Friday Exerpts - fantasy

This excerpt is again from my fantasy. I'm getting it ready for smashwords and kindle to be released soon.

This is from end of first chapter. The king and queen from the Land of Drache are the parents of Lucian, our heroine's best friend.



The queen paced in her dragon form. She was a green dragon—rare among her kind—with a deep red under belly. Her scales glowed luminescent under the floating magical lights they used for scrying on other worlds and kingdoms, especially those linked to the Land of Drache by magic.

“We can’t help what Fate is asking of Cerisa. We can only offer our support. Lucian is strong, my love. With his help and the teachings of her parents, Cerisa has learned to respect other races and has grown strong in her magic.” He was anxious as well, but knew that Serena needed his comforting. He refrained from pacing—just—as even the greatness of their throne room would feel restricted if both were pacing in dragon forms.

“And Lucian can call on his older brother, Daniel, if he needs to, or any of the other Draches we have in the dimension they are currently in. We must not lose faith,” King Pythes continued, following her with his head. He was black with a red tint to his scales and underbelly. He was sleek like his wife; merely being in his presence made you cognizant of his power. The two of them often used their scrying orb, the Illessence, to watch their son and his charge, as well as her parents, whom she lived with near the small village of Glasuisce.

“The seers in times past have said that there would be untold bloodshed in Riverhand before the rightful heir to the throne reclaimed it,” King Pythes said into the silence as his wife glared at him.

“They also said Cerisa will be pivotal in these events. Events that will decide if all of the Land of Drache will continue to exist on this plane or not, or if the Old Magik will return,” she replied tightly.

“Not the current magic that is so weak it can’t carry the proper name, but real Magik.” Strong disdain laced her words. She was old enough to remember the ways and power of the Old Magik.

“Yes, but that is all they agree on. Cerisa Andersen of Glasuisce is important to us. We have known that for a long time. That is why we sent our son to protect her; she is our best hope. Already, she shows signs of having the Old Magik.”

She nodded her great maw. “Yes, that is true. However, I believe that the time foreseen is upon us, now. Lord Kyle Namred has been torturing and killing to keep his rule strong for many years. Although he has claimed the throne in the name of the missing heiress, there are still those who oppose him despite the harsh punishment they receive for their troubles.” Her voice cracked, as her agitation increased.

“I agree. There has been much bloodletting in the human realm of Riverhand as was foretold. Our people have witnessed horrifying incidents and have even been hurt on occasion. Whatever Cerisa’s role is to be, I believe it will happen soon," he agreed.
“Pythes, we must do something,” Queen Serena implored. She swished over the blue marble flooring, away from the Illessence. She changed into human form, swaying her hips. Her long, dark hair retained a green strip from her temple. A reflection of her true color.

“My love, there is nothing we can do from here.” He changed to human form to match hers. Strong strides took him quickly across the room to her. He grabbed her hand. “It is part of the checks and balances of the worlds that we are dependent upon the humans' balance. That they must have the proper authority on the throne of Riverhand in their dimension in order to exist beyond the gates of our lands is part of fate's decree for us.”

“I hate it,” she said, a rumble sounding under the words, despite her human form, emphasizing her frustration. “It is not right that in order for us to exist beyond their imagination, the humans have to do things right. They are the biggest despoilers of all intelligent races. Even the damned Orcs seem able to keep their species balanced.”

“It is not the Orcs, but those who oppose them that keeps those foul creatures in check. All races have a check and balance—someone more powerful than they are in order to keep any one race from annihilating the rest of us. Humans are fate’s choice for equalizing the scales, so to speak, whether we like it or not.”

“Decidedly not,” she said emphatically. “We are more powerful than they and we are not cruel. We are wise. We have found balance and peace in our disputes here on the Land of Drache. Why do we need them to balance us? I’m powerful enough to control any of us who aren’t willing to follow our lead. You are as well. Together, you and I have had a peaceful reign for almost a hundred years, despite the turmoil in their lands these past years.” Queen Serena said fervently.

“It was not always so. There is good and bad in every species. At least it is the humans balance us," he said. "Despite that they figured out long ago how to kill our kind despite our obvious advantages in a fight." Queen Serena waved her hands in frustration at him, as if to wipe out what he was saying. He was undaunted. "We are fortunate that they are our balance because, although it is rare, we are able to breed with the humans. The ruling family has dragon’s blood in it, as it was meant to be from the beginning as our destinies are so entwined. Fates weren’t completely cruel in setting up our balance. They made sure that our needs would be felt by the ones in charge of keeping magic alive in the lands we depend on.”

“Of course, you're right. It could have been a much less compassionate race that held our lives in the palm of their hands. I’m afraid though, Pythes. I am afraid that Cerisa may be too late in saving Riverhand. If that is the case, then it is too late for us as well.”

The king and queen looked at each other sadly. He took her other hand in his. “Do not give up hope. She is strong in the Old Magik, as well as the new; I feel it in her. She is also a warrior. We may not know why she is so important to the fate of us all, but we know that she will do her best when the time comes.”

“And if that is not enough? What then?”

He had no answer for her. He moved back to the pulpit and looked into the Illessence, hoping for a clue as to help his kind not become extinct. However, what he saw did not bring hope. At times like this, he would gladly give his right eye to be able to hear as well as see into his scrying orb. For when he looked into the clearing where his son and his son’s young charge lived, he saw something that brought terror and fear that Riverhand, and therefore the Land of Drache, was lost before the greatest war ever foretold in any of their lands in either dimension had seen in a millennia had even begun.



Please comment and tell me what you think :) Including typos!! I've edited this story so many times, (this is one I initially edited my voice and too much description out of) that my eyes start to bleed when I read it lol. Because I was putting stuff back in when editing, it's easy for me to miss the typos.