They had summoned the Ucrie inside the commanders' hut. At the end of the room, on the opposite side of the entrance, they had placed three thrones made of tree branches, the backrest formed a sun with rays, standing wide in a circle.
The three commanders entered with their heads held high, silence descended into the room. The man wore a gray cloak tied to his left side, his cousin had a bright red cloak, while Phoes had a dark blue cloak, similar to the color of the man's eyes.
They quietly advanced and sat on the thrones. Phoes on the right and his cousin in the center, while he sat comfortably on the left, resting his chin on his hand, completely bored by the gnarly situation. He rested the ankle of one foot on the opposite knee and looked at the people inside the room.
Nessa was in the middle of the Ucrie, her golden hair pulled back. On her neck she had the marks of two hands, marks that he had left her that morning.
The commander gave a wide smile,
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Bringer of Darkness Chapter 47
TarynTaryn watched Elhiàs Ackard, who returned her gaze, his icy blue eyes shining as they squared her head to toe."So," said Elhias, looking her in the eye, "I know you have a proposal for me, or so good old Practer told me." Then he pointed with his head to a man at the foot of the steps.The man was short and bald, with golden skin and very white teeth, while smiling at his king and nodding his head.Taront glanced at Taryn, silently asking permission to speak in her place. The Queen nodded imperceptibly, whereupon the Lord stepped forward and spoke."And it is Your Highness," Taront began.Elhiàs shifted his gaze from the queen to the young lord who had spoken. Taront had assumed a proud po
Bringer of Darkness Chapter 48
Taryn"Well, it went well," Taront said, pouring himself wine."Well?" snorted Grander next to Taryn as she ate."Elhiàs Ackard is known for not wasting time pondering decisions he does not find favorable," Taront replied."That doesn't mean he agrees to our proposal," Taryn said, looking out the window as she drank.The king's guards had goneto the residence that had been their lodging in those days, and had escorted Taryn's men who remained there to the fortress. Elhias had taken care to give a comfortable accommodation to everyone, leaving almost an entire wing of the fortress just for them. He had assigned Taryn the largest rooms with a huge balcony communicating with the rooms of his lords.At that moment Taryn found herself right on that balcon
Bringer of Darkness Chapter 49
SumonThe city was in mourning. People didn't walk the streets, they didn't do markets, they didn't talk. It was a sign of respect for the late king.The streets were empty, the taverns were closed, even the whores were locked up in their brothels and no one went to visit them.The masters had sent letters to the lords of the whole kingdom announcing the king's death and Nathan's upcoming coronation, inviting them to take part in the celebrations, pay their last homage to the old king and swear allegiance to the new one: it would have been the perfect excuse to actually see who was against Nathan's succession and who was not; it would have been the exact moment to understand who to watch your back from and who not, even if it all came from an extremely sad event for Nathan.Her husband had spent the previous days in total silence and solitude and Sumon could only imagine how he felt at that moment.Three days
Bringer of Darkness Chapter 50
SumonThe days continued to pass, as the funeral rites were performed and more and more strangers arrived in Sierra.Haefest was divided into thirty distinct regions, at the head of each there was a noble family. Some were descendants of the first inner circle of the founding king of Sierra, others had received the office later, swearing their allegiance to the reigning king or proving their valor in battle.Of thirty lords, in addition to the six present at the council, only a dozen had appeared.The others had not shown up and had not sent a response to the summons of the new king, completely ignoring the orders given. If they had not supported Nathan's coronation, they might have been able to start a rebellion by proclaiming a fake king for them, declaring open war against the crown. And, with civil war looming in the north, such a rift in their kingdom was the last thing they needed.If word had come to t
Bringer of Darkness Chapter 51
AthelstanAthelstan entered the throne room for the second time on that day, the sun was now setting and the little light that filtered, had made the room darker, while the last rays of the sun projected on the floor the long shadows of the vases scattered everywhere.The servants had closed all the large windows to prevent the bad smell from entering the building, the effort had been in vain, since inside the room a vague stench of rotten could be perceived. Athelstan had hoped that the smell would not reach the city, but unfortunately the light wind had carried the smoke and bad smell there, causing the anger of his father to erupt and he now found himself holed up in his rooms. Probably lost between the legs of some whore, while he had to deal with the messengers of Haefest.The throne room was empty when he entered, Athelstan was accompanied by two council members and a master. When he approached the bench he was dumbf
Bringer of Darkness Chapter 52
AthelstanQueen Reanna was standing, her back straight and her hands crossed in front of her. Her red hair was styled in a long braid that ran sideways down her shoulder. On her head she wore a simple crown, the thin silver circle had only a diadem in the center, just above the forehead.The purple eyes, like those of her son, were focused on the master, inquisitors, despite having a glacially quiet expression and a sweet tone of voice."Mother," said Athelstan, solemnly.The other men at the same time pronounced Majesty by making a bow.The queen gave a sweet smile and approached them. "Master, how did you say?" She blinked a couple of times. A lion in cat disguise, Athelstan thought, trying to hold back a laugh."I think it is safer that the prince will stay in Locrand," the old man said confidently.He was not afraid of Reanna's role or the soldiers who would cut off the heads of anyone w
Bringer of Darkness Chapter 53
TarynTaryn placed the glove on her right hand, the leather partially covering three fingers of her hand and part of her palm, covering her white skin.Three days had passed since Elhias and she had spoken and since then she had not seen or spoken with the king of Aeris. The king was busy pondering Taryn's proposal, while the queen barricaded herself in the rooms where she was staying, waiting. As if his whole life depended on that decision and in a sense it was so.Taryn had done nothing but wait and read huge tomes that Elhias had made her bring by the servants. They said that those books came from the Bochus of Althea and that it was the king himself who took them. Not that Taryn understood the reasons.She did not know what would be the use of reading the ancient legends about the creation of the world, certainly it would not have been useful to her in a war against the usurper. They wouldn't argue which story was more truthful than the other.Despite this, Taryn had kept any impu
Bringer of Darkness Chapter 54
"He's certainly not here to make you look at him," he replied wryly."The first thing you learn in training is to use the bow," he said, earning himself seriously."Will you be a target? It might encourage me to aim well." Taryn bent her head to the side and looked into his eyes with a smile."And take away the pleasure from my enemies?" he arched his eyebrows in amusement."I might suggest drawing my face on target, but I doubt anyone can capture such beauty," he continued, sporting a mischievous smile.Taryn shook her head and followed him as they moved some distance from the target.When they were far enough, Elhias stopped and grabbed her by the shoulders, causing her to position herself in front of the target."Do you know how to use it?" he said, handing her his bow and quiver."I'm not stupid. I saw my soldiers," he replied immediately, grabbing the objects."Then give it a try," he declared, raising his hands and