AN ALCHEMIST’S VOW

  A LEGENDS OF THEZMARR PREQUEL

  LEGEND ORIGINS: NOVELLA I

  HELEN SCHEUERER

  CONTENTS

  Author’s Note & Content Warnings

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  What’s next?

  About the Author

  Also by Helen Scheuerer

  Copyright © Helen Scheuerer 2022

  www.helenscheuerer.com

  Helen Scheuerer asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher.

  This novella is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

  AUTHOR’S NOTE & CONTENT WARNINGS

  This novella is a work of adult romantic fantasy fiction.

  It is a prequel story to the full-length novel, Blood & Steel, and takes place six years prior to the events in the main series, The Legends of Thezmarr.

  Like the full series that follows, this prequel contains: profanity, violence, sexual situations and references to traumatic injuries.

  CHAPTER 1

  The morning mist had risen from the Bloodwoods, and eighteen-year-old Althea Zoltaire was hiding in a tree. Avoiding the seeping sap, she easily pulled herself up into the higher branches, perching between the boughs and dark foliage –away from her sister’s chastising. From there, she peered longingly out onto the Mourner’s Trail: a narrow dirt road framed by the woods, warded with magic and superstition. It was the only way in and out of Thezmarr, the only home she’d ever known.

  A familiar restlessness hummed quietly beneath her skin. Thezmarr was her home, yes, but as Althea inhaled the crisp autumn air, she yearned, as she always did, to explore beyond its borders. Or at the very least, to escape from –

  ‘Thea!’ Elwren hissed from below. ‘Get down from there before you break your neck.’

  ‘Fuck.’ Annoyed she’d been discovered so soon, Thea shook her head. ‘Do you ever let up?’ she snapped at her sister.

  ‘You’re being reckless, as usual,’ Wren called.

  With a long-suffering sigh, Thea swung her legs and jumped down, landing deftly on the forest floor. ‘And you’re being a pain in my arse, as usual.’

  ‘You’re one to talk.’

  Thea straightened and met Wren’s glare. She and her sister shared the same eye colour: an unusual shade of celadon; as well as similar dark, strong brows. However, Wren’s were usually reserved for scowling at her. They also shared the same bronze tresses, though more gold threaded Thea’s due to escaping the alchemy workshop more often. She wore it in a warrior’s side braid rather than Wren’s hurried top knot.

  ‘Where are the others?’ Thea asked, stretching.

  ‘Already gathering supplies I suspect. I came back to find you.’ Wren started off into the woods, following the worn path amongst the damp leaf litter.

  Thea trailed her. ‘You needn’t have bothered.’

  ‘Someone’s got to keep an eye on you.’

  ‘Come now, Wren… Anyone would think you’re the older sister.’

  ‘Most days I feel like I am.’

  Thea snorted. ‘Well, that’s your choice.’

  ‘Hardly. Things would be easier if you didn’t go gallivanting off into the wilderness every chance you got, breaking a dozen rules in the process.’

  ‘Climbing a tree or two isn’t hurting anyone,’ Thea quipped as they wove through the dense foliage of the Bloodwoods towards Farissa’s gardens.

  ‘Need I remind you how many cuts and bruises I’ve tended to over the years?’ She gave Thea’s scarred hands a pointed look.

  ‘Not necessary.’

  ‘Not necessary because it proves my point.’

  Thea flicked her braid over her shoulder. ‘Remind me, what exactly is your point, Elwren? You make so many these days it’s hard to keep track.’

  Wren swore under her breath and Thea grinned. It was so easy to get under her sister’s skin.

  Sure enough, Wren’s fists were clenched at her sides. ‘That your recklessness is going to get you killed –’

  Thea’s grin widened as she patted the stone that lay beneath the folds of her shirt. ‘Not possible, sister.’

  True anger blazed in Wren’s eyes then. ‘Don’t be a fool, Thea. That thing doesn’t make you invincible.’

  It was the crux of almost every argument they’d had since they were young children: the piece of jade Thea wore around her neck.

  The thing that marked her time in the midrealms as fleeting.

  Her fate stone.

  When magic had been rife in the midrealms, seers had once gifted fate stones to the people as visions came to them. In a fervour, they would carve destinies upon a piece of jade. Sometimes the marker was a name, sometimes it was a symbol, or sometimes, a number… All signified a fate that would come to pass in no uncertain terms. It was unusual that someone as young as Thea had one in their possession, nor had she ever met anyone else who had one. Rare as they were, they were not sought after, not by those who wished to live their lives in peace.

  The black number carved into Thea’s was a promise from the god of death himself. Enovius would come for her at the age of twenty-seven. But that was all it foretold. Death could find her the minute the clock struck her name day, or it could wait out the full year, until the moment before she turned twenty-eight. It offered her a window of time, no particulars – a curse she would wish upon no one. Which was why she had kept it hidden for all these years. She refused to be met with pity, and worse still, questions to which she had no answers. Wren alone knew of it, and even she was one too many people for Thea’s liking, especially given how many arguments it caused.

  Now, Thea took in her sister’s furious expression and relented, flinging an arm around her shoulders. ‘Don’t worry, Wren… I won’t be testing the fates today.’

  ‘Thank the Furies –’

  ‘Where did you two go?’ A worried voice interjected.

  Wren failed to stifle a groan and she shrugged Thea’s arm off her.

  Evander, the handsome stable master’s apprentice, served as their escort and Thea’s current “male friend”, as Wren called him. He closed the gap between them, his gloved hand wrapping gently around Thea’s arm. ‘You know you’re not meant to go off on your own.’

  Over his shoulder, Thea spotted the rest of their cohort tending to Farissa’s garden at the edge of the Bloodwoods. There, they collected cuttings from herbs and roots to use in their alchemy work, creating whatever potions and tinctures Farissa dictated.

  Naturally, Thea hated it.

  And much to Thea’s disdain, Wren excelled at it.

  While alchemy was a noble pursuit, and certainly had its points of interest – chiefly poison studies and chemical warfare, what called to Thea more than anything was the adventure beyond the Bloodwoods. Between the thinning trees she could see it now: the thrashing black seas, the looming storms and in the even further distance, The Veil. A towering, impenetrable wall of mist that surrounded the midrealms, shielding them from the darkness.

  ‘Thea? Are you listening?’ Evander tugged on her braid. ‘I said you’re not meant –’

  Thea’s hand went to his, the feel of it familiar and comforting. ‘No harm done, Van. We weren’t far –’

  ‘I’m supposed to protect you all. You know you’re not –’

  ‘I know, I know. But we’re here now,’ Thea replied, smiling warmly. Though he wasn’t one of the legendary Thezmarrian warriors, it was… sweet when he took his duties so seriously.

  Evander rubbed the back of his neck. ‘Very well, you’d best join the rest then. I need to be able to see everyone –’

  Thea allowed her gaze to linger on his mouth. Even in his bulky, tattered cloak, Evander cut a fine figure, lean and muscular from all the physical work in the stables.

  Muttering another curse, Wren shook her head in disbelief. ‘Anything to get out of work.’ She stalked off towards the others.

  Suppressing a laugh, Thea tugged Evander out of sight behind a thicket and drew him closer. Though she had been seeing him for a few months now, their time together was always fleeting, stolen in brief exchanges like this one.

  Her hands wrapped around the back of his neck and she pressed herself to him, savouring the hard planes of his body beneath the layers of clothing.

  ‘Surely you can take a few moments away from your charges,’ she murmured into the shell of his ear.

  He whispered what sounded like a prayer and closed his eyes. ‘Gods, you’re going to get me dismissed –’

  ‘Nonsense.’

  ‘We shouldn’t…’ Evander muttered, but he was already pulling her to him, his eyes hooded, shoulders tense with anticipation.

  ‘We shouldn’t,’ Thea agreed, grazing his lips with hers, teasing. ‘But it feels so good when we do…’

  Whatever leash was holding Evander back, snapped. His mouth closed over hers and he kissed her hungrily, pushing her roughly up against the trunk of a tree.

  Thea kissed him back, her fingers tangling in his hair, her tongue

brushing against his as he tore off his gloves and slipped his hands beneath her shirt roaming across her bare skin.

  She ground her hips against him, desperate to make the most of the moment, and he moaned softly as his body met hers with heat and hardness.

  ‘Thea…’ he warned, his voice husky. ‘The others…’

  ‘The others do exactly this all around the fortress, I assure you.’

  ‘But –’

  Thea kissed him again, her heart pounding as his hand swept across the curve of her breast, and brushed against –

  ‘Are you ever going to tell me what this is?’ he asked, drawing back and trying to gaze upon her fate stone.

  In all their previous encounters, Thea had made damn sure to keep that little piece of jade hidden, but desire had finally gotten the better of her. Cheeks flushed, Thea snatched it from his touch, tucking it away and straightening her shirt. Suddenly self-conscious, she tugged her cloak around her shoulders. ‘It’s rude to ask a lady what’s beneath her clothes.’

  Hair dishevelled and lips slightly swollen, Evander’s brows furrowed. ‘You’re not a lady.’

  ‘At least we can agree on that.’

  He reached for her, but she felt as though a bucket of ice water had been tipped over her head. Pushing him away, Thea nodded towards the garden. ‘Duty calls.’

  Upon her approach, her friend, Ida, whistled loudly. ‘Missed a button,’ she said by way of greeting.

  ‘Did not,’ Thea retorted, not bothering to look at her shirt as she took up her place by her sister’s side.

  Wren met her gaze with a stern look. ‘You’re going to get yourself thrown out of Thezmarr.’

  ‘Oh, ease up, Wren,’ Thea quipped.

  ‘I’m serious –’

  ‘I’m well aware. You’re always serious.’

  Another friend, Samra, laughed, but Wren threw her hands up, sending a spray of dirt at the others. ‘The work we do here is important.’

  ‘Never said it wasn’t –’

  ‘Your actions say so,’ Wren continued. She gestured to the baskets of herbs they had already cut and the rows still to be tended to. ‘What we gather here and create at the fortress can help those in Naarva –’

  At the mention of the threatened kingdom, quiet fell across the entire group. Hands stilled over bushes of lavender, twine hung suspended around freshly picked bunches of reaper’s cap.

  Naarva was a fresh wound to the midrealms, and to the inhabitants of Thezmarr in particular, who were charged with its protection. It was the second of the five kingdoms to be attacked by forces of darkness from beyond the Veil. Decades ago, Delmira and its people had fallen – now, Naarva faced the same fate. Shadow wraiths had breached the Veil’s mysterious defences, and sought to spread their curse again.

  On the Guild Master’s orders, a band of Warswords had rode out to face the wraiths. Thezmarr’s most elite warriors had left a number of weeks ago. Rumours around the fortress told that the battle raged still ... Thea snatched a small alchemist’s blade from her sister’s kit and started to hack away at a bush of reaper’s cap. ‘I fail to see how a handful of plants can help defeat the shadow wraiths –’

  ‘Then you’re even more small minded than I thought.’

  Thea clenched her teeth. Across the seas, warriors of Thezmarr were fighting for Naarva, for their lives, and her sister wanted to harp on about alchemy?

  ‘Small minded?’ Thea snapped back. ‘I would do whatever it takes! Magic in the midrealms is at risk, Elwren. We can’t afford to have another kingdom fall, another magical line –’

  ‘You’re so gods-damned stubborn, Thea! You can’t see anything beyond your own –’

  ‘Will you two knock it off?’ Samra cleared her throat pointedly. ‘With all your bickering I’m going to need half these supplies just to cure my headache.’

  Thea glared at her sister and for a moment, neither would yield.

  Finally, Wren huffed a frustrated sigh. ‘If you keep hacking at the reaper’s cap like that, it’ll be no good to anyone,’ she said. ‘You want to preserve the flowers and the stems, and careful not to damage the roots – we use them later for soot root powder –’

  Thea swore loudly. Throwing down the handful of herbs she’d cut, she leapt to her feet and stormed away from the garden beds. Gods, she needed to put some serious distance between her and Wren before she throttled her. Two years younger than Thea, Elwren had apparently reached an age where she liked to flaunt her superiority and failed to note when she should shut up.

  Grinding her teeth, Thea stomped through the Bloodwoods, ducking between the trees and leaving Evander’s protests to fade in the wind. She needed time, she needed space, she needed –

  The clang of steel sounded up ahead. She felt it calling to her.

  As though in a trance, Thea wove through the remaining trees until she reached the edge of the Bloodwoods. There, she found herself overlooking the Plains of Orax, where the shieldbearer training was taking place.

  Her chest swelled in anticipation as she watched the session from afar. Most sparred with wooden swords, but the weapons master, Esyllt, faced one of the commanders brandishing a real blade.

  Thea watched, wide-eyed, as they circled one another with shields braced and weapons raised. Her breath whistled between her teeth at the sound of the impacts.

  Like every other person in Thezmarr, she had attended mandatory self defence classes as a youth, but that had never been enough for her. She longed still to swing a blade.

  Without thinking, Thea was moving. She imitated their footwork, the sweep of their swords, wishing for the weight of her own in her hand. And as she moved, that restlessness within her… it quietened.

  Now, standing on the outskirts of the Bloodwoods, Thea at last stopped fighting the urge. Instead, she surrendered to it. Each change in stance, each lunge knocking her fate stone against her chest, each beat reminding her of the hour glass she fought against.

  ‘You shouldn’t be doing that,’ Evander’s voice sounded from behind her.

  Thea didn’t stop, didn’t take her eyes off the weapons master who was running the shieldbearers through another drill.

  Evander’s hand was gentle but firm on her shoulder. ‘Thea. You know the rules.’

  ‘And what rule am I breaking now?’ she asked.

  ‘Women aren’t permitted to wield blades in Thezmarr,’ he stated, as though reading from a ledger.

  She knew the guild’s law as well as she knew the fortress’ halls and passageways, but hearing it aloud set her teeth on edge.

  ‘Do you see a blade in my hands, Van?’

  ‘Thea, please. Don’t make things difficult.’

  Thea blinked. Difficult? How was she making things difficult? She was out here, minding her own business, trying to –

  A terrifying sound cut through her thoughts.

  In the near distance, the warning bells of Thezmarr tolled.

  An instant later, shouts rang out across the sparring session below as the weapons master rallied the shieldbearers, pointing back towards the fortress.

  Evander’s mouth went slack. ‘I don’t believe it…’ he breathed, scanning the chaos that had erupted on the plains before them.

  But Thea did.

  All one needed to do was look to the south, where beyond the thrashing seas, darkness gathered on the horizon.

  ‘Naarva has fallen…’ she murmured.

  Evander followed her gaze. ‘I have to get back to the stables. Madden will need my help. Our forces will ride out within the hour –’

  ‘Go,’ she said. ‘I’ll take care of the others.’

  He hesitated. ‘Promise me, Thea. You’ll see them all back safely?’

  ‘Of course,’ she told him, giving him a push.

  With that, he left.

  True to her word, Thea found her sister and the others back in the garden, their faces tight with worry.

  ‘Do the bells mean what I think they mean?’ Ida asked quietly.

  ‘Yes,’ Thea told her, taking her basket. ‘I’m afraid so. We need to get back to the fortress.’

 

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