Legends of Marithia: Book 1 - Prophecies Awakening: Uncut and Extended Second Edition (29 page)

(Makya, She’Ma’Ryn trader)

Dark clouds gathered in the purple sky
blanketing Greenhaven, and the sun began to disappear into the
horizon as the red moon rose higher in the distance. The people of
the city fled for shelter as heavy rain plummeted from above and
lightning crashed violently onto the lands. Scattered trees
surrounding the restored fort were set alight by the lightning
strikes, and the forest was wildly shaken by the winds.

A knight smashed his fist into the wall as he
leaned his face up against it, dust exploding from the wall’s
surface. He slid his helm onto the rough skin on his weary head so
that only the fury in his eyes were visible beneath the armour and
drew a deep dusty breath into his lungs.

He marched out to the city’s defensive wall
to look over the lands and called out in a gruff voice, “Mount up!
The time we were waiting for has come."

The city’s knights had already suited up in
full armour and proudly wore Greenhaven’s new colours: green, red
and blue interwoven patches, representing human, elf and dragon
united. They waited behind the lowered main gate for orders, ready
for battle.

Andrielle approached the knight, already in
her own suit of armour and holding her helm close to her side. She
bore a nasty battle scar down the side of her face and a few grey
hairs shone through. She stood straight, in a display of strength,
to prove that her age was not going to stop her from engaging in
battle.

“How
dare
any of you stand in my way?
Bow to me as your new god!” boomed a dark voice from the distant
forest, sending birds scattering from Greenhaven’s surrounding
lands.

Queen Andrielle grimaced and growled, “Raise
the bridge and ready the archers!”

“Of course, my Queen,” answered the knight.
He turned to approach the many groups of archers and ordered them
to ready themselves. Thousands of men and elves ran to the walls of
the great city and got into their firing positions.

He moved toward Greenhaven's gate and
shouted, “Raise the bridge!”

The mechanical, rhythmic melody of metal
chains escaped the city as the bridge was raised. A heavy shudder
ran through the city to accompany the finality of the gate being
lowered.

“And what of the dragons?” asked the
knight.

Andrielle raised her face to the skies and
breathed, “They are already here."

Lightning struck the walls of Greenhaven and
a few elven archers were set on fire. They screamed as they rolled
on the ground.

“Use the water, quickly!” ordered Helenia
from the eastern wall.

Andrielle leaned down from the catapult and
shouted, “Catapult crew?”

“Ready!” came the response.

Karven and Finn landed atop two of
Greenhaven’s tallest turrets with a loud tremor, while the other
dragons circled above the clouds. The dragons’ eyes narrowed as
they stared straight ahead at the monumental figure of Shindar
marching into the open from the trail leading through the
forest.

Shindar grimaced through the black mouthpiece
of his helm and spat on the ground in their direction before
turning back and raising a fist high. The sound of horns filled the
air, and battle drums beat in unison. The city rumbled with the
sounds of the Forces of Darkness approaching through the forest
path.

“Steady! Not yet!” ordered Andrielle, her
hand raised up, signalling for the archers and catapults to hold
their fire.

“Karven! You cowardly reptile, it appears
that we meet once again,” boomed Shindar’s voice over the lands. “I
promise you, this time you will not catch me unawares. You might
have destroyed my greatest creation, but do not mistake your little
victory for what it is not. Kassina’s death brought me back into
this world, and set the wheels of the prophecy in motion. This
world will
still
be mine!”

“Hold!” cried Andrielle again.

The vast Dark Army entered their view as if a
new horizon was created.

“By the gods!” exclaimed Andrielle under her
breath, as the front ranks of armoured skeleton warriors filled the
surrounding land as far as the eye could see.

Shindar stopped and shook his fist. The army
ceased their advance and remained still as they awaited Shindar’s
orders.

“This is your last chance. Lower your gate,
bow at my feet and swear allegiance to me. Then you all shall
live!” yelled Shindar. He drew his black sword and held it ready at
his side. “Or prepare to die!”

A few quiet moments passed as the gods above
observed the events below with great anticipation. Only the sound
of rain and the rumbles of the thunderstorm were heard.

“We will send you back to the darkness from
which you came!” responded Andrielle. “All forces – fire!”

Karven and Finn breathed out a steady stream
of fire that created a tunnel of flames. Thousands of arrows and
catapult missiles were launched into the air and caught fire as
they passed through the dragons’ combined breath. The weapons flew
through the rain-speckled air, lighting up the darkened skies.

Shindar stood his ground and withdrew an
intimidating shield from his back, which bore metallic fangs in a
skull on its surface. His voice bellowed, “Shields!”, as he knelt
and dug the bottom of his shield into the ground. His front lines
followed suit and a red glow emanated from the Dark Lord’s fist,
before he twisted to his side and howled with the release of his
power. The red orb of light erupted in a short distance on front of
him before bursting into a glowing net that covered his entire
front lines. Catapult missiles were caught in the net and fell
uselessly to the ground, whilst many of the arrows rained down on
their shields, very few managed to dispatch a small number of his
warriors.

Rising to his feet, Shindar pointed toward
Greenhaven and yelled, “Prepare to die!”

Vartan stirred and cried out, “Shindar!”,
startling a sleeping Finn and Trisa before his body calmed again.
Finn breathed loudly and frowned as he realised that his brother
was not awake.

“What do you think they are? Nightmares? I
haven’t seen his body react like that before,” asked Trisa.

Finn shook his head and sighed, “A reaction
like that is usually from a vision.”

To Be Continued

Peter Koevari is a writer that holds fantasy
dearly close to his heart. From an early age, he was immersed in
all media of fantasy that he could get his hands on. Memories of
movies such as The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, Star Wars, Conan, The
Last Starfighter, The Princess Bride, and many more are cherished
memories of fantasy nostalgia.

Peter’s hunger for storytelling was growing
from a young age. Feeding off movies, video games, and books, the
hunger had never been quenched. There was a yearning for something,
as if he was enchanted by a spell and did not know how to release
it.

The worlds held inside his imagination had to
be shared with readers of the world.

It took over 10 long years to unlock the
doors to worlds such as Marithia, and to pen them into books to
share with anyone willing to travel to his worlds, but once he
found the key and began to write… everything made sense.

Peter’s writing will surprise you, may shock
you and take your emotions by its talons, but will transport your
mind into a world of fantasy like you have never read before.

www.peterkoevari.com

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