Revelations Chapter 12

L E O

Leo woke up the next day ready to go. The weekend seemed long, but here he was on the second day, washed and walking to the farm, even though the sun was still trying to creep its way over the trees.

“Already working?” Leo didn’t know why he was so shocked. He knew Danais took his job seriously, but still, the sun was only just managing to shed some light on the fields.

“Yes. I suggest you go out and get to work unless builders are afraid to get their nails dirty.” Leo didn’t even dignify Torak with a glare. If any of Salinor’s people were accustomed to getting dirty, it was the builders. It was a running joke that one could only tell what a Mironian looked like after he washed off the dirt. Leo’s direct dismissal of the comment only appeared to make it even funnier to Torak, so Leo thought it best to leave the laughter behind as fast as possible.

Revelations Chapter 11

D A N A I S

Danais woke up in the kitchen. The smell of beef stew engulfed him as he took his waking breaths. He remembered falling asleep in his room, so he had no explanation for why he was waking up in the kitchen. The only explanation might have been that he woke up to relieve himself and was just too tired to go back to his room—or even refasten his pants, apparently. He quickly adjusted his belt and sat up straighter in the chair.

“So it wakes,” Torak said, as if Danais were rising from the dead. 

“It would seem so, uncle.”

“So you had a good week’s end.”

“I did. Leo is—interesting.”

“Really?”

Revelations Chapter 10

L E O

Having planned to spend a lot more time with Danais, Leo got back to the inn on the mainland much earlier than intended. He had found out that Danais’ regular route included Licol Street, so he had purchased a room there on the way to the farm. Leo spent the time reading and was in the middle of a very tragic love scene when an annoying sound interrupted him.

“Well, you look amazingly happy,” Barton said as he took his seat at the table. One of the servers was already heading over with large mugs of ale, an extra-large one for Leo.

“I had a good day. Short but good. A walk through the market, lunch under the oak tree. Last night we swam. Well, I swam and held him up. He’s of the ‘since he’s Atorathian he’s much better than the rest’ mentality. And he doesn’t know his history.”

“Ah, not this again,” Barton said, feeling the need to gulp down his beer and call the server to fill up another glass. “Not everyone is a serious historian.” Barton gave an unnecessarily pleasant thank you to the serving girl. She gave him that beer for free and told him where she stayed. Leo gave him a glare and a smile.

Revelations Chapter 9

Leo woke pleased to find himself still with Danais. Danais had a light snore that Leo thought was cute. He was about to get out of bed, but Xan jumped into the bed to give him a message.

“He suggests you take the boy across in the morning rather than spend the day in the city. He also says that Danais likes the large pastries.” Xan seemed to find the second bit of information quite amusing. “It seems he wants to help you but has informed me to ensure you tell no one he’s interfering.” Leo also found this amusing. It was clear that something was going on and others were supposed to let it run its course. But he had no doubt that there would be meddling.

Revelations Chapter 8

Leo was walking in late for his own celebration. He thought for a moment that his father would be mad at him for being late. Then he realised had his father expected him to be on time, he wouldn’t have had the musicians ready to play a processional as he entered. And the abysmal burial music they were playing was clearly a sign that his father had interpreted that Leo would be late. Some of his musician friends were trying to stifle their laughter in the crowd. Leo just decided to look straight ahead and not look at his father. He wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of knowing he won this round. There could always be payback another day.

Revelations Chapter 7

D A N A I S

Danais couldn’t believe the morning he was having. After hours in the bathhouse, he had been massaged, oiled and scrubbed, and he smelled like freshly coined money. He felt like he had all the gold and silver one could possess. If this was what being rich felt like, he could surely get used to it. Getting his hands groomed was understandable, but he was having serious trouble wrapping his head around the idea of getting his feet groomed. Keeping the nails trimmed for toe- sucking was okay, but having them soaked and scrubbed, oiled and lotioned just like the hands, seemed a bit much. However, he had to admit his feet were feeling amazing.

Revelations Chapter 6

D A N A I S

Danais woke up the next day not sure if the previous one had been a dream—especially the ending moments of the night. Could a Kentai really have spoken to a peasant boy? It had to have been a dream. He was thankful there was no rain after he slept, meaning a dry floor as his feet hit the stone ground. After fully convincing himself that last night was a dream, he went to look out the window, where he saw, in profile, Kale leaning against the side of the window and staring out onto the farm.

“You are awake, young one.”

“So it wasn’t a dream.”

“I’m afraid not. You’ve got a busy day ahead. You should be getting ready.”

Revelations Chapter 5

L E O

“Only just getting back, Barton?” Leo asked as Barton walked to the table he was sitting at.

“Yes. I was forced to stay and see my spell through. I sent a message with Kay.”

“I got it. I was just asking to ask.”

“Where’s Xan?”

“He said his brother was in town. I would imagine he’s gone to find him.”

Revelations Chapter 4

D A N A I S

Danais awoke to find himself in the tub being sponge-bathed by his cousin. There was a strange odour in the air, and he had a feeling it was his. After a lengthy and not so enjoyable scrub, he made his way to the kitchen and saw what he thought was Barton’s back leaving the room. Danais grabbed a bottle of his uncle’s home brew and sat at the table.

“I hear you took advantage of not one, but two magicians. You even sang to one of them, and I’ve got one of the best bottles of wine and also one of the best ciders in town on Ice.” Torak had no intention of punishing the boy, but he was still interested in his response.

Revelations Chapter 3

“Yes. I’m unharmed. Thank you,” the boy said,

“You must come eat with us,” Leo said, pleased with the response. Yet again, Danais found himself faced with turning down a magician. He’d only managed to walk off half of his drinks, and now the prospect of having more was upon him. Then again, he was starving.

“Okay.” So he followed them into an establishment he had never been able to go into. He sat at one of the best tables to drink fire orange wine out of a bottle he was sure produced red.

“You put a spell on the wine?” Leo asked.

“Yes,” was Barton’s immediate response to Leo’s question. Leo found no fault in merely changing the colour. If that was what Barton had to do to amuse himself, then it was what it was.

Revelations Chapter 2

L E O

Leo woke up to find himself in a very comfortable position. Across his chest lay a red haired beauty. She was from his home province, Mironi, named after Miron the God of Good Fortune. The Mironians were known as builders. Their magical talents allowed them to be exceptional at carving stone and wood, but mostly for building purposes. When it came to magical stones of the provinces, they were by far the best at moulding them—some stones only the Mironians could mould. Leo, being a Mironian himself, wasn’t really concerned with that at the moment.

He was more concerned with the woman, the feel of her nipple, and the fullness of her breast on top of his left side. He leant down and inhaled the scent of her hair. It smelled of sweet flower oil: a scent that almost matched the body oil she used which sent his mind reminiscing about the previous night. The sun shining through the window reflected off the yellow stone walls, giving an otherworldly hue to the room. As she woke, she opened her eyes and let out a seductive chuckle at her first vision.

Revelations Chapter 1

D A N A I S

Danais woke up on the fourth day to the sound of birds chirping outside his window. In his state of mind, it sounded more like squeaking. ‘The urge to throw a rock’ was his first thought. He yawned and contemplated getting out of bed. Eventually, good sense won over. It was a day off, and he wasn’t going to waste it away snoring in bed. He walked down the hall to find a note from his uncle on the bath. It stated that there were a few pots of boiling water in the kitchen so he wouldn’t have to take a cold bath.

He filled up the tub with the hot water then went outside to the pump and gradually added cold water till he got it to just the right temperature. It wasn’t that often he had the pleasure of a hot bath, so he relished every minute of it. He grabbed his towel, after he was done, and dried himself off as he headed back to his room. As he lay naked on his bed, the morning sun was still trying to come through the window. He stared up at his cracked ceiling and couldn’t help but reflect on his misfortune.

Revelations: Prologue

“Tell me why should I, Salinor, goddess of all, grant you this request? Who are you to deem yourself worthy of the favour of the gods?”

Atora, a boy of eighteen, looked up at Salinor and couldn’t believe his twist of fate. Had he travelled leagues across land and sea, had he braved the turning of winter for nothing? And now after trekking up the mountain of the gods—the pass of Gai’n—a feat that had killed many a man, he was faced with this. He was even stopped from using his last bit of strength to vault himself from the top of the mountain in an act of self-sacrifice. All this he had done to save his mother, and now he was being denied.