The End's Beginning: Kingdom of Zarias, #4

By Frank Hyden

The exciting epic fantasy series Kingdom of Zarias returns with the 4th book in the series.

 

After the harrowing events of Book 3 the residents of the Kingdom of Zarias continue on their paths.

 

Serena Summers continues to learn and grow as a fighter, desperately seeking to become stronger before she loses anyone else in her life.

 

Daniel Summers discovers new parts of the world that open his eyes to just how little he truly knows.

 

A new hero, Lamar Abeers, arrives to join the fight against evil.

 

Plus, Zach Summers, Tiana Highsmith, and Xavien Ekens continue their journeys with their friends, and a new ruler of Vhaharen is crowned.

 

The world has found a little peace.

 

However, that peace is only temporary.

 

In a shocking act of violence, the monstrous villain Galren strikes from the shadows and changes the world forever.

 

This is Book 4 in the series.
 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Frank Hyden
• Release date: Sep 3, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223447733

Frank Hyden

Frank Hyden has spent his entire life reading and watching every book, movie, and TV show he can in his relentless pursuit of knowledge. He considers open-mindedness and empathy to be among the most important traits one should strive for. A lifelong sports fan, Frank enjoys following the ups and downs of a game and season.

Book preview

Chapter 1: The Timeline

TIMELINE

Significant events have taken place throughout the nearly six millennia of the Modern Era.

FIRST ERA

The First Era began when Ferris Dominiceus ascended to the role that became known as High Wizard when he fought and defeated the Demon King Theloshagorath Gorobrahmagus at the site of what would become Kingsberry. That day would be known as Day Zero and would go down in history as the day the world started. Ferris was only able to save approximately 20 of each race and it became their job to repopulate the world. The majority of the planet was ruined and destroyed and became uninhabitable after the battle between Ferris and Theolshagorath. Only the ten countries that remained were left and were assigned to each race.

Drziong- Leipert

Fliyr- Fllighan

Kolftac- Nefiel

Levalin- Merglin

Rexadal- Goretigan

Surhameret- Velen

Unal- Zatine

Urobi- Woldfer

Vhaharen- Wvarden

Zarias- Humans

The First Era ends on 1E 2844 during the Battle of Graywood in the country of Unal when Ferris sacrificed himself to kill the near-unstoppable Anunnaki leader Enlil.

1E 0- Ferris Dominiceus kills Theloshagorath Gorobrahmagus at the Battle of Fort Wayne.

1E March 11 91- Ferris Dominiceus founds the neutral country Cooperantur in the ocean west of Zarias. It was intended to allow for a place where all nations could send representatives who would work together to make the world a better place by ruling as fairly as possible and as dictated by the citizens.

1E November 1 187- Ferris Dominiceus finishes creating the Carnelian Tower.

1E May 29 332- Ferris Dominiceus imbues his friends Tyrone and Mary Graves with Psionic abilities that can be passed down to their descendants, thus making them the progenitors of all Psionics in history.

1E February 18, 1072- Mt. Argen erupts and destroys the city of Greenbark, burying it under 50 feet of ash and lava. The city of Candlewick would eventually be built in its place.

1E November 9, 1521- Waldorf Blanton unsuccessfully challenges Ferris Dominiceus to a magical duel for the ownership of Cooperantur and loses an eye in the ensuing battle.

1E August 30, 1890- The rogue wizard Stalago Glimer publishes his seminal journal The Planes of Reality, detailing the many different Planes of existence that he's traveled to.

1E March 11, 2091- Waldorf Blanton destroys Cooperantur by creating a massive whirlpool underneath it that sucks the entire country down into the ocean, killing over 50,000 of its inhabitants. The whirlpool becomes permanent and is named Blanton's Portal after Waldorf is cast into it by Ferris Dominiceus and is never seen again.

1E March 11, 2191- Ferris Dominiceus creates the Hanging Bridges of Cooperantur. Those brave enough can sail to the permanent portal and emerge on a free-floating bridge above the waters at the site where Cooperantur vanished into the sea. The connecting bridges are suspended above the raging waters of Blanton's Portal and are dedicated to the memories of those who died that day.

1E May 29, 2844- The Battle of Graywood begins as the Anunnaki leader Enlil travels from the AnKi Realm to Unal to enslave all of its inhabitants.

1E May 30, 2844- The First Era ends when Ferris Dominiceus sacrifices himself to kill Anunnaki leader Enlil.

SECOND ERA

The Second Era began when Tedrick Blockthorn became the second High Wizard of Zarias and created the High Wizard's Council along with representatives of the remaining 9 countries. Ferris Dominiceus is considered the first High Wizard of each country and after his death, each country had its own High Wizards. The original Council was as follows-

High Wizard of Zarias- Tedrick Blockthorn

High Wizard of Levalin- Klent Bartholomew

High Wizard of Vhaharen- Colog Ashay

High Wizard of Kolftac- Cesar Goode

High Wizard of Unal- Prant Thogner

High Wizard of Drziong- Drig Atathlon

High Wizard of Rexadal- Gleeg Sunmer

High Wizard of Surhameret- Yan Red Bloom

High Wizard of Fliyr- Micks Flataven

High Wizard of Urobi- Del Ubo

The Second Era ended on 2E 1955 when King Elivo Tanimount of Zarias declared it over after winning the War of the Kings and unifying the entire country under his rule, the first such time in the Modern Era that Zarias was ruled under a single banner.

2E June 4 0- The Second Era begins when Tedrick Blockthorn becomes the second High Wizard of Zarias, the first Velen to do so, and forms the High Wizards Council.

2E October 28 44- Antony Dewester finishes creating the Dewester Set, his signature Mythic Item, and the most powerful item ever created.

2E November 29 288- Hilms Doegham founds the Executioners of Kelvrin.

2E January 2 735- The Devil King Sar'argwetin invades the island nation Urobi, seeking to capture the large island nation to the south of Zarias for himself. King Hale Nemas leads the Urobi Army versus the invaders in the Battle of Urobi.

2E January 3 735- Tedrick Blockthorn disappears during a massive explosion during the Battle of Urobi. The island nation is completely destroyed and wiped from the map. The ocean is renamed in honor of King Hale Nemas.

2E February 1 735- Legent Stiano becomes the third High Wizard of Zarias.

2E August 3 780- Legent Stiano finishes creating the island of Gentano approximately 100 miles to the west of Surhameret in Old Hale's Ocean.

2E October 20, 1113- The Four Ones War begins in Zarias as one of the five Kings of Zarias, David Benoest, is assassinated by the Executioners of Kelvrin and the remaining four Kings vie for control of his land. Contrary to popular belief, the name of the war comes not from the four Kings all vying to become the one King but from a mistaken calculation of scholars decades after the war that attributed the assassination of Benoest and the start of the war to two years before it actually began.

2E April 19, 1118- The Four Ones War officially ends with no meaningful resolution, though skirmishes would continue for the next decade until the four Kings agreed to name the disputed land a neutral territory.

2E December 23, 1397- Antony Dewester is poisoned and killed before he can complete the follow-up to his namesake Mythic Item set. Accusations abound that the Executioners of Kelvrin carried out the assassination at the behest of Harrison Dithume, one of the four Kings of Zarias but both sides deny any involvement.

2E September 1, 1534- Legent Stiano and the Demon Lord Wiyntreg are killed during the Battle of Dalry as Stiano helped fight off an invading Demon army led by Wiyntreg.

2E October 2, 1534- Adamaris Koble becomes the fourth High Wizard of Zarias, the first woman to hold that rank.

2E December 13, 1878- The Demon army led by Razackel mysteriously vanishes after winning the Battle of Mnemgan on Bagos Island off the coast of Fliyr. Neither the army nor the city of Mnemgan are ever seen again.

2E February 14, 1887- The fourth High Wizard of Zarias, Adamaris Koble, is discovered dead in her quarters, her body ravaged by age and nearly unrecognizable.

2E March 17, 1887- Wagner Jensen becomes the fifth High Wizard of Zarias.

2E December 30, 1951- The War of the Kings begins when Queen Lenore Belgarden kills Queen Alyice Tanimount in what was supposed to be a friendly jousting match, causing her husband Elivo to declare war.

2E November 22, 1955- The Second Era ends when King Elivo Tanimount unifies Zarias under his banner after winning the War of the Kings.

THIRD ERA

The Third Era has seen the most and fastest advancement in magic, especially among the common folk. However, that's come with a price, that being that this era has seen the most wars.

3E January 1 0- The Third Era officially begins when Elivo Tanimount declares himself King of Zarias.

3E May 14 20- King Elivo Tanimount dies in his sleep and his son Clarence assumes the throne, though he only holds the crown for a little over a year before he's killed by his brother Joseph.

3E April 19 29- The Second Vhaharen Civil War begins as Queen Jacia breaks with her son Prince Najeer after the death of King Reyland under mysterious circumstances.

3E February 3 35- The Second Vhaharen Civil War ends as Queen Jacia kills Prince Najeer at a treaty signing in an event known as The Night of the Red Sky.

3E June 2 212- The Rexadal-Zarias War begins as Queen Pulsvit of Rexadal orders the invasion and annexation of the Rotterwood Province of Zarias.

3E July 17 215- King Terry II of Zarias ends the Rexadal-Zarias War by signing over control of the Herve islands near Rexadal, islands which to this day lay empty and unused.

3E August 11 439- Kolftac officially joins Levalin and Vhaharen and unifies the Quisezthrun continent for the first time under the rule of King Myco.

3E December 9 615- King Yael officially closes Unal's borders to foreign trade, triggering The Great Famine that results in the deaths of over 200,000 Unalian citizens over the next 30 years.

3E September 15 644- Queen Hilary of Zarias overthrows King Yael of Unal and installs her hand-picked successor James Reuto in his place. However, the Unalian people rebel and oust King James and the Unalian Civil War begins as four different groups for control of the country.

3E November 26 653- After nearly a decade of fierce fighting the four groups vying for control of Unal agree to split the country and each control their own region, bringing an end to the fighting that saw over 100,000 Unalian citizens killed.

3E June 30 777- The Three Sevens War begins as Zarias invades southern Unal and annex both regions, causing Vhaharen to annex the two northern regions. Rexadal and Drziong then join forces to expel both Zarias and Vhaharen from the two eastern regions so they can assume control of them. The four regions of Unal claim independence from all invading armies. Surhameret maintains neutrality through the conflict.

3E March 26 779- Vhaharen abandons all claims in the regions of Unal and withdraws from the Three Sevens War.

3E April 10 783- Zarias abandons all claims in the regions of Unal and withdraws from the Three Sevens War.

3E September 22 784- Rexadal and Drziong declare war on each other, starting the Prolar War and ending the Three Sevens War. Rexadal wanted the country of Drziong for themselves as they believed that the continually erupting volcano Prolar there could provide them with immense power.

3E December 2 817- Ramon Del Nitto forms the Star Crusaders.

3E July 8 977- Raefoten Nar assumes control of the Executioners of Kelvrin.

3E October 21, 1004- The Imperien Stuimm Narras uses his mind control to start the Third Drziong Civil War, known as The War of the Winds in Zarias.

3E January 18, 1006- The Third Drziong Civil War ends at the Battle of Rylin as the Imperien Stuimm Narras is killed.

3E February 18, 1025- The country of Unal is ravaged and all its citizens are killed by an invading army of Demons led by Merlag K'tha. That army is then systematically hunted down and killed by the mysterious figure known only as Ignotum Hominum, the Nameless Man.

3E January 1, 1033- Prince Horace Jenkins ascends to the throne and becomes the 41st Monarch of the Kingdom of Zarias after the peaceful abdication and retirement of his father William II.

3E April 4, 1053- The Pelofahine War begins as the evil necromancer Pelogithis captures the city of Easthollow.

3E May 24, 1053- The Fifth Battle of Dragontail is won by Legions One and Two of the King's Army. The surviving soldiers are sailed to Winthrope by ships owned by Gregory Whitethorn.

3E May 25, 1053- The Third Battle of Winthrope is won by Legions Three and Four of the King's Army as they drive out the forces of Pelogithis and force them to retreat back to Trottington.

3E May 29, 1053- The 75 citizens of the city of Trottington stage a dramatic last stand to delay Pelogithis and his forces and give the combined King's Army enough time to march north from Winthrope.

3E May 30, 1053- The Pelofahine War ends as Pelogithis and his forces are killed in the Battle of the Ice Plains.

3E August 10, 1056- The Duke of Argen, Lawrence Davidson, is killed along with the Legion Legate of Legion Two, Trevor Thomas, sparking the Argen Civil War.

3E August 15, 1056- First known appearance of Galren, as his forces burn the city of Balania to the ground and kill all its citizens.

3E August 15, 1056- Cassius Westbrook uses his Psionic powers to force Theodore Mason to kill his and Tiana Mason's unborn baby before forcing Tiana to kill Theodore in the city of Caldwell.

3E August 21-22, 1056- The Battle of Eastcliff is fought and the Imperium Stuimm Valstek is defeated, ending the Argen Civil War.

3E December 10, 1056- The Battle of Kingsberry is fought and the necromancers Novah and Rosalie are defeated. Novah is killed.

3E August 15, 1057- Galren launches a false attack on the city of Fairfield to distract the King's Army as he lures Dustin, Serena, and Daniel Summers into the Negativus Plane where he forces Serena and Daniel to watch as he kills Dustin.

3E September 17, 1057- King Jaire Nanderlex of Vhaharen is poisoned by the assassin Scarlett Kines, a wound he'll succumb to a month later.

3E October 23, 1057- Ramona Ketchin dies while investigating a dormant volcano near Ivywood in search of the Dewester Sword of Life-Stealing.

3E October 25, 1057- Battalion Two Company Three from Legion One is nearly wiped out as the pirate couple Cobb and Natalya attack them in Old Hale's Ocean. Less than a dozen soldiers will survive.

3E December 9, 1057- The Death Knight attacks and kills several members of the Star Crusaders as well as the entirety of Battalion One Company Three from Legion One.

3E December 10, 1057- Tiana Highsmith, Arwanda Xaltriver, and Daves Kline kill Cassius Westbrook outside the city of Eastcliff.

3E December 10, 1057- The Battle of New Balania is fought and Rosalie and Lukas Gimple are killed. Daniel Montague is also killed during the fighting.

Chapter 2: Birthday

3E AUGUST 14, 1058  Serena

It's been nine months since the Battle of New Balania, which saw the villainous necromancer Rosalie die, as well as her underling Lukas Gimple. Magen Gimple, the twin sister of Lukas, was arrested following the battle and hasn't been seen since. No one knows what happened to her, at least no one that Serena has asked.

Serena Summers is a beautiful 5'6" 20-year-old human woman with green eyes and flowing red hair that reaches the middle of her back. Growing up, she never cared much about fighting. It wasn't until her family was killed two years ago that she decided to pick up the sword.

August 15, 1056 is a day that Serena will never forget. The monstrous Galren, a 7'0" heavily muscled human man with black hair and eyes descended upon Serena's hometown of Balania and destroyed it, killing Serena's parents and younger brother Horace, and Serena's husband Matt Townsend in the process.

Serena's birthday is August 14th, that's the day she and Matt got married. Serena wanted to wait until she turned 18 years old to marry. It was a small ceremony so just a few friends attended. Balania was a small city so Serena was going to travel to the capital city of Kingsberry to get her name officially changed the next day. However, she never had a chance to do so.

Galren led a small army of Leiperts into Balania to kill everyone there. Leiperts are a race of lizard-like people who are about five and a half feet tall with a protruding mouth full of 1-inch sharp teeth and strong jaw muscles, a thick tail, and 1-inch claws on each of their four fingers. They live about as long as humans and make good warriors and powerful offensive wizards. It didn't take long for them to kill all 480 citizens who lived in Balania. That includes Serena's youngest brother Horace. She also thought that her older brother Zach was killed as well but he survived, fleeing the city and dedicating himself full-time to becoming the most powerful wizard he can be. Serena had two more brothers, her younger brother Daniel who was in Legion One of the King's Army, and her oldest brother Dustin in Legion Two.

The anger Serena felt as she witnessed all this death and destruction around her triggered the Berserker Rage that lies buried deep within her. Her father Brett was also a Berserker and successfully learned to control it and was just starting to teach his daughter how to control and use it when he was killed in the Battle of Balania.

Seeing this, Serena flew into an uncontrollable rage and chased a stray Leipert out of the city. That's the only thing that saved her life. She was discovered passed out and lying against a tree by Niall and Livia, a striking Velen couple who've since become part of Serena's family. Velen are a race of long-lived people originally descended from the country Surhameret to the southeast. They can live to be 950-1,000 years old and have skin colors ranging from white to blue to red. They average about five and a half feet tall, a little shorter for the females and a little taller for the males. Niall is 5'6 and has yellow skin, black eyes, and long light brown hair while Livia is 5'3 and has tan skin, red eyes, and long dark brown hair.

Niall and Livia look at Serena like she's the daughter they never had. They took her in and quickly grew very fond of her. They've helped her in any way they could, which includes helping her train to fight and kill Galren. She has a long way to go to get that strong, a fact reinforced by her witnessing her oldest brother Dustin fighting Galren and being killed by him. Dustin was the strongest warrior in Zarias, rivaled or bettered only by his father Brett, so Serena knows she has no chance to beat Galren alone.

However, Serena has many friends willing to fight alongside her. She and her friends are also searching for the fabled Mythic Items comprising the Dewester Set. Anthony Dewester was an extraordinarily talented wizard who created his namesake items in the Second Era that are still the most powerful items ever created. There's 17 pieces in total, 12 armor and jewelry pieces and 5 weapons. Each is powerful on its own and gives the wearer strength and powers but when combined the added benefits grow tremendously. If Serena and her friends can attain more Dewester Set pieces she might be able to defeat Galren.

Serena was joined by Niall and Livia on her journey and they quickly met the human wizard Morgan Edwards. Morgan is a handsome 6'1 man with short black hair and eyes and a black goatee who specializes in offensive spells. The group later met the beautiful 5'3 human wizard Ramona Ketchin with long brown hair and light blue eyes who specialized in healing spells. Tragically, Ramona had a heart attack and died while the group was investigating a hidden Demon base. She left behind a legacy of helping others and trying to become a better person. Those are the memories that Serena chooses to keep and that's what she wishes for on her birthday.

Make a wish! Niall says as he holds up the chocolate cake with vanilla frosting and a solitary lit candle on top.

You know what I'm going to wish for. Serena tells him.

Don't tell us! It won't come true if you do! Niall gasps.

All right, all right. Serena chuckles as she closes her eyes. For the last few years, she hasn't felt like celebrating her birthday but her friends insisted so she agreed to a small party. It's just the four of them, Zach came by earlier to give her a hug and a gift and Daniel is off on a mission for Legion One. Serena opens her eyes and blows out the candle.

What'd you wish for? Niall asks.

But you just said... Serena looks at him in confusion. Livia just shakes her head and chuckles as she cuts a slice of the cake and hands it to Serena on a plate. She then starts cutting herself a smaller slice. You better get a bigger piece than that or else I'll end up eating the whole thing myself!

Dear, you know I don't have a big sweet tooth... Livia protests.

Yeah, but I do! Serena gestures for Livia to take a bigger slice so she reluctantly does, though it's still smaller than Serena's. Niall also has a sweet tooth so he takes a large piece while Morgan is like Livia and only wants a smaller slice. The friends then sit around and share memories. Somewhat amazingly, Serena only starts crying twice as her mind drifts to the anniversary of what happened two years ago. Each time Niall brings up a funny memory that takes Serena's mind off of things. Another time Livia starts tearing up and it's actually Morgan who makes a funny reference and lightens the mood.

Here, Serena, have the rest of the cake. Morgan gestures toward the last slice

I better not. Serena waves him off and holds her stomach.

But you're the birthday girl! Livia says.

Yeah but I need to do my afternoon training and I can't do that if I'm full of cake! Serena tells her. She's been training every day with Niall, though even Livia and Morgan partake in the fitness training. Even when Serena was terrified to face Galren (which she still is) she still wanted to become as strong as possible to help people and to fight the evil in the world.

Now, given the events of the Battle of New Balania, she knows she'll have to fight Galren at some point. She doesn't know when that'll be, Galren hasn't been seen in a year, but she knows she has to stay ready. His top lackey, Rosalie, was killed by Zach and Serena so there's no doubt that Galren will be coming for them.

I didn't bring it up before for obvious reasons but...I heard there was some kind of attack in Easthollow the other day. Morgan says as he finishes his cup of wine. The others look at him in surprise.

Attack? By who? Serena asks.

Well, get this. Here's the weird part. Morgan looks around at everyone and leans in as his voice gets quieter. It was a completely unmanned ship that smashed into the docks.

Whoa! What? Niall asks.

Yeah and some of the wizards there told me it was a Ghost Ship! Morgan gestures emphatically. Moving a lot faster than should be possible and it was ethereal right up until it smashed into the docks!

Did anybody die? Livia asks.

Some, yeah. Morgan nods sadly. I don't know how many. I know a lot of people were hurt, too.

See, this is why we need to keep training! Serena says. The world's too dangerous! People need to step up!

That's true. Livia notes.

All right, I'm gonna take a walk. Serena stands and stretches. Burn off some of this cake so I can train.

I'll join you. Livia nods. Niall and Morgan come as well and the group walks around the city. New Balania is still the smallest city in the Valano Province but it's growing. All the remnants of the battle are gone. All the repairs are done, the few buildings that were destroyed have been rebuilt and everything seems peaceful and relaxed.

As the group walks past the new inn that’s just opened they see a large crowd gathered outside waiting to get in. The inn is not just busy because it’s newly opened but also because the famed artist W. Faora Ilt is here doing portraits. Faora is a 5’4" dark tan-skinned human woman with long black hair and eyes. She’s wearing a white and brown tunic top with brown leather pants, boots, and gloves. Her portraits are legendary for their