Quantauna's Reign

By Tyrone Cameron Jr.

Quantauna’s Reign is a masterpiece in itself. Let your imagination indulge into a fictional world of adventure, thrills, horror, drama, and romance. You will feel a sense of connection and belonging to various characters. Especially the main, the orphan, the soldier, the witch, the queen, and the ultimate bloodthirsty assassin, who is charming, beautiful, charismatic. So audaciously vicious in her wiles, who may be a burden or a blessing to her kingdom, Northland. Soldiers want to be her, friends and acquaintance are few to her, enemies ponder her unpredictability, and nations tremble at the sound of her name. Quantauna’s stoic spirit and woes show how human she is, even how monstrous she can be, which is relatable to all who get to know her chapter by chapter. The drama surrounding the romance, the incredible fighting scenes, the intrepidity of Northland’s soldiers, which is heart-wrenching, and the wittiness of Captain Lehhu are quite enticing to the audience. The uniqueness of each character speaks life into fantasy. What you will experience reading this book is a mixture of excitement and suspense. Feel free to tell a friend of the excitement you have just witnessed with your eyes and mind reading this book, and remember, believe!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jan 17, 2022
• ISBN: 9781684569960

Book preview

Chapter 1

Birthing Stages

This is a perfect example of how evil will not always prevail, and its rewards are destruction and pain. On the other side of life’s path, the righteous has an eternal glory, and their reward is a fountain of life.

Long ago, in one of the birthing stages of history before technology and great modernization, was the reigning of kings and queens and nobles. Along with these monarchs were the rich and poor, soldiers and warriors, wizards and witches. The views of humankind were skeptical and critiqued by how they saw their fellow men. If you were born from a royal family, such as king or queen or nobility, you were honored. Born from a rich family, you were loved; born from a poor family, you were ignored; born as a soldier or warrior or trained to become one, you were known as lionhearted; but if you were born from a witch or your father was a wizard, you were feared.

There was a young woman who stood out in all the categories that are described above. She was a soldier at one time whom enemies feared; such a warrior would not be poor for long. She was an elite and cunning fighter, very heartless to her adversaries. Her heart opposed compassion because her heart was dark, and she studied black magic and specialized in sorcery. Her fame rose contagiously, and nations revered her name.

The transformation began when she witnessed her father killing her mother at the age of nine years old. Her father was a farmer and a shepherd. This was how he provided for his family. He was also a drunkard, gambler, and a molester. Quantauna being the victim of his molestations. At age eleven, her father’s life was cut short. One night she prepared supper and wine for him so he would be properly fed when he came home from a full day’s work. As they both ate, she looked her father in the eyes and said with a daring smile, You are going to die tonight. He in turn threw his cup of wine in her face and laughed at her, saying, Foolish child, you are a witch like your mother. She started to laugh also, but bitterness was beneath her laughter, and her eyes were showing blood-bound revenge. Suffering from drunkenness, he fell off his chair as laughter pinned him to the ground. While he lay on his back with his mind all wrapped up in wine and his heart overexuberant, the child took a knife from the table and sat on his chest, smiled, then pushed the blade in the side of his head. As tears began to flow from her eyes, she pulled the knife from his head and carved out his chest, took out his heart, and began to eat it. This was an ancient belief that whosoever eats someone’s heart while it is still beating becomes supernatural. This cannibalistic act was done by witches and wizards frequently and practiced by those who wanted to become a witch or wizard. However, an eleven-year-old child with such bitterness should not attain such power. When she finished her bloody feast, she saw a vision of herself dressed in a white gown sitting on a gold throne, with a gold cup in her left hand filled with blood, and in her right palm she had countless soldiers screaming, begging for their lives. When the vision ended, she ran to the burial ground where her mother was buried. Tears washed her face as she knelt at the grave of her mother.

As she knelt there murmuring to herself, a chariot was approaching with white horses and golden designs all around it, which brought out its brightness while the moon enlightened the decorations though it was dark. The child ignored the chariot because she thought it was a traveler or a merchant passing by this time in the night. As the chariot passed by her, it stopped abruptly. A woman came out dressed royally, wearing a black dress with a gold turban on her head and a gold necklace on her neck. The child ignored the stoppage of the chariot and continued to whimper and sob in despair.

The woman walked over to the child and said, Are you lost, little one? She did not reply. Is everything all right? She did not reply. Whose grave is this?

The child replied, My mother.

Where is your father? the woman asked.

Dead, she answered.

The woman paused in awe then said, How far from here do you live?

"I’m homeless,’’ she said.

My name is Sarah. What is your name, my child?

"Quantauna,’’ she replied.

Well, Quantauna, you have the name of a queen. A queen deserves somewhere to live, a nice meal, and a nice blanket to be enveloped in on a cold night like this, don’t you agree?

She smiled and replied, "Yes.’’

Sarah continued, Of course, you shall spend the night at my house, and in the morning, my husband and I will decide if you will spend another night, sounds good?

Quantauna replied, Yes.

As eleven-year-old Quantauna entered the chariot, she knew glory days were nigh, and a warrior was being birthed deep within.

The following morning when Quantauna awoke, she had breakfast with her new family, Sarah and Salas. Salas, who was Sarah’s husband, was also the captain of the Army of Northland. Salas took Quantauna under his wings, and she adored him and his teachings. She was more into hunting, combative skills, and becoming a blacksmith than knitting, sowing garments, and housework. Her first kill that was witnessed was at the age of twelve. When they caught a thief who repeatedly stole from the king of Northland. Everyone was drunk that night, and Captain Salas brought Quantauna to the thief by the Dry Fields Desert. The thief was tied to the chair he was sitting on. Salas gave Quantauna a dagger to slit the culprit’s throat. Every soldier was ranting and shouting as Quantauna walked over to the man on the chair. She smiled then slit his throat, and the shouting became louder. Then Quantauna cleaned the blade of the dagger with her mouth, and everyone became silent then suddenly burst into laughter. Salas trained her like a grown man how to fight, how to kill, and how to strategize battles. At the age of thirteen, she was constantly in the Army’s battles, and by the age of fourteen, she was second-in-command of the Army under Salas. She had a sharp mind and was tactical in warfare, heartless to enemies, and friends to sorcerers and witches. Salas condemned sorcery and black magic, and he warned her to stay away from such things. Her defiance was her only disloyalty, but in battle, Salas knew he could depend on her.

Promotion was coming and devastation with more tears. After the conquering of Westland that was ruled by Salas’s brother Elion, that same night the king of Northland, Xertavan, invited Captain Salas to a feast. The feast was dedicated to Salas, and Xertavan’s family were present. Xertavan was promoting Salas to be the new governor of Westland. He would now stay away from the battlefield and report to the king about trade, crime, building, taxes, and warfare. During the feast, as they reasoned about what had transpired in the battle at Westland, ten men were hiding in the king’s palace who were accompanied by Artequan. Artequan was a close friend of Salas but became a traitor by jealousy, because Salas named Quantauna second-in-command and not him. The feast became a bloody scene; Salas, King Xertavan, Queen Nora, Princesses Aquiela and Alouna, and Prince Artoff were slain. Prince Alanza was not present, fortunately. He was in his room with the king’s maid. They had a secret affair going on. When they ended their sexual endeavors, they both exited the room. The maid went to her quarters downstairs, while Alanza went to the dining room to join the feast. When the young prince entered the dining room, he saw everyone dead. This caused sudden change, direct chaos, and warfare. In anger, a traitor caused the good to fall, but vengeance was the next advancement by Northland’s Army.

Early the next morning, Quantauna gathered the Army without the prince’s counsel, and Westland to Southland felt the bitter end of her sword and the boiling rage of her heart. She swept the whole region from west to south, killing men, women, children, and even animals. Every house and crop was burned to the ground. By midday all that filled the land were blood, dead bodies, and hungry crows. Whoever fled from Westland went to Zunderland, a northward region. Some escaped to Relon or Rebel Island southward of Southland. Quantauna began reigning as captain of the Northland, Southland, and Westland. Eastland was already subdued under Northland, but she wanted it destroyed, but king Alanza did not permit such an attack, so the captain refrained from her plans.

After two years of relentless fighting, Quantauna was now sixteen years old and a love interest for King Alanza. Many people feared Quantauna not only because she was a ruthless warrior but also because she was an unpredictable witch. Black magic was an interest for her. At times before battles, she would do chants and paint her face with the blood of foes whom she killed. Soldiers considered this act very strange, and they would watch her in astonishment, but many who favored her saw it as her ritual to motivate her before stepping onto the battlefield with great intensity. After Quantauna’s weird rituals, she was unstoppable and quite mystical. When she was on the battlefield, her aptness with the sword was impeccable and crafty. Her mystical movements were to transfigure herself to confuse her opponents, sometimes vanishing before their eyes then reappearing unexpectedly. Sometimes she would kiss whoever she was fighting, and blood would start to ooze from their eyes, ears, nose, and mouth until they died. Her defiance was one of her negative attributes that the king hated, but she did not disobey the king out of pride; instead it was for the filling of her warrior appetite. Her passion for blood spilling was hard to cool. She would frequently disobey the king’s orders by entering foreign regions and extorting other kings and robbed farmers of their crop.

There was something about Quantauna that sparked Alanza’s eye, though she was very disobedient. She had a beauty that let the sun seem happy to shine on her. She was five feet and eight inches tall, with shiny black hair that touched the middle of her back, and because she was a witch, sometimes its color changed to dark brown with golden streak in the middle from her forehead to the last tip in a straight line. She had a straight face that was clean, with bright dark-brown eyes, long lashes, a small chiseled nose, dainty lips that had a smile that was glorious, because her teeth were perfectly aligned. Her neck sat upon her small shoulders tightly. Her breasts were always looking luscious, as if they were always milky, and her waistline was deeply curved. Her hips coordinated with her buttocks firmly. It was pleasant to the eyes to see her walking away, and her hips spoke the wagging language whenever she walked toward you. She had strong thighs, and her legs were toned but womanly with rich curves, which were connected to her soft feet. Her arms were strong though she was slim built. She did not have puny hands. So she had a body that was sexually appealing but firm and fit. In other words, her description was strength mixed with voluptuousness. Let’s put it this way, she was a sexy champion. Beauty everyone loved, but evil everyone feared. Quantauna did not just have a fighting gift, but she had a gift to see visions and to even interpret them.

She tried very hard to keep away from the king emotionally, but she kept having visions of him kissing her. One night while she was sharpening her sword as she sat by a firelight drinking wine, she saw the vision that she saw after the death of her father. In the vision, she was sitting on a gold throne, dressed in a white gown, with a gold cup in her left hand filled with blood, and in her right hand, soldiers begging for their lives. She was frightened by the vision but loved the image of power in it. The king could not hide his attraction toward her, despite how distant Quantauna was. The more the young captain tried to avoid him, the more he was enticed to pursue her. However, one day out of frustration, he confronted her, saying, Why do you continue to insult me, Quantauna?

She replied with a serious countenance, saying, I’m protecting you from the kiss of death.

Alanza said, That might work on warriors, but not on kings.

Quantauna smiled, saying, You’re a brave king.

Alanza said, I don’t know, do I have to fight you for your heart?

Quantauna laughed and said, I dreamt that I was kissing you.

The king smiled as he replied, That means I won. Alanza was taking a risk, but he thought more of romance. Quantauna admired that he wasn’t afraid and was persistent despite all the negative reports that some of his soldiers and citizens of Northland told him about her. He himself turned a blind eye to her uncontrollable behavior. This conversation led to days of courting, such as private dinners and late-night swimming at Plateau Waters, the smallest river in Northland. She taught him how to improve his archery skills, and the king was not embarrassed that he was not so dexterous with a bow and arrow, though he was king. Quantauna loved that Alanza was not easily offended, and he was very smart and tantalizing with his charm. He was the opposite of her, very composed, relaxed, and not judgmental. The king taught her how to receive love, because romance was a first time for her approaching the age of seventeen. He was deeply in love with her and respected her from her hair scalp down to the last dermis on her feet, so he pledged to not have bedroom skin-to-skin moments until they were married. Quantauna respected his patience and confidence because she realized that he didn’t see her as just a sword swinger but as a royal queen whom he could handle.

After Xertavan passed away, Alanza was a bit unsure of himself until now. He was now a real king and a real man at age twenty-one. He was set prosperously, and now with Quantauna being in his heart, he pictured endless love, and Quantauna’s heart softened to King Alanza. Her bitterness was subsiding. After six months of courting, closeness, and wedding planning, the wedding was here. The ceremony was held at the field behind Alanza’s palace. His maids cried because he did not choose any of them to be his wife. Some of the women cried because of flaming emotions. After the first day when the ceremony was held, the other six days were days of celebrations, feasting, wine intake, and word-to-mouth to gossip. In all this, deep within, skepticism rested upon the people of Northland. People saw oddness, people saw danger, people saw folly, and only a few were in favor and support of such a matrimony. However, King Alanza’s heart was shameless, and Quantauna was now a raging weapon that had gotten quiet for now.

Chapter 2

The Economy

A month had passed since the wedding. Alanza and Quantauna were both happy without any arguments and bickering. Their interest was almost the same, in regards to their region of North, South, East, and Westland. Alanza finally had his wish granted, which was to have peace on every side of the region. Quantauna’s view on peace was different; she believed peace only meant the enemy needed more time to plan an attack. She liked living on her toes. She thought that surprises were a test of your vigilance. One morning as the king lay in bed, the queen brought him breakfast. The tray had two dishes and a small cup. One of the dishes had fried shrimp with fried onions and bread, the other a peeled orange, a peach, and grapes. Alanza said, Thank you, my love.

Quantauna replied, Good morning.

Alanza said, Isn’t Lehhu qualified enough? You are a queen now, it’s time to leave the battle lines and let someone else lead the swinging of swords.

Quantauna now walked away from the bedside as Alanza ate, then she pulled the curtains to allow the morning sun to light up the room and said, I enjoy what I do.

Alanza said, You are my queen. How many more titles do you want to own? A queen is much greater than any title.

The queen sighed as she stared out the window then turned around and looked at Alanza and said with a smile, I do have your heart. I can have your lips too, you know, so you can no longer tell me what to do.

The king got up from the bed and walked over to her and said, Let’s see. Then they both kissed. Quantauna closed the curtains then took off her robe that wrapped her body, and Alanza lifted her by her waist and put her against the window ledge, and they began to make love. That morning the king’s word did sink within her heart, seeing it was logical. Besides, she was now the second-highest ruler in the kingdom who sat beside the king’s throne. Later that night, Quantauna had a meeting with her sergeants of the Army and second-in-command, Lehhu, whom she personally trained herself. Lehhu was the next best to Quantauna, and she nicknamed him Scope. He was fearless and very quick and had a sharp eye for spotting rivals and discerning their movements better than everyone else in the Army. That night Quantauna gave Lehhu one of her gold-handle swords and branded his neck and his right arm with Northland’s captain brand. It was the letter C with a sword slicing through the letter. This was done to everyone that became Captain of Northland for the last century. The Army rejoiced at Scope’s achievement but was a little disgruntled because their last captain was now sitting beside the glorious throne. They were not discomfited because they missed Quantauna but because they knew she was a witch and that her now being queen can mean many troubles for their region’s future.

The following morning, Muriel was invited to have breakfast with the king and his queen and his three maids at the entrance hall of the palace. As they all were eating, Muriel said, Do you know why I hate you, Quantauna?

Alanza slammed his two fists against the table and stared at Muriel with disgust.

Quantauna replied, Because you are ugly and afraid.

The maids chuckled under their breath, while Alanza placed his hands over both eyes in frustration. Muriel replied, No, because you are a curse and a disease to my nephew.

Quantauna smiled and kissed Alanza on his neck and said, Muriel, you need to stop looking at yourself. If you do, you won’t need to feel that way. Then she left the table.

Alanza said, My queen?

Muriel was Alanza’s aunt, sister to Queen Nora, Alanza’s mother. Quantauna knew that taking her breath was the only alternative if she wanted to endure as queen. Muriel was very effective. She watched Alanza grow from childhood to now man and king. She was the only one who knew of his secret love affair with his father’s maid. He was a son to her, and she favored Alanza more than all her