Tragic Kingdoms: The Dark & The Damned - Novel One by Kell Frillman

Author:Kell Frillman [Frillman, Kell]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dark Alice Press
Published: 2023-10-30T16:00:00+00:00

If Only (Kora)

Kora of the outer forest coven nervously twirled a finger around a ringlet of her strawberry blonde hair as her peers and elders gathered around the campfire. She’d never seen this many eyes so wide simultaneously, but the royal girl from Alta Silva with prophetic dreams was now among them. Her presence was an event foreseen but always previously discussed as if it would take place in a vague, distant future.

Yet, here she was.

The campfire roared, and the coven’s most respected and exalted matriarch, Kora’s grandmother Agnes, was again front and center as the sun dipped beneath the trees and a dark, glowing blue blanketed the sky above.

The air surrounding the coven felt thick and ominous as the old woman recited stories Kora heard many times as a child. Despite the royal girl’s prophetic abilities, there was much about history that she clearly did not know.

“Alta Silva would have its people believing that magic itself roots from a place of darkness.”

The old woman leaned over and cupped a droopy dandelion in her palm. She briefly closed her eyes as everyone watched it perk back to life, small but standing stiff and proud once again.

“Magic is a gift from the gods; communication and connection. It’s a current that flows between all things and allows us to speak to the earth and its inhabitants. We can choose to use that current as a weapon, or we can melt walls and use it to heal all wounds.

“Over the decades, Castle Astasuel began to use magic to gain more and more control over the people in their kingdom. They weaponized their abilities, and as their greed swelled, so did the darkness in their hearts.

“Ultimate control over Alta Silva was no longer enough. They planned to spread their darkness; they desired dominion over all kingdoms.”

Kora’s curious eyes studied Esme’s face as her grandmother spoke, still barely able to believe that such a monumental, life-changing event was actually upon them. Could she encapsulate every moment and store it in her memory so that one day she could tell the stories of now to her grandchildren?

“I was terrified at first when I realized I wasn’t alone in the forest. Growing up, I was always ordered to stay out of sight if I wandered. The coven had to protect ourselves and our magic because when Castle Astasuel returned to reclaim Alta Silva, we’d be the only ones prepared to stop them. And suddenly, there she was, Esme of Castle Cresthorn with Elrod blood, a prophet from Alta Silva. She was alone in the forest and just as frightened as me. I knew at that moment our lives were about to change forever.”

Someone threw another log onto the flames, and their sudden growth and crackle jerked the young witch out of her daydream and back to the present.

“A valiant knight, Orion Elrod, secretly trained an entire underground army in combat and magic to fight against Castle Astasuel’s growing greed and darkness. They struck when they believed their

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