Eliviae: A Short Story From Mythnium

By C. Borden

She'd settled into a new life, only to have it shattered when the White Lord's forces attacked her home. Can she come to terms with her painful past and an uncertain future? Can she find a place to belong? Jump into this Short Story from Mythnium by C. Borden, author of Echoes of Dragons!

• Language: English
• Publisher: C. Borden
• Release date: Aug 17, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223937470

C. Borden

C. Borden is an avid reader and most enjoys the richness of fantasy and science fiction, which inspires her to write stories from her own imagination. Drawing inspiration from the people and places that have touched her life, her works include lifelike characters, places readers wish they could visit to fully engage her readers. Though her first published works are fantasy short stories and a fantasy novel, she is also a Christian and fiction author.  C. Borden is a wife, mother, and USAF Veteran. Beyond writing, she enjoys reading, traveling, gardening, and nature photography. When she’s not writing, she’s most likely enjoying the outdoors with friends and family, helping another author get their ideas on paper, or curled up with a good book from one of her favorite authors.

Book preview

One

She sank to the ground, her body heavy and aching from exhaustion.  The tingling that touched every inch of her skin dissipated, leaving a strange numbness. The stench of ozone mixed with the smells of smoke and death.  Her head bowed, her chin nearly touching her chest, she realized deep inside she didn’t really want to open her eyes.  However, the sounds of crackling fires, falling structures, and distant cries for help forced her to raise her head and blink her eyes open.

The devastation caused her to breathe in sharply, and she winced in pain as she did so.  Once a massive wall blocked the view to the valley below and the mountains beyond. Now a large hole with scorch marks touching the exposed bricks revealed the vista beyond the city.  Before the shattered wall, homes and buildings that had been part of a bustling quarter of Farcaste Reach bore the marks of war. This was a place where artisans and musicians had lived in peace and safety as they learned how to apply the use of magical currents to their talents and trades.  She stared at the damage and coughed as smoke from a nearby fire drifted her way. Once the fit passed, she tried to process what she was seeing.  

The last thing she remembered was standing in their small home, making dinner for her husband, a stone carver, once he returned home.  She had just laid the twins down in their mobile crib next to the table…

The twins!

She turned her head and realized she was leaning against the wall of her neighbor’s house.  As she rose to her feet, she felt the weight of objects in her hands.  Putting her hands before her, she dropped the objects in terror.   In one blood-covered hand, she’d been holding one of her cooking knives.  In the other, she’d been holding one of the iron bars her husband used for his stone carving.  Both objects, like her hands, wrists, and arms, were covered in drying blood.   Poised in a half crouch against the wall, she took mental note of her body. 

Her arms and shoulders ached as though she’d been working in the washing room all day without a break.  She rolled her stiff neck, and when she pressed a hand to one side of it, she felt a drying scab with tenderness underneath.  Leaning forward just a fraction, her breath caught as pain lanced through her chest. Pressing her hands just beneath her breasts, she breathed a small sigh of relief, realizing her ribs were bruised but not broken. As she drew her hands away from her chest, she realized her mostly dry hands were sticky with more drying blood.   She looked down and gasped in horror. Waves of nausea washed over her as she examined her clothes and body.

Blood covered her.  Human blood.  Orc blood.  Animal blood.  The burgundy of the drying human blood was