The Legends of Kayshall Chapter-1 (The Passing of Time)

         THE LEGENDS OF KAYSHALL 

                             The Making of Hero's

War is a nasty business and it is a travesty that I must become so good at it. Just so I might serve my people well.                            

 Quote: King Raylanty Larson

                                 Chapter-1

                         The Passing of Time

                       (The Port City of Rican)
  Time seems to stand still as he stood there looking at the polished silver mirror. There were light gray streaks that were taking over his dual black hair and his flesh seemed to be withering with age, but these aren't the only thing that's changed since the last time he had taken a long hard look at itself. It'd been almost seven hundred years since he left King Raylanty's court to join with the arch mages' and well over two hundred years since he had found the one he had chosen to be his prodigy. He stood there and stared for a moment at the man looking back at him with his rounded chin; his straight nose; and slightly sloped forehead; and almond shaped eyes, with shoulder length black hair; with a look that was less than impressed and then he turned and walked over to a small table and started studying a tome that was lying open on it. The last few days had been a real pain to deal with, what with the constant interruptions by the Council banging at the door, his patients were starting to wear thin. Just then there was a sudden eruption of noise as the sound of metal banging against wood resounded into the room as someone hammered on the door. Slowly and deliberately he looked up from the tome and glared at the door, slamming it shut as he stood.

   He started walking over to the door; stopping momentarily to slide a crate filled with bones out of the path, and continued. “Unless you relish the idea of being the next meal for our Reken troops, you had better have a damn good reason for disturbing me,” he said as he walked over and abruptly opened the heavy wooden door.

 

  Standing there with a slightly amused look on his face was a tall elf with long dirty blond hair that seemed to float back and forth across his silvery blue chain mail. With his straight line chin and his hawk like features; there was no mistaking that this man was one of the Eastern Dark Wood elves. “One of these days Eldrick, you're going to threaten me once too often and when that happens. You're likely to find yourself floating to your next corpse,” The elf said as he pushed past Eldrick into the room.

   Eldrick glared at him as he walked over to a small table where two wine pitcher and glasses set. “What do you want Bolandurus? I told you I did not want to be disturbed while I was studying these tomes,” Eldrick said as he slammed the door and walked back over to the table, opening the tome again.

   Sir Bolandurus picked up one of the pitcher and smelled it; wrinkled his nose a bit and then poured himself a glass. “No, what you told me was that I was not to disturb you unless I had found out something about where your young prodigy is. If you would rather I had not come, then I can leave,” Sir Bolandurus said as he poured a glass of white wine and handed it to Eldrick with a slight smile.

  A sudden look of exhilaration came over Eldrick's face. “You found her, where?” Eldrick ask as he turned to give Sir Bolandurus his total and undivided attention

  She was on the Metheal coast heading south along the Beauton highway. She stopped here in Rican for a day or so and then headed south again. Then she turned west and went into the Merchion Forest, where I lost her. So I'm not sure if she went on South to the city of Rettes or over to Cragg pass, but I thought you'd want to know that she had been in the area and before you ask, the last time I saw her was three days ago.” Sir Bolandurus said as he took a drink of the white wine, grimacing from the taste and sat the glass down and continued. “Her powers growing at a phenomenal rate; she was jumped by a small group of bandits just outside Rican and she walked through them like they were nothing. By the time she was done, their own mothers wouldn't recognize them. You know one of these days she's going to be coming to your door and I hope I'm there to see that. It should be one hell of a show,” Sir Bolandurus said as he started to sit in a chair covered in blue silk.

  Eldrick looked up at his last comment. “No one told you to sit,” Eldrick said motioning for him to remain standing. “You're right; she is definitely becoming very powerful.  If she keeps growing the way she is; she will become one of the most powerful arcane casters that have ever walked in the land of Kayshall. In time, she will become my greatest creation,” Eldrick said as he turned back to the tome on the table.

  “Just how do you figure you created her?” Sir Bolandurus asked with a slightly confused look on his face.

  Eldrick stopped his reading and appeared to stare off into space for a moment. “I could sense her raw unharnessed power before I ever met her; and it was this power that attracted me to her.  When I saw her and the life she had; I could also see the future that she would have. I knew then that I must eliminate all of the distractions in her life in order for her to start her journey towards her true destiny. I had hoped that this would draw her to me and I would be able to mentor her; unfortunately it did not have that effect. She turned against me and sought out the Pedrick Witches to teach her. But it matters not because it is her hatred that drives her, her hatred for me. So yes I would say that I have had a great deal to do with the creation of the so-called Demon Witch. Otherwise she would just be living on a farm somewhere making babies and feeding the animals. I have showed her the path to power and have helped her acquire the tools she needs to gain this power. I would say I did her a favor and I would also say that we're done here; you can go,” Eldrick said as he sat down and started studying the tomes again

  Sir Bolandurus shook his head in disbelief at what he had just heard. “You never fail to amaze me as to just how full of yourself you are,” he said in a deep rumbling tone as he fought to contain his anger, and he turned and left Eldrick's quarters.

 

        (In the Merchion Forest)
  The night sky was lit up with hundreds of tiny stars that shine down on the Merchion Forest. Where a lone campfire was slowly consuming pine logs as they snapped and popped and crackled, sending green and orange flames dancing back and forth along it wood. The fire reflected off an exquisitely made long sword that was lying next to a beautiful young Elven woman sleeping restlessly only a few feet away.

  A wadded blanket lay next to her and she gripped her sword hilt as if preparing to use it. Suddenly she started shifting from one side to the other as an image of a young warrior on a battlement appeared to her. He wore a Rover's uniform that was marked with the falcon crest of the Knights of Agarith; and he appeared to be directing troops in battle then suddenly another man's face appeared to her. This one she knew all too well, it was Eldrick. Then his voice echoed through her mind. “Shamonah,” she woke with a start sword at the ready only to find there was nothing there. Sitting there, she stared into the fire for a while till finally she felt at ease again. Removing a small book from her pack and started to write. {The visions have started coming more often. They all seem to revolve around some great battle that is going to happen and I think I finally know where. I think it will take place at Valley point, but the young elf that I keep seeing. I can't figure out who he is; but he must play a major role in the upcoming war or else he wouldn't keep appearing to me in these damn visions.  Then there's the ever present image of Eldrick in the back; I can feel him reaching out to me. I think he's had one of his dogs following me; it's probably just Sir Bolandurus checking up on me to see what I'm doing on this side of the Pedrick's. I'll ride down to Kerry and see if I can find the ink I need there and then I'll start checking on these visions.} She put the book back in her pack and lay down, pulling her blanket over her and went back to sleep. Early the next morning she climbed onto her horse and started riding towards the South. This

 

                      (Colowe Forest near Feg)

  The breeze was carrying a slight chill as it rustled the brilliantly colored Zalland leaves on this autumn morning in the Colowe forest. Much the same as any fall morning in the elder forests of Colowe; but this morning was different. The trials were taking place and there was a rumor that the King himself was coming to watch; such a thing had not happened in over three hundred years. This made the tension weigh heavily on all the young would-be Rovers that were being tested; for they all wanted to do well in front of the King. Over the last few days the young elves had been proving their skill in archery and blade. The archery trials were over and it was finally down to the last four to be tested on their blade skills. One by one the youngling's went into a walled off area where the elders would watch them be tested until finally it came down to the last one.

  A young elf sat quietly on the end of an old Zalland log with his long sword and belt lying next to him.
"Kallander; Kallander, are you ready?" he heard someone say.

 

 

   Slowly he looked over, seeing a young elf walking over to him, he stood and started strapping on his long sword. "Yes, I'm ready," he replied as he loosed his sword from the scabbard, his mind raced as he tried to remember everything he had been taught.

  There had been five grueling years’ worth of training and countless hours of painstaking practices. Now it had finally come down to this, the time to find out how good one really is. Standing to his full height of five feet nine inches, he stretched his arms over his head to try to loosen up a little and then he turned and started towards the combat circle.

Kallander strolled up to the large wooden wall; his crystal blue eyes sparkled as he pulled his sword from its sheaf and handed it to the trainer. “Do you have any last words of advice?” Kallander asked as he watched the trainer run his hand along the blade. He spoke a single word and the blade started to glow a pale blue.

  “Just take a deep breath; hold your temper and remember that the blade is not the only part of a sword,” the trainer said as he handed Kallander's sword back. Then he opened a door in the wooden wall for Kallander.
The testing area was a large walled circle with a walkway around the top for the elders to watch from. As Kallander stepped into the testing area he felt every muscle in his body tighten. As he looked around he saw three elves standing on the far side. Judging by the look of them they were seasoned veteran Rover's. One of them was wearing gold trimmed black plate mail that bore the Dragon horn crest of Agarith.

  “Something tells me this isn't going to be a fair fight,” Kallander said as he whirled his sword around in a circle trying to loosen up his arm. Two of the elves started moving toward him with their swords at the ready; the one in plate mail just leaned against the wall and watch. Kallander watched two men closely; trying to anticipate which one was going to strike first. Suddenly the one on the left attacked, Kallander blocked and their swords met with in a flash of Sparks. Shoving him back just in time to bring his blade to block the other man's attack causing another shower of Sparks; seeing a small opening Kallander kicked the elf's feet out from under him and brought his sword down on his chest , which would normally be a killing blow.

  “One down; you're next my friend,” Kallander said as beads of sweat started to drip from his forehead as he faced the other elf with a smile.

  “We’ll see about that youngling!” The elf said with a slight bite to his voice, as he swung his sword. Kallander blocked the blow but then there was a sudden rush of pain, as the elf's mailed glove punched him in the face. The blow knocked him off balance, sending him stumbling backwards into the wall. Blood spewed from his nose causing his vision to blur because his eyes started to water; shaking his head he was able to clear his vision just in time to block the elf's next blow, and sparks flew as their blade met. Kallander jumped forward and kicking the elf in the gut causing him to double over; then hitting the elf with the pommel of his sword on the head knocking the elf out. Looking down at the elf lying face down in the dirt, Kallander placed his blade across the elf back to indicate a killing blow.

  Then Kallander turned to face the third elf that was still standing by the far wall. He smiled as he stood up straight and walked towards the center of the testing area. Stopping he looked up at the elders who had been watching the testing and beginning to take a real interest in what was going on now; he looked over one man who was dressed in silver field plate armor much like his own. The man simply nodded to the Knight of Agarith who bowed to him and then turned his attention back to Kallander.

  “So young BloodRaven do you think you're ready for this,” The elf asked as he lifted his sword into a high guard position.

  Kallander was astonished that the man knew who he was. “Yes", I believe I am,” Kallander said as he wiped blood from his chin with his sleeve, causing pain to run through his face. Without warning the elf attacked Kallander driving him back, it was taking all his skill just to block this man's blows much less make any attacks.

  “Come on Kallander, focus. You have the same training as I do, use it,” the elf said as he continued to attack him. Kallander was quickly forced up against the wall and was blocking and rolling from side to side to avoid the blows.

  “Focus d****t, if I were an Orc about to slaughter your family, would you be fighting like this, focus,” The elf yelled as he swung his sword at Kallander. Suddenly Kallander started swinging back, matching the elf blow for blow and slowly forcing him back. The duel continued on like this for a few moments then suddenly the knights and Kallander's blade locked, and they stood there one trying to overpower the other. Then without warning Kallander feet suddenly went flying out from under him and the Knight was standing over him with his sword at Kallander's throat.

  “I believe this is a kill Young BloodRaven,” The Knight of Agarith said as he held out his hand to help Kallander to his feet. “You're a good fighter youngling, just remember to focus because next time it may not be a trainer or someone like me,” The elf said as he smiled and then he turned and left the training area. Kallander wiped the blood from his face and watched the elf leave then he turned and left the training area himself. As he walked out a great horn was blown that echoed through the forest, signaling the end of the trials.

  “We've passed, we've passed the test!” A young elf said as he ran over to Kallander with a bloody smile.

  “Well Dimez it appears that you got a little bloody during your tests as well,” Kallander said as he patted him on the back and moved off towards the elders. He could see his father and grandfather there talking with the other elders as he strolled over to where they were.

“I see you remembered your training,” Kallander father said with pride in his voice.

  Kallander just smiled and nodded; glancing past his father he noticed two elder elves as they walked up leading their horses. One he recognized immediately as being the trainer he had face inside the arena. The other was the elder elf that had been standing on the walkway above that the Knight had bowed to. He was a tall elf, about six feet four inches and very well built. He had long black hair with small silver streaks that heightened the color of his deep blue eyes, which somehow seemed older than they were. He was wearing a magnificent suit of polished silver field plate armor with black trim; the likes of which Kallander had never seen before it was almost overwhelming.

  Just then Kallander’s father put his hand on his back. “Come with me Kallander, there's someone I'd like you to meet,” his father said as he walked over to the tall elf.

  The tall elf saw them coming and suddenly got a large smile on his face. “Morrice, it is good to see you again; it's been a long time since Bendel Pass and far too long since I've seen you in my court. I should not neglect my friends this way,” The elf said to Kallander's father as they walked up. Just then another elf dressed much like this one road up. “My King I'm sorry to interrupt you but word just arrived that there are small Orc camps starting to spring up along the Pedrick mountain range,” The elf said as he waited for the Kings orders. “Okay have scouts watch them for now and report any signs of them getting ready for war,” The King said and then he turned back to Kallander's father.

“I'm sorry Morrice, its part of running a kingdom. Like I was saying it's been far too long since I've seen you,” The King said as he bowed slightly to Morrice.

 Morrice returned the bow than glanced over at Kallander. “King Raylanty, it is good to see you again and you’re right it is been far too long. So what do you think of him?” Morrice asked as he glanced over at Kallander who then bowed to the King.

  “Well he's not the best I've seen, at least not yet. I need you to have your five best come to my camp on the Southwest side of the Colowe. I want them at the ruins of Keep Morran six days from now. Make sure this one is among them and here, this is for him,” The King said as he handed something to Morrice. “It will be good to have a BloodRaven in my ranks again; farewell my old friend I will see you soon,” King Raylanty said as he and the other elf mounted their horses, then they turned and road off into the forest.

  Morrice just stood there for a moment and then he turned to Kallander. “That my son was King Raylanty; it would appear that you have impressed him,” Morrice said as he held up his hand and looked at what the King had handed him. Morrice noticed that several of Kallander's friends were waiting patiently off to one side with excitement in her eyes. “You go and spend time with your friends, son. I'll see you when you get home for meal time,” Morrice said as he pointed at the four youngling that were waiting off to one side. Kallander smiled and ran off towards his friends, stopping when his father called him back. “I'm sorry; I almost forgot,” his father said as he tossed him a shoulder patch. “Wear it with pride you earned it. At least that's what the King thinks,” Morrice said as he turned and walked away. Kallander looked at the patch in his hand and wondered what it meant he had never seen one like it before it was rose colored with a rounded top and two straight sides that came down to a point. The patch had a gold border with a lion's claw holding a crown in the center of it. In the top left corner it had the letters KP in black, and about half way down on the right side there was a gold circle. Kallander turned to ask his father what it meant, but he was gone.

  Suddenly Kallander's friends were all gathered around him, showing him their blue crown patches and asking him about his and what it meant. But none of them seemed to know the meaning of it. Kallander laughed and joked with them, but his mind kept returning to the patch. His friends were probably too kind to say it, but like him, they had to suspect that it meant he was not going to be one of their ranks. He had tried his hardest during the trials, but it hadn't been good enough. Even the king had said that he was not the best. The blue crown patches were certainly for Rover's. So a rose-colored patch could only be for a common soldier. Kallander sighed; at least he had made it into the army.

Author's Note

Just a note to help with one of the names in the story. Shamonah, Sha-mon-ah, all the vowels are short.

Reviews

[Rose of Gondor]

The last font change was somewhat weird, but other than that, all I have to add, the tiny bit to fix this story is the end. Now, with the beginning, I was wondering what would happen next, you know, I was wondering why was this guy looking at the mirror. You pulled me into the story directly from the beginning but by the end, you've left me a lot to think about, but not really a cliffhanger, if you ask me. Other than that: I'm loving this! You've successfully drawn my attention to your story, and you showed me this world and your characters. I especially enjoyed the conversation between the first two characters you introduced, Eldrick and Bolandurus.

Great job. Hats off to you!

[D.]

I will say it did take me a minute to get involved but once I was I was stuck. Great job.

[blackclown]

Plus the cut off of shamonahs part of the chapter

[blackclown]

Well there are a few changes That I don't like.. like the part where eldrick is calling shamonah an she wakes up an fights his magic an swings the sword at him .. there is a few errors of grammar an spelling not many though

[emmajoy]

'The night sky was lit up with hundreds of tiny stars that shine down on the Merchion Forest. Where a lone campfire was slowly consuming pine logs as they snapped and popped and crackled, sending green and orange flames dancing back and forth along it wood. The fire reflected off an exquisitely made long sword that was lying next to a beautiful young Elven woman sleeping restlessly only a few feet away.' - That reads beautifully, a mythical piece of writing, very fluid, very inviting. there's very much an epic tale to be told, you've beckoned, readers will want to know more, what's happening, going to happen, who will do what, etc. The characters and incidents so far are well defined and intriguing.. if others are like them, will make for interesting comparisons. Not the type of story i'd normally read but had to and will read more.

Negatives: font is far to small, tiring for the eyes, therefore could be off-putting; also, would be easier to read if there were spaces between paragraphs and dialogue too.

[jesi]

It was a little hard to tell she when was writing in her journal- had to reread it a few times- and I thought you were switching persons at first. Maybe use some quotations marks (I like to use these for thoughts 'abc') or using italicization would make it easier to differentiate. Only other problem I was when the king's servant appeared the sentence s/he was introduced in was cut off. I forgot something that confused me: BloodRaven is a surname correct? Generally in surnames only the first is character is capitalized such as Bloodraven. Maybe putting in a hyphen could help: Blood-Raven. Just an idea.

[blackclown]

This first chapter is so nice cause it brings up so many questions that u have to keep ready just to get them answered an I like how u betray the kind as a great leader an a involved leader it would of been nice if kallander lost against the ladt. Guy though .. just throw a twist in there about who the guy was or something later in the book just add to the suspence or something

[blackclown]

I still miss the inscert on the archery section of the testing it added suspence to the beginning an showed how good he was with a bow

[mark slade]

a very involved story and well written. Good characters make good stories that's what you've done here.