Chapter One
Nodran walked into the war room with a confidence no one has ever seen him portray before.
“Narissorian and Winston, we are taking all of the Kings Guard to war with us.”
Winston stood up, “You have Galendor’s permission?”
“Of course not. But because you are all loyal to me, he has already requested from Xanther a new army. He has planned to remove anyone loyal to me.”
“He would not dare!” Winston growled.
Galendor walked in. “It is true, leave with Nodran and do not expect to return to your positions here.”
“Galendor, you are about to start a civil war with your own Kingdom.”
“I know,” His eyes glowed with a haunting orange hue. “Choose your side wisely.”
Winston clenched his teeth and growled. “The Elvarian king NEEDS our assistance!”
“I do not care! If you defy me, you are an enemy to the crown.” Galendor spat back at him.
Renaldo walked into the war room. His expression, grim. His goatee framed an extremely irritated scowl.
“Galendor, I am afraid you have chosen your side incorrectly.” The air grew bitter and cold. Ice formed on the walls and a cosmic, astral power grew in the room stealing all the spectators’ breaths.
You will sleep, as
Your country weeps.
Your breath frozen
Your heartbeat stolen
When the time is right
you may see the light
The Eldritch Alchemist’s eyes flashed with an intense sapphire light. The cosmos danced in his eyes as he wove a spell causing Galendor to fall to the ground, passed out.
He turned to the young prince. “Your ‘father’ wears the mask of Dolour, and I must cast a powerful spell on him. I must take him to my lair in Nexus. Expect him to be confused when he returns. He will have memory before and after but not while the mask was active.”
Nodran just nodded not really sure what else to do.
“You, MY, son, are now King. Run this kingdom as you see fit.” His eyes glowed. His irritation resounded through the halls with a magical resonance that shook their souls. All of the witnesses to his magic stood frozen.
“Do I have time to go see her?” Nodran stepped forward. He seemed to not to be affected by the eldritch magic resonating through the room.
“No, do not worry she will be fine. You must go now. Tolraun will see to the kingdom while you are away.” He adjusted his spectacles. “I have some things to clean up around this kingdom. It will be ready for you to claim your throne when you return.”
Nodran nodded and his men followed him out of the room. When they got to the south gate Winston was able to speak once more.
“I… Don’t think I have ever heard that man speak. I think I don’t ever want to witness that again.” Winston saddled his horse.
Nodran raised his brow. “I do not believe I have either. He called him his son. Do you think that was just an ill choice of words?”
“For a man I have never heard speak in 45 years, if he spoke, I feel like his words were chosen with extreme purpose.”
Nodran shook his head, Renaldo’s words still resonating in his ears. He was beyond upset about leaving without speaking to Landon, but he had no choice. He gathered his army and mounted his horse.
“I am going to go fight a war with my King. He needs more fighter’s mother. We have had our squabbles over the years, but I must fight by his side.”
“You won’t last 10 min in that pathetic armor.” Relana crossed her arms. “Come with me.”
She took him to her room and cast a spell. A door appeared. She led him through.
He stood now before a beautiful black and gold armor. It stole his breath. “Mother, what is this?!”
“This my son is your Birth Right. It has waited patiently to bond with you. His name is Talveran. He is an organic entity. Would you like to feel what real power is when it dances across your skin like fireflies? Would you like to be of real assistance to your King?”
“I would.” Instinctually he knelt before the armor. Not sure where the words came from, “Talveran, I am Son of Queen Relana, Supreme Sorceress of Nexus. I yield to your power and request your assistance in my Quest. My King, Nodran is fighting, and Eldritch Horror army and he needs our help. He needs Nexus’s Help.”
The armor spoke to him. “Young Prince. I accept your bond. But I must ask, are you ready to fulfil my request to you?”
Redkin stared at the ground in front of the armor, “Yes”.
“Very Well, your bond with me will be permanent. You will not be able to break it the way your predecessor did. You will not be able to pass it down to children. You agree to forever more being the King of Nexus. Do you wish to bare this burden?”
“Who was your previous bonded?” Redkin looked up at the eerie green glow behind the empty sockets of the armor.
“King Xanther.”
“Will my power exceed his?” Redkin smirked.
“To some degree, but not in others. He will not be able to bring you harm, or defeat you in battle, but he removed me for I gave him a moral compass that did not align with his …. Darker tendencies.”
Redkin stood and bowed before the armor. “I accept a permanent bond.”
Talveran glowed as all the armor pieces separated, each piece swirled around Redkin.
“RISE REDKIN WAVELANDER, KING OF NEXUS!”
Relana couldn’t hear the armor or what it was saying to Redkin. She watched it bond with him with an idle smirk.
With a flash of green light, the armor bound to his body and thousands of needles pierced his skin. He screamed in pain as he could feel extreme power flood his veins.
He turned to his mother panting in pain. He shook his head and stood tall. The battle mask dissolved into is face and the hood fell to his neck.
His eyes turned a haunting emerald green with the intensity of astral warriors. Black took over his hair. He looked at his mother.
“Be brave, my son, and fight true.” Relana smiled softly.
He paused. “Mother, what is Nexus?”
She chuckled, “You will find out soon enough.”
He nodded to his mother and exited the cottage to see a magnificent beast standing there.
Nodran and his admirals were about ready to leave when a black knight came riding up to them. Nodran felt an odd aurora. He turned and looked at this knight. He was adorned in dark armor with intricate raised gold runes “Who are you?”
The horse came to a slow stop in front of the dragonborn. Redkin dismounted and knelt before Nodran. “I am Redkin Sire. I have been granted a set of armor by my mother so that I might fight alongside you.”
Narissorian looked at the black knight and nodded, “I know not the origin of his armor, but that is indeed Redkin.”
Nodran smiled softly. “I am glad to have you. Mount up and let’s ride.”
The four of them rode out to the edges of the South keep. For as far as the eye could see, mounted soldiers filled the fields.
Nodran dismounted his horse and stood before one hundred thousand dragon-born waiting for their King.
He shifted into his draconic form. The sapphire dragon flew high into the sky. He soared above his army blowing fire lighting up the sky. The soldiers below responded with battle cries and support. Their horses began pawing the ground.
He landed and shifted back to his human form. He mounted his horse and the horns of war sounded. They marched toward the East Elvarian King’s land. They rode hard.
Nodran frowned at the scene they came upon. There were monsters running rampant. The Elvarian’s were scattering. What was left of the dragon-born were in small pockets batting fiercely but losing desperately.
Nodran growled, and they all spurred their horses’ head on into the battle. Their forces cut through the enemy lines like butter. The men he brought were his most seasoned warriors.
Xanther, standing upon the upper hillside, frowned when he saw the army successfully attacking and killing the horrors. “Haldor, how did he get that many Ethereal weapons!?”
“I do not know, father.” Haldor crossed his arms.
Xanther growled. Call the next wave. Open the stargate!”
Haldor smirked. This was his favorite part. He did an ancient incantation and a cosmic gate opened, allowing three hundred thousand more horrors to enter the battle. The monsters tore through Nodran’s lines.
Redkin separated from his comrades, he stood defiant and full of resolve. His sword danced, black blood staining its blade. His horse, unwavering, shared his resolve. Ten foes fell as fatigue set in. He was not a seasoned warrior. His strength waning.
“Talveran, I need your strength. I cannot do this on my own.”
As Redkin finished his statement, his armor glowed with ancient power, drawn from the Ash Tree of Nexus, His sword blazed with green energy. A flash of green light overtook the battlefield. Rekin’s eyes glowed with the fury of an ancient power.
The glow of his fight grew brighter with every horror they sliced down.
Three monsters attacked him at once. His astral sword cut down his foe, slicing right through his weapon and absorbed its soul.
Redkin used the momentum to jump into the air and twist at the same time, taking down two more within seconds.
A horn blew and more monsters circled him attacking him all at once. Talveran growled. The fierce sound resonated across the battlefield. Catching Xanther’s attention.
Xanther narrowed his eyes. “Haldor, what is that!?”
“If I did not know better, that looks like a rogue Nexus Warrior.”
Xanther growled hard. “Summon Angelo!”
Haldor only nodded and did as his father commanded. A man stood before Xanther. He fell to his knees, “My King, What can I do for you?”
“I need you to get your rogue soldier in line,” Xanther scowled.
“Sir, I do not have any rogue soldiers. Angelo protested. “None of my soldiers would dare to defy me.”
“Then what is that?” Xanther pointed to Redkin on the field as he took down monster after monster.
Angelo narrowed his eyes, “I don’t know but I will find out.” He walked with extreme confidence through the battlefield to where Redkin just slain fifty monsters with Talveran.
Angleo rushed Redkin from behind. A green pulse of energy knocked him backward to the ground. He stood up and shook his head.
Redkin’s eyes glowed with green cosmic power as he turned to face Angleo. He spoke with a voice that was not his own. “You dare to attack your King?! Be prepared to defend your actions with your life!”
Redkin’s sword changed, it widened and became the King’s sword. Angelo’s eyes widened, “but, the only one who could wear that armor is Relana’s children.”
“You are a fool Angelo, It could have been you, She asked if I would bond with you, and I agreed. But you turned on your Queen! You turned on NEXUS! My Host is your son. Child of Relana. Now meet my steel and fight me!”
Angelo growled. “She never asked me! I LOVED HER she betrayed me FIRST!”
Talveran ignored his words. His attacks came harder and with more force. The green glow pulsed with cosmic power. “You will fall to your king! I will have your head for betraying our Queen!”
Horrors attempted to divert Talveran’s attention. The astral armor attacks slowed as he drew in magic. Like an EMP burst, a shock wave of Lumina’s power took out 20 Horrors allowing Talveran to focus on the object of his fury.
Angelo’s eyes filled with fear, he backed away, meeting every attack of Redkin. The Green sparks setting eldritch blood on fire.
The battlefield began to glow with green fire as it spread. The magic raw Trilot. The fallen soldiers of dragon born, stood their injuries healing. They picked up their swords and began fighting the horrors.
Nodran’s steel clashed hard against the lead Horror. It was a huge monster. He was a seasoned battle warrior, but his strength was waning. He saw his side was drastically losing. He growled. He could see they were vastly outnumbered. His anger could not be controlled. The huge horror attacked relentlessly.
Nodran tripped and fell to his back at the monster’s mercy. He growled in frustration. His breathing became labored. He closed his eyes waiting for the creature’s blade to take his life.
When the moment didn’t come, he opened his eyes. His armor was glowing with orange magical energy. A power surrounding him brought the horror to its knees at his feet.
Nodran stood only to double over in pain as a forced transformation took over his body. Wings sprouted from his back. Horns erupted from his head. His heart was racing. A blue tail whipped and flicked until it reached a length of nine feet.
His ears became pointed and his whole body burst into flames of hell’s fire. The horror hid his eyes to not be blinded by the light radiating off of Nodran.
With a hard take off the dragon born took to the sky. The arial view of the battle only enraged him. Hundreds of thousands of his men laid dead or dying on the battle grounds. Nodran’s eyes pulsed with fury as he saw more Eldritch monsters advancing on what was left of his army.
Storm clouds responded to his rage and formed overhead. The skies opened with a fury of tornadic wind and lightning storm.
His heart cried out to all his men, and every ounce of his intense fiery anger became electricity striking the battlefield, focused attacks each one a kiss of death sending monsters in range to the underworld. Snow began to fall as the temperature plummeted.
Redkin’s attack on Angelo didn’t slow down. Nexus’s admiral fell and his sword raised above his head, “I yield, My King! Talveran! Accept my complete submission!”
“You Betrayed our QUEEN YOU DESERVE TO DIE!” Their swords sparked.
Redkin’s consciousness surged forward with compassion and power, taking back control. “Talveran! We do not need to kill him! If he will deny Xanther and fight with us!” Redkin’s body shuttered with internal strife. He took a few steps back and shook his head. He closed his eyes tightly.
The emerald glow died down in his eyes as Talveran submitted to his new King. “Fine.”
Redkin held out his hand. “My name is Redkin, Son of our Supreme Sorceress Queen Relana. Rise Angelo and join the ranks of Nexus. Assist us in defeating Xanther.”
Angelo scrambled to his knees before his king. “I pledge my complete and absolute loyalties to you, my King. I must summon Raelith if you wish to summon your army?”
“I have an army? Hell, yeah! Let’s send these horrors back to where they came from.”
Angelo stood. “Sire, you have so much to learn, young one.” A magic spell summoned a young looking man with long silver hair.
Raelith’s anger flared. “Angelo why would you summon me?”
“Calm down Raelith, we have a new King. He did not know to summon you.”
Raelith turned to Talveran and dropped to his knee. “Forgive sire. Are you in need of your army? He took out a whistle and 20 Astral gates opened across the battlefield and an uncountable number of perfectly synced warriors marched out in droves. The soldier’s armor matched that of Talveran.
The horror’s had no chance in Lilith’s Kingdom of survival they fell like flies between Nodran’s cosmic kiss of death storm and the unparallel might of the army of ages.
Lilith stood before Valdos. “I think it is time to wake the white dragon. Lilith. Xanther has gone too far, he is making an army of horrors.”
“I don’t believe he has the power to do so. He would have to have the assistance of Apocalyptica herself.”
Valdos growled. “How can I prove it to you!?”
“Bring me proof.” Lilith’s eyes pulsed with red fire.
Before Valdo’s could say anymore ten thousand eldritch horror monsters appeared before them. Sent to her by the Kiss of death.
Valdos smirked. “Is that proof?”
“Fuck, I am going to get to the bottom of this now.” Lilith snapped her fingers.
A portal opened above the battlefield and an enormous obsidian dragon flew out of it. She lit up the sky with hell’s fury.
“Father, ummm, Is that Lilith?” Haldor asked with fear in his voice.
Xanther’s attention was on the battle. He couldn’t believe that the armies of Nexus came to the aid of these mortals.
“FATHER!” Haldor hit his father, “LOOK UP!”
Xanther pulled from his shock, looked up and saw Lilith. “FUCK!” With a snap of his fingers him and Haldor fled the scene.