Shattered Kingdoms | Book 2 ✔ (REWRITING AS 'THE EXILED KING')

Chapter 23 - The Price of War

One Year Before the First Demon War:

Skirmishes and unrest between the races on Dargon had begun to form, like cracks in what was previously a perfect facade.

The wind howled and snow blew across the icy wasteland. Dark mounds scattered the frozen ground, soon becoming covered by piles of snow. A lone figure staggered through the snow, an ice bear following as the lone figure bent to see the faces of the bodies in the snow. With each face uncovered, the figure sagged with relief, but then continued on. From the other end of the battlefield, another figure prowled. With a dark robe with a hood covering most of the face and a scythe in hand, Death had come to claim his prize.

Staggering from body to body, the figure checked every face, dreading what might be seen. She had long white hair with icy blue streaks in her hair. Her eyes were dark blue, like thick ice, and her face as white as the howling storm around her. She wore a thick gown with fur around the edges, mixed with pale gold.

"Aeraias!" She called desperately. Stumbling to the next body, she knelt down and sobbed.

Pressing her fingers to her lips, she extended a trembling hand and touched the cold forehead of the body of a young man. His hair was dark blue and fluttered in the wind. His tunic bore the crest of House Welwyn, the house that ruled southern Sanobar.

"Solon..." She whispered, staring at the cold body of her half brother.

With a touch of her magic, the snow that had piled up on his body blew away, exposing the gaping wound in his stomach. She placed her hand on top of the wound, feeling the frozen blood, and new flesh covered the wound. She used her snow to brush away all of the marks of battle from his body, and breathed a final farewell. Then she rose and walked to the next body, then the next, looking for familiar faces. She stopped at a body, and sank to her knees in front of the body of Solon's twin. Terin and Solon were identical twins, and they had died near each other, fighting in tandem. She cleaned his wounds and wished his soul a safe entry to the Ether. She stood up and used a bit of magic to lift Terin and set him gently next to Solon's side, as they should have been.

"Who else have you stolen from me today? Aeraias? Dervin? Countless others... all for a meaningless war!" She cried.

She did not know how long she searched until she reached the final body. Something inside her cracked.

"Aeraias! Not you too...?" She whispered, staring numbly at the body of her beloved. Aeraias wore a circlet that showed his royal bloodlines, as the Prince of House Welwyn. Aeraias. He'd been a mortal, and she a goddess, but they had fallen in love. She'd descended from Celestial Mountain countless times to see him. He wore a golden chestplate with a serpent engraved into it - House Welwyn's crest.

Then the pain can crashing back. She began to shake. The snow erupted around her and Aeraias's body. The wind whipped her hair around, and she tipped back her head and screamed. The blood around his body sharpened in colour, until the only thing she could see was red. Tears rolled down her cheeks, falling to Aeraias's body as perfectly formed crystals.

"You promised! You promised not to leave me!" She cried, her whole body shaking as she cried.

She sensed someone behind her, and turned to see Death staring at her. Before she knew what she was doing, she jumped up and conjured a dagger made of the purest crystal mixed with ice. It would not break unless it's bearer did.

The blade sank deep into Death's chest.

"You took everything from me!" She sobbed, plunging the dagger into Death's chest again and again.

Tears rolled down her cheeks, freezing before they hit the ground as she cried.

Abruptly, her mind slipped to another time.

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"Iside! Sister, can we play?" Solon approached her with a wide smile. Though she was immortal, her half brother was not, but he still adored her. His twin, Terin was much the same.

She smiled back at him and replied, "Sure, Solon! But only for a bit. Then I have to go, okay?"

He beamed at her, "Okay, sister! Can we play with your snow? Please? We won't mess anything up! Promise!" Solon looked at her and smiled.

The memory blurred, and she saw the first time she and Aeraias had met. She'd gone with her father to a human settlement to learn how humans looked and behaved. Although humans should not have been able to see the gods, Aeraias saw her anyways. He'd been hunting with his younger brother, Erain, in the forests near the village when Iside and her father had appeared. When her father had turned his back to them, Aeraias had beckoned for her to come to him, and she had, mystified by how he could see her.

"Hey! You're a goddess, right?" He smiled, his eyes twinkling.

When she remained silent, he said, "Wanna keep me company for a bit? It must be lonely for you, as a goddess."

Before she knew it, they'd forged a friendship, then grew to love each other deeply.

<--<< >>-->

With frozen tears on her cheeks, Iside glared at Ziocrat with eyes full of hate. The only feeling more powerful than love was the anguish of losing what you'd once loved.

She looked up at the sky and yelled, "Pelos! You said you would protect him! You SWORE he'd be safe!"

As her pain overwhelmed her, the snow whirled more thickly around her, but she was beyond caring now. With her powers out of control, she knelt with Aeraias's body in the center of a whirlwind of snow. Her dagger was still in Ziocrat's body, but he showed no signs of pain. Rather, he sat up and calmly pulled out the dagger, dropping it to the ground. Ziocrat stood up, unnoticed by Iside, and calmly walked through the snow to the next body. It wasn't that he was uncaring, it was just that he felt no sympathy, as one who dealt with the dead. Soon, he vanished, his job in Dargon done.

As Iside sat in the center of her whirlwind of snow, a figure walked to her. A youthful face with crimson eyes that betrayed his true age. His white hair blew around wildly in the snow, as he neared her, and lifted her head, wiping away her tears.

With a gentle smile on his face, Garyth offered her his hand, "They weren't there, were they? They overlooked you... ignored you... Come with me. I'll help you to get the revenge you so desire!"

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Completed: 13/04/2020

Published: 18/04/2020

Author's Note: Just so we're clear: This happened in the past

Technically I wrote this a long time ago, but it didn't fit in yet, so I wasn't able to complete it until now. I've tying off previous plot lines and lose ends and adding a few such as this one. This might not make sense right now, but I promise everything will be neatly tied together before I finish the series, okay?

Lastly:

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