The northern way into the mountain is now sealed under hardening rock.
I see their banners cresting near the convergence of the rivers. They come. All the snarling chest suckers. I must release the first traps.
The switch in hand I twist the knob. A rope snaps on a distant hill and a trio of boulders drops springing down the mountain. The entire attacking force halts for a moment. They are like ants frozen by an object in path.
Hacking. I hear hacking. I look over to the doorway and see the wood shaking. Someone is trying to get in.
The legions of men are at it again. They are now halfway up the stairwells. I flip another switch and the Dragonfires ignite. A boiling blast of arcane fire, mixed by our very own Dwarf-Wizard Rumthul! The smoke rises and I smile. I swear I can hear the sizzle of their flesh!
The hacking continues.
As the legions are forced to wade through the slurry of burning bodies, I prepare for another trap. We had saved this one. It is the Crystal Guardians of Harrodarr! The men reach the upper level of the stairwells now. There are so many but it is the last of the magic in the mountain that shall play against them. In an electrifying brilliance, the storms of the dwarves shoot out from carved crystals and take down wave after wave of men.
But it is not enough.
They still come for we… are evil. Or so has the hammer been measured to us in their eyes.
The hacking continues. I see a man’s face through the splintered wood. Looking back over the walls to the stairwells, I know they’ve reached the gates. I wonder how long they will hold?
I take a small ax in hand. They are still hacking their way in, but I am ready. As the gate frame shudders and falls, I take a breath ready to fight them. But it is not yet time.
A flurry of arrow fire strikes the doorway. I glance to my left and see Eriva, one of the elves from the south. She releases a continual barrage taking down each of the attackers until at last they are all dead.
In that moment, she pauses. Lowering her bow, I catch the light of a smoke hazed moon pierce through her hair and forget all the past sins of our two races. She is truly beautiful. I remember all the fighting between dwarves and elves. Why had we wasted so much life at war against one another? I spot blood and see a horrid gash on her lower leg.
“Eriva? You have been struck.”
“I have but the halls of Harrodarr are ready. The vines of my people guard the inner sanctum. None of men shall defile this place for some time.”
The elves and dwarves had fought for years but as men deemed are use of magic as reasons for the problems of the world. We became evil. We were dragged into the streets and tortured. Our paraded bodies taken to the capital cities and spat upon. Many have died but some have escaped to a sacred Snow Dwarf refuge. A place for all peoples. A place I hope my son has reached.
Dear Slatnichor, how I will miss you.
“They are coming,” Eriva says. Her bow is taunt and I take a second ax in hand.
This path to our hold is not easy to reach. Up the mountains, a perilous journey made worse by coarse icy winds and avalanches. These warriors that approach were sent for one purpose, to destroy us. They cannot get down through this way. We are the last defenders.
The elf releases her shot. I throw my axes. Three men fall and I take my double-headed ax in hand. Its name is Blackblood, named for the orcs that it was forged to fight. Now it will be bathe in the red blood of men. A spear pierces Eriva and she falls stammering towards the enemy as she draws her own blade. She rises to continue forwards when an arrow pierces her eye.
Hammersong strong, I die for my people, her people, and all of magic that have been persecuted to this end. May our descendants avenge us.
I burst into a sprint and lift my ax above me. This is the end of my story.
“I am Rornichor, last of the Hammersong. May I be avenged!”
Kealin may have fallen at the hands of the Itsu Priest but there is much more to his story… Travel back in time to before he had lost his siblings, before he met Tulasiro, before he understood his powers. Read my newest series Half-Elf Chronicles and learn of the west and the many mysteries of the dwemhar, elves, and dwarves. I hope you’re ready for more!
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Copyright 2014, 2015, 2016 Jeremy Williams (J.T. Williams)
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, places, and events portrayed in these stories are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
Cover Image Credits
Book cover by Truenotdreams Design (Book One, Two, Three)
Model by Marcus Ranum
Landscape by Bernhard Siegl
Table of Contents
Contents
Saints of Wura
Author's Note
Winemaker of the North
Winemaker of the North
Map of 'The North'
Chapter 1 Dagger In The Night
Chapter 2 The Road Leads North
Chapter 3 Tar Aval Tavern
Chapter 4 Into the Mountains
Chapter 5 The Lord Of The Estate
Chapter 6 Unfortunate Murder
Chapter 7 Renovations
Chapter 8 Of Elinathrond
Chapter 9 The Asylum
Chapter 10 The Brotherhood and the Priory
Chapter 11 Winemaking
Chapter 12 The Grove and Meredaas
Chapter 13 Of Fae Fading
Chapter 14 Secrets Of The Cisterns
Chapter 15 Of Healing and a Message
Chapter 16 Demon Rising
Chapter 17 Of Remembrance and Tea
Chapter 18 Flagons and Dragons
Chapter 19 Shadows of the Past
Chapter 20 Recovery
Chapter 21 Runhadis
Chapter 22 An Old Friend
Chapter 23 Sna-Sna
Chapter 24 The Guise Discovered
Chapter 25 Four Trials
Chapter 26 Saints of Wura
Chapter 27 Meredaas' Blessing
Arcane Awakening
Chapter 1 Adrift
Chapter 2 Of Herbs and Kidnapping
Chapter 3 Kealin
Chapter 4 Many Chieftains
Chapter 5 Mouth Of The Winds
Chapter 6 Temple of the Sky
Chapter 7 Greeting Party
Chapter 8 A Father's Will
Chapter 9 The Eastern Journey
Chapter10 Of Lucia and Beasts
Chapter 11 Trouble in Tar Mena
Chapter 12 Captured
Chapter 13 Journey into Harrodarr
Chapter 14 Swunock and The Lost Legion
Chapter 15 Narisond
Chapter 16 The Cliffs of Tuonia
Chapter 17 Hallowed Ground
Chapter 18 Ghosts of Elinathrond
Chapter 19 Seige of Srun
Chapter 20 The Gathering of Hawk and Falcon
Reckoning in the Void
Chapter 1 Promises Kept
Chapter 2 The Lost Forge
Chapter 3 Torch of Throka
Chapter 4 Preparing Bait and Sharpening Hooks
Chapter 5 Fishing Trip
Chapter 6 Breaking and Betrayal
Chapter 7 Sweeping
Chapter 8 In the Order's Shadow
Chapter 9 Enemies and Friends
Chapter 10 Declaration
Chapter 11 Secrets of Runhadis
Chapter 12 Well Earned Comforts
Chapter 13 Disruption
Chapter 14 The Cleansing
Chapter 15 Further Shadows
Chapter 16 Roads From Lokam
Chapter 17 Twilight Skies Burning
Chapter 18 The Spoken Word
Chapter 19 Sacrifices
Chapter 20 The Roads End
I Mythos of the Lands
II. Of The Races
III. Arrowfall
IV. Blood of Harrodarr
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Saints of Wura: Winemaker of the North, Arcane Awakening, Reckoning in the Void (Saints of Wura Books 1-3 with bonus content) Page 84
