Legends of Marithia: Book 1 - Prophecies Awakening: Uncut and Extended Second Edition (6 page)

Vartan heard the sound of leaves
rustling all around, and spun on his heel when he heard rough
movement behind him.

“He’s toying with us,” he said,
as he turned in all directions, desperately seeking any signs of
movement to give away the being’s presence.

Finn ran toward the darkness
with his sword drawn, slashing wildly at the shadows. His tears
shone in the moonlight as he screamed, “I’m not afraid of you!”

“Finn, no!” cried Vartan.

A shifting figure of darkness
slithered out from behind a tree, jerking Finn to a sudden stop
mid-jump as it grabbed hold of his frail neck, making it appear
that he was suspended in the dark air.

“
Pathetic creatures! You
think you can attack
me
and live to tell the tale?”
The demon twisted and threw Finn like a toy doll against the trunk
of the oak tree beside them. The sharp and sickening sound of bones
snapping filled the air, as the young boy’s body gave way to the
rock-hard surface that he hit with full force. Vartan froze, his
body like a statue as he watched helplessly. His brother’s
now-lifeless body crumpled to the ground.

Vartan's eyes narrowed and
his body shook. “No!
Why
did you do that? He was just
a boy!"

It seemed a fire began to build
inside his body, as though his chest burned with real flames. He
felt small sparks of energy surge from his chest and his body felt
more alive than ever before. He screamed so ferociously in his
overpowering fury that he lost his voice. As he released the arrow
from its confinement, both Vartan and the bow flickered with a dark
blue light, enchanting the arrow with lightning shards that ripped
their way into the air around it. It was only then, as the dark
woods were forced into light, that Vartan had his first true view
of the demon. Its skin rippled and flowed so rapidly that Vartan’s
eyes struggled to find its features.

The arrow immediately found its
target, and exploded with immense power as it struck the centre of
the demon. The resulting explosion set the surrounding trees alight
like giant candles, removing all shadow and darkness from around
them. With no means of escape, the demon howled with pain as it
slowly dissolved, piece by piece, into nothingness.

It dragged its decaying body
along the ground toward Vartan. A loud hiss erupted from the demon
as it dropped into the forest floor.

“Just die!” cried Vartan,
dropping to his knees beside his brother’s broken body.

Using his last ounce of
strength, he dragged Finn’s body away from the oak. Moments later,
a burning branch landed heavily in its place. Vartan’s vision
blurred as his anger gave way to his grief. Tears of pain blanketed
his eyes, and he sobbed uselessly. Suddenly he was completely
overcome with weakness, so physically drained, that he collapsed
onto the dirty forest floor next to his little brother. He couldn’t
move a muscle in reaction even as the faint but crescendo of
galloping hooves reached his ears.

“There they are! Down by the
burning trees! We’ve found them!” yelled Leon to the horsemen
trailing behind him.

“Wha... What has happened? No!
Finn!” cried Leon desperately, his voice wavering.

Vartan parted his lips and he
whispered weakly, “Father, I couldn’t save him. I failed him...
I... Demon... sorry...”

Strong arms lifted his body off
the ground as if he was as light as a feather. Vartan finally
closed his eyes and drifted away into sleep's deep embrace.

Vartan found himself standing in
a well-lit cavern. He brought his hands to his face and his spine
tingled. Something did not feel right. It was as if he hovered
above the ground in a dream of some kind.

“Where am I? Have I died and
gone to the realm of the gods?” he asked. His voice echoed through
the endless underground tunnels laden with a kaleidoscope of
crystals and diamonds.

He squinted as the blurry
figure of a man appeared, standing atop a mound in the cavern
floor. “Far from it. More importantly, child, what you should be
asking yourself is, ‘
Who
am I?’” The image of the man
flickered as it spoke. “You are not yet trained in the ancient arts
of magic, Vartan, and you are far too young to have cast the spell
of Sky’s Wrath without the proper training to control it. Many
paths lay before you, and there are many challenges which you alone
must overcome before we meet again."

“
Magic, training,
paths—what
are
you talking about? Finn - my little brother - I
failed to save his life, and it’s all my fault!” cried
Vartan.

“
You really do not know,
then? Who you are? Why you are here? That
is
an interesting conundrum.
Your brother chose his own path, Vartan, but you should ease your
conscience with the knowledge that he has passed into the afterlife
and will be born again."

“Born again? What does that
mean?” asked Vartan desperately.

“That was his fate, and you are
fortunate to remain in a position to choose your own. It is with
the luck of the gods that you will wake again, as the amount of
magic that you unleashed could dispatch the uninitiated from
Marithia - or from any other world, for that matter. When the time
is right, we will meet again. Until that time, we will watch you
from afar. We will have much more to discuss then."

“
Who are you?
What
are
you? How will I know who you are when we meet again?” asked
Vartan.

The figure let out an
immense laugh that sent a few stalactites smashing into the ground.
“You are not the only creature that is able to use magic,
Vartan.
I
am Karven. I am to my kind what your kings are to yours.
You are not yet prepared, or anywhere near ready, to handle all of
the answers I am able to provide; But at the very least, I owe you
a proper introduction."

The figure of the man suddenly
vanished with a flash. Vartan watched in wonder as a large
reptilian tail slowly appeared at the bottom of the mound, covered
in dark red scales that shimmered with many colours in the light.
Each scale continued to change until mighty Karven’s gigantic body
revealed itself. He spread his great wings, and breathed out
searing breath that melted the ice around the cavern.

The dragon king's voice
filled the caverns. “So you see, young Vartan, you will never need
question who or
what
I am when we meet. But I need you to understand
that if you utter a word of our existence, no human or elf will
believe your words, and you risk the destruction of us all. Now you
must awaken!”

Awaken? Am I
dreaming all of this?
thought
Vartan.

Karven chanted the words
“
Mens agitat
molem
,” and the spell immediately began
to take effect. Vartan felt a flow of magic wash over him like a
bucket of icy water, and his soul was pulled back into his body at
the speed of light.

The horses came to a sudden halt
beside the farm, under the pale white glow of the moon. A cheerful
Victoria ran to open the door with a lantern in her grip, welcoming
her family home with a warm smile. Her voice rang with love. "Thank
the gods you found them my love, come inside and out of the
cold..."

Suddenly her face paled as if
she had seen a ghost, and she stared at him with eyes stripped of
life, appearing frozen in time. The words escaped her lips with a
whisper. "Where are our children?"

Leon stood his ground, with
Vartan lying unconscious in his arms. A faint fog of breath escaped
their eldest son's lungs, and Victoria sobbed a sigh of relief.

Standing up straight and
blinking her watery eyes, her voice broke as she asked, "And what
of little Finn? Where is he?"

The horsemen carried the boy's
broken and bloodied body by the arms and legs, carefully placing
him on the ground beside Leon's feet. They nodded respectfully and
as they left for their horses, the nearest man whispered, "I am
terribly sorry for your loss."

The breaking of the lantern's
glass on the ground made Leon wince before his wife’s cries reached
his ears and tore through his heart. Walking past his sobbing wife,
his eyes blurred with his own tears. He carried Vartan to his room
and placed him down, carefully, on his bed, covering him with a
warm blanket.

Walking with heavy steps, he
spoke softly as he returned outside to find his wife. "Victoria...
I..."

She knelt in the dirt with
her son lying in her arms. She looked up at him and her lips
quivered as she wailed, "Like this? Was he fated to die like
this
?"

Leon approached slowly,
clutching the wooden carving of a knight on horseback in his
clenched fist. Dropping to his knees in front of her, he took them
both in his arms and held them tight.

Chapter 3: Darkness Falls

“Like moths to a flame, both young and old
journey to my tower. They seek my powers to satisfy the many needs
of mortals, and I do not ask any of them for their reasons, but the
price of blood must always be paid.

Some consider me as a bad influence, but I
prefer to see myself as indifferent. To define an act as good or
evil is solely to see an action from one perspective or another. A
mortal who kills another in the act of vengeance is branded a
murderer, but a mortal who kills another in the heat of battle is
celebrated as a hero.”

(Queen Kassina of the Underworld)

It was nearing nightfall and the familiar
chirping of birds to welcome the moon had been silenced. The walls
darkened to a shadowy grey with the dimming of the sun. A storm
gathered on the horizon, erupting in the distance. As lightning
crashed into the earth, a gale of wind was blowing its ominous
clouds inexorably in the direction of Greenhaven.

The sounds of laughter, music and drinking
were heard from the great city’s many taverns. In many respects,
the city came alive at night, and the many food stalls and street
entertainers made for a relaxing evening. From the clouds above, it
was as if Greenhaven were a swarm of yellow-lit fireflies,
interspersed with occasional red embers signaling the brothels of
the city.

Arman’s royal bedchambers were built inside
the largest of the city’s turrets, and from this one spacious
room’s balcony he could oversee Greenhaven and the surrounding
lands in any direction that he pleased. He stared into the
darkness, the lights twinkling in the reflection in his eyes, and
he appeared more like a ghost than a man.

Andrielle was puzzled by the banishment of
Vartan, as she had never known him to deceive his king. The queen
knew that something was wrong, and she was determined to get to the
bottom of it. Her footsteps almost silent with her approach, she
spoke softly from behind the king. “Arman, my love, what happened
today? I am worried about you. Vartan had no reason to lie to you.
He was obviously hurt by the bandits he fought off to protect
our
daughter. I fear you may have left yourself unguarded
without him nearby.” She laid a soft hand on his arm. “Are you
certain beyond all doubt that the right decision was made today to
banish him?”

He turned to lay a gentle kiss on her lips
and took her body so tightly in his arms that he could feel her
heartbeat pound against his chest. He looked her deep in the eyes.
“Yes, of course I am certain. You never need to fear my judgement,
for there is nothing in this life that I do without good reason. No
matter what may happen to us, I want you to know that I love you
dearly. But if anything were to happen to either of us, then the
others would never be safe in Greenhaven.” Arman breathed in to let
out a heavy sigh. “I put an escape plan in place with the guards
long ago. Promise me that you
will
flee Greenhaven if the
need arises. I couldn't bear the thought of anything happening to
you."