King of the Rising by Kacen Callender

Author:Kacen Callender [CALLENDER, KACEN]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Orbit
Published: 2020-12-02T00:00:00+00:00

I find Geir near the barracks at daybreak by the ashy remains of a campfire. The sky is a soft blue with wisps of clouds. The air is filled with the sounds of early-morning birds singing from the treetops. The salty breeze still holds a chill from the night as it blows over the ocean. Geir stands alone, watching the guards train under Malthe with his arms crossed. The guards rise before the sun and work endlessly under Malthe’s watch. The guards will likely exhaust themselves to death in days without proper meals and water and shelter to save them from the heat of the sun. Before, Malthe would take no opinion on how to handle his guards—but I have the power to command him to let the guards rest. No amount of training over the next few days will prepare them for the battle of Niklasson Helle any more than they already have. It’s an order I’ll have to give, but it’s a conversation I’m not looking forward to.

Geir isn’t surprised that I’ve come to him, but Geir isn’t surprised by much. He reminds me of Voshell, as does Marieke. They’re all a generation older than Malthe, several generations older than me and Kjerstin and Sigourney Rose. Geir is one of the elders of the network of whispers. In his memories, I can see that he’d been only a child himself when he heard of the plans for a rebellion. Not one of the quick skirmishes for death in the fields, where the islander never had any real intention of living. A true revolt—one that would force the Fjern from these islands. Those whispers were as much a part of our history and culture as the prayer songs the elders would teach us on the bays. Not everyone was invited to join. It was a task Geir inherited from his own father. It had taken generations, the slow building of murmurings and meetings and plans, all with the goal of spreading the whispers to only those that could be trusted, poisoning the islanders who showed hesitance when told the truth of the insurrection to stop them from going to the masters. Every person, on each island, knew their role when the time would come. They knew which among them would kill the masters in their sleep, who would set the fires to the manors, who would be prepared with the machetes to battle the guards and the Fjern villagers.

They also knew that they would have to wait, across all of the islands, to rise as one. Geir had been frustrated when he was my age. He wondered why they waited. They all had their roles. They all knew the plan. His kraft had developed by then, and he knew that there was no strategic reason to not attack. He could see that, no matter how long they postponed their plans, there would always be a higher chance that we would lose to the Fjern. Still, the islanders waited for the right moment—the sign, some said, which would come from our ancestors.

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.