Cordially, E.

CORDIALLY,

E.

LYDIE EUSTACHE

Copyright © 2016 by Lydie Eustache.

Library of Congress Control Number:       2016913886

ISBN:       Hardcover       978-1-5245-3622-0

       Softcover       978-1-5245-3621-3

       eBook       978-1-5245-3620-6

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted

in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,

without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the

product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance

to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 08/23/2016

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CONTENTS

Prelude

Prologue

Chapter 1 An Unfamiliar Forest

Chapter 2 The Adventurers of Tark

Chapter 3 The Tower

Chapter 4 Kephren

Chapter 5 Nortbar

Chapter 6 Lence

Chapter 7 Serg

Chapter 8 The Mission

Chapter 9 Lessons

Chapter 10 Secrets

Chapter 11 The Foolhardy’s Crossing

Chapter 12 Vander Meil

Chapter 13 Shanduul

Chapter 14 The Escape

Chapter 15 Are We There Yet?

Chapter 16 Kierian Eltregrin

Epilogue

PRELUDE

F ar away on a high, steep mountain, in a large room carved into the walls of a huge cavern, four hooded black figures were calmly conspiring. The men were sitting around a long table made entirely of the purest obsidian. The black stone seemed to grimly absorb all the surrounding light. Strangely, the room seemed to have no exit.

It cannot continue like this! The king of Veldebrende constantly stands in our way, crashing all our plans! exclaimed one of them in a silky voice.

His agents are putting their dirty little noses in our affairs, and they prevent the trade to roll well! added the second in a whiny tone that made his companions wince.

They have again intercepted one of my loads near Shtam two days ago. Those damn Protectors are everywhere! Their spies roam all over the place, and you cannot take a step without them knowing it! he continued.

Calm down. I have a plan, said the third man with an authoritarian tone.

In his deep voice, he began explaining his idea to the others. They approved the proposal with enthusiasm, except the fourth, who was leaning back comfortably in his seat with a subtle smile, concealed under his heavy black hood. But inwardly, he reveled in advance of the chaos and suffering that his plan would cause. Soon, Artian would belong entirely to him! A few well-placed pawns would finally allow him to fulfill his destiny. As long as his puppet was following his orders, everything would be fine.

*****************************************

Far below the surface, at the bottom of a huge lake, a consciousness awoke. Something was wrong. It reviewed all the images it had seen during its long sleep until it found the one that had awakened it. How can these idiots be foolish enough to believe that this is a good plan? They will destroy everything with their madness!

The creature had to intervene before it was too late. Centuries of deep slumber had not diminished its incredible intellectual capacities. It juggled mentally with a multitude of ideas in the space of a split second before choosing one with a mysterious smile. It was the perfect solution. Everything was in place, and it needed only to give a little boost to fate just to provoke the impossible and fix some small details that had not woken it up earlier. These were not officially part of its job, but it would allow it nonetheless to intervene. While it was calculating everything it needed to put the plan into action, a slight doubt seized it. The entity quickly pushed it from its thoughts: the needs of the majority must pass before the happiness of one. One day, she will understand, and she can get over the pain and bad memories. She will understand that the game was worth it. Of course, it did not like the idea of putting an innocent person into trouble, but it had no other choice. It was not the first time after all. Besides, it would save her from a fate much worse that the consciousness could not protect her from. The creature put its remorse aside to concentrate on the task at hand.

PROLOGUE

T he evening had barely begun. Through the open window, I heard the sound of an airplane momentarily covering the noise of the incessant traffic of the big city. Is the whole damn world conspiring to keep me from reading or what? Please, do not misunderstand me. I am a very sweet and easygoing young woman, calm and normally not at all paranoid, but the day had been particularly harsh at work, and I was two inches away from a burnout. My way to work had not been a cakewalk, caught in traffic and incessant road works. My return home was even worse! Well, I say home when I should say a small three-room shack that I pay a ridiculously high price for, located in the worst part of town. It’s like my car. I should say ugly, rusty old piece of junk that completely broke down when I calmly came home from work and that I had not even finished paying yet. I had to take the bus for the rest of the way because I did not have the means to afford to take a taxi or the driver services provided by the municipal pound.

As if all that wasn’t enough, a strange man, dressed all in black with sunglasses and who seemed to come straight out of a detective movie, had followed me all afternoon. It was probably an employee of the social services that was just checking that I was behaving like a model citizen or a policeman who came to tell me he had discovered new details about my family. Like my real name, for example. Unless he was a pervert. Hell, he could even be an alien who was seeking to abduct me for all I knew … Me and my damn imagination! It keeps playing the weirdest trick on me for no reason. Or most probably, this man was not even following me, and for some strange reasons, he kept getting lost at the same places I did. My sense of direction is not my strong point, and I often take the wrong way, so it seemed a little far-fetched as an explanation. But the man did not even look at me or tried to come anywhere near me, so I really had no reason to worry … well, I hoped. Still, I decided not to take any chances, and I did my best to lose the annoying character, just in case.

Well, I really, really need to think of something else and have some relaxing time!

Arriving home, I ordered a pizza topped with bacon and onions, put the coffee machine on, and sat down comfortably on my old couch with a fantasy novel that I had just purchased, written by my favorite author: Eli P. The perfect scenario to relax … Until everything became way too loud to read! I do not know what could be so special in town on a boring Wednesday evening of April, but everyone seemed to be parading with their big cars just outside my house. And now, a huge Boeing was passing much too low over the rooftops! While cursing softly against the idiots who invented cars and noisy aircraft, I laid down my book on the coffee table in front of me, and I got up angrily. I walked straight to the small living room window. By closing it, I would reduce by half the nagging sounds, and perhaps I would finally be able to finish my darn book in peace. Well, I hoped. That’s when I noticed a much subtler noise: it was now raining cats and dogs!

Oh, crap, it’ll wet my carpet!

I had to close the window and fast! Three lousy little meters separated me from the window, representing at most a dozen steps. Twelve steps, with small legs like mine, are done in mere seconds. But those few seconds were enough for the unthinkable to happen. Between my cherry red curtains, the sky was now illuminated by hundreds of blinding flashes. The thunder growled menacingly and huge hailstones came crashing violently on the building’s facade. Fearful, I took a quick step backward.

Maybe I’d better take refuge in a room with no window?

The only place in my apartment where I could be safe was my tiny bathroom. So I turned around and took a step toward the door. A deafening noise was then heard, and without any warning, I was violently thrown to the ground. Dazed, I noticed with a gasp of surprise an impressive amount of glass shards that littered the carpet around me.

What the heck is going on?

I turned again to look at the window. It had broken into tiny pieces, as if it had been blown by a violent explosion. Moreover, much of the wall lay gracelessly on the ground. Too dumbstruck to do anything else, I contemplated the damage for a short time before noticing something else: hundreds of small blue lights were entering through the gaping hole left by the blast. They looked like transgenic fireflies gorged with electricity. They immediately came flying at me at blinding speed, while I stood paralyzed on the spot in shock. In a flash, they reached the place where I was, and they began to swirl around me, approaching more and more in a menacing fashion. The air quickly became charged with static electricity, and my hair stood on my head as if they were animated by a life of their own. An intense stinging sensation stiffened my neck and ran along my nerves. I would have liked to cry out in fear, but my throat did not obey me, and not the tiniest hissing sound was released. Icy tears rolled down my cheeks, quickly evaporating as if by magic. Before I had time to do anything, the world seemed to explode into a gigantic multicolored firework. I had the impression of being projected into the air like a rag doll before falling for what seemed like an eternity. I felt a strange cold wind wrap me in its mortal caress until I suddenly hit a warm, wet, and slightly chewy surface. My whole body was hit by a wave of searing pain before the darkness of unconsciousness gave me a too short respite.

CHAPTER 1

AN UNFAMILIAR FOREST

I woke up after an undetermined amount of time. I was lying on my stomach on a thick, warm, and damp carpet. My whole being ached, and I was unable to open my eyes for a moment. I was still dazed by the shock, and my head was filled with a thick fog. I took a deep breath to calm my racing heart. My lungs were suddenly filled with a multitude of unusual perfumes, and some rough carpet strands tickled my nostrils for some reason. Some unknown aromas were gently floating in the air, accompanied by the sweet scent of exotic flowers. The wild beating of my heart echoed in my ears, obscuring all other sounds, but a few good deep breaths allowed me to calm down enough to finally perceive the surrounding noises. The usual and never-ending racket of the big city had given way to the soft rustling of leaves and to melodious bird songs. Unseen birds were now chirping indignantly at my sudden intrusion. A horrible thought suddenly seized me. I opened one numb eye to reassure myself. And my doubt was confirmed: I was lying on the ground of a luxurious forest, my belly resting on a thick green moss carpet dotted with small white flowers. Above me, a bright sun was shining in a bright blue sky. No cloud was visible on the horizon, but obvious signs of the storm had disfigured the landscape. The ground under me was soggy, and many branches were broken. Small droplets of rain were falling gracefully from the leaves, capturing the sunlight, creating a multitude of tiny rainbows around them before crashing heavily on the ground.

After a few minutes spent observing my surroundings, I realized that something was wrong: the damage was limited to a mere ten feet around me. Besides, the closest forest to my home was located kilometers away! A tornado could never carry me that far! And I sure as hell would not have survived the ride … And there would be debris from houses or other things. It was starting to make a lot of and. Not knowing what else to do, I kept looking around, hoping to find a clue that would help me understand what had happened. After a brief inspection, I noticed that the trees had rather unusual shapes and colors. I painfully sat down to get a better view. My head throbbed painfully, making it particularly difficult to move. I closed my eyes for a few seconds just to chase the furious dizziness that made me want to vomit. Once I had regained control of my stomach, I reopened my eyes to continue my little visual exploration. It was as if I was in a forest coming out straight from a fairy tale or a science fiction novel. Dark green leaves laced with dark red patterns gracefully stretched around slender and tortuous trunks. The bark had warm reddish and golden tones that contrasted with the long and delicate leaves. The small flowers that dotted the foam carpet seemed made of crystal and intensely shone in the sun. Well, it was pretty hot for an April day. The silvery vines covered with thick sapphire blue flowers elegantly hung from trees. Small flame red birds similar to chickadees were perched on the tree branches and stared at me curiously. Even on television or on the Internet, I had never seen trees, plants, or birds like these. My head began to spin, and a new doubt gripped me: what if the storm had transported me to another world?

Calm down, Dorothy. It’s impossible. This is reality, not a fantasy novel, and I do not live in Arkansas!

I dismissively waved the doubts out of my mind to concentrate on my current predicament. My bruised body demanded my attention, so I started to take an inventory of my injuries. The many small pain in my back suggested that several shards of glass were still clinging to my skin. Some appeared to have penetrated deep into my flesh as they slightly hindered my movements. I had a few cuts on my hands and arms but nothing too deep. All my muscles were sore probably because of my fall, and my nerves were still overflown by occasional weird spasms that I did not understand. My head was still hurting like hell, but my vision was clarifying quickly, and my stomach finally settled down. As far as material damages were concerned, my jeans and my black sweater were torn in several places, I had lost a shoe, and my socks were no longer bright white because of the mud that was drying slowly on them. An impressive number of dead leaves and twigs were tangled in my very long russet curls. They fall down to my hips, thus promising me hours of fun to clean them … especially without a hairbrush. My oval face was also probably dirty, but I could only imagine since there was not a mirror in sight in this green hellhole.

Second thing to do on my priority list: check how far I was from any form of civilization. The forest mercilessly hid the view, but several trees around had fairly low branches, so I could climb them easily. From the air, I could see much further. I just had to find one that was larger than the other to avoid my sight being blocked by any obstacle. One specimen in particular caught my attention. Its golden trunk was thicker and looked to be over sixty feet tall (at first glance). Its red wine and emerald green foliage seemed thinner near the top which would give me an excellent vantage point. I stood up laboriously, taking leverage on a thorny bush that was on my right. Bad idea: the silver thorns cruelly pricked the palm of my hand, which made me bitterly regret my gesture. Cursing loudly against the bad luck that wouldn’t give me a break, I finally managed to get back up. In the distance, I could see a huge black tree that would have made a better perch, but it seemed too far away to be of any help. I walked unsteadily toward the big tree that I had chosen. I grabbed two branches that were near my head, and I put my left foot on another one that grew barely an inch from the ground. I huffed and puffed all the way to the top. The pain was almost unbearable, but I had no choice: my survival depended on it! Tears flowed involuntarily on my sore cheeks, and I had to make several breaks during my slow ascent.

After what seemed like an eternity, I finally reached the summit. My relief was unfortunately short lived, as I could now see that I was in the middle of a particularly dense forest that stretched out of sight in all directions! Far on the horizon, a thick dark line that I could not identify highlighted a clear blue sky devoid of clouds. The sun was at its zenith, making it impossible to have the faintest clue which way was the north. Anyway, I had no idea in which direction was the nearest town, so a few more minutes passed before I noticed an empty space that could be a clearing farther to my left. Standing next to it was a huge crooked dead tree. It had to be more than one hundred feet tall! It’s worth trying to climb. I’ll surely see better. Somewhat reassured, I carefully came down from my perch.

I returned to the mainland with a sigh of relief, taking care not to lose sight of my mark. When I finally made it back to the ground, I collapsed heavily against the golden trunk, my legs trembling like never before. It took me a good ten minutes of intense self-motivation to finally get back up. I went in the general direction of my target, limping painfully. While walking, I continued to carefully observe my surroundings, looking for a detail that would be familiar. No such luck, I did not recognize any variety of plants. Everything looked like what you normally found in a North American forest, but only vaguely. The colors seemed unreal, and I wondered if my vision was affected by the fall. Maybe I hit my head falling back, and I had a concussion! That would explain a lot … My imagination was probably still playing tricks on me.

I could have sworn I saw fairies a moment ago … It must have been butterflies.

I gently shook my head and passed a slightly trembling hand through my hair to make sure everything was in order and that I had no bumps or injuries, but all seemed normal. I chased the alarmist ideas that threatened to make me lose my mind, and I tried to concentrate on what I was doing. The place was beautifully exotic, as if I was in a fairy tale or something. Nevertheless, it was pretty disturbing. Who knows what kind of wild beast is hanging around …

I walked slowly for an hour or two before taking a break. I sat on the rotten trunk of a dead tree that stood in the middle of my path. I was getting hungry and thirsty but had not crossed a river or any edible thing so far. Well, stuff I would recognized enough to know that it was edible. I sat for about five minutes when I noticed a suspicious movement through the woods to my right. Worried, I squinted my gray eyes to see what it was, ready to run away if I saw a wolf or a bear. Or worse. I did not need to examine the forest for long before seeing the cause of my fear: some kind of big, long-eared white squirrel leaping gleefully from one branch to another. I felt a bit stupid to be frightened by so little. I continued to watch the fascinating dance for a few minutes, just to give my feet a rest. The little beast was soon joined by a companion of his kind, and they began to play together like two hyperactive kids. Several colorful birds also settled nearby to watch this bucolic scene. I was able to get very close to other small flame red chickadees. There were also some sort of sapphire-colored waxwings, two large blue jays with very long ridges, small white hummingbirds with a long pink forked tail, and a bright blue cardinal. The whole scene was somewhat unreal and mesmerizing. I even forgot my worries for a moment, completely lost in the simplicity of this moment of happiness. It’s so beautiful that I feel like I’m in a dream.

I was suddenly pulled out of my reverie by a loud scream coming from the forest’s canopy. All birds went flying away, chirping wildly with fear. A huge albino hawk swooped gracefully through the branches, slowed somewhat before reaching the ground from which it emerged almost immediately, holding firmly between its powerful talons a large field mouse that I had not noticed before. I stood petrified with astonishment before this radical change of ambiance. The hawk disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared, taking with it its precious diner. Hard wake-up call back to reality: in nature, one can always find a bigger beast with the munchies! On this bittersweet note, I resumed my travel, more vigilant after this ruthless lesson. So I continued to move resolutely toward my goal. The more I approached, the more a feverish excitement began to take hold of me. I was paying less and less attention to my surroundings as I was glad to finally reach the goal that I had set for myself. I ended up tripping over a large root that stood in my way. I found myself on the ground in a jiffy with all four legs in the air, happy to have no other witness to my clumsiness than a nonchalant flock of birds. I glared balefully at them before standing up (again), and I started walking more carefully.

The forest seemed to become a little less dense, and I could move more easily. I finally reached the big black tree without further incident. I discovered that the thinning of the forest was due to the presence of a good-sized lake. Cold, silvery lights danced merrily on its surface, calling me with the haunting voice of a siren. Water, finally! Without thinking about germs, bacteria, or anything like that, I rushed to drink greedily. My hands being very dirty, I fell on my knees and leaned over the edge. I laid my hands on the floor and drank like a cat. The water was cool and had the pure taste of mountain sources. I could literally feel every drop of water hydrating my dry lips, then trickling slowly down my throat. The feeling was exhilarating. We do not realize how much our body needs water until the day when it is really needed. When I had finally quenched my thirst, I began to take off my dirty socks and my one remaining shoe to clean my bruised feet. The cool water was quick to soothe the pain. I stayed there a moment to fully enjoy this happy respite. Small colorful fishes came to swim timidly around my toes before returning to their usual aquatic daily routine. I washed my face and hands the best I could before cleaning my socks and putting them on a flat rock to dry.