Rise of a Legend

By C.L. Mozena

When Prince Orion recieves a letter from the empress of an enemy kingdom that mentions his mother, he takes off in search for her and his lost family.

• Language: English
• Publisher: C.L. Mozena
• Release date: Aug 14, 2012
• ISBN: 9781476236094

C.L. Mozena

Hi! I'm C.L. Mozena! I've had great fun writing over the past few years. It started in grade school with short poems and grew from there. My first real novel sucked rocks, but I didn't let it get me down! I turned around and wrote another one. During those times I wanted to throw my computer out the window, I cooled off with flash fiction. I've even had some of those super short stories published in the Jeff. For everyone outside Cambridge, Ohio, that's what we call the Jeffersonian, the biggest newspaper in the area. Check out my website, CLMozena.weebly.com, for other books by me, and even some free short stories! Happy reading!

Book preview

Chapter 1

Orion took a deep breath and closed his eyes. The sounds and smells of the palace courtyard drifted around him. He heard water splashing down a fountain, voices of his friends talking in low murmurs, and birds chirping somewhere off in the distance. He could smell the fragrance from a hundred flowers, dirt and bark, and his own sweat. His heart beat faster as a new smell invaded his nostrils and washed over him- smoke. This time I’m gonna do it, he thought. He opened his eyes to see a figure coming towards him along a cobblestone pathway, carrying a fire baton. An elaborate fountain sat off to his left, the water splashing and spraying anything near it. A slight breeze ruffled the leaves of trees and made the flames dance. A shiver ran up Orion’s spine, but it wasn’t from the wind. The figure stopped, holding the baton in front of him.

You ready? the figure sneered.

I’m ready, Orion replied. He bent his knees, balled his fists, and leaned forward slightly to show he was ready. The figure rushed towards him, waving and twirling the baton. The flames at either end began dancing, then jumping, then growing until the figure had disappeared behind them. The entire world disappeared, leaving only Orion and the flames. Still, the fires grew until they became one large fire, flashing and twisting, encircling Orion in a ball of intense heat. The flames were searing hot. The last thing Orion saw before passing out was the fire taking on a monstrous form and wrapping it’s hands around his throat.

*****

Orion? Wake up now, Orion, a female voice said urgently. His head was swimming as he felt a rush of cold air.

Come on, now, Orion. Wake up. He heard the voice but couldn’t respond.

Orion, open your eyes! A new voice, male this time, spoke urgently, It’s gone, Orion, the fire’s been put out.

Slowly, Orion opened his eyes. He was lying on his back on the cold stone of the palace courtyard. Lampposts were lit all around, but Orion could still make out a few stars shining down at him. A robust woman was dabbing his face and chest with a damp cloth, and cradling him. Her black hair, hiding strands of silver, was pulled tightly into a bun behind her head. Her dark brown face revealed her age in many wrinkles, but her brown eyes shone with inner youth.

Bertha? Orion asked weakly as he looked up at his training instructor. She smiled.

You’re going to be just fine, she said.

Tough break, eh, Orion?

Yea, better luck next time, amigo.

Orion looked around. He was surrounded by a sea of faces. Most of them belonged to the palace guards, but he recognized some of them as his friends. Orion grabbed at something soft near his hand, but flicked it away when he saw that it was just a black feather. Bertha helped him up and steered him to the stone fountain, water splashing down five separate levels. Orion sat on the edge and looked into the water as the spray cooled him and calmed his nerves. A sad, defeated young man stared back at him. Several inches of light blonde hair fell over the right side of his pale face, hiding a black leather eyepatch and several scars. The left side of his face was unscarred and handsome. A single, thin braid hung below his shoulder in front of his left ear, and a bright blue eye gazed back at Orion. He turned his head, and the rest of his hair, pulled into a braid, fell over his shoulder and dipped into the water, rippling his reflection and attracting goldfish. Unbraided, his hair fell almost to his knees and tangled easily, so he had a servant braid it neatly every day. Several strands had come out during the training session, and now his hair looked rather messy. He pulled a gold ring with a green stone in it out of his pocket. The band had a feather pattern wrapped around it. He examined it before putting it on his finger.

Come on, Orion, let’s get you upstairs. Orion’s best friend, Chris, sighed as he helped Orion up and brushed some dust off of the shirt of his white silk jumpsuit. Chris was only two years older than Orion, but he was almost a foot taller. Like most telblec people who lived on the planet Olhoe, Chris was black skinned with dark brown hair. He had broad shoulders, muscular arms, and was a little clumsy at times. Quite the opposite, Orion was thin and graceful, with long, slender arms and legs. Chris continued, I was so sure that you wouldn’t have succumbed to your pyrophobia...again.

He caught Orion’s eye, but Orion quickly looked away. Orion didn’t notice any of the palace’s splendor as he allowed Chris to lead him back inside, and up to his rooms. They didn’t speak the entire way, but there was a war going on inside Orion’s head.

I’m a prince, he thought, A telblec prince! I’m gonna be king in only four more years; I have to be fearless!

But it’s fire. How can I fight something I can’t even touch, let alone, hit?

Maybe there’s another way. If only it hadn’t happened... he sighed as memories of the day he lost his right eye swirled in his head. He was only six years old. The kingdom had been under attack by the lunimorves, who lived on the moon, Lunspae. He had been wakened by a crash on his balcony in the middle of the night. Upon investigation, he found his father, King Frederic, fighting a losing battle against two of the huge, ugly, gargoyle-like creatures. Without thinking, Orion leapt into battle. At just six years old, he was no match for the lunimorves, and was quickly overpowered. The last thing he remembered was a spear, engulfed in flames, hurtling straight at his face. He had no recollection of anything that happened between then and waking up in the hospital weeks later.

Unconsciously, Orion raised a hand and gently touched the patch that covered his bad eye. He ran his fingers over the threaded design on top of black leather. He was vaguely aware that they were back inside the palace, walking down a dazzling hall with dark red velvet carpet and a high, curved ceiling. There were large marble columns between tall windows with the black curtains drawn back along the walls. There was a plant stand in front of each window, bearing beautiful art glass vases. None of them had any flowers. King Frederic didn’t like flowers, although Orion couldn’t figure out why.

Here we are! Orion snapped back to the present at the sound of Chris’s voice. They had stopped outside a set of large, gold and ivory doors that led to Orion’s rooms.. There used to be only blue gems set into the doors in an intricate, swirling pattern, but half of the blue gems had been taken out and replaced with orange gems after he lost his eye. When he was little, Orion would sit in front of the doors staring at the design, wondering what it meant. He also wondered why his was the only set of doors in the palace with these colors. Every other door was predominantly dark. Several of them were ebonivy, a rare type of black ivory that takes nearly a year to create using regular white ivory and pitch, with patterns and designs set with gems. Others were dark blue, purple, red, or green wood, set with various colored gems. Some of the doors that led to unimportant rooms or halls had no gems. Orion figured that the reason his doors were white ivory was because his father didn’t think to waste precious ebonivy on such a worthless son; one who couldn’t even stand the sight of a tiny flame.

Chris opened one of the gold and ivory doors. He led Orion inside, and closed the door behind them. They were standing in a magnificent room with a high, domed ceiling that had three large gold and crystal chandeliers hanging down. The furniture was made of the richest ebony with gold highlights. There were a few potted plants bearing brightly colored flowers set on ebony plant stands here and there along the walls and one beside a black velvet couch. The velvet carpet bore a swirl pattern of red and gold. The opposite wall was entirely taken up by a grand fireplace that was set with the same pattern of gems as the doors. However, due to Orion’s pyrophobia, the fireplace had remained cold and useless for ten years. Orion had a large, glass cabinet placed in front of it and filled with glass and crystal ornaments. To the right side of the fireplace there was another room, a kind of den where Orion kept a large collection of books of all sorts. Although he couldn’t see it from where he stood, he knew the glass doors that led to his balcony were located in that room behind thick, black curtains.

Orion slumped in a black velvet recliner and Chris took a seat on the couch. For a while, neither of them spoke. The only sound was a low ticking that came from the large freestanding clock in a corner of the main room. Chris kept glancing at Orion, who was looking at his knees. Orion’s only memory before he lost his eye was that of lots of colorful flowers and the smell of the ocean, so he didn’t remember how his father treated him before he lost his eye. Orion was sure that the resulting pyrophobia was the reason his father never wanted to spend any time with him, so he took up training every day in the hope of breaking his fear of fire. His mother, Queen Patricia, had died shortly after Orion lost his eye, so gaining his father’s approval meant everything to Orion.

It wasn’t that bad, Chris said, breaking the silence. Orion gave him a quizzical look, so Chris continued, The training session, I mean. Chris shifted his gaze, You really flattened us during sparring practice. Chris looked up hopefully.

Yea, actually, I think you guys took it easy on me, Orion said with a half smile, thinking more about how to make his father like him, and not about what happened earlier that day.

No we didn’t, honest! Chris replied, a little too quickly. Trying to cheer Orion, he continued, You’re gonna make a great warrior someday, ya know. Orion was about to argue, but decided to drop it. He knew full well that his father would never approve of a half-blind warrior. His father didn’t even want him to train at all, so Orion started training in secret, when he knew his father would be busy. He didn’t want Chris to know that, and he wanted to be left alone with his thoughts.

Listen, I’m tired. Orion stated, trying to sound casual, I’m going to bed.

Yea, okay. Good night, Orion.

‘Night, Chris.

Chapter 2

King Frederic wandered alone through the vast halls of the grand palace. Crossing his hands behind his back, he walked with his head down and a prominent scowl on his face. He didn’t stop or even look up when a passing servant bowed with a ‘Your Majesty’. He had just been down in the courtyard, watching his son’s training session. King Frederic hadn’t wanted Orion to become a warrior, and refused to train him. So what does Orion do? He finds someone else willing to train him. King Frederic snorted at the thought of how disobedient Orion had been. Although, he thought, I’ve never really done anything to stop him. Orion’s evening training schedule was the same every night. In his effort to become a warrior and to overcome his pyrophobia, he began with strenuous exercise round dusk, after he was finished with his daily studies. After that, he sparred with his friends, followed by Chris brandishing the fire baton. Every training session ended up with Orion passing out at the sight of the fire. Ever since the day he lost his eye, his pyrophobia got worse. Every evening, King Frederic would go down to the courtyard to watch, hiding in the shadows. He knew that Orion thought he was busy with paperwork at that time. He used to do it then, until he heard about Orion training in the courtyard at that time. He had planned on putting a stop to Orion’s training, but was amazed at how persistent he was. He decided to let Orion train, and watch him every evening after that. After all, Orion couldn’t become a warrior without King Frederic’s approval. King Frederic would watch Orion train hard with his friends, only to be disappointed at Orion’s reaction to the sight of fire. Every evening, after the results were the same, King Frederic would haunt the halls of the palace in an effort to relieve his frustration at his son’s failure.

After he had recovered from losing his right eye, Orion had begged his father to teach and train him to become a warrior, so that he could fight alongside of him and the other warriors the next time the lunimorves attacked. King Frederic had said no. Orion had kept pestering King Frederic about it for days, and wanted to be given a real reason why he couldn’t train. Finally, King Frederic got fed up with his son’s annoying reasoning as to why he should be allowed to train, and told him that he’d never be anything worthwhile with only one eye and the inability to be near a flame. It wasn’t the truth and it hurt King Frederic to say it, but at least it seemed to do the trick. King Frederic couldn’t tell his only son the real reason he couldn’t become a warrior. Orion never bothered King Frederic again with wanting to be trained. Instead, as King Frederic found out a couple of years later, Orion had found someone else willing to teach and train him to be a warrior, and to help him overcome his pyrophobia. The woman’s name was Bertha, and she had recently begun training five other boys about Orion’s age. She was more that happy to train Orion, too.

Since finding out about Orion’s training schedule, King Frederic had shown up in the courtyard every night to watch his son grow stronger. He kept well out of sight, knowing that Orion still believed that King Frederic thought he was worthless. What Orion didn’t know was that King Frederic had always wanted his son and heir to the throne to be a great warrior, but Orion’s blonde-haired, pale-skinned condition was the reason he would never be a real warrior. King Frederic watched every evening, out of sight, as Orion, the youngest of the five boys, and much smaller besides, steadily became stronger that each of them.

He also noticed Orion’s odd habit of wearing a simple, white and gold silk jumpsuit with heavy gold gauntlets, inlaid with gems, all the time. The only times Orion would wear anything fancier than the jumpsuit was when King Frederic forced him to for a party or ball. Orion absolutely refused to take the gauntlets off, though.

King Frederic stopped in front of a large, carved-oak framed portrait hanging in the great hall, where balls and parties usually took place. Tonight, however, the large room stood empty and useless, with heavy, black velvet curtains hanging in front of huge fancy windows, blocking the night from coming in. He looked up at the three smiling faces overlooking the dimly lit hall, one belonging to himself, one of his son, and the third of his wife, Patricia. The portrait was at least ten years old. Orion was just a little boy in the picture, two bright blue eyes watching out over the empty room expecting people to suddenly appear out of thin air and start dancing and laughing. Orion’s pale skin and light blond hair stood out against the dark skin of his parents. Both King Frederic and his wife had black hair and dark skin, just like every other telblec on the planet. Most people puzzled at the fact that Orion was so different, but King Frederic knew the answer. He also knew that if anyone else found out the truth, Orion would be in great danger, so he never told anyone. King Frederic always feigned ignorance when asked.

His gaze swept up to his own, ten-years-younger, smiling face. He had been so happy back then. He wasn’t worried about Orion’s pale skin and hair. Everyone had accepted the boy the way he was, and besides, Patricia had been pregnant at the time. King Frederic smiled to himself, remembering his excitement over having another child. Grief settled in where the small spark of joy had been when he remembered that Patricia had died trying to bring their baby into the world. The baby, a little girl, had died shortly after birth. He closed his eyes and looked away at memories of what might have been. He had been planning on giving his crown to the little girl instead of Orion, since she would have had dark skin and black hair, just like a normal telblec should.

Now, with Orion as his only heir, he was worried about what people would think about having a king that looked like a lunimorf. Of course, nobody knew that the lunimorves looked almost identical to telblecs, and that, King Frederic believed, is the only thing that had kept Orion safe his entire life. The biggest difference was that, while telblecs had dark skin and black hair, lunimorves had pale skin and pale hair that ranged from light blonde, like Orion’s, to deep red-orange. Telblecs were also larger and stronger than lunimorves, with a more muscular build. In turn, lunimorves were faster and more graceful. Of course, since lunimorves were shape-shifters through a magic called fysimae, they usually hid their true form from the telblecs, appearing instead as ugly monsters with claws and wings. King Frederic knew what they truly looked like because of the year he had spent as a captive with the lunimorves on Lunspae, the moon that revolved around the telblec’s planet, Olhoe. He shivered as he recalled some of the horrible things that happened to him there.

He allowed his gaze to shift over to that of his smiling wife, Patricia. His thoughts followed suit, bringing forth wonderful memories of the two of them together, taking walks in the courtyard, having picnics on the beach, or sitting outside on a high balcony, watching the stars until late. In the portrait, her hair was done up in curls and ringlets, and the sleeves of her pale blue dress were resting on her shoulders, showing off the diamond and sapphire necklace and earring set he had given her for her birthday. It had taken her hours to find the perfect dress to wear with that necklace for the picture. She was the only thing in the world that had made his life worth living, and now she was gone. Over nine years had passed since she died, and King Frederic still felt the hole it left in his heart. The pain of it wouldn’t let him marry again, even though he knew it would have been best for his kingdom if he did. He sighed and placed a hand on the lower edge of the portrait’s frame.

If only you were still here, Patricia, he let his voice trail off as he closed his eyes and bowed his head in a silent prayer

Chapter 3

I can’t even be in the same room as a lit candle! he thought in frustration. It was late afternoon, and Orion was pacing in his rooms, where he always was once his studies were over. He was dreading another training session where he would have to face his biggest fear again. An unlit candle is fine, but once there’s even the tiniest flicker of a flame, I black out! Why? He stopped pacing and fell to his knees in anguish, tears welling up in his eyes. It had been ten years since his fateful encounter with that horrible lunimorf that took his eye. He had recovered quickly, but the scar of pyrophobia refused to fade. Orion had tried everything to rid himself of his embarrassing fear, including counseling, hypnosis, and completely ignoring it. Nothing helped.

I hate it! Orion cried as he hit the floor with his fists, I hate pyrophobia! He sniffed as tears spilled over his cheeks, It’s ruined my life! If I ever get my hands on that filthy lunimorf, he’s gonna wish he was never born! He wiped his eyes and whispered, Maybe I’ll kill them all. He sniffled again as he looked up at the beautiful tropical tree near the wall. A bright red flower had just begun to bloom on it earlier that day. What are you smiling at? He asked the small tree, his anger subsiding. The tree just stood there, basking in the artificial light, and didn’t reply. He sighed as he rocked backward into a sitting position. Leaning back on his hands, Orion shifted his gaze to the ceiling, and to the sparkling crystal chandeliers that hung from it. Following the rays, he watched some water drip down the leaves of his small rosebush. He knew that a servant had been in to water his plants while he was with his teachers. He wondered again why his father didn’t like flowers. These roses were a new hybrid whose colors were a swirl of yellow and orange. The blooms reminded him of fire, which was one reason he wanted this bush. He was hoping that, by associating the color of fire with something he liked, it would help him get over his fear of fire, but it wasn’t working. Pyrophobia, he thought, smirking, not many people know what it is. Even I wouldn’t know if I didn’t have it. If I never lost my eye... His thoughts began drifting again, back to that horrible night that changed his life.

A loud knock interrupted Orion’s daydream. Startled, he quickly picked himself up off the floor. He tried his best to wipe any trace of tears from his face as his visitor knocked again, somewhat impatiently.

Come in, Orion said in his best regal voice, as he tried to smooth the wrinkles in his sleeves.

Good evening, Prince Orion. A man bowed as he entered, wearing a black suit with brown trimming that was the normal servant’s outfit. Every servant had to wear it, and the maids had to wear a matching black and brown ankle-length dress. Orion thought these clothes were quite ugly and depressing. I’m gonna get rid of them as soon as I become king. Maybe I’ll dress the servants in red. Or maybe blue. I like bright blue with white trim. Orion chuckled, I’ll make the servants look like the midday sky. Orion put his thoughts on hold when he seen that the servant was accompanied by a lovely young lady dressed in an ice blue evening gown with frilly white lace. The light color of the dress complimented her dark features. Her long, black hair was pulled back and fell in ringlets around her shoulders. Her eyes were a boring shade of tan and they sparkled with nervousness. She looked like she had too much makeup on.

Who are you? Orion asked the young lady.

She is Lady Raina, Majesty, the servant answered, bowing. Your father, King Frederic, says that it’s time for you to choose a worthy bride. You have less than four years before you are to marry.

Oh, right. Orion couldn’t hide his frustration. Father hasn’t cared about anything that has to do with me for years, and now he wants me to see some stupid girl in some stupid dress. Actually, Orion had been looking forward to meeting potential brides, but felt resentment at his father’s name. Indeed, King Frederic hadn’t bothered to spend time with Orion at all. He had always been too busy to even talk to his son. All Orion ever got from his father was a sneer or scowl when they passed in the halls. Orion figured it had to do partly with his mother’s death. Patricia had died shortly after Orion lost his eye due to pregnancy complications. The baby had died, too. That was so long ago, Orion thought, his anger rising, isn’t he over it by now? He could at least take a couple of hours off and train with me awhile. Heartache took the place of anger when he remembered that his father thought he was worthless, and had told him so when he asked to start training. Orion knew that he had let his father down when he lost his eye, but he was trying his best to make up for it by training. Orion believed that, once he got over his pyrophobia, he could surprise his father with how strong he was. He could prove that he wasn’t worthless. His father would have to like him and believe in him after that. Orion glanced at a picture he had of himself and his parents. It was the same as the one hanging in the great hall, only much smaller. He had heard rumors that Patricia wasn’t his real mother, which is why his father never liked him, but he didn’t believe it. He had always believed that his skin and hair color was so different that everyone else because of a color mutation. He had seen similar color mutations in animals lots of times. He knew that it was the loss of his right eye and his stupid fear of fire that shamed his father, not some silly mutation. Still, he couldn’t dismiss the accusations that he didn’t resemble her in any way. He didn’t exactly resemble his father, either, but there were some small similarities.

Well, come in, and tell me about yourself, Lady Raina. Orion had switched back to his regal voice as he turned to face her, trying his best to put his emotions away like he had been taught. He had been excited at meeting potential brides ever since his sixteenth birthday last month, and thoughts of his father weren’t going to spoil it. Thank you, servant, you may go. The servant bowed again and shut the door