Warlords of Gelandor: In Search of the High King

By Christopher Gray

In search of the High King.

The Great Creator made the stars and planets in order to fill the vast emptiness of Space. When He had placed them, and was satisfied he had but one task left. He threw a myriad of Blue planets randomly into His created Universe and allowed them to fall and settle where they would.

The Blue planets were his true master pieces. On them the inhabitants were created to echo in an infinitely smaller way, the Master architects persona. The intention was that on these blue spheres Humanity would evolve to be the dominant species. They were to be left to their own devices and it would be inevitable that some would be peaceable places of love and harmony, whilst others would see conflict and suffering. Such is the arrogance of human nature that the selfish aspirations of the leaders of the populations and their desire for dominance, would eventually lead to wars and perhaps of Humanities ultimate self-destruction.

Gelandor is one of these Blue Planets. It is on its Earth-like surface that the tale unfolds. It is a story of a daughters determination to find her lost father and of the company of Eldorian knights that accompany her on the dangerous quest. The action is set against a background of the violent conflict of opposing war lords in the planets northern hemisphere. Throughout their search for the High King, father of the Princess Erycina, her companions encounter monstrous creatures, betrayal, spies, intrigue, mystery and war.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Feb 27, 2016
• ISBN: 9781504979917

Christopher Gray

Christopher Gray, co-founder/CEO of Scholly, is a regular contributor to Forbes Magazine, has made the top of the 2016 Forbes 30 Under 30 List for Social Entrepreneurship, and was one of Oprah’s Inaugural Super Soul 100 honorees as one of her favorite people. He is the recipient of the 2016 Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award. A highly in-demand public speaker, Chris has served as the U.S. Embassy Speaker for the U.S. State Department. A native of Birmingham, Alabama, he lives in Los Angeles.  

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© 2016 Christopher Gray. 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   02/26/2016

ISBN: 978-1-5049-7992-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5049-7990-0 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5049-7991-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016902541

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To Gabriel

Forward to, In search of the High King.

The Great Creator made the stars and planets in order to fill the vast emptiness of Space. When He had placed them, and was satisfied he had but one task left. He threw a myriad of Blue planets randomly into His created Universe and allowed them to fall and settle where they would.

The Blue planets were his true master pieces. On them the inhabitants were created to echo in an infinitely smaller way, the Master architect’s persona. The intention was that on these blue spheres Humanity would evolve to be the dominant species. They were to be left to their own devices and it would be inevitable that some would be peaceable places of love and harmony, whilst others would see conflict and suffering. Such is the arrogance of human nature that the selfish aspirations of the leaders of the populations and their desire for dominance, would eventually lead to wars and perhaps of Humanities ultimate self-destruction.

Gelandor is one of these Blue Planets. It is on its Earth-like surface that the tale unfolds. It is a story of a daughter’s determination to find her lost father and of the company of Eldorian knights that accompany her on the dangerous quest. The action is set against a background of the violent conflict of opposing war lords in the planet’s northern hemisphere. Throughout their search for the High King, father of the Princess Erycina, her companions encounter monstrous creatures, betrayal, spies, intrigue, mystery and war.

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Contents

Chapter One A Deadly Encounter

Chapter Two An Audience With The High Council

Chapter Three A Secret Departure

Chapter Four Brogandia Under Siege

Chapter Five Ambushed At Sea

Chapter Six The Taking Of The Agila Mountain Pass

Chapter Seven An Assasination Is Foiled

Chapter Eight A Detour To Atlaitia

Chapter Nine The Isle Of Farman

Chapter Ten The Burial Mound Of Barregarow

Chapter Eleven A Ship Wreck On The Dragon’s Teeth

Chapter Twelve A Monsterous Encounter!

Chapter Thirteen The Southern Enemy Arrives

Chapter Fourteen The Final Battles

CHAPTER ONE

A DEADLY ENCOUNTER

T he knight crossed the Agila River at a shallow point. Even so the rushing waters came up to the chest of his horse. It was high summer but the torrent was sharply cold. This was because its source was high in the Agila Mountain range that was snow-capped all the year around. He reflected that by the time it reached the Citadel and the open sea, it would be docile and warm. He spurred his horse up the bank and on towards the high country of the northern plains. He was now in open moorland, broken only by random granite outcrops. This terrain suited his purpose for what he knew was about to happen.

Under a sky quickly edging into twilight, he dismounted and unsaddled his horse. He knew they would come at night. They always attacked under cover of darkness, so he chose to make his stand beneath one of the rocky out- crops.

Gildred, a knight of the order of Eldoria, had been sent out to scout the area and to gain knowledge of the strength of the Triogon war parties that were believed to be in the northern plains region. They were a war-like tribe that were giving rise to grave concerns amongst the citadel elders because there had been many reports from outlying guard-posts that they were gaining in strength. and that the raids along the borders of Eldoria were becoming more frequent.

He built up the camp fire until the flames leapt high into the night sky. They flickered and danced into the inky black shadows of the granite escarpments. He intended to make certain that the Triogon would be able to see his camp site.

Gildred was an Eldorian nobleman in his early twenties. He was raised by his uncle who was an important member of the High Council. His father was killed in the great campaign against the wild tribes of Sconia. Soon after that his mother had lost her fight with a cancerous illness which some said was brought on by a broken heart. His father’s brother had taken his little sister Enya and Gildred into his family, treating them as his own. His uncle schooled him from an early age at the same time as his own son in all the warrior arts. He was strong, capable and well prepared for the events that would unfold during the night. At this time he was not dressed as a knight of the high court, instead he wore the garb of a seasoned hunter, preferring to blend naturally into his surroundings. He sat in the shadows, well away from the firelight and waited. Whilst waiting he calculated the enemy numbers. They had tracked him all day and he was aware of at least five perhaps six. In any event he would soon know.

A blade glinted in the moonlight and they were upon him! In his right hand his sword sang out. A head fell cleanly from its surprised shoulders and cannoned into the fire sending orange sparks to join the starry hosts. Swaying to his left the knight brought his sword across the torso of another shadow. It dropped to its knees and became one with the earth. Another weapon swung towards him. His sword’s parry shattered it asunder. Gildred’s repost was swift and deadly. He spun around as an axe descended from above him. Changing to a two-handed grip he brought the blade down in an arc and axe, hand and arm were sliced from his assailant’s shoulder. The attacker cried out in pain and melted into the shadows. Another leapt from the escarpment on to him. The warrior’s weight pinned him to the ground and Gildred struggled to free himself. With a mighty effort, he heaved the tribesman off his chest and prepared to defend himself. The Triogon made no attempt to rise. He had been impaled on Gildred’s sword.

The warrior knight stood alone in the stillness. He leaned heavily against the rock and his chest heaved with the exertion of the affray.

By the waning of the moon they had not returned, so it was over for the present. The arrival of dawn revealed the carnage of the midnight skirmish. A decapitated body, its right hand still gripping a curved sword lay sprawled across the expiring embers of the fire. Another sat still and ashen without its axe arm. Still another lay face down on the edge of the hollow and it was evident that his life had long since drained into the moorland grasses. The last attacker lay on his back with Gildred’s sword protruding from his torso. The knight retrieved it with some difficulty.

Gildred took the time to pick sprigs of heather which he placed on the fallen. The way of his God was to promote compassion and forgiveness, but also to stamp out evil with the might of the sword. He paused for a moment in silent reflection. The taking of a life, however evil the man, was to be regretted and not something to celebrate.

He struck camp quickly and saddled his horse ‘Dust flyer’. There would be no need to bury the fallen because he knew that the Triogon always returned for their dead.

He rode south along the trail that led to the lowlands and the citadel of Epirus. As horse and rider passed over the heather clad terrain, Gildred became aware of smears of blood on the ground. He dismounted and led his horse, taking care to keep low to the horizon. It was evident that the blood was coming from one of his assailants. Cautiously he followed the trail and at the bottom of a steep incline he saw the slumped figure of a wounded warrior. Beyond him lay a small encampment. Gildred could see that the ashes of their fire were still smouldering but nothing stirred. It seemed that the camp was deserted. The silence was only broken by a skylark’s song high above him. The Triogon warrior had clearly died of his wounds and there was nothing Gildred could do for him. He looked closer and realised that this warrior, although dressed like a Triogon, was of a different race. He had none of the tribe’s characteristics. He was a good deal taller for a start, and he lacked the scaley forehead and the reptilian features that set the Triogon aside from any other race. Gildred moved on to the circle of hide-clad tents. Using his sword he lifted the flapped opening of the nearest one. Peering inside he observed a sackcloth blanket which was clearly covering something. As he watched, it appeared to move. Something or someone was hiding under it! In a flash Gildred crossed the floor and lifted the edge of the blanket raising his sword at the same time. The swift movement of his sword was halted in a split second!

A young woman, bound by hand and foot lay beneath. Her red hair, entangle and straw strewn, covered most of her face. However, it could not hide the fear in her eyes. This cleared as she realised that he was not one of her captors. Gildred dropped his sword, reached for his knife and sliced through the ropes that held her. She sat up and began rubbing her wrists and ankles. Suddenly she became aware of her nakedness and pulled the sackcloth tightly around her.

‘Who are you?’ she asked. ‘You should take care - the Triogon will return at any moment, you are not safe here.’

‘Don’t concern yourself girl. The Triogon warriors have long since gone to the land of their gods, and there is no returning from where ever that might be’, he replied and added, ‘Who I am is unimportant at this time, but I would like to know who you are and why I find you bound in this way’.

‘I am Erycina, Princess of the twin islands of Andorious and Atlaitia in the southern seas of Acria. I was on my way to meet with the High Council of Eldoria to ask for help in tracing my father who has been missing in the Wild lands for two years. We came secretly across the Thresia Sea because there are elements in our country who would have intercepted us had we sailed direct to Epirus. There is much unrest in the court and I fear there may be a coup. We landed at a small fishing village and intended to journey overland, but my escorts were ambushed by these savage creatures,’ she answered.

‘What became of your escorts my lady? Did they all perish at the hands of the Triogon?’ he questioned. A sudden look of realisation and panic came into her eyes.

‘All except Damon, the leader of the guard. The others were slain, but I don’t know where they are keeping him. Their intention was to hold us to ransom. They knew my father to be a wealthy king. We must look for him. I pray that he may still be alive!’

Gildred removed his cloak and draped it around the princess. ‘Stay here -I will search the other tents. You will be quite safe now’ he said.

He searched the other tents but could find no trace of the leader of the guard. However,soon as he was about to return to the princess with the bad news, he caught sight of a mound of freshly dug earth that was set back away from the camp site. He remembered that the Triogon often used the cruel torture of ‘live burials.’ The victim was bound and placed in a shallow grave. His face would be covered with a mask that at the nose area had a reed pipe fixed in place. This pipe allowed a certain amount of breathing so that the captor was kept just on the edge of life. It must have been a terrifying experience. The knight ran to the ‘grave.’ Sure enough it was occupied. He used his hands to tear away the earth from around the pipe. Hurriedly he removed the mask and the prisoner began to cough and splutter as his lungs filled with fresh air.

The rescued victim was a large man, perhaps six foot seven in height. He wore a black leather tunic and on the chest area was an embossed image of a dragon. His belt, now without sword and scabbard, held up black leather trousers which disappeared into boots of the same material. Gildred estimated his age to be about forty years, but it was difficult to tell precisely because of his uncontrolled growth of beard and long, dirt-matted hair. This man was Damon, the leader of the ill-fated escort. Gildred helped him to his feet and supported his weight as they moved to where Erycina was waiting.

‘Who are you?’ Damon asked. Gildred explained that he was a knight of the Eldorian order and that he was on a mission to probe the strength of the Triogon in the northern lands. Princess Erycina was relieved to see that the leader of her escorts was still alive. Damon bowed before her and then quickly left them both to search for his weapons. He hoped they might still be in one of the other tents.

The Triogon was a strange and savage race. They shared the characteristics of both human and reptile and this was a very dangerous combination. Legend would have it that they were once cave