Silyn - The Cloud Kingdom [ ON HOLD ]

Chapter One

Black clouds started to form. She could taste the sulphur in her mouth. One hand tightly intertwined with her brother's as she carried him on her back. There were only a few moments left. She could make it to safety. They all could.

Her wings were tired from the day's journey, yet she flapped them harder. She eyed Cloud Kingdom's twin moons rising in their green and lilac glory, positioning for the overlap. One more flap of her wings and she skillfully landed on one of the archways of Castle Silyn.

The guards in the archway quickly dropped to their knees and bowed their heads in her sudden presence. Iris clapped her hands and the guards stood.

"Get the magisters. Now!" she ordered. Iris started to untie the rope around her waist that had held her brother strapped on their way back from their scouting mission.

"More are coming. We have ten injured. Is the castle ready for the firestorms?" She asked.

"Yes, Your Highness. All is ready."

She looked at her cloudguard. "Hold the gates open for as long as you can. I want everybody to reach Silyn tonight. I accept no casualties and no excuses."

A gush of wind alerted her to the magisters arrival.

"Fix him up," she snapped at the magister closest to her. "And as soon as Joas comes in, send him to the solstice room." Iris turned on her heels walked the few steps to the edge of the archway.

The diamond dome that protected Castle Silyn was turning darker. Iris looked around; her army had landed on all six hundred archways. She felt pleased as she closed her eyes and dove head down in the heart of Silyn.

The wind sighed through her wings. One, two, she opened her eyes. She could feel the faint rays through the archways. Three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine. She curled her long legs to her chest, took a spin, and landed in the main courtyard.

The winter solstice was fast approaching and her army was not fully prepared for what was coming. She needed everyone in top form if they were going to succeed.

The moon merge had commenced. The firerain was relentless if you were caught outside. Even the most powerful magisters in Iris' kingdom could not save you from it.

As a young soul when she first ascended to the Cloud Kingdom, she was mystified by the firerain, the dome, but mostly she was curious about the mage, envious at times. She was disappointed when she found out she could not be a magister. Her path was to be a cloudsoldier. She had arrived in the kingdom with Joas so many years ago the memory was so distant. It puzzled her for a while when the Maister had announced their positions.

"You asked for me?" Joas asked with a ferocious look in his light purple eyes.

"Walk with me to the solstice room."

They walked in silence through the stone hallways.

"The vegetation is well taken care of," she pointed out. The trees were strong and held the stonewalls of the castle together. They were the glue, the heart of the castle.

"You can thank the magisters and the young souls for this."

They reached the solstice room and closed the doors behind them.

"What happened out there Joas? Who was that?" She enquired calmly.

"Your Highness," Joas said.

"Don't Your Highness me Joas; it's the two of us now."

"Iris, I don't know what happened. A young soul so strong that ten cloudsoldiers including myself were not able to control it. In my years here, the centuries we have spent together, I have not seen this before."