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Book #1 Chapter 2 = The Fairy Queen
***** Rasindell’s round wrinkled face always wore an inviting smile. The wizard would greet Vordin at the door often and beckon the boy inside with a callused hand. He could remember how the hut would smell of potions, spices, and mystical powders.
***** Rasindell had been a heroic adventurer in his younger days and then had become an expert wizard as he grew into old age. He had become a lonely old man after his full and exciting life, and Vordin was glad that he had been able to spend the time he did with him.
***** Rasindell was an old man, and when his time had come to die, Vordin had been there for him. He sat there as the old man spoke his last words. Rasindell had pulled him close and spoke of how he had been cursed long ago. He had said that this curse was one of the reasons that he had started to learn magic, in hope that one day he might stumble on a way to break it. He was cursed to recite the legends of their world, Zaylyn, for all eternity after his death. Rasindell had told him that becoming a storyteller to him and seeing the joy and excitement that he could bring with a few words, that his curse had actually become a blessing to him.
***** Then Rasindell had died and Vordin returned home. After that, he never returned to the hut. He had never spoken of Rasindell, not even after he had passed away. The wizard had been his secret. Vordin now knew that he should have told someone. He had been a small child. He hadn’t known how to react to his friend’s death.
***** The old man had always said to remember the stories for the knowledge hidden in them might one day save his life. This was how Vordin had survived. He hid inside a hollow tree as in Rasindell’s stories, and he had lived.
***** The path he had been following soon became non-existent to the point where he found himself stumbling over fallen logs and had brambles and bushes constantly scratch at his legs and arms. His skin itched and several large scrapes and scratches had begun to bleed.
***** The light began to fade and it became even more difficult for him to travel. He was lost, but he struggled on in the direction he thought Rasindell’s old home lay. He was sure that it had not taken so long to reach the hut as a child. He wondered if the creatures would return.
***** After detangling his hair from a tree branch, Vordin stopped to rest. The sunlight had been replaced by the pale glow of the moon. He smoothed his hair as best as he could with his hands and
re-tied the leather strip holding it.
***** The air was damp and cold. He was scraped and bruised from trying to maneuver through the thick brush in the dark. He had no idea of where he might be now, and he felt and knew that he was extremely vulnerable. The woodland creatures made eerie sounds, which only put him more on edge. He also expected at any moment to come across one of the horrid beasts that had attacked his village.
***** He figured that it was best to keep moving. As he continued to scramble through the vegetation once more, he heard the loud crack of a branch breaking. Vordin froze, afraid even to breathe. He heard nothing but the gentle night breeze through the trees for a few moments, and then from behind him came a deep bellowing laugh. Vordin spun around to face his unknown adversary, but there was no one to be seen. He heard footsteps and could not tell from which direction they came. His eyes darted around frantically in the dark, as his heart pounded hard in his chest. Then another deep laugh filled the air around him.
***** Vordin panicked, knowing the damage these beasts could inflict, and he frantically stumbled his way through the brush and brambles in the dark as quickly as he could. His leg had become caught between two logs, and as he fell, he felt the bone in his leg snap. The pain rushed through his entire body and in his agony he cried out.
***** He struggled in his helpless state, but to no avail. He heard the malicious laughter again as the footsteps quickened and started to move toward his location.
CHAPTER 2 = THE FAIRY QUEEN
***** Suddenly a beast appeared out of nowhere to stand in front of him. The incredible pain in his leg began to numb slightly as his body reacted to the shock of the broken limb. All Vordin could do was stare, his dark brown eyes wide in amazement and fear at this foul creature.
***** It stood upright on short legs ending in clawed feet. Its body was covered in a golden brown fur except for its feet, hands, and face. Its overly long arms hung almost to the ground and the claws could easily tear a person apart. On top of its massive head were long pointed ears. The creature was just standing there looking with bulbous blood red eyes at the crippled adolescent. A long and tubular green tongue lay in a gaping mouth of jagged teeth. Large quantities of drool dribbled from its mouth down into its fur. The wrinkled skin of its short snout wiggled as it sniffed the air with its four nostrils.
***** Vordin was terrified and suffering horrible pain from his leg. It opened its jaws and a low growl resounded from its throat. The revolting stench of its breath and body made him gag. It snapped its jaws in the air in front of his face and he could feel the hot steamy breath on his face and neck.
***** Just when he thought the beast would rip its teeth viciously into his flesh, it started laughing hysterically. The laughter rumbled and gurgled deep in its throat and then gradually became a
high-pitched giggle. The creature started to emit brilliant colored sparks of light from its body until the beast was transformed entirely into many glowing lights.
***** Each spark of light trailed a hue of color as it darted about wildly in the air. Vordin now realized that each spark ridiculed him with its laughter. It was obvious that they thought their cruel prank to be absolutely hilarious.
***** A larger spark grew to about the size of a small apple and hovered in front of his face. This delicate creature now before him had the wings of a beautiful butterfly and the body of a young girl. This small being wore a tiny dress made of pink flower petals and a tiny crown of silver rested on her head. Her light blue hair floated about her on the gentle breeze that her wings created, and she glowed with a beautiful lavender light. Her eyes were a deep purple, and her pale white skin glittered and sparkled. The fairy gazed upon him in curiosity for a moment and her manner seemed to show power, wisdom, and a hint of childish humor. She put a finger to her rosy lips and the laughter ceased.
***** She then asked in a high-pitched voice, “Did we frighten you?” She giggled slightly and then continued, “You don’t seem as if you are very dangerous. Shall I fix your leg?”
***** The fairy queen closed her eyes and cupped her hands upward above her head. In her concentration, she slowed the beating of her wings to an extremely slow rate, somehow managing to still stay afloat. As Vordin watched, a lavender mist began to drift slowly upward from her hands and then encircled around Vordin’s body. The pain from his injury slowly began to fade. He floated free of the logs which had entrapped his broken limb and then he drifted back down to the ground. The mist then concentrated around his leg and he felt the bone right itself in one violent jerk. Soon Vordin was completely healed, including even his tiny cuts and bruises.
***** He stood and the fairy queen rose up to meet his eye level once more.
***** “You are one of great luck to have escaped the fate of your village,” the fairy queen said to him, “The one responsible for this evil deed is Dranngore. He is the one who rules over the creatures that killed your village. Beware the night, as that is when they enjoy their hunt; under the cover of darkness. Do not be fooled, as this does not mean the daylight will provide you with safety from them. These creatures are not natural beings. They are Killnarin. They have six limbs, as do centaurs. They are hairless with black, oily skin. They have razor sharp claws and teeth. They are strong. They can cast magic on both mind and body. They are ‘demon’ creatures, summoned with evil intent. They will revel in the pain, suffering, and torment that they will cause, even delaying a kill to prolong it. Their magical source of life extends from Dranngore. Destroy the wizard Dranngore with the Sword of Anthrowst and all shall be well. Farewell human.”
***** Then without hesitation, she darted quickly away with all her fairy subjects following.
***** So Vordin was left standing in the dark with many unanswered questions. He continued to scramble through the forest and he figured that by now he must have traveled very deep into it. Vordin crawled over and under fallen logs and fought his way through the thick brush until he stumbled into a clearing.
***** He tripped and landed on dark green grass illuminated by the light of a full pale moon. The grass was cool and lush. As he picked himself up, his gaze fell on a small decrepit log hut.
***** With great relief, he realized from his childhood memories that this was Rasindell’s old home. When Vordin reached the damp rotted door of the hut, he opened it wondering if the roof would collapse or not. Vordin took the risk and stepped into the blackness.
***** He slowly moved across the floor, sliding his feet across the ground trying to detect anything that might be in his way. Cobwebs clung to his face and as he tore them away, he began to think he had made a very foolish choice. His eyes strained into the darkness as he told himself, “There could be other creatures who have also taken shelter in this hut. What am I doing? I could be walking into a pair of hungry jaws right this minute!”
***** The clouds shifted and moonlight began to filter through several large holes in the roof, illuminating the room enough for Vordin to see that there was no apparent danger.
***** Then there came a sound above him. As he looked up, an immense spider, about the size of a dinner plate, dropped down to land on his face. Vordin immediately froze. He fought desperately with the instinct to jump around madly in panic trying to fling the thing as far away from him as possible.
***** He stared in horror at the hairy legs and fangs positioned just above his eyes. He could see the roof, and through the holes, patches of the night sky overhead. He tried to focus on the roof instead of the spider, as the fear was almost completely consuming him.
***** “Don’t move,” he pleaded with himself, “Don’t move! The thing will sink its fangs into you if you move!”
***** The thought sent a shiver throughout his body and the panic intensified. He felt it slowly moving its legs gently against his vulnerable skin. His heart was pounding wildly.
***** “Don’t move,” his mind shouted at him, “Please, please, don’t move! What can I possibly do?! Even my breathing, as shallow as it is right now, might make it attack!”
***** Then he thought he ought to do something now, before it got a chance to bite him, but the fear was too great. “Get off me! Get off me!” he screamed inside his mind.
***** Vordin then heard the flap of wings and the cry of an owl. The spider remained balanced on the boy’s face, continuing to caress his skin with its many legs as it kept repositioning itself. The owl, now through an opening in the roof, soared through the air with its sharp talons outstretched to snatch the spider from his face.
***** “Please no! No! No! This thing’s surely going to bite me, and if that doesn’t happen, the owl’s talons will rip my face to shreds!”
***** The owl was closing in on him fast, and he had to make a decision.
***** His arm seemed like a separate entity as it slowly and calmly picked up the spider by its mid-section and removed it. The owl continued its dive toward Vordin’s face. He winced, helpless against the attack. The bird came extremely close to him with its talons, but then pulled up at the last moment seeing that its meal had vanished. Vordin felt the rush of air against him and he watched the brown and white owl fly up into the rafters where it perched. Its large yellow eyes began searching hungrily for the spider.
***** He felt something wriggle between his fingertips. For a moment, he had forgotten that he still held the large spider. He recoiled in terror and disgust, dropping the spider to the ground. It scurried toward a small crevice in the wooden floor to find refuge.
***** Vordin shuddered and felt a cold chill all over his body. He was amazed that the spider’s fangs hadn’t been imbedded in his skin. He shuddered again and wiped frantically at his face where the spider had been. It felt like it was still there; his face having an itchy, tickled feeling. He couldn’t believe that the ordeal was over now and that he had gotten through it unharmed.
***** The spider was almost to the crack in the floor now. The owl dove down for another attack. As the spider crawled into the hole, the owl landed beside it and managed to sever a piece off one of the spider’s legs. Then finding that its attempts to pry its meal out of the hole were futile, the owl flew off through the roof and into the surrounding forest.
***** Vordin slowly made his way over to what he thought would be the fireplace. There had been a small table on which Rasindell had kept a lantern. He hoped that the lantern was still there and intact. Reaching the now dilapidated table, he rummaged through the dust-covered debris and eventually he touched cool metal. He turned the object over and over in his hands until he felt a small clasp on one side.
***** As he opened the front of the metal box, the room was immediately illuminated by a strong glow coming from inside. How he had overlooked the makeup of this arcane and incredible device as a child, bewildered him. Upon further examination, he discovered that although it had been used as a lantern, it was in fact a flask containing a mysterious glowing potion in an elaborate metal case. There was no heat produced by the flask, and there was a metal handle in the top of the case so it could be handled easily. The purpose of the case was obviously to hide the glow of the potion when light was no longer needed.
***** Vordin looked around the now dimly lit room finding it cluttered with debris and covered in a film of dust. The windowless, one-roomed cabin had only one door leading to the outside and he knew that he should barricade it for the night. Beside the fireplace was a small but sturdy trunk. After dragging the heavy object to the entrance, he realized that the decayed wood of the door wouldn’t be that difficult to break through but figured that it would have to suffice.
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