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Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781481745130 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | AuthorHouse |
| Publication date: | 04/29/2013 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Sales rank: | 745,432 |
| File size: | 487 KB |
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The Legends of Lornadia
By Shannon Shoop
AuthorHouse
Copyright © 2013 Shannon ShoopAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4817-4515-4
Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
Jonah jumped up and went for his sword, but it was not there.
"Jonah!" Nadine cried out.
"What are you doing with my sister?" He yelled.
"Quiet now, you don't want to stir the mountain any more than has already been done." Lore said in a hushed tone. He watched the boy with more amusement than fear, he knew the two siblings would travel this venture together alongside him. Lore knew all he had to do was convince them that their reason for being here was important not to just them but to the lands and kingdoms within.
"Who are you? What do you want with my sister?" Jonah demanded as he circled the creature and his sister, trying to find a way to attack that would not find himself or his sister hurt.
"She is the chosen one and you are to help us reach Feudal before the second month's moons."
Lore said gruffly as he watched the adolescent with care, knowing the boy was ready for battle to save his sister.
"I don't know what you are talking about, there is no such place, and you can't make her or me go anywhere with you!" Jonah flashed an angry glare at the little man beast as he posed up on him.
"You are right, I can't make you go, but it seems to me, neither one of you really have anywhere else to go." Lore looked up to show the two that there was nothing to go back into.
Jonah and Nadine looked up to the area from which they fell from seeing there was nothing but trees and leaves of an unnatural greenish almost glowing hue and a hazy purplish pink sky over the tops.
"But how can that be? Where are we?" Nadine asked in a hushed frightened tone.
Jonah looked around and could not find the hole in which he followed them, remembering what seemed to be nothing but rock walls alongside him when he was falling through.
"You trickster!" He accused the beast. "You lie! Somehow you made the cave appear like the forest!"
"I assure you boy that you are in the forest, and I have not tricked you." Lore was feeling agitated, this was not going to be easy trying to convince the two youngsters that their destiny was within the mountain itself. He let the girl go, tired of the boy and his wild ravings and set off in the north direction through the massive trees.
"It would best you if you followed, I wouldn't be caught roaming about alone, being human and all." His warning was gruff as the sideway glance stole his innocent captives interest.
The two had no choice but to follow this beast that spoke their language, cautiously they followed, taking each other's hand for protection. Through the forest they moved silently for some time, looking about, afraid of what might get them if they didn't stay close to the furry wolf-bear like creature that sometimes crouched on all fours to walk and other times walked like a human on two feet, at times he would dart from tree to massive tree sniffing the air.
Nadine was in awe as she took in the scenery, the massive trees that hung their branches low, the moss covered ground, the enchanting sounds of the forest, the toad stools that were large enough for her to sit on grew throughout the forest in an array of magnificent colors. The mist seemed to dance around her feet as it swirled with each one of her steps. The growing sunbeams through the trees pushing back the blanket of fog the deeper they moved through the forest, giving new light to their surroundings.
Finally, the silence was broken when Nadine knew this was her chance to know the creature she had grown so curious to know.
"Who are you?" She asked curiously.
Lore slowed down to the pace of the girl, who seemed slow on her feeble skinny little legs.
"I am Lore, Soul Keeper of the mountain, but that is all to change very soon." He said as he stopped to remove an insect from under a leaf and popped it into his mouth.
"Eww that is the most disgusting thing I have ever seen!" Nadine cringed at the sight.
"We're next." Her brother leaned over and whispered in her ear. "When he gets his hunger up, he will skin us alive and use our skins for coats to ward off the cold winters back on the mountain!"
Nadine went pale, as she remembered what happened before she found herself in the ring of fire with the beast, then fell to her knees as a sickening began to rise in her stomach at the thought of this seemingly intelligent soul actually eating her for dinner when the time was right.
"Is that what the townsfolk are saying about me these days?" Lore asked in amusement almost smiling in his grim way, showing yellowed canine like teeth.
"It is the legend that is spoken of, we all believe that!" Jonah spat out.
"And you believe that folklore, do you boy?"
"I have no reason not to believe our own mother!"
"Interesting." Lore stated but decided not to argue the point with the boy. "Well, you decide for yourself, you need me for protection against the elements we have yet to face, if you find you cannot trust me, you may go your own way and possibly to your death." Lore did not seem fazed by the accusation then turned and offered Nadine his hand, but she did not take it.
Nadine picked herself up, she listened to the two argue with each other into a silent understanding of one another. "So, what are you?" she asked weakly.
"Well, I am the Soul Keeper of the mountain."
"You said that already." Jonah hissed.
Rolling his eyes, Lore continued. "I see that all creatures are safe, I see to it that all plants are taken care of, and I make sure that no one enters the mountain before their time has come."
Not understanding what all he meant, she asked again "No, I mean WHAT you are?"
"Oh." Lore now understanding her question, "I am a cross between animal, spirit, human, and Earth and I have been cursed to reign as the keeper until the chosen one releases me to my natural form."
"And what would that be?" Jonah questioned smartly.
"Well, it has been so long, I don't quite remember what form I was before." Lore put his long claw like fingers to his short furry snout, trying to remember what it was that his natural form was, but the memory eluded him, so he changed the subject.
"Let me tell you about the forest, I haven't been here in so long that I can barely remember the landscape, so I will have to rely on listening to the trees whisper to each other."
"You can hear the trees?" Nadine questioned as she looked around wondering what trees would have to say to each other.
Jonah scoffed at the thought but kept silent as he followed, he too looked around not hearing anything but a soft breeze through the timbers.
"Yes, they speak so softly that you have to listen closely, but when a storm rages they rattle unintelligibly."
Having heard the word storm, Nadine turned to her brother with a gasp. "What of Storm, where is he?" "Storm came home, and your disappearance is the talk of the town." Jonah directed sarcastically towards Lore then continued. "I figure Storm will head back home before nightfall, and everyone will think I am dead as well."
"What of Mother?" Nadine asked concerned.
"She is distraught over you and now will be over me to, I am guessing." Jonah softened his voice, feeling his mother's sorrow for the loss of both her children.
"Oh Jonah, it seems we cannot turn back now, maybe someday we will see her again." Nadine touched her brother's hand trying to reassure herself as much as she was him.
Quietly the three walked on through the forest, stopping now and then to rest, listening to the beast explain the landscape and all the inhabitants of the forest, he tried to explain the voices of the trees but gave up when the two still could not comprehend. Lore was finally able to convince them to eat a few selected plants that he had chosen, but they would not eat the insects that he so seemed to love.
"Lore?" Nadine asked now more comfortable with her odd companion "Are the legends not true, do you not eat people?"
Lore grinned sideways at her and simply stated "I haven't tried flesh as of yet, but if you'd like me to try, I could start with your brother."
Jonah grumbled his dislike of the remark and focused his attention on the soft moss that covered the forest floor. Lore took this as the boy's way of ignoring what he did not like, motioning to the siblings to follow as he rose and continued in the north direction. They came to a clearing just after an hour of walking through the winding pathways of the trees before Lore stopped both of them sniffing the air.
"Get down, out of sight!" Lore pulled both of them down into the leafy brush alongside the clearing. Both siblings fell to the ground with a thud and a groan before they looked up to see why Lore had pulled them down. They could hear galloping horses not far off, and their curiosity peaked as Lore told them not to raise their heads.
"There will be danger from here on out, after leaving the enchanted forest, we will literally have to fight for our lives." Whispering Lore added, "It is imperative that both of you survive."
Jonah asked quietly "You say both of us, but what about you?"
Lore looked at the boy for some time before he answered, "I am but a pawn in the way things work here, I am to get you both safely to Feudal, after that my life is of no consequence."
"Will you go back to the mountain?" Nadine asked
"No, my curse will be abolished, and when I am back in my true form, I shall be able to go where I please and live as I choose."
"Have you remembered yet what that is? Your true form, I mean." She asked not really expecting an answer.
"I have no idea, but wish not to dwell on it right now."
Lore quieted the two with his claw like fingers covering their mouths. "Hush now, we cannot be found out now, the Wizard's minions are out looking for us at this very moment."
"Don't we want them to find us?" Jonah asked surprised.
"No, for we have to go where the trolls and the fairies dwell first, we have to get supplies to last us and we must not be found out or it is sure to be all of our deaths."
The three could hear the voices of the men on horses now, they were considerably close, with the warning that Lore gave, none of them moved a muscle.
"Captain!" A rider yelled as he rode past the three in their hiding place, "We have a scent on them but they are back through the trees!"
"Find them, I want them alive!" The Captain yelled.
"We cannot pass onto the forest grounds, sir!" One of them yelled.
"Then we shall wait for them to come out!" The Captain spat back.
"Yes Sir!" The minion nodded toward the captain and returned to his horse.
"You three go to the south edge, you six spread out through the middle and the rest of us will head to the north edge to see if we can track them there." The Captain ordered as the minions dispersed.
"Captain, what if they have already passed through?" The shadow-dog standing next to the captain questioned.
"Then we will track them down!" The Captain stated with authority as he moved in on the lower ranking minion and stabbed him in his arm out of spite.
The arm of the shadow-dog disappeared and the armor he had been wearing hung limp against his side. The shadow-dog looked away from his captain at that point and did not ask any more questions as he mounted his horse with some difficulty.
Lore made a low growling noise and the two siblings tightened as their fear gripped them with the idea of pending capture and certain death, closing their eyes as though to keep themselves from breathing or making any moves. Nadine feeling the emptiness beside her where Lore had been, peeked open her eyes and was horrified to find a wolf like beast standing next to her on all fours. The wolf ripped a piece of clothing from her pant leg and bounded out into the clearing, dragging the clothing everywhere it went. It reached the hills to the east of the forest, where he dropped the shredded cloth near a stream and went in search for another route back from which he came, hoping not to be discovered by the shadow-dogs searching for them. The shadow-dogs, the Wizard's minions were conjured beings that did just what they were ordered to do, they knew their ranks within the command and the Captain, Palnadians Chief Master at Arms, was in charge. The shadow-dogs could walk like a human, track like a dog, and they were neither flesh nor spirit, but shadows with minimal substance and no conscience. Palnadian, the wizard who now sat atop the throne in Lornadia conjured them to make the people of his kingdom and the surrounding lands fearful of him, giving him more power.
Lore knew that the shadow-dogs would follow a fresh scent rather than the real scent if it stayed still, since these minions did not think for themselves and only acted on implied instinct he knew they would be fooled easily.
"Nade" Jonah had opened his eyes just as Lore bounded out into the clearing and saw the minions alert themselves to the movement and follow in haste. The scent was strong and they moved quickly back to the horses they rode. "Nade, stay still and don't move." He watched them ride out towards the east and once out of sight, he dropped his head and rested on his outstretched arms for a short time.
"Jonah, what are they?" Nadine whispered, she felt herself shaking at the narrow escape and wondered how she kept from screaming when the wolf creature tore at her clothes. She had not thought that it was Lore at first, yet this beast did not hurt her, he helped in fact and she realized it must have been. A shape shifter in her mind did not exist, so her curiosity piped up as to how he had made the change, she became excited at this magic that he used and wondered how he had achieved such a wonderful sorcery.
"I don't know, they look like dogs, but I have never seen dogs like that before." Jonah had watched them in disbelief as they rode fast toward the movement and the scent they thought was his sister. Just then, he noticed the contusion on his little sisters' head and asked her what happened. She reiterated as much of the story as she could remember, then hearing the soft padded footprints behind them they both held their breath, not wholly prepared for what they knew was there.
Lore had made it back to them in record time; he had not shape shifted yet because he felt it safer to stay as he was to help guide the two more toward the north. His senses were strong in this form and he was big enough for them to both climb on and ride for some time before he tired of the weight. Seeing the fear that he invoked in this form he shifted just enough to show them that it was he and not one of the wild beasts that was chasing them.
"Climb on." Lore growled.
Both Nadine and Jonah hesitated as they touched his fur, the small beastlike man had shape shifted into a wolf beast that stood with the height of a horse. His movements were smooth in the quick pace, and they found it easy to stay on his back, resisting the need to steer him as they had done back home on Storm.
By sundown, they had reached the outer most clearing north of the enchanted forest. Exhausted and hungry, Lore gathered food for the two youngsters while they made themselves comfortable in the tall blue grass that seemed to dance in the reflections of the waning sunbeams.
"How is it, that there is sunshine if we are inside the mountain?" Nadine asked softly
"Another world, far from our own, I am sure." Jonah stated in answer.
"Why us, Jonah?" Nadine asked quizzically not really expecting an answer.
"I figure we will have all our answers soon enough, Sis, get some rest while we can."
"I agree with Jonah, get some sleep and we will talk tomorrow." Lore directed.
CHAPTER 2
Just before dawn, Lore woke the two sleeping. He had stayed alert all night in case the minions backtracked to find their trail. He wanted to get moving early, they had a long day ahead of them and it was bound to get a little rocky from here on out.
The three feasted on an assorted array of plants, still avoiding the gathered bugs that Lore seemed to relish with every bite. Then it was time to move, Lore having shifted back into the original form from which he first began, walked alongside the two adolescents answering their questions as best he could.
"Lore?" Nadine asked, "You said we had to go to the fairies or something, I didn't know they existed, what do the fairies actually look like?"
Lore breathed heavily before answering, "Well, some are good, some not, unfortunately we have to go to the ones that are not for what we need after we go to Rancor. As far as what they look like, well, I would have to say at first glance they look like bugs with wings, the closer you get to them, they are just little people with wings. Those are the good ones though, the bad ones, I can't say those are fairies, demons is more how I would describe them, but who am I to say?"
"What do we need from them?" Jonah asked.
"We need three items, a talisman and a charm and a script that have been entrusted to their care for many years; it is with those items, that we shall be able to get to our destination without much trouble from the locals."
"I have heard of talismans, but have never seen one." Nadine stated.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from The Legends of Lornadia by Shannon Shoop. Copyright © 2013 by Shannon Shoop. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse.
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