Stone Sacrifice ✔️Chronicles of Grey BOOK ONE [COMPLETED]

Chapter One

Dearest Daughter,
The  enemy is at the gates. I haven't much time.
I leave you in the care of my most trusted friend. He will tell you what I cannot.
      You are a babe now, sitting in your mothers arms oblivious to the screams of death and smell of burning flesh that comes into our window, but one day you will grow, and when you do you must know who you are so that you can fight back.
Retake the throne that is rightfully yours, daughter. This  king will not be kind nor will he be fair and my heart clenches at the thought of what he will do with a crown upon his head.
But you must wait. Wait until you are grown then go to the mountains and gain the power you need to defeat him. Gain the aide and trust of the dragons in the north, find the ancient artifacts that will gift you power and strength. Do not fight him until you are ready, no matter how long it takes. He has the Stones at his disposal and he will destroy you if he knows you are alive.
I wish to tell you more but I haven't the time. They  are inside the castle now and it will not be long before they find us. So I will only tell you three final things:
All the legends are true,
      you must keep your marks hidden,
      and most importantly, the Stones w----

I carefully folded the paper that has been folded so many times the crease had erases some letters of the words. The paper, once pale white, now was darkened with age and handling. There was a stain of tears from when I had mourned the parents I never knew, a smudge of a small muddy fingerprint from when I was a child and would read it while hiding in the Mud Waters from Jovian, another fingerprint of jam just above it. In the bottom corner there sat a small smudge of blood from where I had read it after a particularly difficult training session. The top right had been chewed on by a rat when we'd been smuggled overseas. Most of all though, was that smudge of oil and dirt brought on by a thousands rubs where my finger had tapped and brushed just after that w. Once, the missing third thing my father wished to tell me but had not the time to frustrated me; had kept me up wondering in the night and drove me to a thousand unanswerable questions.

But no longer. I still wondered, but I had accepted it may never be answered.

"Are you ready, Meira."

I looked up from the ancient table to the equally ancient Jovian - my fathers closest friend, mage, warrior, trainer, teacher, and the only father figure I'd ever known. He never called me by my true name, but I knew this was not a slip of the tongue; he had done so on purpose, to remind me of who I was, to remind me of my purpose, to remind me of who I was meant to be.

I did not need the reminder.

I stood as I tucked the worn note into the locket around my neck. My eyes were bright beneath the hood that hid my face from those who I would make my enemies. "I'm ready."

***

We exit the inn - which is aptly named The Stale Barrol - onto the stinking streets of Qa'elah . Qa'elah was such a large city that it was bound to stink with so many bodies pressed together, it was also bound to have areas where he poorer folk resided. However, we were not twenty marks  from the castle gates; in all reality, this area should have been filled with rich and exotic foods, expensive fabrics, clean streets with shimmering gold upon the wrists and necks and smooth hands. Josiah had told me much of the city before the death of my father, and I have seen many other kingdoms in my lifetime of hiding. These unkempt streets that stank of waste and sweat, the streets with broken lanterns on posts, with rats showing themselves even with so many crowding together and moving toward the castle gates with the irritated, pushiness that only man could excel at... it showed quite clearly how unwell the kingdom was taken care of, for if you could not take care of the streets a quarter arm away from the castle, how could you do so for a town twenty arms  away?

My arm was jostled by someone as we went nearer to the gates. More people were crowding in now and it was becoming impossible to even watch my own step --- I hoped I didn't step on anything that I'd need to scrape off my leathers. Finally the occasional sign of a richer area was visible by the lack of waste down walls as these homes and caverns had privies to do their business, but by this time we were so close it could no more impress me then noticing a butterfly wing in a nest of spitbugs.