Authors: L. M. Roth
Quest For the Kingdom Part VI The
Sorceress and the Seer
“I have a gift
for you.”
She stood up
abruptly and moved to the back room of the hut. Nolwenn wondered what the gift
might be, but did not have to wait very long to find out. Melisande returned to
her chair and held out a pendant to her sister-in-law.
“Take this,”
she said. “I have had it made especially for you.”
Nolwenn beheld
a silver chain and from it dangled a small amulet of some dark clear stone,
capped with a silver link that connected it to the chain. The stone itself was
unadorned and hung freely from the chain.
“Oh, how
lovely,” Nolwenn breathed.
She stretched
her hand out to take it, but Melisande drew it back quickly and smiled.
“Allow me to
explain first, Nolwenn. The amulet is very powerful. When you have need, just
hold it in your hand and the stone will clear. When it does, it shall show you
the future, and the answer to any question you put to it.
“See? Like
this?”
Melisande put
Nolwenn’s hand on the amulet. The girl cradled it in her grasp, and decided to
ask it a question.
“Where is my
brother, Cort?”
As she stared
into it, the cloudy depths cleared and Nolwenn saw a picture forming. She saw a
ship, and on the deck of the ship she saw her brother and his wife Siv. She
gasped excitedly and showed the picture to Melisande.
Melisande also
gasped but not with delight. Her lips tightened suddenly and she clutched the
pendant so hard that she cried out in pain. When she opened her hand, Nolwenn
saw the deep impression the stone had left in her palm. Melisande quickly
recovered herself and smiled reassuringly at the young girl.
“Take it,
Nolwenn. But let us keep it as our little secret, shall we? I am afraid that if
Maelys knew of its existence it would only make her jealous at the favor I have
shown you. And you know what her temper can be like, don’t you? The last thing
I would desire would be for her to harm you in any way, as she did the time she
hurt your arm.”
“Know this:
there are those who can see ahead, just as you do also, they see the future.
Yet they use it to gain power over those who seek them out so they may control
them, and not in love to guide and warn as the servants of Dominio use it. They
are mystics who garble strange gibberish that they pass off as knowledge,
diviners who call on evil spirits that they may see what lies ahead.”
The Valeriun
Empire has fallen into the hands of a violent man who seeks power above all
else, and declares himself divine. The persecution of the Alexandrians
intensifies, spreading fear throughout the land.
Marcus Maximus
mourns the loss of his greatest treasure, but receives enlightening information
regarding its theft.
Dag Adalbart
suffers for the cause of the Kingdom, and faces an uncertain fate.
Their teenaged
children form an alliance to stand up to the wicked Iacomus, boldly going to
the aid of their fellow Alexandrians.
In Eirinia, a
web of wickedness is being spun around the villagers, with the Adalbart family
the selected prey. Around them, the Tuadan increase in power, making their
presence known as terror mounts through the countryside.
And it is up
to the seer Kyrene to piece together the puzzle that is Melisande, and to break
her hold over those under her spell before it is too late.
Quest For the Kingdom Part VII A New
Kingdom Rises
“Kyrene was
left behind to stand guard in Leith. She deemed that both Dirk and Maelys were
far too young to stand up to the evil that now simmered beneath the surface in
general, and she did not like the feeling of an unnamed threat that seemed to
stalk the Adalbart family in particular.
And that was
when she started training Dirk, Maelys, and Lucius how to be spiritual
warriors. She omitted Nolwenn, sensing a duplicity as well as rebellion in the
young girl. As loyalty was an inviolable requirement in any military troop, she
could not afford to permit the flighty girl access to any of their confidential
information.
She took them
deep into the woods behind the village, even to the places where the Eirini
were warned not to go. At first, Maelys had been nervous, and glanced around
her as if expecting to see some unspeakable horror pop out at her. But Kyrene
merely laughed off her fear.
“You must be
strong and courageous,” she told the young woman. “For greater is He that is in
you, than he who is in the world. Remember that: you have received of the
Spirit of Dominio, and there is no power that can stand against Him. But you
must be pure of heart, or you will not be able to stand before your foe. I do
not say that he will defeat you; he may, or he may not. But your own heart will
quake in fear and you shall run and not stand your ground.
“And never
forget that it is the Astra who are behind their enmity with you, as they
inspire them to hate you, wrong you, and cheat you at every turn. But Dominio
has already judged the Astra, and they are diminished in their power.
“The Tuadan,
as your people call them, are nothing more than the Astra whom Dominio banished
to earth. Even in your own legends their power is diminished as they dwell in
the hills that men trod underfoot, and in the trees that men chop down. It is
true that you can not fight them in your own strength, but it is the Spirit in
you that will give you the victory if battle is engaged.
“Remember to
examine yourself; be sure you are in right relationship with Dominio Himself.
Love your enemies and do good to those who hate you. Do not return evil for
evil. Be kind and forgive, praying for those who war against you, for remember
it is not flesh and blood that is your true enemy. They are only inspired to hate
you by the Astra, who
are
your true enemy.
“And let me
share with you what my mentor taught my friends and me: you will never defeat
the kingdom of darkness unless you conquer the chambers of your own heart.”
“The very
structure on which the Valeriun Empire was built had crumbled, and a new
kingdom was rising in its midst. But not Dominio’s Kingdom of Heaven: no, the
Emperor was taking the name of Dominio in vain and implementing a terrifying
abuse of power that would bring death to untold thousands, all in the name of
God.”
In Valerium
the Emperor Iacomus implements a terrifying regime that destroys the
foundations of the Empire, and places himself in the place of God.
Marcus Maximus
is forced to hide from the wrath of the enemy, with help coming from a most
unlikely source, and his children face difficult choices that will decide not
only their destinies, but the survival of the Kingdom.
Dag Adalbart
is forced to wait on the Emperor as his personal miracle man, while in Eirinia
his children are left to confront the rising forces of evil around them as the
countryside falls deeper under the spell of wickedness.
Quest For the
Kingdom Part VII A New Kingdom Rises concludes the saga of Marcus Maximus and
Dag Adalbart, and the tale of Logos, the fabulous Sword which must never be
used in violence.
Quest
for the Kingdom Part IV A Stranger Among Us
Table
of Contents
Quest
for the Kingdom Part V Rise of the Time of Evil
Table
of Contents