The Arrival: An Epic Fantasy Romance

by Nicole MacDonald

  The agreement was that the Mestarns would permanently hold the positions of Archduke and Archduchess of Elion, which made them second to the ruling monarch. In the event that a regent was required they would fill that position, no decision would be made without them.

  In exchange for this the Mestarns would protect the Thalian line at any cost, keeping them on the throne as the foremost royal family in the realm. If for any reason the Thalian line was not on the throne, then the Mestarns would lose their elite position.'

  Loi whistled and the others wore impressed looks. 'That’s one heck of an alliance.'

  'Are you the Archduchess of Elion?' Sian asked.

  'Yes, it is one of my titles. The alliance was swiftly put to the test when the DeNagas appeared on the horizon with a large army of Arumites, gragnolls, elgrids and trolls. That is how they came to be in Elion,' explained Elena. 'They aren’t native to our lands. Fortunately, the General Guard was already gathered at the castle after the fight for succession, and so a large fight between both sides ensued. The battle was fierce and several more Mestarns were killed, along with two members of the Thalian line. But in the end the DeNagas fled, with only three remaining. Their severely decimated allies also fled although some hid in the forests resulting in some of the creatures you see now in Elion.

  The realm rejoiced at the success of the battle and the wisdom of their new King who had allied himself so valuably. Everyone approved of his choice of Archduke and Archduchess.

  The next two and a half millennia were peaceful and prosperous, with only occasional skirmishes. Elion was and still is the wealthiest realm in the world. The Thalian line grew stronger, the Mestarn also, and their joint management of the realm proved extremely successful.

  Within the space of a year four babies were born who at birth threw off an impressive energy pulse. Curious, the Mestarns used their powers to track the children and spent time watching them. They observed that the children emitted an unusual energy when expressing any type of intense emotion. At puberty this developed into the ability to harness the skills of an element, each child aligned with one element.

  The Mestarns were recalled from their study to the castle which was under assault from dragons. The moment they arrived the dragons vanished, astonishing all. About to return to their study of the children, the Mestarns experienced a deep and wrenching pain. Suddenly realizing the dragons had been a diversion, they raced back to the elemental children. But too late.

  They arrived to find the families' houses destroyed and every family member brutally slaughtered. The children’s corpses drained of their unique gifts. Devastated, the Mestarns returned to the castle, reporting to the ruling monarch all the details. The General Guard returned to the castle and prepared for battle. Less than a month later, with their troops barely in place, their fears were proved correct. A massive army could be seen on the horizon, approaching the castle.

  The DeNagas had allied themselves with more creatures, all of whom appeared to have been enhanced with their gifts. Circling above the massive army were the dragons.

  The commencing war was vicious and hard, with both sides taking many casualties. The enhanced creatures were formidable foes. Even a slash from one could mean death for many were venomous. Giant scorpions climbed the castle walls and shadow creatures flashed amongst the dim corridors. The four DeNagas who had absorbed the elemental children’s gifts exhibited the powers. Even without the time to truly master them, they utilized those powers with devastating results.

  Several of the Mestarns whisked the members of the Thalian line away to safety at the Southern Keep. The remaining Mestarns were desperate. With the fight not going well, the chance of the DeNagas winning increased. Linking hands they sent out a call to all gifted and willing creatures asking for help in exchange for alliance with Elion.

  Several species responded, troops of goblins arrived along with Halenine fae—an exceptionally quick fae with a fatal bite. The odds appeared to improve for the Mestarns then twelve griffons appeared in the sky, offering their services to the Mestarns. Astonished, they joyfully accepted the offer. The griffons tipped the scales in the Mestarns favor. The only surviving DeNagas with the stolen gifts fled the land again. The Mestarns watching over the Royal family brought them back to the castle. As neither side was in a position to finish the fight, the DeNagas set to practicing with their stolen gifts while the Mestarns and Thalian line worked on their relations with their new allies and set shields in place to warn them should their enemies attempt to invade again. Due to the immense damage to the castle, they decided to rebuild it at a more secure site, where it is now. Those gifted with the ability to work with stone were hired from all over the globe. A new castle was built from a gleaming white stone called senolite.

  The Mestarns kept a close eye on the four remaining DeNagas over the next millennium and, while they learned more about their stolen powers, doing horrific things to their realm with them, they did not risk another attack on Elion. They instead appeared to focus on bringing their numbers back up.'

  Elena shifted in her seat and smiled wickedly at us.

  'But what the DeNagas did not know was that unlike our families’ gifts, the elemental powers cannot be inherited by those born to them. They realized too late that they would lose the stolen powers, which proved a minor comfort to us. My family turned to studying history in an attempt to find out more about the Elementals. Their study took them far and wide, to many obscure places. The little information they did manage to uncover told them this:

  The Elementals are very rare and possibly even the same spirits re-born.

  Those born as Elementals will be natural leaders, generous by nature and never power hungry.

  An Elemental born to royal lineage may be able to pass the powers on to their offspring.

  Elementals appear to have much longer life spans than most.

  Unfortunately, while interesting the information didn’t help to understand Elementals any more than they already did.

  After a few more millennia another four babies were born with the gifts of the elements. The Mestarns sensed the babies’ arrivals and took them and their families back to the castle to live under its protection. This time the children grew up happy, healthy, and learned to utilize their gifts effectively. The realm thrived from their presence. When they came of age they moved out of the castle to start their own families. That is when the DeNagas struck.

  Sneaking into the realm with newly acquired cloaking gifts stolen from unique creatures discovered in another realm, the DeNagas started killing off the Elementals’ families. The Elementals made their way to the DeNagas, determined to kill them all, but somehow it went awry. A DeNaga creature killed one, and two offered their lives in exchange for their families. The last Elemental died fighting.

  Now they had the gifts again the DeNagas began to lay waste to Elion. This war is known in our history as the Norard—or all encompassing—War. An enormous battle, which nearly decimated the entire world. It only ended when all the realms banded together against the DeNagas. The first Griffon Guard was created at this time, when five warriors linked with five griffons. It was thanks to the Griffon Guard that two of the DeNagas with the Elemental powers were killed.

  The only surviving DeNagas; a small single family unit, fled the battle and lived out a nomadic life in Vo Arum to avoid detection.

  The next three millennia slowly restored the world and all the realms to their former glory and again the Elementals were forgotten to history. Until now,' Elena said confidently. 'Or so I hope.'

  Chapter Nineteen

  We stared at Elena, our expressions a mixture of shock and horror.

  'Are we meant to be excited about this?' Kassie looked understandably dubious. 'We may have super powers and if we do a family of nutters is going to hunt us down and suck us dry?' Her voice raised an octave.

  Sian stared icily at Elena. 'Well put, Kass.'

  Loi and I gave the Sorceress similar unimpressed l
ooks. Elena appeared a little stunned by our not so rapturous response, staring at us in shock before exclaiming, 'No, NO! That is not what’s going to happen at all. There are a couple of reasons, please let me explain. Do you know how the late King died?'

  Loi, Sian, and I shook our heads but Kassie spoke up. 'Yes. Well, I think I do. Rumal told me it was in a fight. His first griffon, Ofelaan, died in it too.'

  'Yes, but there is more to it than that. The late Queen Ariadwen, Alek’s mother, died not long after she gave birth to him. We thought at the time that it was an unfortunate complication from the birth, but now I suspect she may have been murdered. That left just Alek and King Nikias, as the surviving members of the Thalian line. Understandably we watched over them very closely. When Alek turned ten he linked with a griffon, Loushka. He was the fifth to link with a griffon within a ten year period. All of the five were suitable candidates for forming a new Griffon Guard. The King, myself and Yakov, began to train them. It was at our first training camp that we were attacked by Jenviet and her brother Diantew. In the ensuing fight King Nikias and Ofelaan were killed.' Elena gave a sad sigh, her eyes sorrowful. 'The one good thing out of it all was that Diantew also died in the fight, which brings me to one of the reasons why I am sure that this time we will succeed. Jenviet is the only remaining DeNaga, so our odds are much greater and, unlike the past Elementals, you four are already warriors, used to defending yourselves.'

  Warriors? I wasn’t sure if I’d use that word to describe myself. The others looked just as astonished. 'Is Alek is the last of the Thalian line?'

  'Yes, all our power goes into protecting him. That’s the reason Jenviet and Diantew attacked us then, in the hope of wiping out the Thalian line, thus effectively throwing the realm into Civil War again. I am not able to remain in the castle if the Thalian line isn’t ruling. They came dangerously close to succeeding in their cause that night.'

  I stayed silent while I thought about it all. What an incredible history. What if we were gifted like she hoped? How would you cope with such a gift? And Alek watched his dad die when he was just ten, that would have broken my heart. Not that it wasn’t at the moment, knowing I’d never see my parents again. I breathed through the pain when my chest seized again at the realization.

  'What will Jenviet do if she succeeds?' Sian asked.

  'I expect she would side with a family, as my family did. Once she had control of this realm she would take over others. The DeNagas desire power and dominion above all else. They appear to thrive on it.'

  'So a truce isn’t possible?' Loi asked.

  Elena gave her a sharp look and a long pause before she answered. 'No. She would never consider one.'

  Loi held her hands back. 'I didn't mean to be rude, I was just curious.'

  We sat there silent until Sian spoke. 'What do you want from us?’

  The Sorceress looked pleased to get the conversation back on track. 'As I suggested before, a one month trial. We would begin your training in a couple of days and continue until the time of Alek’s birthday ball, after which you would make your final decision.'

  'Why a couple of days?' asked Kassie.

  'I thought two days would give the men some time to show you around the castle and such.' She smiled. 'Once we begin training you will have little time to see much of it.'

  'Elena, couldn’t you fight Jenviet?' I asked, curious about her abilities.

  'Yes I could, but that would leave Alek and Elion unprotected. It's too big a risk and my siblings are too young to help me.'

  'You have siblings?' Sian asked.

  'Yes, a brother and sister. They both study in other realms. It takes many centuries to come into our full powers you see, unlike the Elementals.'

  Many centuries… How old did that make Elena? Or Jenviet for that matter? Now I began to understand what formidable enemies they must be. We were good fighters after ten years of training. Imagine what someone with centuries of experience must be capable of.

  So, what to do? I could see from looking at them that the others were thinking the same thing, we stared at one another, reading expressions. Finally, I gave a tiny shrug. After all, if it didn’t work out we could call it off at the month end. The others gave minute nods. I turned to Elena. 'Okay we’ll help. However, we will hold you to your one month agreement if we find it’s not what we want.'

  Elena visibly relaxed, a genuine smile lighting her face. 'Thank you all so much. Why don’t you join the men in the solar, I am sure they’ll be delighted to show off the castle.'

  We passed others in the corridors while we carefully followed Elena's directions. Our greetings were always responded to, followed by curious glances and whispers when we went by. It seemed like most people at the castle had heard of our arrival. I enjoyed the slower pace compared to the night before, pausing to look at some of the paintings and tapestries on the walls. The need to distract myself felt strong, to stop the awful panic that threatened. Kassie stopped with me, staring at a beautiful tapestry of a unicorn silhouette standing before the setting sun. 'Do you think they’re real too?' she asked.

  'Probably,' Loi peered over her shoulder. 'It seems that anything we consider mythical exists here.'

  Sian leaned against the wall. 'I can’t wait to see a dragon up close.'

  'They might not be friendly in real life,' I warned.

  We continued down the corridor, pausing at an enormous set of doors with a guard in front.

  I wonder if that’s the throne room, thought Loi, staring at the doors. Made of wood they were a proper work of art. At first glance she’d thought them stone, due to the highly polished surface. The doors arched and had ornate pillars at either side. Carved vines trailed the length of the pillars and tiny gems glittered down the edges of each vine. It created a beautiful image, making the door appear to shimmer.

  The guard beside the door wore the castle livery of rust red with light tan accents and held a poleaxe upright. His smile of pride at their obvious delight while they studied the doorway seemed at odds with his fierce appearance.

  'Would you like to look at the throne room?' he asked, pushing one door open.

  Just the workmanship of the doorway alone was incredible. I watched the way the immense door silently swung open. We stepped into the room and stared about in awe. The throne room had a dark polished wooden floor from which thousands of tiny gemstones glittered, embedded within it. I had to resist the urge to kneel and run my hands over the enchanting effect. The large room could easily accommodate a throng of people. At the head of the room sat two thrones that looked to be made of the same white stone as the castle, heavily inlaid with gold in an intricate pattern that offered flashes of the white underneath. Draped high above the thrones, a canopy of purple silk framed them beautifully. Positioned above was a large black ornamental shield with silver edging; in the center a painted deep red rose appeared to bloom. On its right, a gold and crimson phoenix perched with its wings spread, ready for flight while on its left sat a proud griffon in shades of tan and bronze, its beak glinting. The images had a beautiful luster and depth to them.

  The guard noticed my attention on the shield. 'That shield has been with the Thalian line since their inaugural coronation. It was redesigned after the Norard War when the griffons allied with us. The phoenix represents the Thalian ability to constantly renew themselves, no matter the situation. The rose is a symbol of their passion for their realm and the griffon, of course, represents strength and friendship.'

  I stepped closer to study it.

  Sian walked around the room, stopping at the huge portraits of King Nikias and Queen Ariadwen. The King had been a handsome man with dark hair and blue eyes, though not as blue as Alek’s. The Queen had strawberry blonde hair and had been a beauty. Alek didn’t appear to take after either of his parents in particular. Cat wandered over with Loi and Kassie, they all silently studied the portraits.

  The guard glanced at the paintings then shook his head. 'It was a real tragedy losing the King
like that. Especially for the Prince.'

  Sian glanced at Cat, reflecting on what Elena had told them.

  'How did the Prince handle it?' Cat tentatively asked.

  With a sad sigh the guard shook his head again. 'Not well. Not well at all. The Archduchess immediately declared herself Regent as was expected, but the Prince withdrew. He spent most of the time with his griffon. It’s only in recent years that he’s been back in the public eye. Now of course, he’s head of the Griffon Guard and has refused the crown until he rids the world of those damn evil DeNagas. It’ll be a bloody good thing too. Not a family alive hasn’t lost someone during their schemes to take over our realm. The sooner they’re dead the better!' The man almost snarled the words, his face ruddy with anger. Then he seemed to remember his audience and apologized, the color fading from his face. 'But there’s no need for me to get excited. His Royal Highness always keeps his word, so all will be well.'

  It intrigued Sian to see another's perspective on it. I wonder if everyone has such hatred for the DeNagas, she thought.

  'We should be on our way,' Loi flashed him a dazzling smile. 'Can you point us in the direction of the solar?'

  The guard blinked, appearing stunned by Loi’s charms. The rest of us exchanged knowing looks.

  'The solar?' The guard suddenly looked more interested, a cunning smile spreading over his weathered face. 'So you’re the women close to the Prince and the rest of the Guard.' He made a soundless laugh. 'You’d better watch your backs, all the women in the castle are furious at the reports that the Prince has found himself someone special. Most have tried to entice him and his friends over the years.'

  Sian nearly laughed aloud at the look on Cat’s face, bemused at the idea of rivals for Daron’s affections. Too late girls, she thought smugly, he’s all mine now. The guard pointed them in the right direction and they headed off.