The Eyes of the Wizard King

By Edgar Stiltner

In The Eyes of the Wizard King, the age of man is over. The remnants of that race now struggle with other races. They struggle not for dominance but for survival. Into this age, T'Keleth is born. Kel's coming is foretold by a prophecy written on the remains of the Tree of Knowledge. His coming promises great change. The story opens with an attack on Kel's childhood home, the Dale. The village is destroyed, the men killed, and the women and children either killed or enslaved. Kel is left for dead beneath the body of a giant dead bat. As the story develops, Kel is reunited with his older twin brothers, who are already working, in vastly different ways, to stop the evil that threatens to eliminate mankind. Together, they gather allies and prepare for the great battle that is quickly approaching. In the climax, Kel must confront the source of evil directly. In this final personal battle, only one – Kel or the enemy, Lord Azazel – can emerge unchanged.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 15, 2019
• ISBN: 9781643506845

Book preview

T’Keleth

T’Keleth’s mind wandered as he slipped in and out of consciousness. One moment, he was vaguely aware of his attacker’s now-dead body pressing him against the ground. The next moment, he was working on his father’s farm.

The day had begun with a beautiful sunrise. T’Keleth’s family, like the other families in the Dale, had been awake to watch the sun lift from the edge of the earth. The fields required a full day’s work.

T’Keleth loved their farm. The fields stretched for nearly as far as the eye could see. A white picket fence enclosed their property. Their house, built of logs, was located near the center of the property. The soil was good. Weather permitting, the crops were abundant. The usual farm animals were present as well. Tending the cows, chickens, pigs, and horses was part of T’Keleth’s chores. Though the work on the farm was hard, T’Keleth, unlike his brothers, never considered doing anything else.

After a large breakfast prepared by his mother, T’Keleth and his father began to work the fields. Thomas was a good man and a good father. Though he had put on a few extra pounds over the years, he was still in good shape for a man his age. T’Keleth was often amazed at his father’s stamina. He could work all day in the fields beside T’Keleth then stay up after sundown to repair equipment long after T’Keleth was asleep.

Thomas would never say he had a favorite son; that wouldn’t be fair. He and T’Keleth, however, were very close. He knew that T’Keleth would keep the farm going after he retired. He also knew that T’Keleth would make a fine farmer. This made Thomas very proud. It was too bad his other sons did not want to stay on the farm, but that was simply not their nature.

Thomas looked at his youngest son and smiled. He knew what this day meant to T’Keleth. He understood why T’Keleth seemed so preoccupied. Today, his youngest son’s life would undergo a great change.

No matter how hard he tried, T’Keleth could not keep his mind off the festivities planned for that evening. At sunset, on this the day of his birth sixteen years earlier, he would become a man. By the traditions of the Dale, a boy or girl’s sixteenth birthday was very significant. At sixteen, they were considered adults. This was indeed a big day for T’Keleth.

Time seemed to go by at an incredibly slow pace. Eventually, however, the day’s work was completed. T’Keleth bathed then went directly to his room to prepare for the party.

Tonight is the most important day in my life, and I will not let my difference spoil it, T’Keleth said to himself as he stared at his face in his mother’s small hand mirror.

Though T’Keleth’s physical oddity never particularly concerned him or his family, it had been a major topic around the dinner tables of the Dale since his birth.

T’Keleth’s eyes were blue. This was considered very peculiar since neither his mother nor father was an elf. It was, of course, common knowledge that only elves have blue eyes. Yet here was T’Keleth with eyes as blue as the sky.

At first, the people of the Dale thought that T’Keleth might have special powers. But after a time, most of them realized that he was just a normal child with unusual eyes. The only strange thing T’Keleth received because of his eyes was his name. Instead of a human name, his mother named him after the elven word for sky, though everyone in the village just called him Kel.

I hope that Jason and Daniel can be here this evening, Kel told his mother as they awaited the arrival of their guests.

Your brothers love you dearly, she replied. I’m sure they will be here if they can.

Kel’s mother, Rachel, was a small woman but had no trouble getting her boys (or, for that matter, her husband) to behave. She was what was known around the Dale as strong-willed. Today she was a bit sad at the thought of losing her youngest son to adulthood. But she knew that this was the way of life. She had survived when the twins became adults; she would do so now.

Rachel patted her son’s cheek and repeated, I’m sure they will be here if they can.

Kel missed his brothers greatly. They had left the Dale ten years earlier, after their own adulthood ritual. Even though they were identical twins, they had very different personalities and interests. Since leaving the Dale, Jason had become a warrior in Omar City, while Daniel had become a monk. Kel thought that these vocations suited his brothers perfectly.

The brothers had periodically contacted their family over the years but had not been able to return home in person. At first, it was simply that they were both just too busy with their studies. However, during the past few years, the trouble in the north had been the primary reason they had not been able to visit. Kel dearly wished that his brothers would be present for his ritual.

Though the kinds of adventures outside the Dale that his brothers wrote about were enticing, Kel planned to stay on the farm after tonight’s ceremony. His father and mother were getting older, so someone had to help care for the farm. Besides, he loved farming.

Finally, the guests arrived, and the party began. It was a tremendous success. Except for his brothers, all the people that were invited (and a few that were not) came to the celebration. In fact, it appeared that all the nearly three hundred people of the Dale were in attendance.

The women set up long tables under the trees. They then lined the tables with delicious food. Besides various fresh vegetables and fruits, there was plenty of chicken, ham, beef, cheese, bread, and honey. For the enjoyment of the adults, there was a large quantity of local beer and wine.

Soon the sun began to set, and the ceremony began. Kel knelt before his father. In a large circle around them stood the guests of the party. A giant bonfire burned in the background. Kel’s father spoke proudly the ancient words of the ritual, Tonight thou come of age, my offspring. This ceremony will let all our people know that thou art no longer a child.

Thomas then leaned close to Kel’s ear and whispered the truth about the Dale. In the time of your great-grandfather, our king, a great wizard, was alive, and life was good. The Ruling Council, over the king’s objections, formed a corps of bodyguards for the king. These bodyguards consisted of the most skilled human warriors in the land. Your great-grandfather was, in fact, the captain of the Blood Guard. They faithfully served the king until, one night, as the people of the city slept, the king disappeared. Several years later, the king was presumed dead, and the council ordered the Blood Guard disbanded. These dedicated men, having trained and fought together for many years, found that they were unwilling to part company. So they took their families and left Omar City. What became of them is unknown to most. But I tell you now that these warriors, their wives, and their children founded and settled the Dale.

This is a secret that you must never reveal, Kel’s father continued. "There is an evil in this world, an evil that I pray you will remain ignorant of, that would pay much gold for this information. Now that our king is gone, this evil has slowly but steadily extended its influence throughout the land. This evil knows of the Blood Guard. Though we know that the Blood Guard and their skills are gone, this evil, our enemy, does not seem to know or believe that this could be so. The evil one, as well as others outside the Dale, does not understand that our forefathers decided that their children should be men and women of peace and, therefore, did not teach their skills to their offspring.

Look around you, Kel. These people, people you have known all your life, trust that you will always keep our secret. All the adults of the Dale know of our past. They also know of the danger. We must all trust each other with our very lives. This is why we wait until the adult ritual before revealing the truth about the Dale. We do not want to burden our children with the danger in which we constantly live.

Kel now understood why his family was so respected by the people of the Dale; his great-grandfather had been the captain of the Blood Guard, the leader of their great-grandfathers. He also understood why the people of the Dale were such a close-knit group, seldom dealing with outsiders.

Kel rose to his feet and hugged his father. The crowd cheered. Then the attack began.

Goblins were extremely effective at raiding villages; they’d had plenty of practice. They usually waited for a night without a moon then, riding on their giant bats, swooped down upon their unexpecting prey.

Many of the Dale men were drunk, and all were unarmed. Most of them died on the first pass of the goblin attack. The women and children ran screaming in all directions.

William the bull (the largest man in the Dale) grabbed a half-burned log from the fire and knocked several goblins from the backs of their bats. He was brought down with a bolt from a goblin’s crossbow.

Kel ran toward his house and found a pitchfork leaning against a sidewall. He turned just in time to thrust it into the throat of an attacking bat. The jolt threw the goblin off the bat and into the wall. The impact broke the goblin’s neck. The bat fell dead, directly on top of Kel. He lost consciousness.

It took a long time for Kel to become fully conscious. At first, he did not realize where he was. He was covered with something heavy, smelly, and dead. He could not see anything. He had a difficult time breathing.

Then he remembered the screams—the horrible, horrible screams. The high-pitched screams of the bats as they attacked. The deep, hoarse screams of the goblins as they slaughtered his family and friends, the screams of the men as they died, the screams of the women and children as they were either killed or carried away by the goblins. He would never forget those screams.

Kel knew in his heart that this was the end of the Dale. He doubted that any other adult male could have escaped death. From what he had been told about goblins, he assumed that every building in the Dale would have been set afire before the goblins had left. The men of the Dale were brave men, men descended from very brave men. But they were not ready for an attack. They were peaceful farmers now, not warriors. Besides, the goblins had never attacked this far south before.

Even if the men had been ready for the attack, they might not have withstood it. Though goblins were much shorter than humans, they were generally stronger. Goblins were also less civilized than men, making them more vicious. They, for example, readily used their teeth and claws in battle. In addition, the giant bats that were trained by the goblin tribes were deadly. They were strong enough to lift a full-grown cow from the ground, tear it open, suck it dry of blood, then drop the husk—all without missing a beat of their wings.

These particular goblins, however, were even worse than the usual run-of-the-mill nasty goblins. Normally, goblins were unorganized and poorly armed. These goblins, however, acted like a well-trained military unit and were armed with swords and crossbows. A few even had chain mail draped over their leathery green skin. Something was very wrong here.

Kel thought these things as he struggled to free himself from his prison. He knew that he would eventually die if he could not escape. He tried many times to squirm from beneath the dead bat, but his strength was waning.

Many men, men older and stronger than Kel, would have given up then. Kel, however, never gave up. He was, of course, younger than his brothers were. He was also a good foot shorter than the twins. But Kel had learned from his brothers that nothing was impossible as long as you never gave up. Kel never did.

Since his strength was nearly gone, he did the only thing he could think of: he began yelling at the top of his lungs. He yelled until his throat became raw, then he yelled some more. Kel stopped screaming abruptly, however, when he felt two strong hands grab his exposed foot.

Daniel

After searching for more than a year, Daniel finally found the monastery. He had heard rumors of the holy place since childhood, but the exact location was somewhat of a mystery. They would not let him enter. He pounded on the massive wooden door for what seemed like hours, but the monks would not respond. Well, they weren’t going to get rid of him that easily.

Thinking that someone would have to come out eventually, Daniel sat cross-legged directly in front of the giant wooden doors and waited. He could wait a long time. Daniel had discovered as a child that if he relaxed his muscles and slowed his breathing, he could sit motionless for as long as he desired. While he waited, Daniel reflected upon his life.

Except for the dreams, his childhood had been a happy one. He had gotten along well with his twin brother, Jason, and later, Kel. In fact, people in the Dale were surprised that the three never fought with one another; after all, they were brothers. His dreams, however, had made his childhood difficult.

For as long as Daniel could remember, whenever he slept, he would dream very vivid dreams. To make matters worse, the dreams would always, in one way or another, come true. Usually, he dreamed of nothing serious, perhaps of a storm or the birth of a colt. However, there were times when his dreams were serious, deadly serious.

In one dream, Daniel saw a friend of his father guiding a plow pulled by a single horse. The man stopped the horse to clear debris from the plow blade. Something spooked the horse. The man was killed instantly. Daniel woke drenched in sweat.

After telling Jason of his dream, they ran to the man’s farm as quickly as they could.

Sir, I cannot tell you why, for if I did, you would not believe me, but you should not work your fields today, Daniel said earnestly.

The man frowned and said, Young man, I know not what this foolishness is about, but stand aside, I have a great deal of work to do.

Jason grasped the man by his shoulders and looked at his brother. Daniel told the man his vision but realized by the look on his face that he wasn’t going to listen. The man started to step forward, but Jason was having none of that and held on tighter. Please believe my brother, Jason told the man while looking straight into his eyes.

The man shoved Jason aside and went to work his fields. Eventually, his plow did indeed become caught up in debris. Remembering what the boys had told him earlier and being a practical man, he decided to check on his horse before clearing the plow. Unfortunately, the something that spooked the horse in Daniel’s dream was a poisonous snake. The snake bit him on the ankle. Later in the day, his wife found him dead next to their horse.

Daniel quickly learned that no matter how hard he tried, he could not change the outcome of his dreams. Eventually, he stopped trying. After a time, he even stopped telling his family about his dreams. They knew he dreamed, but they also knew they could not ease his burden. No one mentioned the dreams.

The dreams made Daniel a quiet child. His only real friend was his twin, Jason—that is, until Kel was born. In fact, Daniel had dreamed of T’Keleth and his blue eyes long before he was born. So when Kel arrived, Daniel felt as though he already knew him. Daniel loved his brothers very much.

Daniel sat and thought about his life for a long time. Finally, he felt himself being lifted and carried. With great effort, he opened his eyes and saw that he was being taken inside the monastery. He heard voices but could not tell if they were real or not. His eyes closed, and he slipped into unconsciousness.

Is he dead?

No, Master, but if we leave him outside any longer, he will die from exposure. He has been sitting outside our gates for three days!

A tiny old man moved closer to the monks carrying the stranger and asked, Who is he?

He is delirious from a lack of food and water, and he has mumbled many things. I believe his name is Daniel. He is from a village he calls the Dale, the young monk answered.

Well, it would seem that the life-energy is strong within this one. Though the headmaster would never admit it, he was very impressed with Daniel’s determination and will.

After placing Daniel on a low cot in an empty cell, the monks left. Unnoticed, a curious young monk named Molech stayed behind to observe this newcomer. Daniel, in his delirium, continued to talk. Molech learned many things by listening to Daniel—things that he decided he would not repeat to the headmaster.

When Daniel woke, he found that he had been placed in a small cell. The little room had no windows. Except for the bed he was lying on and a candle set on the floor beside the bed, the room was entirely bare. Daniel heard someone clear his throat and turned his head to see a figure in the doorway.

I am Brother Molech, the disciple said quietly. I have brought you nourishment.

Brother Molech looked down at the young man on the bed. He saw a tall, slender man with shoulder-length brown hair. His eyes were, of course, brown. He had a strong chin. From his clothing, Molech could tell that this was just a farm boy.

To Daniel, the disciple holding his food was an average-looking young man—average height, average build, brown hair, and brown eyes. His only distinctive feature was a large, long nose. He had a very stern look on his face, causing Daniel to think that this particular disciple perhaps took himself a little too seriously.

After Daniel ate his soup and drank his water, he decided to ask Molech a question. Tell me, brother, is the headmaster a very old, tiny man that carries a long oak staff?

Brother Molech’s eyes grew wide as he replied, How did you know? You were unconscious and delirious when we brought you in.

It was just a dream, brother.

After a few days, enough time to regain his strength, Daniel was summoned to the headmaster’s chamber. To