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Despair

Kyanite shook his head. Danger had never scared him. He would always ride towards what frightened him, instead of away. Elyna was as safe as she could be here. This was the life she was accustomed to. It wasn’t the danger that frightened him, it was their complicity. He looked down at his arm where ...

Despair

Kyanite found it difficult to exist in this place. He took his duty seriously, looking after the twins had become priority number one. The inactivity of the group, however, had started to irk him. Back home in the grasslands it was rare to sit for longer than a meal or discussion between peers. In R...

Despair

Emily was growing on him, Kyanite thought. It had taken him a long time to warm to the woman that had come to Emanys like a thief in the night, taking from him what he held most dear. She showed him how to play a few games but there was one in particular he enjoyed, a simple game of snap where cards...

Despair

Kyanite watched Elyna move to the stairs with Elsie. It was rare for her to separate the twins, but Kyanite knew their routine and sat with Luke, sure the boy would not wake. He looked to the starry night beyond the window and couldn’t help but think of Elyna. Was she safe here? What kind of man was...

Despair

Kyanite heeded Emily’s summons, but only after lingering at the door for a time, sure it was not right to leave Elyna while she slept,- leaving her babies in the hands of another. Pavoo was her father, he reminded himself, but after coming to terms with what her brother had been capable of, he wasn’...

The Return

Up! Elyna ordered and Kyanite scrambled to his feet, reaching for her outstretched hand. He was forced back by a knight brave enough to get close to the dragon. Kyanite took up his poleaxe and swung, throwing the man to the ground before the crow’s beak came down and left him lifeless in the mud. K...

The Return

Kyanite understood the command, but as soon as he realised what Elyna was doing, he jumped the wall and scaled the stone on the other side just long enough that he knew the remaining drop wouldn’t see him injured. His fingertips bled where he had struggled to hold onto the wall, breaking the blunt e...

The Return

Outside on the wall, the archers were taking their positions and readying arrows in rows two or three deep. One man would take his shot, move aside and make room for the next while the first had a moment to reload. The army stopped just out of range of their arrows but they continued to test them. A...

The Return

Kyanite watched as Elyna knocked her brother unconscious. As a warrior, she had his respect, but morally, he found himself torn. Could he have done the same to his own brother, even if he had been betrayed? A second man was disabled by Emily, and the blue cloaks he had put his hammer to only moments...

The Return

Outside, Kyanite was throwing all of his strength behind the swing of his hammer, desperate to break the chain on the stable doors. After three unsuccessful attempts, he turned his energy on the hinges and stood back as the double doors fell to the ground with a crash. The wooden panels splintered a...

The Return

107 Frost AoK 21 Cora had noticed Elyna’s withdrawal from the group, but it was the distance between her and the noble woman’s children that stung the most. Did she no longer trust them or was it that Cora was so close to delivering another one of her own? When Kyanite came to her with the news of h...

This Land

Emily was quiet. She didn’t want to admit that Elyna’s suggestions made sense. There was unrest in Renmere and nobles, royalty especially, were known for their deceit and power plays. Had she read him wrong? Was there any part of the new king that could have it all and still long for more? No… A sma...

This Land

I don't like , “treason,” Kyanite said. Children were everything in Emanys. A man was rich if he had children. Men could be terrible to one another, but children were off limits, even when one tribe defeated the next. Kyanite’s own mother and father had been killed by rivals, who had then raised hi...

This Land

He closed his eyes as Elyna bowed her head against his own, the peace of the moment shaken by what was an innocent kiss to the man’s cheek. He blinked at her, uncertain about the gesture. It was strange. Why did his skin tingle where her lips had touched? The sensation travelled deeper and Kyanite c...

This Land

Kyanite was not a shy man, there was little room for that in a place where lives were lived short and fast. He looked Elyna in the eye when she spoke, ready to face her truth, just as he had offered his. Treason , what was this word, he wondered and why did people die for it? Elyna was not wrong, if...

This Land

Elyna had picked up the language with a certain ease he had not seen any outsider adapt to so quickly. She seemed happy here or so he thought until he had witnessed her exchange with the skyrider, who had fallen into their lives like a bolt of lightning and displaced his sense of calm. It had been a...

This Land

Cora sat astride her husband. She could not remember the last time they had shared a night alone and endeavoured to make the most of the occasion. She ruled him in the only way an Ontari woman could a man, enslaving him to desire. She woke him frequently, staking her claim to his flesh anew until th...

This Land

“He did not…” Emily paused mid thought. “There was a look in his eye… something in his tone. I only saw him in passing, but he was desperate, Elyna. He’s never striked me as a good actor. I just hope you’re wrong and… without any malice intended… I know you are.” Emily looked down at the twins cuddl...

This Land

Kyanite’s brow was heavy most of the day, a thunder cloud following him wherever he went. He did not speak to Elyna but looked at her as if she had betrayed him somehow. Even a subtle touch from his wife in the sanctity of their ger did not lighten his mood. What letters had gone back and forth to t...

This Land

Elyna looked and sounded Ontari enough to fool the strangers into believing she had meant disrespect as she crossed the invisible boundary to their claim. The leader moved into action and found a swift death at the feet of his men, Kyanite’s spear pinning him to the earth through the root of his nec...

This Land

Was it the sudden realisation that made the air electric or could Elyna be so in tune with the lands themselves that the wind seemed to whisper, intruder . Even as the familiar creature gave a painful howl, time did not seem to catch up to the events that followed. Spiralling, falling, rider came aw...

[Aramane] Letters to a King

“Horse?” Kyanite echoed, not sure he was saying it right. “Horse,” he whispered to the mare. “You are Treka here.” Sonya gave Kyanite the woman’s message and he was still for a time before he gave a nod of thanks. In the grasslands the strong survived by taking what was earned in battle and through ...

[Aramane] Letters to a King

A second horse came charging into the camp, the veil of magic protecting the area having confused the animals, keeping them from finding the place they had tried to remain so close to. The second black horse was a mare who stood just as tall as the gelding that had protected Elyna from what might ha...

[Aramane] Letters to a King

“Yes,” Sonya announced, “Elyna says she is the Queen of Renmere and that the man outside is a warrior.” Kyanite sneered. Some warrior , he thought, to be taken from his mount with such ease. “Their father?” Kyanite pointed to the twins. Sonya looked at Elyna after relaying the message. “No,” she soo...

[Aramane] Letters to a King

“Small,” Kyanite said. “But strong,” Cora warned. They are far , Kyanite waved, dismissing her warning. Cora stoked her husband’s hair, pulling it back from his face to tie up for the night. “Burhan is a noble name,” she said, leaning close to his ear to whisper the words, “they will want her back.”...

[Aramane] Letters to a King

“Lies?” Yvan scoffed. “You still think it was Jared’s choice to be rid of you?” He sneered. “Malcolm is the one with blood on his hands. He didn’t want you or the children. He has his own and they will always come first. Jared told me your mother was unbearable.” He laughed a dry sound at that. “I s...

[Aramane] Letters to a King

“Would your king die for you?” Sonya asked. “For any one of the children in his camp, the Onkarl would lay down his life,” she said. Sonya seemed to consider the truth and then thought of what she knew of kings, selfish rich men more likely to remarry than step outside of their kingdoms and risk pow...

[Aramane] Letters to a King

Sonya laughed and when Elyna did not share in the joke she sought to unravel, she stared at the woman. “You’re the Queen of Renmere?” She asked, sitting with mouth agape, her hands still. Sonya had heard of the Burhan family in her school studies as a girl, but Mayce was new to her. She set her work...

[Aramane] Letters to a King

Sonya scoffed and twisted to glance over her shoulder at Elyna. “The Ontari do not care for his crimes outside of Emanys. His only crime was to step foot on forbidden ground. He is sa’vet . It loosely translates to outsider, but words have multiple meanings here. Sa means found, trapped, be still, o...

[Aramane] Letters to a King

Sonya teased the white clouds of cotton through a maze of fine metal teeth, separating and straightening them. She looked as if she was giving thought to Elyna’s question, though remained unsure how to best answer her. “It’s taken a long time to earn their trust,” she admitted, “I’m worried that if ...

[Aramane] Letters to a King

Every now and then there would be a great rumble as a herd of cattle were driven by the camp, followed by tribesmen on horseback, with long wagon trains following them. What remained of the city of Emanys was on the move, these only the stragglers who had not gone days before. As Onkarl, Kyanite had...

[Aramane] Letters to a King

Cora had accepted the twins with quiet glee, holding them close until she was sure they were settled. As Elyna left the water, the twins were placed in the basket atop a soft leather blanket made of rabbit pelts. Wrapped snugly in their blankets, they were set aside in the shade to snooze. “She’s ta...

[Aramane] Letters to a King

116 Blaze AK21 [/b] The commotion outside saw Kyanite to his feet, reaching for his weapon instinctively. He peered out through the entrance to the ger and snorted. Cora sat up, discovering the two tiny babes at her feet. She took them up and drew them into the warmth of the furs. Escaped? , she as...

[Aramane] Letters to a King

“Elsie,” Cora said, voice soft. There was a certain raspiness to the woman’s tone, as if she had a powerful voice that had been tempered for now. Kyanite watched and listened, trying to commit the names to memory. Elyna , he thought—it was unlike any name he had ever heard. Elyna gestured, repeating...

[Aramane] Letters to a King

Kyanite blinked awake from his dream. He had always been a light sleeper, moreso now that the tribe were a two day ride from the city of tents. He listened as his sleep-dulled senses were sharpened by the nearby bark of one of the tribe’s hunting dogs. The warrior sat up on his knees and reached out...

Hunting The Hunter

II Frost XX Age of Kings Kyanite looked out over the large expanse of grasslands. It was during the season of frost that he had first learned the meaning of family and realised how much he missed the kinship of his tribe. A few seasons alone on the grasslands had certainly hardened him to life as a...

Way of the Wild

Kyanite drove the small, sharp knife along the edge of the wood carving he had risen early to get a head start on the following day. Sunflower had used the thin peelings of wood that fell away from it to create a fire under the bed of branches they had piled up to lay Maseko on. She took up Kyanite’...

Way of the Wild

Kyanite stood in shock at the sight of his fallen friend. Was life that frail? Had he ever been so careless with his own as to run into a battle he knew he couldn’t win? The two remaining men shoved him to the ground and followed, heavy handed. Kyanite wrestled with one of the men while trying to ho...

Way of the Wild

The pair watched and waited until the cover of darkness. Kyanite had counted only three men in the camp and a handful of women, most of which appeared to be Shore People. He hadn’t seen anyone that matched Sunflower’s description, but had a strange feeling that there was more to this camp than met t...

Way of the Wild

Maseko was a hard man to find. He lived alone with no wives or children, keeping only a handful of hunting dogs for company. They approached Kyanite with their hackles up and teeth on show. Kyanite’s horse made a low, nervous sound and pulled its ears back. “Easy,” Kyanite said, “easy girl.” The mar...

Way of the Wild

11 Harvest Age of Kings 20 He awoke to another burning sky, the new dawn blazing upon the horizon akin to the glowing coals in the campfire that had warmed him throughout the night, taking the chill out of the open air. Kyanite shook the morning dew from his woollen blanket and lay it across his mo...

A Strong Leader

There followed no further exchange of words. Jaeger turned as he rose and sent a closed fist into Kyanite’s jaw. The blow sent him backwards and Jaeger followed, falling on his brother, fists balled, eyes summoning tears. The pair wrestled in the tall grass, each of them landing a number of decent s...

A Strong Leader

Blushing fingertips walked the length of Kyanite’s arm, waking him with a start. He twisted on the furs to find Ari sat beside him and touched the bedding beneath her only to discover it was cold. Where does she go, he wondered, when he was fast asleep. Her sandy hair was wispy, windswept and untame...

A Strong Leader

11 Blaze 20 Age of Kings The mood in the camp was sombre. A red dawn signalled the possibility of rain, which had put a damper on things before the first drop fell. The tribe had been up all night, celebrating a great victory. The Mistborne Tribe, as they were known, had not suspected an attack in ...

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