Secrets of Temborn

Kingdom of Etraus

Book 1: Secrets of Temborn

By J.L. V'Tar

Smashwords Edition

Copyright (C) 2014 J.L. V'Tar

jlvtar@gmail.com | Google+

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Deviation 3

Edited by Coraline Denhart

Cover Image by Andrew MacEwen

Table of Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Thanks for Reading!

Prologue

Repent, oh world of violent, irredeemable sin, repent. Children of betrayers, descendants of rage and madness, watched closely by the gods on all that stands of faith and fervor, repent.

There are many worlds throughout the endless multiverse, some very similar and some very different. Among them is a world called Esaria. Once whole, like most others, in ancient times mortals betrayed their creators and turned raging madness loose upon all reason. For their crimes, they were punished with success. Once the deed was done, the echo of their blasphemy reached through other dimensions. New gods came to the world, and in their rage they shattered Esaria completely in an instant.

Their rage unabated, the new gods decreed that the punishment was not over. For one thousand years, they did not allow any betrayer to die. Torment lasted day after day, and they knew no sleep or relief. Finally, when the thousand years ended, the betrayers were granted death. Yet first, the gods created a new generation of mortals, born of their traitorous parents onto a world shattered by that betrayal. They decreed that the old blasphemy would never occur again, and so they now live physically in the world with their mortal worshipers.

What remains now is the broken world of Esaria, in the Age of Reawakening. Three centuries after the birth of the first new generation, normal people struggle to live their lives in a world overrun by wilds and monsters. Slowly, they have begun to carve out civilizations once again. At all times they are watched by the gods, physically in the world, and those who dedicate their lives to service of the divine.

There are many, many stories to tell in Esaria. This is one of them.

Chapter 1: Introductions

Our story does not begin in a tavern, but it does end in one.

The Tipped Tankard was fairly standard as taverns go; from the front door that was rickety from over-use, to the well-worn oak bar top stained dark from countless spills of ale and mead. Regulars tended to congregate around that bar, giving the barmaids endless trouble and providing the tavern with its lifeblood of steady incoming coins. Off to the side of the tavern entrance and bar, there is a larger area filled with heavy round tables generally frequented by merchants, tax collectors, holy pilgrims, and other travelers only passing through.

On any given night, any visitor could expect to find the Tipped Tankard stuffed nearly to capacity. If you asked the cook, a dormal (or tree dwarf if you prefer, but not to his face), it was his signature dish of seasoned stew. If you asked the owner, a shaky quick-tempered fellow with a quarter-head of hair, people came to his bar for the ambiance and its respected history. Should you ask the locals, they’d say people came exclusively for a chance to talk with the owner’s daughter who worked behind the bar. Or, perhaps the Tipped Tankard was so ridiculously popular because it was situated directly on the intersection of the two primary streets of Temborn, the second-largest neverport on the entire land fragment of Grenia.

Whatever the case, the Tipped Tankard is only the end of our story. For the beginning of our story, the docks of Temborn themselves are of greater importance; just a short walk down the road from the famous tavern, through a thick crowd of people heading back and forth, large carts laden with goods arriving and departing, as well as a good number of children flitting through the crowd collecting all sorts of items that wouldn’t be missed for hours to come. Tall stone buildings, some of them three or four floors, towered over the street and their arched roves cast the people into shadow; Temborn was a large city and it was only growing.

At the end of that street, at the edge of the world where stone-supported wooden docks extended out into the sky, waited an excited young priestess and her surly big brother. Lissa Fry was practically bouncing on her toes, doing her level best to contain her excitement as she looked around the crowd. Her bright blue eyes and smooth features gave away her youth, but her brown hair pulled back in an intricate braid and the holy symbol at the clasp of her cloak gave away her transition into adulthood as a fully ordained Priestess of Elissah. On her shoulder, a little red squirrel huddled nervously close to her, wary of the crowd.

Beside her, Gale Fry would have been difficult to identify as the happy young Lissa’s older brother if he didn’t share similar blue eyes and brown hair. His face was hard and impassive; the looks he gave people tended to shy them away a bit, and one hand rested always near the long, narrow sword at his hip. Many men have done things that others wouldn’t want to know about; Gale was one whose sleep was bothered by things other than the horrible acts he might have done.

Do you see it? Lissa asked, craning her neck this way and that, looking for a particular flag among the ships docked and docking.

I’m not looking for it, Gale replied. Shorter than his little sister, he would have had a harder time seeing the flag even if he had been looking. Instead, he was content to remain protectively at her side and watch the crowd around them. He sized many people up, making note of the direction most of the wealthier people seemed to be heading today.

Let’s go onto one of the docks, we can see better from there. Even as she spoke, Lissa was moving ahead through the crowd. Though she did have to push a bit, given the nature of any crowd, most people who saw the clasp of her cloak quickly gave her room with a smile and nod. Still not used to the treatment that clergy receive, Lissa blushed fiercely but returned every smile with cheerful thanks. Gale followed along behind her, getting as many sidelong looks as Lissa was getting smiles.

Lissa’s squirrel grew even more agitated from the crowd, and she petted him gently as they walked past the edge of the land and out onto one of the city’s many large docks, beneath which was an endless sky. Thick, billowy clouds stretched up to the edge of the land, and it looked for all the world like one might be able to step off that dock and walk across the cloud, but only a bottomless fall awaited anyone foolish enough to take that step. As if to actively encourage fools, ships floated on those clouds; they looked just as if they were floating on water.

Many kinds of ships were docked at Temborn that day, one of the busiest trading days of the year. To one side was a southern longship with an intricate carving of a dragon head at the prow, large round shields along each side, and large boisterous men offloading foreign cargo. On their other side was a more local ship tall with multiple decks and large sails, filled with sailors all haranguing each other to hurry up and offload so they can get to drinking. All across the docks, ships of different kinds from all over the world could be seen. Out on the clouds beyond the docks they could see an exotic ship from the far lands coming in to dock, with its strange folded sails.

While Gale looked around and kept track of potential marks, Lissa excitedly watched all the surrounding ships. They were interesting, for one thing, but she was looking for a single flag in particular; a little blue flag with a golden sword and a moon on it. Curtis had drawn the flag on the back of the letter he sent, so she would know just what to look for. The two of them worked their way through the crowd of sailors and dock workers busily carrying crates, animals, and rigging every direction, until finally they stood on the end of the dock.

It was strangely quiet at the end of the dock. There were still sounds from the city behind them, especially the crowded docking area, but where they were standing everything seemed somehow muted. Below them were the fluffy white clouds on which ships had sailed in. Below those clouds, out toward the horizon, and up above was the endless, terrifying expanse of blue sky that was the endless never. Lissa strained to see the flags of several ships that were on their way in, while Gale stared with a blank expression at the clouds off the end of the dock.

With a sudden squeal, Lissa pointed at a ship and started exclaiming excitedly that she’d seen the flag. On her shoulder, her squirrel clung to her shirt for dear life. Gale looked up, and saw that the flag they’d been looking for was indeed flapping in the wind atop the mast of an incoming ship. As they watched, the ship began to aim toward another dock farther down. Lissa hurried away down the dock back toward land, hoping to make it there before the ship moored. Gale sighed, and worked his jaw a bit, as he stayed to watch the incoming ship a bit longer. He looked back at the clouds again, then turned and followed his sister.

Even hurrying, their progress through the busy crowd was remarkably hampered. Though most individuals gave way for a priestess, there was only so much space they could give and a crowd is a beast all its own. By the time they made it out to the dock where they could see the fluttering blue-and-gold flag, the ship had already docked and people were disembarking. Among them, in particular, they saw a tall man with dark brown hair and blue eyes.

Curtis! Lissa shrieked; highly undignified for a priestess. The man heard her cry, and his face lit up instantly as he looked around the crowd. When he caught sight of her frantically jumping and waving, he gave a bellowing laugh and returned the excited wave. Between the two of them working their way through the crowd, eventually they met up and the big man crushed Lissa in a hug that almost forced the air from her lungs. Lissa’s squirrel scampered back and forth across the two people, as the priestess sobbed joyfully into Curtis’ shoulder. He let her have a few moments, before he pulled back.

Let me see you, he said over the noise of the crowd, holding her at arm’s distance. He smiled and shook his head in amazement. My little sister. Look at you, you’re gorgeous, he exclaimed. Lissa wiped away her tears and went back in for another hug, just as Gale finally made it through the crowd to them.

Curtis, Gale said, greeting his eldest sibling.

Gale! Curtis exclaimed, and he held out an arm to embrace his brother. Gale shrugged and held out his hand, and Curtis only laughed and pulled the smaller man in for a bear hug, nearly crushing Lissa in the process.

Alright! Gale muttered, struggling out of the hug. Alright already.

Curtis laughed and patted Gale on the shoulder. Sorry, won’t happen again, I’m just so happy to see you two. You’re both so different! Especially you, Lissa. He ruffled his sister’s hair. I mean, I read all your letters but I never, ever expected what I’m seeing right now. His smile was wide and bright.

Illien’s berries did the trick! Lissa exclaimed, as she twirled excitedly and struck a little pose. She was a healthy girl, with curves that always managed to attract certain kinds of attention a priestess didn’t need. Her squirrel was almost flung into the crowd as she spun, and Curtis laughed delightedly. She patted him and apologized profusely, scratching his head as he chittered angrily.

Who’s that, anyway? Curtis asked when he managed to stop laughing.

This is Bindi! She reached up to pat her squirrel again. I met him during my studies at the citadel, and he came home with me.

These are your siblings? Came a heavy voice behind Curtis before he could reply, and the three turned to see a serkethian towering over them; roughly seven feet tall, with the body of a man yet the hooves and head of a bull, covered in coarse brown fur and built with muscles that only Curtis’ tremendous physique could equal. Decked out in clothing nearly identical to Curtis’ own, indicative of the fact they’d served in the same army, the serkethian carried a large halberd over his back.

Kern! Yes, these are them. Curtis turned to make introductions. This is Gale my unstoppable little brother, and Lissa my holy little sister. Guys, this is Kern Gullan.

It’s so wonderful to meet you, Lissa said with a big smile, holding out her hand, Curtis told me about you in his letters, I can’t wait to hear all your stories too.

With a smile, and dwarfing the priestess’ little hand in his own as he shook it, Kern shrugged. I’m just a blacksmith. Your brother has all the stories. It’s an honor to meet you, priestess. Lissa blushed, still not used to the title, as Kern turned to Gale and held out his hand. Gale, it’s good to meet you.

Gale shook the serkethian’s hand, and muttered something that couldn’t be heard over the crowd.

Pardon? Kern leaned down closer so he could hear.

Nothing, Gale said, waving his hand dismissively. He looked at the three of them then. So are we done with the reunion and the greetings? I need a drink.

Still Gale, Curtis said with a smile and a shake of his head. Sure, let’s go get some drinks. Where to?

There’s an inn several blocks down, Lissa said as she followed. It’s the one past the Tipped Tankard.

Gotcha, Curtis replied with a grunt, as he and Kern picked up their packs, each of which was heavy with their armor, and many other items gathered during time spent in foreign wars. He scanned the crowd for a moment, as if expecting to see someone else. When he didn’t, he just smiled and led the four of them through the crowd back toward land. Lissa gave her big brother a concerned look, but didn’t say anything for the moment.

Once they stepped off the dock onto solid land, their progress only slowed; it was more difficult for four people to push through a crowd than two. Short little Gale was practically lost in the mix. While Lissa at