Blood & Besiegement Read online

  Potion Voyages®

  Book 4: Blood & Besiegement

  By Jeremy Dwyer

  Copyright 2016 Jeremy Dwyer

  All Rights Reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except in the case of brief quotations for the purpose of articles or reviews, without express written permission from the author.

  This is a work of fiction. Any similarity to real locations, objects, events or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental, and not intended by the author.

  Potion Voyages® is a registered trademark of Jeremy Dwyer.

  (Last Revised Sunday, March 25, 2018)

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  I’d like to thank my wife, Rachel, and our son, Ethan, for allowing me to work the long hours required to write this book.

  Ebook Cover Design was done by http://www.ebooklaunch.com.

  Visit the official website at http://www.potionvoyages.com for more information.

  Table of Contents

  CHAPTER 1: Flames and Threats

  CHAPTER 2: Shipwreck and Escape

  CHAPTER 3: Stay and Leave

  CHAPTER 4: Command and Supremacy

  CHAPTER 5: Rescue and Story

  CHAPTER 6: Blood and Fire

  CHAPTER 7: Greed and Resentment

  CHAPTER 8: Blood and Lies

  CHAPTER 9: Faith and Burning

  CHAPTER 10: Legend of Jaguar

  CHAPTER 11: Energy and Armory

  CHAPTER 12: Fleet and Guard

  CHAPTER 13: Architecture and Preparation

  CHAPTER 14: Architecture and Betrayal

  CHAPTER 15: Fleet and Ghost

  CHAPTER 16: Ocean and Music

  CHAPTER 17: Knowledge of Blood

  CHAPTER 18: Dreams of Fear

  CHAPTER 19: Voice and Summons

  CHAPTER 20: Warrior and Jaguar

  CHAPTER 21: Ocean and Truth

  CHAPTER 22: Blood and Threat

  CHAPTER 23: Blood and Crystal

  CHAPTER 24: Dreams of Condemnation

  CHAPTER 25: Fire and Ruin

  CHAPTER 26: Song and Hope

  CHAPTER 27: Voice against Fire

  CHAPTER 28: Voice with Fire

  CHAPTER 29: Song of Love

  CHAPTER 30: Strength and Freedom

  CHAPTER 31: Compassion and Folly

  CHAPTER 32: Power and Land

  CHAPTER 33: Library and Question

  CHAPTER 34: Ghost and Song

  CHAPTER 35: Crown and Darkness

  CHAPTER 1: Flames and Threats

  “Lead me to Taesa now! I must have the girl with the voice that calls to the sky!” Prince Kirdothet demanded, while shooting fireballs from his hands, directed at everyone standing on the shore of Udovedaj-Pren Island.

  The Ihalik troops and Jenaldej troops alike quickly stood aside, knowing that they could not withstand this siege.

  ~~~

  Lavakara had moved immediately into the spirit world when the fire creature – which called itself Prince Kirdothet – sent out the barrage of fireballs. From there, he watched what proceeded. This was out of calculated caution, because it was unclear to him what the nature of this fire creature actually was. The fireballs passed through the spot where Lavakara had stood a moment ago.

  ~~~

  Even the bold General Serafina was startled. She had no desire to be burned to death – only to do it to others.

  The flames went directly around Judith and Ovid: they were both unscathed, as they were both protected by their Guardian Angels of the Chronicler’s Oath.

  “No!” Caroline screamed, fearing immediately for her daughter, whom this creature of fire now sought. Kirdothet’s voice boomed so loudly that she could hear his demands even while she stood on board Guillermo’s ship.

  “Do demons now walk this land?” Lady Onora called out, not knowing what this creature was, and only that it was an evil of great power.

  General Joshua saw a need for an extraordinary measure against a terrible enemy. He used wisdom and not fear to make his decisions. Not knowing the nature of this creature, he ventured to determine its true power. Joshua held up the Spirit Sword and walked directly through the flames which Kirdothet sent forth, and then through the flames that Kirdothet was. Yet, Joshua was not burned.

  “I thought the sword didn’t work on demons!” Emerond said.

  “I see that you do not fear me, mortal,” Kirdothet said to Joshua.

  “Perhaps he is not really a demon!” Romana said, still unsure of what he was, even if she could now conclude that Kirdothet was not a demon.

  “He is a sun elemental! He has evil to match that of a demon, but he was not born of the spirit world,” Lady Ismene said.

  “How did he know the Spirit Sword would work?” Lady Onora asked.

  “He didn’t know it – he just accepted the risk. That is his nature,” Romana said.

  “His courage was rewarded, but one must be cautious when dealing with the higher powers,” Lady Ismene said.

  ~~~

  When Lavakara saw that the Spirit Sword shielded Joshua, he also concluded that this fire creature – which called itself Prince Kirdothet – was no demon. That didn’t mean it wasn’t extremely dangerous, but it did mean that certain things did not apply – such as the limitations of the Spirit Sword. It also meant that other things did apply – it was almost certainly possible to defeat, and even destroy, Kirdothet.

  One thing, however, interested Lavakara. He was fairly certain that Joshua had no way of knowing that Kirdothet was not a demon – since no one else knew it, either – or that the Spirit Sword would work against him. Despite Joshua’s defeat in combat due to Lavakara’s own superior abilities, the man had courage enough to carry out a bold plan, which involved taking a deadly risk, and it worked. For that reason, alone, Joshua deserved – and now had – his respect.

  Now, it was time for Lavakara to seize the opportunity created by another. He was a thief and a murderer, after all.

  ~~~

  Lavakara reappeared from the spirit world and became material. He called out to Kirdothet: “We will not obey you, creature of fire! We will not lead you to anyone!”

  Kirdothet walked to Lavakara to burn him, but Lavakara disappeared into the spirit world, and reappeared in a different location, a hundred (100) feet away.

  “Have you no fear of me, either, little man?” Kirdothet asked.

  Joshua walked back through Kirdothet, swirling the Spirit Sword around, and the flames of Kirdothet’s body were cut like ribbons. Kirdothet howled in pain, and began to retreat from him, reassembling elsewhere, nearly a hundred (100) feet away.

  Kirdothet then said: “You challenge me, the prince of the suns!? I will find and burn all of your homes and scorch your people to death if you do not submit! Lead me to the girl who sings!”

  “We will do more than challenge you, fiery horror! We will banish you!” Joshua said, approaching Kirdothet with the Spirit Sword.

  Kirdothet then sent a fireball at him, saying: “Burn mortal!”

  However, Joshua maneuvered the Spirit Sword with great skill and scattered the fireball, and continued his approach.

  Kirdothet became worried, and flew away in a fiery trail, returning to his temple.

  ~~~

  Lavakara moved into the spirit world, again, to be sure that the Spirit Sword didn’t come anywhere near him. It was still a threat, and Lavakara didn’t trust Joshua with it, despite the respect that he had for him.

  ~~~

  Judith and Ovid saw all of these things and recorded them into their books. Judith was impressed at Joshua’s bold moves, and the risk that he took in approaching Kirdothet. She realized that Joshua did not likely know for sure if the Spirit Swor
d would work. Ovid was pleased that the Spirit Sword itself actually was of defensive value, as he didn’t care for war, especially against this fire creature. He only hoped that the Spirit Sword wouldn’t find other uses – such as starting wars – as powerful objects often got misused soon after they were properly used, which he learned from seven (7) centuries of experience as a Chronicler, out of a total of eight (8) centuries of life.

  “General! He’s going to return to the towers of his temple! Wield the Spirit Sword against him there,” Lady Ismene called out, sensing that Kirdothet would seek shelter at the Temple of the Sky’s Nine (9) Kings.

  “Follow him! Banish him from this realm! To the airships!” Emerond called out.

  Imperial Prince Emerond, Admiral Gavin and General Joshua all signaled for a ship. One of their ships approached and they boarded it, and the ship was converted to an airship. They then flew the airship high enough to avoid the burning trees on the island.

  Kirdothet did return to the Temple of the Sky’s Nine (9) Kings, and the airship with Joshua, Gavin and Emerond on board approached it from over the treetops.

  ~~~

  Unbeknownst to any of them, the temple had already come under attack: several Hidden Paladins had been watching, and their Vague Blade – known for its suddenness and ability to cut through nearly anything – was brought against the bases of the towers of the temple. Unfortunately, the Hidden Paladins saw that the towers of this temple could not be destroyed, despite their best efforts. The towers were disturbed by the strikes from the Vague Blade, however, and began to vibrate and a deep and terrible sound emanated from them, filling the air across the island, and even reaching the ships near the shore. The Hidden Paladins had a special armor that protected even their own mortal ears from the terrible sounds that could result from the Vague Blades’ impact on some materials, and their mortal eyes from any shards that may fly off, though none did in this case. Still, they knew that the impact on the towers was causing a dreadful sound.

  ~~~

  “What is that sound?” Zoe screamed, holding her left hand to her left ear, and leaning her head on the right shoulder because the right arm was broken. Brant covered his own ears, as did everyone else on the shore, except for Serafina, who enjoyed the pain, as it reminded her that she was alive, and gave her impetus for delicious revenge.

  Daven, while holding his hands over his ears, knew what it was. Lady Onora did, as well. Their perceptions of sound were greatly enhanced by the waters of the Pirovalen Ocean which they drank – the same waters which gave them the supernatural musical abilities.

  “The towers are vibrating! Something has struck them!” Lady Onora yelled, as if someone could hear her over the terrible noise.

  “The towers are enormous – something of immense power had to hit them. The vibrations are dampening. Just hold your ears and it will be over soon – unless someone strikes them again!” Daven said.

  ~~~

  From the Jendaldej airship, flames could be seen inside of the crystal towers, which were vibrating as if being struck.

  The sounds that filled the air were terrible and even Emerond had to hold his hands to his ears. Gavin held his hands to Joshua’s ears, so that he could keep his own hands on the Spirit Sword. This was a time to protect their warrior who wielded the one weapon they knew actually worked against this enemy. Gavin expected to suffer injuries in war one day, and hoped that he would still be able to serve afterwards. The terrible sounds of the vibrating towers were deafening, and Gavin’s hearing was damaged, but not lost, as a result.

  ~~~

  From within the towers, Kirdothet felt a terrible pain, rather than the peace that he expected, due to the terrible vibrations from an enemy striking the towers. He did not see the Hidden Paladins, and he saw no sign that Joshua was striking using the Spirit Sword, so the source of the painful disturbance was a mystery. He was forced to flee from the towers, flying far from Udovedaj-Pren Island. The trail of flames soared through the sky, and many could see this, even from the shore and the ships nearby, but they weren’t sure where it went.

  Soon the vibrations dampened to a safe level and everyone took their hands from their ears.

  ~~~

  “Look! It flew away!” Brant said, looking up.

  “They banished it!” Serafina said, hoping that combat could return to a mortal level, or something close to it.

  “No! The fire creature has been turned away for a time, but it will return,” Lady Ismene said.

  ~~~

  The Hidden Paladins left without announcing their presence, realizing that they had insufficient power at the moment.

  ~~~

  “What happened? The towers seemed to vibrate, yet I couldn’t see why,” Admiral Gavin asked.

  “We are not the only ones acting against this fire creature. Something struck these towers,” Emerond said.

  “I have little doubt that the strikes against the towers are why the fire creature fled,” Joshua said.

  “I believe that someone was trying to destroy the towers…and failed,” Emerond said, looking closely at the towers. He drank anew of the waters of the Kazofen Ocean that he kept in a vial and he was thereby energized. He then stared deeply into the crystal structure of the towers and found them to be of an unfamiliar design. They were not showing signs of cracking, so there was little reason to believe they had become weaker. However, their structure seemed sturdy, as if they could withstand flames of any intensity, and the towers even seemed alive, as if something energetic was still within them. “There was no damage to the crystal structure of the towers,” Emerond said after examining them closely.

  “We should return to the shore and gather our other forces. If this creature can be driven away, we have to make sure we don’t send it toward Revod,” Admiral Gavin said.

  “Agreed,” Emerond said.

  At this, they returned the airship to the shore, and then converted back to a sailing ship at sea level in the Ikkith Tar Ocean. The trio of leaders left the ship and returned to the shore.

  “He escaped from his temple,” Emerond said.

  “We saw,” Romana said.

  “I think that it came under attack by a different force. We did not strike at the towers, yet the fire creature left,” Gavin said.

  “Who might have attacked it?” Joshua asked.

  Judith heard all of this and thought that she knew, but couldn’t say anything.

  “The Hidden Paladins,” Romana said.

  “This fire creature returned to the towers of the temple to gain strength,” Lady Ismene said.

  “If that is so, then we should stand guard against having him return. We do not need a wicked creature to grow in power,” Lady Onora said.

  “Standing guard here may be wise. Where will he go, now, however?” Emerond asked.

  “Looking for someone named Taesa,” Lady Ismene said.

  “Taesa is my former student. She has the powers of song,” Lady Onora said.

  “More than you may know,” Daven said, approaching. He was followed by Ovid. Brant and Zoe also came forward, not knowing what to make of the situation, but wanting to know what was going on.

  “Daven! Why are you even here? What did you see? What do you know of all of this?” Lady Onora asked.

  “We came looking for answers, about my parents, and someone Taesa distrusts. We thought we could find evidence against thieves and murderers by coming to this island. We couldn’t navigate over the dark waters, so she sang a song, and then the sky changed,” Daven said.

  “What song did she sing?” Lady Onora asked, disturbed at this news.

  “Yes, this is of great importance,” Lady Ismene added in.

  “Let Many Suns Shine Down…it was something she wrote, I believe. I’ve never heard it before,” Daven said.

  “I don’t think we ever want to hear that song again! Who knows what else will catch on fire,” Emerond said.

  Judith and Ovid both recorded all of these events and statements
into their books, regarding them with intense curiosity.

  “Could you please recount the words to me, without singing them or invoking the musical powers of the waters?” Judith asked.

  “I recommend that you write them down, without actually speaking them, just in case,” Lady Onora said.

  Judith removed a page from an extra book that she carried, along with a writing implement, and handed them to Daven.

  “I’ll do my best,” Daven said, and he tried to remember, and the words did come to him. Being gifted in song, he also had a keen memory for the songs he heard, and was able to write the lyrics down for Judith. Judith copied the words from the page that Daven wrote on into a new page in her book: the page that Daven wrote on was not allowed to be bound into the book again as an official record, because he was not a Chronicler of the Oath.

  Ovid watched and copied these into his own book.

  CHAPTER 2: Shipwreck and Escape

  The fireballs that Kirdothet sent forth had reached the Meticulous, which burst into flames. The crackling of the flames could be heard below deck and within the cabins.

  “Abandon ship!” Pradrock commanded.

  At this, Claudia, Akylas, Akantha and Torin all jumped overboard into the waters of the Ikkith Tar Ocean, and Pradrock followed them after being sure they all escaped safely. Every one of them knew the rule: drink not a drop, because it wasn’t the same water as their waterbinding, and the results would be deadly within minutes.

  From his own ship nearby, Captain Guillermo saw this, so he turned to Caroline and spoke with a sense of immediacy, yet he calmly said: “The other ship has been ruined by the fires. We need to lend some assistance to their crew.” Then, Guillermo moved his ship and threw down a rope ladder, which Pradrock and his crew used to climb aboard.

  “Good timing,” Akylas said.

  “Thank you, captain,” Pradrock said.

  “I am Captain Guillermo, and I am pleased to help you. We must leave now. There is no advantage to be had by staying,” Guillermo said.

  “The time for leaving was a while ago,” Claudia said, looking at Pradrock.