by Lori Hyrup
SECRETS OF TANORIA: THE CRYSTAL WARRIOR
SECRETS OF TANORIA: THE CRYSTAL WARRIOR
Lori Hyrup
Copyright © 2019 Lori Hyrup
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
ISBN: 9780999863107
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 New Faces
2 A Shard in Pain
3 The Fate of a Kruusta
4 Prism Wraiths
5 The Truth
6 People of the Crystal
7 The Shard’s Embrace
8 Might of the Tigron
9 Crown Prince Kiem
10 In the Fog
11 The Trail of Blood
12 The Rescue
13 The Academy of the Shard
14 Nightmares
15 Disruption
16 The Monster Within
17 Colors of the Heart
18 The Capstone
19 An Ancient Oath
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
1
NEW FACES
As Aria walked with long, purposeful strides, her eyes scanned everything. She sensed the beast. A half dozen more steps and she heard the faint but unmistakable ting of crystal. Her lips turned up at the corners.
Aria took three additional strides, and with no further warning, the glimmer worm launched itself from the shadows. A shimmering, liquid-like substance erupted from the small crystal shard at the base of Aria’s thumb and instantly solidified into a chiseled crystalline bastard sword. In the same motion, she grasped the weapon and arced her arm around, slicing the vermin in half. The two sections of the creature shattered as they hit the ground.
Aria held her long krusword for a moment longer, relishing the power pulsing from within. Glowing like effulgent lichen found deep in caves, the soft, radiant intensity of the blue-green crystalline blade ebbed and flowed in time with Aria’s heartbeat. With reluctance she retracted the weapon, and the sweet sense of its aura dissipated. She frowned at the remains of the worm. How such a tiny thing caused so much trouble was beyond her. Glimmer worms were only a nuisance, but if reports were correct, this one small critter no bigger than a cattle dog, had destroyed three homes, a barn, and several outbuildings and devoured thirty head of prized livestock.
Shrugging to herself, Aria collected all the larger worm fragments. Sane people feared shard beasts and steered clear of them, but they also understood the value of the crystal. Most people who commissioned a kruusta to get rid of shard beasts paid a bit extra to acquire the shards as well. Fragments provided a variety of uses, from jewelry and window glass to fine-edged medical blades. Those who learned to work crystal made a decent living.
Satisfied she had picked up most of the fragments, Aria headed back to where she had tethered Xierex. He always got skittish around the worms, so she had left him behind. The zegu faced down shard drakes without flinching, but these little things made him panic.
Xierex nickered a greeting as Aria approached. She held her hand up to him, allowing him to nudge it affectionately. The distraction failed. His eyes grew wide when he spied the bag, and he snorted in annoyance.
Aria chuckled and shook her head. “Don’t worry, the worm is dead.” Zegus were intelligent creatures. Some people considered them shard beasts because the development of the species had long ago been influenced by the crystals, but they were still mammals. Despite the crystalline plates of armor that grew along their chest and neck and the sharded horns that decorated their heads, they were warm-blooded, air-breathing, young-nursing mammals. They hated shard beasts just as much as humans did, but not everyone believed in the distinction, not even all the kruustas. Between that, the zegus’ intelligence, and their tendency to range in remote regions, few people used them as mounts; horses required less hassle to acquire. Aria alone among the kruustas rode a zegu—one of the things that set her apart from others in her line of work.
Aria fastened the sack containing the worm fragments to the rear of her saddle and climbed up on her loyal companion. With a gentle tap of her boots, they headed back toward Murali, the community that had requested aid to deal with their problem. In her sixty-seven years as a kruusta, Aria had only been called to Murali three times to deal with shard beasts, but as it was on the main road between the coastal city of Summerton and the inner towns and villages within the province of Aelland, she had become well acquainted with the agrarian community.
Kelmer and Wei lingered high in the sky by the time she reached the small village, and the two opposing moons cast irregular shadows on the village’s buildings. Aria headed to the Golden Rose to collect her payment from the mayor; he also happened to be the innkeeper.
Voices grew hushed when she entered Murali’s largest establishment. As she scanned the packed room, searching for Talmani Domnur, she noticed the people who hid their eyes or faces behind mugs of ale, beneath their hats, or under the hoods of their cloaks. Even after her many years as a kruusta, she still grew annoyed by people’s reaction to her. They feared making contact with her luminescent green eyes, a side effect of being a kruusta for so long, as if she would see into their souls and reveal something they did not wish to be known. Aria caught a glimpse of three priests from the Order of the Heart. Each of them wore their telltale yellow-trimmed maroon robes. They were engrossed in conversation and were the only ones who did not duck as her gaze swept across them.
With an inaudible sigh, Aria continued her scan of the room. A series of lanterns set in a wrought iron chandelier hanging from the ceiling and iron-cupped sconces along the red-brushed walls illuminated the common room. Different types of tables divided the space. A stone hearth for keeping the entire place warm in the winter months occupied the right wall. On the far side, opposite the entrance, a well-sanded bar lined with seven different small-sized wooden kegs kept the flow of drink coming to the customers.
Aria located the mayor moving in and out of the kitchen through the door behind the bar. He was a man of average height with wide shoulders, a roundness to his belly, and curly brown hair cut close to his head. He caught her eyes and nodded. The place was bustling with business, so she would need to wait for a while before he could get to her. Aria maneuvered her way toward the only empty table in the establishment, one of the rectangular ones in the far back corner. People sitting at nearby tables shifted uneasily as she lowered herself onto her seat, but at least the volume of the room picked up once again as the customers resumed their previous conversations.
A young girl with large freckles and mousy curls, no more than ten years old, approached her. “Hel-Hello, miss. My fa-father said you are to have whatever you wish.”
Aria gave the girl a gentle smile, but that only seemed to make her more nervous. “A light ale, please. What’s the main dish tonight?”
“Jurassis swine, spiced taro, and millet, miss.”
“I’ll have the swine, then.”
The girl bowed her head and shuffled off to the kitchen.
Before the serving girl returned with the food, Mayor Domnur stopped by her table. He placed a small leather pouch in front of her and eyed her possessions. “Where are they?” he asked in a low voice.
“Outside on my zegu,” Aria said as she opened the pouch and counted the coins within. Satisfied, she looked up at the mayor. “They still need to be cleaned. I didn’t think your customers would be appreciative if I brought fresh glimmer worm bits inside while they ate.”
“Of course. You’re right.” The mayor turned away briefly. “Torga!” he bellowed over the din of the tavern chatter.
A scrawny youth
with pale blond hair poked his head through the kitchen doorway. “Yes, Father?”
“Go retrieve the shards from the kruusta’s zegu.”
“Right away, Father.”
The boy moved to leave, but Aria jumped to her feet and cleared the room in four strides to intercept him. Her quick movement startled the boy, causing him to stumble backward as she cut him off.
Aria turned to the father. “I should be the one to retrieve them.” She peered down at the wide-eyed boy. “You’re welcome to come with me. My zegu doesn’t know you, and as much as he hates the worm, he may give you a fight if you try to take the sack.” The boy nodded.
Aria led the lad out to the stable where the zegu was waiting patiently. Xierex bobbed his head when Aria appeared, but his eyes focused on the boy. Aria untied the brown doeskin sack from the saddle and handed it to the boy. He accepted the bag but so intent was he on staring at Xierex that he almost dropped what he had come to retrieve.
“Do you want to pet him?” Aria asked.
The youth looked both terrified and intrigued. “Will he bite me?”
Aria smiled. “Not with me here, no.”
The boy glanced at Aria and then back at Xierex. Childhood curiosity won out, and the youth reached a timid hand out toward Xierex. The zegu leaned his head down to sniff the boy’s hand. Xierex snorted and then nudged him with his velvety blue nose.
The boy’s eyes grew wide. “He’s soft and warm!” he gasped as he scratched gently around Xierex’s muzzle.
“Yes, he is.”
“Wow, thank you, miss! My friends are not going to believe this!”
“You’re welcome. Now, why don’t you take those shards to your father?”
“I will. Thank you again!” The boy hefted the sack over his shoulder and sprinted out through the back entrance of the stables.
Aria returned to her table in the inn, pleased to find that her ale had arrived, if not the food. People no longer stared at her from under their hats and hands. In fact everyone seemed to be acting normal, as if she was just another villager. She wondered if the mayor had said something to them.
Aria sipped at her ale, savoring the light lingering tang of lemon—unmistakably, Ralo Swiftwater Ale. The village of Ralo always made excellent ale. Aria closed her eyes and allowed the din of the common room chatter to wash over her. As she did, individual conversations resolved into focus.
“That’s such a shame about Niradan’s shipment,” said a voice, older and masculine. “His entire harvest, all that fine silken wool, lost.”
“Lost?” asked another voice, also masculine but younger and with a nasally quality. “What happened? He had a huge harvest.”
“Storm,” said the older masculine voice. “Out o’ nowhere, they say. Blew the entire fleet save two ships right into the gray mist.”
An older but gruff woman’s voice retorted, “Serves them right if they are going to try and ride the quicker currents so close to the edge of the world.”
“That’s jus’ the thing,” said the older man. “According to the survivors, they were hugging the coastline. They said winds kicked up out of nowhere and pulled them out while rounding the narrows.”
The woman simply grunted.
Aria tuned the conversation out of her head as the little serving girl arrived with her meal. She thanked the girl and focused on her food. She had only taken a couple bites from her dinner when two people, a man and a woman, entered the common room. The man was incredibly tall with long, straight white hair tied back loosely with a black band. His hair framed a handsome, youthful face with a strong jawline. His blue eyes absorbed every single detail, and when they made contact with Aria’s, she felt as if they bore down into her soul. In that moment Aria felt exposed and vulnerable. Was this the sensation others experienced upon meeting her eyes? His brown cloak, his long tan tunic, and his loose-fitting gray breeches obscured his lean frame. He was no local.
The man’s companion, an unassuming young woman of short stature with dark-brown hair and equally dark-brown eyes wearing a forest-green tunic and black leggings, scanned the area and pointed to Aria’s table. The man nodded, and the two made their way across the common room, unaware of the stares they attracted.
As they approached the table, the young woman asked, “Are these seats taken?”
Aria swallowed her mouthful of food. “No, go right ahead.”
The woman smiled at her. “Thank you.” She sat beside Aria, and the man took a seat on the bench across from her. Aria tried not to stare.
The young serving girl returned to ask the newcomers what they wanted to eat. The white-haired man responded, “What is your name?”
The girl blinked, not used to people inquiring about her identity. “Yuli, sir,” she replied. “My name is Yuli.”
“Well, Yuli, we will have what she’s having.” He nodded his head toward Aria. The man’s voice was soft yet powerful. The girl bobbed a curtsy and retreated to the kitchen.
The man looked across the table at Aria. “Hello, I’m Zephyron.” He extended his hand in the common greeting. Even though Aria was not from this region, everyone in Tanoria knew what a kruusta was and could identify them on sight, so she was somewhat stunned at the casual introduction from these strangers. Aria wiped off her hand on her napkin and grasped his in return. As their skin touched, a surge of energy flowed from his hand to hers. While not an unpleasant sensation, the reaction caught her by surprise. Her first instinct was to pull away, but she held firm instead.
“Aria,” she responded with a nod as she glanced at the crystal on her hand, noting the soft blue pulse. Blue was usually the color it took on when she summoned her krusword. Aria found it odd her crystal would react to this man at all. What did it mean? He was not a kruusta. He was not a shard beast. So what was he?
“And this is Kharra,” he said.
Aria released Zephyron’s hand and grasped Kharra’s outstretched one. Aria had considered the woman unspectacular, but with sudden realization, she knew she had been a poor judge of character. If she thought Zephyron’s eyes could see into her soul, then this woman could not only see into it but knew it as well. Unlike with Zephyron, however, Aria’s crystal did not react to Kharra’s touch.
Aria withdrew her hand. She then realized she had been holding her breath and forced herself to exhale. Who were these people? Aria turned her attention back to her meal.
Yuli returned with two plates of food and two mugs of ale. Zephyron smiled at the girl. “This looks and smells wonderful, Miss Yuli.” The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a small carved wooden figurine. He handed it to the girl. “Miss Yuli, I would like you to have this for your wonderful service.”
The small girl’s eyes opened wide as she extended her hands and gingerly accepted the offering. She held up the fine carving, revealing the shape of some type of feline creature. The amount of detail on such a small object was amazing. “What is it?” the girl asked.
“He is a tigron. He still needs a proper name, though, if you can think of one.”
Yuli met Zephyron’s eyes, her beaming smile broadcasting her joy.
“Do you think you can keep him safe for me?”
The girl nodded with enthusiasm, her pale-brown ringlets bouncing about her face. “Thank you, thank you.” The girl launched her arms around Zephyron’s chest.
Zephyron chuckled and said, “You’re quite welcome.”
Just shy of squealing, Yuli turned and ran back to the kitchen.
Meanwhile, Kharra laughed, shaking her head. Tilting an eyebrow, she glanced at Aria and said, “He has too much charisma for his own good, and he has a weakness for children.”
“I don’t recall you complaining back when you received those gifts,” the man said in a playful tone.
Kharra laughed louder. “Who said I was complaining?”
With that, Kharra and Zephyron began eating.
Uncertain what to make of the strangers, Aria focused on her own meal and contempl
ated where she needed to head next. She noted the others in the common room had returned to their meals.
“What is that?” Zephyron asked. “On your hand.”
Aria’s eyes came up and then glanced at the hand she was using to eat. “The crystal?”
Zephyron nodded.
“You’re not from around here, are you?”
Zephyron shook his head.
Aria did not think anyone in all of Tanoria, except maybe a young child, would not know what her crystal meant. “I am a kruusta.”
Zephyron frowned.
“What’s wrong?” asked Kharra.
“The word is an old dialect, I think,” he responded. “I believe the word means…” His eyes grew distant. “Crystal warrior.”
Aria nodded.
Zephyron asked, “And the crystal is part of your flesh?”
Aria took another bite of her meal and nodded again.
“How does that happen?”
Aria pursed her lips and furrowed her brow. No one had ever asked her that before. “We have a tradition called the Ritual of Sharding when one is chosen to be a kruusta.”
Both Zephyron and Kharra gave her blank looks.
“I belong to the Order of the Shard. The priests of my order commune with the Prime Shard. They receive revelations, which direct them to select children who have been chosen by the Prime Shard to become kruustas. When a child is chosen, they are taken from their family to be raised by the order.”
At the alarm on Kharra’s face, Aria added, “Being chosen is considered an honor. The family is treated well if their child is selected. When we’re taken by the order, we’re given an education and trained in combat. On our fifteenth naming day, we are embedded with a sliver of the Prime Shard.” Zephyron’s eyebrows rose at that, but he remained silent. “For three more years we train and learn the Way of the Krusword. On our eighteenth naming day, we’re tested for our readiness. If we are deemed ready, we earn the title ‘kruusta.’ If we’re not ready, we continue training until we are.”
