[Shattered Lands 01] In the Shadow of Lions by Travis Starnes

Author:Travis Starnes [Travis Starnes]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Amazon: B0D2Y8H6YR
Publisher: Renegade Publishing
Published: 2024-05-24T23:00:00+00:00

Valemonde, Lynese

Isolde sat quietly next to the soldier as he fell asleep, holding his hand, trying to offer comfort in what was surely one of his final days. Her father had refused to budge, since their argument weeks before, and she’d begun spending more and more time here, where it felt like at least she was doing something that mattered.

Now, more than ever. The hospital had swelled in recent days, ever since the Sidorians forced a crossing of the Chansol River, shattering her father’s army and pushing toward Lysmir Lake, where the Dead Man’s Hills finally narrowed and ended, opening up into the plains of Lynese. She knew these men were only the first, worst cases, sent here by the Disciples, from their field aid stations, where they had a better chance of recovery. Worse, even more of these men, the prime of Lynesian society, would have been beyond all hope, and had passed away without coming south.

She couldn’t help but see the cost of her father’s policies and decisions in every man’s face.

Seeing the young man slip into a sleep, the pain finally leaving his face, Isolde placed his hand back on his chest, patting his shoulder before rising to move on to the next.

She was tired in her heart, but she also couldn’t bring herself to leave. She’d only finished two wards, and there were still three more to go before she saw all of the areas assigned to the soldiers. She’d made a promise to herself not to leave until she’d seen all of the men each time she’d visited, and she intended to stick to that.

Checking on the last three cots she had not stopped at yet, she found each of the men asleep. It was early still, but many of the medicines the Disciples gave were specifically designed to force the patients to sleep, stemming from their belief that, more than any medicine or procedure they could perform, the best chance for men to heal was through rest.

Moving into the next ward, she instantly noticed something different about the setup, something she hadn’t seen here on her last visit three days ago. Normally this room was packed with cots, row upon row, the full length of the room, stretching from one wall to the next. That was still true of the last two wards, but in this one the far corner was cordoned off, a barricade and screens erected and then another barricade past that, with no cots placed anywhere near that section, leaving a large, mostly unused space. Through a gap in the boards, Isolde caught a glimpse of a man thrashing against his restraints. She frowned, perturbed by the sight.

Isolde flagged down one of the Disciples moving amongst the patients. “What is all this? Why is that man bound and separated from the rest?”

The Disciple’s face turned grim, his eyes downcast. “I am afraid he has contracted the Elder Curse, My Lady.”

Isolde gasped, taking an instinctive step back, away from the evil. The

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