Fire From the Sky: an epic fantasy novella by Steffen Larken

Author:Steffen Larken [Larken, Steffen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: ASG Worlds
Published: 2021-07-04T22:00:00+00:00

14.

By the time the flames receded, there were few thin creatures left standing.

Those that had miraculously survived must have realized the odds had turned against them, for they retreated in droves.

The spiders were all dead, with only charred remains strewn across the battlefield.

As the thin creatures hurried away, the humans looked startled for a moment, then cheers rang through the fog.

I thought it probably was premature, considering we were still in the heart of Exalithen.

If I’d learned anything from the last few days, it was that anything could happen here. I wouldn’t feel safe until I had crossed the border.

Should I have listened to all the warnings about this cursed kingdom? Probably.

I wondered where Sandrin was and hoped she was safe.

The soldiers were still celebrating when I recognized a face in the crowd. I could not remember his name, but I recalled his rank.

“Cornal!” I called out as I stepped from behind my boulder and toward the merry men.

Several heads turned in my direction as I approached, and I saw some hands go to their swords, with puzzled frowns on their faces.

The man I had called turned toward me, squinting.

It was he who the queen had asked to give me the banner. That same banner, at the palace, that had held the symbol of Kurhen.

“Who goes there?”

He, too, had his hand on the pommel of his sword.

The hood hid my face, so I was not surprised by the question.

“It is I, Veric.”

The man blinked, then snorted as he caught a glimpse of my orange skin.

“You are a long way from home.”

It was an odd thing for him to say, though he could not have realized how painfully true his words were. I’m sure, though, he must have assumed that I lived in Aruvan.

“I could say the same.”

The cornal shrugged.

“I’m a soldier. You’re not. What are you doing here?”

“Looking for answers.”

“Found any?”

“No.”

He snorted again. “There are more mysteries in this place than you can shake a stick at. I doubt it has too many answers, though.”

I was starting to think the same, so I nodded.

The soldiers, seeing that their cornal knew me, had relaxed and gone back to reveling.

As I reached the man, I pointed at the celebrating that was going on.

“You think that’s appropriate?”

He glanced back and grunted.

“Hardly. But they need to unwind. They’ve been through a lot.”

“I was surprised to find you all here,” I said. “I would have expected you to still be in Tressia...”

The cornal grimaced. “You would have, wouldn’t you? But that orb...” He shuddered as he glanced toward the queen. “Let’s just say it sped things up.”

“I take it you won that war?”

“If you can call it that...”

I wasn’t sure whether he was referring to me calling it a war, or the fact that they had won. Maybe both.

“So why come here?”

The cornal turned and walked deeper into the assembled soldiers, and I followed him.

“Our queen felt like it was time for Exalithen to pay for past offenses.”

“The Singular War?”

He nodded as he reached a horse, which I assumed to be his.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.