Prophecy's Fire: Loth The Unworthy

By Charles Eugene Anderson

A Fate Forged in Shadow!

The bleak alleys of Ravenskar harbor darkness both mundane and eldritch in their twisted arteries. When 12-year old orphan Vushi crosses the will of demonic forces in that forsaken city, only a mysterious savior's intervention prevents her gruesome demise. Rescued to fight another day, the grizzled warrior Loth and disgraced knight Kael stand with her years later against Duke Mordek's iron-fisted rule. But the tyrant and his profane allies will not yield to bold steel alone...

From the worn cobblestones of beleaguered slums to the soaring ramparts of the tyrant's black citadel, this ragtag fellowship ignites the spark of rebellion in Ravenskar, Steel and sorcery clash by shadowy night. Ancient secrets and profane covenants roil beneath the surface waiting to erupt in fire and demonic retribution should Vushi and her tenuous alliance falter.  

Forge witness to mythic heroes battling corruption's intrusion upon the land! The forgotten gods and demon princes once more hunger to sow chaotic dominion, kept at bay only by ready hearts where compassion yet smolders. But can such divine sparks endure unquenchable dark tides and black altars? Where then will the people turn when night whispers eternal and steel itself surrenders to omnipresent doom...?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mad Cow Press
• Release date: Dec 16, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223119388

Charles Eugene Anderson

Charles Eugene Anderson lives in Colorado. Chuck is a former teacher. He now spends his time writing, hanging out with his pup, Champ, and learning how to bake. More about Chuck at http://charleseugeneanderson.com

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Prologue

Night's frigid grasp tightened around the crumbling alleys of Ravenskar. Shadows oozed from boarded-up doorways, and the hollow eyes of statues long ago were vandalized into misshapen horrors. The darkness moved with unnatural sentience, writhing eagerly down the narrow, refuse-choked passageways.

Most of the city's residents barred their doors well before dusk - those with doors, at least. Only the most foolhardy or desperate lingered outside after the rust-red sun sank below the jagged teeth of castle spires on the horizon. For once shadows blanketed the city, the servants of Duke Mordek awoke to feed.

Vushi crouched behind a mold-encrusted barrel, and her stomach knotted with hunger pains. Though only twelve, she'd grown used to the gnawing ache as a constant company. She knew full night had fallen across the alleys of Ravenskar, but the risk of slipping out seemed worth it. The slums had been picked clean by other scavenging waifs as the rust-red sun sank below the jagged castle spires. If Vushi ventured out and stole into the shadowed maze just a little way, perhaps some forgotten morsel yet waited in the debris scattered across the passageways. The odds seemed slim, but the desperate couldn't afford to be choosey. Gathering her courage, the girl abandoned the relative safety of her hiding place and scurried further into the embrace of darkness, young limbs tensed against the horrors that would soon begin to stir...

She steeled herself as the light faded completely. Then she darted into the narrow alley mouth, little more than a corpse-width across from her hiding place. Sinister shapes flitted at the edge of her vision, half-glimpsed nightmares vanishing when she whipped her head around. The creeping darkness seemed alive, filled with whispers that defied understanding but raised the tiny hairs on Vushi's arms. She moved quicker, emboldened by desperation.

Soft as spilled ink, a shadow manifested behind the girl and glided in her wake. Elongated arms ending in claws drifted from its undulating body. Where eyes should have been, two hollow pits yawned, the darkness inside seemingly peering deeper than flesh to the very soul. As Vushi rummaged a moldy barrel, the shadow's rictus grin split wide, revealing teeth like jagged shards of night.

Hungry... The thought slithered into Vushi's mind, cold and sharp as steel. This one is still flushed with life. Young bones snap so sweetly between the teeth...

She spun with a cry as those claws shot toward her, hunger made manifest. But they only grasped empty air. A flash of steel swept from the darkness, and the shadow's arm thumped wetly to the alley floor. An unearthly howl trembled the cracked walls as the writhing shade collapsed inward, dispersed into trailing wisps by its phantom blood.

Vushi staggered backward, ribs heaving—until she struck something solid and warm. Strong hands grasped her shoulders, steadying. She stared up at the face of her savior, his eyes pitying yet filled with steely purpose. This night has darker creatures yet in store, my girl...

Come, child. The streets are perilous at night. The stranger sheathed his blade and extended a gloved hand. Vushi hesitated, eyes darting between the imposing figure wreathed in shadows and the corpse-littered dead end at her back. After a moment, she clasped his hand, feeling engulfed by his firm grip.

Together, they delved into the maze of narrow alleys while Vushi's heart fluttered against her hollow ribs. Sinister sounds echoed - fragmented shrieks, howls of anguish, the skittering of something decidedly inhuman. Still, her rescuer strode on, seemingly deaf to the nightmarish cries.

They navigated the circuitous path without incident, the stranger adjusting their course expertly whenever more...conventional dangers presented themselves. Twice, they pressed into crevices smelling thickly of urine to avoid the booted strides of the duke's patrols. Another time, the man pulled Vushi behind a heap of refuse, finger pressed to his lips as a ragged band of thugs trudged past, steel glinting in their hands.

At last, the pair emerged from the suffocating tangle of slums onto Tanner's Way, bathed in the warm glow from the upper windows. The stranger gestured toward a block of decrepit buildings just down the thoroughfare, their leaning shapes crowned by sagging roofs and crooked chimneys trailing smoke.

The orphanage, he said. "Temporary refuge, but