“Even with all these great riches you possess?” she insisted. “You would sacrifice everything to gain this one thing?”
“Of course!”
“Why?”
“Were you not listening, fool woman?”
Just then a servant entered hesitantly, indicating preparations were in order.
Ronyn drew himself up and nodded to his guests. “My journey for the fifth chord begins,” he announced. “I bid you farewell.” With that, he left the gutted room, his posture somewhere between sad resignation and fiery determination.
As Ronyn disappeared from sight, the morkais grinned smugly, an expression that remained as she morphed into a sexy human woman with raven hair and two mismatched eyes, one green like the goddess of truth, Tarrera, and the other her own ginger hue. Supple black leather hugged a figure meant to distract men from the truth, jealousy-inspiring jewels doing the same for women. While all the gods could change shape at will, the Mistress of Deception hardly ever let anyone see her true form.
“Delightful,” Moiryn purred before asking of the woman in white, “Do you think he’ll succeed?”
The Mistress of Pain turned cold blue eyes on her sister, the glint of satisfaction in them the closest she came to joy. Ruining Ronyn’s contentment had indeed been a pleasure. He had escaped her touch for too long.
“Of course not,” Loiria replied, wondering at the question. “Our dear brother Lierein has not parted with the fifth chord.”
She vanished to watch from the heavens as Ronyn’s fruitless journey unfolded on Llurien, and no sooner had she gone than Moiryn’s wicked laughter filled the empty hall. The gods were not spared her ruses any more than the species.
“If you say so, dear sister,” she remarked to herself, “if you say so.”
With a final chuckle at the aspirations of species and gods alike, she departed.
Acknowledgments
Special thanks to Jean Hall, Lauren Moore, and Jovanna LaPlant for their
input.
Edited by JJ Henke.
Cover design and map by Randy Ellefson.
Glossary
For more information on the world of Llurien, including maps and pronunciation audio files, please visit the official site, http://www.llurien.com.
Antaria: a continent in the northern hemisphere of Llurien, usually depicted on the left/west of world maps.
Coiryn: the god of courage, honor, integrity, pride, dignity, protection, victory, and heroism. He’s the autumn/earth god of the green sphere and one of the creators of karelia. He’s the patron of warriors and rules the first month of autumn in the Court of Gods.
Coiryn Riders: named for the god of courage, these expert horsemen are a major unit of defense for almost all cities and major towns.
Daekais: one of the original seven humanoid species of Llurien but now a race of the kais species. Created by the gods of the orange sphere: deception, greed, jealousy, and fear. Their teeth and claws are poisonous. See “kais” and “Divine Covenant” entries.
Divine Covenant: an agreement between the gods to allow ghosts to happen, to create morkais from a male and female daekais, to give magic to the species, to grant healing powers if species create religions, and give the karelia supernatural talents to resolve matters of undead and roaming spirits.
Humans: the eighth species of Llurien, humans were created by all twenty-eight gods and are the most variable species in temperament and disposition. Also called Antarians after the first man and woman, Antar and Taria respectively.
Jhaikan: one of the original seven humanoid species of Llurien. Created by the gods of the blue sphere: wrath, cruelty, cunning, and domination. They stand seven to nine feet tall, have a sinuous tail and reptilian skin that can change colors at will. They are man-eaters and are synonymous with evil.
Jhaikan Staff: a quarterstaff developed and used by kryll against jhaikan, it can be disassembled into pieces for easier transport. Blades can be made to protrude from either end like a scythe, spear, or both.
Kais: this humanoid species has two races: daekais and morkais. Aside from disposition, they are largely the same, about four feet tall with feathery wings.
Karelia: one of the original seven humanoid species of Llurien. Created by the gods of the green sphere: truth, exuberance, courage, and intuition. They need only four hours of sleep a night and have a well-developed sixth sense that varies from one to another in just what they can sense and do. Appointed by the gods to resolve supernatural disturbances.
Kryll: one of the original seven humanoid species of Llurien. Created by the gods of the red sphere: curiosity, aspiration, fairness, and peace. They prefer to live in large Evenorr trees and are extremely acrobatic, athletic, and masters of weapons. Every kryll has a subject to which they devote themselves, becoming an expert.
Leisiran: the afterlife conceived by the gods of the indigo sphere, reserved for the moderately good, who enjoy a paradise for eternity.
Llorus: a large continent lying mostly on the southern hemisphere of Llurien, south of the continent Antaria.
Llurien: the planet, which has two moons.
Lochiare: the afterlife conceived by the gods of the blue sphere, for the moderately evil, who suffer eternal torture.
Maeryndor: an afterlife conceived by the gods of the violet sphere, for the least evil, who suffer boredom everlasting.
Morkais: a race of the kais humanoid species, they resulted from the Deal of the Gods and were created by all twelve “good” gods from a male and female daekais. See “kais” entry.
Querra: one of the original seven humanoid species of Llurien. Created by the gods of the yellow sphere: inspiration, empathy, rejuvenation, and patience. Three to four feet tall, they are playful, wise, and beloved by many.
Riven: one of the original seven humanoid species of Llurien. Created by the gods of the violet sphere: haste, hate, cynicism, and sloth. Three to four feet tall and often carrying diseases.
Sorelia: a corrupted race of the karelian humanoid species, they were created when the goddess of corruption, Ronkainen, read the passage about creating karelia from the Book of Creation. Sorelia look just like karelia but have more variable eye colors. They are considered malevolent.
Species: while this can refer to animals, it usually refers to the humanoid species: karelia, mandeans, querra, kryll, kais, riven, jhaikan, and humans, some of which have multiple races.
About The Author
Randy Ellefson has written fantasy fiction since his teens and is an avid world builder, having spent three decades creating Llurien, which has its own website. He has a Bachelor’s of Music in classical guitar but has always been more of a rocker, having released several albums and earned endorsements from music companies. He’s a professional software developer and runs a consulting firm in the Washington D.C. suburbs. He loves spending time with his son and daughter when not writing, making music, or playing golf.
Connect with me online
http://www.RandyEllefson.com
http://twitter.com/RandyEllefson
http://facebook.com/RandyEllefsonAuthor
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INSTRUMENTAL GUITAR
Randy has released three albums of hard rock/metal instrumentals, one classical guitar album, and an all-acoustic album. For more information, streaming media, videos, and free mp3s, please visit http://www.music.randyellefson.com
2004: The Firebard
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The Epic of Ronyn (The Tales of Llurien Book 2) Page 3
