Invocation of Death
Help me tell, O spirit of Death, keeper of the truest logs of all mortal lives and all times in history of that woman who bore no children and never married but rebirthed a nation. Help me tell of that woman who's wit, intelligence, and tongue were as sharp as a diamond blade Help me tell of she who was never defeated in duel, battle, or war. O Death help me tell the story of Leona the Sovereign. Help me tell of her pains and joys, her loves and loss, her accomplishments and her eventual meeting with you.
O Death I'm but a humble historian who's only lasting mark on this world shall be this text, this log, this epic of she who's legacy is already immoral in the eyes of her people, who long for her rule again.
O Death where does one begin with a person as grand and complicated as her. How dose one do a great ruler like her justice.
Ch.1 "A Royal Birth"
"O Death recall now that day when you brought her soul to the womb of our fair Queen Saffron, wife of the great King Leon."
It was four days past spring's inception, 1960 years after the Great Destruction* in the fifth year of King Leon. In the great palace of the Capital city, in the calm spring night, the queen lay on her bed well into labor. The queen, Saffron, cried in great pain even though birthing herbs she had eaten and although this be perfectly natural it did not help the already nerves king who in a only a few short moments will be a father.
" I pray to the spirits it is a boy!" exclaimed the king as he paced outside his wife's camber room "Then no longer will those Nobles Pester me about an heir and I will have a son to teach the ways of sword and spear." In a way he got what he had wanted.
"Be calm my king" said one of the Queen's camber maids "less you die of nerves fit." He stopped his pacing but it was only replaced with taping of the foot and drumming of the fingers. "I do not die that easily, nor would it be just to do so when my wife is baring me a child."
Then the lamps went out suddenly and without reason but the room stayed lit. The walls, the ceiling, the floors they all grew bright red and orange as if molten or on fire. It was not, however, hot or burning but cool to the touch. Then a newborn's cry was heard from the queen's camber room. After a few moments the cry stopped, the lanterns re-lit and the room stopped its glow.
"A glories child my wife has born. My son shall be destined to be a great warrior and ruler." exclaimed the king.
"Daughter, my lord." said one of the doctors as he came though the door of the queen's camber room.
"What!" said the king
"You have fathered a daughter not a son." the doctor sighed with weak voice. "Your Daughter shall be destined to be a great warrior and ruler."
"Really!" said the king "I know a woman can be a great ruler but a warrior?"
"But that is what the Great Phoenix has demands with its sign and you dare not challenge the mountain spirit."
"I know and if it is the will of the spirit it shall be so. I shall teach her all the ways of honor, sword and crown" he said with great power in his voice. "Now let me see this new daughter of mine!"
They entered the queen's camber room and for a queen of Shadowron, the kingdom that we are in, it is fairly humble. The room was not bare; there were royal banners on the walls made of fine black silk and gold lace, makeup and gold jewelry a wooden dresser with a glass mirror but the wood was humble shoot reed* and the makeup cheap and local. Lastly floors were tiled with strips of shoot reed. The bed frame was beautifully decorated granite, however the normal feather filed mattress and silk sheets had been put aside for the birth and in their place was a simple hay mattress and a ones clean now blood stained straw mat. The room as for size was moderate with a single
glass window covered by black silk currents.
"Come! Come my dear! Come and see our glories daughter who the Great Spirit has blest!" the queen said loud but weakly, as they entered the room. "Come see our beautiful baby girl." The king ran to his wife's bedside to see his child recently wiped of birth blood. Her skin was the color of soot covered copper;Her eyes were a dark orange that, when the light hit them right, looked like the fire of the sun; Her cheeks rounded with baby fat and her nose like a ruby button; She had a healthy round belly and as for size she was normal for a new born child.
"O, Dear call for the wise men" the queen said staring into the eyes of her husband.
The Queen's figurer was, except for her bloated belly, fair and maid like with long ink black hair and eyes of silver; Her face rounded and short with small and humble nose and ears; Her lips were small,slim,and of a lovely reddish color.
"Our child a name fitting of her destiny."
The king turn around to face the Queen's camber maid and said
"Summon the royal star-reader, The mountain's high priest, and all the holyist men of the kingdom."
"Yes my lord!" she said and then ran out the door and ran out the door with great speed. The king walked back to his wife's bed-side. the king was a tall, strong looking, man with a predominate chin and organ eyes dulled with age but with a spark of energy; His head is elongated; his face roundish, except for his chin; His hair was black like his wife but short and roughly cut in the back.
A few moments past and the Queen's maid returned.
"I have brought the royal star-reader and the mountain's high priest but any other holy man are days away, my lord."
"That be fine." said the king "The child needs a needs a name today and they be good ones to do it."
The two men entered the room with scrolls, charts, and excised faces. Both the Star-reader and the Priest wore black robes, with the main differentiates being that the star-reader had silver lining with a silver pentagram and the priest had red lining and a red phoenix over the heart. Unlike their clothes, they differ in age and personality significantly; The star-reader, Lee'Bose, was a man 30 years with wisdom thrive older and personality twice younger; A snow skin mountaineer must have once had been in his bloodline for he had a strange reddish beard and hair of a lighter hue then that of a normal Shadowron; He was thin but health. The Priest, Cinis, was a old man with snow white beard and hair; his face worn, his age unknown, however some have said up to 90; he was a very wise man who could be a kind, almost grandfather like, or a strict and shrewd.
"Glories and even more glories, the heavens do shine greatly down upon this child, my lord!" Said Lee'Bose, "A brave new era this child shall bring; so the stars have told."
"I too see a great destiny to this child; blessed by the Phoenix herself." said Cinis.
"I know my daughter has grand destiny; Any one may tell that when the whole mountain is ablaze with cold fire!",said King Leon, "What is needed from you two is a name to fit that destiny."
"The mountain was ablaze?! I had know idea." said Lee'Bose
"How can you not notice a mountain Glowing red?!" exclaimed Leon.
"Indeed, I may be the old one but you my young friend is the one who has lost his mined" said Cinis.
"I am not mad my old friend.", said Lee'Bose, "Just as a writer may loss the world in scripture, I will find myself lost in my chats." He raised his hand to the sky, "As for a name, my Lord, I Propose that one who is so blest by the stars should be named stella after them."
"If every girl who had a good star was named stella, then there be a thousand Stella." exclaimed Leon.
"Indeed my Lord" said Cinis "I propose Montis after the mountain; As it blest her birth."
"That name is not even feminine, good priest!"
It went on like this till the light of morn began to shine it first rays with names like Aurum and Luna (six years later to be her sister's name). Then the name that was to be forever remembered was said.
"What about Leona, my lord."
It had not been the priest, star-reader, queen, nor even the king who had proposed this name but the queen's camber maid, who none had even realized was still there.
"Leona, you say." Leon said in a curious tone, "A fine name. What do you think my love?"
" I think it a lovely name, my dear. Fitting to bless our child with the same fortune you have had."
"And you Lee'Bose and Cinis?" They stood silent for a few moment, still shocked that they had not thought up this name.
"Yes!; Yes, my Lord, she be born under similar stars as you; the name be perfect." exclaimed Lee'Bose shacking off hiss shock.
"The Phoenix has show her to be a great ruler and warrior one day; Both thing you are too.", exclaimed Cinis, "Leona, a glories name!"
"So it is decided" Queen Saffron said raising her daughter above her face, "Your name, my darling child, shall be, now and forever, Leona Regina Shadowron."
(end of Ch.1)
*= Spring Equinox (March 20) Their new years
**= The destruction of the Malus Empire (to be explained later) Start of the Riverlands calendar
*= Like bamboo but thicker and grows faster (most common wood in the Riverlands)
Chapter 1
I look around me and see a rocky, grass field with forest around it. I look behind me and I see three legions strong with crystal weapons that gleam in the rising sun. I look beside me I see longbow men and ballistae on a steep cliff ready to fire on a moments notice with arrowheads of the same crystal as the legions behind. I look forward beyond the cliffs where I stand and see over ten thousand shadow creatures each as black as the night sky with pure golden eyes that glow and blank faces. these creators that we call Shadowrons are like a thick black fog in human shape with no details to tell them apart . I look behind me again at the three legions each one wears the standard armor of our people ,a cloth suite of cotton, leather, and titian string with crystal and metal plated wooden plates sown on at the torso, shoulders, arms, and legs. Our helmets look like beetle heads with open faces covered by a mask that covers from the top of the nose down and made from the sane cloth as the armor. All this armor accept for the masks are sea green; the color of our capital. The masks are black. I look towards the enemy’s lines again and in the front are six black riders ,the commanders of the force , each one is on a black horse and wearing a pitch black cloak. I see that they are not human but Shadowron instead. In the very front leading the attack is her, Leaon Shadowron. She slim and slender with long hair, she must be in her twenties. She like she riders is not human though more human then her riders her skin , hair , and eyes were a unnatural shade of black like the Shadowrons bodes. She holds a black sword with black and red gems on it’s hilt. She is also on a black horse. Now as the first morning light casts a blood red shadow as it passes threw are crystal weapons I think back to how this all began.
I one could say that this started with the Trien Gate five thousand years ago but that was before the Republic, before written history even so little is known about it. I guess historically this war started twenty years ago though the Dracon Republic has only been directly involved for the last two. Now to understand what is going on I guess you would have to know a little about us. We are the Dracons the people of the Dracon Republic. Before the war there were five nations in this land; The Dracon Republic, The Co Lo Empire,The Shadowron Kingdom, The Tl Ma Empire, and The Fa Kingdom. Now twenty years later the Fa Kingdom has joined the Republic and the Co Lo and Tl Ma Empire have been destroyed by the Shadowrons. The Shadowron Kingdom was once our greatest ally, it’s iconic how some one can be your friend one day and a enemy the next.
Now as the legions move forward from behind to in front of the cliffs were I stand my grip on my bow tightens. I’m both anxious and scared. I look again at her, Leaon. I had met her ones before the power devoured her,she was kind then and though I did not know her personally I had herd many good things about her reign before the war. She still would be if she haven’t made that one apocalyptic mistake.
Now remember when I mention the Trien Gates,well it’s a very important part of how this came to be. All that has happen so far the war, Leaon, the Shadowrons, this battle, and why were using crystal weapons can be linked to that day twenty years ago at and because of the Trien Gate of the Shadows. Now I was lucky in that I was one guards that day when Lunea Shadowron, Leaon’s sister, came to the city of Draco on the isle of Aireay. Urba Draco is our capital city and Aireay is a large isle one day from the south coast. Now back to what I was talking about. What I know of what happened comes from what Lunea told us and my our knowledge of the Trien Gates. What happened to Leaon is sad. This all started when she made a sword against the warnings and pleas of her sister and the Draco high Counsel in order to gain the power of the Trien Gate of the Shadows. She did this not because she had a lust for power or any dishonorable reason like that but to save her kingdom and protect her people or so she thought. You see Shadowron is small in comparison to its neighbors the Co Lo and Tl Ma Empires. This Empires as well as being stronger and bigger,they also complete surrounded the land locked Shadowron Kingdom. It was the fear of both the Shadowron Kingdom and Dracon Republic that the Twin Empires might invaded the Shadowron Kingdom. This fear was strengthened by a royal marriage between the two empires and that relations between the Shadowron Kingdom and Co Lo Empire had completely disintegrated. On the sixth day of the second month in the first year of the Rein of Shadows those fears came true, the Co Lo Empire and it’s ally the Tl Ma Empire invaded. From the war’s beginning and for the next six years we sent supplies to the Shadowron Kingdom and stoped all trade with the Empires, but due to our peaceful nature and our philosophy of not attacking allies attack prevented us from sending solders.
Even with us supplying the Shadowrons with food, water, and weapons they could not hold back the onslaught of the Twin Empires and soon they were at the gates of the Shadowron’s capital of Ko Lo. this day the day of the siege on Ko Lo something happen that would change the course of history forever.
Chapter 2
I open my eyes again to the battle; the sound of drums and signal flutes fill the air. The solders begin to form ranks, Three hundred wide and ten deep with the cavalry in front, swordsmen in the middle and pike men protecting us in the back. There is only one line of cavalry and one line of pike men all the others are swordsmen armed with solar swords. Clouds now move in making a shade, a wonderful shade that is dark like night but still light enough to see. I would have founded it beautiful in any other time but this. Now I hear signal to plant my arrows in the ground, it will not be long now. I look apron my comrades and see a scared expression on there faces but not a cowardly scared, no not that but a expression one gets when one knows there scared, admits it, but dose not let it stop them from doing what they must. We know that there is a good chance that we will not come back but we battle on none the less for we fight for no lord but a Republic of the common man.
. . . Most of the people in our army that we have here are just common people, standers like me, but they are a few very important people who stand out amongst us; they are Sir Aroace of the waters, Sir Ashen of the earth, Sir Larumen of the wind, Sir Sirufin of fire, and Sir Draco of the Shadows. They are the leaders of the Crystalline Knights protesters of Aireay. Each one has a uniquely armor with the color of there elements replacing the standard sea green color of most armor. Now for the most part these armors are a mystery to me; they were made or summed from some special Gems kept in the mountain on Airaey, Do not ask me how they work for I’m neither a mage nor a philosopher. One thing I do know about them is that they carry the power or spirit of there element. These being the four elements of the Ancients “water, fire, earth, And air” and ironically Sir Draco’s element, the Trien element Shadow. Yes that’s right the Leader of our army’s element is the Trien element of shadows, the same element of the Trien Gate whose power corrupted Leaon. Gist shows you that that is always two sides to things. Now each one’s armor also has triangle gold crests on them hands, shoulders, and helmets like that of most high ranking commanders but on Sir Draco they almost looked like stars on his armor with was as black as the night sky. You could say it is the same shade of black as the Shadowron’s but solid not fogy like the Shadowrons.
As well as having unique armor each one also has unique weapon that symbolism they element. For Sir Aroace it’s a sword, Sir Larumen a longbow, Sir Ashen a pike, and for Sir Sirufin a fire chain staff “which is a long wooden staff with ripping whip chains at the ends”. Sir Draco also has sword but it is different from Sir Aroace’s. It is black with white gems on its hilt imbedded with the Trien insignia for shadow. If you look at Leaon’s you will notice that it as a striking resembles to Draco’s sword; that is because Leaon’s sword is a copy of Draco’s. Suddenly’ I hear the signal to string our bows. I thought the battle was starting. It wasn’t. It was but only a hundred; barely a match for our forces. “I wonder … why only a hundred?
Though they attack did not really harm our forces, it does worry me. I do wish we could have brought more then three legions but we don’t have enough crystal to arm any more; and why are we using crystal weapons? Well…that is because, NOTHING ELSE CAN HARM THEM!!!!
Remember when I said they were like thick black fog and just like fog normal weapons pass right throw them and they won’t so much as flinch. This lack of crystal has impacted the longbow men the most. You see do to the lack of supplies each longbow man has but only one hundred arrows for with to fire and in a battle of this scale that’s not a lot. Luckily if a longbow man were to fire off all his arrows he would still have a lunar sword “which is a short, one handed sword” to fight with. We also have great organization so that one will fire, no matter how much they thy want to, till they get the signal to fire; which saves arrows from being wasted. Even with these small things going for us you still can’t help being scared when facing an army of such size and strength. You can see it in the eyes of every Dracon solder. My heart is racing; I do wonder when this battle will start?
