Planet Hope

By Peter McKain

On a planet some light years from Earth, a young man on the run from the forces of tyranny vows to avenge his parents and rid his land of corrupt and evil monarchs. He is no ordinary young man; he is highly skilled in the use of weapons and also is in possession of mystic powers. He finds an ally in the shape of his fathers best friend, and separately, they travel to strange places. Their paths cross from time to time in the early days, which later become more permanent as the story unfolds.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Aug 31, 2018
• ISBN: 9781546297185

Peter McKain

Aged 77, a retired computer systems and project manager from Hampshire. In my youth I served in the Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers.

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PLANET HOPE

PETER MCKAIN

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AuthorHouse™ UK

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Bloomington, IN 47403 USA

www.authorhouse.co.uk

Phone: [phone]

© 2018 Peter Mckain. 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 08/30/2018

ISBN: 978-1-5462-9719-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5462-9718-5 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

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

The Three Kingdoms

The Forest People

Prologue

Chapter 1 Flight

Chapter 2 Pursuit

Chapter 3 The Mountain Journey

Chapter 4 The Badlands

Chapter 5 The Forest

Chapter 6 The Outlanders

Chapter 7 Training Area

Chapter 8 Return to the Badlands

Chapter 9 The Messengers

Chapter 10 The Spy

Chapter 11 The Badlands Tamed

Chapter 12 The Taking of Yydium

Chapter 13 The Faux Siege

Chapter 14 A Guerrilla Force

Chapter 15 Into Farnia

Chapter 16 The Scouting Party

Chapter 17 Attrition

Chapter 18 Advance Through Farnia

Chapter 19 An Army Decimated

Chapter 20 Rendezvous

Chapter 21 Enemy Engaged

Epilogue

Bibliography

For Little Freddie

The light in my life

THE THREE KINGDOMS

The Land divided naturally by Mountains and Rivers into four distinct areas, three kingdoms; Iilonia, Bardon and Farnia, plus the Badlands. The three kingdoms were never at peace, there were always incursions of one sort or another. Mostly perpetrated by feudal Lords trying to snatch territory and riches for themselves, under the guise of supporting their king. War ravaged the three kingdoms for several centuries, always ending in stalemate, each of the protagonists retiring to lick their wounds and regroup. Centuries before this they were one kingdom, the king at the time had no issue children and could not make up his mind, which of his late sibling’s three sons, most deserving of the throne. His Solution, to give each of them a third of the lands to rule over equally, inevitably each of them felt that he being short changed, each feeling that he the best suited to wear the single crown.

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The northern kingdom of ‘Iilonia’ is bordered to its north by the ‘Dark Mountains,’ which separated the Badlands from ‘Iilonia’. The kingdom had three major fortified cities, the largest of these being Aarta the stronghold of ‘King Fredrick Gustav’. The city, situated in the centre of the kingdom on the plains of Aarta, from which it takes it name. The security of the city being entrusted to Exemplar Morgan, the king’s main advisor and trusted confidante. The city nestled close to the banks of a major river, known simply as the ‘North River’, the source being various tributaries, starting somewhere in the ‘Black Mountains’.

The city of Yydium, the second largest, is situated to the west of the kingdom, on the shore of the ‘Sea of Serpents’. Built on high ground it is bounded to the north and south by marshlands and could only be approached from the east. This is the province of ‘Exemplar Haldon’ cousin to ‘King Gustav’, an accomplished soldier and the king’s military advisor. The third city, Ssoltz the smallest, is to the south of the kingdom, close to the border of the western kingdom of Bardon and much more heavily fortified than the other two, due to its proximity to a hostile border. The city entrusted to the care of Exemplar Easton, the ablest of the Exemplars, the most respected by the men under his command and by the people of Iilonia. For this reason, being viewed suspiciously by the king and his advisor, his popularity being seen as a threat. The man had no desire to rule the kingdom and totally loyal to his oath to defend it.

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The Western kingdom of Bardon is the realm of King Erik Konstanten. The spine mountain forms the eastern border with the Eastern kingdom. There are two major fortified cities; the largest is the capital, Kardia. previously a beautiful city but allowed to deteriorate by a succession of greedy feudal monarchs, interested only in the pursuit of wealth and power. The present king, the worst of them all, is causing misery to his subjects with his unreasonable tax demands and his cruelty. Thousands of his subjects fleeing the country, rather than face a life of servitude and poverty. The second city of Nolta is close to the border with the northern kingdom of Iillonia and as such is heavily fortified, King Konstanten’s neighbour King Gustav being like himself, greedy and troublesome. The third city of Bale, is coastal and situated on the south west corner of the kingdom. This is the main port of the realm, it has only a light defensive wall, being far away from the hostile border. In the past, the main hub of commerce, situated as it is at the confluence of two major rivers, trade can easily be facilitated throughout the kingdom. Currently however this is not the case, only the local fishing fleet is using the port. Foreign ships had ceased trading long ago due to the prohibitive landing tax that King Konstanten demanded, preferring to deal with the eastern kingdom ports. This so infuriated the king that he resolved to invade the eastern kingdom and rule over it himself.

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The eastern kingdom of Farnia, is as different from the other two kingdoms, as it is possible to be, ruled over by King Kaleb Persing benign and philanthropic, and ably aided by his three sons Gareth, Thane and Percival. The ancient city of Terra, the capital, lies straddled across the Shining River, shortly after the point where it splits from the river Einar. The Einar emanates from the Black Mountains in Iillonia and runs the length of the country to the southern coast. The citadel of the city is built on an island bounded by the two rivers, the remainder of the city being on the eastern bank of the Shining.

There are three defensive walled cities guarding the borders two to the north Kakari and Lentar, under the care and command of Gareth and Percival respectively. The city of Dark, which guards the border with the western kingdom, commanded by Thane. They each command five thousand men, a thousand of whom garrison each of the cities, the rest Patrol their allotted stretch of border and are garrisoned in local towns and villages. There are three other cities which perform an equally valuable function to the kingdom, namely commerce. These are the port cities of; Farth, Byria and Darlia. Byria is situated at the mouth of the river Spurl the third major river of Farnia. Between them they handle all the main forms of trade that make up the country’s commerce like; Livestock, food, mineral ores, etcetera. These busy ports, supporting the underlying wealth of the nation.

THE FOREST PEOPLE

The forest people are a civilisation of people, who’s roots are from another time and place, adept in magical powers handed down from their forefathers. Earlier They lived in the lands to the north of the black mountains, including the Badlands. After years of defending their borders against neighbours from the north, they realised that their numbers were diminishing through attrition. It became clear to them that the time would soon come, when they would be overwhelmed by their enemies. Eventually calling for a meeting of the grand council, consisting of the leaders of every city and town in the country. After many days of argument, eventually agreeing a course of action, could not be arrived at, the council split into two factions. Those who were in favour of entering into a dialogue with their enemies, with a view to a peaceful surrendering of their lands, and those who wished to withdraw to the forest and defend a much smaller border. Although a great many of their people were possessed of magical powers, they were not the kind of powers that could be used as offensive weapons and only of limited use in defence. Their enemies had vastly superior numbers and would eventually through persistence overwhelm them.

The people were given the choice, retreat into the forest and continue to resist or stay and surrender to the mercy of their enemies. A little more than a third of them wanted to continue to resist and followed those leaders into the forest. The council agreeing that they would be given time to establish themselves in their new habitat, before the surrender took place. Those who remained defended the borders for several months before their leaders offered to surrender to spare their people further hardship and losses. Their enemies refused to offer terms and insisted on an unconditional surrender. The defenders held out for a while longer but were eventually overwhelmed within a week. They were slaughtered to a man, no quarter given, and the enemy rampaged through the land killing everybody they could find. Many more people had fled in that last week, some had joined those in the forest, whilst others fled into the lands beyond the Black Mountains.

The enemy tried in vain to penetrate into the forest but were held at bay by determined defenders. Eventually they decided that there were richer pickings to be found beyond the Black Mountains and never bothered them again. The people adapted to the forest and the forest adapted to the people. Keeping themselves to themselves, they made the forest appear to be a sinister place, deterring outsiders from venturing into the forest. A lot has come to pass as the world around them changed, they endured other attacks on their forest habitat and overcame them all. They were again about to have their territory disturbed, this time by one man, who would receive their aid and assistance to affect the affairs of the lands outside their domain.

PROLOGUE

The young man sat easily on his mount, surveying the land spread out before him, in the far distance he could just make out the tops of the ‘Spine Mountain’ range, so called because it effectively divided the southern half of the land in two. On either side of those were the undulating hills covered by thick largely unspoilt forest, which also covered much of the rest of the distant panorama. In the middle distance lay the plains of ‘Aarta’ which for the most part consisted of livestock farming. Dotted here and there were some patches of cultivated land, providing the cereal crops and vegetables, needed to supply the numerous settlement round and about the large walled city of Aarta, which sat in the middle of the young man’s gaze. The major city of the northern kingdom of Iilonia, standing on the banks of the North river which emanated from the mountains to the north. These mountains known as the Black Mountains, were formed from black volcanic basalt rock, these bare weather-worn peaks, glistened like black diamonds. In the near distance more farmland, which had an interest for our observer, this being his birthplace and where he spent his early youth. His father had been a distinguished soldier, and for his services had been granted an area of land to farm. His mother the youngest daughter of a wealthy family of Magi, disowned by her father for marrying a soldier.

The farm, a mixture of live stock and arable, situated on good rich land, when worked intelligently being easy to farm and highly successful. Situated about 5 leagues north east the town of Karten, the administrative capital of the local surrounding area. He reflected on a happy carefree childhood, where his father and mother were busy hard-working people, who always made time to be with him, to school him in the many subjects he needed, to progress in life. As well as general subjects, unbeknown to him as a boy his parents had both passed on special hereditary traits which would one day come in useful in the trials that lay ahead of him. At this point he began to reflect on the Ten years that had passed since the time circumstances forced him to become a fugitive. The land recently divided into three kingdoms is now one and more importantly at peace. As the sun began to drop towards the Horizon, the young man looked up and could just make out the two globes in the sky, one a carbon copy of the other, each smooth and symmetrical, their orbits a hundred miles apart. He now understood why they were so similar, sure that mankind would one day explore the origins of those moons and discover their secrets, but that’s another story……… He turned his mount and headed towards the Black Mountains, flanking him at some distance were a pair of wolves and their three cubs.

CHAPTER 1

FLIGHT

The young man known as Con, a shortened version of Condor, his father’s favourite creature. By the age of seventeen, he had grown to around five feet nine inches tall. He had a slender but muscular build; and had become broad in the shoulders, due to the daily regime his father Hal…. Exemplar Hal Dent, set for him from the age of ten. This consisted of a run of around two leagues, followed by fifteen minutes of muscle- stretching exercises. Then a half hour of weapons training, alternating between swordsmanship, quarterstaff, and the long bow. Every few weeks the exercises were combined, when, on the run, they were attacked at various points around the run, by groups of men armed with staves and swords; at the end a series of targets to be taken on the run. This always gave him an appetite for a large breakfast.

After Breakfast, he spent an hour each day with his mother, learning his letters and; scientific and life subjects. The rest of the morning he spent doing his work around the farm, feeding and tending the cattle, chickens, geese, and horses. Afternoons were spent in the fields with his father or carrying out maintenance on buildings, fences and walls. wasn’t a minute during the day that couldn’t be filled with jobs that needing to be doing. The hour before sundown, taken up with more weapons training, this time on horseback. After dinner came more studying and then bed.

On occasion, the evening routine varied, and members of the farm staff came for an evening of music, games, and feasting. The farm, staffed with many men and their families who fought alongside his father, during his many years as a soldier. They were totally devoted to Hal and his family and considered Con one of their own. Prominent amongst them, Thomas Merrick—Old Tom— who had been a master bowman under Hal; and instrumental in teaching Con the art of the longbow.

One morning Con awoke to find that his father had already left. This seemed unusual as he could normally be found preparing the meat for their breakfast. Dressing quickly, Con hurried outside to see if he could find a reason for this break in routine. Con came across his father packing a small hand cart with provisions, enough, it seemed for a considerable journey. Food, clothes, weapons, and tools were scattered around waiting to be packed. What’s going on? Con enquired of his father Where are you going?

To Cons amazement, Hal replied It’s not for me lad, it’s for you. And before you ask, I will brief you as soon as this lot is loaded I have been visited by my old friend and comrade at arms, Thomas Allen from my time as an officer in the Aarta Garrison. He brought a warning that danger threatens on the morrow. Hal did not want to go into detail there and then except to say that Con must leave just before dusk and head for the Badlands. When they completed the rest of the task together, Hal ushered Con into the House where he found his mother, putting the finishing touches on a fur cloak for his journey.

Hal explained The king’s men are coming to arrest your mother for sedition and any children are also subject to arrest. King Gustav had, over the past decade become somewhat of a tyrant to his subjects demanding more and more taxes, until the royal advisers had said enough. The advisers being the illuminati of society consisted almost entirely of mages. The king, fearing they would turn their collective magic against him, plotted with his enforcers, led by Chief Exemplar Ralf Morgan, to arrest all known mages for sedition.

Why are you not coming with me? Con asked.. Surely it would be better if we stayed together."

The journey would be too arduous for your mother, said Hal. We would not get far before they caught up with us. I’ll take my chances at a trial; your mother has never been involved with anything to do with the politics of the nation. As an ex- senior officer in the king’s army, I do have some influence. Con of course, did not want to leave his parents and objected strongly, but his father would hear none of it.

Producing a map from his campaign chest, which he kept under the kitchen table, Hal spread it out for Con to see. Made of a very fine skin, light and pliable, and treated so it would always remain so. This allowed the map to be folded into a small, easy to conceal bundle. The map showed a route through a little-known pass in Black Mountains and across the Badlands, to an area known as the Secret Forest, so called since no one who entered the forest ever returned, with one exception. Some even said it was possessed by dragons and ogre’s partial to human flesh who devoured all who came their way. The most travelled path through the mountains, being at least two days’ journey shorter, however, known to be a place where lone travellers were in danger from thieves and outlaws, and it had become to be known as Robbers’ Pass. There were those who risked passage in guarded convoys, which the robbers felt were too risky to attack. These were mostly merchants and fugitives travelling at a price and guarded by mercenary warrior groups.

Hal went over the route his son needed to take through the mountains, several times; until Con had it committed to memory. Hal pointed out all the safe places to stop for the night and most important, where to find water to replenish his supply. The trail across the Badlands, much less certain and fraught with danger. Hal had travelled it several times in search of groups of raiders who devastated parts of the kingdom, the route avoided the main areas of settlements across the Badlands. But it had been almost twenty years since Hal travelled it and many more people had fled there from the king’s tyranny in recent times. Danger also abounded from the wolves and bears that frequented the area. Although they mostly avoided contact with humans, they could be dangerous if cornered. Hal impressed upon Con the need to avoid contact with local inhabitants where possible, but where unavoidable, he needed to be vigilant. If unimpeded, he should be able to cross the Badlands in four to five days.

Hal went back to his chest, he produced a ring suspended on a leather necklace and handed it to Con Put it around your neck, transfer it to your finger and wear it always after you enter the secret route through the Black Mountains. The ring’s stone had a green opalescent sheen to it, when moved, the sheen seemed to flow around the stone, in ever-changing patterns. The ring has certain properties you will discover for yourself in time. I cannot tell you what, as they are different for each person who wears the ring. What I can tell you is, the ring, crafted by the people of the Secret Forest is thousands of years old. When you enter the Secret Forest don’t worry, the people of the forest will know of your presence as soon as you cross the tree-line. You might be treated unceremoniously at first, but you will come to no harm

Cons mother, Perra, crossed the room and sat him down on a bench, sitting down beside him. She explained, As the child of a mage you have inherited the ability to perform acts of magic, which I would have taught you in time. Time however is something we do not have, but I can impart a simple trick you will find useful.

Placing her hand on his head she entered what seemed like a trance, Con felt a strange sensation, of something being poured into his head. And just when he thought it would burst the sensation ceased.

You now have the ability to make people think they are facing any image you can conjure up. Think of your favourite animal and project it towards me. Within a few seconds she amazed him when she told him she could see horses. She cautioned him Use it only as the need arises as mind wraiths can alert other mages to your presence, depending how powerful you make it and whether they are scanning for the presence of other mages. Your abilities will develop with practice and with the help of the forest people. You need to eat now and get some rest, you have a long, hard journey ahead. We have some preparations to make which we will brief you about when we rouse you around dusk.

That night, sleep did not come easily to Con and when it did it only in short snatches. His mind in turmoil, images of strange lands and strangely dressed people invading his dreams, causing him to wake in an agitated state. When eventually roused, he felt worse and more tired than ever. All in readiness for his departure. In the yard, a cart loaded with supplies, hitched to a horse. After some emotional goodbye’s, he prepared to mount the cart. His mother handed him a bright red cloak. Wear this now, she instructed. And do not remove it until you arrive at Halder’s farm copse when the reason why will become clear to you. After he donned the cloak, he vaulted up to the seat of the cart, and with a final wave he got the cart in moving. He did not look back as he wanted nobody to see the tears coursing down his cheeks.

The country tracks within the bounds of the farm, were largely composed of stone and gravel and reasonably well maintained. Later as he left the boundaries of the farm, the rough country track became very tricky to negotiate in the dark. Several times in the first couple of hours the going became so rough, he had to scout ahead to find a way around the problem area, to save possible injury to the horse or damage to the cart. On the second of these excursions, he noticed the light of a fire in the woods, that werw directly ahead of his intended route. He pondered this for a while and reasoned that there could be some risk to proceeding, however to detour across country, to avoid whoever thy were, would result in much delay and could still result in his being caught. It did not take him long to formulate a plan, he just had to hope that the odds weren’t to badly stacked against him.

When Con judged his position to be just out of earshot of the camp, he tied the reins to the seat rail and alighted from the cart. Armed only with his staff he allowed the cart to trundle along the track by itself, while he made his way swiftly across the open ground keeping low and making little noise. Ahead of him, the tree line of a small coppice, through which he could make out the light from the fire. Entering the trees, he crept slowly forward, until he could hear the voices around the camp fire. From this point he slithered forward until he reached the far tree line. Just beyond this, to his right, the camp fire where sat two men, he observed all around for a minute but could locate no others. Debating whether to leave his hiding place and confront them head on, one of them jumped up and said.

I can hear someone coming. They lit torches from the fire, jumped out on to the track, and walked towards the sound of Con’s oncoming cart. Waiting until they disappeared beyond the trees, Con edged along the tree line and silently slipped out onto the track, a few yards behind the two men.

One of the men called out. Halt in the name of King Gustav no one is to pass this way without his permission.

The horse, hearing the men and seeing them approaching with torches, came to a nervous halt. By the time the men realised that they were apprehending an unoccupied cart, Con crept up close behind them, closing the remaining distance swiftly, he felled the man to his right with a blow to the head with his staff. Sweeping the other end of his staff around to his left he took the legs from under the second man. He trod on the arm holding the torch and pinned the man by the throat with the end of his staff. Allowing the man to rise slowly, Con Commanded.

Take your sword out and stick it in the ground, try anything and I will hurt you badly. The man did as he bid. Now step back two paces. Con armed himself with the sword, retrieved the still burning torch, bidding the man to pick up his senseless companion and carry him into the trees. He had the man secure his companions arms behind him around a tree, then he fastened the second man to another in the same manner, using their belts. Ensuring that this would hold them temporarily, he retrieved some rope from his cart and tied them more securely.

Questioning the conscious man, Con discovered that they were not due to be relieved until an hour after dawn the following morning and that they were the only guard that they knew about along this track. Swiftly he inspected their camp site and apart for a couple of blankets, food and some spare clothing, there were no hidden weapons. Extinguishing the fire and hiding its remains under some loose bracken he hoped to delay the relief finding the campsite. Finally, he gagged both men so that they could not call out to alert the relief. Making one last check of their bonds and the camp area he remounted his cart.

Con resolved to make a little more haste since it became increasingly obvious that the king’s men would soon be looking for him come morning and he needed to have as much of a head start as possible, if he wanted to reach the mountains before being discovered. A risk he knew, as it meant that if there were other troops lying in wait, he might not spot them in time to do anything about it. Dawn found him drooping with tiredness and barely awake. Having been this way before several times with his father on hunting trips he knew of a spot not far ahead, where he could stop and get a view for miles back along his route. After about an hour having negotiated the cart to a point just out of site over a long steep rise in the track, he stopped. Dismounting from the Cart he walked back to the crest.

Keeping low as he reached the crest he produced from a pocket in his tunic his father’s spyglass. At first, he observed back along his trail with the naked eye, taking in the immediate surrounding area, seeing no movement he scanned the horizon from east to west with the spyglass. Satisfied that he had seen nothing of any threat he took a quick break back at the cart, to get some food and water for himself and the horse and to freshen up. He started on his way again after a final quick check of his back trail, the going much easier in daylight and the trail less rutted, he pushed the horse as hard as he dared. At mid-day he came in sight of Halder’s farm copse, which straddled the track, halting he examined the copse with the spyglass and could see nothing untoward. Approaching with caution he entered the copse, a few minutes in, a figure stepped out from behind a tree, he instantly recognised his father’s old comrade in arms, Tom Allen.

You have made good time young Con, He said. However, time is of the essence, take from the cart your weapons and food, and come with me. Stepping through the trees he led Con to a small clearing, there stood Cons’ Favourite horse ‘Meteor’. You must give me your red cloak and wear mine.

What is happening I don’t understand, exclaimed Con.

We don’t have time for explanations, you must leave now, through the western edge of the copse and follow the maps provided by your father. In an hour you will be entering the foothills of the Black Mountains, and I will be on my way to Robbers’ Pass. Go now, and luck be with you.

With that he left abruptly and within a minute Con could hear the cart moving up the track. Stowing His bow and Staff where he could readily reach them, he strapped on his sword, mounted his horse and made his way westward through the copse, it had just begun to rain.

CHAPTER 2

PURSUIT

Hal felt bad about lying to his son, he knew that there would be no trial, Tom had told him that the order had been given they were to be executed on sight. The house having been fortified, to keep at bay the hundred plus king’s soldiers, he knew would be coming, for as long as possible. Calculated to delay the discovery by the soldiers, the fact his son had left the residence. He had sent away all of his staff that had families to ensure their safety, there were a handful of older men who having no ties had opted to stay and fight alongside him. They understood, this would mean that by siding with him, they would be signing their own death warrant, yet not one of them hesitated. Doors and windows were re-enforced and barricaded, weapons were taken up to the flat second story roof, which had defensive crennelations. This is where Hal intended to hold off the king’s soldiers, until inevitably depleted and overwhelmed.

The two-story building, constructed of stone walls three feet thick, the roof had huge beams covered with long slabs of foot thick stone, sealed with a waterproof tree resin. The access to the roof via a lid of stout metal plate. The wooden farm buildings were on the east side of the house across a wide farmyard, they consisted of stables, dairy buildings, and a barn. Hal and his men had prepared here too, they had scratched channels leading to the bales of hay and straw in the barn and to the walls of all the farm buildings, which he had filled with a mixture of whale oil and tree resin. This, a quick burning volatile mixture which given the right conditions could be explosive. A similar channel, scratched across the yard and under the back door of the farmhouse. The horses and other livestock had been removed earlier, having been taken to a place of safety by the