The Call of Prophecy Sampler

Nothing could have prepared Arimas for what was to be found in Dunnham. The morning of his arrival there, the king walked into the middle of what looked like a civil war, with the covenal and nearly half of his entire border detail fending off those who would choose exile with their families behind them.

“Arimas, we must be careful. This doesn’t feel right,” commented Garron, one of the royal guards, as he began to unsheathe his dual blades from his position atop his steed. Arimas nodded to his friend and to the others as Anton, Rorrick, and Dayle drew their blades as well. Arimas lightly touched Retribution, which was now secured loosely beside his saddle near his left hand. When the covenal saw Arimas approaching unarmed, he turned toward his men and raised his arms in salute, crying out in a loud voice, “For the glory of Lorenth and the glory of the seneschal!”

Arimas reeled. Those who he had thought were loyal to him, the covenal and the covenal’s men, were loyal to the traitor Dean. The other half of the border detail, those who did not follow their faithless commander, quickly began to rally to the side of their priest-king. Arimas nodded to his royal guards and the five dismounted and stood their ground as Arimas unlashed the restraints around Retribution. He hefted the handle in the grip of his strong hand and allowed the weight and power of his legendary battle maul to infuse him with the otherworldly zeal that drove fear and respect into the heart of his foes. He waved back the border detail and told his royal guards to stand down for a moment as he focused on the covenal moving to lead the charge against him.

When those loyal to Dean saw Arimas with Retribution in hand, several stopped in their tracks unsure as to whether they truly wanted to test their skill of arms against the legend himself. Arimas did not hesitate. With Retribution hanging low to his left side, almost dragging in the dirt, he closed the gap between him and Chase, leaving the lesser players in the current battle to stop and watch. Chase, blind with a rage as wild as Arimas’ was controlled, lunged quickly with his blades toward the priest-king, only to find himself slicing through thin air as Arimas deftly sidestepped the traitor’s blades. With the momentum that he generated with his sidestep, Arimas circled, swinging Retribution in an arc as he swiveled his body and smashed the weapon full into the center of Chase’s chest. The sound of stone hammering through bone echoed throughout the township as the dead covenal crumpled to the ground, blood oozing freely from his slackened mouth.

“ENOUGH!” shouted Arimas with all the rage and authority he could muster. Even his royal guards were struck at the sheer amount of anger and authority that flowed through that one word. The divided border detail simply stood in shock and awe that the fight had lasted little more than five seconds… that the aging priest-king was still able to wield Retribution with all the skill and grace that had made him a legend. Some took in the dead body of Chase near his feet. The former covenal’s entire chest was concave, sunken and depressed from the force of the killing blow, and muddled with the fluids seeping from the fatal wound. Blood continued to flow from the dead man’s mouth, pooling like an unholy halo around his head. Some spectators lost their fortitude and turned away to vomit while others simply stood waiting in fear of what would happen to them now that Arimas’ wrath had been incurred.

Arimas stared down all those who had stood against him mere moments before. Righteous zeal burned in his eyes as his gaze traveled from man to man.

“I see before me men of wavering integrity and loyalty. Such is NOT what Lorenth was founded upon. However,” Arimas took a deep cleansing breath before continuing, “Lorenth was also not built upon the blood of our own. Do not think to deceive me, men. While I may appear to be the same Arimas you once thought you knew, I feel more alive now than I ever have, and I see things more clearly than you can imagine. I can sense your loyalty and your vile intentions now in a way that I cannot fully understand or explain.

“If you are loyal to Dean and to his cause, I give you one chance to leave my sight with your lives. I have given freedom of travel to all who leave Lorenth in peace, but after my decree is issued, any disloyalty that is routed out will be treated as treason and those so judged will suffer the same fate as Covenal Harman. If you are loyal, form up on my right, in a single rank facing me. If you choose exile, then you must leave now. You have forfeited the right to gather your belongings; however, your families will be sent out after you when you depart. They will not suffer harm and neither will you if you begin heading south now. You are never to return to these lands, for Lorenth will not offer you shelter or quarter again.”

Arimas extended his senses and noticed a darkness that dwelled within several of the men before him. Many appeared to weigh their options and began to break out of their ranks and walk away from Arimas. Those that were loyal to the king did as he had asked, and formed up in a single rank. Some of the individuals from the opposing side that were either weak-minded or simply just followers chose loyalty to the crown once again, dropping their weapons and making their way to the right side to join those in the single rank facing Arimas. Trying desperately not to let the mass betrayal here in Dunnham bring emotion to his eyes as so many once-loyal soldiers made their way south, Arimas adopted a stance of indifference and waited until all the men had either begun their walk south or laid down their arms and joined those on the right. Arimas then turned to his four trusted royal guards and whispered simple directives to each of them.

“You who remain have chosen loyalty and will be remembered for doing so. For those who stood against the revolt I extend to you honor and dignity befitting your character, and to those who have laid down arms in search of forgiveness, I ask that you each take three paces forward and present yourself before me. You will be forgiven and your disloyalty will be forgotten but you must once again earn your place among the border detail that stands behind you. Thus, you will all be stripped of command and rank as you prove your loyalty from now on through your actions and not simply your words.”

Several men took three paces forward as instructed. Arimas approached the nine soldiers who originally stood with Chase against their king while the royal guards formed up behind the nine and walked between the two ranks, measuring their pace with that of Arimas. Of the nine men that stood before him, his new awareness detected that familiar, vile darkness, still lurking heavily in the hearts of six of them. Knowing their hearts were still plotting against him and that they would seek to sow more discord among the border detail if he allowed them to stay, as he passed each one that was harboring darkness within, he gave of the members of his royal guard a quick look. At this signal, the indicated royal guard remained behind the individual in question, saying nothing nor alerting them to their presence. When his four guards were in position and when he was at the very end of the line in front of the sixth member in question he spoke again.

“Nine stand before me seeking forgiveness and searching for redemption under the wings of Lorenth. Only three are sincere and shall be granted forgiveness.” Eyes began to widen in horror as Arimas struck down the guard in front him, Retribution crunching into the neck and shoulder of the soldier before him and contorting the traitor’s head into an unnatural position. Arimas reclaimed Retribution, and allowed the body to crumple to the ground. At the same time, his four royal guards ran their triple-forged blades through the backs of the other four unsuspecting guards...

**excerpt from The Call of Prophecy (Troy C. Reeves) available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iUniverse Bookstore, and all major retail vendors**