The Art of Magic, Realm of the Northern Castle Book

By Sharon Wheater

Sabien has slipped into a dark place and now battles his own inner demons. This is the least of his worries, a much stronger more sinister power grows in the North and is threatening to take over the World. Its not just Garnatia now but the whole world, the Whisperanns come to their aid and many secrets are uncovered which shock and rock Garnatia.
The Battle Begins.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sharon Wheater
• Release date: Feb 5, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311475466

Sharon Wheater

My name is Sharon and I was born in Derbyshire and spent most of my childhood knee deep in horse poop. I have had horses all my life. My love was to show-jump but I nowadays I just don't have the time.I have always loved to write ever since I was a child. I loved to write ghost stories and tales of witches so I could disappear off into my own little world. I want to write to please the reader and broaden my own imagination...to which many have already said is crazy, I don't think so, I think I can just create a very good story!I also love to draw, many years ago I would draw peoples horses for them and other pictures to order, I haven't done much like that for a long time. I do create my own book covers, to which I want to do for others too eventually and maybe look at the publishing side of it and promotions too.I joined the military and spent several years serving my country and traveling, I have seen most of the world and it really is an amazing place. I loved my job but I had a very nasty accident which was nearly crippled me for life but I battled against it and now I am as normal as everyone else....well, physically anyhow!Unfortunately I was medically discharged, one of the saddest moments of my life but I went off around Europe with friends for a few months. Once I was back on my feet, I treated myself by celebrating with friends in some of the most beautiful countries in Europe, great fun and experience.I moved to Chattanooga in Tennessee and lived there around four years and six months in Melbourne in Florida eventually moving back to the UK.I met my partner, the love of my life, Mark, and we decided to move to sunny Spain, the best move we have ever made.Now we have a lovely house just over a mile from the ocean and live with our two cats, Luna and Tic, and our dog Bongo where I spend most of my time writing. I love my home and being in it, my poor man is a total widower to writing bless him.I love photography, socializing, surfing, animals and much more, I will be adding photos to the gallery here on the site which I have taken.I love to write fantasy novels as I can let my mind run riot, but I do write other genres.

Book preview

The Art of Magic

Realm of the Northern Castle

Book Two

Written by

Sharon Wheater

Copyright 2014 Sharon Wheater

Smashwords Edition

This book is purely fictional. Any resemblance to actual persons is purely coincidental.

ISBN  9781311475466

First Edition.

Books also written by Sharon Wheater.

The Art of Magic Realm of the Castles.

Book One.

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Chapter One

It’s been four long years since I lost my beautiful wife Serenity. No day passes where I haven’t plotted my revenge on the Northern Castle and King Illumini will pay for what he has taken from me. So many times I began to spiral out of control and down into the depth of a deep depression thankfully Seb and Alex kept my head above water and stopped me from actually drowning in my own gloom. The day she was murdered by the night creature was the darkest day of my life, when she took my wife, she took a big part of me too.

Our son Drew has grown into a beautiful young boy. He has the deep emerald green eyes his mother had which on occasion cause a pang of sadness when I look at his face, he can easily ignite memories of when she was alive. My son is now my life, he has to be protected and loved, maybe I can be a little over protective but wouldn’t you be? We have no idea what the North are plotting next, maybe they are planning to take my son, the Queen or even King Neil, our security has been tightened immensely.

We had planned to declare war on the North after I lost Ren, I had planned to attack but King Neil advised me that because I was not thinking straight and could jeopardise the safety of Garnatia. King Neil dissuaded me and asked if I could wait until Drew was old enough to understand, and if I should die, at least allow my son to have known one of his parents. I have stay true to my promise, but now, the time has come.

I still live at Amethyst Manor and rattle around there alone with the exception of workers but Seb and Alex still reside along with me, its quiet when they are away. A little different when my son is in situe, he stays with the King, his Grandfather often but when he’s home the place is mayhem especially with Seb and Alex acting the same age! My nights are long and restless, my aching for Serenity has never ceased, in fact it worsens as time passes, I know they say time heals but how long does it have to take? My only retribution for the nightmares that haunt me is knowing that I will awaken and in time I will have my revenge.

I have been in a dark place for so long now, my depression has evolved into a fierce temper and as if it wasn’t bad enough before but now I just have black rages which send me out of control.

I have spent all this time plotting my revenge, exacting details of how I will take down the North, crushed and burned down in a way which will prevent them from ever rising from the ashes again.

Seb and Alex joined me as I sat looking through the maps of the North, it’s a vast baron place full of dark magic, evil and despair. So many areas I have never visited so many places I never want to but now maybe I will have no other choice. We know not of where this will lead or of what is to come.

We have had four Northerners’ ask for asylum today Sabien, same as the others we had last week. Alex said.

Have you questioned them? I asked as he hovered in the doorway.

Yeah, they are shit scared of something but are too afraid to say what it is. He replied.

Threaten you will send them back then. I frowned.

We can’t do that, they are absolutely terrified, something up there is really scaring them. Alex shot a glance at me which caused me to raise my eyebrows.

You said they are scared; use it to your advantage. If they won’t speak then they are obviously not that afraid!

I rose off my chair and walked over to the window pondering when we should leave for the North. Deciding plans were now to be executed I headed off to my office for some time to think. I need to clear my head; so much has been swimming around in there lately that I can’t sleep nor relax.

I have a past, one I am not proud of; I fear that my past will catch up with me and since Ren’s death and it has become more and more difficult to keep it in and not blurt everything out to Seb or Alex. I still feel I owe a great debt to my wife for killing the evil Arabis, if it wasn’t for Ren and her father; I would have been killed or even worse, taken by Arabis back to the Northern Castle.

Arabis, an evil magician who over the years was relentless in her pursuit of me, was always hopeful of my capture but thankfully it has never happened…yet. During the battle with the North Ren defeated Arabis with the help of her father; I played my part but she was able to defeat her with very little help from me.

I need to get to the Northern Castle as quick as I can, I need to find out what is happening there so as we can organise our plan of attack and destroy the evil that lies within and capture the King. We know that the Cullers are still operational; they were the ones who captured my wife when she was a child. They still search the other lands for the children with magical abilities, but they do not trespass onto the Southern Lands as they know we are hunting them. We have men searching the outer islands for the place where the children are kept but so far we have had no luck. We know they have made another prison somewhere its finding it that will be the hard part, our world is vast with many small islands and several large land masses like our own.

When Ren was a small child she was captured by the Cullers and taken to caves on the far West side of Garnatia, they tried and failed with me as I managed to escape thanks to my fathers vicious training regime.

The children were kept in caves just above the ocean that were so secluded that we missed them for a long time. The caves were like some form of catacomb that prevented magic from penetrating its inner cells, but I eventually pierced the defences and connected with Serenity’s mind by speaking into hers.

The children kept within the walls of the network of tunnels and caves were tortured, murdered and worse. We are covering the southern islands at present but eventually we will have to search the outer islands of the North, they are icy, hazardous and Northern soldiers keep them closely monitored.

If we cannot find them in the North; we will have to sail to the large territory of Peridot, far west of our lands. Peridot is not known to us, it is somewhere we have not investigated nor explored, it is a much larger and more dangerous terrain to ours. Legend has it that there is a territory that was home to dragons, we are not sure of this place but it has been told that the dragons are no longer residents, nobody knows of their fate, if they are still inhabitants of the land still we may have a problem.

Amethyst is a rather large part of the Territory of Garnatia, the South; it spans for miles and is much larger in comparison with the North. I am rather nervous of discovering the extent of the destruction King Illumini has reaped on what was once a happy territory not dissimilar to ours.

Our soldiers protect Amethyst to the death serving us with loyalty everyday, more soldiers are operational throughout Garnatia and a few of our outer islands, if the Northern spies or soldiers do enter our lands they are captured brought here to the castle and handed to me for interrogation and often execution.

My soldiers have been training hard in case of invasion and when the time comes the North will be destroyed. We are ready now, more than ready, our assault on the North will be ruthless.

Myself, I have been keeping busy studying any books I can find on the North and maps that will help me to find a safe passage where we will not be discovered as we make our way upland. I try to keep busy my mind constantly so that I stay in the light and not the dark place that my heart and soul keep trying to drag me down into. This is not always possible as I have said as the dark side of me is rearing its head more frequently of late. My need to bring down Illumini has become near obsession.

People have always avoided me or pretended they are working in my presence so I don’t yell at them or question why they are loitering on the Kings time, but now they are afraid of me. I need to get out of here and finish what Illumini began.

I can't bring myself to deal with my grief, it surfaces as ill temper and dark mood swings, no wonder people avoid me! I snap at people, my sarcasm has no limits and my rages are boundless.

Sabien Seb crashed in through the door causing me to jump out of my skin.

Come in, don’t let the fact my door is closed deter you in any way I sighed, I looked up from my desk and regaining my composure.

Sorry Sir, we have captured a Northern spy... soldier... young guy from the north. his breath rasped as he leant on the wall, He was found wandering in Shady Forest near Pearlia.

I grabbed my tunic and headed towards the door. I know where Shady Forest is Seb. What do we know of him, is he a spy?

I locked the office door and we took off briskly walking towards the dungeon. The passageway darkened as we reached closer to the steps that led down to where we hold our prisoners and interrogate our captured.

Yeah er, sorry. He paused, Nothing known of him as yet sir, we thought your interrogation skills would be able to draw out all the information we need. Seb was still panting and a smirk lifted his lips.

You sound like you could do with a bit more training; my dogs don’t pant that much on a hot day! I said sarcastically.

No, I ran up from the main gate, bloody long way, grinned Seb.

You're out of shape old boy, may have to trade you in for younger lads at this rate.

Ah come on, I could beat you hands down! Seb challenged.

I'm going to hold you to that, hope you are up for it.

Hey, you just said younger 'lads', that’s about right, would take multiples to reach my standards.

Yeah, multiples to match the size of your ego big lad! I grinned.

We head down the stairwell into the tunnels under the castle that led towards the dungeon. This environment would send a shiver up the spine of even the toughest of men. The walls are damp with dripping water and moss, the light from the candles flickered and our shadows cast huge shapes against the stone this did nothing to endear anyone to this place, it still gives me shudders and I have been here for most of my adult life. The wails and screams of the prisoners below filled the acrid air, the smell of human waste, sweat and fear still makes me urge. Couldn't care less about the people down there, they are down there for a reason where they will rot until their execution or death. Very few people see the light of day again once they have been taken prisoner for crimes that warranted incarceration in this hell.

Seb opened the third door on the left and we entered a small interrogation cell. The room was much darker; it took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust to the dimness of the solitary candle lighting the room on the centre table.

Sat on a wooden chair in front of the table was a young boy, mustn’t have been much older than seventeen, he looked like a deer cornered by a pack of wolves. I signalled for my young guard to leave the room, leaving myself and Seb alone to interrogate the prisoner.

I strolled around the table slowly to make the prisoner uneasy and sat opposite him, laying out my tunic in front of me, my gold buttons glinted in the candle light. I leant back in my chair and glared at the young boy in front of me I must admit Alex wasn’t wrong because he looked absolutely terrified. He gazed down at his fingers that were cradled in front of him on the table. He trembled so violently that the manacles around his wrist chinked on the wooden tabletop.

I kept silent for a short while; I looked around the room and noticed that the rear wall was slimy, the constant water flow had turned the back of the room into a perfect environment for algae and other unmentionable creatures. Cobwebs were hanging down from the ceiling filled with dust and dead flies that had become pray to the spiders lay awaiting them in the dark corners. The sound of dripping water echoed eerily around the room constantly and kept the room cold and grim. The damp stench takes your breath away and all this assists with making the prisoner most uncomfortable.

I lent forwards towards the young man, he was now one of those captured flies caught in the webs and I am worse than any spider.

Name? I asked.

Ayden Sir. He answered nervously.

Do you know who I am?

Y…yes Sir, your Commander Campbell. The boy nodded slowly.

Good, so you know that lying to me is not the way to keep your life.

Yes Sir, but I am not going to lie. He trembled.

What were you doing in the forest?

Trying to escape sir…I was heading towards the castle and then this big man dropped out of a tree on top of me, I thought I was going to be crushed to death. he began.

From who or what were you fleeing? I cut him off as a smirk threatened to graze my face imagining Seb just dropping from the trees on top of the boy.

The North Sir, there are things happening there, bad things, and I’m not the only one, there are a lot of us trying to escape. Many have been caught, and they torture them to death for treason.

Explain? I frowned. And do not miss any details or lie I will know and you will die…

There are creatures up there, they look like pretty girls, they wander around the grounds at dusk and they hardly wear any clothes, but they have these long ‘fang like’ teeth sir its horrible. You got to help me, please I seek refuge, don’t send me back there… The fear in his voice made me sit back in surprised.

We are aware of these creatures, I tried not to think of what the night creature had done to my beautiful wife, I cannot betray my emotions, Is this all your afraid of? What more can you tell us?

No sir, there are dark forces at work, the King has built a village underneath the castle, I haven’t been down there but I know men who have, they say its lit a strange blue glow and there are people living there.

What people? I asked firmly.

Sorcerer’s, dark sorcerers’ sir, there is one elder; she aids the others in learning dark magic we often feel a strange vibration coming up through the ground. There is something else down there too.

What? Asked Seb confused.

We are not sure but it holds the spirits of the people that the fanged girls kill, it’s a power source. The boy looked genuinely terrified his face ashen and his eyes darted around the room.

A wave of doom came over me, an overwhelming feeling of sickness. I looked up at Seb, his face frozen, without animation.

What do you mean…the spirits of the dead?

The door to the room opened as Alex entered, he looked around at us before he spoke.

Sir, we have another prisoner. Looking at my face he must have known something was wrong, what happened?

Alex, grab Jake, I don’t care how you do it but drag out every bit of information you can from the prisoners and he should be compliant if this guys anything to go by.

I sat looking out of my office window at the ocean, Ren would sit for hours just watching out to sea. My mind wandered from one thing to another, nothing making any real sense the prisoners had told us of numerous strange happenings up in the Castle, even though we knew of some, others have taken us by a considerable amount of surprise. The plans we had made were set in place but we now have the added complication of the northern soldier’s deflection. This will be of use, inside information; this could be of great importance to our quest. There was so much we had to investigate and it could not be done in large numbers, it had to be silent and quick, we need to gather intelligence and act upon it and it was not going to be easy.

The prisoners claimed asylum here at the castle after telling us all they knew. Both prisoners told of the same story, of something that stores the spirits of the dead, the dark sorcerers that lurk in the underground village underneath the castle, and of the night creatures within the castle grounds. They described the strange man who would sometimes accompany Illumini, a scrawny man but no-one