Darkness Falls: Vengeance of Avalon, #1

By Mariah Lynde

The Isle of Magic has long been a secret that was shrouded in mystery and rumor.  
Many stopped believing in such a place but a few remain that seek out its power. Many have wondered if the Isle and its mystical city of Avalon could have ever existed. Even now a war is being fought for the very survival of our worlds, yet few people know that it is even taking place.  
Those that do are left with only whispered words of Avalon and the Isle of Magic that once existed.  
Three thousand years ago, the city of Avalon fell in one day, yet no one truly knows how it happened or just why it was such a loss to the whole of the realms.  
This is the story of what created that mystical place of dreams and magic. It is the tale of those days where all forms of mystical creatures thrived and what eventually led to their downfall.  
This is the story of Avalon’s creation and the beginning of the War of Darkness that now threatens us all…

• Language: English
• Publisher: Meztrailov Fantasy Games
• Release date: Jan 6, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386747819

Book preview

Darkness Falls

A Vengeance of Avalon Novella

By: Mariah Lynde

Table of Contents

Title Page

Darkness Falls (Vengeance of Avalon, #1)

Introduction:

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Dedication:

To my best friend, B: Thanks for listening to all the ranting and ravings of a mad woman.

To J: It can’t rain all the time and thank you for everything.

To Treka: Thanks for being a great sounding board and idea trampoline.

To Mom: I love you and remember...it is always accidentally destroyed maliciously.

To Dad: Zombies are always an acceptable answer!

To Matt and Rae: Thanks for believing in me and pushing me to keep going.

Introduction:

Greetings, Reader! I was in the middle of editing the first full novel of the Vengeance of Avalon series when I realized that there was so much more the reader would have to know in order to understand the mechanics of what is happening here. It occurred to me that you would want to know about the myths and legends that formed Avalon, as well as the universe around it. It would help you to better understand the struggle and war that was now ravaging the whole of the universe and the realms within it. It was with this in mind I sat down and began to write out a small introduction to this world which turned in to a small book in itself. So here you have it, a small short story to give you an idea of what it is that these people and beings are fighting for. To give you, the reader, a glimpse of the glory that once was. I hope you enjoy your peek into the world of magic as seen through my eyes.

ML

Chapter One

Earth – 1640 B.C.

Shadows played across the surface of the water as a lone figure stood on the lake’s shore. White sand cast off small crystalline reflections when faced with the streams of moonlight descending from the sky overhead. That lone young man waited patiently in the darkness of night, as if waiting for something not yet seen.

In a few brief moments, the sun would begin its ascension into the heavens above to begin a new day. Darkness would give way to light while the soft chorus of nocturnal music created by animals and insects would cease until the moon crested once again. Yet for this moment, the world remained unchanged and still as nature hid her secret beauty in the shadows of night.

Merlin Emrys would not be here to witness the waking of the world this day. Today he would be facing the first of many challenges that would be the key in saving the whole of existence. Far beyond this small isolated island in the northern part of the human world, beyond the rolling mists that slid over the surface of the still waters before him, there was a truth that not many had the privilege of knowing about.

While it was true that some people caught glimpses, brief images of a land outside of time and space, such encounters were rare in this realm. These were places where creatures roamed that defied the knowledge of mankind. They were places where the very air itself seemed to supply magic and dreams in swift succession. It was from these lands that stories persisted, telling tales of evil spirits that roamed through shadows around the world in an attempt to scare men into subservience towards acceptable laws and practices. All of these folk legends were born of the brief glimpses that were seen by a select few, people who opened their minds to the possibility of something more existing in the world around them.

At the age of thirty, Merlin was already all too familiar with that shadowy world that no one here on Earth quite understood. Unfortunately, it was his legacy, his birthright, to know and understand that world’s presence.

Gods, give me strength..., he whispered into the still night air. One hand tightened on the twisted staff gripped in his left hand as he turned to peer at the slowly rolling mist that graced the surface of the lake. Within a few minutes he would be leaving this world, venturing forth in order to step through the veil into a single realm among the many that existed beyond this human plane. All of this being done in an effort to make the illusion of peace that one would see presented in this moment more than a dream but an actual reality.

Despite his age, Merlin only appeared to be no more than twenty years of age. A small factor that had proven it could in fact be more a hindrance than help in dealing with different races about the realms. To look at him, one would not think that there was much to take note of. Standing at just over six feet tall, Merlin lacked the build of a warrior or fighter. Where most men around his height were toned from days of hard labor or vigorous training for battle, he could only be described as thin and gangly. Oft times, he was seen to appear more like a young apprentice scribe than anyone of advanced training or status with any form of influence.

Yet, as with most things, looks could be ever deceiving. Merlin’s childlike, jovial nature when blended with his youthful presentation of shoulder- length ebony hair and brilliant blue eyes, were very misleading about the well of power that lay beneath. On more than one occasion, people had been fooled by his outward appearance. Later these very people would learn that they were no match for the young battle mage. It was those particular incidents that had given birth to the rumors that Merlin had been born of some sort of otherworldly being. What none of these people realized was that their assessment was not too far removed from the truth.

Merlin’s longevity and enhanced mystical abilities lay in the fact that he was born as a child to one of the Fae. While his mother was human, sharing their particular flaws and weaknesses, his father was one of the ‘fairy folk’, as humans called them. Few knew what the full consequences of that union would actually be. As of yet, the only person who seemed to bear the weight of such worries was Merlin himself.

Lost in his own thoughts, which were circling around the chaos of his existence as well as the imminent peril waiting on the horizon, it was the warmth of the first rays of sunlight touching his skin that brought Merlin back to the present. Shadows were beginning to roll back away from the lake, leaving the reflective surface to catch those first rays of sunlight as they crested over the outline of mountains in the distance. Instead of the water casting a reflection of the sky above, it began to ripple and part, revealing a walkway of hovering crystal platforms that descended into a chasm of waning darkness and shadows below.

With the doorway open for so brief a moment in time, there was no choice but to begin his journey. Stepping forward, Merlin watched as the mist began to roll in tumultuous, billowing sweeps to hide the corridor of crystalline platforms revealed by the early morning light. This was just one of many safeguards that were intended to discourage the populace of the human world from venturing into the unknown territory beyond the veil.

Each platform which pieced together the hovering walkway was formed of crystals whose core interior seemed alive with some kind of gathering storm. Streams of energy trailed through the jaggedly shaped facets and surfaces, casting their light upwards as surges of lightning illuminated the surface. Each step the wizard took was creating a more violent reaction within the core of the crystals as they sent charged, concentrated jolts of energy dancing across Merlin’s skin.

Overhead there was a sound like water collapsing inward, a sound that bellowed like a horrendous deluge rocketing down through an echoing canyon. Peering up so that he could watch as the corridor between worlds closed, Merlin sighed. That path which was revealed by the lake began collapsing in on itself, leaving only peaceful, still waters behind. It never ceased to amaze him that something so beautiful to see was nothing more than one of the simple cycles of life.

Shaking his head, Merlin tore his gaze away from the sight of rippling water with the sky overhead in order to continue his descent down that hovering path of crystal platforms. Each step the young wizard took brought a hum of new power to the air; each burst of energy pressed in around him with oppressive force.  Tightening his grip on the center of the staff, Merlin’s wrist twisted, lifting the rod to slam directly back down into the center of the platform he was standing on. Almost as soon as the staff made contact, a bolt of charged blue lightning raced across the surface, shattering that delicate crystal into a thousand pieces and launching Merlin into a vortex of power.

Shadows surged upward, enveloping Merlin in a swirling conflagration of power and heat before he was sent spiraling down into a seemingly never-ending chasm of empty space. There was no sense of being, no relative passing of time. Instead, there was only a complete lack of anything that was definitive. It was a state of being that dulled the sense while shadows crept into one’s soul in order to plant seeds of fear and doubt. At the center of that spiraling vortex of agony and pain, Merlin remained serenely poised as passing whirls of shadows moved over his form.

It could have been as simple as a minute or as long as an hour, but the young wizard had learned long ago that one should not question too closely the powers that held the whole of the universe together. Yet at the end of his journey, darkness suddenly gave way to a brilliantly blinding light that overwhelmed those shadows coming from the spiral of the void. It was no different this time than it had been before with that sudden change in light forcing him to blink in rapid succession in order to clear water from his eyes that came from the sudden assault.

As if the indignity of his streaming tears were not enough, Merlin landed in a rather unseemly position. Robbed of the dignity of appearing upright and ready, he was instead greeted by the hearty laugh of a male who was waiting nearby. That particular laugh made the young wizard flinch openly as his frustration and ire rose to the surface.

Well, Halfling, it relieves me to know that you are not a representative for our tribe now that I see you will always land on your backside! That gruff chuckle sounded before Merlin found himself lifted by the neckline of his tunic and settled once more on his feet. Turning his head, the young wizard met the amused emerald gaze that witnessed his misfortune with a sense of humor. Taking a breath, it was all Merlin could do in order to focus and try to present a façade of calm that he truly did not feel.

Last that I heard, there was a height requirement in taking up the position of being a horse’s ass. Turning to peer at the Fae standing to his immediate left, Merlin could only muster up a half smile of welcome in answer to the presence of another being. Falcor Valenleaf was not a man to be taken lightly.  Despite his rather jovial welcome, he alone stood as protector to the Fae realm of Austearien.

As with most of the Fae, Falcor stood at nearly seven and a half feet tall with a toned, developed warrior’s build. Sinewy muscle compacted onto an otherwise slender frame that allowed for speed, agility, and a kind of graceful lethality that most came to envy. Unlike Merlin’s distinctive dark coloring, the Elder sported a more traditional appearance that was found among the Fae - light blonde hair, brilliant green eyes, and skin that was fair in color. However, much like the young wizard, his eyes held knowledge of one who could hear the whispered secrets of the universe as well as the burden and weight of responsibility that came with it.

Well, the fall obviously did not affect that sharp wit of yours. Something which will serve you well in the meeting you have called with all of the elders. What is it you plan to try to do here, Merlin? Striding forward to face the young wizard, Falcor’s gaze locked with Merlin’s own as if searching for something.  Even as he felt the push of the Fae’s power brushing the edges of his mind,