Beginnings: The Kyprian Prophecy – An Origins Novella: The Kyprian Prophecy

Published by Lorikeet Ink, Brisbane, Australia.

www.lorikeetink.com

First published in Australia in 2021.

Copyright © 2022 Kylie Fennell

All rights reserved. The author asserts her moral rights in this work throughout the world without waiver. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted by any person or entity in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, scanning or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission from the publisher, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, organisations and incidents are either the products of the individual author’s imagination or, if real, used in a fictitious manner.

ISBN 978-0-6488769-6-0 (eBook)

A catalogue record for this book is available from the National Library of Australia.

Cover design by Jo Edgar-Baker

Author photo by Marissa Powell

Ornamental break icon by Freepik via Flaticon.com

BEGINNINGS

THE KYPRIAN PROPHECY – AN ORIGINS NOVELLA

KYLIE FENNELL

A NOTE TO READERS

Welcome to Kypria, where darkness is power!

Beginnings is a stand alone origins novella that will introduce you to the Kyprian Prophecy that is highlighted in a related series.

It is set two hundred years before the Kyprian Prophecy series and Book 1 – The Firemaster’s Legacy, but this novella can be read at any stage.

Please note, some prior events are briefly mentioned in this book that don’t impact the storyline. Those events will be fully explored in an upcoming series featuring the characters from Beginnings.

I hope you enjoy your time in Kypria.

PROLOGUE

How hadn’t she seen this? How, after all these years in exile with nothing to do but relive the memories of everything that had been taken from her…How hadn’t she known?

Yes, she was far from her homeland, her powers weakened, but she could still see things…and this was no ordinary thing. This was something that should have been ingrained on her very soul. It must have taken the most powerful Kengian magic to mask it from her all this time.

Like every Kengian, she had been born with magic in her veins. With the right training and dedication, Kengians could become one with nature and with every living object’s lifeforce, or kira. They could use their understanding of kira to weave a complex dialogue with the natural elements. They could harness the power within nature, performing feats such as making crops flourish in once barren lands.

Then there were the silver-eyes, who were even more attuned to nature. They could hear and understand the gurgling voice of a waterfall. The air’s whispers in the wind. The creaking greeting of a bamboo forest. Some could even perform simple tricks, like moving a stone without touching it, and one silver-eyes in every generation of the Kengian royal family was gifted with extraordinary elemental magic. They had the power to bend nature to their will – magnifying it, manipulating it and moulding it to their own needs.

Those Kengians not born to wield magic learnt it. There were Shamans, who could meld their minds with animals and catch glimpses of the past and possible futures, and there were Scholars – those who studied science and spells that captured and shaped the essence of kira.

She was all of these things and none of them. She was much more.

Not only could she be at one with a creature, she could transform herself into one. She didn’t just see occasional visions of what may happen; she could divine the future and prophesise on command. She saw the invisible threads that bound every lifeforce in this world and could call on them to do her bidding. She was the light and darkness itself.

So only she could understand that the most powerful magic in all of Kypria was in play, and only she knew who was capable of conjuring up the spell to conceal this from her…The only other living Firemaster.

And now that she did know, she and all those she loved would be avenged.

A new future must be forged.

1

‘W hat do you think?’

The Kengian Princess’s silver eyes danced as she twirled in front of Laha. Her silver-and-blue brocade gown caught the morning light that streamed through the shutters.

‘I think you would look just as good, and be more comfortable, if you weren’t wearing those ridiculous Lamorian fashions,’ Laha grumbled, much preferring her simple Kengian tunic and wide-legged pants over corsets and hoop skirts.

And if Laha was being honest with herself, she didn’t want to dress like Mary for reasons other than practicality. She would always be a poor imitation of the Princess. They were both silver-eyes, but that was where their similarities ended. Mary was tall, polished and graceful, while Laha was petite and had a disordered look about her that one might describe as wiry, if they were being kind, or downright wild if they were being truthful.

Princess Mary ignored Laha’s barb and examined herself in a mirror. She whirled her fingers over her head, her air magic creating a shimmering halo before strands of hair curled and fixed themselves in place.

‘Ha!’ she cried. ‘Looks like my powers are returning.’

‘Good for you,’ Laha muttered.

Mary’s face fell as she seemingly realised that Laha may not be as thrilled as she was about her powers returning. She changed the subject. ‘You can’t tell me you aren’t even a little excited about this – the joust is the best part of the festivities,’ she said, overly brightly.

Laha crossed her arms. Her monkey friend, Chaos, who stood on her shoulders, mimicked her. ‘That’s exactly what I’m saying. It’s just another tournament. They seem to have them every second week around here.’

‘That’s not true. The last one was the victory celebration almost a year ago, and the time before that was when we first came here…a lifetime ago.’

Princess Mary and her companion Laha had first arrived at the Lamorian Court with the Kengian King and Queen. The Kengian royal family had been visiting Lamore to negotiate a formal peace and trade agreement between the two neighbouring kingdoms. They couldn’t have known that their visit – or more specifically, Laha’s actions on that visit – would precipitate a deadly invasion that threatened all of Kypria. Now that there was peace again, Mary and Laha remained in Lamore to cement the alliance. One might think that Laha would prefer to be back in Kengia, but she didn’t belong there…She didn’t belong anywhere.

‘I don’t see the point of these things,’ she whined. ‘All the puffed-up pageantry. Swordplay with blunted blades. Firing arrows at targets made of straw.’ Laha rolled her eyes. ‘And don’t even get me started on jousting…I mean, what is even the point of that? It’s not like anyone turns up at a battle with ridiculously long pointed sticks and starts poking each other with them.’

‘So it’s not exciting enough for you – not like fighting for our lives?’ Mary replied.

Exciting was one word for what had happened. Exhilarating and thrilling were the other words Laha would use. She was the one who had accidentally opened a portal to another world. She and Mary, wielding their Kengian magic, and the Lamorian Princes, Emberto and Alfred, using temporarily acquired powers, had defeated the invaders, and life had gone