The Secrets of Brymar (The Elitherian Fragments Book 1)
Page 38
“How did they contact you?” Thrix demanded.
“Using the noxious mist from the forest,” she answered. “They implemented it in the defence of this realm.” She paused. “The sages didn’t put up the barrier to keep us out of the forest. They formed the Shroud of Alikon to keep the enemy inside.”
“They are a powerful order,” Thrix asserted, “and not one to toy with.”
“I have no choice,” she said. “It’s not like I can stop the visions.”
“I thought their order to no longer exist,” Thrix said. “I was foolish to think it. It seems they still fester within the trees.”
“They appear an ally to us,” Aroden pointed out.
“I wouldn’t be so quick to trust them,” Thrix spat back. “They abandoned the Woodland Kingdom centuries ago, claiming their knowledge to be superior to the rest, even to myself, an Eternal. Their allegiance cannot be trusted.”
“Well their knowledge was correct in predicting the end of the Woodland Kingdom,” Aroden pointed out, and Thrix disapprovingly shook his head in response.
“Why would they say William is the key?” Richard quietly asked, confused about why his brother would be singled out.
Thrix said nothing and Aroden remained silent. Max didn’t speak either.
“What are you not telling us?” Richard demanded, the confidence coming naturally as his brother became the subject. “I want to know, now.”
“I cannot say,” Thrix answered.
“Elitheria demanded that you tell us,” he pointed out.
Thrix angrily sighed. “Your brother wields great power,” he muttered. “Perhaps he can wield the stone for himself.”
“What would that mean?” Max followed up.
“I don’t know,” Thrix answered. “It hasn’t been done before.”
“Tell us what this stone is,” Aroden demanded, “we have a right to know what we face.”
Thrix prepared to finally reveal the entire truth. “Elizabeth carries an Elitherian Fragment, a divine relic of creation,” he began. “In a great ancient war, before the existence of this realm, Xanthos challenged Elitheria’s rule, wishing to remove free will to promote evil deeds.”
Everyone huddled closer to Thrix to hear of the history.
“The other five remaining Architects chose to fight with her against Xanthos, but his unchecked power had grown too strong. In the face of a seemingly inevitable defeat, Elitheria harnessed her remaining power into the cradle of creation to form a new, isolated realm, a prison realm, which existed outside of the natural boundaries of the cradle. Elitheria entombed Xanthos in the prison realm, knowingly fragmenting the cradle of creation into seven pieces and dispersing these powerful fragments across the borders of both time and space.” He paused, allowing the gravity to settle for the others. “These stones gave rise to life where they settled, but they also equally possess the power to destroy it all.”
“Why does the rogue Eternal want it then,” Max asked, visibly shaken from this new information, “if it kills everything?”
Thrix inhaled sharply, “because Xanthos’ poisonous ideology tainted Varik’s purpose. The only way to free Xanthos from his prison realm is for all seven fragments of creation to be brought back together once more; only then can the old order of creation be restored, and time will reset.”
“My son,” Aroden spoke up, his voice breaking, his chest heaving in alarm after hearing the stone’s origin. “He knows nothing about this.”
“What do you mean time will reset?” Max asked.
“The literal meaning,” Thrix answered. “If the seven fragments are recombined to form the cradle of creation, time will reset back to the birth of creation, before the ancient war, and Xanthos will be free.” He paused. “Elitheria will die, as her power is connected to the fragmented cradle. Without Elitheria to challenge him, Xanthos will rule with complete authority, forever removing free will.” He looked around to everyone staring at him. “And all of us will cease to exist.”
No one spoke at first, until Aroden finally said, “And you withheld all of this from us!” he shouted, visibly enraged.
Thrix prepared to argue, but his anger dissipated. “My oath prohibited it, though I now see the damage it has caused.”
“What should we do now?” Victoria asked again, appearing pale as she thought of her actions. “They’ll reach Durk’helm before you, even if you started to ride right now.”
Thrix shook his head. “I must still try.”
“Do you know the way without the map?” Victoria said.
“I will have to find my way without it.”
“Is that wise?”
“No!” Thrix shouted back but lowered his voice again. “Of course it isn’t, but you’ve left me with little choice.”
She fell silent.
Aroden’s expression hardened. “Why not return to Brymar? Going after my son without knowing the way would be foolish and careless.”
“Because the fate of this realm now rests in the hands of him and Elizabeth, neither of which knows the true gravity of their actions,” he shot back.
“You will not find them, Thrix,” Victoria muttered. “They’re at least half a day’s ride ahead of us, and you don’t know the way.”
He didn’t respond.
“Well, we must act,” Aroden declared. “We must inform the other kingdoms. If its war that this disgraced Eternal will bring, then it’s a war that we will all fight together.” He looked to Thrix. “We will need to unite this realm to defend it; all other kingdoms will come together to prevent the loss of our Elitherian fragment.”
“You know the Southern Kingdoms won’t listen,” Max said, ignoring Thrix’s silence. “The Raldari Province would rather see us dead than help.”
“And I think the Brutean Kingdom is still at war with the Navarine Kingdom,” Brian added. “I doubt they’d shift from enemy to ally so quickly.”
“And my people have been out of contact with the world for centuries,” Victoria finished. “I have no way of contacting them.”
“Nor for my people,” Zed spoke up.
Aroden looked to Thrix, who expressed a deflated frustration. “Well…” he started, waiting for Thrix to speak up. “They will listen to an Eternal, a forefather and protector of this realm.”
Thrix nodded. “Somehow, we must unify this realm if it stands a chance to survive.” He paused, his brow creased and shoulders tense. “We must prepare for the worst, as the stone now rests out of our hands.”
“Have faith in my boy,” Aroden spoke up, “as everyone else here does.”
“I have faith in him,” Max spoke up and Richard nodded with him. “I know William will return; he will do the right thing. I’ve never known him to do otherwise.”
“Come,” Aroden said to everyone, a renewed sense of purpose in his voice, “it’s time to return to Brymar, our home. We have a realm to protect, and my son will need our help.”
Thrix nodded, breaking his horse into a cantor. “Yes, there’s much to be done.”
About the Author
James Coy-Dibley is the founder and president of the publishing company Chicago House Press. What began as a favourite hobby of reading fantasy and science fiction morphed into a passion for writing it. Along with fantasy writing, James shares a love for science and science education. He is also the author of two academic books, both of which aim to help students in the first year of chemistry. James resides in Chicago, Illinois and works in a neuroscience laboratory at Northwestern University. He plans on entering a neuroscience PhD program in 2018 while continuing this new series, The Elitherian Fragments. Visit his website at chicagohousepress.com or email him at chicagohousepress@gmail.com.
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