Birthright: The Crystal Throne - Book 1

by Kim Fedyk

  He ran his fingers along the edge of his bow, taking comfort from its familiar weight and feel. As he did, the quiver of arrows on his back jostled him ever so slightly.

  Footsteps sounded behind him and Steve turned to look at who was approaching.

  "Ah Gary! Is it midnight already?"

  "It is."

  "Wonderful." Steve picked up his bow and gave Gary a pat on the shoulder. "I haven't seen anything, all seems quiet."

  "MMM" Gary mumbled by way of acknowledgment before turning away and assuming his post. Steve watched the man stare out at the forest for a few seconds and then turned away himself. He had a long day and was more than ready to catch some rest before it was his turn to stand watch again... or until the battle started.

  Steve started to walk towards the town square which himself and a hundred or so fellow Jayans were using as a makeshift barracks. It was eerily quiet.

  The calm before the storm.

  "My mind is just playing tricks on me," Steve whispered to himself. "It's been a long day."

  Steve continued walking, and then he stopped with a start, "Oh fuck!" He blurted. He knew what had been bothering him "It's too quiet, where in the hell are the Vrog?"

  In an instant, Steve was running back to the post he had just left. "Gary!" He yelled as he approached.

  Gary turned. Hearing the panic in Steve's voice, he already had his bow poised and strung, ready to fend off whatever was the source of the alarm.

  "DO YOU SEE ANY VROGS?" Steve yelled at him.

  "No..." Gary said slowly, confusion etched on his face. And then, realization dawned, replaced almost instantly with horror. "NO," he yelled turning around to look back into the forest. "There are no vrogs!" Even in the darkness, Steve could see how pale his friend's face had become.

  "You stay here, sound the alarm." Gary said, already turning away, "I'll go find Winn and Graydon. Tell them the battle is starting."

  Without waiting for a reply, Steve sprinted back towards the town square yelling, "WAKE UP, WAKE UP. THE BATTLE IS STARTING!"

  A loud horn sounded from behind him. Gary had rung the alarm.

  As Steve ran, he continued yelling. He ran through a residential

  street, and banged as loudly as he could on each door. He didn't have time to wait to see if anyone was actually waking up, but he hoped the general cacophony he was making would do the trick. By the time he had reached the town square, most of the Jayans were either awake or quickly waking up.

  "The Vrogs never came," Steve yelled as he raced past. "The battle is starting."

  Steve reached the Inn where he knew Winn and Graydon were staying. Before he could rush inside, the door flung open and Winn appeared, Graydon right behind him. They were fully dressed in their battle gear, weapons drawn, eyes alert.

  "Is Absalom here?" Winn asked Steve, assuming correctly he was the sentry that had raised the alarm.

  "Not yet, but there are no vrogs."

  "Shit," Graydon said pushing past Winn. "Rogan must have done something to them."

  Winn nodded, "The battle is starting."

  Graydon smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand "How could we be so stupid as to think Absalom would wait until morning to avoid the Vrogs? Rogan is a dread mage. Of COURSE he would do something to them."

  "It was a stupid mistake," Winn agreed. "But luckily not a fatal one." He put his hand on Steve's shoulder and squeezed. "You said that Absalom wasn't here yet right?"

  "No, it was all quiet when I left."

  "Good," Winn said "So we still have a bit of time. Graydon, go wake up highcouncilman Crean and Zeeshan. Get them to wake everyone in Occa. Even if they aren't going to fight. We don't want anyone hiding in their houses if we have to make a quick escape."

  Graydon raced off to find the Talywags.

  "And you," Winn turned to Steve, "Come with me." Winn sprinted to the town square, Steve right behind him.

  By the time they had reached the square, Winn was pleased to see that all of the Jayans were awake and alert. Hundreds more were pouring in by the minute.

  "Absalom's army is on it's way," he addressed the group. "We don't know how much time we have before they arrive. But we do know that when they come, Absalom will throw everything he has at us. In all likelihood Rogan will be with him."

  He looked at the faces of his men, and was gratified to see their confident, determined expressions hadn't faltered.

  "I won't lie to you, it is going to be a tough, hard battle. Not like the quick ambushes and skirmishes we have fought for so long. No matter what happens, we will keep up hope, fight hard and show those bastards what a TRUE JAYAN IS MADE OF!"

  "JAYA!!!!!!!!!!" yelled his army in unison, stomping their feet. Winn yelled with them and lifted his arm, "LET'S GET EM!" The Jayans roared again and raced to take up their posts, Winn in the lead.

  In a few minutes they had reached the platform where Gary was still keeping watch. "Nothing yet." Gary said, handing Winn his binoculars and stepping back so he could take his place.

  "Good." Winn said. He held up the binoculars and looked through. All he saw were trees and darkness. There didn't appear to be anything there yet. "We need some light," Winn said almost to himself.

  "Light?" Zeeshan's voice came from right behind him. "I can get that for you." Taking full advantage of his new snowbear qualities, Zeehsan started climbing the nearest tree, heading to the higher platforms.

  "Nothing yet I'm assuming," Graydon asked, coming to stand beside his brother.

  Winn handed him the binoculars. "Not that I can tell, but it's too dark to be sure."

  Graydon held up the binoculars to see for himself and immediately lowered them, "Yup."

  Crean came beside them "We have a spotlight at the very top of the city." He pointed upwards to where his son was deftly climbing a second tree. "Its right up there." Zeeshan leapt off the tree and landed on the uppermost platform.

  A blinding light hit Graydon in the face. "ACK," he cried, shielding his eyes. "Don't point it at us!"

  There was a faint creaking noise and the ray of light slowly turned, pointing into the forest below them.

  "That's better." Graydon handed the binoculars back to Gary and peered out into the forest.

  As soon as he did, he saw movement among the trees, and a row of soliders emerged.

  Winn saw it too, "Archers take your positions."

  Instantly there was a shuffling and the archers organized themselves into three rows, facing outwards toward the advancing army. The first row picked up their bows and strung them, holding them poised, waiting for the command to fire.

  "Where do you want us?" Crean said.

  "And me," Zeeshan added, dropping back down onto the platform behind them with a thud.

  "For now, go stand behind the last row of archers." He wanted them protected in case the shield didn't hold up as well as it should.

  The Talywags hurried to do what they had been asked.

  "There are at least fifty of those Zeeshan-things," Graydon said with horror, his eyes peeled on the advancing troops. "Rogan has somehow made way more of them than we had expected."

  "And a bunch of Grekens."

  "At least five thousand soldiers" Graydon added

  "And they keep coming...."

  "And there. Our two best friends," Graydon pointed at the two familiar figures who had appeared out of the trees.

  Winn nodded "Yup, both Absalom and Rogan."

  "I guess overkill gets lost when you are a total asshole huh?" Graydon chirped.

  Winn let out a little smile, "Totally lost."

  The first row of advancing soldiers looked like they were now within the archers range.

  "ARCHERS READY. FIRE!" Winn called

  A hail of arrows shot out into the sky and landed on the advancing army. Screams sounded as the first wave of arrows hit their targets. Soliders stumbled and fell down, to be instantly replaced with their comrades advancing from behind them.

  "FIRE!" Winn
called again. More screams, as hundreds more men fell down, fatally wounded.

  The advancing army didn't falter, if anything the blood seemed to spur on the snow bear creatures. Winn watched in disgust as they tore through their own army to make it to the front of the pack.

  "FIRE!"

  This time the arrows hit mostly the Imari and did little damage. Serving more to irritate them than anything. One in particular let out a loud guttural roar. With one paw he ripped an arrow out of his arm, broke it in two and threw it on the ground. In anger, he swiped at the body of the man dying beside him. The man let out a bloodcurdling scream as the creature lifted him up with one large paw and hurtled him 10 feet into the air in the direction of Occa. The man landed with a crunch that was audible from where Winn and Graydon were standing and his screaming abruptly stopped.

  "Well he seems pleasant." Graydon said dryly. "Absalom sure keeps some fine company."

  "They should be coming on Selene's traps soon." Winn said quietly to his brother.

  As if on cue, there was an explosion, and a brilliant band of purple light shot out in a line across the first rows of Absalom's army. The Imari caught in it were ripped apart, their limbs flying in all directions. The humans that had been caught in it... there were white puddles on the ground where they had stood seconds before.

  * * *

  Miles away, Arleth shot awake with a scream.

  Selene instantly sprung to action. The battle was starting already? As Arleth continued to scream and hold her head, Selene grabbed their packs, all but threw Arleth onto a horse and climbed onto the second one herself.

  "So much death." Arleth moaned looking at Selene with bloodshot eyes. "I see piles of bodies, I see.. AHHHHHHHH" She screamed again, and began to foam at the mouth.

  Selene's heart raced in terror. How was the battle already this bad? At this rate, was Arleth going to make it?

  "Make it stop, make it stop," Arleth moaned holding her head and rocking forward on her horse.

  Selene reached forward to steady Arleth. "As much as I want to, I can't make it stop. We have to get to Samara's. NOW! Are you able to hold on to ride?"

  Arleth made a barely perceptable nod.

  "Good," Selene said and spurred the horses into a gallop.

  * * *

  A second explosion of purple light illuminated the forest as Absalom's army reached the second of Selene's traps. Absalom roared in anger at his sorceror "DO SOMETHING."

  He didn't care if his soliders died, he had thousands more just behind him, and thousands more back at Iridian.

  But he was embarassed.

  They hadn't even reached Occa yet and already his troops were getting decimated.

  Rogan sighed, As if he was going to do nothing. Almost lazily, a web of green light shot out from his hand, probing the area infront of the army for more of Selene's traps. It pulsed slightly and Rogan closed his outstretched hand into a fist.

  "There." He said to Absalom as the last of Selene's traps exploded into purple light, way ahead of the army, causing no damage. "They are all gone."

  Absalom huffed.

  * * *

  "Well there goes that", Graydon said as Rogan exploded the last of the traps harmlessly.

  "Let's hope Selene's shield holds." Winn added, fighting every urge not to cross his fingers.

  "FIRE AT WILL." Winn called to his archers. "If you have a good shot at a Greken or snow bear thing, use one of your special arrows."

  "RIGHT" the Jayans responded in unison, never pausing thier enslaught.

  Selene had created a few thousand charmed arrows before she had left yesterday. They had the weight and feel of a normal arrow so the archers would be able to fire them with ease. However these arrows glowed ever so slightly so the archers could recognize them easily. Upon hitting its mark, they would explode much like the traps had done, setting the target on fire. If they didn't hit flesh, they would just fizzle and become useless. Each archer had been given a few to use in close quarters against one of Absalom's creatures.

  Absalom's army continued advancing.The soldiers, maintaining a steady quick march, while the Imari raced ahead, eager for blood. The latter quickly reached the base of the trees supporting Occa and started a rapid climb, all but drooling with anticipation at the prey in front of them.

  Winn peered over the edge of the platform and saw the top of a massive white head. As though it could sense it was being watched, it looked up at Winn, barred its teeth and let out a loud roar. It was close enough that Winn could see the drool fly from its mouth and the pieces of what looked like human flesh stuck in its teeth.

  Winn stepped back, calmly drew his dagger and waited.

  A half second later, a monstrous white shape lunged up from the tree trunk. Winn could see the glint from its extended claws as it raised its arms. The look of triumph was unmistakable. It let out a final roar and lunged full force at Winn.

  THUD

  The creature hit Selene's invisible shield like a ton of bricks. It had barely a second to register shock before Winn's dagger stabbed into his heart. The creature clutched at his chest, as thick red blood oozed out of the wound. Impossibly fast, Winn stabbed the creature three more times to the chest and once in the throat. It let out a frothy gurgling as it staggered a step backwards. Winn put his boot on the dying creature's chest and kicked as hard as he could. It staggered a few more steps and fell backwards off the platform.

  "So the shield works," Graydon said as he watched the creature land on the ground with a crash.

  "For how long is the question," Winn responded. "We need to avoid as much direct strain on it as possible."

  A flash of purple light exploded to his right and Winn turned to look. Another creature had reached the platform, further down and was currently screaming in pain as it tried ineffectively to bat the scorching purple fire off its fur. The archer who had made the shot took half a step back as the creature tried a final lunge. It hit the shield, lost its balance and fell off the platform much like its predecessor had.

  "The shield is holding." Winn called to his men. "Take out your daggers, your axes, use the special arrows, whatever weapon you have. Kill as many as you can. They can't harm you right now."

  Winn turned behind him, "Crean," he called.

  The Talywag appeared hesitantly from behind a row of archers, he looked even greener than usual. "Uhh yes," he faltered.

  "The shield is holding," Winn repeated. "The Talywags will be safe for now, we need their help. We need to keep as much pressure off the shield as we can. Get all the Talywags that came out yesterday and any more that want to help. Gather the oil buckets we created yesterday. Zeeshan, help him, it will be faster."

  Zeeshan and Crean raced off to do what he had asked. Zeeshan, eager to help; his father just happy to be momentarily away from the carnage and realities of war.

  * * *

  Lydia hummed to herself, trying to drown out the screams from outside.

  It didn't help.

  At first, they had sounded far away and she had been able to cover them up with her voice. But for a while now, they were much louder, closer, and constant. They varied in pitch, or intensity but were terrifying all the same.

  An explosion interupted her thoughts. Instictively, she covered her ears. The screams were always the worst after an explosion.

  "LA LA LA LA LA," She sang loudly, rocking back and forth.

  "What was that?" Qualo asked, walking into the banquet hall, his arms full of boxes.

  "Oh nothing, just talking to myself," Lydia said quickly, removing her hands from her ears.

  Qualo put the boxes down beside her. She looked at his harrowed eyes. He looked just as bad as she felt. It was good to know she wasn't the only one.

  "What have we got." Lydia asked, indicating the pile of boxes on the floor in front of her.

  "By my count; 8 boxes of bread, 17 boxes of juntafruit, apples, berries and potatoes, and 10 boxes of dried meat."

  "Not nearly enough
."

  "No," Qualo agreed. "Winn was very firm, we need to be able to feed all of Occa and the Jayans for 3 days at bare minimum."

  Lydia stepped back as 6 more boxes were added onto the pile.

  "3 bread... and 3 cheese." Twins Mark and Abby said as they dropped their cargo and turned to walk back to the kitchen for another load.

  "We need lots of water too." Lydia said to Qualo. A bloodcurtling scream pierced the night.

  Lydia and Qualo looked at each other in undisguised horror

  "And I think we need to hurry."

  Qualo nodded, his mouth dry.

  The scream abruptly cut off, replaced by a deafening explosion.

  This time Lydia didn't care who saw her. She resumed her humming, covered her ears and raced back to the kitchen after Qualo.

  * * *

  One more left. Graydon held the glowing yellow orb in his hand. He peered over the edge, waiting for the right moment. At the base of the closest tree one of the snow bear creatures was starting to climb. It was quickly pulled down by a second creature, trying to get to the top before him. Graydon cocked his arm back to throw. A third creature, taking advantage of the other two grappling for position, started to make its way up the tree. Perfect. Graydon let loose and threw the orb. It landed in the middle of all three. It exploded upon impact, throwing all three snow bear creatures into the air, to land on the ground in a jumble of severed body parts.

  "Was that your last one too?" Winn peered over the edge with Graydon.

  "Yes. I wanted to use them before they breached the shield. They are hella powerful - I didn't want to break a hole in Occa."

  Winn nodded "Same."

  There was a shuffling down the ranks as Crean and Zeeshan returned with the Talwags. Winn was happy to see far more Talywags with him than had come out yesterday.

  Hesitantly, they made their way and were led to the front of the archers line. There were so many Talywags that only about every 5th one had a pot of oil, the rest carried whatever weapon they had found - kitchen knives, axes, even bricks.

  "It was a smart plan to save the bows and arrows for the Jayans." Graydon said to his brother.