Well we can’t leave today on a downer now, can we?

So I’ve decided to let you all have a read of the prologue of the Sequel to “James Knight and the Orb of Ziarn.”  Of course, if you haven’t read the first, there might be slight spoiler. But it doesn’t give too much away.

Let me know what you think! :)

‘Tweena’ Skyelorne looked longingly at the lush green fields and pale blue rivers below her. The cooling breeze collected her auburn hair and plucked each strand before carefully laying it back across her shoulders. She loved sitting up here, this was ‘her’ place; at the summit of Mt. Sol, many miles away from the capital city of Solveil. No one else came here and that’s what made it so personal. All her stress would be carried away by the wind and her angst would wash away down the trickle of streams that ran from the mountain all the way to the Great Salt Lake that kept the city away from the mainland.

A glass covered airship skimmed the clouds above her changing her gaze from the floor to the ultramarine sky. It was rare to see the clouds this high up, they were normally below, way down below. She watched as the gleaming craft sped down the usual flight path that trade ships would take into the city – her city.  Well, it should be; she should have been sat on the Golden throne of Skyelorne, but following the first sorcerer war, the people revolted against the monarchy because of the Kingdom’s involvement. Many people were lost in that horrific, pointless war that was caused by an overzealous sibling.

Following the end of the war a Republic was formed, the political race headed by a man named Gideon Mohmlapse. His clever campaign forced a landslide victory when the referendum took place and the royal family was forced into normality.

Queen Skyelorne, the founder and first ruler of the Kingdom was banished by Mohmlapse as his first act in the newly formed republic, forcing her out of her out of her home, telling her to ‘take that wretched curse’ with her and magically sealing her in a crystal tower at the summit of Mount Sol.

The ‘curse’ was the tool she’d crafted centuries before, one she’d shared with her brothers and sister, one that helped them save the world from Sorcery – The Staff of Skyelorne.

With the Queen and the ‘Cause of their demise’ gone, Mohmlapse appointed himself Viscount of Solveil and High Ruler of the Republic of Skyelorne.  He wanted a fresh, new start for his new Republic and ordered for all history and prior knowledge of the Kingdom erased and all ancient texts destroyed, circulating new texts effectively wiping all existence of the City, the Republic of Skyelorne and Southern Continent off the face of Exoré.

Tweena sighed, she hated thinking of the horrible things that had happened in the past, and she always vowed that the Viscount would pay for what he did, but nothing ever came of her vows. They were constantly wasted, empty threats that fell on tone deaf ears.  But it wasn’t all bad, today was Tweena’s birthday and she was content enough to know that she would be celebrating it on her own, like last year – and the year before that, and the year before that. Come to think of it, she’d always spent them alone – no one came to visit her at all! How unfair!

A Corah fluttered down onto the ledge in front of her. The deep blue feathers of this native bird were seamless and it ‘tweeted’ to her before flying off again, bobbing across the waves of the wind.

‘Why thank you Mr. Corah, it’s nice to know you remembered.’ Oh well, she’d get over it, it was only just a birthday after all, there would be plenty more. But she was still a bit miffed by the whole thing. She’d at least thought someone would have come to congratulate her on her 1000th birthday.