Shadow Realms: Part One of the Redemption Cycle Read online

  ~ The Redemption Cycle ~

  SHADOW REALMS

  ~ Part One of the Redemption Cycle

  By J.R. Lawrence

  Introduction

  A brief history of the Adya

  In the beginning, after the world had been constructed after the manner that the First Born had envisioned, and when the Adya arose from the ashes of this world, Muari, the youngest of the First Born, set forth a plan and a promise for all who would follow him and his brothers, the First Born. But there was another, even a brother of Muari, who went against the council of the First Born and came forward unto the Adya, offering a different plan and a different promise. Muari’s offered a chance for the Adya to seek peace and happiness in Aldabaar, whilst the other would make certain of their peace and prosperity through his own force of will. Many of the Adya left the side of Muari to follow the other into another place, another realm, and he built Grindle for them, a fortress in the Mountains of Bolgin. They became lost in time. They became fallen. The Fallen People of Muari, they were later called, and they were an abomination in the eyes of the First Born and a scourge to the Adya.

  However, because of his crimes, he was imprisoned in the High Tower by his six brothers and called The Watcher. But it was already too late for that to bring about any lasting peace to the inhabitants of Aldabaar. Drelus was eldest of the children of Muari, and the most beloved in his eyes, for he gave all that he had to the First Born. But his son, Diamoad, turned from the ways of Muari for jealousy of his elder brother, Duoreod, who was betrothed to the daughter of Muari that he had loved. Using the servants of The Watcher, Diamoad stole the lady Anuel from his brother and had her locked away in Grindle’s dungeons, hidden in the stone caverns of the Bolgin Mountains. Because of this treachery, Duoreod declared war on his brother against the better judgments of their father, Drelus, and the First Born, though The Watcher from his High Tower was glad of it.

  The Adya were plunged into the chaos of war as they either sided with Diamoad or Duoreod in this the Brother War. In result of their downfall, the whole of the world of the Adya was thrown off balance, and thousands upon thousands of The Followers of Muari were pulled down by ideals that The Watcher had left behind. And so Muari was forced to construct a new plan, a way of redemption for those who had become The Fallen. Through this plan, those who still remained loyal to Muari’s ways would have a chance to claim their ancient glories, and rise unto Him before falling. He would receive them, though, just as He promised.

  When the brothers went to war against one another, Muari led Duoreod’s son through the darkness and into the woodlands of Narthanger, to the very forest of Stonewood. There, taking a piece of Euxa’s life and giving it unto the half-life’s that create the trees and all other such things that grow, Muari brought about the Woodlanders.

  There were seven who were the first to walk among the half-life’s of Stonewood. It was while they were in awe of the world around them, their minds but that of a child’s, did The Beloved come unto them. He said He needed their help, that there was work to be had in other parts of the world, and that only through their ability to converse with the inhabitants of those parts of the world would such work be done. The Adya would not listen to Him anymore. They would not heed his council to cease their struggles against one another, and unite under one banner as he had originally instructed. Their pride and their hatred for one another blinded them.

  In gratitude to the son of Duoreod, Muari gave Euxa a spirit of the trees as a companion. Her name was Aive, and together they walked the forests and continued to awaken the spirits of the trees for Muari’s blessing. But the war of Duoreod and Diamoad spread across Aldabaar even until it reached the steppes of Narthanger, and when the battle was in the valley about the trees of Stonewood, Euxa and Aive feared the danger and would have fled were it not that Duoreod was encamped on one end of Stonewood and Diamoad on the other, thus trapping them and their household of nymphs within the forest. In this state of trouble, Euxa saw that their only way of escape was if he confronted his father and asked that he spare him and Aive and the Woodlanders of Stonewood.

  When Duoreod received word that his son was coming, and that he was alive and well, he rejoiced and went out to meet with him at Stonewoods edge. There, Euxa confronted his father, asking that he allow him and Aive and the Woodlanders to escape passed his armies into the south. Duoreod agreed and secretly let the Woodlanders into the south away from the ensuing battle. But when the Woodlanders came to the pass between the east and southern mountains of Narthanger, they were ambushed by Diamoad’s army and driven into the mountains. Euxa, and whatever Woodlander was able to fight them back, held off Diamoad at the banks of the lake Lemua. Diamoad recognized Euxa as Duoreod’s son, so he fell upon the Adian and slew him, and then cast his body into the Lemua.

  When Aive and the remaining Woodlanders saw the bodies of Euxa and the spirits that followed him floating in the Lemua, there was great mourning among them, and Aive instructed that the Lemua be renamed as Noramy Euxa, and the river that flowed into it thereafter called Lemua instead. Thus ended Euxa, the father of the woodlanders, and Aive, the mother of the Woodlanders and nymph of Stonewood, returned to Stonewood with her people, and found that the Adya had departed, leaving the forest and the land back to the Woodlanders as before.

  The war of the brothers was brought back into the lands of their inheritance, to the gates of Grindle itself, and upon the Bolgin Mountains Duoreod built fortifications of stone against the fortress of Diamoad. In these mountainous regions they battled fierce and hard against one another, and it was then that Doomstriker, the eldest of the First Born and cruelest, struck the Adya brothers in the midst of their war in the form of a great dragon.

  There was a sound like thunder rolling across the steppes as it echoed from the Mountains of Bolgin, and the stones were rattled loose to fall tumbling, crashing, splitting, shattering against the mountains’ side as it collapsed beneath the weight of fire and ash. The winds of dying creatures of both noble blood and wretched souls shrieked down from those high passes, carried upon that thunderous echo and followed by a breeze that chilled the very bones. From the shattering mountains there arose a calamity, the great demon awakened from its holdings by the betrayal of beloved souls now crumbling into dust upon the high place of that forsaken realm, and it let forth its fiery breath upon the stones in a rage so terrible that the skies darkened behind thick clouds of vaporous fumes.

  He took down the mountainside that they battled upon and cast Diamoad into the abyss of the world. Before he had fallen, though, Duoreod attempted to save his brothers’ life at the edge of the falling mountainside. But Diamoad stood fast, and would not take his brothers’ hand, and instead allowed himself to pass away with the rest of the crumbling mountain and was lost forever in darkness.

  Because of Drelus’ pleas to the First Born, Doomstriker allowed Duoreod to flee back to his people and hear the message of the emissaries of Muari. From thence the Adya were led by Drelus, still a faithful follower of Muari, who’d act as a spokesperson for the First Born during the time of Muari’s absence. But the dragon swept back to the fortress of Grindle and turned the land there to ash and dust beneath the charred remains of unfortunate creatures, a mark of retribution to those who go against the statutes of the First Born, and whatever tree or plant grew in that region cast a forbidding shadow in the valley. The Adya lived in fear of the First Born forever more.

  Diamoad was one of the well beloved of the Adya during the first age of Aldabaar, and they had all pronounced him dead without further knowledge of his existence. His passing into shadow was a great grievance for
many, especially his brother, Duoreod, who took it upon himself the responsibility of his death, saying such as, “If I had not done him wrong, then perhaps he would still be with us. And Anuel would not have to have suffered the pains she no doubts suffers now, if she is still among the living world.” So painful was the mourning of the Adya that Muari sent to them a blessing in the form of an emerald tree that sprung up from the earth in the mountainous range of Bolgin, where Diamoad was before his fall.

  The emerald tree stood tall and straight, ever leaning into the wind, with no amount of force able to push it one way or another. So proud was it standing that the rays of the sun shone down upon its glistening sides, sending forth a light for all to see. The light of the emerald tree gave hope to many, and rekindled the joy of those whose lives were struggling, such as the Woodlanders who mourned the death of their father Euxa. So powerful was the light of the tree that some even tried to conquer the mountain to reach it. Those who attempted such a trial found nothing upon the mountain after many days of toil, and they returned without looking upon it, though they still held a firm belief that it was there, and that it was some divine gift of their beloved Muari.

  Muari had summoned five of his woodland spirits to watch and protect the Emerald Tree from any and all. The splendor of the tree was too great for any earthly being to look upon, even ones as noble and great as the Adya. Muari wanted only to protect the people of Aldabaar, and wished not to make any crucial mistakes by revealing such power of the First Born as the Emerald Tree. So the five spirits watched and moved the tree from mountain peak to mountain peak, ever faithful to Muari the beloved.

  Muari kept Doomstriker from The Fallen for as long as he was able, believing that through the spirits that he had awakened there might be a way of redemption for them. However, The Followers of Diamoad fled Doomstriker’s wrath to the tunnels of an underworld far below Aldabaar’s light, and because of this there was a long lasting time of peace upon the face of Aldabaar. Muari began to wonder upon the lives of those who had followed and fallen into the Shadow Realms, and now hid beneath the surface of the world in darkened tunnels. But He had no power over those who turned from Him, though, and followed the ways of their own wishes. All such became subject to the will of The Watcher in the High Tower. Only through those spirits of Stonewood could Muari reach them, though the risk was high and the cost was great, and some were lost to the will of The Watcher.

  After a time of struggle with the forces of evil guarding the Shadow Realms, Muari was able to see through the eyes of one spirit, but He shuddered and mourned for those whose ways had been perverted by hatred and lust for advantage over one another and selfish gain. Muari extended his hand to them, but neither his power nor the power of the spirit could save them from their wicked ways. The Emerald Tree aided those upon the surface, but its light could not reach the dark depths below, where a people were struggling for survival alone.

  The lost people of Muari, The Fallen, made their own deities in place of the First Born while sojourning among the eternal darkness of the Shadow Realms. They made their own way of life, and they planned to remain so. However, Muari continued to wait patiently for the time of their redemption. And so the beginning of Aldabaar was over, and so the Cycle of Redemption was begun.

  Table of Contents:

  Prologue: Ambient Sentiment

  Book One: Vulzdagg Respect

  Chapter One: The Past and the Present

  Chapter Two: Of Both Body and Mind Threatening…..

  Chapter Three: House of the Basilisk

  Chapter Four: Fond Farewell

  Chapter Five: The Taste of Vengeance

  Chapter Six: Child of the Basilisk

  Chapter Seven: Untouchable

  Chapter Eight: Born To Kill

  Book Two:

  Chapter Nine: The First Lesson

  Chapter Ten: Warrior Born

  Chapter Eleven: Growing Stronger

  Chapter Twelve: Destiny and Dilemma

  Chapter Thirteen: House of the Witch

  Chapter Fourteen: The Hammer Falls

  Chapter Fifteen: Vision of Warning

  Chapter Sixteen: Vulzdagg’s Rescue

  Chapter Seventeen: Warrior at Birth

  Chapter Eighteen: A Fated Destiny

  Chapter Nineteen: A Warriors Deathbed

  Chapter Twenty: House of the Drake

  Chapter Twenty-one: Eyes of a Demon

  Chapter Twenty-two: The Upper Hand

  Book Three:

  Chapter Twenty-three: Brothers

  Chapter Twenty-Four: The Horg Chieftain

  Chapter Twenty-Five: Group Training

  Chapter Twenty-six: A Promise to Fulfill

  Chapter Twenty-seven: The Price for Victory

  Chapter Twenty-eight: Act of Vengeance

  Chapter Twenty-nine: Disturbing News

  Book Four:

  Chapter Thirty: Only the Beginning

  Chapter Thirty-one: Zurdagg’s Wrath

  Chapter Thirty-two: Monster of the Elements …..

  Chapter Thirty-three: Another’s Gates

  Chapter Thirty-four: Somewhere Else

  Chapter Thirty-five: Taking Control

  Chapter Thirty-six: The Lady’s Wrath

  Chapter Thirty-seven: Flight from Home

  Chapter Thirty-eight: The Eyes of a Follower …..

  Chapter Thirty-nine: Simply Surviving

  Chapter Forty: The Wings of Swildagg

  Chapter forty-one: A Light in the Darkness

  Chapter forty-two: A Thing Forgotten

  Chapter forty-three: Eyes of an Ancient Glory …..

  Epilogue: A Hope for all Fallen Kind

  Prologue

  Ambient Sentiment

  When a priest of the all great and all powerful Urden’Dagg visits the Branches of its Tree, and passes the order of its master to whatever nobility rules that Branch, the orders must be fulfilled or else face its wrath and be punished.

  Such a thing happened to four Branches of the Urden’Dagg Tree, and the order was that the group calling itself Hulmir was to be destroyed for their disloyalty to the Urden’Dagg.

  Such a command could not be ignored.

  “That which the Urden’Dagg commands shall be done,” Vaknorbond Vulzdagg said as he and his father gazed on the infrared spectrum before them, riddled with stalagmites that rose to intersect at regular intervals with the stalactites overhead. The plain before them was the road they were to take to invade Hulmir if all was clear. So far it appeared clear of monsters.

  He breathed deeply as he again felt the anxious chill in his chest, and turning to his father he asked, “Must this really be done? What has Hulmir committed to deserve such a punishment as this? I see no fault in them, or ever have. They have been our friends for many decades. Why turn against them so suddenly?”

  “They ignore the demands of the Urden’Dagg,” Lord Vishtax Vulzdagg replied sternly. “Are the soldiers ready?”

  “Father…”

  “Vaknorbond!” said Vishtax as he turned to his son with narrowed eyes. “This must be done, and you must understand that. If we are to disobey the orders of the Urden’Dagg we will become like unto Hulmir. Do you want that, Vaknorbond? Do want that for your family?”

  Vak turned away from both his father and the spectrum before them, instead focusing his eyes down at his combat boots. “No,” he replied in a low voice.

  “What do you want for your family, Vaknorbond?”

  Vak looked back at his father, eyes wide with stubborn resistance to his will. “I want peace for them, just as much as you! But unlike you, I know that I will find no peace in the shedding of another’s blood. I understand the difference between us and monsters, and that difference is the understanding itself. Do you understand, father?”

  Vishtax held his gaze with Vaknorbond for a moment as he contemplated his son’s words and meaning. “I understand that in order to survive we must obey the demands of the all great and all powerful. Some day you
will understand as well.” He turned away from his son and stalked back down the ridge they had climbed from their city. “Come now! The generals and captains are waiting!”

  Vaknorbond watched his father return to the organized structures of the Vulzdagg city, and knew that he could not bring his father from his chosen path. He would have been angry if he had not been so confused at the moment. What if his father was right? What if they had to do what the Urden’Dagg commanded them?

  “Vulzdagg will join the fray,” Vaknorbond said at length. He swallowed his anxiety, knowing that what was to be done had to be done. “That which the Urden’Dagg commands shall be done.”

  With a last glance at the empty plain of rock formations and cavern growth, Vaknorbond Vulzdagg turned away and followed his father back into the city of the Vulzdagg Branch.

  Vulzdagg was of the Basilisk. Their pride and their power were held firmly in the fangs and claws of that creature of strength and intelligence. Every soldier that proved to his or her lord and lady that they had courage and strength enough to battle atop the back of the Basilisk, they received such a noble mount. Vaknorbond was the captain of such Basilisk riders, and he trained each of them day by day to become as skilled as he.

  Vaknorbond walked down the busied streets of Vulzdagg and watched as the people of the city hurried about to prepare for the battle soon to come. Every member of the Vulzdagg Branch was to join in this battle beside the other Branches of the Urden’Dagg Tree; for it was commanded by the Urden’Dagg itself that all Branches of its Tree were to rise against Hulmir and destroy them for their disobedience.

  How exactly they had disobeyed the Urden’Dagg none of the other Branches could say for certain. The Urden’Dagg simply commanded it to be done, and so it had to be done. Vak did not enjoy such demands. He did not enjoy ending the lives of others of his kin. He hated it, and so he hated the Urden’Dagg for turning him and everyone else against the Hulmir Branch.