Valerian's Vengeance

Chapter One : Valerian's Home Sweet Home?

    First of all I would like to credit the talented MicrowavedBrownie for her lovely cover of Valerian
The Lovely Frost Giant, first to introduce readers to the fantastical, mythical realm of Eonius! Do check out MicrowavedBrownie for her splendid covers!!!
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I always enjoy sitting atop the rocky ledge to the left of our cave opening late at night. When the moon shines down and causes the frozen ocean to look like water that isn't a solid sheet of ice. It looks so amazing and mystical, the way the moon mirrors itself on the dark bluish surface. It appears as if I can just dive in, but alas, the result would be quite painful! For it's frozen a great many feet down. It's just the moon playing it's magical games with me.

  Where I reside in the Great Realm of Eonius, it's always frozen, everywhere around us. Sometimes it feels as though I live on a giant diamond. And at other times, well it feels like I am trapped in a prison of ice!

   My name is Valerian Icemantle, and I am the Princess of the Frozen Keep. Possibly the heir to the throne, as I have a baby brother that I can choose as the King, thus giving up my place as the first Queen to rule from the Icemantle blood line in many, many centuries.

  But there is much controversy surrounding my ascent to the throne. One, it has been a male Icemantle taking to the throne with a Queen of his choosing for so very long, the inhabitants of our kingdom can't imagine a change from that which has become custom for so many generations. Even I can't imagine it different. As Frost Giants, our lifespans are quite long and my father had only just taken the throne a few months prior to my birth. Tales of the choosing of the Queen, the exotic balls and fancy dinners during that period and then the elegant dances and such held to celebrate the marriage of the new King and Queen of our kingdom is to this day spoken of as if it just occurred last week! It has been twenty-two years ago, but the excitement and anticipation of that time, the magic and mystique of it all continues on in the minds and hearts of our citizens.

  Which brings me to the second point of controversy surrounding my potential reign. The new Queen, Jonna Bluestar, was the lucky lass chosen from among thousands of Frost Giants from our kingdom,  as well as all of the surrounding tribes that sent all of their most lovely and promising prospects as the hopeful future Queen Icemantle. Even some ladies of different races were sent from faraway lands to see if they could possibly catch the eye of the future King.
 
  In the end though, after all the glitter and gold, exotic parties and fancy dinners were over; and an innumerable amount of beauties were paraded by Schull Icemantle, Lady Jonna Bluestar was chosen. And it still seems somewhat silly to me, that she lived right here in our own Kingdom! All of that rigamaroo, to marry a neighbor seemed a bit much! But I certainly am not in a position to judge, as I am about to reveal.

   Because I, Valerian Icemantle am a bastard. Yes, you heard me right. Jonna wasn't my mother. My mother was pregnant with me while all the gay festivities to choose a Queen and crown the new couple was going on. She was a human woman that would hardly be considered more than a captive I suppose. No, I am dancing around the truth here and I have no need to lie. She was taken during a battle in a region down the coast. My Father found her to be pretty and brought her back as a kind of novelty or trophy. She became his mistress.

  Now I realize how it must sound. Like as in how could an enormous Frost Giant possibly do "that" with a human female. There are a couple of extenuating types of circumstances involved. Mainly, my mother was human, but of another she was of a
species called Alzonians. They were not quite as big as a giantess, but they were far larger than an average human female. Thus mating was possible. I don't remember my mother, but I was told she was very pretty. With long silvery blonde hair and light blue eyes, it is said that although a warrior in her land, her fair features were very delicate and she had the beauty of an Angel. And it is never in doubt that she loved my father. She is actually remembered fondly by our people. Mostly for giving up her life for our beloved kingdom and my father.

  Very seldom is our kingdom attacked. It is very well defended. Mainly by the very elements themselves. We have a massive castle that sits upon a secondary isle of ice. There is only one way to and from our kingdom that isn't horrendously difficult. But  it is guarded very well. By Giants and Beasts alike. To attempt to come from any other direction is a basic death wish as well. For wild snow and ice beasts roam the tundra looking for food. Our Hunters are the strongest and most intelligent men (a couple of women, too) in the entire countryside. And it is very dangerous even for those well trained Hunters.

  But occasionally someone will try. Simply because of the extreme wealth that the Keep Isle has in it's possession. And they fail. On the day of my mother's death, some pirates from the far south brought their ships as far as the water ran to ice. They had with them a young and greedy wizard that thought he was far more able than he was in reality. He did manage a flying spell so that a group of ten or so pirates were able to get to the front gates inside the outer gates and protective wall. The wizard used an invisibility potion to try and slip into the castle during the ensuing chaos. Bree, my mother, was no stranger to wizards and pirates and the type of battle they faced. As she flew as fast as her long and powerful legs would go, she saw her beloved and his honor guard headed right toward the wizard's trap. She reached the point where the wicked man was preparing an immolation spell for the King and his guards just as he was set to throw it!

  Bree managed to shove the smaller man back and threw him, herself holding him down and shielding the castle inhabitants as the spell ignited the two of them into nothing more than grey ash floating down into the snowy ice.

  My mother was a hero. I have always known. But as much she is revered, she still wasn't a Frost Giant. And the people want a strapping young pure blood King, to once more pick a bride as it's always been. And if I continue with honesty, I have to admit it. I don't want to be the Queen! I want to travel away from my island prison and learn about the other lands.

My little brother can have the throne with my blessing!