Long ago, in the high hills outside of a thriving farm community, four young adventurers stumble upon a skeleton against a sloping cavern wall. With few clues to the skeleton's identity besides silver and gold coins and a mysterious tablet adorned with four stones, the adventurers, Garik, Kalus, Azure, and Trake, claim the treasure as their own. They create medallion necklaces from the jewels and proclaim their first expedition a smashing success. None of the boys has any idea that this unearthing will lead them on an incredible and dangerous coming-of-age journey. Years after their discovery, Azure is killed in a battle with an evil mage and Trake is attacked by men who want his medallion. Meanwhile, Kalus escapes a dungeon and Garik reaps the rewards of his talents as a hunter and trapper, oblivious to the fact that someone is willing to do anything to acquire the medallions that still hang around their necks. As the three remaining adventurers meet up once again, in a world full of war and mages that quest for ultimate power and never-ending life, they must battle to survive as they attempt to discover the origin of the infamous Stones of Creation.

Stones of Creation

By R. L. Freeman

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © 2011 R. L. Freeman
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4620-5458-9

Chapter One

The Beginning

Andaria was the richest kingdom in the entire world. The continent stretched from the southern plains, crossing two of the continent's greatest mountain ranges, and into the cold northern wastes. The country was teaming with crops from the southern plains and middle provinces, abundant wildlife, herd animals for domestication, exotic spices for foods, and medicinal herbs for healing as well as for inducing temporary intoxicants. Domesticated animals, several herbs, and certain spices that most Andarians took for granted sold for premium prices in other countries.

The southern regions didn't recognize a king since they have never needed ruling or protection from the threat of war. Being a member of the kingdom had its advantages when it came to trade, taxes and tariffs; it also had its advantages in times of war. It's much harder taking over a city with protection from a large army than it is to lay siege to a city that recognizes no higher law than its own local regime. A strong king—King Lazar, ruled the majority of Andaria.

Lazar ruled from the capital of Andaria, Castle Brammond, located on the eastern coast. He had been the king since his thirteenth birthday shortly after his father's death. His death was the result of an invasion of assassins at Castle Brammond—assassins rumored to have been hired by the warlord king that ruled Daurag. Lazar ruled with his mother, Queen Zaria, as his chief advisor. He would be known throughout the history of Andaria as the Child King.

Lazar's father started his rule of the kingdom from a voluntary submission pact with the nation's cities. If a city wanted to be under his rule and his protection, it would agree to the charters set forth long before by the first king of Andaria scribed the ancient texts. Lazar's father thought that strong loyalty bonds were earned—not forced. It wasn't until Lazar's father passed that his mother, Queen Zaria, proved to be phenomenal at rallying army recruits and promoting unity between the cities and loose domains. Many years of patience brought the northern regions of Andaria to this voluntary unity and a strong nation was made stronger.

The king's intention was to slowly move the kingdom away from the ancient texts by modifying them as needed. He wanted more modern laws but he knew that too much change and change too quickly might undermine his rule. A more important law that was intended to be removed with time was ruling heads. The ancient texts state that only a king can be king. Without the king, the queen cannot rule. Changing the conquest mandate to voluntary submission was the first great change and saved much bloodshed. Unfortunately, he didn't live long enough to make any other major changes to the mandates.

The only cities that remain independent are the ones south of the Kaliped Mountains. With the natural barriers that surrounded southern Andaria like the mountain range to the north, the Endless Sea to the east, and the Torrential Straight that separated the continents, the loose domains felt free to be independent. They paid higher embargoes to the north but made up for it in the coastal trades with exports and imports.

Brammond prospered and Andaria grew powerful for thirteen years after Lazar was born. Its only threat was from the warlord king from Daurag. The warlord tyrant, King Rechus, ran Daurag with an iron fist. His country was one of sweltering heat. His domain was the desert land.

King Rechus offered troops to Lazar for aid in keeping Andaria secure while the country morned the loss of the king; Lazar declined without consultation.

Not long after Lazar dispatched this Daurag aid, his chief advisor, was slain in her sleep. His mother was found with a pillow over her face and a dagger planted deeply between her ribs. The rumor was that Rechus' most trusted bodyguards and ambassadors were still in the city from delivering the previous offer of aid and had been seen wondering around the castle grounds.

Rechus had already placed agents in all of the southern Andarian cities. He watched closely and bided his time for the right moments to take calculated actions. He wanted the farmlands and plains. As Rechus saw things, his investments and trades with the major coastal cities, Thehdar and Verdarnis, made them the first targets of rule when his campaign got underway. He already commanded a great deal of authority from certain officials of these two towns. When the war begins for Andaria, he planned on having total control of these key cities.

Rechus knew that at the right moment, he could take these cities in addition to Hondar and close up the mountain passes to keep Lazar from retaliation. It would be a fight that Lazar would have little success in winning. Without the pass at Verdarnis to the east and Hondar's Pass north of the city, Rechus would own and maintain southern Andaria for years to come. All of the cities to the south of the mountain range could remain independent and would still not want protection from Lazar or Rechus—in effect; they would eventually be ruled by Rechus. This appeared to be a fairly predictable outcome, or so the warlord king thought.

In the years to follow, every advisor assigned to Lazar died in unusual accidents or were murdered outright. Lazar himself would eventually dismiss the few advisors that did not perish just to keep anyone else from inexplicable demise. On Lazar's twenty-third birthday he named as his chief advisor Muras of Daxon, the same man that had saved his life as a child the night his father was killed. Muras was wise, a skilled warrior, and successfully guided Lazar to push Rechus out of Andaria's surrounding townships.

Trake's thoughts drifted to Garik and a time when they were younger. Garik always carried a fine longbow that his father helped him make at the trading post. His left arm was always red from the bowstring slapping as he shot the bow. Trake smiled at the memories. He and Garik were both about fourteen years old when they found a cave in the hills outside of town. Kalus had discovered the entrance in a thicket of briars.

There was a steep slope leading into the small cavern room barely lit from the sunshine outside. Some of the sun's rays penetrated cracks in the rocks above. Azure slid down into the cave behind everyone else still carrying a walking stick he picked up on the way into the woods. The stick proved unyielding when it jabbed into the wall and sent him tumbling; he broke his little finger. His finger never healed correctly and would not straighten out.

Garik carried his longbow knocked with an arrow and Trake wielded a long bladed butcher knife like an Andarian Shortsword. Trake remembered looking back at his friends with his blade out. "Follow me guys." Azure mumbled something and the end of a long stick burst into flame. It was the first time he remembered Azure ever conjuring a spell. The torchlight bounced all around the cavern shadows with a few shadowy bursts of color reflecting around the jagged walls of the cavern.

It was an odd thing to see at such a young age. A skeleton lying on the ground and against the slope of the cave wall. A marble tablet that was suspended from each corner to opposite walls and its bottom secured to the floor. The chain was a fine mesh that was similar to a silk rope yet it appeared as if it had been driven into the cavern wall like a spike. The head of the skeleton had a...