The Dark Ages of the Synakoy; The Past Forgotten, Wolfheart [top ebook reader .txt] 📗

Prologue

Smoke filled the sky, making flight difficult and hazy. Just as the smoke gave aid to the knights, it hid the enemy of the sky. The beast’s molten eyes were made to see through the thick fogs of its mountain home. There was a blood-curdling roar. Fire erupted from the sky, setting the ground aflame. Even from above the horses could be heard as they spooked and flung their riders to the ground.
The sound of heavy, wooden wheels being towed was clear, carrying through the smoke that battered lungs of man and beast alike. The sound of grinding metal and wood echoed in a sudden stillness. The smoke cleared for a second to expose a huge dragon in the sky. Its scales were silver, blue and gray. The dragon's head was narrow, with two twisting horns and a ridge of sharp, curved spikes going down its spine. The wings were of thin hide instead of scale. The body was sleek and long, ending in a tail with six curved spikes as thick as a man's waist.
The catapult was fired directly into its left wing.
The scream of agony was heard for at least a hundred miles, and sent birds everywhere flocking to the skies. Knights surrounded the beast as it slammed into the trembling ground. The rough landing dug a trench into the ground. A man in long, flowing black robes stepped up as it thrashed and wailed. The shape began to shift and glow until slowly it formed into a petite, thought young, woman no taller than five feet. Her back and right shoulder were a bloody mess. As she rose, she flinched and gripped her arm, pulling it to her; it was useless. Her right eye was colorless and unfocused, covered in blood from the landing. She pulled out a katana, though the action clearly gave her great pain. Instantly, it rattled to the ground; she couldn’t hold it with one hand. She staggered, barely upright now.
The man stepped forward, his sword in hand.
“You shall die, Wolfshard! You and all of your kind will perish at the tip of my blade!”
Just before he could thrust his sword through her heart, the girl muttered a word and turned into a huge white tiger. The beast bore the marks of her recent battle; a bloody eye and shoulder. But she leapt at the man, knocking him to the ground. Giving an explosive roar, she drove her claws through his throat.
“This world is ours!” The tiger, holding in it the growl of the beast, spoke human words. His blood gushed all over her glistening pelt. “And the human who robs me of my revenge shall suffer for all eternity!”
“Kill the Elven Druid!” A voice cried. “Revive our king!”
The knights closed in upon them.
“Then this day shall end in a river of human blood!” The tiger roared in fury, leaping at another human. She became a huge white bear, breaking the bronze helm and splitting open the man’s skull.
But it was clear who would win when she took a step back, dizzy.
“You shall not win this battle, you monster.” A woman laughed. “You shall die slowly, in a pool of your own blood.”
The Elven Druid battled hard; from the bear she became a wolf, then a lioness. Always was she white. Always her injuries, ever increasing, remained with her. She began to change slower; her paws or hooves became less accurate. Then she was human again. She stared at the knights around her, waiting for their master’s final order to attack.
“The Ancient Blood of The Empires will rule by the hands of a Great Mage.” She whispered; her eyes were unfocused. “By the lead of Them, A Druid shall be guarded by a Paladin of no Mark. She shall be healed by A Dragon Lord unnamed and befriended by a Hunter of no mercy. In the end, all Humans shall fall from power and leave the Land of Synakoy…”
She breathed in once, shuddered and died.
A woman emerged to stand by the body of the robbed man. She put her hand on his throat, over the wound, and muttered some words. Her words became a chant. Her chant rose in volume. Blue light washed over the wound. It slowly grew new skin. The man coughed. The woman stopped, breathing heavily. Sweat dripped from her brow.
He sat up and saw the enemy dead.
“Tonight we feast.” He said in a whisper. “And the fuel is the body of Wolfshard’s last Empress.”
“Yes, my king.”
“Tomorrow, we conquer the rest of the Synakoy world.”
“Of course. If I may, I would like to inform you of a small prophecy in private.”
He laughed. “If you wish, Riviera; if you wish.”
She helped him up. Three knights picked up the limp Empress’s body. The twenty dead men were left for the vultures as the girl’s killers departed the scene.

In the center of the battle, four horses raced across a barren landscape. Each horse carried two figures; one towering over the other. All eight of them were cloaked, and pushed the horses faster and faster. They ran the animals until they reached a small cave. Rain poured.
Jumping down from their horses, the taller four cradled the smaller four and took them into the cave. The hoods were removed to reveal four adults and four very small children. The adults quietly built a fire as the children shivered. All the adults were female, but the eldest child was a boy. The other three were girls. One of them coughed. She was lean and small, with long legs.
“Where is she?” One of the adults whispered, removing her cloak and wrapping it around the girl. She huddled closer the other three children and wouldn’t look the woman in the eye.
“She may never come.” Another answered gravely. “That’s why we’re here; to make sure they escape.”
“I’m hungry.” One of the girls stated; her tone devoid of anything but exhaustion.
“We’ll eat later. For now, we need to get you somewhere safe.”
The child didn’t say anything else. The women drew a circle in the soil. They drew runic symbols within it, and placed each child in the center. Then they pulled out a large satchel and gave each child a different single item.
The girl who’d spoken received a gem stone necklace. It was amber, oval and strung on twine by a silver cage. The boy received a fist-sized stone in a necklace. He gasped, smiling.
“You found her!”
She nodded. “You two will never be separated long.”
He put it on as the youngest of them was given a bone dagger engraved with runes and inserted gems. One of the women pulled out a small silver lion’s head ring and handed it to the girl who had coughed.
“Keep these items close to you at all times. With these, you will be able to return to us. They will prove you are the rightful heirs to your thrones.” One of the women told them. “And always stay together. You are weak when you are alone. You are strong when you are one.”
Then they held hands and each, in turn, muttered a sentence in Latin. They began to say them faster and louder until they spoke as one and the cave walls echoed with their voices. The circle began to glow an eerie green. The colors became a wall of magic. When the women stopped chanting and the circle became a drawn line of sand and stone, the children were gone.

Chapter One

Viper’s Path

A calm breeze swept through the North Carolina leaves. Birdsong and the steady sound of hooves relaxed Kiyoshi as she slowed Tempest into a walk. The black stallion pulled at his reigns disobediently for a moment, then nickered at his mares and gave up. They, too, were slowing down. One was dark chestnut, almost red. The other was a white Appaloosa with roan spots; from her ears to her hooves and just past her shoulder blades was brown. Both had two girls on their backs very happily.
“Isn’t this great? I love riding the horses.” The girl on the Appaloosa patted its neck. She was tall and compactly built, with raven black, shoulder-length hair and eyes that flashed purple in the dusk’s fading light. From her neck hung an amber necklace bound by silver and hung around her neck in twine.
Kiyoshi nodded, envious of her gorgeous complexion. Even in the green dragon shirt and blue jeans the girl looked great.
“No problem, Ivory; they enjoy the ride. And you two seem to love riding them hard.”
The girl on the chestnut stopped her mare, Wildfire, jerked the reigns back and gently kicked her sides The mare rose to balance on her hind legs and kick the air, giving a gleeful neigh. A gem from her bone knife gleamed in the sunlight, catching Kiyoshi’s eye just as Tempest shied away from it hitting his. He nickered in frustration.
“Be careful, Kai! She’s still with foal, and you’re agitating Tempest!”
The girl let her down, looking embarrassed. “I didn’t realize. Sorry.”
Shaking her head at the red-haired girl, she replied “Try hard to behave on her. I don’t want to lose another one.”
She nodded. “Sorry, Ky; I’ll be more careful.”
Kiyoshi hit the back of her head playfully. “You better.”
All in all, she was about the average height for fourteen years old. She was muscular and slim, with high cheek bones and a dark skin. Her hair was braided and wrapped around her shoulders. Unbound, it reached her waist.
Currently, it reached just below her chest. Ky wondered again how they could be full sisters like her father told them when it was obvious she had some kind Hispanic in her blood, and Ivory and she didn’t.
They rode quietly for a few minutes, enjoying the breeze and the birdsong. Kiyoshi admired the gold and scarlet leaves blanket covering both the forest floor and the worn trail. Then Ivory broke the silence.
“What were mom and dad like, Ky?”
Kiyoshi’s throat locked up. Her body tensed, making Tempest nicker nervously. His ears perked to listen. As soon as her voice was under control, Ky spoke.
“Mother was a noble woman. She wasn’t very big – much like me in figure and height. But that wasn’t what made her so strong. Her mind was sharp. She had a quick temper when it came to harming any of us. With her blue eyes and long red hair, she stood in the middle of the worst to help us. She was wise, too. She always knew what to do and say. She taught me to hunt – that’s how I taught you, Kai…”
For a moment, she lost her voice again. Then she continued, knowing what Ivory was looking for. “She was like a Lioness, fighting for her cubs, the day she died. I used to think she was one. And I’d dream she was a great white bear – like the polar bears in Alaska. Sometimes, I would look at the sky and see a hawk, and call it mother. The day you were born, Kai, was the day mother defended us from the men. She fought well. Father told me later