The Legends of Lornadia

By Shannon Shoop

Nadine and Jonah, two siblings find adventure and magic within the Black Forest Mountains of Lansth, when the portal is opened by the creature that resides within the mountain caves. The Soul Keeper of the mountain guides them through their journey, as they make their way to the Kingdom of Lornadia. Along the way they learn their own new found magic through adversity and courage in their fight to survive. Along their way they acquire the artifacts needed that will aid them in freeing this magical world from the Evil Wizard Palnadians tyranny. Knowing if they fail, Palnadian will rule Lornadia, the surrounding lands and their own world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Apr 29, 2013
• ISBN: 9781481745130

Shannon Shoop

Shannon Shoop is a new up and coming fantasy adventure writer, this book “The Legends of Lornadia” is the product of her love for telling stories. She is currently a psychology student, directed toward the path of art therapy for children of trauma. In her free time she works with all media to express her creativity. Recently donating several of her paintings to a Pueblo African American Concerns (PAACO) benefit through the Colorado State University, opening up opportunities for her to show her work and more benefits to donate her art, helping those organizations raise funds for their needs.

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© 2013 by Shannon Shoop. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 04/25/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4817-4515-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4817-4514-7 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4817-4513-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013907406

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Preface

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Epilogue

To My Family and Friends

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Preface

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I want to thank my family, friends and the publishers for their patience with me through the writing of this book. Through the years, I have written little stories and read them to my children; this particular book was just an idea that began to take shape ten years ago, a little, here and a little there each night, finally it was completed and burned to disc. Through a series of unfortunate events, the disc disappeared and I have yet to find it. Thinking all was lost forever, I was about to give up on the entire idea of having it ever be published. Then during a move from one house to another, an old box begged me to open it and go through its contents, treasures of all sorts found and along with those memories, fifty three pages long ago printed out of this story, sitting there waiting for me to read them and finish this story. I put those pages aside for several months, then one snowy day, when I had nothing to do; I picked up those pages and read them. The ideas to move the story forward came flooding through insisting I add to the story, and although it had changed considerably from its original idea, I kept writing a little bit every night. I was not half through before I started looking up publishers, I had decided the story was going to be published, no one at that point could tell me otherwise. Geoff Morris was the first and only person to call me from many of the companies I had inquired. I want to thank him for being patient in my relentless questions as he walked me through the steps and was always available through either e-mail or phone to talk to me. I will say here and now that one of the characters in the book was already, named Geoff and I took that as the one sign above everything that he was the right person I should be talking with. Again, thank you Author House for employing such wonderful and knowledgeable employees, as they have all been wonderful to me. I want to thank my parents for their encouragement to follow through. I want to thank my dearest friend Tammy Baker for standing by me through the entire process of this re-write and encouraging me every step of the way. I want to thank her daughter Erin, for all the editing she completed as she worked through my grammatical errors that I had not caught. You are awesome! I want to thank my daughters Gina and Chelsie and my grand-daughters, Cierah and Amiah for just being wonderful and supportive during the hours I have spent hiding away in front of the computer. You kids are all the light of my life. I want to thank Michelle, Mike and Kurstin for helping me in your ways to see me to be the completion of this book and spending the time you did for going over the last minute changes before being sent to the publisher. I do not know what I would have done without anyone of you to turn to, and am grateful for each part you played in the entire process. A special thank you to my little Chelsie bug, for helping me at the last minute with your beautiful art and the extra work you put time aside for, to help me achieve this goal. I love you!

Prologue

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It was after midnight when the creature surfaced from the cave alongside the Black Forest Mountains, crouching and moving swiftly like a cat between the shadows of the trees, searching for food. Finding berries and bugs, it feasted throughout the night, and before dawn, the town below could hear its cry, a long howling, as though in pain, mournful of something long since passed, just before it crept back into its cave. No person in their right mind ever dared to explore the mountain afraid of the legends told through the years, legends of a monster that ate people, and wore their skin for warmth against the agonizing winters.

As dawn approached, Lore, found himself full and satisfied before took one last look down the mountain. He sniffed the brisk air to be sure that nothing had followed him back to his simple dwelling alongside the mountain. Calling out just before he entered his home to be sure to scare the spirits of the mountain away and out of his home while, he was gone. He covered the opening with the bark fasted together with vines and grass, then settled himself onto a rock for the early morning ritual he never ceased to perform before finding solace in the bed made of leaves and grass. His sight adjusts well to the darkness for he never went out in the daylight, and only moved about from dusk until dawn. He has no need for fire during the harsh winters, for his body is covered in fur, which to him had become as natural as eating the insects he gathered. Crouched on the rock and moving his arms in the air, he spoke aloud in an ancient language, chanting repeatedly as the sounds echoed in his cave, he twisted around the rock to be sure the chant seeped into every crevice of the dwelling. When he was done, he sat silent for a long time before moving to his make-shift bed where he slept until dusk.

Down below in the town, people were beginning their day, the call in the night had almost become their morning alarm, the same time every day, as they could count on waking up to the haunting howl that echoed throughout the valley.

In a quaint little cottage on the outer edge of the town just inside the walls of Lansth, a family of three rose to greet the morning as they did every day.

Mother? Nadine looked at her mother quizzically.

Yes? Her mother was preparing breakfast as her children were rising and beginning their morning chores.

What is it?

What is what dear? Cehra asked as she flipped the fresh eggs that she had just gathered from the chicken coop.

That sound, what is it really? She had turned to look out the window toward the mountains.

There is a legend that seems to be the most popular, about the monster that came from the valley over the mountain. A creature that was cast out of its homeland for foul play and is forever sentenced to live alone in the mountain caves of the Black Forest Mountains. Men have tried to find out what it is, it is said that the monster would sneak up on them, slice open their bowels and feast upon the raw flesh of them and use their skin as coats to ward off the cold of winter. Cehra stated almost nonchalantly moving a wisp of long curly brown hair away from her face.

Nadine shook her head I don’t believe it, I would rather think that it is a wolf searching for its soul mate before the night ends and it goes home.

Jonah sat at the table and snickered at his little sister as he picked up a biscuit and stuffed it in his mouth. Girls, you’re all the same, you romanticize everything.

Cehra sent a warning glance to her son telling him not to antagonize his sister this early in the morning then sat and began to serve herself, she looked up at her daughter and answered,

Think whatever you like dear, I don’t think anyone will ever really know what it is.

Nadine moved to the table with the prepared food, and almost dreamily ate the fresh biscuit as she scooped up the yolk of her egg, wondering what was up there and if it was really so horrible a creature that held the townsfolk at bay.

In her childhood, she would hear the cries of the monster in the night and fear that it would come down to the town and eat her. As she grew to adolescence, her fantasies grew more curious, she wondered what the creature looked like and why it cried out in the night. She decided that one day she just had to find out, and to prepare herself she never failed to turn a sword fight with the boys in the town.

She was the best of all the sword fighters. Her brother who was two years older, teased that she was more of a boy, even with her long brown hair and tiny stature she was by far anything like a boy, other than the way she dressed. She preferred her brother’s trousers as opposed to the dresses her mother adorned her with, although her room, filled with some finely made dresses, she opted for the less shapely garments of her brothers.

The townsfolk thought of her as odd and always questioned Cehra as to why she would allow her daughter to be anything less than feminine. Cehra ignored what they had to say knowing her daughter and proud that she was not the type to follow the societal norms.

Having her own spirit she ignored the whispers and reacted to the outspoken sarcasm against her choices with a flip of her hair and a few choice words to strike a chord in them, as she turned her back on them. Her fine features smooth and creamy, the slim line of her waist now filling out to her hips, and the filling out of her breasts, naturally gave her sexuality away as truly feminine.

As she grew into her adolescence, her tomboyish attitude gave way to a more dreamy state of a girl, when she caught herself she cursed the thought of having to settle down and have babies like the other women in the town did. She wanted adventure and wanted to see new kingdoms and the lands that she had only heard about through legends or town visitors. Nadine knew something more was out there for her, it stirred deep inside her every year she grew older.

I am going to go ride Storm today, he needs the exercise and I need to train him. Nadine looked to her mother, who was now clearing the table.

First clean the stable, you haven’t done that in weeks and your brother has to go work for the blacksmith.

Fine, but after can I ride until dusk? Nadine asked irritated.

Yes, but make sure you are in before dark, no girl in her right mind would be out without the protection of the town walls.

Can I object to that statement? Jonah smirked.

Object to what? Cehra turned and looked at Jonah knowing where he was going with his statement. No you cannot object! pointing a finger at him in warning.

Mother, Nadine will be alright, I promise, because she has never been in her right mind. Jonah laughed as he ducked away from his mother and the apron she threw at him.

Nadine rolled her eyes she felt that the people of Lansth had grown into the legend of the mountain almost as she had grown into the curiously haunting sound of the night.

Alright, alright. Jonah gave in, as he moved from the table to grab his coat on his way out the door to go to work. Nade, be careful. Mom I will stop at the market on my way home. Winking at his mother, he closed the door.

Nadine wiped away the sweat from her forehead as she finished up the last few chores in the stable, then brought Storm in to brush before she put the saddle on. Securing the stirrups and adjusting his bridle, she was ready to go. She left the stable to find her mother to let her know she was on her way out for a ride in the prairie.

Be careful, dinner will be early, make sure you are back for it this time. Cehra warned her daughter.

Yes mother. Nadine kissed her mother’s cheek, then grabbed a biscuit and stuffed it in her mouth.

You are going to choke one of these days if you don’t stop stuffing your mouth like that. Cehra chastised Nadine, knowing it went in one ear and out the other.

Nadine smiled at her mother with biscuit teeth and giggled as she closed the door behind her.

Riding Storm out on the west prairie she eased herself off the Stallion and let him roam about the land, grazing. She found the rock she always sat on when she came out of the town walls, far outside of them and away from the sounds of society. She settled herself toward the west mountains, daydreaming about adventures that she would someday be old enough to explore and the monster that roamed the mountains before her. She fingered the necklace around her neck that she had worn since her mother had given to her when she was just a baby, feeling a small shock in her fingers, she let it fall back on to her skin. The curious shape of two crescent moons and a triangle in the middle of them, she never asked what it was meant for, she was just told to never take it off.

That was weird. She touched the necklace again and felt the small vibration between her fingers, curious she pulled the necklace up a little further to her face to get a closer look at it. The sun glinted on the metal and momentarily blinded her, she let the necklace fall back into place once more. She blinked and looked around, realizing the time passed quickly, and dusk was approaching. She wasted too much time in her own world to realize how far the sun had dropped into the sky, it had already gone behind the mountain and a chill was in the air.

Nadine looked around and whistled for Storm, she could hear the wolves calling out to each other in the deep woods ahead of her and the urgency of getting back home behind the safety of the walls was over riding the calm of the afternoon. Storm trotted back to her and whinnied at the sound of the wild, his eyes looked frightened and large as he felt the night drop and the chill all around him. Nadine climbed onto the stallion with ease and headed back to the town. The darker it became the more she felt the panic twist in her stomach. Nadine nearly screamed, Faster Storm! curling her hands tightly into his long black mane as she held the bridle tight, she kicked the flanks of the horse, and Storm broke into a run, jumping over obstacles in his path. Nadine loved this about the stallion, on any given day other than this day she would be enjoying the ride back home, the faster the better as the wind blew through her hair and across her face.

A mile outside of the walls, a lone wolf jumped out of a clearing in the grass and ran toward the mountain, Storm reared in surprise throwing Nadine off before he came back down and without his rider, ran faster toward the town. Nadine landed in a heap on the ground, hitting her head on a dead tree trunk, knocking her to unconsciousness.

Lore, woke with a start, feeling something very different about the mountain, frightened he moved about the cave hurriedly, sensing the oddity of the air, something had happened and he went over in his mind about the chant he performed before he retired to sleep. He could not recall missing anything in the ritual.

He performed everything like he did every day since the curse was bestowed upon him. Still, something was wrong, still he felt the agony, but from what? Lore, who was one with nature, who was the soul keeper of the mountain, knew every animal, knew every movement of the trees, and knew every sound of the night. He still found he was unsure of the new feeling that stirred, wrenching his soul with pain. A feeling of panic caused him to move the door in front of his cave dwelling before making sure it was dusk, luckily it was passed for his eyes would be blinded if the light found them unprotected.

He stepped out into the chill of the air, and sniffed the breeze as it wafted up the mountain, a strange scent, so subtle that no human could notice, came to him. He crouched, alarmed at the newness of it, he darted from one tree to the other, sniffing the air to find its source, down the mountain he urged himself further as he came to the clearing of the prairie, the scent all the while getting stronger.

He sensed this was something more than a wounded animal or a broken limb from a tree. What he smelled was the blood of a human. His fear raged, yet urged him further out from the protection of the trees toward the wounded girl. Crouching to a slow creep, he found the girl, unconscious and bleeding from the small wound on the side of her head. Only by her scent did he know she was female, for her clothing was that of a male human. After looking around for danger, he hoisted her up gingerly and carried her to his cave in the west mountain above Lansth. Once he placed her on his bed, he went back out to find food and plants used for medicine that would heal her wound and ease her pain.

He did not stay out all night, as was his usual routine, for this human girl posed a threat to his security and his secret. He had to make sure she was well throughout the night, so he came and went hurriedly each time as he scoured the mountain for the needed items to tend to her.

Cehra busied herself with the chores of preparing the food for the evening when she felt the surge of energy drain from her, weakness engulfed her small frame, she sat down on the floor next to the wood stove and closed her eyes. Flashes of light played relentlessly within her minds vision, displaying for her vivid images of a past almost forgotten.

Opening her eyes, she quickly moved to the door and swung it open. Running to the gates that lead to the prairie, she saw the stallion racing toward her, his eyes frightened and Nadine was nowhere to be seen.

Cehra put Storm into the stable and ran to find Jonah. Running through the cobble stone streets she found the door to the blacksmith and in her haste, nearly fell into the hot smoky room where Jonah had been forging a sword. His hot and sweaty skin glimmered in the fire light of the open fireplace. He looked up at his mother and knew instantly something had happened, his mother never ran anywhere and certainly never came into the shop. He set aside his work and moved to brace his breathless mother as she tried to catch her breath and tell him Nadine had not come home. Jonah grew tense as he grasped his mother’s words and sat both of them down on the bench next to the dimly lit window by the door.

Where is Storm? Jonah asked.

I put him in the stable, is that all you are worried about? Cehra questioned a little annoyed.

No, Mother, I just wanted to know how you know she is not around. Jonah assured her.

I felt weak, I fell to the ground, I knew something had happened, so I ran outside and saw Storm running toward the town. Cehra answered still trying to catch her breath.

I will announce it to the town, Mother, start spreading the word, we need every available rider. Jonah stood up and announced to the men in the shop what had happened and to