Shadow Kingdoms | Book 1 ✔ (REWRITTEN AS 'THE EXILED KING')

Chapter 34 - Only The Beginning

"What does this mean?" Lirya asked when the mysterious being had faded away.

"I read about someone, or something, called the Master in Dargon's History Book." Jaons ventured, "But you're not going to like it."

Jason sighed, "It can't be worse than it is now, can it? I mean, we lost people we cared about, demons are invading Dargon and we do not have enough power. The Power of The Key is only complete if all the Guardians have gathered. We don't even know where the other Guardians are."

"Actually... it is worse. You still want to hear it?" Jaons muttered. A studious but rebellious boy, he was many times punished by his father who desired an heir whom he could mold to perfection. One who felt the calling with weapons rather than books. Jaons was not that child. He bore the knowledge of agony, heartache and much of Dargon's history. He had been scared of the power he felt when he felt the calling. Winds and weather were under his command, and he feared his power. He relished the feeling, too. Finally running away from home, he had later received the news that much of Ravenstorm castle had been consumed in a mysterious fire. Darron Ravenstorm was nowhere to be seen and both he and Jaons had been believed to have perished in the flame. A great weight had been lifted from his back, but had been replaced with sorrow. Hating his father, Jaons could still not deny the connection he felt with the man. Every child looks up to their father figure, whoever they may be. Now he freely used his knowledge of Dargon's history to aid his friends.

"Yes. We must know all we can to face this new adversary." Jason said firmly.

"Early in our history, there is a story of a powerful being. Little did we know that the story was told through generations, so watered down to become a story. The truth was that the story was real." Jaons told them. He told them the whole story.

"The kings of old were mighty and brave. Five kings stood out in history. One brave, one ambitious, one caring, one studious and one just. However, there was a sixth king. He possessed all of the qualities, and the other kings envied him. They banished him from Dargon and from the minds of most. History is written by the victors, and truly so. Most, in due time, forgot about the sixth king. His name was Garyth. You may have heard of the other kings? Kieran the just, Verune the studious, Xaynus the brave, Cyrinius the caring and Rynhiel the ambitious. Royals are descended from each of these kings. Cyrinius was dragonkind. Xaynus was a dwarf, Rynhiel was human and Verune was a druid. Kieran was an elf. Together, they represented all of our races on Dargon. Garyth... was another creature. He was originally a human wizard, or so he had us believe. He dabbled in the dark magics, trying to find a cure for death. All those he cared for had succumbed to the cold embrace of death, and Garyth was consumed in his own fervor to bring them back. Eventually he summoned a dark creature from the Abyss. Something that had slumbered in the center of the Abyss for centuries, since Dargon has existed. Some say that the gods imprisoned him in the beginning of time, fearing his dark influence. Most likely is that Arkis created him, hoping to gain power."

"Garyth summoned forth the dark beast. He messed with the order of things, for such power was never meant for the fragile world. The power of evil was unbalanced. It consumed his soul, and possessed his body. It called itself the Master."

"Was the evil balanced before this demon invasion?" Ryhon asked, intrigued.

"No. Our world used to have two dragons. One light as day and one dark as the night. They kept the balance, but then the first demon war struck, and all the dragons were killed. Even the sacred descendants of Darkness and Light."

"Darkness and Light?"

"The first dragons of Balance." Jaons explained.

<--<< >>-->

Ryhon dozed under the oak tree. It was Frostleaf now, and the weather was getting colder. However, his pale complexion presented problems with any sunlight at all. As it was, he had lathered cream all over his face to protect it from the sun. His mind sifted through the knowledge he had gained from his conversation with Jaons once the others had left. He wondered about Aelron, his necromancer sister who earlier went by the name of Dey.

His eyes jerked open as pain flooded his senses. He groaned and hunched over, bringing his head between his knees. Ryhon shivered, then felt hot again. All of a sudden, he felt numb and again he felt the burning pain. He gritted his teeth and let out an uneven breath.

"Aelron..." He groaned. Something was hurting her. He felt her agony as sure as if a dozen men had stabbed him at once.

He heard footsteps in the distance and the feeling of someone supporting him.

"Ryhon?!" Lirya's voice found it's way through his pain clouded mind.

He groaned.

"Is something wrong with Dey?" Lirya asked softly. Aelron had been Lirya's childhood friend and Lirya knew the whole story of Aelron's death.

"Aelron." He gritted out. His dark hair hung limply.

"Right. I'm sorry. But is she alright?"

"No. So much pain. She's in so much pain..." He hissed. Another wave of pain washed over his senses and he groaned again. He shared a bond with his sister, who was still in Heresh. A bond created by love and forged by magic. They could feel one another's pain and emotions through that bond. He felt hands lift him, and he was dragged through the air. The shock chased away the pain for a fleeting moment as he yelled out in surprise when he saw the ground fall away. Strong arms gripped him and he lost consciousness.

<--<< >>-->

There will be one more chapter, and then on to the next book in the series.

Shattered Kingdoms - Complete

VOTE + COMMENT if you enjoyed

Edit (04/06/2022): Cringing so hard at my old work. Thank goodness I'm rewriting it now. I was honestly convinced, two or three years ago, that my book was amazing. Uh... clearly not. Personally I think it likely isn't the worst you'll find, but it definitely needs tidying up. A lot of tidying up.

Go check out 'The Exiled King' on my profile if you want to read the rewrite (Stuff changes)