2. From the Illymium Codex

In the beginning, there was Illym, a star in the distant Or galaxy. The all-knowing and ever-present Illym created Ardelym with its rich fertile lands and filled it with beings. First, the Thrades, who were more beast than man with their thick hides and crude manners. But Illym was unhappy with their inharmonious natures, and in anger, he banished them to live beyond the forest of Kadaar, where they were free to live off other beasts and wage war amongst themselves.

Having learned from his mistake, Illym then created the gentler Illymiums inspired by his own image. The Illymiums were a race of prescient beings mated with Zephyrea (the Blue Planet) humanoids who stumbled through the God Gate, but they proved to have too delicate of a constitution for survival. As men from the Blue Planet entered through the God Gate every Zar, the original Illymium race was conquered and all but destroyed by the hardier humans. And from their ranks, the Nazeers, the children of the desert, and the Skaards, the children of the ice, were born. But it was the last man to enter through the God Gate, the great warrior Corellas Davadas whose rich human blood was nourished on the abundant Blue Planet, who perfected the race of man on Ardelym, showing both strength and fairness. His line has ruled ever since.

Chapter Three: The Tower of Oran

By the time they had returned to the inner canal where Starlex harbored her skiff, Oran's front gate was crammed with guests arriving from the Four Corners, mostly high-ranking leaders and their families. The citizens of Oran from the inner city and neighboring farms came out in droves to watch the procession.

"Heavens, the Nazeers are the first to arrive," Rigel said, helping the ladies from the skiff.

"How do you know?" Jabe asked, a flicker of fear passing across his pale face. He had bid good riddance to the red dust and smoke of Nazeera two years ago and had no desire to return or even commune with the rough and uncouth Nazeers he had happily left behind.

Rigel grimaced. "I can smell them."

Tylla chuckled at Rigel's quip, but Jabe's face dropped as did Carmelle's. As Nazeers, they would both be expected to fraternize with their own people during the Zar festival, but neither wanted to. They were happy to live in Oran and to think of themselves as Davadas, like their friends.

Rigel paused along the damp stone walkway to quietly reassure Jabe. "I didn't smell them. I hear them, silly. Listen."

Over the sounds of water dripping from the ceiling of the inner canal and the sea lapping the stone walls was the sound of soldiers' feet moving in unison to a low drumbeat.

Jabe smiled, but a shadow of worry lingered.

"Let's go!" Tylla shot ahead on silver sandals, her coral gown flying. Carmelle trailed behind, carrying their satchels. They entered a stone stairway and series of small tunnels and silently followed the well-trodden passageways back through the thick palace walls, returning to their private roles within the ordered world of Oran.

Starlex was happy to say goodbye to her friends, happy to be alone with her thoughts. Unlike the others, she was excited about the Zar celebration. It was a change of pace from her daily existence as an Oran princess with little rank and fewer responsibilities. She could sympathize with Tylla's anxiety, though. The Zar festival represented something much more pressure-filled for the king's daughter. Starlex guessed that a mate had already been chosen for her. It would no doubt be announced sometime during the Zar festival.

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

And what would happen to Tylla's love affair with Carmelle then? The Heavens will sort that out.

Starlex slid open the gate of the pulley car that would fly her to the top of Oran tower, the highest peak in all Ardelym and the home of Flenn Illymiuym, the oldest being in existence. As the pulley car made its slow ascent, first through the bowels of the palace, then to the outside of the tower, Starlex took in the view that never failed to take her breath away. She could see the faint blue line of Kadaar's mountain peaks across the Crimson Sea, the Skaard fleet making swift progress toward the harbor, and the caravans of new arrivals crowding Oran's front gate. Far, far in the distance, beyond Crytombe Crags, lay Mynimium. She couldn't see her home city from even the highest peak in all of Ardelym, but it didn't stop her from trying to every time she rode the car.

"Ah, there you are," Flenn Illymium said, turning from his spyglass. Standing seven-foot-tall and slightly stooped in his iridescent robes, Flenn was the one and only Illymatar, an advanced prescient being within a living form. The spirit residing within the reedy, lavender-skinned being with white hair trailing to the floor had lived four Zar and was near their full transformation to divine omniscience.

Flenn smiled at Starlex and continued, "I watched you and your friends through my glass."

"Did you?" Starlex picked up a ripe pear from Flenn's table and bit down. The flavors of Oran's fertile fields exploded in her mouth. "I thought you'd be watching everyone arrive."

"I did that as well."

Starlex caught a drop of sweet nectar dripping down her chin and sucked it off her finger. "I saw the Skaards arrive."

Flenn sighed and folded his limbs as they sat in a gilt chair carved with Oran’s crest: Oran Tower surrounded by bolts of lightning, depicting Ardelym's connection with the great god, Illym. "Indeed. I was surprised to see they brought so many when there is a war going on?"

"War? Do you mean with the Nazeer renegades?"

Flenn smiled wanly. "Yes, but they are nothing compared to the threat the Thrades pose. You remember we studied them in your lessons." Flenn pointed a long slim finger at the Illymium Codex, an ancient tome with a cracked leather binding with tarnished scrolled corners and hinges. It sat, as it always had, in a place of honor atop a marble column.

Starlex walked over to the book. It was open to an illustration of a Thrade warrior. She had gazed at the picture many times, and it always filled her veins with ice-cold fear.

The Thrades were the oldest beings of Ardelym. They existed from before Flenn's first life or Mynimium's first marble brick was laid. Beast-like and each stronger than ten men, the rock-hued Thrades had spindly scales instead of flesh, forming a coat of natural armor that only the strongest sword could penetrate. From broad shoulders hung two long arms, nearly touching the ground, with ten fingers on each hand bearing knife-like claws. Their small heads with red, glaring eyes that peered out from silver helmets made of spines frightened Starlex the most.

The Skaards, having the misfortune of being the Thrades closest neighbors, were given the unenviable role as the first line of defense against them. According to Illym's four-Zar dictate, the Thrades were supposed to be confined beyond the Kadaar Forest, but they were undisciplined and rebellious. Ardelym was, after all, theirs first.

Starlex was distracted from the book when Raki, Flenn's prized Lila bird, came flapping loudly onto the balcony, landing on the marble parapet.

"Ah, there's my beauty!" The nest of fine wrinkles in Flenn's cheeks shifted upward. "What wonders have you seen today?"

Raki, the size of a large eagle, flapped her purple wings and issued a series of rapid-fire caws.

The lines of Flenn's face turned down as they took in the bird's message.

"Something wrong?" Starlex asked, a flutter of nerves rising in her throat.

"Raki informs me the Skaards are hard hit. No doubt they brought half their army here for a reason."

"What's the reason?"

Purple dots rose in Flenn's cheeks, then faded. "I'm not certain, as yet." Flenn shook away the thought. "I suppose we'll all know soon enough. You better get ready for the celebratory dinner."

Starlex nodded. She performed the customary bow, or reverence to the Illyminium seer, and left Flenn's chambers. As the pulley car made its descent from the tower, stars were already winking on the horizon, and the Skaard fleet was just entering the harbor. She wondered if she would get to meet the warrior with blond hair and eyes like blue ice.