The Elements of Destiny

By Liam O'Connor

An excerpt from "The Elements of Destiny"

"Val was frozen with fear, unable to move. His brain screamed at him to move but his muscles would not respond. It was as if he was under a spell and if the monster had moved on him there was nothing he would have been able to do. What saved him perhaps was the flash of light that suddenly streaked across his vision. He heard the sound of breaking glass and then a violent explosion of fire which burst from the side of the beast. He was vaguely aware of Thomas yelling at him from below and from his peripheral vision he could see someone coming back up the steps. It took him a moment to make out what had happened. Oil Lamps. Another volley came from above. At first, it seemed that the beast’s scales were protecting it. Val felt someone grab his jacket at the chest. He looked down to see Thomas’s concerned face. He was shouting at him but he couldn’t seem to focus on what he was saying. Val looked back at the beast, saw it begin to sway from side to side and then stop once more. It then let out a scream more piercing than any of the others they had heard. Val’s hands instinctively went to his ears again and he was sure that this time his ear drums had burst. He could see Thomas sitting on the steps, his hands also covering his ears. The beast was swaying more now as if it was trying to throw something off. It began to thrash wildly and swing itself around along the ground. Val knew what was coming and dove down the stairs taking Thomas with him. He felt the wind roar over him and stone and debris hammer him as they tumbled over the side of the spiral stairs and into darkness."

* This book will be serialized - 1 chapter every two weeks

• Language: English
• Publisher: Liam O'Connor
• Release date: Mar 18, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005075705

Book preview

Chapter 1

Val wondered if there were any worse ways to die. For three weeks he had been unable to leave his cabin as the ship that was transporting them to the New Land had lurched, creaked, crawled and lumbered over and sometimes it seemed through the waves. At least death was an end. This feeling would stay with him forever. There was a porcelain bowl next to his bed that Thomas had been good enough to leave for him but despite Val’s nausea the bowl stood empty as there was nothing more for him to give. He lay weakly, feeling the pasty clamminess of his skin as he moved his hand for a wooden cup of water by his bedside. He gently, and carefully, brushed the water against his lips. He couldn’t drink any. His stomach wouldn’t allow it. His lips moistened, he returned the cup to its stand. Closing his eyes, he began reciting the poems of Jayd Lorning. It was the only thing he could focus on, the only thing keeping him sane. Just then the door to the small cabin opened. The sound of the sea, a sound he had once found relaxing and now associated with terrible horrors, flooded the room. Val heard footsteps enter the room followed by the closing of the door which muffled the sound. He was thankful for that at least. Val didn’t need to open his eyes to know who it was. Thomas was the only one he knew on the ship and the only one who would be bothered to check on him. Then again, he thought, it could be an opportunist come to slit his throat and steal whatever valuables he possessed. As the ship rolled at that precise moment Val couldn’t quite make himself care if it was.

Thought you might like to see this said a familiar voice

See? Does that entail me having to open my eyes? replied Val for if it does I will have to politely refuse as to do so would mean me having to accept my present reality. There was a pause where neither spoke but Val could hear Thomas moving. It was then that Val felt something tickle his nose. Alarmed he sat up instinctively which was of course the worst thing he could do as it had forced him to open his eyes. The sudden motion against gravity sent black spots dancing at the edges of his vision as dizziness and more nausea consumed him. Blindly he reached out for his bowl and was relieved when it was presented into his hands. Empty reaching racked his body as he slumped over his bowl.

Sorry said Thomas, genuine concern in his voice, I shouldn’t have done that but I wanted to surprise you.

It was nearly a week since Val had kept down the last vestige of anything resembling food and he didn’t have the strength to rebuke Thomas. There was only acceptance of what was now. Again, he felt the tickling feeling but this time on his hand. Opening one eye he saw a feather laid on his hand. A seagull’s feather if he was not mistaken. Hope sprung in Val’s heart but he suppressed it quickly. Disappointment now could kill him.

Does this mean what I think it means? he managed finally.

It sure does'' replied Thomas cheerfully I could have just told you what I saw but after what you have been through, I thought you would appreciate a more substantive truth."

Val felt something terrible happening to his face and it took him some time to realise that he was trying to smile. The best he could do was to pat his hand on his friend’s knee. He lay back down on the bunk and immediately wanted out of it. Suddenly the dank smell of sweat and vomit was obvious and repulsive to him where just a few minutes ago it had not bothered him.

Help me up'' There was silence and Val thought Thomas must not have heard him. Help…"

I heard you'' said Thomas Are you sure you are up to it?"

I have lain in this coffin for too long. It is time for me to return to the living. Be a good man and help me up, will you? It took them a while and several stops for Val to find his balance and to get the blood flowing in his joints again but eventually they were on the deck. Soon Val was ensconced on a roll of rope looking out over the side of the ship at the vague form of what seemed to be mountains through the haze on the horizon.

Captain says we should be ashore by midday offered Thomas. Val didn’t respond. The vision held his eyes as if he was afraid if he looked away it would disappear, the mirage of a desperate man. However, all around him there were signs that it was true. The crew of the Prince Dagobert was a hive of activity. All around, sailors ran completing duties while others walked amongst them shouting orders. Val wondered at the obvious cohesion between them amongst what he perceived as chaos. It seemed that the men giving orders were not really needed. Everyone knew what to do and when. As if reading his thoughts, a burly shaven headed man with arms as big as Val’s legs turned to stare in his direction and then stomped across the deck to smack on the head one sailor who had stopped to chat with a passing crewman.

Move it, you worthless sea scum! If you want to stop to chat, I can find some fish for you overboard who will talk with you till the flesh falls off your wretched bones. The chastened sailor didn’t hang around to find out if his accuser had anything more to say and disappeared into the throng before him. The big man again turned to look in Val’s direction, standing his ground before he was swallowed up by all the activity around him.

Tell me again why we are doing this? asked Val, trying to divert his thoughts. That man had not been staring at him. Had he?

Thomas laughed You are asking me that question…now, when we are close to our destination…after me being the one asking you all along? Has the sea taken your nerve?

Humour me. Replied Val absently

Thomas straightened himself as he stood next to Val, puffing his chest out For King and Country of course, for fortune and fame! When Val didn’t answer or appreciate his improvisation but stared absently at the sailors working around them Thomas returned to his slouched position against one of the gun ports. Why were they here indeed? The mission was clear, travel to the new world and document all that they observed, prepare for the King a report on the identity of this land that had been discovered 30 years ago but still held so many unanswered questions. It was a task and a chance of a lifetime for a man such as Thomas. He was 35 years old now and travelling to remote parts of Kiryn, the land from where he had been born, and studying the way of life of the people who lived in these places had been his passion for the last 15 years. Writing had been incidental to his travels but had proved a necessary aid to allow him to continue doing what he loved. His papers had generated interest and debate within academic circles but more importantly had led to investment. This would be his biggest challenge to date and also his biggest payday, important as that was he knew he would have done it for free if it had come to it. He found his gaze resting on the land before them.

Remember when we first met, Thomas finally ventured, you said any job worth doing is a job worth doing well.

Look answered Val defensively I thought we had settled on that. I was just offering my honest opinion on what you had written…

Thomas raised a hand to forestall him "Yes, Yes I know…! That statement has stayed with me and is probably as good a reason as any of why I am here today.

Val chuckled weakly. Thomas could see that already a bit of colour was returning to his cheeks To do any job it assumes that one knows where to begin. Do you know where to begin this one?

Thomas searched in his inside coat pocket and brought out his copy of the only map that had ever been made of this New Land, a land that had yet to even receive a proper name. Everyone just knew it as that…The New Land. He studied the wax print in front of him that was already worn and creased from use. There had not been many things on board to distract him throughout the voyage and this map had taken his mind away from the roll and sway of the ship. Taken it to imagined visions of what he might see and whom he might meet. He was already eager to get a look at the indigenous people the first settlers had called Noids. The map showed the coastline as far as ships had so far safely sailed and also the location of early settlements and geographic landmarks of significance.

We will begin Thomas answered in Sabbanath

Chapter 2

Sabbanath was the launching pad for a new life in a new land. There had been much excitement back in Kiryn when it was first announced that the Navy were looking for volunteers to settle here. Families were given first preference but young men and women were also welcome as there was a need for young labour. The focus was on agricultural settlement as beyond the town was a vast grassland that was perfect for rearing cattle. Sabbanath had been where some of the earliest ships had landed over 30 years ago and exploration had provided testimony of a tranche of fertile land waiting to be farmed. There had been locals living on the land, the Noids, but they had deserted the open pastures quickly on seeing the new arrivals in favour of the surrounding forests while it was said that evidence of their settlements could still be seen on the land. By all accounts, these Noids were primitive and savage folk. Reports indicated that they wore just animal skins and communicated through the use of what had been described as "a range of grunts' though Val believed this to be the impression of soldiers who would term any language they didn’t understand as such. Though very small in stature, and making use mainly of knives, arrows and spears, the Noids had proven themselves to be extremely dangerous. Everyone had heard the horrific stories of what they had done to settlers they had encountered.

The deployment of the army and their patrols apparently had stopped this and while the fear still existed it hadn’t stemmed the flow of settlers determined to seek a new life and claim a plot of land. To encourage families to make the leap of faith, the King had thrown in the carrot that from however many livestock the family could bring, this number would be matched so as to double their herd. Very favourable loan agreements were on offer to encourage the purchase of more livestock. There was no doubt about it, the king wanted this land settled. There were different reasons for this; firstly, possession made it difficult for others, if there were any others, from removing them and then of course there were the economic benefits. More land meant more produce which would mean more tax and more revenue. This new land would fill the Kiryn coffers to overflowing. Gold had been discovered and was being mined up north in a place called The Rykorns and that was attracting another type of settler.

The New Land was a new start and many were eager to leave behind their past lives for the promise of something better, a chance for, if not fame, at least fortune. Val was one of that number. He stood on the gangplank taking in his first good look at Sabbanath. The town itself, which to Val meant permanent structures, was quite small considering the swarm of people and animals that existed around it. Most of these structures were set a good distance back from the port and were reached by a wide road that marched all the way from the port out beyond the town and into the distance as far as the eye could see. In the port area, the road had been cobbled but further on it was more of a well-travelled dirt track. To leave the port area, one had to first pass through a series of checkpoints that ended with a large gate, manned by soldiers checking papers and a high wooden wall that ran the whole length of the port. The port area itself was a hive of activity with animals numbering more than people. It was mainly cattle but there were also horses and pigs and a lot of poultry. Val could see that the animals were taken from the ships and led to holding pens which dominated the whole area beyond the quay but yet still outside the wall. It seemed that there wasn’t a docking berth vacant and looking over his shoulder back out to sea he could see more ships waiting to come in. The ships that were unloading passengers and livestock were loading up with boxes, crates and bales of only what Val could guess, most coming from large warehouses set to the side. Val could see more guards standing there.

The hills they had spotted on the way into the cove dominated the coastline and beyond them were what he had been expecting to see. Flat land stretching out all the way to the horizon. He wondered what was ahead for him beyond those plains. Was this a second chance for him? He knew it was. A chance to reprieve himself after a difficult number of years, and what a chance at that. To document the New Land, to travel wherever tracks led and beyond to report on whatever story it wanted to tell. Back in Kiryn interest was at fever pitch and the King had wanted something more than soldiers’ and merchants’ reports, much of which was conflicting and the rest bore on the wings of whiskey and fantasy. After all, what was to be expected once returning veterans discovered they could make the free whiskey last longer if their stories were more descriptive.