Written by
Sharon Wheater
Copyright 2013 Sharon Wheater
This book is purely fictional. Any resemblance to
Actual persons is purely coincidental.
Chapter One.
My name is Serenity and it is about the only thing I am certain of. Darkness dominates my life but it was not always like this. It’s cold and damp in my cell and what for others is a nightmare is reality for me. Torture, fear, pain, that is normal everyday life here. I was ten years old when I was captured but I thought imprisonment was for criminals but I am not a criminal. I was a young child when I was abducted so how could I be? What crime could a ten year old child perform that would warrant such a sentence of hell?
My captors are the criminals. No child should be subjected to what we have to endure. The sound of the cell door opening brings upon the feeling of doom for me and the other children being held here. The acrid stench of death surrounds us it’s a smell no child should be able to identify with. The guards have their own stench, a musky odour and I hate it, it makes me sick especially when they are too close!
As I said, life was not always like this I lived on a beautiful lush green island in the southwest part of the EmeraldOcean called ShellBay. Tropical white sandy beaches and palm trees surround our island.
ShellBay is a peaceful place with people who like us who farmed, fished or hunted. I spent most of my time on the beach when I was not learning or helping my father on the farm.
I lived in a modest house my family were not poor. That maybe why I have been abducted, until my parents had paid a high ransom but I cant understand why I have not yet been returned? Maybe my parents do not want me back.
Itry to remember our house; we had a lovely cosy sitting room with a powder blue sofa and chairs. My father had rows of books on shelves around the room; he really loved to read. The open fire was so homely; I always like to watch the flames dancing in the fireplace. After staring into the fire for a while, I often thought I could see things: people, animals, and other lands, my imagination had always been great until now.
My bedroom was on the second floor. I had lilac drapes and bed covers, stuffed toys, dolls, carved wooden animals and books. I had everything a child could want.
Every mealtime we would sit at the table and listen to stories regaled by my father; he would tell us of how the Southern King protected us from the Northern King and the evil that hailed from within his vast territory.
My favourite story was the legend of the Sorcerers and their mystical Keep that used to stand within the North; and how it was reduced to rubble when the previous good northern king died. He told us how King Illumini, the new King had murdered his own father and had taken his throne. The North was never the same place, King Illuminis’ father had been a good man and loved his people, and his son however was not. He was evil; he turned a once prosperous land into one of sadness, death and slavery.
The six sorcerers were the most powerful people in our world; they controlled the balance of good and dark magic. However, they mysteriously disappeared without a trace. Before their disappearance: they were people of great importance and sought out by magicians and non-magicians alike for their unbound knowledge. No one knows what happened to them; they just seemed to have vanished without a trace. A lot of speculation surrounded the new Northern King, rumours of murder, torture and destruction. The Keep is now just a ruin and only wild stories remain about the fate of the sorcerers.
