The Secrets of Li Syval

By Kenneth McDonald

The found family of Aris, Nails, and Ferret has been broken up, as Nails enlists in the service of the priesthood of the goddess Laesil in exchange for protection for his friends. Aris and Ferret continue in their service to House Leconta, but Ferret finds the secret of her budding magical abilities increasingly difficult to conceal. Meanwhile, Zealla Alcuri continues weaving her web of plots to restore her house to its lost greatness, a path that will lead to a potentially deadly clash with the Leconta and their young followers.

"The Secrets of Li Syval" is the second novella in the latest series of stories set in the world of “Forgotten Lore,” which take place in an island city-state where family connections are everything, hidden factions seek power behind the scenes, and lost magic lies waiting to be claimed—or to claim those who seek it.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kenneth McDonald
• Release date: Apr 10, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005708733

Kenneth McDonald

I am a retired education consultant who worked for state government in the area of curriculum. I have also taught American and world history at a number of colleges and universities in California, Georgia, and South Carolina. I started writing fiction in graduate school and never stopped. In 2010 I self-published the novella "The Labyrinth," which has had over 100,000 downloads. Since then, I have published more than fifty fantasy and science fiction books on Smashwords. My doctorate is in European history, and I live with my wife in northern California.

Book preview

Forgotten Lore

The Secrets of Li Syval

Kenneth McDonald

[e-mail]

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2022 by Kenneth McDonald

Cover Credit: The cover image is adapted from Sunrise (Marine), by Claude Monet (1873). The image is in the public domain.

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Works by Kenneth McDonald

The Ogre at the Crossroads

Forgotten Lore

First Series

Secrets of a Lost Age

Warriors of Shadow

The Shattered Key

Mysteries of the Book

Second Series

The Road to Ironbridge

The Towers of Khormur-Dhain

Trouble on the Borderlands

The Horror in the Wood

Third Series

The Streets of Li Syval

The Secrets of Li Syval

The Heroes of Li Syval

The Graves Crew

The Graves Crew and the Restless Dead

The Graves Crew and the Damned Dam

The Graves Crew and the Firestar Amulet

The Graves Crew and the Road of Doom

The Graves Crew and the Magical Forest

The Graves Crew and the Mountain Fortress

The Adventures of the Graves Crew, Volume 1 (omnibus paperback edition)

The Adventures of the Graves Crew, Volume 2 (omnibus paperback edition)

Refugees of the Crucible

Powerless

Overpowered

Balance of Power

Legacy of the Bulrazi

Power Play

Power Game

Power Surge

Soul Weapons

Wizard’s Shield

Soul of the Sword

Wizard’s Stone

Tales of the Soul Weapons

The Dwarf on the Mountain

Legends of the Soul Weapons, Volume 1 (omnibus paperback edition)

Legends of the Soul Weapons, Volume 2 (omnibus paperback edition)

The Colors of Fate

Black Shadows Gather

Green Hearts Weep

Red Vengeance Rising

Faded Yellow Dreams

Blazing White Stars

Shiny Golden Schemes

Silent Gray Depths

The Colors of Fate, Volume 1 (omnibus paperback edition)

The Colors of Fate, Volume 2 (omnibus paperback edition)

The Mages of Sacreth

The Labyrinth

Of Spells and Demons

Grimm’s War

Grimm’s Loss

Grimm’s Love

Of Blood and Magic

Of Steel and Sorcery

The Godswar Trilogy

Paths of the Chosen

Choice of the Fallen

Fall of Creation

Daran’s Journey

Heart of a Hero

Soul of a Coward

Will of a Warrior

Courage of a Champion

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Chapter 1

ZEALLA

Zealla Alcuri’s boot struck a loose piece of rock as she strode across the vast, broken interior of Greenfarrow Hall. The sound of it skittering across the once-beautiful marble floor echoed throughout the cavernous space. Light slanting through the mostly-shattered skylights high above shone on the moldy, shredded remnants of tapestries that had once graced the walls with scenes of natural beauty and the accomplishments of House Greenfarrow.

That house was as ruined now as their former residence. Implicated in a scheme to provoke a war between Li Syval and Arresh, a war that would have allowed the family to climb up the final rungs separating it from the pinnacle of the Fifty Families, the roster of the Greenfarrows had been stricken from the Archives, its seat on the Ruling Council permanently forsaken. It was possible that some of their descendants still lived in some distant land; Zealla didn’t know and didn’t care.

She liked meeting here. The ruin of Greenfarrow Hall was an object lesson. It had been deliberately left broken and empty rather than being put to some productive use, despite the fact that it occupied valuable real estate in the hills north of the city. It had been intended as a message, one that continued to hold meaning even for the people who had forgotten the name Greenfarrow, or the people who had once wielded power from this spot.

Zealla hadn’t forgotten. This place was a reminder of what her fate would be, if her plans failed.

She finished walking across the room and paused before a broad stone arch that led into the dark back corridors of the house. Most of the interior was dark, the doors and windows sealed against intrusion. But she had long since learned to slip past those kinds of barriers. It was the other kind of barriers that still concerned her, the kind that were designed to keep someone like her from making the climb into the ranks of the powerful.

She heard something, a soft click of boot heels on the bare stone floor. She turned and waited, her hands folded behind her.

She did not have to wait long; a figure quickly emerged from one of the side-passages that accessed the great hall, blinking briefly as they stepped back into the light. Looking around, they quickly caught sight of Zealla despite the deep shadows where she was standing, and headed in her direction.

The new arrival might have been mistaken for a normal person at first, but as they drew closer the reality of their ancestry quickly became apparent. The newcomer was a tiefling, a blend of human and alien ancestry, born of a joining between a resident of the city and a creature that the unschooled usually referred to as a demon. Li Syval had a much larger population of such blends than the nations on the mainland of Voralis, due to the former’s persistent history of fiend cults and power-seekers who had dared to breach the boundary that separated worlds. The offspring born of those unions hadn’t had any say in their parentage, of course, and the city of their birth gave them the rights of citizens, as long as they obeyed its laws and assimilated to its customs.

That was the law. The reality, of course, was frequently quite different.

The tiefling slowed as they reached the waiting woman. Their features were quite striking; their skin was the color of charcoal, the eyes solid orbs of ochre, with neither iris nor pupil. Their face was otherwise human, except for the curving rams-horns of glossy black that curled from the sides of their head above the ears. They were dressed in the plain, well-crafted traveling clothes that a middling merchant or tradesman might have worn, with no obvious weapons in sight.

Lady Alcuri, the tiefling said.

I hope you are prepared to explain why the Sid Forundan operation is behind schedule, she said.

To be honest, domina, it is remarkable that we have been able to make as much progress as we have. The mine is up and running, but the ore of is quite low quality, and it is difficult to extract, especially in secret. With the restriction on running the smelters only at night, the processing…

I am not interested in hearing excuses, Califex, Zealla said.

With all due respect, domina, you did not hire me for my mining expertise, but to run this project per your specifications, and that I have. I can only work with what I am given.

The workers that were provided are insufficient?

No, they’re working out all right, though I had to… enforce discipline, once or twice, while we were getting things up and running. I believe they will work out. The problem is the low quality of the ore. You were correct, in that there were deposits that had been missed by the house that had once owned the property, but it is taking twice as long to extract sufficient ore to smelt to the quality you specified. As it is, there are going to be impurities in the metal that we are not going to be able to remove given the quality of the facilities…

The levels in the initial samples you sent are sufficient, if barely, Zealla interjected. But I will need production scaled up in order to bring us back to the original timeline.

Perhaps if we could supplement with purchases on the open market, Califex said. House Hanser controls more than eighty percent of the supply of stock iron in this quality range, mostly from the mines on Skellos, but perhaps we could…

As you noted previously, I hired you to run this project, not to speculate on the metals market, Zealla said. You get the iron out of the ground and to me, and that is all.

As you say, domina, the tiefling said. I only thought that I could serve you better, if I understood the bigger picture.

You are serving me well exactly where you are, doing exactly what you are doing, she said. What about the delivery pipeline?

I believe we are ready there, Califex said quickly. The new wagons are ready, and we’ve tested them on supply runs to the rendezvous point along the north road. It would be easier if they could make it all the way to the mine, but that accessibility would create its own complications. But they will suffice.

And security?

As you specified, domina. There have been no breaches. The personnel provided by your, ah, associates have proven themselves to be competent.

I expected no less of them than I expect of you, Califex. The first delivery?

Will be on schedule, domina.

Excellent. She held their gaze for a moment, her simple human eyes meeting their strange ones until they lowered them. Remember that it is I who helped you unlock your talents, who gave you a chance to rise to your true potential. If you should start to feel that anyone else would value them to the extent that I do…

No, domina, they said, inclining their head again in a gesture of deference. I am a loyal servant to House Alcuri.

Good. I believe you have a great deal to get done, then.

She watched as they bowed deeply and then retraced their steps back the way they had come. She lingered a minute longer, gazing up at the broken skylights high above. I assume you heard all of that.

A figure stirred from the shadows of the archway, then stepped into view. The darkness seemed to cling to him, finally resolving to a long, dark cloak that seemed to shimmer around his frame as he came into the light. Its owner was a man of middle years, with close-cropped dark hair and a plain face that could have fit in anywhere in the city. I heard, he said.

And your thoughts, Ordis?

I am only here to represent my master’s interests, he said.

And sharing your opinion with me endangers them?

Your relationship with your minions is not my business, Ordis said.

But you disapprove of the way I pressured them.

It is always a risk, setting the bar for success high, especially when the penalties for failure are equally high.

There is something to that, she said. Oh, I’ve read Catellus too, even wrote a paper on his lesser-known discourses, back when I was a student. But I’ve always liked my dogs a little hungry. What about you, and your master?

I do not know what you mean.

Oh, I think you do.

I know what I am, Ordis said. In my experience, that is an insight many who serve lack.

Hmm. If I didn’t already know that I was wasting my time, I think I might enjoy trying to suborn you, Ordis.

Fortunately for both of us we both know you’d be wasting your time, then, he said.

Still, I do enjoy a challenge. But to business. I’ve shown you my operation, and let you in on my plans. You heard my dog, the mining operation is up and running, and shipments will soon be arriving in the city. Has your master made the necessary arrangements to clear my site?

"There are a few