Suffer The Blessings: The Chosen

By Mayden Rose and Raven Laurel

In a world on the brink of another major upheaval, Corey Devon wants nothing more than to live his simple life working his simple job. When the unrest comes to him, everything he thought he wanted changes.

He and five other former soldiers are chosen to spearhead the start of a new era, an era without the vile Arcanes of lore.

The Arcane races that have been secretly hunted for countless lifetimes rise against their persecutors, unwittingly tipping the scales back and forth as they form surprising bonds. All they want is the simple freedom to live apart from those who would see them eradicated.

Simplicity comes at a high price when many lives that have no connections tangle together in the quest for justice.

People may change, but souls never do.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mayden Rose and Raven Laurel
• Release date: Aug 3, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301090174

Mayden Rose and Raven Laurel

Born and raised in New York City and now living in Toronto, ON, Canada, Mayden Rose spent a lot of her time as a child listening to the voices in her head. Instead of thinking herself crazy, she wrote down what they said. Writing since she was of single digit age, she finally found her niche when she met another woman that heard voices in her head.On a cold January evening in 2010, Raven Laurel stumbled upon a roleplaying community for a popular video game from the comfort of her laptop in Strayhorn, MS, USA. As an aside? The city has no zip code. Anyway, she began to chat and play her character with others in the community and met Mayden.It was an instant connection.Raven has also been writing since she was in the fourth grade, and she had her style established. She had become a comma guru and had created characters that spoke eloquently and elaborately. Read: long-winded. :)Mayden, on the other hand, was usually too concise.And a bloom was born.Both women, though hundreds of miles apart, found a kindred connection. Their characters easily interacted, and they told intricate tales for the community to see.They both also realized that all the voices in their heads formed relationships that could not be torn asunder. With the inception of many deeply woven tales heavily leaned into the supernatural and things that go bump in the night, their writing only got more fluid. Over the course of three years, Raven and Mayden invoked more voices, more places, and more wild adventures in one another... until an entire universe unto itself big banged in both their minds.Their "Suffer The Blessings" series is their first attempt to share the visions that until now only clattered around in their twisted, interlocking minds.Bedlam to her Maelstrom. ❤OuO/\oVo

Book preview

Attention, children!

Twenty-five seven-year-olds scrambled to drop themselves into their seats after removing their winter garb for the morning. It was a big day in Deistics class, and the children were all rambunctious and excited.

They’d been promised a special gift.

The teacher, an older, stoutly woman in her sixties, began to hand out colorful little books. Do we know what these are?

The Divina Conclusio! the children yelled in tandem.

All but one.

That’s right! The words in this book are very special, straight from Celestial Sol. These words are really, really old, too! Four thousand years old! That’s over a million sleeps!

The children gasped and murmured among themselves as they marveled at the pretty colors on their books.

Smiling at the children’s understanding, she continued, Open up to page one, and let’s all read it together.

The small tomes the children read along with their teacher had been rewritten for young minds that couldn’t understand big words.

After a while, she closed her book and looked around at her students. So, what do we think of this, children?

Many of the kids looked scared, and several spoke up over one another.

Red eyes are scary!

Pointy hands?!

I’m afraid of the dark, and that’s when the moon comes out!

My gramma has silver hair!

Canes’re monsters!

Quiet down, children. See, Caeles, in Her infinite mercy, wanted to make sure we know all about these scary Arcanes. They’re bad, bad people who would do you harm.

How do we fight them?

Can they get us while we sleep?

My gramma has silver hair! Is she a Cane?!

The teacher shook her head. We don’t fight them with anything but our faith and the light in our hearts. They can’t hurt anyone who has Caeles wrapped around their soul. And your gramma is probably just older, like me, son, she chuckled. Children, what you’ve learned today is very serious. Never let the darkness into your heart.

She dismissed her class as usual after the rest of the lesson. The children all kept their little books that would become part of their upbringing and cultural heritage.

As she walked into the lounge to have a cup of coffee before her next class, she saw the gym teacher staring. Good morning.

Mm. Heard Deistics had a party today.

Party?

Heard the kids talkin’ ‘bout the DC in the halls. …Don’t you have no shame?

The teacher huffed. You must be of scientific ilk. Those children need to learn the ills of the world to prepare their souls.

Prepare ‘em for what? To be afraid of fairy tales an’ anythin’ with a tail? It’s ridiculous.

You’re obviously not a believer.

Got that from your years’a trainin’ with that stupid book, did’ja?

I’ll have you know this ‘stupid’ book is the cornerstone of faith in this faithless age. So many of us roam blind without the capacity to see what might be right before us. Our children need to learn this!

Bullshit. All of it. Bullshit propaganda the Praetectio doles out as fact to keep us ‘Lambs’ in line. You’re the one who’s blind, lady. Meanwhile, they’re gearin’ up an army to shoot shadows in the night while those same kids are in danger’a gettin’ caught in the crossfire. Want that?

Better they die pure than in the grips of darkness.

You’re sick.

And you’re naive. The Praetectio protects us. The darkness is what taints. You’ll see… The Praetectio has never steered us wrong. They are a Caeles-send to combat those who would even go so far as to defend anything living in the dark. And so long as I have breath in my lungs, I will teach our children what Caeles wills in Her Divine Redemption!

If anyone’s in the dark, lady, it’s you. You really think all them creatures in that book exist?

Good day, sir! The teacher walked out with her coffee.

Damn devouts. Dumb as stumps waitin’ for the fuse to blow.

As the teacher rounded the corner, she saw one of her students leaned against the wall. She approached, tilting her head. Son? Son, why aren’t you in your next class?

Mommy has purple eyes, the boy whispered as big, gray, watery eyes locked to the teacher’s.

His teacher was someone he could trust, right?

He’d been told to keep mommy’s eyes a secret because people might get angry.

But his teacher was a nice lady.

By the next morning, the boy had been orphaned, ripped from all he’d known, and placed in a special school for children who needed to be cleansed of the darkness.

Of course, the teacher had been sworn to secrecy by the Praetectio, and a promise like that she would never break.

She’d proudly done the work of Caeles.

Across the Principality on that gloomy morning, recruiters sat at folding tables in high school gymnasiums signing teenagers up to join the Praetectio Brigade after graduation.

The newest batch of Praetectio employees was getting their orientation on the existence of Arcanes. They were signing non-disclosure agreements. They were being given a slew of security protocols.

Many didn’t believe. Some did. All were thrilled to have employment in a cushy tower with medical benefits and a retirement plan.

And in a snow-covered Principality to the northeast that had been built on death, Praetectio Brigadier cadets were being given their standing orders. "If you think it’s Arcane?

Shoot it, trash it, don’t talk about it.

TOP

DIVINA CONCLUSIO

Agnos – Satus

(Lamb – Origin)

Frailty kissed hearts and skin

Bone and eyes and all within

Peace was lived in broken perfection

Perfect flaws needing protection

Hearts and souls that waxed and waned

Sometimes cheerful, sometimes pained

Loves and lives and seconds and years

Laughs and sighs and smiles and tears

Flaws injected into flawless creations

Feet marched and moved to make new nations

Toiling together in chaotic harmony

In fretful peace, the perfect irony

Agnos – Consortio

(Lambs – Partnership)

Then came the day one cast asunder

Beseeched our blessed One to wonder

Is chaos in harmony enough to sate

The perfect flaws’ need to create?

Will eyes not dim, will hearts not sag

With nothing of merit enough to brag?

What is winning without a fight?

What is darkness without that light?

Our blessed One mulled the uttered words

Looking at Her Lambs in all their herds

Eons for which to heal both prides

Blessed and cursed chose to make strides

Agnos – Periculum

(Lambs – Peril)

Lambs to the slaughter to be tried and tested

To see if from their hearts could be wrested

The light they possessed to harmonize flaw

To battle through darkness, to create new law

Blessed was She who nodded in thought

Imperfect gems who never had fought

How could they know the value of life

Without a moment of threatening strife?

For what was possession without great loss?

The cursed one smiled, hair given a toss

And unholy hands molded creations

A scourge on the Lambs in all of their nations

Suco – Plasmatio

(Vampire – Creation)

Darkness begot the blood-soaked ire

The merciless one, the soulless Vampire

Eyes of blood and bad intentions

Don’t look deep, don’t pay attention

Needle teeth and evil smiles

Ugly defiance and Arcane wiles

Suco – Narratio

(Vampire – Narrative)

Desires for which their tastes are rife

To give yourself to the madness of life

To sacrifice your soul to the masters of night

To forsake your eyes from the blessing of light

To let them be the veil to escape from life’s swell

To let them reach inside so they can know you well

To talk with them in shadow and feel their words within you

To let them reap your thoughts and tempt away your virtue

To tell them your feelings in total confidence

To trust in their enchantments; they only come but once

To let them take you in so this can be your ride

Only if you’re willing to see their wrath inside

You won’t know if you should leave this life you’re in

To live just by their sides immersed in their dark din

To feel the great pleasures the masters of night bring

To taste the sweet torture that will make you sing

Until the night comes they bore of your song

And toss you into abyssal oblivion, headlong

Death or eternity, hurry and choose

Either way, Lamb, you stand to lose

Suco – Effectus in Agnis

(Vampire – Effect on Lambs)

Cursed ones play not by the rules

Cheating the blessed One’s flawed jewels

Viral contagion to strengthen their numbers

Never to stop, nary to slumber

The blessed One, to even the odds

Took Sol’s rays away from the frauds

She poisoned waters teeming with salt

And yanked away peace, life never to halt

But far too late had the blessings struck

The bloodlusting beasts had run amok

Seeing that a hand was needed

Her Lambs’ cries were swiftly heeded

Lupus – Satus

(Lupine – Origin)

Though from light’s hands these creatures wake

Unnatural existence the light forsakes

Wild in heart, a blend of two flaws

Instinct and sentience, desperate the cause

War waged on between dark and light

But allies emerged from the moonlit night

To haunt the expanse with songs so strong

That spooked the darkness into the dawn

And though the creatures preferred the moon

As darkness took over their souls so soon

Still allies they were to precious gems

To aid them in earnest against the condemned

Lupus – Plasmatio

(Lupine – Creation)

Darkness molded of intention divine

The impetuous one, the remorseless Lupine

Deep-set eyes the hue of honey

Don’t know civilization or money

Reigning instincts and dual forms

Beastly disregard and Arcane norms

Lupus – Narratio

(Lupine – Narrative)

Eternally dancing in the bright moonlight

Speaking to naught without words, just their song

Cursed are those who can live with the wild

Who heed the moon and worship their strong

The slithering path of resistance rises

A presence adored comes near reality

Cursed are those who can live through madness

Worshipping Her in such brutality

Life is a hunt, death is the truth

Now, they walk with your youth

Spirit of death and white-faced moon

Will the destruction not stop soon?

Against the prisoners of your fate

Two legs, four legs, instinctive hate

Existing to promise unceasing fuss

Erasing the line between them and us

Cursed our lives as it blends with their kind

Cursed our peace as we leave it behind

Cursed are you, Lamb, to them you are blind

Lupus – Effectus in Agnis

(Lupine – Effect on Lambs)

Flaw and flaw had not been enough

For darkness swelled too much to rebuff

The Lambs did struggle, so did the beasts

Strength barely matched, and Lambs were the feast

One thousand turns around the sun

Darkness nearly had the war won

But in Her blessed need to protect

Her Lambs were not to be felled yet

Volpes – Satus

(Vulpine – Origin)

What could give Her Lambs more power

And aid the beasts in their dimming hour?

Those things touched by the grace of the Lambs

Building their lives and nations and lands

To harness the elements flawlessly given

Would be task one to the newly driven

A creature of nature, small and sly

To brandish the gifts and change the die

Future rewritten with victory had

Sometimes on feet, sometimes fur-clad

Allies to Lambs when divinity insisted

True nature shown later, the light resisted

Volpes – Plasmatio

(Vulpine – Creation)

Darkness, flaw, perfect nature combine

The devious one, the specious Vulpine

Flamingo orbs and mischief abounds

Tiny in stature, tiny in sounds

Abusers of nature, of Asa’s soul

Foul bravado and Arcane toll

Volpes – Narratio

(Vulpine – Narrative)

Bastardizing nature’s gifts, they prance

Into their holes, forbidden to chance

The eyes of the Lambs touching their fur

For secrets they lived, despite what they were

Allies they were, flaws nonetheless

Darkened with power that light couldn’t bless

Handling flames in small pointed hands

Able to vanquish the largest of lands

Controlling blessed water to their whim

Lambs’ only hope was that they could swim

Brandishing earth to meet their end

Were you, the Lambs, ever their friend?

Air like a toy to sway all directions

Befuddling Lambs to their imperfections

Small and lithe, sneaky and hidden

Such power they wield should be forbidden

For what of the day they hide no more

And use Asa’s blessings to settle the score

Volpes – Effectus in Agnis

(Vulpines – Effect on Lambs)

Another thousand of Asa’s twirls

Would see the darkness in a whirl

To flee the allies and the Lambs

To leave in peace the blossoming lands

Scattered about did the creations go

Lambs and beasts and darkness aglow

Peace reigned again and tempers were checked

What two thousand dances with sunlight reflects

Furor Natus Est

(Rage Is Born)

An Asa at peace with so many beings

The blessed One smiled, the cursed one reeling

Quiet and calm sweet Asa did rest

Until darkness ached for a new test

But this would be different, the cursed one thought

Creating was simple, didn’t brighten the plot

There were no strides, no agreements to ponder

Just a blank slate, just over yonder

He planned it well, the impending dark

But how, oh how, could it embark

On its journey to test the Lambs

And wreak its havoc across the lands?

Then one day it came to him

How simple, how sweet, the natural sin

Roll the blueprint twixt fingers to smother

Then flick the dark seed at the womb of a mother

Saevus – Plasmatio

(Saevus – Creation)

Darkness evolved again to enslave us

The violent one, the furious Saevus

Brutality incarnate, all colors spark

The wild doth proclaim darkest of dark

Saevus – Narratio

(Saevus – Narrative)

Time dies divine on your flesh

As your blood smears his skin pink

Made bed within your own grave

As your eyes show him what you think

Ache dwells in all of your veins

Tears form in your eyes from the pain

The world seems to be changing

And you can hear his heart beating

Then you dream, you see a vision

Life is snuffed, perfect precision

Haunting wail precedes the end

When moments ago he was your friend

You feel as if you are one, tasting death, every red drop

He holds you tight in his arms, never blinking, never to stop

Only when crimson drips from Sol

And he is sated on his knees, cold

Will he breathe and blink and stare

Rise and balk and walk, no care

For nature must and will take its course

Darkness so dark feels no remorse

Of these creatures what could be said

They pave destruction, relish the dead

Minds black as pitch as violence carried

With little hope, the Lamb just parried

Lux Ulscicitur

(Light Retaliates)

The blessed One could not let this be

Not even the dark ones survived the spree

Another creation had to arise

With opposite features, hair and eyes

To show what was good and what was fair

The Blessed followed the cursed one’s flair

Genetic and hereditary lines were drawn

And born was the light of a new dawn

Argentum Appetitor – Plasmatio

(Argent – Creation)

Child of flawed light to make savages repent

The interloper, the meddling Argent

Eyes like a bruise on alabaster

Don’t look back, just run faster

Energy meant to tame a fiend

Turned to a game, Arcane unclean

Argentum Appetitor – Narratio

(Argent – Narrative)

You let her drink water from your hands

Even though you know she bit you

Let her tear away at your flesh

Then raised your sleeve to give her more

You let her pull you by your strings

Even though you know she choked you

Let her drag you down her path

Barely breathing, you followed

The veil couldn’t fall

Your weary conscience called

You think you let her down

You could see it in her face

You could see it in her eyes

You must be more to blame than you realize

You let her carry you in her arms

Even though you know she dropped you

Let you fall into an abyss

But you stood up to do it again

You let her blind you with her lies

Even though you knew the truth

Let her convince you things were right

Closed your eyes and let it in

The veil couldn’t fall

Your heavy conscience calls

You don’t care, you don’t hear

All you feel is the stab

Into your heart as you finally see

All she wanted was to meet her end

Wipe your tears, Lamb

Lux Seduxisti, Veritas Abdicavit

(Light Deceived, The Truth Discarded)

Balance to balance, dark to light

Once again, Asa was right

A generation of balance passed

And down to peril another was cast

For loudly did the voice proclaim

The word of the blessed One insane

For letting one marred so by dark

Into Sol like a filthy spark

As it comes to pass these days

Dark my heart, the balance sways

Eyes once perfect silver blinds

Natural prowess, hideous binds

Pointed not my judgment just there

Many and much darkness we bear

Boredom rules, misguided games

Whilst darkness dances in the flames

Lucem Inquisitioni

(In The Quest For Light)

I have slept for years in this world

My eyes open to the horrors here

Still I have lived so long as life itself

And have not shed a shiny tear

I have spoken of fears, no less

My heart is as a child’s about to confess

To be alive on Asa now

Has shown me fear, the living shroud

Not to be alive here is, in fact

My only memory still intact

Abhorrence borne of innocence

Rushes my veins, my only sense

Aeternae Promissio

(Eternal Promise)

I feel the cold down my spine

The darkness threatens what is mine

Life on our Asa corrupts the soul’s soul

Everything here is blackened, a hole

Set me free to fly without sight

To murder the darkness if but for one night

Eternally grateful I will be, no doubt

Willingly entered in war, gone all out

Justitia Inquisitioni

(In The Quest For Justice)

Foxbeasts and Lupines whine

Their darkened breaths at last are mine

Creatures of night and all you entail

Face the sun so light may prevail

Interlopers spun with hair like coins

Squashed should you be when sown of loins

Eyes of all colors to worship war

Fall to yourselves and what you stand for

Fairy tales gone and dead

For now I know it has been said

The lives of Lambs have never been led

Thus now I walk eternally in light’s stead

Aeternae Paenitentia

(Eternal Repentance)

As I am torn from the center with my light rushing cold

The state of my existence is one that must be told

As I looked into Your face I saw our futures far

I cannot believe this myself, this is not who we are

I can say You’re one with Your awe

To me, a simply devastating flaw

Tear me from the center, You have gone mad

To be out of her presence, violet and silver clad

What will be next, o blessed One

Fangs and claws and moonlight sons?

From where I land with soul saddened and wronged

I will stand again, fight for what is longed

Your eyes to be clear, to be right, to be just

I will fight at it forever, come what must

Humilis Efflagitatio

(Humble Demand)

Take my hand

Close your eyes

Time to meet dark’s reaper

Speak no sound

Stay still and feel

The light I teach move deeper

Dry your hands

Of tears you’ve cried

To free the light inside you

Cleanse that soul

You never know

What might be looking through

See with no eyes

Touch with no hands

Realize light without flaw

Hear with no ears

Scream with no voice

Until your soul is raw

Once you find

The blooming light

And start to lose your breath

Fear is gone

The light is nigh

Arcanes succumb to death

And here is where this history ends

For on what is done the future depends

Coddle the dark or embrace the light

Choose wisely, Lambs, and sleep well tonight

TOP

Chapter One

Really?

The rain was a steady drum, beating its rhythm out onto the denizens of Nyx, but there was one man that didn’t appreciate the percussion on his head as he walked to the bus stop. Some saw rain as a blessing. Corey Devon saw it as the sky’s expression of pain. Either it was bleeding or it was crying, and neither was good.

He walked with his head bowed into the low light of the bus stop shelter, gray eyes cast to the ground to make sure he didn’t trip over anything. Debris was common in the area; the factories in nearby Aura made mechanical components to ship to manufacturers in other parts of the Principality of Janus. It was all too common for Corey to trip over some discarded piece of scrap metal only to kick it to a far corner of the neighborhood and colorfully question who’d left it there.

Not surprisingly, he never got an answer.

Some said Corey had a chip on his shoulder. Some said he had a mean streak. Others said he was mentally troubled. Whatever the issue, all agreed that the place he called home was definitely an influencing factor. Born and raised in the slum district of Nyx, he had raised his family, minded his own business, never asked for handouts, and lived the best he could.

Raised – that was how he saw it. Corey was the only child in the family, yet he had supported the entirety of the household. His mother was able to work, but she never had and never would be expected to. His father had certainly been able to as well, but the man hadn’t lifted a finger once his son had come of age, and Corey hadn’t held him to the task of doing so. He’d questioned his father’s laziness in the past, but it no longer mattered.

Mind a tornado he was trying to stifle down, Corey got onto the bus when it arrived. When he sat to stare through the window, his brows furrowed.

I hate the rain.

***

I love the rain! Corey chirped as he wandered out, scuffing his sneakers on the wet concrete to make screeching sounds. For a little boy that was withdrawn more often than not, droplets falling from Sol were a blessing.

Chloe Devon always bundled him up for his splashing in the puddles, despite his dramatic objections. At seven years old, Corey hadn’t worn off any of his rambunctious behavior. Back and forth, up and down the street, he plodded and screeched, arms spread wide as he let his imagination run amok. Boom boom! Canes go ‘way! I’m a Knight’a Caeles! Kapow pow! Bam bam zap! His sneakers slipped on the wet sidewalk and deposited the little Knight on his bottom. Wipeout!

Wipeout! Chloe yelled simultaneously, moving over to her boy to make sure he hadn’t bumped his head. It took a lot of self-restraint not to cringe at his innocent words. Look at my big strong Knight! He’s all wet on his back. You gonna let a little water get you down, Sir Noah?

He always used his middle name when he was protecting Asa. It was much more noble than ‘Corey.’ Never! I hafta get m’trusty helmet! Almost forgot. A Big Gear never doesn’t have his helmet!

A Brigadier? Chloe asked, biting her tongue. Damn woman. Told her not to be takin’ him to her Praetorian shit. Well, Sir Noah, you should’a got it before you got out here. Now you’re all wet, an’ the Queen’ll spank your bottom if you track wet in her clean house, yeah? The ‘Queen’ leaned down to rub noses with her little boy. Why don’t you go get it? But you take them shoes off first, boy! Your grandmother’s comin’ tonight, an’-… Well. Her husband Jonathan’s mother always had something to say, be it about how she kept house or how she didn’t teach her child the way of Caeles.

Either way, it went in one ear and out the other.

Gramma’s comin’ tonight?! Corey blurted.

Yep. Gramma’s comin’ tonight, an’ daddy wants the whole place spotless. In fact, Jonathan had insisted, and the way he insisted had become more frequent. Gramma’s a real important woman, yeah? Gramma is to Daddy what I am to Sir Noah. See? Chloe tapped his nose.

I like Gramma! She smells like a book, but she brings me treats. Does Gramma read a lot? Is that why she smells like a book? Corey chattered on as he only would with his mother.

Chloe laughed, responding, Well sweetie, Gramma’s an accountant, so that’s why she smells like a book. She’s real good at numbers an’ stuff. She took Corey’s grimy little hand and led him to their porch steps. Sneakers off, yeah? Mind the carpet. Don’t wanna make Daddy mad.

Madder, she thought.

Already pissed cuz’a money all the damn time, the asshole.

Can’t help he don’t never wanna keep a damn job.

Knew what we was gettin’ into when we had a baby.

So Corey wouldn’t leave footprints on the concrete, Chloe lifted him to step up onto the porch and put him onto the worn out welcome mat, bottom first. She untied his sneakers and pulled them off his feet, making faces at the damp places in his socks. Sir Noah blew out a tire! Boy, you need’a stop skiddin’ these things across the pavement, yeah? This just happened?

Nuh uh, Mommy, Corey said with a guilty little smile. My feet been gettin’ wet since last pizza party in school.

A month! You ain’t think to tell me, Corey? I ain’t think to check. Damn… I’m a horrible mother.

Nuh uh, cuz the wet ain’t cold no more.

Still don’t want you walkin’ ‘round with wet feet, Corey Noah! Chloe said as she took off his wet socks, lost in thought.

He can’t go without shoes.

These cheap ones wear out so fast.

Jon’ll say he runs too much.

He’s seven, damnit.

Can’t just pin him down an’ tell him to not run.

Boy’s got too much energy to sit still all the damn time.

Mommy’s just gonna hafta get some money an’ buy you a pair’a boots, like Daddy’s. You won’t wear those out so fast, yeah?

I like Daddy’s boots.

So does he. Now go get your helmet. Hurry up, now, Chloe sighed, removing her shoes at the door to follow Corey into the house. She didn’t pay much attention to his plodding toward the bedrooms, her mind on the freezer and the can of money she hid in the back of it. She peeled the cold