were abandoning Arianne to a questionable fate. It was necessary her carry out this quest, but Lylea could not say for certain whether or not she ought to do it alone.

“I guess it is time to visit Sandrine,” Lylea said with a heavy sigh. “It appears that we have a celebration to attend.”