needed.
Branwen had come to discover that the arrogant,
forceful berserker of war was nothing but a soldier
who tried too hard. Her intrigue with him grew, his
blatant disregard for life had her questioning, ‘What
could possibly have happened to him?’ His life before
becoming the commander interested her, overall, he
interested her.
The fey quarters in the castle Marrion were silent
that night. Anna had taken it onto herself to question
the Atlanti they had managed to retrieve. The dark
dungeons of the castle were swept with years of
unkempt dust, the orange sands of Marrion covered
the floors of the grey stone dungeons, with only one
left to question, Anna stood with several of her
soldiers from the camp. In a dark room filled with the
pain of a thousand years of war, sat a large man, his
face was cut and beaten, one eye was closed, the other
almost hung from its socket. His cheek bones were
shattered, and hair was covered with dried blood being
remoistened by his sweat. Fear did not seem to be a
part of him.
Anna paced the room, his smile remained, dried
blood covered his lips, his teeth were blackened red.
“So,” she continued pacing, “our question is
simple,” she stood in front of him, “what can you tell
us, to save your life?”
He laughed maniacally, “I have lived a life,
fulfilled.”
Anna came closer. “Not the answer I was looking
for,” she replied with a deep tone, “how many?”
An unexpected moment hit Anna; his closed eye
slowly flickered. “More than you could ever count,
bitch.”
She did not react to the comment. “What do you
mean by that?”
The man seemed to quiver, he slowly started to
shake, but the night was warm. He called in pain,
throwing his head forward, and back again, he began
to frantically shake, Anna stood back.
“He has risen!” the man loudly called. “He is the
next one!” Anna stepped back further. The guards
grabbed the ropes which held him down. As he began
to rise from the chair, he stood central to the room
and continued to frantically shake, his nose began to
pour with fresh blood, his mouth spat red as he
shouted in a deep voice that was not his, “Be ready for
him, fore you lead your people to a place of trembling
pain, I am the necromancer.” His voice rumbled
through the dark tunnels. “I am Kairne!” His mouth
poured with blood, he fell heaped to the ground,
dead.
Anna panted with fear and dread as she stepped
back. She looked to the soldiers. “Are we clear on
this?” she asked them as they stood, still holding the
ropes.
The soldiers looked to the body of the man, they
looked to each other, one twisted his eyes towards
Anna.
“I’m not telling him,” he insisted.
“No, me neither,” said another.
The other also joined in with, “Not a chance.”
Anna flailed her arms. “Fine, me again then!”
“Wait,” said one of the soldiers as he looked
towards her, “perhaps it would be best to leave this
with Lister? given that Harris is in no fit state at the
moment, if he heard that the body of a dead man had
been possessed by the man we’re fighting against,
claiming he is the necromancer, well, I just think that
could do more harm than good really,” he looked
around to the others who were agreeing with him.
Anna did not like lying to Harris, neither did she
like keeping anything from him, however, she knew he
was volatile, it would cause a rage in him.
“Fine, Lister then,” she agreed.
“Anna, if what you’re telling me is accurate, you
need to assure me of something,” said Lister, his deep
voice echoed from the bath in his chambers as he
remained behind a stone wall, she remained in his
large chambers. “This stays with us, you tell no one,
you warn no one,” he called to her.
Stood in his chambers, she called to Lister,
“Agreed.” Her voice was filled with relief. “I really
don’t want to be dealing with this shit right now, so this
is yours.”
It was clear to Lister, Anna had most of her
training from Harris Bearwood, a man of few words.
Chapter Six Look to the Skies
gargantuan beast beat his wings in the skies
over Thrasia. The people of the villages in
A the south, watched the skies, the huge
creatures bought a sight they thought was lost in their
lands. The mighty red dragon, the largest of his kind,
Egan, flew with his nine followers. The dragons were
moving. A mighty voice rumbled through the skies.
“I hear she has power,” roared Egan. The mighty
red and golden dragon held rule overall in the lands of
the Draco stretch.
“We will await your return in the Grenhilda
valley!” called Kayda, the bright purple and lilac beast
was delightful to look at, but her fiery temper was
something no one wanted to come across. “We expect
your return before nightfall, these lands are unsafe.”
The thundering air from Egan’s wings was
booming as they glided through the skies. “I am sure,
that a thunder of nine dragons can fend off any
curious gobgee or Atlanti.”
“What have the stars told us?” asked Jara, a huge
green dragon, each scale was lined with a bright
shining gold.
Egan circled around, bringing himself to the side
of Jara. “Their silence remains, they will soon reveal
their secrets once I have met the child.”
“And you believe this to be true?” called Barron, a
smaller blue and orange dragon.
Again, Egan circled in the air to join Barron’s side.
“I believe something has been found, Brenin rarely
gets excited over nothing, his eccentrics are often wild,
but this is something else, she was born of Farhope,
even her discovery was strange.”
Sat quietly on her mezzanine, Librye worked her
way through her books. She seemed to be getting
quicker by the day, now towards the end of the first
mezzanine, Brenin worried he would need to extend
his already vast library.
Working quietly below her, Brenin sat at his desk.
The midday winter sun blasted into the room, it
seemed to warm the smoke which had been left over
from his morning pipe.
Brenin sat up in his desk, he knew he was due a
special visit. He stood and slowly made his way
towards the window. A strange curiosity seemed to
grip him. To the side of the window he opened a
sliding vent, to allow some air in, the smell of pine
needles and wood smoke drifted in on the cold
breeze. The warm fire in his chambers grew with the
fresh, inviting air.
Silently sat, Librye looked up. “Is every
thing
alright?” she noticed a strange mood had hit him.
Looking up, Brenin gave a broad smile, his eyes
softened towards her. He replied with a blissful tone,
“Everything is perfect.” Her everlasting smile always
warmed him. “Would you like to join me for a walk in
the gardens?”
Slamming her book closed with frisson, Librye
stood, she loved spending time with him.
The bright gardens were beautiful as they stepped
into the slumber of winter. A dusting of snow had
settled, the fountain was a frozen wonder of winter.
Everything around them seemed bright and perfect.
The silence in the gardens invited them away from the
busy palace. As they wandered around the path,
silently, Brenin looked to her. She had brought bliss
into his life.
Librye enjoyed the silence, her busy mind often
needed a break, silence provided that. The silence of
the gardens was deafening. The crunching gravel
beneath her feet bored her.
“The council has been busy this turn,” she casually
mentioned.
Brenin walked with his hands behind his back, a
thick deerskin kept him warm. His brows raised as he
looked down towards her. “They’re busy every turn.”
Librye laughed and replied, “You know I’ve been
there; you know my secrets have told me.”
“What part have your secrets told you?” he asked
with a pondering tone.
Librye did not seem to have any form of filter as
she blatantly replied, “They want you to get a wife.
You once said that one day you’ll want lots of
children,” she shook her head whilst looking down,
“you can only do that with a wife.”
Brenin could not help but laugh, “You were
supposed to be on my side!”
“I am,” Librye replied in a high-pitched tone. “But
I agree with them, you would make the most
wonderful father.”
His heart felt warm. “Thank you, Librye.” Brenin
stopped walking, he looked to the wispy clouds
gracefully whispering across the sky against the
backdrop of an icy blue. A soft cold breeze began to
hit him as he looked towards the palace. He could
hear a familiar deep pounding sound. Crouching in
front of her, he said in a wonderous tone, “I have a
surprise for you.”
Her smile grew, she too could hear the strange
sound. “A surprise?”
“Look to the skies, Heart.” Brenin slowly stood, he
watched as she gazed towards the sky. From the top of
the palace flew a mighty red dragon, the colossal beast
flew above the palace, the size of the palace made him
look small, but as he glided down and made his way
towards the tiny Librye, she could see just how
massive he was.
“Egan!” greeted Brenin as he made his way
towards him.
Egan stood at the bottom of the path, standing
twelve feet tall his shining red and gold scales
brightened the gardens, the two blunt horns on his
head were adorned with golden bands. His friendly
face warmed Brenin, he had missed his scaled kin
from over the ocean. Librye stood, frozen with the rest
of the garden.
“Brenin,” Egan grumbled as he slowly began to
walk towards him, “it has been too long.”
“It certainly has,” said Brenin in a joyous tone.
Brenin turned to try and introduce Librye, but as he
did, he could see that the brave little Librye was
already making her way towards them.
Her smile was unwavering. “Good afternoon,” she
greeted, “you must be, Egan?”
His deep blue dragon eyes seemed to light up as
he looked to the young girl. “I am, you must be the
Unknown Girl?”
Librye shook her head. Her voice was soft, filled
with pride. “I was given my name,” her look towards
Egan was one of admiration, she knew the courage
that dragons could feel and see, she wanted to show
that courage, “the stars said it would be so.”
“The stars?” asked Egan, “you speak with them?”
He was utterly baffled.
Librye soon joined his side. “Please, join us on our
walk, if you wish?”
“I would enjoy that,” said Egan, he had never met
such an astute young lady before, he was certainly
impressed so far. “So, what do you know of the stars?”
“The whispers of the stars are something I’ve
heard for a while, I hear them only at night, but the
stars are usually my favourite moment in the day,
they’re so peaceful,” she was filled with a calm
tranquillity that the stars always offered her, secretly
knowing that no matter where she was, the stars were
there to watch over her. “I know they hold many of
your secrets, I also know why you’re here.”
“Oh?” said Egan rather surprised that she knew
such a thing, having mentioned nothing to Brenin or
the stars. “And what is my reason for being here?”
Librye smiled as she looked to his scaled face. “To
see me,” she excitedly said.
Egan replied in his booming voice, “I am, but I am
here to learn all I can from you.”
meadow, Egan’s wings brushed the trees as they
walked down the lane, giving Librye an enchanting feel
of a light snow as the flakes fell from the branches.
The wolves remained silent as the dragon passed.
“How odd?” he curiously said as they passed the
kennels. The host remained to the back.
Librye struggled to take her eyes away from the
beautiful beast in front of her. “What is?” she softly
asked.
“The wolves,” he grumbled. Egan stopped on the
path and looked towards them as they relaxed in their
beds. “No pacing, growling, snarling even,” he said
with confusion.
Librye broke her stare with Egan, she looked to
the wolves. “That’s because they know me, they won’t
bark or howl, because they know they are safe.”
His giant brows furrowed as Egan looked towards
the wolves, some raised their heads to see Librye
passing, others continued to sleep on their hey beds.
“So, the wolves see you as their protector?” He
was fascinated with the young child, but struggled to
believe that she had such power over the wolves.
Librye slowly walked towards the bars. The kennel
host peered around the front to see the giant Egan,
stood watching as Librye wandered towards the bars.
“She’s an enigma,” said the kennel host as he
waddled towards the front. Egan looked towards him.
“Dane, Sire,” he introduced himself, “and I know you
must be lord Egan, of the Draco stretch.” The mighty
dragon slowly nodded his head towards Dane. “Well,
from the moment Librye met the wolves, they’ve been
taken with her.” He pointed towards the wood with his
bro
ws raised as he looked under his brow. “The
moment she steps into the garden, the wolves change,
I’ve never seen it happen, in all my years here.” He
relaxed his arms to the side of him, as he watched
Librye stroke the wolves from the bars.
Egan stared at the wolves who paid no attention to
him even being there. “Fascinating.”
Their walk took them to the furthest part of the
meadow and back again. As they came towards the
woods, Egan had become further fascinated with her
abilities, however he was yet to see it for himself. The
woodland was frozen with winter, the dragons did not
care for a cold climate.
“We should head back, I have promised to return
before nightfall,” said Egan as he looked to the skies.
Librye walked at the side of him, dwarfed by his
mighty size. “You mentioned that the stars have told
you about me,” she curiously said. “What have they
told you?”
“They told me that the Unknown Girl has arrived
in Cronnin, they have been quiet of late,” he said with
sorrow.
Librye stopped walking, her tiny frame stood
frozen on the path. “Not for me they haven’t,” she
held some form of guilt in her voice. Egan turned to
see her apple green eyes staring back at him, her head
was low, she held her hands at the front of her. “I
stopped them,” she softly said. Egan narrowed his eyes
as he began to turn, his look of wonder became a look
of fear. “I stopped them, I knew you would come, so I
needed to show you the ability I had.” Librye lifted
her hand towards the skies, a soft breeze began to run
through the woods. Egan lifted his head and looked to
the skies; the stars began to whisper again.
Egan looked back to her, the overwhelming
whispers began to flood his mind as he listened, all
whispers about the Unknown Girl, ‘the child is
Librye,’ he heard, ‘she is the prophecy,’ they
whispered. “What prophecy?” he asked as he looked
to Librye.
Librye began walking again, Egan struggled to
move, the power over the stars was a terrifying power,
she had blocked all messages and whispers for half a
turn, leading the entire race of dragons to believe that
the stars were silent.
“The prophecy talks of a child of Cammbour, the