The Lost Eight by Duron Crejaro (read me a book .TXT) 📕

Elris gazed off into nothing, almost as if he were remembering, rather then reciting history. "After it ended, the artifacts were scattered, the people scattered. Renad disappeared. King Elia went west and founded a new kingdom, called Eliasovania. People chose," he paused a moment "They chose to forget, the powers of the Adrari were eventually discovered. Powers of the mind. The Tempest never forgot though. Throughout history, we have watched for the return of the Lost Eight. Many of us hoped that it would never come to pass. Fourteen years ago that changed."

"Um," interjected Creolis, not entirely understanding everything he was hearing. "Where does Belladria fit into this? Or my father for that matter."

"The impatience of youth," scowled Elris at him. "I was getting to that. Belladria is the ruler of Jerga, another realm west of the Qemara. A deformed forsaken people remnant of the War of Eight. Fourteen years ago, She found one of the Lost Eight. I'm not sure which one she has in her possession, but she used its power to wage war against the Eliasovania. At the time I urged the king to flee east, to seek help against her from your Thyrinnian Nation." this time, profound sadness seemed to consume him as he became quite silent a few minutes. "Needless to say, he did not heed me. So, I did what I had to do, as Renad's Tempest has always done through the ages. Watched over the Elia royal line, and for the artifacts return."

"That still doesn't explain my father Elris." It came out as almost a whisper.

"When the king refused to listen, I did what I was needed to preserve the Elian Royal family. In secret, I stole the last two surviving descendants of Elia, and smuggled them to safety. They were mere children at the time, only a few summers old. Your father helped me hide them. I've been watching over them ever since, waiting. Helping to prepare them for what they would have to do, even if they did not know themselves. I knew it would only be a matter of time before she expanded her conquest in search of the Eight." He paused for air, letting the weight of the situation hang in the air between them, "Thyrinn must be warned. She must be stopped. The children that were hid with your fathers help must come to power and regain what they have lost. If she gains all of The Lost Eight, nothing will stop her."

"Ok, but." He began, before being cut off by Elris.

"I've told you all I can for now. At least all that matters. Now, I think we should have lunch, since you missed breakfast." Elris procured a simple meal from their provisions; bread, cheese, dried beef and mulled wine to wash it down with. They ate in relative silence. Every once in a while, Creolis would attempt to goad more from Elris. He was not forthcoming however, and soon enough, his stomach full Creolis sat back gazing into the afternoon sky. He pondered the thing he had learned, thoughts erratically zipping about his mind. An hour or so had passed before the thought occurred to him.

"Elris?" his tone inquisitive, "Why me? Are my brother and I the children from Elia?"

Elris cocked a single brow in his direction, pondering his answer in silence before he gave it, "I think Creolis Kynra. That this old man shall keep what secrets are necessary for now."

"That's not a no." He replied with a slight smile growing on his lips.

"It's not a yes either." Elris said with a coy smile before pulling his trademark hood over his head, hiding the gruesome scars on top of his ears as he always did.

Creolis allowed himself a groan of displeasure at his evasiveness, though secretly he was please. He scooted around against the railing trying to get into a comfortable position. The mild warmth of the afternoon, combined with his satisfied stomach, and the lull of the waters allowed him to drift off, dreams of princedom dancing in his mind.

He awoke at dusk with a groaning stretch. He rubbed his eyes and realized he had slept longer then he thought. Already the different shades of dusk danced across the horizon, melting into the glassy surface of the lake, which gave on a pastel greenish glow in the fading evening light. His nose crinkled on its own, a burnt distasteful odor sticking to the back of his throat. He turned to find Elris; intent on asking him what was cooking. It never happened. As soon as he saw the orange glow to the northwest, the black smoke disappearing into the twilight. He knew what it was, and it sickened him. He slumped to the railing as he gazed into the distance, a horrified look of shock on his face. No, his mind whispered to him in denial, but his mind could not convince him that what he was witnessing was not real. Kynnory was burning.

Creolis sat forlorn against the edge of the small sailboat, staring towards Kynnory. The bright orange signifying the city in flames, had died down to a dull amber as the night deepened. He said nothing, just watching, the loss of his home, where he had spent so many years, drove nails into his soul. Elris for his part left him to mourn in silence. He kept his gaze focused east occasionally glancing around for signs of anyone else on the lake.

Deep within the confines of his essence, he felt disgust. This Belladria had attacked, unprovoked; murdering people, he called friends and comrades needlessly. Now, her armies had arrived suddenly on the city he had grown up in, slaughtering untold numbers, for no other reason that they were in the way of her pursuit of power. Yes, he was disgusted and wrathful he thought. No one with such blind bloodlust should be allowed to rule; no one with such blatant disregard for life should be put in such a place of power. She must be stopped he decided, as he stared at the flickering glow of the blaze’s remnants, feeling as though it were his life that was shriveling within the flames.

Their progress was steady. Elris expertly kept them gliding through the water, being pulled always eastward towards Allowyin. Lake Repik emptied into it to the east, flowing all the way to the city of Calle. Elris doubted that Belladria had time to bring the craft necessary to cross the lake. Yet, he was taking no chances, ignoring his body’s pleas for sleep. He pushed himself on through the night. The large forests slowly began to grow less dense as they began to pass from the foothills of the Qemara Mountains towards the grassier gentle plains of Calleron.

Dawn began to approach, the first inklings of light bursting forth across the horizon. The loud rustle of something darting into a small grove of trees on the lakes eastern shoreline startled Elris, who had been dozing off against his will. He spared a glance to the side, Creolis had not moved all night, nor had he uttered a word. He sighed to himself, knowing what loss like that could do to a man. Silently he navigated their small boat to the shoreline, tethering it to a small tree dangling out over the water.

"Come on Creolis. We need to eat, and I need a little rest. I've been going straight on for over two days now." Elris stated flatly taking the small leap to the shoreline, after grabbing his traveling pack. Effortlessly he anchored the small craft to the shoreline, making sure it would not drift away during his rest. He did not wait to see if Creolis joined him. With a purposeful stride, he entered the small grove and began arranging a small quick campsite. A quick glance to the sky assured him a tent was unnecessary, so he rolled out his sleeping gear and plopped down exhausted. He managed a stretch, his body pleading with him for sleep. Despite this, he spared only a few minutes to force a few mouthfuls of dry bread down, to ease his hunger.

It was during this that Creolis finally joined him. He looked weathered, and he thought years older then he had the night before. He hunkered down near Elris quietly leaning against a large pine, wrapping himself tightly into his cloak. Elris watched him drift off into a fitful sleep, and doubted he would remain that way for long. No doubt, his mind was filled with too much turmoil to allow a relaxing rest. With a slight shake of his head, he nestled into his own cloak, and allowed himself to drift off as well.

Elris awoke with a start. He had always been a light sleeper. Years of practice. He jumped to his feet, having drawn his scimitar in the same fluid motion. His eyes darting to and fro, searching frantically for any sign of danger. Quickly he realized it had just been Creolis walking back to their small camp. Creolis stopped temporarily, eyeing him warily two small hares swaying gingerly in his hand. A short yew bow in his other. He grinned just slightly as he held them up, "Breakfast?"

Elris was firmly against the idea of a fire, not wanting to take the chance. However, Creolis would not have it. He assured Elris that he had been watching all morning, and that anyone coming out of the foothills would have been easy to spot. He doubted they would have made it this far from Kynnory already. Also, this area was sparsely populated. It would make much more sense to track along the northern edge of Lake Repik. All the settlements led that way, unless you wanted to cross the lake directly. Finding no fault in his reasoning, he allowed the fire. With practiced expertise, Creolis cleaned the small game and in no time had them spit, roasting on a small crackling fire. They sat around the small fire, watching the hares cook. Creolis slowly turned them.

"Elris. I'll help you stop her," he said unexpectedly breaking the silence. "She has to pay for what she's done. There are no words to describe what she has taken from me and a tyrant such as her cannot be left unchallenged."

"I know, but don't let this be about revenge Creolis. It’s a dark place to go, one could easily lose his soul and become no better than the thing he is trying to stop. Rather let it be about preventing another cataclysm like the War of Eight."

He had no answer to this, so Elris left it alone for now. After finishing the rather pleasant meal, they quickly packed their small camp back into the boat. A couple minutes were spent washing in the lake, before they once again boarded and set off towards Allowyin. Late that evening, just before dark. They reached the mouth of the river. The currents began to speed in the much more narrow river. Elris manned the rudder, clenching it with white