Empire of Serpents

CHAPTER 1

Gwen

The city of Haddence was a flurry of activity.

Gwen watched merchants pitch their wares, from brightly colored silks to food that permeated the air with their scents. Small children ran along the streets, playing a game and shouting at each other lightheartedly. It was almost enough to make her think that the impending darkness of Torian’s madness was just a dream.

Almost.

Venia had landed outside the city and Gwen had walked from there. Despite traveling by air, which had been a living nightmare for Gwen, it had still taken two days to reach the city. Venia had a voracious appetite and continuously stopped to eat. She promised to be at the rebellion meeting, but Gwen wasn’t sure how that would happen. Venia was massive, so unless the rebellion was meeting outside in a large open field, it didn’t seem possible. The more pressing issue was that Gwen didn’t know where the meeting location was, and it wasn’t like she could ask someone, could she?

“Good day, madam! Wear the finest clothing this side of the border,” a merchant said to her, producing an armful of elegantly sewn dresses. “I sew them myself.” The merchant offered a grin that stretched his pockmarked face and revealed a mouthful of yellowed teeth. He was bald and slightly overweight, but his clothing was of high quality.

Gwen smiled and politely shook her head. “No, thank you. You haven’t seen a group of people that seem out of place, have you?”

“I’m afraid not,” the merchant replied, offering a wink. He tapped his waist where a bag hung from his belt. It clinked with coins.

The man’s intent was obvious and Gwen retrieved a coin from her purse and offered it to the merchant. He swept his hand over hers and the coin vanished, but Gwen hadn’t felt his touch at all. Was he truly a merchant, or some sort of vagrant pickpocket?

“Go to the end of this street and you’ll see the butcher shop on the right. Beside it, there’s an alley that’ll take you to a door. Knock twice.”

“Thank you,” Gwen said. She continued along the cobblestone street, but she could feel eyes watching her. A glance over her shoulder revealed the bald man was gone, replaced by an elderly woman. Gwen thought it was odd, but she followed the man’s directions anyway.

At the end of the street was the butcher’s building, and Gwen found the alley. She stepped into the darkened space and walked twenty feet to reach the door. Gwen raised her hand to knock and heard shuffling behind her.

“Don’t move,” someone said gruffly.

Gwen froze. Her heart skipped a beat.

“Who are you and what do you want?”

“I’m here to see my friends,” Gwen replied vaguely.

“Names, girl.”

Gwen considered lying but decided not to. If this person was connected to the rebellion and she used a fake name, it could keep her from getting into the meeting.

“His name is Eradore.”

“Never heard of him,” the gruff man replied.

“Perhaps I’m in the wrong place. I’m sorry, I’ll just be on my way.”

“You aren’t going anywhere.”

Something sharp jabbed into Gwen’s lower back and she sucked in a breath.

“Please—”

“Shut your mouth,” the man said. He applied pressure on the blade and Gwen flinched. “Who sent you here? Torian? Grimmar? I’ll gut you like a fish, you blasted spy.”

Gwen barely heard his words. She was focused on the pulse of magic flowing through the fire rune. Her right hand grew warm as the flames started to form. The door in front of her opened and a robed figure stepped into view.

“What’s this?”

“A spy. I was just about to show her what we do to spies.”

“Gwen?”

At the sound of her name, Gwen cut off the magic and looked up to see Eradore. The elf was a welcome sight and she rushed forward and wrapped him in a tight hug. Eradore’s surprise quickly faded and he patted her on the back, then pushed her at arm’s length.

“Is everything all right? What are you doing here?” He looked down the alley, then back at her. “Where’s Aimil?”

“It’s a long story,” Gwen said. “Aimil’s a traitor.”

“Come in,” Eradore bade. “Tell me everything. As for you,” Eradore turned his eyes on the guard. “You almost got burned to a crisp and didn’t even know it. Next time, check for runes.”

“Yes, sir,” came the gruff reply.

Gwen turned to look at the man and saw it was the merchant who’d given her directions. He tucked his dagger away and offered a bow to her. “My apologies. Just doing my duty.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Gwen replied. She stepped inside the building, and Eradore closed and latched the door.

“Speak as we walk. The leaders of the rebellion are about to convene.”

Gwen related the events at Auleavell and Steepcross, leaving out nothing. She even showed Eradore her eyes and the dark rune lines that started at her collar bone. His expression was unreadable, but Gwen had the feeling that he wasn’t happy about the dark magic. The two reached a small room guarded by a handful of warriors and a mage. When she finished talking, Eradore was silent for a long while.

“Where’s the vial?” he finally asked.

“Marjorie destroyed it. She said it was too dangerous to give it back to me.”

Eradore frowned. “If what you say is true, Aimil poses a great threat. She’s been privy to many things within the rebellion.”

“She also knows about me,” Gwen said.

“What do you mean?”

“She was in the room when Marjorie told me my true name. Aimil knows I’m Kamron’s daughter. I doubt she’ll keep that information to herself.”

“I think you’re right. She’s probably already reported to Torian. I wouldn’t be surprised if Grimmar himself comes looking for you. Come with me. The others need to know.”

The guards stepped aside to let allow them through. There were many people Gwen didn’t recognize. A few familiar faces stood out and she was relieved when she spotted Lyra. Roland was also present. He’d been there when Tobias had fallen during the fight at the outpost. Seeing him brought back a rush of memories. Aimil had been there, too. The feeling of betrayal stung Gwen’s heart again and she forced herself to swallow her anger. Aimil would pay. Dearly.

“We’ve come together to devise our plans against Torian,” Eradore said, raising his voice to be heard over the scattered conversations. The noise died down and Eradore motioned to Gwen. “These plans will be greatly affected by the news that we have a queen to lead us. This is Quinlee, the daughter of King Kamron.”

All eyes went to Gwen. She wasn’t used to being the center of attention and she could feel her face flushing.

“Hold on!” It was a dwarf. Gwen looked at him, glad for the distraction. It diverted everyone’s attention from her. The dwarf had thick curly brown hair and a long beard. He folded his arms across his chest and glared at Eradore.

“We don’t need a queen to lead us when we’ve got a king.” He thumbed toward a man behind him. Gwen was drawn to the man for reasons she couldn’t understand. He was handsome and fit, with thick auburn hair and intense brown eyes.

“Who are you?” Eradore asked.

“Name’s Torgreth. And his name is Conal. He’s the son of King Kamron, and the heir to the throne.”

“What proof do you have?” Eradore asked. “We have proof from the Great Library that this is Quinlee.”

“And we have proof of the naming runes,” Drustan spoke up, “that this is Darrbie, Kamron’s only son.”

The others in the room began trying to talk over one another until it was a mass shouting match. Gwen rubbed her temples. All the noise was going to give her a headache.

“Stop!” she shouted. “Everyone just stop!”

The room went silent and Gwen sighed in relief. “I don’t want to lead us to war against Torian. I’m not a warrior and I know nothing of battle. I will defer to Conal. And if Conal is Kamron’s son, that means he’s my brother. There is no need for division among family.”

Gwen looked at Conal and waited to see what he would say. She hoped he would agree to take the lead. If she were forced into it, she was afraid many people would die due to the mistakes she would make.

Conal gazed at his sister. She was very pretty. Part of him wondered had they met in different circumstances as strangers whether anything would have happened between them. He shuddered at the thought and refocused. Yet here she was, both a stranger and a sister. He thought he should feel something, some sort of elation at the reuniting with family. But his family had been murdered and what he felt now had nothing to do with family.

“I accept battle leadership,” Conal calmly said. Though his words were full of confidence, his expression hinted that he had some doubts.

“Thank you… brother.” Gwen felt weird saying that. She’d been an only child her entire life. Yet now her long lost brother was here, in the same room with her. It was difficult for her to fathom. “What’s the plan?”

Eradore looked at Conal. “Torian has many Prestiges at his command, but the Great Library’s emissary has informed us that they will join our forces. With their Prestiges on our side, we just might stand a chance against Torian.”

“We also have a dragon on our side,” Gwen said.

“A dragon?” Eradore asked. “You didn’t mention a dragon.”

“Sorry. I wasn’t sure how I should bring it up, but the dragon that brought me here promised her aid. Her name is Venia.”

“We also have a dragon,” Conal said. “We had two, but one was killed by dragon hunters.”

“Do these dragons know each other?” Eradore asked.

“I’ll have to ask her,” Gwen replied. “She said she would be here for the meeting, but obviously she isn’t here.”

“Don’t be so sure,” Lyra spoke up. “Dragons can do many things, and that includes shapeshifting.”

Gwen looked at Lyra curiously.

“It’s true,” Conal agreed. “I’ve seen it myself.”

“Are you… Venia?” Gwen was being surprised at every turn.

“I am,” Lyra, really Venia, answered. “Though you should use my elven name. My dragon name is personal and only given to those I trust.”

Gwen remembered asking the dragon for her name in Auleavell and Venia had given it to her. She was humbled by the trust that such a mighty creature had in her and felt indebted somehow.

“With dragons on our side, we should easily be able to take Isentol back,” Eradore said.

“Don’t place too much hope in dragons,” Conal counseled. “Yes, they are powerful, but very few remain... less than a dozen. And Torian has dragon hunters tracking them down. We’ve killed those hunters we found, but there’s no telling how many more are on the prowl.”

“Then it’s probably a good idea to keep them split up in case these hunters make it into our camp somehow. Do you have a plan?”

Conal slowly nodded. “We need to keep Torian off balance. It seems to me that Gwen has the weight of magic on her side. I know nothing about magic. Therefore, I propose that we divide our efforts. Gwen and her forces attack from the east with all the magic you can employ. Force Torian to concentrate his efforts and attention to the east. My forces will wait until Torian is occupied with battling in the east… then we will attack from the west.”

“I’ll take Gwen to Auleavell to meet up with Kirith and his forces,” Lyra said. “They’re ready to march with us, he just needs to receive word before we arrive.”

“That’s easily done through magical means,” Eradore said. “I’ll have a message sent to Kirith.”

“That begs the question of how do we coordinate our efforts once we are in position?” Conal asked. “We can’t afford to wait for a messenger to get to us days after the fact.”

“I have an answer for that, as well,” Eradore smiled. “We have two mages that are connected magically by runes, but their bond is deeper than that. They’re twins. Their sibling connection seems to have strengthened the power of the runes and they can communicate with one another over longer distances than usual. One of them will travel with Gwen and the other will travel with you.”

Conal smiled. “Amazing things, these runes. That will work.”

“What about the cities and towns along the way?” Gwen asked. “The people there are innocent and shouldn’t suffer because we’re marching through.”

“I’ve thought about that,” Conal said. “Anyone willing to join us is more than welcome. We can use all the extra bodies we can get. Everyone else can stay put and stay safe and out of the way. Most importantly, we buy everything we need along the way: food, supplies, even the ale. We are reclaiming a kingdom not punishing it. We want this to be as painless as possible.”

Gwen was beginning to like Conal even more. He seemed to be a man of good intentions and she believed he would be a great leader in the aftermath of Torian’s defeat.

“We can work out the minor details along the way,” Conal added. “I think we should get moving. The quicker we are in position, the less time Torian has to prepare.”

Gwen could feel excitement stirring within her. She wasn’t a warrior but was ready to do what her people needed of her.