《Kael - Rise of the Blood Mage》 CH 1 - Arrival Hi guys. This is just a story that¡¯s been bouncing around my head for a while I figured I¡¯d try putting it to paper (or in this case the net) and see what people think. I¡¯m going to try to release at least 3-4 chapters a week but as I write most of this at work it will depend on how close I¡¯m been watched. Just so you know although it won¡¯t be included in every chapter this novel will contain graphic violence and gore, slavery, coarse language and sex (later chapters). First chapter was revised because it didn¡¯t really finish where it needed to as a prologue. Next chapter will be out within 24 hrs. Chapter 1: The smell of sweat and excrement gathered in the air as the weak cries echoing around the area were drowned out by the ringing sound of thousands of pieces of metal striking stone vibrated across sky. Dried blood mixed with dust on the ground as thousands of feet shambled back and forth as masses of bodies moved the loosened earth and stone out of the valley while countless more mined with an efficiency that would make ant colonies envious. Above all the noise and oppressive aura all could hear the murmur of the slaves ¡°Death is a gift¡± This was the Kael Slave Mines. Where the millions of precious stones and gems where pulled from the earth every year so the citizens of the empire could have access to magic. Guard Captain Saar was sitting behind his desk shifting through the latest reports. Sapphire and emerald extraction was down. His superiors could care less about the emeralds considering earth magic was banned across the empire outside of the Archons, but the sapphires were going to hurt him. There were few enough water/frost mages as it was without this new reduction in output. Before he had a chance to contemplate the consequences of this information a loud knocking came from the door. ¡°Enter¡± the captain grumbled before one of his men entered into the room bearing a message. The guard simply placed the message on the captain¡¯s desk than stood at attention awaiting the captain¡¯s response. Seeing the parchment, Saar¡¯s eyes went wide at seeing the seal. Quickly unrolling the parchment, he read through the message before turning to the back to the guard. ¡°Get all men on duty, make sure all there equipment is in parade order and have the pit leaders have all slaves lined up in their respective camps¡±. He ordered before the guard saluted than ran out of the room. Leaning back in he¡¯s chair he looked at the message again. The High Archon Crius was sending his daughter to select slaves for her next stage in training. He wasn¡¯t sure if this was a blessing or a cure. On one hand if he could impress the daughter and her father than he might be able to get out of this place and finally get himself and his family posted back to the capital. Or if she didn¡¯t find any slaves to her liking, he might get stuck in this desolate place forever. Standing he went to prepare before the arrival of the daughter of the second most powerful man in the empire. Raele was scrambling back and forth in a panic. He had decided to take any early (and extended) lunch and as a result had missed the message about the arrival of the High Archons daughter. If he didn¡¯t have everything in order by the time she arrived, forget losing his job as a pit leader, the captain would most likely have him become a slave himself. he had to stifle a shiver as he knew all to well what the life of a slave entailed. Death is a gift After a quick polish, he donned he¡¯s dark plate armour and left he¡¯s tent to organise his men and slaves into order. The ringing of a pick echoed throughout the cave as a lone figure worked a large Gem loose from the stone. The gem appeared to be a diamond and given its size it might allow him to earn the right to die. The only oddity in this virtually flawless gem was the strange red hue it radiated that seemed to move within it. Rubbing his slave collar he placed the gem into one of his pockets and continued down the wall to find a new place to start mining, shuffling along deep within the mine he didn¡¯t hear the large bells ringing outside. Standing at attention and trying to ignore the copious amounts of sweat flowing down he¡¯s back, Guard Captain Saar was awaiting the arrival of the High Archon¡¯s Daughter. Whoever thought that black plate was I good idea for people stationed in arguably the hottest place in the empire was either a complete moron or a sadist. Continue to curse whichever prick had brought this down on him, the first signs of the High Archon¡¯s Daughter¡¯s entourage could be seen entering the valley. Several knights dressed in brilliant gold and white armour came riding in atop their powerful ware drakes. These were the Draconian Templars. Extremely high level mages skilled in single and group combat, siege warfare, assassination and about every other possible aspect of combat imaginable. To have this many in one place was astonishing enough, but to have them assigned purely to guard a single person went to show just how much power the High Archon commanded. Finally tearing his eyes away from the knights he caught sight of the carriage following behind them. Coming to a stop a hundred paces away from him the door to the carriage opened to let out possibly the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. With flowing blond hear that was braided into an intricate pattern and hung down to her middle back, her near perfect proportion on her hourglass figure. But it was her eyes that captivated him. Even from a hundred paces away it felt like he was staring into the sky on a cloudless night. Her eyes sparkled like millions of stars seemed to radiate from within their deep blue depths. Pulling himself together he strode forward and delivered a crisp salute as he stood before this goddess. Seeing the conflict on his face she let out a quiet laugh that threatened to make he¡¯s knees collapse. ¡°Welcome to Kael milady. I am Alistair Saar, Captain of the Eastern Guard of the Kael Slave Mines.¡± Pronounced the Saar with another salute. ¡°Greetings Captain, I am Renee Crius, Daughter of High Archon Damian Crius.¡± Said the woman with an amused expression. ¡°Er¡­umm¡­ yes well¡­, I understand you are here to select a few the slaves for your training. If you would follow me ill lead you to wear we have them assembled for your inspection¡±. Said Saar trying to fight down the nervousness he felt from been in the presence of such a beautiful and powerful woman. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Stifling another laugh at the poor captain¡¯s expression, Renee and her guards followed along as he took her to the platform overlooking the slaves. ¡°As you can see all the slaves have been broken into their individual camps, 39 in total. Each camp works it¡¯s corresponding mine. At last count there was between 200 ¨C 250 slaves per camp. The people in the leather armour are the pit guards and the people standing in plate are the pit leaders¡± Explained the Captain. ¡°And the collars the slaves are wearing are the what keeps the form bonding?¡± asked Renee ¡°Yes milady, among other things. The collars not only prevent bonding with any gems the slaves might extract but also prevent them from dying.¡± ¡°WHAT! But, if this kind of magic exists why would we not make collars for everyone to wear so we could all be immortal!?!¡± Exclaimed Renee ¡°Ahh but they don¡¯t heal people milady, only prevent them from dying. It is a type of necromancy that prevents the soul from leaving the body. The slave still feels all the pain from any injury they might sustain and will only heal what the body itself is capable of. Hence why all slaves will continue to repeat the mantra. ¡®Death is a Gift¡¯.¡± ¡°DEATH IS A GIFT¡± Echoed all the slaves in unison Renee stared wide eyed at the amassed slaves. Even from 200 paces away they were able the here the captain speak those words. It left her with an eerie feeling and she was only just starting to understand how much those words mean to the assembled slaves. ¡°Shall we begin milady?¡± Asked the captain ¡°Yes I will require you to remove each slave¡¯s collar as I inspect them.¡± ¡°Of course this way milady¡± Saar said before leading her down to inspect the first camp of slaves. Upon reaching the first camp the pit leader stepped forward, saluted and then proceeded to inform Renee about the number of slaves in his camp and what the mined. Removing the first slave¡¯s collar she placed a strange crystal into the slave¡¯s hand. Seeing the crystal give no reaction she moved onto the next slave as the previous had his collar placed back on. Thus began the slow process scanning each slave. Twice the crystal had reacted and lit up in different colours and both times the Dragon Templars stepped forward and took the slaves away. All was going smoothly until they reached the 27th camp. ¡°Sargent Raele, Pit leader of the 27th East Slave Camp. Current shaft mines diamonds and quartz. Current slave count is 247¡­.¡±before Raele had a chance to finish there was a rush of air and a Dragon Templar was standing before him with the sword at his throat. ¡°You DARE to lie in the presence of your betters?¡± Demanded the Templars as he applied more pressure with his sword as blood started to trickle from Raele¡¯s neck. ¡°N..n¡­noo of course not. I¡­ I.. there is 247 slaves in my camp I swear!¡± He pleaded as the warm blood from he¡¯s neck joined another warm liquid at his legs. ¡°There are currently 246 slaves standing behind you worm. If you¡¯re not lying than your incompetent.¡± Stated the Templar ¡°So where is this slave you have lost?¡± ¡°H¡­He must still be in the mine, ill go get him now¡± ¡°No¡± turning back he saw the young woman stepping forward. ¡°Take us to see him¡± ¡°Yes milady of course¡± stated Raele before leading the party towards the mine shaft. It took the group almost an hour to find the slave and only the periodic ringing of metal striking stone confirmed that the slave was even in the mine. The slave didn¡¯t even register there presence when they finally found him as he continued to work on freeing another gem. It was until the pit boss ran over and dragged him back that he realised something was happing. Upon seeing the slave the guard captain was surprised to recognise him. He had reports on this one before. The slave worked for one purpose only. To die. From his understanding the slave hadn¡¯t slept his entire time in this camp, continue to work the mines in hope to find a gem worthy of releasing him. As one of the Dragon Templars stepped forward to remove his collar Saar stopped him. ¡°Milady, the only thing keeping this slave alive is his collar, if you remove it he will most likely die immediately¡± ¡°That¡¯s quite alright captain. Even if he dies the body can still be of use if it meet the specifications¡± she said as the Templars once again moved forward to remove the slaves collar and place the crystal in his hand. The moment the collar left the slaves next he collapsed to the ground shuddering slightly before going still. ¡°Ahh such a pity and we came down all this way for nothing.¡± Sighed Renee as she looked at the slave¡¯s body. Turning her gaze back upon the pit leader she gave a quick nod. The next moment would haunt Saar for the rest of his days. He saw one of the Templars blur as he appeared behind the pit leader. Then came the cracking. Raele¡¯s mouth was open in a silent scream as his body contorted sporadically with such force his bones were snapping, blood poured from his mouth and nose as bones started to protrude from his skin. After nearly 5 minutes he finally collapsed to the ground. ¡°Well much better¡± said Renee cheerfully. ¡°Ready to get back to the inspection captain?¡± she asked with an innocent smile ¡°Of course milady¡± said Saar snapping back to himself. Turning he led the party back to the surface leaving behind the body of a slave and the blooded wreck of a former pit leader. <12 hours later, Shaft 27, Kael Slave Mines> The scene in the mine shaft had changed largely over the last few hours. The floor was devoid of blood and the corpse on the ground was a pile of bones and shrivelled skin. Beside it was the body of a man covered in a red glow that pulsed in time to the slow rise and fall of his chest. Finally the light disappearing, his eyes snapped open as he looked around. He could feel the blood in his veins surging with restrained power. He could see the surrounding area even without the light of the torches that had long gone out. He could feel the slight air flowing against his skin as he looked towards the where the entrance of the shaft was located. Rising to his feet he felt the repressed strength ready at his call. ¡°Death is my gift and I will share it¡± Prologue edit Hey guys. Just letting you know that I have edited the first chapter. It is about twice its previous length and now finishes somewhat better. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Next chapter will be out within 24hrs Chapter 2 - Aftermath Hey guys. sorry for the long gap. I haven''t had the chance lately to get much typing done at work and what i did get done was crap. But I finally got the time necessary to get this chapter out and have time set aside to keep writing. My current goal is 2 chapters a week cause i feel like I''m letting you guys down if I''m waiting so long between chapter. But i will not release chapter unless they at least meet a standard i deem acceptable. Please provide feed back guys as anything i get helps me improve, i know this story is kinda staring out slow but as I''m hoping to make this into a fairly large novel and despite what i but up for title''s as chapters the first 3-4 are still part of the prologue. kinda. Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter. Chapter 2 - Aftermath "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU STILL STANDING HERE FOR!?! GO!!!" Saar screamed at the rapidly retreating forms of his lieutenants. Walking back behind his desk he collapsed back into his chair and went back to looking over all the reports to ensure he hadn''t missed anything. It had been 17 hours since the Daughter of High Archon had left and the camp was now in chaos. He was trying hard to lock down information before anything could get back to the Empire but isolation of information was next to impossible considering the evidence of the event was literally strewn from one of the shafts all the way to the Outer Watch perimeter it. Despite all of the carnage there appeared to be no living witnesses to the event and according to the reports there all of the Guard and slaves were accounted for. So the question was, what could have killed all of his men and the slaves, almost 50 in total, in the space just a few minutes. The most alarming part wasn''t even the number of people killed, it was the fact that all of the slaves that had been killed were wearing collars. It was supposed to be impossible to die while wearing them and not even the Imperial Necromancers could do such a thing. The only lead they had was that there were tracks that lead towards the north east into the Arielian Desert. Saar had already order three of his lieutenants and 120 Guards to pursue and report any findings. Rubbing his temples to try and clear the ever increasing ache building behind his eyes Saar began to contemplate how he was going to inform his superiors at the Imperial Capital that for the first time since the mines had been established nearly 600 years ago, Kael had been attacked. "Sir!" pulling himself from his thoughts, Saar looked up to see the Guardsman he had promoted to fill the position left by the previous pit leader''s demise. He had to stifle a shutter as he remembered the sound of the pit leaders body before his death. "Report." "Sir, after you informed myself of my predecessors demise i took the liberty of having a group of slaves remove his body from the mines. Upon reaching the location that you provided, we discovered that the scene differed greatly from the one you described." Saar felt his hair stand on edge as an immediate sense of foreboding spread through his heart. "Sir, the given the condition of the body found, we deduced it to be that of the former pit leader. but unlike as you stated the body had almost completely dehydrated and the surrounding area contained no visible traces of blood. The only other objects in the vicinity were a slave collar and this crystal" Stated the guard as he withdrew a large colorless gem from his pocket and placed in on Saar''s desk. Saar stared at the crystal as his breathing hitched and his heart rate sky rocketed. The gem on his desk was a bonding crystal, that was easy to tell, what alarmed him though was that he didn''t recognize what type. That and the crystal was dull. There was only one reason for a crystal to be dulled. It had been bonded. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Since leaving the mines the man had not stopped moving. At first he was motivated only to kill, to spread his gift, but that changed when he had fought a group of guards after exiting the mine shaft. He had attacked their group before they knew what hit them. moving through the group like a wild kir''boar, there was no finesse, just raw power and savagery. Using his pick with his enhanced strength to ram its sharpened metal through the guards armor with ease. when the pick became lodge in a guard he would tear into them with his hands and teeth. The blood filling his mouth burned through his body bringing with it a feeling unrestrained power. So caught up in these new feelings was he that he didn''t realize what was happening until the feelings of power were replaced by a sudden extreme pain that felt almost worse then his time as a slave as one of the guard''s blades pierced his kidney. He turned and pounced on the guard ripping into his flesh as the guard struggled to stop the creature on top of him. The man slammed a fist into the guards throat to end his screaming before it could begin, crushing his windpipe. The guards eyes went wide as his body briefly forgot the damage been caused by this man in it''s struggle for oxygen. As the guard died the man felt more blood rush into him, slowly healing the damage he had sustained. but the feeling of power was dulled. diluted by something he had not felt in years, something he almost didn''t recognize. Fear. Fear of dying, of not being able to feel this power. Fear of not been able to spread his gift. So he fled . As fast as his new body could take him he fled in the first direction he choose and didn''t stop, only briefly slowing to eliminate anything in his path on his way out of the valley. And so he had come to here. where nothing but sand spread from one side of the horizon to the other. For three days he had traveled into this place, yet he still had not seen any signs of anything other than the rolling dunes and the occasional wind devil kicking up sand. He did not know if this place had an end but he knew he could not go back. They would be hunting him. Finally giving in to exhaustion he collapsed onto a dune, deciding it was as good a place as any to rest. He knew he couldn''t keep going like this. His tongue felt like sand paper in his mouth and every breath grated on his parched throat. As his mind started shifting through fleeting thoughts of an oasis appearing over the next rise or a storm crashing in from the horizon he heard a faint drumming at the back of his mind. Thinking he was developing new symptoms from the dehydration the noise increase in volume as he concentrated on it. As the thumping was brought to the forefront of his mind he realized it wasn''t in his head. he could actual here it. It seemed to be pulling him to somewhere to his left. Crawling over he felt it getting louder, felt hes own blood vibrating in time to the thumping. As he reached a point he realized the origin of the noise stemmed from under the surface of the sand. Willing what little energy he had left he slammed his hand into the ground. Sand exploded in a wave. Raising his hand back up he could see that clutched in his fist was a small reptilian creature about 4 hands longs and a long thin shell on its torso. Without hesitation he brought the creature to his lips. tearing it head from it''s body and finally quenching his thirst. As the twisting pains in his stomach started receding to be replaced with the warm vibration that seemed to spread through his entire being, he felt another thumping coming from somewhere behind him. Turning he saw what appeared to be an assortment of robes swing a club before his mind went black. Chapter 3 - Secrets of the Sand Waves of heat radiated from the ground as a black mass scraped a jagged line in the smooth sands. Heavy boots crunched on sand as the army of troops shuffled onward into the seemingly never ending desert. What had started as a small army in organized ranks moving with purpose and speed had slowly been turned into a shambling blob of men as the sun over head sapped at there strength. The lieutenant leading the mass of men forced himself to concentrate on his surroundings. The copious amounts of sweat soaking his uniform and the fact his vision was starting to blur let him know just how bad he was doing. Looking back over the men he could see they were in an even worse sate. They had been tracking the assailant that was responsible for the massacre at Kael. He had hoped to pick up the trail again after it disappeared just after morning but it didn''t look like that would be the case. Sighing he called to the other two lieutenants and they agreed to make an early camp then start back towards Kael in the morning. He jumped off his mount and led it over to one of the troughs the troops had set up to water the beasts. The large muscular reptilian sank onto its four legs while it grasped the trough with its fore paws. Leaving the beast to drink, the lieutenant went to set up his own sleep roll for the night. The waning light from the sunset cast long shadows that played with those cast by the camps fires. The smell of food started to permeate the camp as the night air brought with it a cooling breeze. The sweltering overbearing atmosphere that had plagued the army gave way to something lighter. Troops relaxed as they sat amongst the fires, laughing jovially at the stories told by many about the desert they currently resided in. Some about a hidden cult of women that worshiped Levielle, the goddess of lust and passion. Another that there was a ancient weapon that could destroy cities buried at the heart of the desert. The tension all these men had had felt slowly washed away over the hours as the world grew darker. But before the night was over these men would meet a true secret of the desert. The lieutenant had just finished lay down to sleep when the first shouts were heard. raising from his sleeping roll he saw a large commotion coming from the west side of the camp. Grumbling under his breath, he reluctantly starting head over to see what the incident was. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. He hadn''t taken more than three steps before a strange noise came from his left. Looking over his shoulder his noticed a slight blur out the corner of his vision before his eyes came to rest on one of his fellow lieutenants. Before he could say anything the other lieutenants body seem to simple lose cohesion. The multiple parts of his body fell to the ground as blood spread across the sand. Hearing another sound behind him, he turned in time to see a pair of large yellow pools staring at him before sixteen scythe like arms flashed forward. ****** Draviur stared at the young man bound before him. He cast a weary gaze over him, his hand never quite leaving the pommel of his sword. Twice already this boy had woken and twice he had almost escaped, injuring multiple warriors each time. His scouts had come across the boy two day ago and had chosen to stalk him until he let his guard down. By all accounts it was a wise choice as the first night they had followed him the boy had made camp in basilisk territory. What was strange was that the beasts seemed to actively avoid him, never approaching within 200 paces the entire time. Seeing the boy start to stir he composed himself and had the guards prepare themselves. As the boys eyes opened Draviur felt a shock run through his flesh and blood, settling into his bones. The boys eyes were the color of blood and seemed to swirl in a slow circle around his pupils. "What is you name?" despite the circumstances, Draviur still managed to deliver the question without any trace of the fear that had flushed through his body a moment before. The boy just stared at him, Draviur fear giving way to anger as this captive refused to give him the answer he required. "...Dr''kael" The word was so quiet Draviur almost missed it. Staring back up into his eyes the boy spoke again with a hint of finality in his voice. "My name is Dr''kael." ******* Short chapter again today. sorry guys. will try to start making to following chapter around the same length as the first. If you guys have anything you want to add or topics about the story let me know, i currently have a rough script to what will happen in this story but its still fluid.