The Endarkened Chronicles Book 1: Forlorn

Chapter 1

A Home in the Skies

The rolling green and yellow hills of Abasteine were quiet as usual. The soft chittering of insects could be heard by anyone willing to listen. That is, until a loud gust of wind blew the grass and flowers to and fro. The wind was emanating from the wing feathers of a large bird, clothed in stone and still of wing. Propelled by this wind, the large stone bird flew faster than any real bird could. It was a Magnevice, a machine bred with magic, called a Magebird. Although it had the silhouette of a bird, it was dressed in angular armor. The stone head housed a young woman. The bird's sight translated to the spellstone inside, allowing her to peer over the horizon. Silver-haired and eagle-eyed, she patrolled the coast of her lone continent, looking for any signs that the Endark was encroaching on the sea from the mainland, difficult though it may be for the Endark to cross the water.

The Magebird danced in the sky, circling back around to the city. Abaelon was a towering capital made by those who had mastered flight and magic. The city was ringed with an impenetrable wall crafted of alabastrine stone. The immense wall was patterned with crystals wreathed in golden light. Several spires rose out of its skyline playing roost to the Magebirds and simpler craft of its people.

The silver-haired woman placed her hand over one of the inky orbs on the console. She used her fingers to direct luminous spell threads under the surface of the orb, instructing the Magnevice to fold in its wings and let out large stone talons. The talons landed on a skybound dock. She recited a small chant and the stone opened below her. She reluctantly left her nest of light and stone. It was always the worst part of her day leaving her flying companion. Her commanding officer called out to her.

"Anything to report, Arinna?"

She furrowed her brow. "As if there's ever anything to report. The walls keep everything out as usual." She stood somewhat defiantly in front of the officer. She was clad in the black and golden leather armor of the Magneguard, but, as a pilot, her armor was light and held only enough room for a few provisions and her sword. She used a straight double-edged weapon, unlike the rest of the guard who kept curved single bladed swords of short length. Arinna's blade was passed down through generations. It came from a more tumultuous time in Abaelon history, and because of this, it was a tool of war, but one that represented its people. The center of the blade was inlaid with light-receptive stone, giving it the appearance of a gold core veining out to the edge of the blade.

You could usually recognize the people of Abasteine by their trademark silver streaked hair. It was rare for a Baste to have pure silver hair; the streaks usually ran down in inch wide lines down their temples. Bastes could also be recognized by their clothing. Gold runes, etched into their attire, shone with a luminescence when the light struck them. It afforded them some protection against the Endark and other trivial concerns,--no scraped knees stopped a Baste.

Arinna went on to read her full report to her commanding officer, a stern looking man clad in black and gold. Unlike her pilot leather, his armor was made of metal plates capped with opalescent stone. His hair was mostly black, with the trademark silver. This marked him as not belonging to a noble family.

"Arinna," he half growled, "You will address me properly when delivering your report." She knew she had pushed a button.

"Very well, Roland, Lord of the Sky and Talon of the Council. My report is as follows: I flew the perimeter of the southern border and saw nothing other than grass and terrified squants. No shadowy fog nor any suspicious persons. Now with your permission I'd like to retire for the day." Her tone was not mocking but sincere. She knew that Roland did worry about the Endark coming to their shores.

"Very well." His tone softened. "You may head home for the day, but remember that training routines are to start for the new recruits tomorrow. You will be expected to speak." She did an admirable job at hiding the disdain that was creeping over the soft features of her face.

"Yes...of course." She managed to smile as she walked into the building.

She gave a passing wave to her fellow guards in the hall as she walked towards her personal Magnevice. It was a particularly ancient vehicle, another relic passed down through generations. It was in the carved shape of a dragon and Arinna had to climb across its wing to get into the cabin, a small house-like construct on its back. It was large enough inside for ten people but only ever sat her these days. There were no controls as in her prized bird, but, instead, runes depicting ancient and complicated spells adorned the cockpit. The intent was to tell the dragon where to go by sending instructions through the runes emblazoned on her clothing. She touched the orb in the center of the cabin, focused hard on home, and the winged lizard lurched, floating, towards the lower levels of the city. The red sun bounced off the white towers and filtered throughout the city, for even though the sun was setting, the city itself greedily held on to as much light as it could. She wistfully gazed out the window across the cityscape.

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