Read Online Aegis of The Gods: Book 00 - The Shadowbearer by Terry C. Simpson - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Terry C. Simpson
Tags: adventure, Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Action, Fantasy - Series, epic fantasy, Assassins, elemental magic, Aegis of the Gods, fantasy ebook, Denestia, Etchings of Power, shadelings
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pictures of giants from books in his youth. In the three years since Stefan was last home, Nerian’s chest was wider, face more angular, his eyes harder. When Stefan met the King’s gaze, emerald beads came to mind.
“Let me look at you.” Nerian held him at arm’s length. “Not bad.” He pursed his lips. “A little worse for wear, but you look … healthy.”
“Same to you, sire. You’re more fit than I remember.”
“Ah, if only I felt that way.”
Mind drifting to Thania, Stefan gave a pensive frown.
“What troubles you?” Nerian asked.
“Where’s Thania? She’s never missed a day when I return.”
“Ah. Yes.” Nerian was grinning now. “She is well.” His voice lowered. “I am not supposed to be telling you this, but she prepared a surprise for you.”
Stefan arched an eyebrow.
“Not to worry. Trust me. You will love it.”
“Yes, sire.” Stefan still couldn’t help the trepidation gnawing at him.
“So,” the King’s demeanor became serious, “Cerny said you did not receive his message well.”
“The man’s overbearing and incompetent. Why did you promote him anyway? Because he’s an Alzari?”
“Yes, he can be.” The King paused for a moment. “Still, I had my reasons beyond him being a powerful Matii. Walk with me. Let us escape the crowds.” He nodded out toward the revelers in the streets.
A wind nipping at them, they walked in silence for some time until the palace’s battlements met with the city walls. Guards greeted them, bowing deeply to the King and putting fists to hearts at the sight of their Knight Commander.
They were traveling along the southern wall when finally Nerian spoke. “What do you think of what Cerny had to say?”
“Nothing good,” Stefan admitted, breath rising in feathery mists from the evening’s chill. “Why another war so soon? And against whom?”
The sun played off the King’s resplendent golden armor of interlocking plates as he stopped. His oversized hands gestured out to the vast city from the slums before the gates here in the south to the villas and spires rising up the slopes of the Cogal Drin Mountains to the north. Citizens crowded the streets. “For them of course, the people, the Setian. We deserve to rule all of Ostania as we did in the days of old.”
I thought you’d given up on that. Stefan suppressed a sigh.
A time existed when he and Nerian plotted on how to bring Seti and Ostania to their former glory, holding dominion over most of Denestia. But the Tribunal shattered those dreams when they united the Granadian kingdoms in its present empire under the ideals of Streamean worship. During the Luminance War, when the shade swept out of the Great Divide in Everland, Felan and then Seti itself ceded to the Tribunal for protection and assistance. The Felani, however, had recently broken away from the Tribunal. Still, with its influence stretching far into Ostania, the Tribunal was a near immovable force now.
As the thoughts flitted through his mind, a sense of satisfaction overcame Stefan. He and Nerian had managed to carve an empire for the Setian within Ostania. He could live with such success. A whisper of sound made him look over his shoulder.
A few steps behind, Kahar trailed. The King’s bodyguard was like a ghost, always seeming to fit in wherever he went, and most did not notice he was there until it was too late. The man’s too plain appearance, placid demeanor, and shifty eyes glinting with the dying sun gave Stefan the chills.
Bracing himself against the King’s possible anger, the Knight Commander said, “The men deserve a break, a time to rest. Haven’t enough died a hard death already?”
“Death’s always simple. We spend our entire lives dying.” Nerian shrugged.
Those words again. “Do you intend to resume our attempt to conquer the Nevermore Heights?”
Nerian’s brow wrinkled. “One day, not now. Our campaign starts in Everland with Erastonia’s fall.”
The words brought a
“Let me look at you.” Nerian held him at arm’s length. “Not bad.” He pursed his lips. “A little worse for wear, but you look … healthy.”
“Same to you, sire. You’re more fit than I remember.”
“Ah, if only I felt that way.”
Mind drifting to Thania, Stefan gave a pensive frown.
“What troubles you?” Nerian asked.
“Where’s Thania? She’s never missed a day when I return.”
“Ah. Yes.” Nerian was grinning now. “She is well.” His voice lowered. “I am not supposed to be telling you this, but she prepared a surprise for you.”
Stefan arched an eyebrow.
“Not to worry. Trust me. You will love it.”
“Yes, sire.” Stefan still couldn’t help the trepidation gnawing at him.
“So,” the King’s demeanor became serious, “Cerny said you did not receive his message well.”
“The man’s overbearing and incompetent. Why did you promote him anyway? Because he’s an Alzari?”
“Yes, he can be.” The King paused for a moment. “Still, I had my reasons beyond him being a powerful Matii. Walk with me. Let us escape the crowds.” He nodded out toward the revelers in the streets.
A wind nipping at them, they walked in silence for some time until the palace’s battlements met with the city walls. Guards greeted them, bowing deeply to the King and putting fists to hearts at the sight of their Knight Commander.
They were traveling along the southern wall when finally Nerian spoke. “What do you think of what Cerny had to say?”
“Nothing good,” Stefan admitted, breath rising in feathery mists from the evening’s chill. “Why another war so soon? And against whom?”
The sun played off the King’s resplendent golden armor of interlocking plates as he stopped. His oversized hands gestured out to the vast city from the slums before the gates here in the south to the villas and spires rising up the slopes of the Cogal Drin Mountains to the north. Citizens crowded the streets. “For them of course, the people, the Setian. We deserve to rule all of Ostania as we did in the days of old.”
I thought you’d given up on that. Stefan suppressed a sigh.
A time existed when he and Nerian plotted on how to bring Seti and Ostania to their former glory, holding dominion over most of Denestia. But the Tribunal shattered those dreams when they united the Granadian kingdoms in its present empire under the ideals of Streamean worship. During the Luminance War, when the shade swept out of the Great Divide in Everland, Felan and then Seti itself ceded to the Tribunal for protection and assistance. The Felani, however, had recently broken away from the Tribunal. Still, with its influence stretching far into Ostania, the Tribunal was a near immovable force now.
As the thoughts flitted through his mind, a sense of satisfaction overcame Stefan. He and Nerian had managed to carve an empire for the Setian within Ostania. He could live with such success. A whisper of sound made him look over his shoulder.
A few steps behind, Kahar trailed. The King’s bodyguard was like a ghost, always seeming to fit in wherever he went, and most did not notice he was there until it was too late. The man’s too plain appearance, placid demeanor, and shifty eyes glinting with the dying sun gave Stefan the chills.
Bracing himself against the King’s possible anger, the Knight Commander said, “The men deserve a break, a time to rest. Haven’t enough died a hard death already?”
“Death’s always simple. We spend our entire lives dying.” Nerian shrugged.
Those words again. “Do you intend to resume our attempt to conquer the Nevermore Heights?”
Nerian’s brow wrinkled. “One day, not now. Our campaign starts in Everland with Erastonia’s fall.”
The words brought a
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