“Impossible,” Vand shook his head vigorously. “Kaltara would strike me dead instantly.”
“An instant death is what you desire,” smirked the demon, “but you have no fear in that regard. Kaltara will not touch you.”
“What do you mean?” asked Vand. “Why would Kaltara not punish me for abandoning him?”
“You have already abandoned him,” chuckled the demon. “The moment you walked through that door, you gave up your faith in Kaltara. You failed his test, Priest. Now your life is mine to do with as I please.”
A look of shock came over Vand’s face, but he realized the truth of the demon’s statement. Kaltara had been testing him, and Vand had failed. He rebuked the king and the other priests who had gathered to help. He had placed himself above the people as the only one to know Kaltara. He had let vanity and pride defeat his holiness.
“I am an old man,” Vand said softly. “I do not have much life left in me. What would you have me do?”
“I will determine the number of your days,” retorted Dobuk. “If I were gracious enough to allow you to return to Angragar, your days would be limited, but I have other plans for you. How would you like to live for thousands of years?”
“Thousands of years?” echoed the priest. “That is impossible.”
“Nothing is impossible,” the demon grinned mischievously. “Be my priest, and you will rule the world for centuries. Multitudes will bow down before you and worship your every word. Your vanity will not be a slight to me as it is to Kaltara. Be vain. Be powerful. Take your revenge against those other inferior mortals.”
Vand’s eyes grew large as he tried to envision the image that the demon was painting.
“Oh,” sighed Dobuk, “what is the use? You are a foolish servant of Kaltara. You probably don’t have the character to rule the world. You don’t have the ability to push your feelings aside and crush your enemies beneath your boots. You are a weakling.”
“No!” protested the priest. “I have no feelings towards others. I am superior to all of them. I always have been, but they will fight me. How can I overcome the multitudes that will rise up against me?”
“My priest will have powers befitting his station,” smirked Dobuk. “Mortals are weaklings. When you speak in my name, they will either bow or flee, but you will not allow them to flee. You will strike them down to the last child. Can you handle that, Priest?”
Vand’s eyes glistened as he imagined the power that he would wield. He pictured King Regis kneeling before him, as he demanded the surrender of Angragar. His face broke into a smile.
“I think you will be surprised with what I can accomplish,” declared Vand. “Kaltara will rue the day that he tested me. You have a bargain, Dobuk. I will be your priest.”
The Great Demon’s grin broke as his mouth opened wide revealing the rows of sharp teeth. Flames shot from the demon’s eyes as he nodded his head in satisfaction. He waved a claw in the air, and Vand’s body instantly healed. The blisters disappeared, and the charred skin returned to a healthy tone.
Vand actually felt the sickness flee from his body. He inhaled deeply as he felt his strength returning. His eyes fell to the desert floor, and he saw rich garments before him. He picked them up and dressed. When he was done, Dobuk gently picked Vand up, and the priest stood on the demon’s open palm while Dobuk explained what he was to do. After an indeterminable amount of time, Dobuk was satisfied that his new priest would know what to do. He placed Vand back on the ground and winked conspiratorially. Vand bowed low before his new master. Dobuk waved a claw, and a door appeared in the sands of the desert.
“You must visit regularly,” warned Dobuk. “I will not stand for disobedience. I am not Kaltara, and my vengeance will be slow and deliberate. Do you understand?”
“Perfectly,” nodded Vand.
Dobuk disappeared in a puff of smoke. Vand turned and walked through the door to the small closet. He closed the door and stood in the darkness for a moment. Slowly, he opened the door and stepped out into the cave below the Asylum. The old man gasped audibly when he saw the priest. Vand grinned and motioned the old man towards him.
“You have something that belongs to me,” Vand declared. “Give it to me.”
The old man’s eyes grew large as he fumbled inside his tunic for the contract.
“How have you survived?” asked the old man. “The others either never returned or came back crazy.”
“The others were not High Priests,” grinned Vand as he tore the contract up and stuffed the pieces into his pouch. “I left a present for you inside the closet. It is the least I could do for one who has shown me the way to greatness.”
A pall of confusion came over the old man’s face, but his curiosity was strong. He immediately moved beyond the priest and peered through the open door to the closet. He saw nothing. Unexpectedly, Vand pushed the old man into the closet and slammed the door shut. He could barely hear the old man’s cries of terror as he passed through the cave to the stairs leading up to the shop.
Our story so far…
Young Lord of Khadora is the story of a young soldier who is unhappy with the culture of his country. His superb military skills, and the loyalty of his troops, enable Marak to take the reins of a minor Situ estate when the opportunity arises. When the neighboring lords conspire against Lord Marak, he uses cunning, courage, and unconventional warfare to subdue them. When his own protector, Lord Ridak of the Situ Clan, turns against Lord Marak, the young lord strikes a blow for a new culture. He creates his own clan, the Torak clan, and defies the norms by freeing his slaves. At the end of volume one, Lord Marak secretly controls five small clans on the frontier of Khadora.
Star of Sakova introduces Lyra, a young mage student who is thrust into an unfamiliar world by an attack on her father’s magic academy. Running for her life, Lyra enters the dreaded Sakova, expecting death at every turn. Instead, she finds that the god Kaltara has chosen her to lead the Sakovan people. Young Lyra unravels the mystery of the attack on the magic academy and the kidnapping of her father, Master Malafar. During the struggle to save the Sakovan people from extinction, Lord Marak visits and discovers long lost ties between the Sakovans and the people of his Chula father. By the end of volume two of the Forgotten Legacy, Lyra displays magic talents that only Kaltara could have given her. She faces off against the false Katana Alazar and defeats him in a public display that eliminates the threat of war.
Web of Deceit features a young villager from a remote area of Fakara. The story opens with the destruction of Rejji’s village and a chance meeting with Mistake, a young elf-like woman. Rejji and Mistake are captured by slavers and sold to a Khadoran estate where they befriend a young Fakaran with the rare ability to speak with animals. Lord Marak frees the trio from slavery as he seeks to learn more about the strange country of Fakara. When the trio returns to Rejji’s homeland, they become embroiled in a power struggle between the Jiadin tribe and the rest of the tribesmen, known as the Free Tribes. On a trip to the Sage of the Mountain, Rejji discovers that he is the long-awaited Astor of prophecy. He finds a painting in the ancient lost city of Angragar that depicts Lord Marak, Lyra, and himself. By the end of volume three, Rejji succeeds in uniting the Free Tribes under his banner and defeating the Jiadin. He immediately makes plans to rebuild his native country.
Aakuta: the Dark Mage introduces a new mysterious figure. A powerful dark mage suddenly appears in a country devoid of male mages. The mage appears to have no allegiances in the growing struggle between Lord Marak and the forces of evil, but he has the habit of always showing up when conflict erupts. Meanwhile, Lord Marak tries to arouse Khadora into stopping an invasion by the Jiadin. Not only do the other lords refuse to help him, but they actively try to ruin him through attacks and assassinations attempts. The secret alliances long held by Lord Marak are eventually discovered as Marak first ascends to the Lords’ Council and eventually becomes Emperor of Khadora. At the conclusion of volume four, Emperor Marak is consolidating Khadora under his banner. His plan is to rally all of the armies to help him combat the coming invasion of evil.