Chapter 1: The Lady Sarena
Sarena stood before the mirror
of her newly appointed bedchambers within castle Ravendune. She was admiring
her black velvet dress bearing the royal crest of the Dukedom, the Raven: wings
spread over crossed swords. It was the first dress she had ever owned, having
worn mostly buckskins and armor in her time spent in Amegoth.
Her
mother had been a Priestess of Galoth, serving in the Dukedom of Wolfshire. She
had been forced to leave the Order when her affair with the Duke had been
discovered. Sarena had grown up in Amegoth, a region to the East of the
Dukedoms. It was largely thought to be a barbaric realm, but this was largely
not true.
The different clans making up
the tribes of Amegoth were fierce warriors but they did not run around raiding
and pillaging as was thought by the people of the Dukedoms of Amarcain. No, the
Amegothians were only fierce in defense of their own lands and for the most
part stayed out of the affairs of the Dukedoms to the West.
Sarena’s thoughts went back to her dress. It was
modestly cut in the front, just above the line of her cleavage. As she adjusted
the front, she thought of the Priestess of the order of Galoth that had
examined her yesterday to verify the mark of the sword. The mark was located
just above her heart and resembled an inverted sword. The Priestess was pleased
to announce to the High Priests waiting in the great hall below, that the mark
was indeed authentic.
“You look beautiful m’lady,”
commented her hand servant, as she approached and began combing out Sarena’s
long brown hair. She was tall for a woman, nearly as tall as her brother Eric
and she had a slim athletic frame that told of her warrior’s background.
The dress showed off her figure
in a way she had never considered, since she had worn chain mail and rag tag
pieces of armor for much of the past few years during her travels into
Tushimenz. “Your hair is lovely m’lady,” the servant girl added, combing it up
in a bun so that she could apply the silver tiara the Duke and Duchess had
given her. Sarena blushed at this, still not used to having such amenities as a
personal servant or such fine clothing.
“Why thank you,” she replied
smiling. “Thank you for helping me get ready,” she added.
“It
was my pleasure,” replied the servant girl, feeling pride at having been
assigned to Sarena by the Duchess.
It
had been only two days since Sarena had first arrived in Ravendune with her two
brothers Eric and Brandin. Their father the Duke had received Sarena warmly, welcoming
her into their family.
Today,
there would be a ceremony in the great hall in which Sarena would officially be
named an heir to the throne of Ravendune. She could not believe how quickly her
fortunes had changed in but a few short days. She truly felt both lucky and
blessed. There was a voice outside her chamber door, to which her hand servant
quickly answered coming back to Sarena.
“They
are ready for M’lady,” stated the servant girl as she opened the chamber door
for her. She led her down the hallway to a staircase which descended to the
throne room of the Duke. Sarena’s slippered feet made little sound as she
glided gracefully down the stairs.
As
she reached the bottom of the stairs, she was startled to see the throne room
filled with the Knights of the orders of Madrin, Galoth and Artimedius. They
immediately stood at attention.
As
Sarena walked past the ranks of knights she noticed Sir Francis at the front of
his order, smiling warmly at her.
She
returned his smile, feeling deep attachment to this young knight she had only
met days before in Volduvia.
She had reached the steps
leading to the throne. She stopped, bowing before the Duke and
Duchess, who were flanked by
her brothers Eric and Brandin. Duke Ryan smiled proudly at her, gesturing for
her to rise.
“It is with great pleasure
today that I welcome Lady Sarena of Ravendune into our family,” began the Duke.
“I hereby proclaim that she is now an heir to my throne,” he paused briefly
smiling. “And just as her two brothers Eric and Brandin are my adopted sons, so
she shall be my adopted daughter,” he finished, looking out over the ranks of
the knights.
“All hail Lady Sarena!” said
the knights in unison, their voices booming through the hall.
Sarena
turned, facing the knights. She was smiling gratefully and tears were streaming
down her cheeks. Never had she received such adulation. She felt that she truly
belonged here, with her brothers, with these Knights who had just sworn fealty
to her. She turned climbing the steps to Duke Ryan. He embraced her, kissing
her softly on the forehead. “Welcome home my child,” he added.
If you liked this preview, look for "The Quest for the Holy Swords," in 2016
