A ravens plight, p.1
A Raven's Plight, page 1
A Raven’s Plight
IMMORTAL’S WAR TRILOGY
BOOK ONE
S. C. KELLOGG
GOAT TRAIL PUBLISHING
A Raven’s Plight
Book 1 of The Immortals’ War
Copyright © 2023 by S. C. Kellogg
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Cover art:
Photo 13590221 © Aleksey Sagitov | Dreamstime.com
Photo 177069410 © Michael Pelin | Dreamstime.com
Photo 56751683 © Junichi Shimazaki | Dreamstime.com Illustration 64767261 © Andrei Anishchenko | Dreamstime.com
Cover and interior design:
Knotted Road Press
Reviews
It’s true. Reviews help me sell more books. If you’ve enjoyed this story, please consider leaving a review of it on your favorite site.
Contents
Preface
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Epilogue
About the Author
Preface
Warm. Beautiful. Bright.
Intricate golden pillars rose toward the ceiling, meeting in an ornate arch at the top. The heavenly doorway ran the entire length of the hallway, the floor complimented below with rich red carpets. It was an entryway fitting of the royal line it housed. The adjoining rooms and chambers were just as elegant, each decorated in a way that complimented the space while capturing different aspects of the kingdom over which its inhabitants resided. Beautiful… Above all the elegance, a large window ran the length of the hallway, lending a view of the night sky and the many coming and going airships, a constant reminder of the growth of Umanei kind.
Slowly, Queen Aria Zronrandoran withdrew her hand from the cool face of the column, her hazelnut skin already beading with sweat as she stepped away. She brushed away some of the long white hair that clung to her youthful flesh, untouched by the passage of time since her early twenties. The gleaming tresses now fell down the length of her long slender back, touching nearly to her waist. Perhaps when this was all over, she’d cut it short.
Aria had never liked the heat, but her sister preferred things warmer. It was one of the first fights Aria had given up on. The first of many, it would seem. Giska has chosen her path, the queen tried to convince herself. It was the belief that she could persuade her sister to change that had trapped her in the first place.
Giska has betrayed me. She has been betraying me for decades now. But Aria could not stop herself from loving her sister no matter how much it ached. She gently pressed her hand to the glittering amethyst bodice of her dress, fighting back a fresh wave of tears. She allowed her white hair to cascade over her face as she looked downward, hoping no guards were passing, or worse: Giska herself. After all, Aria, the Queen of Zvalvadoria, wasn’t supposed to be standing in the palace entrance. She was supposed to be in her quarters, packing bags in preparation for a trip that would remove her from her residence for several years. A Sabbatical, Giska had called it, To help ease the emotional burden of ruling, for a time. Aria couldn’t help but wonder how long Giska had been planning her move to usurp the throne.
Hurried footsteps sounded from up the hall, and Aria slid behind the pillar. Please… she begged silently, not entirely sure to whom she was pleading.
“My Queen…” a gentle masculine voice called. “Aria?”
She gave a quick sigh of relief and peeked out from behind her hiding spot. A tall, handsome man, with short white hair, and kindly blue eyes searched his surroundings, the tension momentarily leaving his face when he spotted her.
“Majesty,” he whispered with sudden passion, rushing to her side and removing a plain brown bag from his shoulders. “I’ve collected everything you asked for, although I don’t think I managed to go completely unnoticed. My presence has been commonplace enough that people aren’t likely to question it, but…” he paused, his gaze locking with hers. The emotions that played across his face were far more than that of a mere servant to his queen. “Let me come with you.” He gently brushed the hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear, thumbing away one of her tears. “You don’t have to do this alone.”
Aria grasped his hand, not minding the warmth as it pressed against her cheek. “I need you to remain here, Anash.”
“Yes, but what you’re doing is dangerous!” He pulled his hand back, his voice bathed in frustration. “This isn’t just a small gamble you’re taking. The chances of you returning alive…” his words trailed off, perhaps too difficult to say.
“It’s either this, or give into her demands. Giska won’t rest until she has it all, and I fear… no, I must go.”
“Then stand up to her,” he urged, his hands open before him in plea. “She can’t stand before your power, Aria. She knows that. Why do you think she went through all the trouble of turning the council behind your back?” Aria winced, and his voice gentled. “She’s not the same girl you grew up with,” he said, taking her hands. “The Giska from our childhood would understand if-”
“Enough, Anash,” she interjected. “You have done much for me over our lifetime, but even you know I cannot face her anymore than I can turn against you. It would be like tearing my own heart out. Besides,” She picked up the bag and pulled out a dusty brown cloak, slinging it over her shoulders and raising the hood. “I was never strong enough to rule.”
“Don’t say that,” he objected. “You are wonderful.”
A bitter smile pulled up at the corner of her mouth as she pressed back another wave of tears. “But I am not a fighter, Anash. I would sooner face death than kill Giska. I love her too much. Please, you know why I must do this.” She cupped his face between her hands, searching his gaze for something. Acceptance, maybe?
“I love you,” he said softly. “I will come for you when dawn arrives. But Aria…”
“Yes,” she answered, her voice barely audible.
“You’re fleeing to an ancient foe in the hope that they will aid you. What’s to keep them from killing you instead?”
She looked away, unwilling to lie. There was no way to know for certain if the Illudinari, sworn enemy to her people, the Umanei, would spare her life should she set foot into their forest. But if the stories were true, and they could see the intent of her heart, then she had to at least try. Otherwise, They were all, every living creature, facing certain destruction.
Nightmares had visited Aria since childhood, but they’d grown more insistent with age. Somewhere, a darkness more virulent than any the universe had known lay in slumber. Something old… something forgotten… something hungry for power. If left unchecked, the darkness would gradually blot out the universe, one planet at a time.
Aria had considered the possibility that the dream was simply that: a dream and nothing more. But the older she grew, the more certain she’d become. If she didn’t act soon, she’d go mad, as many of her ancestors before her had.
“Faith,” she finally replied. “And it has to be enough. I must be away from here, Anash, before my absence goes noticed. You too must make preparations.”
He gave a deferential nod, before suddenly wrapping her in a tight embrace and kissing her. “I won’t ever stop fighting for you,” he said roughly.
“Nor I, you,” she promised, and meant it. “Now please, I must be away from here!”
The night air was blessedly cool as Aria moved swiftly across the stone courtyard, her presence drawing scarcely an eye. The drab cloak was reminiscent of those that wayfarers often wore to request aid or assistance from their queen. Though it was late, the courtyard still saw quite a lot of traffic as people came and went, preparing for the next day, arriving early for an early morning audience, or just enjoying the evening air. Nobody suspected that the Queen had been betrayed, or that she was slipping out amongst them in the darkness.
Beyond the courtyard, a small airship sat parked at one of the lesser landing bays. It was often where important emissaries landed when conducting quick business so that they could avoid the tedium of the flight deck. Aria moved deliberately to the ship, pausing only for a moment to regard the massive stone palace behind her. Its symmetrical spires were still awe-inspiring. Glowing red orbs illuminated the pathways before it, casting a lovely soft light on the stonework that had been laid centuries before. It would be resplendent once the sun rose, ornamented by trickling fountains, and colorful flowers. Once Aria was gone though, the orbs would vanish. Without her, they could not hold their form unless contained: trapped with no way to escape. They were pure energy: her energy. Giska sought to take that power for herself. Indeed, she’d already stockpiled a great deal of it. I’ve been such a fool. That her sister hadn’t bothered to set extra guards or traps was only a testament to how easily cowe d Aria had been.
Not anymore, she thought. She wouldn’t allow her power to be abused, not if it meant the death or subjugation of innocent lives. Without further pause, Aria climbed into the ship and sealed the pressure lock. She cast off her drab cloak as sweat trickled between her breasts. Even after exchanging her palace regalia for the lighter fabric of a pilot’s maroon jumpsuit, the night was too warm. Thankfully, the standard-issue black boots would come in handy for hiking later. Hopefully.
Aria dialed in the coordinates, knowing that regardless of what happened, she wasn’t coming back. “I’m sorry, Anash,” she whispered as the ship lifted. The guilt of betrayal and heartache clutched at her while she pulled away from the palace, but she knew he couldn’t follow her, not this time. The cycle had to be broken, and if he came with her, it would merely start anew again. Something had to change.
It was impossible to ignore the glittering city below as her ship glided well above the fray. In the darkness, the tall silver spires appeared to be lined with twinkling pink and red sapphires. On the streets below, people bustled from one shop to the next. In the sky above, ships flew quickly to unknown destinations. Life was thriving. An oasis in the middle of the desert. If only the beauty that made all this life possible wasn’t also capable of mass destruction.
It was never meant to be like this, she thought to herself, flickers of nightmares haunting her memory. There were many stories about how the royal family came to possess such a mythical power, but someone, or perhaps something had decided to start showing her pieces of a larger puzzle. Everything she’d ever come to believe about her family and their ability was a veneer to conceal something much more important: growth. But I’m not the final product, I know this now. While she felt sad, she also felt relieved. Whoever came next would have to face a terrible struggle, one that Aria knew she’d never have the strength to take on. She couldn’t even face her own sister, let alone something insurmountably more powerful.
The city lights faded behind her, the vast and dark desert filling the window of her ship. Stars winked up in the canopy above, and off to the east she could see the occasional glow of a nomad camp, but for the most part, the desert was void. No one, not even the nomads, dare live near the border. Death lurked beneath the great shadows of the trees.
I’m afraid. The emptiness did little to distract her as she increased her speed. At this rate, she could cover 100 miles in minutes. Time felt all too short as she zipped toward uncertainty.
A beeping sounded from her center console, and Aria jumped, slapping her hand down in the hopes to silence the call, accidentally answering it instead. Startled at her own stupidity, she failed to stifle a groan as a holographic face popped up to greet her.
It was a man, and though he appeared to be no more than thirty years, she knew he was far older. His keen blue eyes regarded her much like a grandfather, concern etched on his features. Long white hair cascaded down out of the image, the upper half pulled back in a tidy ponytail. Anash must have given him the number to reach her.
“I had hoped you might confide in me about this,” he said. His voice sounded far too weary for his features. “This is not the sort of thing you should have to do alone.”
“I’m not a child anymore, Eldereth,” she said, feeling very much a child as she spoke to her family’s longtime doctor. “I don’t need you to hold my hand and make my decisions for me.” She regretted the words almost as soon as they left her mouth. For some reason, it was harder to hold her emotions in check when talking to the man who’d tutored her from the cradle. He was more of a father to her than her own father had been. Telling him that she was leaving, likely to die, was too much.
He nodded, the sadness in his eyes a match to the burden she felt weighing her down. He really did seem to understand. “The Illudinari are wise, Aria. They will know the answers that you seek, and the future of our people… the future of the universe depends upon you taking their wisdom.”
“Wait, how did you… did Anash tell you?” He must have, Eldereth couldn’t have known her intentions otherwise.
Eldereth merely shook his head. “You are not the only one who has nightmares,” he replied, his words causing another shock to climb up her spine. “The Zronrandoran family was chosen to complete a great task. Your role has been one of the most important of all, Aria, and you’ve done a wonderful job.”
Her eyes filled with tears of shame as she looked back out into the darkness. “I’m running away, Eldereth. Don’t try to spin that into something noble.” She was a coward.
“On the contrary,” he replied, “You’re running to someone who can help. It takes far more courage for a queen to ask for help than to blindly charge forward. You will make the right choice.” Before she could reply, the image faded, and Aria was alone once more. A myriad of emotions, confusion, hope, despair, and regret, crashed down on her in the sudden silence, but a black line on the already-dark horizon was a stark announcement that she had arrived.
The Monolithian Forest… She trembled at the thought.
It took scarcely less than a minute for her ship to close the distance, and soon she turned off autopilot to carefully land some 100 meters away. A small part of her almost hoped Giska had noted her absence, and that soldiers would be sent to try and stop her. Coming here was madness, but she had to know.
The hiss of the door as it opened seemed almost deafening before Aria stepped out into the cold, dark, incredibly still night. Not even the wind dared to breathe here, it seemed. Before her, the forest loomed. She’d never known why a forest would be named ‘Monolothian’, but as she stood before it, understanding began to take place. The tree nearest to her had a trunk the diameter of a small warehouse, and must have reached upwards of a thousand feet, its deciduous leaves casting a shadow above her. Not all the trees were so large, but many were close, and though they were spaced far enough apart to allow for such massive growth, the underbrush was choked with plants of many varieties, all vying for daylight. Everything grew tightly together at the border, hugging it like a line in the sand.
Aria approached, her curiosity momentarily outweighing her fear. How odd that such a lush forest would end so abruptly to desert. There was no gentle blend, no overextension of underbrush into the sand: nothing. This was where two completely separate worlds simply collided. But it hasn’t always been so, she reminded herself, now standing within a hand’s reach of the lush underbrush.
The nomads had ancient legends about things that had happened eons before any formal histories were made. Whether or not the stories were true was impossible to know. It did seem obvious that something had scorched the land up until this point.
Her entire life, Aria had been taught that the feud between the Illudinari and Umanei could never be resolved. To enter into their forest was a death sentence, one swiftly dealt, if the rumors were true. Though she’d never seen one, Aria knew that the Illudinari possessed a deadly venom, one that could not be countered. Furthermore, they were a telepathic people. There was no sneaking up on them, and they knew the true intent of anyone who crossed into their land. They might already know of her presence. That thought alone was enough to make her shiver, but she clung to the one thing she knew to be true: In her nightmares, both the Umanei and Illudinari fell to the darkness of a common enemy. She had to save them. All of them.
With one last glance over her shoulder at the empty rolling dunes, Aria pushed aside a giant green leaf, and slipped into the unknown.
#-
Aria expected the forest to be as dark within as it looked without, but her assumption had been wrong. Once on the other side of the first crush of bushes, the forest opened up, and the results were spectacular. Hidden behind the veil of leaves, an incredible light display was taking place. Glowing lichen crawled up the massive folds within the tree bark, spreading out amongst the vast root systems, where they interjoined with iridescent flowers. Glowing insects of all varieties, many of which Aria had never seen before, drifted from plant to plant, some even appearing to swirl and play, leaving languid light trails behind them as they went. The colors alone would have been enough to leave her speechless: green, yellow, red, pink, and orange.
