The quiet walk did nothing for her mood. If ever there was a path of no return she was on one of the worst ones. Defying her brother was one act of rebellion, but waging open war on his soldiers and murdering her own people was unspeakably criminal. How could she usurp his rule with her own if hers actions were just as bloody? Riyarra, the exiled princess,...
Gyorg had had his first encounter with Solande's esteemed pair of guests earlier that day. As his capricious Lady had no use for him that morning, Gyorg had been sent to take his instructions from the overseer of the domestic slaves, who had set him to scrubbing down the walls, woodwork and masonry in one of the lesser-used corridors upstairs. It was in a re...
This story happened 20 years ago. It is narrated by the son. The political condition between our country and our neighbors was boiling. Talks of an upcoming invasion filled the air. Our village was situated on the border of the two countries so the villagers were always waiting for any piece of news on the fragile peace between our two countries. I was bor...
As he was dragged out of the room, Erus watched Thare drop her head and sigh. But that was all he saw of her, as Talarn threw him across the floor into the wall with a loud thud. The student got to his feet, and the innkeeper was less than a hair's width away from him in seconds. "Now you listen here, boy," Talarn snarled annoyedly. "That elf is not the ki...
I was walking through the darkened streets late one evening when suddenly I found myself confronted by a young man with wild eyes. He claimed that he had been watching me for quite some time now, and he knew exactly who and what I was. He said that the price of his silence would be immortality. If I were to embrace him, he would never tell 'our' secret. I...
Saretha let the darkness envelop her. As far as she knew, no-one had set foot in the cavern for many thousands of years until she found the place, following the lines of power that converged upon it, and discovered the ruins hidden below the forest. Clumps of luminescent fungus pooled on the floor, their bluish light giving the cavern a strange underwater f...
CHAPTER ONE: giving a stranger the kiss of life. Taking a short break from her close-quarters combat training, Tai-Kho, raven-haired warrior of Ero, sat beside the stone fountain dedicated to their god. Already seated there was Han-Xiob, her long-time mentor, and leader of the secretive group. He had been watching her for the last fifteen minutes, studying....
The sensation of the steaming water on her skin was one of the reasons their scout had chosen to book the group in this particular inn. Not the baths, specifically, but because it was comfortable without being outrageously expensive. It was wealthy enough to be able to provide good food, fully furnished rooms, and its own bath house. It was not, however, o...
Chapter 18: Twisted Cyrus quickly left his father's house in a mood so dark that had it been able to affect the real world then it would have cast the world into the eternal darkness of a death dealing night. He struggled to contain his anger at his father for keeping such an important fact from him. How could he do this? First he picked out a suitor and no...
Eight months later whispers still surrounded the odd murders over the summer but no official report ever was released. The police had been amazingly efficient in covering the whole matter up, blaming drug dealers for the grisly killings. Pete Landrieu won an overwhelming election and with his influence, all connections to Gus and therefore to him by the odd...