Avalyne Series 01: The Queen of Carleon

by Linda Thackeray

  ‘What is that?’ Keira demanded trying to see through the darkness and snowfall.

  ‘I don’t know,’ Celene answered with a frown. She did not know what was out there but it was closing in on them.

  Arianne listened closely. Now that she was awake, she could feel the peril closing in on her. ‘They are near.’ She said to no one's surprise.

  ‘They?’ Keira exclaimed, her voice cracking in fear. ‘There’s more than one of them?’

  ‘They’re all around us,’ Celene stated because she could hear it without the benefit of Arianne’s elven senses. ‘Arianne, light the fire and remain close to it.’

  Arianne did not protest because Celene’s orders had kept her alive this far and she knew her limitations now her pregnancy was entering her four month. She could feel her son acutely now as it was with the way with elves and her fears for his life made her pay heed to Celene’s need to protect her.

  ‘Keira, go to the horses. If you have to get on and lead them away from here, do it. We cannot afford to lose them.’ Melia added.

  Keira nodded and hurried towards the animals, now stamping their hooves in desperate need to be free of the place. Meanwhile Arianne hurried to the centre of their campsite to light the fire as Celene had demanded. The queen worked quickly and felt the first hint of warmth from the newborn fire when the radiating glow of amber spread throughout the campsite. It lit just as the first of their attackers came into view.

  It was almost the size of a horse and it moved with as much agility. All three knew exactly what they were dealing with the moment they laid eyes upon the creature. Its long body was covered in scales that glimmered with iridescent colours and its head was decidedly serpentine. It slithered across the snow covered ground and glared at them with ruby red eyes. When it opened its mouth, two large fangs stood out from the smaller serrated teeth. It reached Celene first.

  ‘It’s a wyrm!’ Melia shouted as she took aim with her crossbow and fired.

  The bolt from the weapon struck the creature below the jaw and it turned sharply in her direction, hissing furiously at Melia in pain. The angry screech that tore through the air prompted Celene into action and she dashed forward, struggling not to slip on the snow as she rushed at it from the rear. Celene's unsheathed sword led her charge and she came up along the side of the beast and swung. The blade sliced through the air before striking flesh. It took every ounce of her strength she had to penetrate its skin even with the force of the blow because wyrms were the young of wyverns. Had she faced it fully grown, there would be no way to penetrate its thick hide.

  Nevertheless, this beast was young and Celene saw its blood spraying in all directions when she took its head from its body. The creature's cry of pain was cut short as its large body tumbled to the snow, blood pouring from the severed neck.

  Unfortunately, its death cry brought the others.

  Melia turned around to see another wyrm emerging behind her and she could hear another one approaching as well. Firing her crossbow, the bolt struck the oncoming beast in the face and forced it to rear up in pain as steel tore through its muscle. In the rear of her vision she saw Arianne being stalked by the other wyrm she heard but not seen. The queen showed herself to be no novice in defending herself and she quickly took the offensive, stabbing at the creature with her sword while moving with elven agility to avoid the snapping of its jaws. Her blade struck flesh and while the wyrm howled in pain, it did not retreat and held its ground, preparing to lunge at her.

  ‘Get out of its way!’ Melia shouted, prompted by a sudden flash of inspiration.

  Arianne reacted to her warning by attempting to do just that when the wyrm reared its head and widened it jaw to spit something at her. Arianne retreated, assuming the ejecta would be fire or even venom but what escaped the beast's mouth was a blast of icy cold air. She jumped out of its path and saw that it not only extinguished the fire but froze it solid like a sculpture.

  At least now they knew what had overcome those settlements.

  Celene rushed forward attempting to help, slashing her sword about wildly to clear a path to Arianne. However the wyrms were encircling them, trapping them in the middle of the campsite as they unleashed their icy breath upon the three women like they were casting a net. Celene dropped down to her knees, trying to keep out of the path of the creatures frozen breath but even without being assaulted directly, she was feeling its effects. The cold pierced her skin like needles and she was shivering beneath her cloak. Her fingers stiffening around the hilt of her sword.

  On of the wyrms slithered forward, lowering its head so that it could envelop her in cold. Using the sleet on the ground, Celene threw herself forward, sliding past it and driving her blade into its side as she moved. Ripping open its flesh, its hot blood hissed against the snow as it bellowed in agony and tumbled to the ground, its elongated body going slack.

  Arianne saw Celene’s efforts to reach her and soon realised that the Lady of Gislaine was busy enough trying saving her own skin without coming to her aid. Recovering her balance after she had avoided the attack of the wyrm nearest her, she remained on her feet without slipping across the sleet thanks to her elven nature. The creature had lunged at her and missed but was determined to her. Twisting around on its slithering belly, it sidled toward hers, leaving circular groves in the snow. When it neared her, it flicked its massive tail like a whip, trying to knock her off her feet. However Arianne jumped up, allowing it to pass beneath her.

  Before she could land however, the beast lunged again and Arianne retreating in order to escape its fangs when something snagged her foot. She fell heavily on her behind and saw the wyrm closing in on her. Scrambling backwards desperately, she raised her sword just in time to see its jaws widening for the kill. Forcing her weapon between them, she held her blade poised between its jaw and her body.

  She could see down its gullet and knew that all it had to do was blast her with its icy breath and she would die just as the other poor unfortunates in those frozen villages. The wyrm regarded her for a second, its eyes glaring at her malevolently when suddenly; something drew its attention from her. It retracted its head from before her and screeched angrily.

  It was Keira! The lady of the Green was waving a flaming piece of branch before her. In the darkness of the night, the light from the amber flames seemed to fill the whole world and Arianne let out a sigh of relief as she recovered her senses. Taking advantage of the distraction provided, Celene came out of nowhere, jumping on a small boulder in the middle of the campsite to make a running leap onto the wyrm's back.

  Once astride the beast, Celene's legs coiled around its serpentine body to keep it from throwing her off. Like any unbroken horse, the wyrm bucked hard to dislodge her but Celene remained seated. Raising her sword above her head, she gave the creature no quarter as drove the blade into its skull. Its utter a short scream of agony before it went limp and fell lifeless to the ground.

  Arianne would have thanked Celene except she was running towards Melia.

  Melia’s skill with the crossbow almost rivalled Aeron with the long bow, Arianne thought as she saw the Easterner fire bolt upon bolt at the wyrms stalking them. She had managed to keep two of them at bay but she was fast running out of projectiles. Arianne could see the worry in her face as she continued to strike fatal wounds in the wyrms coming at them. Soon, she would be forced to rely upon her sword and Arianne remembered Melia saying she was nowhere as proficient as Celene in its use.

  One of the wyrms covered in bolts was still determined to have the watch guard despite its companion writhing in pain from the numerous wounds. The wyrm blew its deadly breath at Melia who barely avoided it and while a rock had served Celene well, another behind Melia gave her no advantage. It bore the full brunt of the wyrm’s breath, freezing so quickly it shattered, sending jagged shards in all directions. Fragments of tiny shards sprayed over her and Melia fell, landing on her side trying to avoid the worst of the barrage.

  Her crossbow tum
bled from her hands as she fell and Melia scrambled quickly towards the sword within reach to defend herself. The wyrm prepared to make its kill as it slithered towards Melia and Arianne had only a second to act before it took her life. Throwing her sword like a spear, Arianne watched the blade fly through the air and pierce the beast in what would have been its neck. Driven by the force of her throw, the sword did not stop travelling until it was buried to the hilt in wyrm flesh.

  The wyrm attempted to screech but could not manage it since what passed for its vocal chords was severed. By this time, Melia had recovered enough to thrust her own sword into the belly of the beast and spilt its innards unto the permafrost covered ground when she retracted it.

  For a few seconds, no one spoke as they stood amongst the carcasses of the creatures that had almost killed them. All were still stunned by the fact that they had survived the onslaught. Celene had dispatched the wounded beast that had attempted retreat when Arianne was saving Melia’s life. Just as Keira had returned after securing the horses some distance away to save Arianne's life in turn. Somehow they had repealed this latest attack and they had done it together.

  For the moment at least, Arianne sensed the danger had retreated even though it was not entirely gone. It still loomed over them but she knew it emanated from the darkened mountain range they would soon be required to enter.

  ‘Are they all dead over there?’ Celene asked Melia as the duty of ensuring the wyrms were dead not merely wounded was concluded.

  ‘Yes,’ Melia answered a she retrieved her crossbow bolts from the dead carcasses. It was grisly work and she had no wish to be any closer to the fledgling wyverns but there was no other way for her to replace them and she needed them now they were nearing the end of this quest ‘They will trouble us no more.’

  ‘I heard of these wyrms when I was a child,’ Celene declared, grimacing as she scanned the grisly scene in front of her. Already the snow was starting to cover the bodies and in an hour or two they would be little more than buried mounds of white. ‘I thought they were long dead!’

  ‘The last time these creatures were seen was during the Primordial Wars,’ Arianne explained. Now that the danger was over, she was just as astonished by the presence of these wyrms. ‘They were thought to be destroyed with Mael!’

  ‘However they have come to be here,’ Celene declared, ‘These wyrms have been born recently. We should not have been able to penetrate their hides with our weapons. If what I remember of wyverns is true, wyvern scales are harder than iron. The only way to kill a wyvern is to pierce its belly because is the only place it is vulnerable.’

  ‘The Enemy is responsible for this,’ Arianne said softly. ‘He is drawing out these creatures from the deepest depths of the ancient world.’

  ‘Well we know at least what became of those towns,’ Keira sighed as she went to a shrub that had been treated to the wyrm’s deadly breath and crushed a branch in her hand. It broke as if it were a dry leaf, turning to powder in her hands. The lady of the Green dusted her palms of the fragments, clear disgust in her face as she did so.

  ‘I suppose,’ Arianne retorted before coming to Keira and giving her a hug. ‘I have you to thank for my life. If you had not intervened...’

  ‘We all saved each other,’ Keira said accepting her thanks and hugging her back. ‘I could not simply leave you all behind. The horses are safe so we will be able to leave this place.’

  ‘Let us move now,’ Celene suggested having no desire to remain here. ‘I do not know what else is out there but it certainly knows where we are.’

  ‘It is trying to stop us,’ Arianne announced.

  ‘Stop us?’ Keira looked at her puzzled. ‘Why would it do that? Does it not need you for this plan to resurrect it?’

  Arianne took a deep breath and revealed the only thing Lylea had told her that she had not revealed to anyone in her company. Her mother had told her that secrecy was paramount and thought she trusted her friends who had proved time and time again, that they had only her best interest at heart, the knowledge might place them in jeopardy. However, now that they were in the final leg of their journey, it was important to tell them what came next.

  ‘There is something in the Frozen Mountains I alone can retrieve. It has been waiting for me since this quest began and if we are to defeat the Enemy, I must claim it first. My mother showed it to me when we were in Carleon. She ordered me not tell anyone of it because to do so would expose you to danger.’

  ‘What is it?’ Melia asked, wiping blood from one of the bolts and looking none too happy about it. She assumed that if the Queen was telling this to them now, she must be ready to confide in them.

  ‘Because the Enemy knows this thing is here in the Mountains and it know that only I can retrieve it. It places its guards around to keep us away from it because if I find it, I will be able to defeat him once and for all. I believe this is why the wyrms attacked tonight. They wish to keep this beyond my reach.’

  ‘Beyond our reach,’ Celene corrected her making sure Arianne knew she was going nowhere without them, particularly to retrieve this mysterious weapon that could save them all. ‘Do not tell us Arianne what this thing is. If Queen Lylea feels that it is necessary for silence then we will escort you to its location. Do you know how to get there?’

  ‘Yes,’ she nodded. ‘I do.’

  ‘Then we better get a move on,’ Keira smiled.

  PART FIFTEEN

  THE LEGACY OF ANTION

  For the first time since departing Carleon, they had a plan.

  At first light they awoke and prepared their horses for travel with Melia leading the way even though she was as new to the Torn Lands as the rest of them. She displayed an almost elven level of skill in being able to find the best path to the mountains even though she did not possess any special insight that allowed her to do so. What she knew had been taught to her by her father and she had honed her craft as a member of the Watch Guard.

  The snowfall had ceased sometime in the middle of the night and the white glacial plains glared at them as they approached the Frozen Mountains. As they reached the first rocky slopes leading up to the mountain side, they could see the black, igneous rock gleaming slickly under the melting snow. The elevation of the rocky foothills steepened abruptly the higher up its slopes they progressed and it became apparent that the rest of the journey would have to be made on foot. The terrain was simply too difficult to navigate with horses.

  ‘Are you certain of this?’ Melia asked staring at the jagged terrain they would be required to cross and spotted at least a dozen places where wyrms or any other menace could lie in wait to ambush them. The mountain itself seemed imposing and they knew that once across it, more dangers awaited them when they descended into Mael's Pit where the Enemy awaited.

  ‘It is on this mountain. We must find it before we go any further.’ Arianne stated firmly, dismounting her horse. They would release the horses and let them graze on what scant vegetation there was so. Elven magic would allow her to call them back later.

  Her mother had told her that the weapon was in the Frozen Mountains and she had to retrieve it before she and the others entered the pit. Its importance could not be ignored since Arianne found it a tremendous coincidence that the wyrms should attack after they had been weeks in the Torn Lands. She no doubt that the Enemy had set these creatures against anyone who tried to claim the prize she sought.

  Melia exchanged a glance with Celene who merely shrugged in response. The Lady of Gislaine trusted Arianne’s instincts because her warnings had saved their lives on more than one occasion during this journey and she was not about doubt it now. Keira had already climbed of her horse to join Arianne on the ground, appearing almost eager to forge ahead. If anything, this entire quest had proven without a doubt that Keira’s worries that she had lost her courage seem unwarranted.

  If anything; it reminded everyone of how much of it she possessed.

  However, while Celene was confident about Arianne's in
sistence on seeking out this mysterious weapon that could kill their enemy, she was less so about what might be laying in wait in the mountains to protect it. Last night they had been besieged by wyrms and had survived but those creatures were the offspring of something that was far older and infinitely powerful than any weapon they possessed to amongst them to fight it. Somewhere in the heart of these mountains, more than likely where Arianne's prize was, Celene knew they would find the wyvern that had sired this nest of wyrms.

  And she would be happy to greet the murderers of her children.

  ‘We’ve managed to get this far through,’ Keira commented. ‘I didn’t think we’d survive half the things we have but we’ve seemed to manage. We can do this.’ She said confidently to the others.

  Melia had no argument to make in opposition to this and as the newest member the group, did not feel she had standing to voice any objections. She reminded herself she was here to protect the Queen and no matter where Arianne would go, Melia would follow her to do just that but her heart ached at having to leave her horse Serinda behind.