The Fragmented Blood

By Ben Patrick

This is a fantasy adventure story set in a world of ancient myths and kingdoms and beasts and magic. And chaos. In a world of chaos, truth and facts are hard to see, especially when a new threat has emerged.
But what are the black blooded monsters, what do they want, why are they here, why do they exist.
Lady Scarlet, the icon of magic, has yet to learn the true meaning of Chaos and its nature. Can she and her companions save the foundations of the kingdom and what is the entity that shadows her journey.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Nov 30, 2021
• ISBN: 9781528964548

Ben Patrick

Ben Patrick was born in Cork, Ireland in 2001, the youngest of three siblings. He developed Receptive and Expressive Language difficulties, but in spite of this, he has always had a great imagination.

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About the Author

Ben Patrick was born in Cork, Ireland in 2001, the youngest of three siblings.

He developed Receptive and Expressive Language difficulties, but in spite of this, he has always had a great imagination.

Copyright Information ©

Ben Patrick 2021

The right of Ben Patrick to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

ISBN 9781528962209 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781528964548 (ePub e-book)

www.austinmacauley.com

First Published 2021

Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd®

1 Canada Square

Canary Wharf

London

E14 5AA

Chapter 1

The hand was coming for her. She could not move; her eyes fixated on its pale white skin as it loomed over her. Its nails were as black as coal with skin so young and tender. She screamed as it slashed through her.

Lady Scarlet! Lady Scarlet! yelled a maid bursting into her room. Scarlet rose from her bed, grasping onto her sheets. Scarlet was not human. Her skin was grey and her hair was long and pitch black and was all over her head except for a purple lock of hair at the front of her head. She had a beautiful green eye. Her left eye was slashed down the middle and because of that, she was blind in it. Scarlet was panting heavily in panic, sweat dripped from her body.

You had that dream again, didn’t you? asked the maid in a worried tone.

Scarlet took one deep breath before saying, It’s fine, it’s fine. I’ve gotten used to it.

The maid put on a brave face as she smiled at Scarlet as she had said this many times before. Anyway, it’s time to get up now.

Scarlet moaned, Ten more minutes, and immediately went back under her blanket. The maid giggled and then she raised her arms at her. Suddenly, a gust of wind filled the bedroom and started blowing the sheets off Scarlet’s bed. Scarlet was panicked, grabbing the sheets to cover herself; she had not been wearing a bed dress. That’s not funny! yelled Scarlet, covering herself with the sheet.

The maid giggled to herself. So pancakes for breakfast, Lady Scarlet?

Scarlet looked away embarrassed. Yes, please, she murmured.

The maid clapped her hand with delight. Excellent! she said. Just make sure you’re dressed properly. With that the maid walked off, leaving her alone in her room.

Scarlet moaned again before heading to her wardrobe. She picked out some fine looking dresses, because she knew what the maid meant earlier, no shirts or jeans, even though the ones she had were all old. After deciding what she would wear, she then picked up a towel that was on the side of the bed and headed out of the door into a small circular room made of stone. She took a left into the next room which was the bathroom. She had a bath, cleaning her skin as she did and then scrubbed her hair, trouble was it was all tangled.

Finally, she began to get dressed. Scarlet went to her mirror to see which dress suited her the most, she went with the dark blue dress, because it was her favourite. The front of it had nice golden laced stitching and the stitching was elegant. As she was putting her dress on her she noticed the mark on the upper left side of her chest. It was a small green round like shape, being circled by two green lines. Scarlet did have a beautiful looking body, on the slender side perhaps, but women were jealous. She herself was unsure what to think of herself as she thought about the white hand from her dream before putting on the dress, covering the mark up. Scarlet then started to comb her long hair. After unknotting her hair, Scarlet’s long ears sprouted out of her hair, she laughed. She loved how her hair would do that.

Now dressed, Scarlet headed back into the hallway, this time she took a right. There was no door, just a staircase, spiralling downwards. As Scarlet walked down the stairs, she noticed the view of the Red Winged Kingdom.

The kingdom of the Red Wings may be the last known kingdom in the world of Sharden because it’s the safest place there is. The world is overrun by monsters. The Beast of Chaos is what they’re called. As their name suggests, their forms are unpredictable in shape and size. These creatures attack and slaughter people, as if it is second nature. No one knows where they came from or how they came to be. All people really know about them is that they would have decimated all of mankind if they could, leaving a trail of destruction in their way. It was almost so. Humanity was on the brink of extinction; humans fleeing across countries, hiding themselves wherever they could. When all seemed lost, it happened. The sky burst into light as red wings soared in the air. It is said the feathers from the red wings fell down onto the earth and humanity was blessed with what they call magic. This event has been known as The Blessing. It has been around a thousand years since that day. The kingdom has become a safe haven ever since. Anything in the world beyond the reach of their eyes is now lost to them.

Scarlet was munching away at the pancakes when the maid brought more over. You’ll get a stomach-ache, she said. Sure enough, Scarlet did; she clenched her stomach in regret. The maid smiled cheerfully, Dear Scarlet, is there anything else you need? Scarlet shook her head recovering from the pain. Well then, said the maid. We seem to be out of flour, so we have to go shopping now, don’t we? Scarlet chuckled. The maid was a cunning person.

Scarlet and the maid headed further down the tower that was part of the kingdom’s castle. As they made their way to the ground floor they finally reached the end of the staircase. The two walked through a long hallway decorated with paintings of the former kings of the kingdom and in every painting that was on the walls for each generation Scarlet was on the right hand side of the next ruler, only a few paces back. When any guard walked past them they greeted Scarlet quite formally. Scarlet may not be human, however, she was quite the established person. She was known as the Child of the Red Wings.

When the Red Wings appeared, a child wrapped in a bloodstained cloth came as well. This child was Scarlet. She was treated as a normal child till her twentieth birthday, this was when people noticed she stopped aging. Her skill with magic was powerful. She could launch a volley of purple crystals, she called the spell ‘blood shards’. She began her training with numerous weapons —bows, swords, spears and many more. However, her natural skills were more agile. Despite being the symbol of magic and peace in the kingdom, Scarlet hid her abilities. She could drain blood from her opponents into her nails and she had a keen smell for blood. She knew these traits were bad, so she used them if the circumstances left her no other choice but to use them. However, there was an attack from the Beast of Chaos twenty-six years ago that came from two colonies of monsters which devastated the kingdom. Some rumours were around the place that she was a monster, lurking in wait.

Finally, after journeying through the castle, the two made their way out into the kingdom and to the market. The kingdom was built on a large hill next to a mountain range. Building it near the mountains meant a greater protection from the monsters. However, the kingdom was divided into two sections. The kingdom built on the hill is where the castle is. This section is protected by a giant stone wall; only a few entrances were built for safety. Below the mountain, small villages were scattered around the castle. These section are called the upper and lower kingdom. Yet, the lower kingdom has survived many years without much of a threat from the Beast of Chaos despite the constant danger. The market was right beside the wall that protected the upper kingdom. As they made their way there, many people bowed Scarlet to show their respect for her. She then bowed back in gratitude.

It took about an hour of walking for the maid to finally say We’re here. Hundreds of stalls filled the street, each one selling something unique and special. The maid gave Scarlet the shopping list, Scarlet was always irritated that there were always more items on the list than expected, the same way she was irritated when the maid always wandered off leaving her alone to do her own things. So Scarlet wandered off, searching for the items on the list. There were many things to see, she saw many people selling exotic fruits, not found in the kingdom, probably from explores seeking fortune and hunks of meat of animals and non-poisonous Beast of Chaos. A Beast of Chaos always had purple blood, no matter what their shape, size or colour; so the meat always had to be inspected before it could have been sold to the public. However determined Scarlet was, she would get always get distracted by street performers using magic.

Since the Blessing, humanity had now been able to use magic for beneficial means. Some people didn’t use it at all and live simple lives, but those who wanted to use magic had to go through training and understanding of it to be able to unlock it within themselves. Due to the capabilities of magic, it had become a crucial and vital for the kingdom’s safety. Academies and schools had been built to study it and to ensure magic users were able to become skilled magic fighters known as mages. These mages along with knights who had some knowledge of magic at their disposal, formed the kingdom’s military might.

Scarlet watched as the street performers weaved a flower made of pure fire grow and grow till it bloomed elegantly as little embers dispersed from the petals. The audience gave a round of applause which snapped her out of her state of bliss. She then continued through the market, gathering the items on the list. After a long time going around the market gathering the items, she came to the last item, flour.

Fifty coins.

Forty coins.

Fifty coins!

Forty coins! argued Scarlet.

Fifty coins! yelled back the old stall keeper.

The term coin for the currency of the kingdom originated from when numerous cultures found the kingdom of Red Wings in its early years. Rumours had spread to most parts of the world that there was a safe place from the monsters as magic had made it safer to travel. When travellers from afar settled in the kingdom, the currency from these different cultures collided violently. It was difficult to buy and sell items till the kingdom changed its entire currency. Some people began using the value of any coin as a value of one coin. This trend became the currency of the entire kingdom.

The two argued with each other for the price for a bag of flour. Fifty coins, miss! That’s my only offer, he said.

Well then, good luck finding someone looking for a bag of flour!

The man grunted knowing she was right said, Look kid, I need to make money. I own a farm on the lower half and the bugs are out this year.

Scarlet planned her next move before saying, Forty-five coins. Seems fair?

The old man thought carefully about the price and then grunted once again, Forty-five coins it is. He said raising his hand out. Scarlet was about to shake his hand, when suddenly they were caught in a blast that destroyed a section of the market. The fire from the blast quickly began to spread through the rest of the stalls. Scarlet forced herself up, a bit dizzy from the blast. She looked over to see how the old man was, he was buried under the rubble of his stall. She started digging out the rubble to find the old man, but it was too late for him. The timber poles the held the roof over his stall had snapped and impaled his chest. She bit her lip in frustration, knowing that there was nothing she could do.

Another explosion went off somewhere further away. Heading in the direction of the noise, Scarlet followed the trail of destruction. She could smell the blood of so many that had died but also smelt the blood of someone familiar. Rushing further ahead Scarlet found the lifeless body of her maid. Her stomach was ripped apart by a claw, Scarlet felt sick and trembled looking at her. Scarlet then heard footsteps up ahead, they were close and they didn’t sound human. Looking up ahead she saw it. The monster walked on all fours. Its body was scaly with jagged spines coming out of its back. Its legs were dark and were covered in fur. The creature’s tail was a long and muscular with three claws sticking out at the end of it. Scarlet was freaked out by its face then the rest of it. Somehow, it resembled a person. On the left side of its head was a black shelled beast, with horns on the top and at the chin. However, its right side was totally unusual, like that of a monster. The hair, the skin colour, the eye, it all seemed to resemble that of a human being.

Scarlet eyes narrowed as it began casting a fireball from its mouth. She thought to herself. She had no blade or weapon, she would have to fight the monsters with her bare hands. Her nails lengthened, sharp enough to cut through stone as she prepared to cast her blood-shard spell. The monster spat out the fireball at her and then Scarlet made her move. She first dodged the fireball and shot a volley of blood shards at the monster’s eyes. When it was distracted, she ran at an unnatural speed at it, slashing its face. The monster swiped its tail all over the floor but Scarlet had leaped into the air, landing on the monster. She began to claw away at the back of its neck as she held onto its spines.

Finally, after digging deep into the beast, the monster’s blood burst out of its neck. The creature swayed around before toppling over dead. Scarlet stood, looking at all the destruction it had caused. To her surprise, when she looked at her bloodstained dress, the blood of the monster was black.

Chapter 2

Could someone please explain the situation that happened yesterday? asked Douglas Portuk as he sat at his office desk waiting for his men to respond. Douglas Portuk was known as an advisor to the king.

Advisors report to the king directly and oversee management of numerous functions in the kingdom like military and magic training management. Douglas Portuk ran the security in the kingdom, protecting people from the Beast of chaos.