Tales Of Grimea (21 page)
“Nay!” they bellowed in defiance. The heat of
their will and their love almost brought Silver to his knees with
its force. Then he thought of the strange presence he’d felt. Aria
came down from her place, stepping slowly. Silver could feel her
start to forgive him already, and it caused a lump to form in his
throat.
“Now what say you,” she announced, “That we
do away with these manacles, make my husband break that sword, and
keep fighting by our side until we one day rid ourselves of our
sworn enemy, united as one?”
“Aye!” cried each and every one. The
blacksmith of Coeur felt blessed to have such friends, and knew
that he would never allow his sense of self value to suffer again
as he heard them cheer. That was the meaning of carrying Surge,
after all. The blade would be sent to his successor in time, but
not yet. One by one, his friends came and scolded him for his
actions before apologising for doubting his intentions. Uncle Bast
even bent down to embrace him fiercely.
Still, Silver looked at his feet in shame.
“Thank you, wife,” he said, “but even with your forgiveness, how am
I ever to forgive myself for this foolishness?” Just then, he felt
a coarse hand rest on his left shoulder. It was Flint Copferstal,
who of all people understood being ashamed of your actions.
With a wizened grin and a wink, the old man
said, “If you can’t forgive yourself for your own sake, then at
least do it for them.”
Aria had reached him by then, looking
splendid in her fur vest and skirt and shield. She was perfect, in
body and mind and soul. “What say you, Silver Vermillion?”
Erbhelm’s leader asked, as beautiful as the goddess of the morning,
“Will you fight for the two of us?”
“I will do it for the town, but more
importantly,” he said slowly, looking at her belly, which still a
few weeks shy from starting to swell.
Found you,
he told the
presence that had been nagging at him all morning.
“I will do it for the
three
of
us!”
Although
to the citizens of Grimea and its four continents, many of these
local terms may be entirely sensible, they are certainly localized.
Modes of travel have not advanced in the realm, and magical means
are often only available to those of medium means. For those
unaware of terms in other lands, as well as hypothetical readers
from another realm, Indellekt’s Greenstar library has compiled to
following list of terms and their meanings, adding it post scriptum
to the tome:
Belg: A trap like insect. It sits still on
the ground, opening mouth wide to bite. Its hard brown body
protects it from impact.
Baku: The southwestern continent.
Colna: The river’s old man. This mythological
being is not exactly worshipped as a diety normally is, but he is
still highly revered in Baku.
Dodomeki: A creature native to the wilds of
Sehkai. It resembles a globe of eyes sporting four arm like limbs.
It is said, strangely, that a Dodomeki’s most dangerous aspect is
its breath.
El: A diety worshipped mostly in Lor and
Ramlah.
Ghata: A wide, triangular region of wasteland
in the continent of Veld. Its harsh climate encompasses Lor and its
surrounding area, stopping just shy of the desert proper to the
east, Indellekt to the south, and Regalia to the north. Many
researchers find the Ghata and the desert’s existence itself to be
a marvel in an otherwise lush continent.
Gost: A large but particularly dim creature,
native to Veld.
Ghouti: The central and western region of
Baku. Tundra and savannahs cover the rich earth.
Gasby: A humanoid beast with long whip like
arms.
Indellekt: The Republic of magic situated in
Veld’s south east. A relatively new country, its success is marked
both by its citizen’s loyalty and their devotion to knowledge. Many
consider it at the forefront of progress, and the Greenstar library
repeats that message with tempered pride.
Jerr: The Northeastern continent, mountainous
and isolated. It is connected to Sehkai by a series of islands,
making seafare possible but difficult due to the island’s attitudes
to strangers.
Kama: a small square hat. Popular in Lor.
Kerdama: A scented seed. Often used as
seasoning in Veld.
Keigo: A type of tree in Baku. Its sap is
considered useful for adhesive purposes.
Lor: A City in the wastes of Ghata. It lies
in between desert. The city thrives due to a unique culture and its
central spot between Indellekt and Regalia.
Merla: A diety worshipped in Veld. The white
goddess’ religion has fallen out of favor as people shifted towards
the Nine.
Muahugh’a: An ancient tree, native to Jerr.
The tree’s dropping fruit is deadly, but there are not many of them
left in existance.
Minotaur: A larger than life bull with a
furious disposition and sharp horns.
Post Adventus: After arrival. The current
universal form of time telling. It began with the resurgence of the
sentient magical races from their hidden corners after eons of
retreating from the primitive humans.
Post Kerallus: Veld’s standard calendar,
named after king Kerallus the just.
Ramlah: A desert on the eastern outskirts of
Lor. It stretches far but runs straight and thin, and its shifting
sands are often considered too dangerous to traverse unless with a
local guide.
Regalia: High Kingdom in V’s north. Her
history is ancient, and she boasts a booming economy. Her fishing
villages are not used as ports, for the seas beyond, like many
others, teem with sea monsters and Mist.
Selkworm: a small, white worm with blue eyes
and a mild temprament. It grows to be hand sized, with small to
moderate magic powers.
Starbeetle: A luminous insect. They live
extraordinarily short lives, but also multiply unnaturally by
simply dividing.
Scegel: A large, ferocious, flightless bird.
They are also called steel kickers, and are native to Ghata. Tamed
Scegels are a valuable commodity as a mode of transport.
Surudoi: A small, thorny animal in Sehkai.
Its childlike features make it a favorite pet amongst the
insensible.
Sehkai: The southeastern continent. It is
connected to the southwestern continent of Baku by a long bridge
like part of land. Yotaku rules most of the area. There exists no
other large country in the region, but it is dotted by numerous
smaller tribes and settlements, each furiously protective of what
little culture and history it retains.
Seri: A traditional tight fitting tunic in
Ghouti, revealing the back for all to see.
The Mist: a shroud covering most of Grimea’s
oceans. Sea travel is impossible through it, and as such restricts
marine travel to specific routes. In particular, it allows only
intercontinental travel between Veld and Baku.
Themra: An oasis in Lor. Its water is said to
be naturally sweet and boast healing properties.
The Nine: Nine dieties popular in Veld, but
mostly in Regalia. They are Sol (Sky), Hyd (Luck), Serip
(Knowledge), Til (Nature), Daken (Death), Fep (Society), Luh
(Love), Merat (Magic) and Torin (Might).
Tennyo: These flying creatures have the
likeness of a fair maiden. As such, they are harmless to humans,
since they consider them kin. Despite this, they are not human and
are not sentient. One must only see their vicious feeding habits to
confirm this.
Tesmy: A bat like creature wielding mild fire
magic.
Veld: A continent. Contains the mighty
nations of Regalia and Indellekt.
Worg: Cousin of the dire Wolf, It purposely
finds venomous prey and delights in coating its claws with their
blood. Strange, then, that the large beasts find humans savory.
Yella: A particularly strange scorpion in
Ghata. Its stinger contains no venom, but gathers impurities from
surrounding filth. The scorpion stings in the filth and then
infects victims with a slow fever.
Yal: A particularly unsavory beast of burden.
This is due to its stench, although the animal with its golden fur
is pleasing to the eye.
Nobusame: A flying rodent like creature. The
fur upon its back has the likeness of a face upon it, and the
creature often hypnotizes victims before leading them away for
murder.
Yotaku: Both an empire in Sehkai and its
capital. It is strange to name a city and country with the same
name, but the name has historical significance. The empire has
ceased efforts to expand and focuses on unifying conquered
land.
Thornwash: A herb with a slightly sour
taste.
Heldibliss: A herb with a slightly soothing
effect.
Yesgor: The bridge of land between Baku and
Sehkai. These are the two only connected continents in Grimea. The
Yegor is in a near perpetual state of stormy weather, and is
buffeted by high waves. Still, with its lining of shops, inns and
red lamps as well as exquisite building designs, it is said to be a
sight to behold.
#####
Thank you for reading this book. I hope it
was an enjoyable experience. On the page after this, there is a
sample first two chapters of my ongoing work, the final death. If
you would like, please have a look at my smashwords, amazon,
scriggler, or goodreads. I even have twitter.
The Final Death
Chapter one
“This may be slightly difficult to believe,”
the man stated during a lull in the conversation he was having,
“But when you died, I was undone as well.”
“Oh, honey,” replied the ghost in pained
sympathy. The necromancer longed to tell her that everything was
alright, but knew that it wasn’t.
The sunlight on this part of southwestern
Shien was the same one over that entire continent, but due to a
lack of lush greenery, its glare felt all the more prevalent. A few
trees sprouted here and there, but you could smell ocean and there
was never a lack of rock within sight, mixed in with the pale
yellow dirt. Where the land could accommodate it olives grew,
fighting for their spot with figs, a green fruit which Azrael did
not recognize, and the occasional vine. More orderly farms stood
upon perch-like terraces carved into hills. Time had been kind to
this place, for many of the guilds controlling the area were
merchant or alchemy guilds, and had allowed Normals to prosper.
Watching farmers load entire carts of wine to ship off somewhere on
a caravan, Azrael knew that Alfjötr Christon would enjoy it
here.
The couple stood across from each other next
to a wide flowing river. He looked at it then, knowing what she
wanted but internally recoiling from the suffering he was about to
witness. Raim’e and Sera had been like sisters. Turning towards his
wife, Azrael pleaded not to do it silently, and yet her once green
eyes, now a pale luminescent grey like the rest of her, mirrored
only the hardened set of her jaw. Despite a gut wrenching feeling,
Azrael loved that look on her. She’d always been the very
personification of a dream.
Putting a hand into his trademark black
cloak, the necromancer pulled out an item recovered from his
charge’s travel bags: a red rose enclosed in a jar of glass. The
object had baffled Glint Stryger, like many others now stowed
safely away in the many pockets he had in his clothes. It was
fortunate that he hadn’t taken the youth with him a year ago, when
he’d left to start his research. Now he was so oh very close to
finished, and was starting to miss the youth. Say what you might
about the young warrior’s lack of sophistication, inability to
manipulate others, and his horrid taste in pranks, the sandy haired
child had been a pleasure to have around.
Azrael took out a knife and cut out a hole
into the jar’s base. After that, he put his head into it, looking
quite silly indeed. Then, the blonde and green eyed widow, as
bidden by his wife, recited the words of a spell.
Raime had never told Azrael the spell while
living. It was simply one of those things they’d never shared with
one another, although of course she would have had he asked. The
incantation was genius, actually, despite the massive amounts of
energy evoked by its use. A long time ago, the entirety of her
guild had worked on it together. There were dedicated alchemists
who put almost all of their strength into crystals powering it
every day. What the spell essentially did was take a plant’s
natural ability to create breathable air and enhance it using
alchemy. A small one way opening in the glass next to Azrael’s
right ear expelled the excess and kept his head from exploding in
what Raime had assured him would be an impressive display. The
jar’s lower cork was in fact made of compressed earth, and by some
transformation he didn’t entirely understand, it tightened and
sealed around his neck, where the hole had been made. Sure that he
was safe from impressive displays of any kind, Azrael tried to tell
Raime that he was ready, but she couldn’t hear him. At his
expression of surprise, the ghostly apparition laughed with all of
her usual mirth, drawing a laugh from him as well.
When both were ready, Azrael turned and
leapt feet first into the river. A wave of cold numbed his body
almost immediately, and the necromancer helped it along with some
death energy. It wasn’t cold enough to actually be dangerous,
particularly not to an unchained, but there was little sense in
allowing discomfort. He paddled along for a second, then realized
that he could see and gasped.
The first thing Azrael noticed was how
different everything was from when one’s eyes were open underwater.
That was generally how Azrael liked to swim, but from within the
Jar he could see with astonishing clarity. Perhaps the river’s
clear water helped, but the necromancer was still shocked for a few
seconds. Fish of multiple colors swam all around, and there were
red ones in a school.
Carps? I don’t know at all. Maybe I should
learn some more about fish.
There were weeds and algea and he
could see along the right side he’d just dived into. That was a
spectacle in itself, for the rock was gorgeous. He could only see a
set distance, however, and the river had been widened long ago in
order to make place for the guild.