ZARAMANNI: THE POWERFUL HALF-FAIRY

BOOK ONE BEGINS HERE.

***BOOK ONE: THE POWERFUL HALF-FAIRY ***

~

The Kingdom of Zenrada wore blood that evening as though it was its best attire.

At the same time, the entire kingdom of Amarxona rejoiced.

While Amarxona's skies were painted in a canvas of fireworks, the pain-stricken and bloodied skies of Zenrada watched on from a distance.

The once admired palace on Zenrada's grounds shook with anger as well because of the ill-fate it had just suffered, but it seemed that someone else who resided within the walls of the mighty building felt angrier.

His veined hands fiercely pulled at his long hair as his bloodshot eyes caught a glimpse of the bloodbath that had made its way to the palace, the numerous bodies sprawled lifelessly on the ground below enough evidence that he wasn’t imagining it.

The Alpha’s feet staggered away from the cracked window that gave him access to the disastrous scene on the palace grounds. His thick brows twitched with extreme sorrow as his ears caught a loud, distant cry that further reminded him of the terror Zenrada had just faced.

To sum it all up, the vicious fairies were the cause of the merciless tragedy his people had just faced.

He refused to believe it at first.

Just like how he didn’t believe that the first mysterious death recorded in the pack was a result of a fairy attack. He had ignored the signs, the warnings.

He disregarded the advice of the council members. He thought his queen was babbling nonsense but now…

No one was walking in to tell him to wake up from his terrible dream. And, all he wished for at that moment was for someone to shake him out of that nightmare-like situation.

But, as his shoulders slumped with more sorrow, as his dejected footsteps made their way to his throne, the heavy doors of the lengthy throne room fell onto the floor, causing the ground to shake.

Though it was a sign that the entire building had suffered greatly due to the unexpected attack, the Alpha King sighed as he likened that loud bang to the wake-up call he desperately wished for.

“Thank the goddess,” he muttered as his lips trembled, his mind still not paying attention to the fact that the fallen door's impact could lead to something more disastrous happening to the palace. Should such an event occur, Zenrada will become a land of nothing but ruins.

“Your Majesty!” A man wearing a shattered tunic rushed into the room, his loud voice filling the emptiness of the room, his voice fully waking the king from his terrible thoughts. “Your Majesty! They have taken her!”

The ruler with a devastated heart looked toward the man who had fallen onto his knees. With a closer look, the king noticed the small hope on the man’s face who seemed to be a guard of the omega status based on the orange wolf mark on the arm splint he wore on his left arm.

That hopeful look made the king experience a sudden moment of epiphany, and he quickly decided that he was being a mere coward at that point. If the man on his knees who probably had nothing left could somehow look optimistic, why should he, the king, be so down?

Instead of lurking in the darkness of his god-forsaken throne room, he could be on the streets of Zenrada, searching for survivors, assuring them of a fresh start despite the sad loss they had to experience.

The good part of the few last words of the King’s thought was the fact that it was impossible that the dubious fairies and their evil tactics killed every wolf in the kingdom.

Each pack, every one of his people is tougher than easily giving in to a sudden fight, and, as their ruler, he needed to acknowledge that fact.

So, with staggering feet, he made his way to the royal seat which stayed still on the grand podium that faced the room. But, the King's feet were so unstable that he had to take a moment to shut his eyes. Then, once he gathered himself, he opened them.

“Your Majesty!” The guard rushed towards him and helped him until he was in the seat that the king had earlier established he didn’t deserve.

“What-” The Alpha's throat was pained, it needed urgent soothing and, with haste, the man rushed toward the small jug behind the throne seat and brought water to his king with urgency. Once the parched feeling was gone, the King tried speaking again.

“My dear… what is it that you are trying to say?”

The endearing tone of the King confused the guard but that reaction didn’t last a second. “Your majesty!” His loud voice was accompanied by a loud thud as he fell to one of his knees. “The Queen is alive!”

That statement made the King's heart thud strongly. One of the reasons he was so distraught was because he thought he had lost his Luna to the attack. While he reminisced on the aftermath of the event that hardly felt like a battle, he tried so hard to fool himself into believing that his Queen was okay.

But, on hearing that she was indeed alive, his lips could not help but try to tug into a huge grin. His dark irises darted through the pentagon-shaped windows on the right side of the room as he rejoiced because of that news.

As his sight on the windows caused his sight to land on the pitiful moon of Zenrada which was heavily stained with the colour of blood, he finally realized that he had jumped out of his seat.

“Where is she?” he asked sternly as his attention darted to the short hair of the man in front of him.

“Well, Your Majesty…”

The King quickly reasoned his firm and scary stance as he watched the guard's forehead furrow. So, he assumed a more relaxed and more welcoming position and asked calmly, “What is the matter ?"

“The thing is… the fairies abducted her.”

The King felt like he had been hit with a strong slap sent from the sky. He fell onto the floor as his legs gave away in accordance with the irregularities every other part of his body was feeling.

“We have to get her back," he whispered into the room as his head tried to process what the guard had just told him.

“Of course, my Lord. I have begun to gather some people, we will-”

“No!" A finger was shot into mid-air, and the Alpha's face wore a scowl. " I will be journeying alone.”

“Your Majesty…” The guard didn’t seem pleased with the idea.

“Do you wish to be beheaded?” the King's voice thundered. “Don’t try to stop me. I am going into the lands of those bloody fairies and I am getting my queen back. And," the men locked gazes and the King exhaled hard, "while I am there, I'll teach those damn things called fairies not to ever shoot their helper in the leg."

“Please, rethink this decision," the guard begged.

“What’s your name?” With no intention to consider the words of the omega guard on his knees, the Alpha King glanced at the man who looked shocked because of the question he had just asked. “Tell me your name,” he demanded.

“Sham, Your Majesty. My name is Sham.”

“Well then, Sham. Till I come back from Amarxona, you are in charge of this land. Scour every part of the Kingdom and make sure to gather everyone out there that is alive. Even if they are barely alive, make sure you don't give up on them. There is enough food in the palace pantry. Build a fortress with the available weapons and protect my people for me. Can you do that Sham?”

The request of the King made the guard dumbfounded for some seconds. In fact, a part of the King considered his words insane, but he strongly felt that things had to be done that way.

But after a few confused blinks, Sham gathered himself, bowed with respect, and said, “I’ll do as His Majesty wishes. But, my Lord, it is quite dangerous out there. I-”

“It is highly necessary that I do this, Sham. And, the first thing I have to do is cut this damn hair of mine.”

“But-” Asides from the weird look he had on his face for a brief second after the King mentioned his hair, Sham looked like he had more objections. He was beginning to act like the council members and the King hated that. But, his heart soon ached as he realized once more that they were all dead.

“Get me a blade for my hair as well as the maps of the realm from the royal library,” the Alpha ordered as he got on his feet, his wasted energy returning abruptly.

“Yes, my Lord.”

Sham rushed out of the room and the King looked out of the window again. The redness of the sky welcomed him with tears as the bloodbath on the ground mixed with the fluid outpour from the angry sky.

As he watched the saddening scene, the King pledged within him that he would do everything in his power to make sure the fairies pay for their crimes.

Every last one of them.

~

While the distracting merriment enveloped the kingdom of Amarxona, some aged council members gathered themselves and whispered about an ancient secret.

A secret that involved some readily available ingredients, a rather difficult requirement, and most importantly, the blood of a half-fairy.

“Is he ready?” one of them whispered, the curved head of his long wooden staff glowing to expose the faces of the gathering.

“Yes," the person to the right of the inquirer responded, his back arched slightly to accommodate the protruding shelves behind him. "I have gotten word from the priest. Ezeman's journey to Mount Hermos was a success and, in a matter of time, he will be in the human world."

“Good. Are we sure about this half-fairy?”

“I am more than sure. These days, I feel her energy more than usual,” another replied, his voice wearing some kind of excitement.

The last one who had not uttered a word chuckled. “What if that means she is related to you?”

“Well…” Another bout of laughter filled the room. “Anything to trap the once powerful king of Zenrada, King Darren.”

“The once powerful indeed,” the elderly moon fairy with the staff said as he stroked his long white bread, his staff’s glow reducing as they all walked out of the chamber and toward the raging party.