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Chapter Twenty-One
The last time I had seen the castle of Nerith, it had been in the wake of the Dark Elves destruction and the scars of that plundering marred it still, but beneath there was rejuvenation.
The castle had been built by someone with an interest in making things beautiful, unlike the city beyond its walls, and occupied a square area central to the city, ringed by double walls with chemin de rondes.
The main entrance led in a straight line through the two walls, into a walled garden that served as a decorative courtyard, with paved walkways in orderly squares through tidy, flower filled, green lawned gardens, ringed by covered terraces leading into the castle.
We followed the central walkway to the double doors into the entrance hall. The floor here was covered in small brightly coloured tiles. A staircase led up one flight and then split into two.
There was a portrait of me mounted on the wall of the staircase landing. “I know your face,” the woman Elf had
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Akyran's Folly Chapter Twenty-Two
“I have a good healer,” he led me through the ground floor of the castle. “She’s normally in the kitchens.” “In the kitchens?” I repeated. “Apparently they’re the perfect place for brewing up potions. You would know. You’re a mage.” “I have never willingly stepped foot in a kitchen in my life, except to steal food or wine. Any potion that requires cooking, just hasn’t had someone motivated enough to work around that aspect.” We stepped down three steps into the kitchen and stood for a moment overwhelmed by the activity and heat within. The kitchen was rawer than the part of the castle we had previously been in, the stone less finished, less regular in cut. The walls were grimed with smoke, and the floor worn uneven. Light entered through a series of small windows set high on the walls, open to let in the air, and the door to the kitchen gardens, which also stood ajar. A chicken pecked in the open doorway, ignorant to the massacre of its ilk wi
Akyran's Folly Chapter Twenty-Three
The area we selected to search was grazing land for cattle. By the remnants of several small farmhouses and their outbuildings, at some stage mankind had tried to farm this land but cutting back the fertile forests in order to bare the land for cattle, and then several hundred years of cattle eating everything in sight and treading the young growth under their hooves, had resulted in the topsoil breaking down. Perhaps in a century, or two or three, if they kept the cattle from it, it might recover, but for now it was a dusty, rock filled scar. We had ridden for hours, gridding out the area selected for the search, delving into every deep, dark place we found, what few there were, to no avail. As the sun hit its zenith, we paused in the shadow of a decrepit building to share a meal and some wine with the Elvish contingency that searched with us. Akyran and I took our meal and sat on the stone lip of a well. It was not shaded, but it was private. We watched the Elves l
Akyran's Folly Chapter Twenty-Four
Armoured and armed, we returned to the courtyard and I cast a portal. “Aperianu.”The Temples of Seigradh were buried deep within the forest on the border of Nerith and Uyan Taesil. Even the irreverence of mankind had not dared to touch this forest. It was one of the oldest in the world, the trunks of its trees wide and its branches and roots tangled. It was said that its roots systems had become so enmeshed that it no longer existed as a forest of many trees, but all were part of one.There had once been a path to the temples, but the root system had long tossed the stones aside, or curled over them, so that the way was often lost beneath greenery. Pilgrims determined the way, instead, by the stone monoliths that marked the path, though even these were often swallowed by the forest.Water gathered in puddles on the ground, though the greenery was so thick, if there was mud from a recent rainfall, we were kept from it. Fairies with eyes like black be
Akyran's Folly Chapter Twenty-Five
“To end the slaughter,Not dragon son, but daughter,In the right hand,Rivyn’s sword will save the land,If the lamb chosen is wrong,Love’s sacrifice will not be strong.”The Seer’s words echoed hollowly around the room, and the vines behind her seemed to shake and tremble. There was a heaviness to the sound of them, a weightiness that implied meaning, and a ring to the tone so that it seemed she spoke from a great distance, and the sound carried to us from where-ever she was.The delivery seemed to exhaust her, her chin dropping to her chest, the points of her headdress stringing out vine behind her like spiderweb. She became so still that I found myself studying her chest for the rise and fall of breath. If she breathed, it was so lightly it did not disturb the cloth she wore.“Hmm,” Akyran hummed his sigh out through his nose, trying to sup
Akyran's Folly Chapter Twenty-Six
Due to the nature of magic around the Court of Light, the portal opened at the gates into the town. We both looked up automatically, the winding stone roads guiding the eye to the gleaming white walls of the castle in the center of the township, the terraces spilling greenery over the edges, and the open windows billowing the sheer curtains out.We could see the brightly colour courtiers strolling the walkways. From the gathering of minstrels, and the number of courtiers on the terrace from the main hall, Queen Leamoira was entertaining outside.We approached the gates, and the guards saluted us. “Prince Akyran, Princess Ecaeris!”I grumbled under my breath as we began the slow climb through the tidy houses with their white-washed walls and dark wood.“Oh, shush,” Akyran smirked. “When you marry a prince, it makes you a princess.”“Siorin
Akyran's Folly Chapter Twenty-Seven
It was odd being back at the Court of the Light without Fiena, Tillie, or Ithyles to serve us. We had been assigned new servants, and they did not know our ways or habits, something which irritated Akyran, causing him to be short and curt with them.“We should have stopped by Nerith and brought your servants with us,” I commented to him as we settled into the bath and the servants retreated to lick their wounds. “You are too harsh. It is not their fault that we have been absent from court for a decade.”“Over a decade,” he reminded me passing me a wine goblet.“My point precisely.”“I am in a foul mood,” he admitted leaning his head back against the lip of the bath, his dark hair spreading out in the water around him like ink.“Your mother?” I guessed.“A bit, but the realisation is
Akyran's Folly Chapter Twenty-Eight
As the day aged into afternoon, we gathered on the terraces overlooking the town below as the arrival of the dignitaries from all over our world formed a parade winding its way up into the castle, serenaded by bards and showered with the petals of flowers. “I see Aurien,” I spotted him by his golden hair which had been left free like a magnificent coat. “As if he is hard to spot,” Akyran replied with a hint of jealousy. “He stands a head over most others.” “He’s just jealous,” Rivyn grinned enjoying his twin’s reaction. “Ecaeris hasn’t exactly been secretive over her admiration for our golden friend.” “I just whole-heartedly believe it is unnatural for dragons to wear clothing,” I replied innocently. “It must be so inconvenient for him.” “I’m just glad he’s married, and being dragon, entirely faithful,” Akyran spoke over my head to Rivyn. “Or I’d be chaining her to the bed.” “You could do that anyway,” I suggested, and Akyran’s eyes lit fiercely. “I could,” he agreed putting his
Akyran's Folly Chapter Twenty-Nine
“Our daughters are children,” Aurien turning to address Leamoira. “Dragons mature at the same rate as humans. I find it difficult to believe that the prophecy intends for our children to fight monsters before they are fully grown.” “It would be difficult for a child to wield a sword,” Leamoira agreed. “There is no measure of time to the prophesy, but I think it’s safe to assume that it will be a number of years until the heroine is ready to fulfil her future. Which leaves us with what to do in the interim?” “It seems to me,” King Sterin looked at me. “That we have someone experienced in hunting these monsters already in our midst.” The murmuring amongst the assembly rose, courtiers and royalty alike whispering behind raised fans and the palms of their hands. “You’ll recall that the last one I fought, almost killed me,” I reminded him. “A team is needed,” Sterin replied. “Obviously, to support
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