Cloaked in Darkness: Children of Ysillia, #1

By Matthew J. Wellman

Something is wrong in the city of Kanton. 

A decade has past since the Sundering shook the land of Ysilla at the same time that the Children of Order appeared from the far eastern, Durian Empire. The rural lifestyle of the people has been abandoned as strange creatures have since begun to wander the forests. Peace reigns as poverty has been eliminated from the streets and children kept safe in a warm bed.

Or so the official story goes.

The Matriarch, the winged Daeva of mercy, sets into motion a plan to sneak children out of the orphanage and back to her sanctuary at Sunder's Peak. Gallet, her secret accomplice, seizes the opportunity to strike a blow at the heart of power within the city in an act of revenge.

While the two battle their way through the city in opposite directions a greater power lurks in the shadows. 

The two Gate Keepers -  mages who call on the divine power through their seven chakra aligned gates - battle their way through friend and foe in a conflict that is far beyond the scope of their understanding.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Matthew J. Wellman
• Release date: Sep 16, 2016
• ISBN: 9781386821793

Book preview

For John and Jeanne, who planted the seed. David who pushes my limits. Mike for helping me dream. Bill, who smooths down the edges.

Mason and Elizabeth, for whom my heart beats:

This story is for you.

As an independent author, feedback is crucial to my success. If you enjoyed this short, which is just the beginning for the world of Ysillia, please consider writing a short review.

https://tinyurl.com/ycnjzvrt

Readers – you are who make this possible for me, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I hope you enjoy this story. Consider joining my mailing list for another free eBook!

http://eepurl.com/cRY-Q9

The Matriarch stood, silhouetted by the moon, over a tall building overlooking the courtyard. She wore the garb traditional to the Raven clan – black as the feathers born from her back. Conforming leather from neck to foot with her talon like fingers and toes given wide berth to maneuver independently. Her fingers and toes were the color and edge of obsidian and her dark hair was cut close to her face, framing the delicate features of a creature that was so rarely described as such. Not a soul would see her descend this night. None, that is, but the ones she chose. The gates beyond held the prize she sought and the armored guards were just another obstacle in her path. The towering stone masonry gave her a view of the compound: a sprawling pasture surrounded by razor rope. Within – the children slept.

She checked the rope bound around her waist, tucking the wings and half-cloak closely to her back and began to descend. She dug into the side of the brick wall making a foothold. She had run atop the city once she arrived from her roost – she was comforted to let her arms finally begin to bear a portion of the traveling burden. Though she knew with the completion of her goal tonight – a heavy and swift burden she would carry back to Sunder’s Peak.

The factory had only two floors but the first took up much of the space. The children worked there during the day, at least a small portion of them. The ones who were taken out into the city were forced to do much more difficult maintenance tasks, many of them older boys. But if the job called for labor, The Order didn’t hesitate to send out girls and younger boys as well. Inside the factory was a host of manufacturing tasks. Children weren’t skilled enough to make the intricately embroidered clothing of nobles; but when the outlying lands were seized ten years ago, the craftsmen’s trade was crushed for lack of resources and the occupying force could pillage the city simply by forcing the indentured citizens to buy their goods.

The Ministry cared for the children, yes, but to what end? Slavery for room and board followed by a life of servitude; it wasn’t much of a choice. The Matriarch wanted her city back but for now, she would content herself with rescuing the innocent.

Daevas, as her kind were known, stood apart from society both hailed and feared. Half-Angels, they were sometimes called. Born from a divine spark, laden in a human child. The gift wouldn’t manifest itself until the child reached adolescence when wings would begin to sprout from the developing muscle tissue and the fingers and toes would calcify. Of course, this is what the Raven Clan had told her – her experience in the world had shown quite the opposite – that her kind were hated, hunted, and persecuted. The clan knew this as well, so they trained in the guise of shadow. The Matriarch lay cloaked in the shadow the moon’s light cast from the east. Full and high it sat, though not yet midnight, when she would be vulnerable to its light.

The razor wire fence surrounding the Ministry was to keep the children in more than other citizens out. These were the outcast of society. The Order created the Ministry to keep the urchins off the street. The endless wave of dead fathers and pregnant whores made orphans a regular occurrence.  Another consequence of the endless city-state wars, a consequence the Order had cleverly played to their advantage.

She didn’t make a sound, darting between shadows; her leathers were still damp with oil, to prevent cracks and squeaks—even after her flight. The factory was on the Ministry’s compound but dormitory was the only portion under strict guard. Kanton’s streets may not want the children but the Ministry had to deter escape attempts. She had easily evaded the perimeter guards from the rooftops, but lanterns brightly lit the corridor leading up the courtyard providing its own challenge. The small flames danced in their paper lanterns, six in all leading