Celandine observed the man curiously who just came out from the chamber, going downstairs. She noticed the small hand batch on his black robe, wondering what that might be meaning. Suddenly everything around her changed. They traveled dawn to dusk, past woods and orchards and neatly tended fields, through small villages, crowded market towns, and stout holdfasts. Come dark, they would make camp and eat by the light of the moon and the lamps. The men took turns standing watch. Celandine would glimpse firelight flickering through the trees from the camps of other travelers. There seemed to be more camps every night, and more traffic on the kingsroad by day. She somehow knew it was a dream. Morning, noon, and night they came, old folks and little children, big men and small ones, barefoot girls and women with babes at their breasts. Some drove farm wagons or bumped along in the back of ox carts. More rode: draft horses, ponies, mules, donkeys, anything that would walk or run or rol
"I don't recall as we did." Giant was no more than five feet tall-his true name was Bedwyck-but a fierce little man for all that. "Slayer, did you ask Craster for his counsel?" Sam cringed at the name, but shook his head. He filled another spoon, brought it to Bannen's mouth, and tried to ease it between his lips. "Food and fire," Giant was saying, "that was all we asked of you. And you grudge us the food." "Be glad I didn't grudge you fire too." Craster was a thick man made thicker by the ragged smelly sheepskins he wore day and night. He had a broad flat nose, a mouth that drooped to one side, and a missing ear. And though his matted hair and tangled beard might be grey going white, his hard knuckly hands still looked strong enough to hurt. "I fed you what I could, but you crows are always hungry. I'm a godly man, else I would have chased you off. You think I need the likes of him, dying on my floor? You think I need all your mouths, little man?" The wildling spat. "Crows. When d
"Mr. Jeong, are you okay? You suddenly seem.... distracted." "I-I'm...fine, it's.... fine," Sung-ho answered somehow, his hands were shaking because of that ugly memory. He pressed his hands together forcefully under the desk, ignoring the pain running through his nerves Choi Dea looked at him with slight worry, wondering why he was sweating so hard. After he explained everything what happened with her sister and him, even though she wasn't sure whether it was truth or not, her expression softened a bit. She also noticed how he had reacted when she had mentioned his father Shi-woo. So she assumed that the relationship between Mafia son and father might not be good "Thank you for your explanation about Joo-eun," she said after a moment. "And I would prefer if you don't tell about this incident to anybody. Ever. Sung-ho frowned a little. "Urm, sure. She glanced at the bracelet again which her friend had given it to her when she was little. Even though she couldn't remember that,
Leafstone The Capital of Imperium He angrily smashed the black cat with his bare hands. "That could be a spirit, you know." A young golden-haired women, wearing a long tempting, transparent white robe and a necklace made of pink pearls around her neck, said behind him. "You're no witch," he snarled, wiping the blood from his bear hands with a linen rag. "Neither are you, My Lord." The man eyed her with astonishment, which was more than vexation. He reached to her boldly and grabbed her from back, grasping her slim waist. "Do I need to remind you who you are, Alvina?" He brush his stubbly chin roughly against her smooth white neck, poking the pearls. "No, My Lord." "But you will accept your punishment tonight. You already assumed that, didn't you?" "Forgive me, My Lord," she gasped quietly. The place they were standing, was a beautiful garden and it was dimly shining by the new moonlight. Various fragrant smelling flowers - Aster, Hellebore, Dianthus were blossomin
"Do you think our battalion will win?" "I don't know. Will we?" "Do you think I can die in the war?" "I don't know. Is it not your life?" "Are you worried about my life now?" "I am not sure. Should I be?" Alexander slowly let out a frustrated sigh, his gaze fell down at his son. He often wondered why his own blood was like this, who neither had any interest in war strategy, nor people around him. His only son Jordan was going to seventeen years old after two moon, his beginning to become a man. But he was always so inattentive about the things around him, except nature, which made his father slightly concerned. "Commander Alexander!" someone knocked at the door thrice, the voice sounded restless. "Come in," Alexander declared. A middle-aged senior soldier Amro hurriedly paced into the hall room with his heavy boots. He looked like a storm had gone over him, his outfit was covered with
At the same night, Hadassah had started a big fire at the middle of the Battle of Blood, while she was in the possession of little Celandine's body. The large vessel on the fire was filled with the sacred water for witches from Black Lake. It was an inaccessible lake inside a forest, only who had witch blood in their veins, could approach there. Beside the pyre, there were some ingredients which she would need to return back to her true self."Bonesbane," she muttered and picked up the tiniest bowl contained with a few bone shaped dark green leaves. She stared at the boiling black water for a while, then dropped the leaves into it and chanted, "Confundo." The flames exploded around the pyre when the leaves touched the water, her ragged breath quickened. She took a sharp intake and knelt in front of the pyre and picked up the next ingredient."Blood Soil," she muttered and poured the brown soil and tiny pebbles into t
Olgarias was awkwardly sitting on the back of a beautiful white horse, the reason of his uneasiness was he had always been bad at riding, the horses didn't seem to like him. Beside him, his private servant Ran was riding at another black, dangerous looking horse, he was grasping the belt skillfully with one hand, another one was holding up a lamp."Do we have to look around this place? What is the point of coming here in this dark, eh?" Olgarias said with slight annoyance, many things were going on his mind. His father had just died, it had been only three hours, already his brothers' armies were preparing for a battle to sit or seize the throne. Ravens just brought messages to every castle that tomorrow there would be a battle between his twin eldest brothers, Nrikawn and Moriah."I can see in the dark, Prince Olgarias. Allow me to bind this lamp with the belt of your horse, so you can see clearly," Ran politely spoke, extending the large lamp, which was
Moriah was gazing at his reflection. His tight black armor was made from iron, the breastplate was lined with transmuted thin craft of gold, the symbol of his army Wolf was carved in the left side of the plate. He saw his gesture in the mirror, as cold as always, two piercing and cruel eyes, small stubble around his chin. He blinked, slightly wondering why he was looking at himself, it was unlike of him.It was also a big day for him. He moved to corner of his room, stooping beside the giant bed. There was a mark on the golden wall, just like a small scratch of nails, it couldn't be shown if someone didn't look carefully. He took a deep breath and pressed his palm over the scratch, to reveal his secret chamber under the ground. Since, it was going to be a great day for him, he would want to have a talk with his Lord. With a buzzing sound, a passage emerged behind the wall, there were dusty staircases going down. Moriah picked u