Champion: Champion of Light Trilogy, #1

By Claudette M. Cruz Carballo

The battle between the Light and the Darkness is eternal, but the warriors that fight that battle are not. New champions must rise to face the evils of the world and keep the Darkness at bay, and young Prince Eneir was one of the chosen, selected by the fates and awaited for a century by the fairies so that his training could begin to restore balance to a world slipping ever closer to the Darkness that awaits.
 
Prince Eneir's parents knew of their son's destiny, yet died before they were able to tell him. With only an unexplainable inner urging toward the forest surrounding Dancia to guide him, Prince Eneir will have to find his way...but he will not have to battle alone.
 
The siren Serpeth, fair of form and face, crosses the path of the young prince and is outraged that a mere human would be trusted with the fate of all that is. However, the fairies can be persuasive...even with a beautiful, stubborn siren. Serpeth will join the quest to train Eneir to become Light's Champion, despite her doubts...because the fairies' plans are not easily ignored.
 
Will Prince Eneir and Serpeth be enough to turn the tide and fulfill the prophecy of a new Champion of the Light, or will the world be doomed to surrender to the ever-waiting Darkness?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Claudette Cruz
• Release date: Jun 3, 2015
• ISBN: 9781513010663

Book preview

Chapter 1

Bring him up here, the queen shouted.

The guards scrambled after the running lad, who was already at a full run. Slipping on a puddle, he slammed against the metal rail, the only protection against falling several stories down to a mushy death below. Looking behind, he hurriedly continued running down the stairs. The guards jumped down the whole set of stairs in an attempt to catch the quick lad. One landed forcefully atop him. Finally catching up, the guards dragged him back to the queen. One shook him grumpily. Thought you could get away, did you? he grumbled.

Make sure he stays put this time. I don’t want him running off again, she said.

Her stepson silently raged at his clumsiness. This was my best chance. He didn’t know why he wasn’t allowed in the forest, but he’d felt drawn to it ever since he was a child. His father had always kept a close eye on him, and his father’s new bride respected his wishes without question even after he died, preventing Prince Eneir from venturing towards the gloomy forest.

Mom would’ve let me go. She would’ve probably even gone with me. The prince’s mother had died when he was very young, only three years old, so Eneir’s memories of his mother bordered on hero worship. All he could remember of those times were laughter and love and a sense of having an accomplice in life, of someone who would’ve gone to the end of the world with him. All that had changed after his mother died and his father was quickly remarried to a young girl barely past her childhood. The young queen had only been fifteen when the older king took her as his second bride. The king had thought a younger bride would mean his son would accept her better. Boy, was he wrong.

Queen Sotchka had come as a young princess from the far away land of Neverra to become the bride of the strong and well-loved King Jeffer. Despite the age difference, the princess fell in love, and consented to marry the kind king. Though they never had any children before the king passed away at the ripe old age of fifty-six, Sotchka tried to adopt small Prince Eneir as her own. He never warmed up to her, though, and despite her best efforts, rebelled against her at every turn. She never managed to replace or even stand close to the prince’s love for his mother. Sure, once he matured he would learn to appreciate her, but that won’t happen for a few more years.

Meanwhile, all around, rain stormed down. The queen, the prince and their guards were on the terrace of the castle, overlooking the incoming evacuees from the nearby villages who came seeking refuge within the stronghold.

The rains had come over two weeks ago and never stopped. Whole villages were swept away. Many villagers lost their houses. The villagers’ shacks were no match for the thunderous downpour, so many families packed up their things and made the journey to the castle.

The refugees continued to arrive, many bringing their pets and livestock. Several a family could be seen carrying a small dog or being trailed by a large hound. However, not all the people came as refugees. Some had more sinister intentions in mind.

***

Within the strange forest near the castle, a band of men plotted.

Let’s go in now. If we split up, the guards will never notice anything suspicious. It’s the perfect opportunity. We’ll wear hoods and loose clothing over our armor and weapons. Cutting slits in the hood will make for easy access to the swords, the leader, Baeric, told his men.

Nodding eagerly, his companions silently smiled with glee at the thought of all the riches the upcoming raid would bring.

Unbeknownst to the men, an audience listened intently to their nefarious plans. Tiny winged beings hid among the wet leaves, eagerly whispering to themselves.

We have to do something. The prince is in danger, Keltzie said urgently.

No! This is the perfect opportunity to help him make his way towards us. When the bandits attack the castle, he will again try to make his escape, and the guards will be too busy fending off the attack to stop him, Beauspeth replied.

But we can’t let people die at the hands of these bandits!

Don’t worry about that. I’ll come up with something.

The fairies flitted quietly behind the hooded men as they made their way towards the castle, merging with the groups of refugees. Unseen by the people, they looked around, trying to find a way to deter the bandits before they could do any real damage.

Beauspeth noticed the considerable amount of dogs in the premises. Thinking quickly, she chanted a spell that would bring out and magnify the inherent qualities of loyalty and intelligence in the dogs, making them aware of the oncoming danger and putting them on their guard. Everything’s been taken care of, she whispered to Keltzie. Her companion nodded, relieved.

Meanwhile, Prince Eneir was fidgety. He’d lost his opportunity to escape from his stepmother. Looking over the ramparts, he thought he saw two tiny things flitting amongst the people. He rubbed his eyes and shook his head in incredulity, figuring the fat rain droplets were playing tricks on his eyes.

Looking towards his stepmother, he continued fuming at the injustice of being kept prisoner inside the castle, never allowed to freely come and go as he pleased. He was already sixteen, an adult by law, and yet his stepmother seemed to bend the laws as she wished as far as he was concerned. The people loved the queen, who had proven herself a just and fair leader, and turned a blind eye to the prince’s protests of forced captivity whenever he complained to the palace staff. He had even escaped the palace once and started a ruckus so the people could hear his plight, but they ignored him until he was taken back to the castle by the guards.

Whatever. The people aren’t my problem anyway. Sotchka can deal with them for all I care. I just want to leave this place and never come back, he mumbled angrily to himself. He looked longingly at the far-off forest, wishing he could explore the mysterious territory by himself.

Down below, Baeric drew his sword. Attack the guards, he screamed to his men. The rest of the bandits drew their swords and charged at the nearest guards, hoping the element of surprise would work in their favor.

Startled, the guards fumbled to draw their swords. One of the looters reached the guard closest to him and raised his sword. Suddenly, a large hound jumped into his path. Taken aback, the bandit did not have time to react before the hound ripped his throat out. Gurgling blood, the bandit fell to the ground as the others stared in dismay and surprise. Other dogs joined the fray, going for crotches and legs if the dogs were small, or straight for the throat if they were big enough. The guards rushed in, trying to make short work of the attack. Distracted and dismayed, the queen looked upon the horrific scene, trying to make sense of what was happening.

Eneir saw his chance. Slipping away, he quietly ran down the stairs and took back corridors, finally exiting the castle and joining the mob of confused refugees down below. Pulling up his hood, he tried to casually blend in with the crowd, slowly but surely making progress towards the gates. Looking back one last time, he saw that the bandits had been taken care of and that no one had noticed him leave. He darted out the gates and started running towards the woods.

Two winged beings followed him.

***

The captain of the ship stared down at the grime-covered, beautiful young siren. Her pale skin glowed under the dirt. Serpeth trembled slightly, eyeing the handful of men surrounding her. She’d been stupid, wandering around the beach at this late hour of the night.

The rains had unsettled the sea creatures, and she had been following a school of tuna to shallow waters, hoping to catch herself a tasty snack. Once she did, she settled down on the beach to chomp on the raw fish with her pointed teeth. Behind her, the forest loomed. This was a peculiar place, for the beach ended as suddenly as the forest began. No humans had cut down the trees and settled down in this area.

Not knowing that pirates trafficked in these waters at night, she’d been caught off guard by a group of them who’d crept up on her and seized her. No one had heard her screams as she was dragged along the beach and taken to a large ship.

Now she stood before the captain, who was eyeing his prize with too much glee in his eyes. A siren was a rare creature, heard of only in legends, and she would fetch him a lot of gold. Rubbing