The Veredor Chronicles: Book 02 - The Journey West (10 page)

CHAPTER TEN

Red, Stella, and Eben entered the Ecorian hall. A large round and polished wooden table had been placed in the centre of the hall. Dozens of beautifully carved wooden chairs surrounded the table, and all but one chair was empty. Seated at the head of the table was an older man with striking features. He had high cheek bones, dark eyes, auburn coloured hair, and a neatly trimmed beard. He was the only person in the hall; all the guards were gone. He stood up as they entered.

‘I told you we shouldn’t be early,’ whispered Stella
, having realised they were the first to arrive.

‘Welcome to the Hall of the Ecorians,’
said the old man in a deep and noble voice. ‘I am King Edric of Irvaria.’

Eben and Stella followed Red
across the marble floor toward the table.

‘It is an honour to meet you, King Edric,’ said Red
, bowing politely. ‘I am Sir Redding of Ortaria, this is my wife, Lady Stella, and this is Eben, the Champion of Ortaria.’

‘I am pleased to have you as guests in my kingdom,’ sa
id King Edric. ‘Please take your seats and make yourself comfortable.’ King Edric indicated towards the chairs to his left. Red led them over and they all sat down.

‘I trust your stay thus far has been to your liking,’ said King Edric as he sat back down.

‘Yes, Your Majesty. We have been amazed by the beauty of your kingdom,’ answered Red. ‘We were even talking about the possibility of settling in Irvaria after the war.’

King Edric smiled
and nodded. ‘I’m sure we can accommodate such a possibility.’

‘Thank you
,’ said Red.

Suddenly a
pair of men entered the hall. Eben watched as they approached. They were both rugged looking men and dressed in dark armour with broadswords fastened to their sides. They both had long dark hair and deeply weathered faces. Both of them carried themselves confidently.

‘Welcome to the H
all of the Ecorians,’ repeated King Edric. ‘I am King Edric of Irvaria.’

‘I am Sir
Tierran and this is Sir Cian. We are Tabarian Knights.’ The two knights bowed low, and King Edric directed them to their seats. As he did so another group of envoys entered from the back of the hall and the process repeated itself until all but two of the chairs were taken, which were on the left and right side of King Edric.

Finally a young
woman followed by an older woman entered the hall. They proceeded to take the last two seats beside King Edric. Eben, along with several others sitting at the table, was instantly transfixed by the beauty of the younger woman. She was surely the most beautiful woman in Veredor. Her radiant eyes were the colour of the sea, and her face was the image of perfection. Her long golden brown hair could only be compared with the finest silk. She held herself gracefully. Eben couldn’t take his eyes off her. She glanced across at him and gave the slightest smile. Eben’s trancelike stare was suddenly interrupted by King Edric.

‘I must express my
gratitude that you have all journeyed so far to be at this council. I know you have faced many dangers to be here. I thank you for risking your lives so that we all can work together against our common enemy. Firstly, let me introduce to you my wife, Queen Sera, and my daughter and heir, Princess Apherah. We welcome you to Faircastle and trust your stay here has been pleasant. Secondly, as your host, I will introduce everyone present.’

Queen Sera was an o
ld and dignified woman who had maintained much of the beauty of her youth. She had slightly greying dark hair and deep green eyes. Princess Apherah glanced at Eben again, and he looked away, not wanting to seem rude.

‘This council was called at t
he request of the Fiorian Acartor.’

On the fa
r side of the table a man clothed in a long brown cloak stood up. His hair was sandy blond, and his eyes were bright blue; he looked to be about forty years old and was clean shaven. Eben found it very difficult to read his expression. It was almost like a shroud was covering his eyes or that he had learned to protect himself from other people reading his expressions. He stood up and looked down at them.

‘I am the Fiorian
Acartor. I am pleased to introduce the leader of the Fiorian Order, the Fiorian Chiara, Gatekeeper of Emeril.’ The woman beside Acartor stood up and bowed. She appeared slightly older than Acartor. Her hair was bright red, the colour of fire, and her eyes were emerald green. She had a sense of gentle wisdom about her. Eben at once felt he could trust her simply by looking at her. ‘I would also like to introduce to you Sir Ronan.’ Sir Ronan was a short man with a bald head, big nose, and a jolly look. He didn’t look like a knight at all.

‘Thank you
for the introductions, Sir Acartor,’ said King Edric. ‘I will now continue to introduce everyone. To my right are seated the Irilians Meara, Arlen, Baftel, and Cassiel. Beside them are Sir Tieran and Sir Cian of the Tabarian Knights. Further along are Prince Fergal of Dravania and Duke Curran of Iarthar.’ Prince Fergal was a stocky redheaded man with fair skin and a stern look in his eyes. Duke Curran was a handsome man with dark hair and a sallow complexion. Eben caught him glancing at Princess Apherah. It was clear that the Duke was also awestruck by her beauty.

‘
I introduce you to Sir Artur of the Takalian Knights.’ Sir Artur was a young man and appeared to be very calm and composed. His hair was dark and his skin pale. ‘Beside Sir Artur is seated Mostyn of the Fire Order.’ Mostyn was a short man with knotted dark hair to his shoulders and a deep look of concentration in his dark and sunken eyes. His beard was shaggy and tangled. He was wearing a dusty brown leather cloak and looked like a homeless vagrant.

‘Beside Mostyn are seated Sir Acel and Sir Leron of the Desert Knights.’ They both had their faces covered by black
metal masks and were clothed in the manner of the Desert Knights. ‘To the right of Sir Leron are seated Eben, Champion of Ortaria, Sir Red, and Lady Stella of Ortaria. Beside Lady Stella is King Lenard of Everdon.’ King Lenard was a thin and tall man with dark hair and a sickly complexion. He was young, perhaps only in his mid-twenties, and he was adorned in some of the finest silk clothing Eben had ever seen, but he was certainly not a good looking man by anyone’s summation. He had an awkward expression fixed constantly to his face, as if he was in a constant state of discomfort.

‘Beside King Lenard is seated Prince
Armida of Ateria.’ Prince Armida was a sharp looking man with curly black hair. The Prince was considering each person as King Edric introduced the council. ‘Beside Prince Armida of Ateria are seated Duke Ettore and Duchess Cornelia of the Isles of Dawn.’ Both the Duke and Duchess were very old; they looked to be scholars rather than warriors. ‘And finally, beside Queen Sera is seated Sir Aksel of Scaldonia.’ Sir Aksel was a man of great stature and had strong features, a weathered face, and long blond hair. He was wearing the dark rough armour of the Scaldonian Knights.

‘You are all aware of the evil that is growing in
Veredor, and many of you have already expressed to me the dire circumstances that you face in your homelands,’ said King Edric. ‘I believe if we work together, like in the ancient days of the Ecorian Empire, we could match anything that could come against us. Now I will ask Sir Acartor to inform you of what he knows about our enemy.’

King Edric sat
down. They all turned to look at the Fiorian Acartor. Acartor stood up and looked around at all those seated for several moments.

‘
My story begins twenty eight years ago. At that time the Fiorian Order became aware of the presence of two powerful Northern Sorcerers who had risen from obscurity to rule the Kaznor Empire in the north. You are all aware of these two sorcerers; the kinsmen, Baramak and Azagord. They were sorcerers of a level of power previously unknown in Veredor. In two years they subdued the Kaznor Empire and divided it between themselves. Azagord ruled the capital Zarkanor and the lands surrounding the Golden Sea, and Baramak ruled the Magor Forest and the lands in the west of Kaznor. For a single year they reigned and were completely unmatched. Not a Skathean and certainly no other Northern Sorcerer had the power to challenge them. They ruled Kaznor as unchallenged tyrants. There was little that the Fiorians could do; the Kaznor Empire was beyond the reach of our order.’

‘A
year later something changed. At the time we thought a third Northern Sorcerer had risen to challenge the power of Azagord and Baramak. Little was known about this new individual. The only news we heard was that he called himself the Master. Within a year he had taken control of all of Kaznor. This Master was different to other sorcerers; he didn’t only defeat his enemies, he subdued and subjugated them. Azagord and Baramak became his servants, and before long he united all the Northern Sorcerers for the first time in history. Within that same year he had also taken control of the entire Skathean Order.’

‘At the time a decision was made
by the Fiorians to leave Kaznor alone. Perhaps this was the greatest mistake the Fiorians have ever made. As time progressed news was reaching us that this new Master was training armies of Skatheans. Twenty one years ago we finally decided to act. We sent thirty of our greatest knights into Kaznor to investigate and deal with the Master once and for all. Unfortunately we didn’t know who we were dealing with. Our brigade of knights attacked the Fortress of Zarkanor. They walked into a trap. Hundreds of Skatheans surrounded them. The Master sat back on the Throne of Zarkanor and watched as our knights were slaughtered. Only two escaped to tell us what had occurred. We still knew nothing about the true nature of the Master.’

‘Six months later
our home in the Great Mountains, the Tower of Emeril, was attacked by an army of Skatheans. Kaloren, our former Gatekeeper, managed to overcome the attack. The remnants of the Skathean army fled back to Kaznor. Many of our remaining knights were slain in the assault, and the Fiorian Order was reduced to less than forty knights. Shortly after the assault on Emeril the Sorcerers Baramak and Azagord sailed south with their armies. It didn’t take us long to discover that their task was to capture the Sword of Light for the Master.’

‘What most people di
dn’t know was that the Fiorian Order actually possessed the Sword of Light.’ There was a gasp among the council. Acartor paused for a few moments. ‘Kaloren, Gatekeeper of Emeril, and our leader, was the bearer of the Sword of Light.’

‘Why wasn’t the S
word of Light used against Azagord and Baramak?’ asked Sir Aksel of Scaldonia.

‘I can assure you
that the Sword of Light did play a part in our victory against the evil sorcerer Azagord. You all know that Azagord was imprisoned in the Dungeons of Zyran, and until recently he remained so. Baramak, on the other hand, remains a threat even to this day. After Azagord had been imprisoned an urgent task came to our attention. One of our important allies was captured by Baramak and the Skatheans. They imprisoned our ally in the Dungeons of Zarkanor.’

‘Who
was this ally?’ asked Prince Fergal of Dravania.

‘
Some of you know him. He was the hero known as Elons,’ replied Acartor.

‘Yes, I know of him. He was a great warrior in the battles we fought against Baramak,’ said Prince Fergal.

‘Indeed he was. Kaloren devised a plan to free Elons from the Dungeons of Zarkanor. The Sword of Midlight had always belonged to Elons, and after his capture the sword was returned to Kaloren. Kaloren formed a small group of our best knights. With the Sword of Midlight she infiltrated Kaznor and attacked the Fortress of Zarkanor. No one ever returned from the mission to tell us anything. We assumed she had failed and that the Sword of Midlight had fallen into the hands of the Master.’

Acartor
paused for a few moments as the council took in what he had already told them.

‘Time wore on with no news
, and for almost a decade we knew nothing of what the Master was planning. We were completely blind to everything north of the Endora Mountains. The Master sent no one south again, and the Skatheans retreated back into the Northern Lands. For a time we thought that the Master had mellowed and grown tired of war, but we were tragically wrong.’

‘
During this time he was preparing to conquer Veredor. Because we knew nothing of his larger schemes we devised a plan to attempt to recapture the Sword of Midlight. Ten years ago I led the assault on Zarkanor, and at first I thought we would be victorious. I entered the fortress with four other Fiorians fighting by my side. The battle was fierce. We fought all the way to the Throne of Zarkanor. We found the Master waiting for us.’

‘We had no idea who
we were dealing with. It is still difficult for me to talk about what we encountered on that dreadful night. We were utterly defeated. The Master held the Sword of Darkness and took pleasure in seeing us desperately fail in our attempts to match him. He only let me live for one purpose: to extract the secrets of the Fiorian Order from me. I was imprisoned in the Dungeons of Zarkanor and tortured relentlessly. Thankfully my training held true; I gave him nothing. Often he would question me in person, and I listened to him carefully, deciphering his true nature. In those years I learned his true nature. He is the Astarian known as the Prince of Shadows. He has returned from the darkness to claim Veredor as his own. We are gathered here today to devise a plan to stop him.’