Heir to the Sundered Crown (The Sundered Crown Saga)

by Matthew Olney

  The green light grew brighter.

  “Magic...” Woven whispered as he realised what he was seeing. Whatever was on the other side of the wall was magical in origin. He placed his sword on the ground before looking around. He grunted in satisfaction as he found a large heavy rock. With all his might he smashed the rock against the hollow wall which shifted with a crack.

  Briden leapt awake at the noise.

  “What the? Woven...Sir?” the young ranger awoke with a start; clumsily he scrambled about for his sword.

  “Easy, I’ve found something,’ Woven explained, he pointed to another rock, “use that and help me get this wall down.”

  Briden got to his feet, picked up the rock and joined his superior at smashing down the hollow wall. A half hour later and the two men had made an opening wide enough for a man to fit through. Both men were covered with sweat thanks to their exertions. Briden was gasping and collapsed back down onto the floor.

  “Stay here and get some rest, I’m going to check it out,” Woven ordered.

  He pulled a number of arrows from his quiver and bound them together with spare cord for his bow. With the knife on his belt he carefully removed the valuable bodkin arrow heads and removed the goose feathers. He took his hastily made torch putting it into the fire until it ignited.

  Carefully he squeezed through the hole they had created, the eerie green light growing brighter. He gasped in awe at the source of the light.

  Adorning the walls of the hidden chamber were sigils far larger and ornate than those found in the main cave. One was glowing brightly; to Woven it looked to be in the shape of a sword. An ancient language was scrawled on a stone tablet at its base.

  He knelt down and looked at it; the symbols looked familiar but were so faded that they were near impossible to read.

  “Looks like ancient Nivionian...” he muttered. In his years as a ranger he had spent a number of nights inside the ancient ruins of the Nivion Empire that dotted the wild lands of Delfinnia. Most folk avoided them, fearing that they were haunted by the souls of the dead. Woven knew better. Many were occupied by nefarious thieves on the lamb, Pucks or other fell beasts of the void.

  As he picked up the tablet, the light from the sigil faded plunging the chamber into darkness. Only the light from his torch giving him light enough to see.

  He tucked the tablet inside his cloak and exited the chamber. Whatever he had found was important. He could feel it in his bones.

  ***

  18.

  The King’s Road

  They hadn’t been on the road for long before they encountered their first taste of the war.

  The group had only been on the King’s road for an hour, and had covered barely ten miles when they came across the bodies. Kaiden and Ferran rode ahead whilst Sophia stayed to defend the others.

  “What is it?” Yepert asked as he happily munched on an apple he had plucked from one of the many apple trees which lined the road. After leaving Caldaria they had made their way through the farmlands and small villages that provided the mage city with food and other goods. Upon seeing the riders the farmers had ran into their homes. Anyone on a horse was a potential threat in these dark times.

  “It seems the war is not as far away from Caldaria as we thought,” Sophia replied grimly. Her horse whinnied and stamped at the cracked surface of the road. Luxon trotted his pony alongside the witch hunter.

  “Could it be the baron?” he asked worriedly. He wouldn’t put it past the spiteful ruler of Retbit to not lay in ambush after what had transpired previously.

  “No. That pig is probably already in his castle with his tail tucked firmly between his legs, He’s a coward and a wretch,” Alira spat as she joined the conversation, her blue eyes were fierce and filled with hate at her former jailor. Her white pony was busy munching on the grass that grew through the roads cracked surface.

  Luxon thought back to the last time he been on the road with his mother. It had been the day after his father had been dragged off and executed by the bickering barons in Sunguard. His mother had smuggled them out of the capital the same day. They had travelled for over a week up the Kings road to Caldaria and safety.

  He shut his eyes as remembered the pain he had felt as his mother had left him at the city gates with nothing but the clothes on his back before kissing him on the cheek and saying her goodbyes. To this day he did not understand why she had left him or where she had gone. One thing he did know was that back before the war had begun not a single weed nor blade of grass had grown on the kingdoms highways, the King’s legion had taken meticulous care of that..

  Kaiden galloped back to the group.

  “It appears as though the baron’s men may have done us a favour when they fled back south. There’s an entire bandit camp burnt to ashes further ahead.’ The knight glanced at Alira and the boys. ‘It’s not a pretty sight however. Lots of blood, lots of bodies.” He warned.

  Yepert stopped eating his face going pale. Luxon trotted over to his friend and patted him on the back.

  “Just shut your eyes. Here,’ he said taking a cord of rope from the pack attached to his saddle and gave it to Yepert. ‘Hold this and I’ll lead you through ok?”

  Yepert nodded.

  Together they spurred their mounts forward until they crested a small ridge to a scene of utter devastation. Hanging from some of the trees lining the road were bodies. Flies buzzed angrily over the corpses of bandits which lay naked in the summer sun. Several had spear wounds, others showed signs of sword or mace blows. Standing grim faced in the centre of the carnage was Ferran. The Nightblade paced the clearing and knelt over one of the bodies. The corpse of the man he was checking neither wore armour of a solider nor bore the marks of a bandit. His eyes were missing and a brutal tear had almost split him from neck to thigh bone.

  “No man did this,” he muttered. “These bandits were slain and this poor wretch must have come along later to scavenge their weapons and armour. He met with something he did not expect...”

  “What’s the matter?” Kaiden asked his hand dropping instinctively to his sword.

  Sophia unslung her bow and gazed at the tree line.

  “The Great wood goes on for hundreds of miles. There could be anything lurking within its dark interior. With no Nightblades or legion patrols beasts of the void are certain to get loose and prey on the unwary,” she said as she dismounted gracefully. She walked over to the body Ferran was studying. She pointed to the ground. ‘Here. There are tracks in the dirt. Something crawled out of the forest all right, something big.”

  Luxon looked around; trying his best not to heave at the sight of death, worse than the blood was the smell. He told Yepert to hold his nose and keep his eyes closed.

  “I suggest we keep moving. This part of the road is not safe. There is a rune stone a few more miles ahead. We will camp there.” Ferran said before standing and mounting his horse.

  “Rune stone?” Luxon asked. He remembered seeing them on his last journey. The big oval rocks dotted the realm. Most were located at crossroads and at the side of the major roads.

  “Aye. Rune stones are imbued with ancient magic which wards off fell beasts. The ancient mages created them during the age of Aljeron the first wizard, the age when the Nightblades were formed to hunt the monsters unleashed by the void and the stupidity of mages,” Sophia explained her eyes not leaving the trees.

  *

  Night came quickly on the road. As the last rays of sunlight were fading the group rounded a bend to see a black monolith standing high and proud. In the dim light it was hard to make out the archaic writings etched into its surface.

  The flicker of a camp fire caused Ferran to call them to a halt. Someone was already camping at the base of the rune stone.

  “Hail there,” the Nightblade called.

  A shout of surprise and the sound of people scrabbling about came from the stones direction. A cacophony of swear words and a crash as someone fell over caused Luxon to smile. Whoeve
r was camped there was no skilled assassin or warrior, if anything they sounded like the clumsiest person in the world.

  “H-hail.., who goes there?” replied a voice. An old man wearing a long travellers coat stepped out onto the road his hands held high. Behind him was a younger man dressed in similar garb. The old man’s hair was white and erratic and his bushy unruly beard suggested that he hadn’t had a chance to shave in weeks. The younger mans black hair in contrast was slicked back with oil and his beard was smart and trimmed. In his hands was a staff which he gripped tightly.

  “We are just a group of travellers heading south to the sundial crossroads. Would it be alright if we shared the safety of the rune stone with you?” Ferran explained politely.

  The two men conversed animatedly; Luxon could barely hear their whispers.

  After a few minutes of comedic squabbling the older man walked towards them his hands still high in the air.

  “Seein as you have young uns with you we figure that your band is safe. So yes, you can share our fire, and the stones safety.’ He moved his head from side to side as though he was looking for any signs of treachery. ‘You don’t want to be on open road at night. Especially not lately...” the old man added.

  The group trotted their mounts into the men’s camp. Luxon and Yepert tethered their ponies to a nearby tree whilst the others did similarly to their own horses. Alira’s pony was tethered to the rune stone itself.

  “Come, come sit next to the fire and make yourselves comfy,” the older man enthused. “My name is Gric and my young companion here is Huin. We are travelling peddlers from Ridder wandering the King’s road to find our fortune,” Gric cackled. Huin snorted in derision.

  “Yes old man, we’re doing really well on that front...”Huin muttered sarcastically.

  Sophia had taken one of the packs off her horse and pulled out five sleeping blankets. She passed one to Luxon and the others and settled down to sleep a little ways from the crackling campfire. Kaiden pulled some food from one of the travel sacks on his saddle and passed some bread among them. He offered the peddlers some.

  “Nay lad, we have our own food. Can’t be doing with taking a strangers,” said Gric as he settled himself onto a pile of cushions next to the fire. A thin sheet of cloth had been stretched between the stone and a nearby tree to offer them some cover from the elements.

  “We passed a bandit camp earlier in the day, no survivors. Do you know what happened there?” Ferran asked through a mouthful of bread.

  “Aye we do,’ Gric answered his tone going serious. ‘Bout three days ago there was three of us until we went to check out the smoke arising from that camp. We intended to strip the bandits armour and sell it on once we’d reached Caldaria but poor old Euin bought it when he lingered there too long.’

  “That old fool got greedy and paid the price. I told him to get back here before the night fell,” Huin added.

  “Aye you did. We left him to it, we weren’t willing to risk it, and especially after the noises we’ve heard at night during our travels. We got back here just after sun down and then not long after we heard Euin’s screams in the distance. Something got him...something fell.”

  Luxon shivered. Yepert glanced about nervously and Alira huddled closer to Kaiden. The knight put an arm around her reassuringly.

  “Fear not we have a Nightblade, a Knight and a witch hunter to protect us,” Yepert said more confidently than he looked. Ferran scowled at the boy. He didn’t want everyone to know who they were.

  “Get some sleep, we have a long day’s journey ahead of us,” Ferran said as he sat down under a tree and wrapped his blanket about himself.

  *

  Luxon couldn’t sleep. The night was cold but there was something else in the chill, something he had felt for several days. He wondered if anyone else had noticed it, the chill which made him shiver despite it being summer.

  He also couldn’t sleep because of the silence. Not a single animal made a noise, usually there were calls from owls or the constant shrill of grasshoppers, but there was nothing but silence, an oppressive silence that burrowed deep into his soul. He wrapped his blanket tighter around himself and edged closer to the fire hoping that its warmth would put him at ease.

  “It’s out there,”

  Luxon almost cried out. He sighed in relief as he recognised Ferran sat next to the fire idly prodding it with a stick.

  “What’s out there?” Luxon whispered, not wanting to wake the others. Alira was curled up in a ball at Kaidens feet, his hand resting protectively on the hilt of his sword. Yepert was snoring loudly and Sophia was happily catching flies.

  The Nightblade looked at Luxon with a frown.

  “What do they teach you in those schools about the fell beasts and the void... surely a mage as powerful as you should already know the answer,” Ferran answered bitterly. Despite all his strength he couldn’t hide his resentment for the lad.

  Luxon glanced away unable to meet the Nightblades disapproving gaze.

  “They didn’t teach us much; I’m only an apprentice and even then a newly appointed one. I...I have a power that I don’t understand,” he answered miserably. He didn’t want to be on the road, he didn’t want to be in danger.

  Ferran grunted and tossed a twig onto the fire which flared brightly.

  “I am sorry I spoke that way,’ he grumbled. ‘I shouldn’t take my resentment of the mages out on one so young as you, and before you ask I have my reasons which I do not wish to share this night.’ Quickly he changed the subject.

  “The thing that killed their friend’; he said gesturing to the two sleeping pedlars, ‘what do you think it was?”

  Luxon shifted slightly as his leg started to go dead under his weight. He thought for a moment. The Nightblade was right; he didn’t have a clue about the fell beasts or anything much about the void. He shook his head and shrugged his shoulders.

  “I have no idea,” he answered after a few moments.

  A scream pierced the silence of the night, an unearthly terrible scream. The others sprung awake in a panic and fright. All except Yepert who remained snoring loudly. Ferran stayed sat.

  “We are safe thanks to the rune stone. Go back to sleep, it can’t harm us here,” he said reassuringly. Kaiden looked less than impressed; once again his blade was in hand.

  “Listen...,” Alira whispered in fright.

  Sure enough the sound of rustling leaves grew closer and closer. Luxon scrambled to his feet and Sophia knelt, her bow drawn. Still Ferran sat, watching the trees impassively. The two pedlars cowered behind the rune stone, Huin held his staff in a white knuckled grip.

  The tension rose as the thing drew closer. Luxon steadied his nerves his hands going unconsciously to the dagger in his belt. He knew it wouldn’t be much use, but he needed to use anything for reassurance.

  The bushes across the roadside erupted only to reveal a startled boar and its three piglets. The group all sighed in relief, the tension easing to be replaced with nervous chuckles.

  “Ruddy pig, scared the snot out of me!” chuckled Gric. The old man picked up a stone and threw it at the boar that ran off back into the undergrowth with a startled squeal its tiny piglets following suit. With another flurry of leaves and breaking twigs the boars left as quickly as they had arrived.

  A few minutes later and the camp was quiet one more as everyone went back to sleep, everyone that was except for Luxon and Ferran.

  “That scream was no pig was it?” Luxon asked. The scream had shaken him deeply. He envied Yepert who seems to be able to sleep through virtually anything. He wished he could have been like the others and cast the night’s horrors to the back of their minds.

  “I’d guess it were a banshee, a fell spirit which preys on the souls of the living. They’re fairly common in this part of the realm. The Black Moor to the west is full of them,” Ferran reasoned. The Nightblade stared into the fires flames and warmed his hands from the heat.

  “Where do they come from?” Luxon as
ked. He couldn’t help looking into the darkness. He felt as though a monster would burst into the clearing at any moment. If he understood what the fell beasts were then he wouldn’t be as afraid. All he knew of them and their origins were just fairy tales told by parents to keep their children in line. Even the mage schools avoided the subject.

  “It’s a long story, and I wouldn’t want to bore you,” Ferran replied as he picked some dirt from under his fingernails.

  “Dawn is a long way off, and I seriously doubt I’ll be able to sleep, maybe a good story is what I need?” Luxon said hoping that the Nightblade would relent.

  With a reluctant sigh Ferran relented.

  “Very well lad. Settle down and get comfortable because this is the only time I will tell you the tale of the void and its origins. Only the Nightblades and the members of the Chantry and Knights of Niveren remember the story, to everyone else the void is just a mystery or a legend. They soon change their minds when one of its abominations terrorises their towns.”

  He took a sip from the water skin at his feet before beginning his tale.

  ***

  19.

  “The tale of the void goes all the way back to the very start of all things. In the beginning of the universe there was nothing but darkness. Sitting alone in the empty cold was Aniron the first of the Gods. She floated throughout the blackness, sad that she could not see. Boredom was her nemesis, and so to entertain herself she clapped her hands and created the stars. With light she could see, but still she was not impressed.

  So she decided to create the worlds. For eons she flitted from world to world marvelling at their wonders, but still she was not impressed.

  So she decided to create life. If she could exist, then why couldn’t others? She wanted to share what she had made. She took a part of her essence and gave birth to other gods to keep her company.

  ‘For a while the new gods played and were happy amongst the stars and worlds that Aniron had created, but one, her eldest son grew sad.