Lance Cabaret is a brave knight from the town of Duracia. As a member of the Brotherhood, Queen Priscilla's personal army, he has seen many adventures in his time. He has often found himself surrounded by extreme danger, and he has killed to protect his queen and his fellow knights. After hunting down yet another wanted criminal, however, Lance begins to question his position as a knight and wonders if he has ever killed an innocent man. One night while contemplating his position in the Brotherhood, Lance hears a strange song floating on the breeze, coming from the direction of the mysterious Western Realm. According to Queen Priscilla, the Western Realm has not been heard from for many years, so Lance agrees to go on a quest in the name of the crown. Upon undertaking his dangerous journey, though, Lance realizes the queen has betrayed him. Now free of the Brotherhood, Lance finds himself in a strange, unfamiliar land. Purposeless in his new life, he enters a tournament against the best warriors on the continent. It is during this bloody tournament that Lance meets Sophie, a beautiful slave girl under the power of a dark wizard known as Meritan. Without a queen to protect, Lance dedicates himself to Sophie-but the dark wizard will not let her go without a fight.

Uncharted Realms

By J.R. BRYCE

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © 2012 J.R. Bryce
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4759-6199-7

Chapter One

Lance and the members of the brigade had traveled all night, and were approaching the great canyon of Ginnera. The canyon was vast and dry, one of the largest within the entire region. The air seemed void of moisture, as if the heat of the days before had exhausted all of the water out of the canyon. The fugitive had done a respectable job of avoiding the group, but they knew it was all a matter of time before they would catch up with him. Lance stroked his dragon, Rigel and turned him toward the east. The sun was rising over the mountains in the distance, and the great canyon was beginning to fill with light. Lance's dark blonde hair seemed to glow for a moment in the dawning light and his green eye's seemed to reflect it like pools of water. He had grown up as a thief in one of the lesser towns, but now he was a member of the royal cavalry. His job was to secure the borders of Dermavu, and ensure that no enemies would invade it. Lance rode with pride, his body toned from the battles he had endured. The fugitive, Markus Demanchi, had been caught leaking information into the neighboring countries, and therefore had to be dismissed from the living. As Lance looked into the sunlight, he caught a glimpse of a shadow on the rocks below him. He narrowed his eyes for a moment, but the shadow had vanished away. Gabriel, one other knight and commander of the brigade, gave him a quick glance.

"Did you see him Lance?" Gabriel asked with an arrogant tone.

Lance looked at him with a blunt stare. Gabriel had been his commander for years now, but he always had trouble communicating with him.

"I did not. I think that the light is playing tricks on me today." Lance replied, looking over the dry canyon.

"Very well then, we must press onward." Gabriel replied, his grip tightening on the leather reigns.

As the group kept moving, the day grew hotter by the hour. There was no water in the canyon, so the fugitive could not last long. He would die of thirst if they did not soon find him, and they could not let him have that satisfaction of escape. Death would be merely escaping his awaiting trial. The Brotherhood as they were called had never lost a fugitive without bringing them to trial. Lance had rode with The Brotherhood for many years now, and was trained in their methods. His swordsmanship had proven worthy enough to join the group, and the queen had appointed him herself. Gabriel pressed ahead of the group, and drove close to the canyon below. He seemed to be spying out the area in hopes of being the first to find the fugitive. Gabriel had always been the type that rushed things along and could almost pierce armor with his cold blue eyes. His blonde hair seemed to radiate the sun off it, making him almost look angelic. He pressed deeper into the canyon, leaving the rest of the group behind. Lance knew better than to leave the group, and urged the rest to follow. He felt obligated to look after his fellow knight, even though Gabriel was as arrogant as anyone he had ever met. Gabriel out paced them by a few hundred feet and his dragon glided low to the ground. He turned a curve, vanishing out of sight.

"Gabriel! Slow down!" Lance yelled, trying to slow him down.

Gabriel, being the headstrong knight that he was, continued to press forward. Suddenly, he let out a yell, and the group heard a struggle. Lance and the other knights turned a curve, and saw Gabriel on the ground, struggling with the fugitive. Mitus, one Knight, drew his bow, aiming at the fugitive with a blank stare on this face.

"I believe I would surrender." Mitus said, hoping this would be the end of the hunt.

Gabriel took that opportunity to slam the fugitive into the rocky canyon wall. He pointed his sword to the man's throat, staring at him with his cold blue eyes.

"I see that we finally found you Demanchi." Gabriel said with his deep voice.

"So you have." Markus said, clearing his throat.

"I see that you are not afraid?" Gabriel stated, pacing around the fugitive.

"I have nothing to fear. Fear is just a figment of the imagination after all." Markus exclaimed, laughing as if Gabriel had told a joke.

Gabriel seemed to study that remark, as if the man had introduced some new philosophy to him.

"Well then, I guess you will not mind if we begin the trial?" Gabriel said, a smile appearing on his lips.

He nodded quickly, as if he was eager to face his penalty.

"I urge you to hurry Gabriel; I am dying to see what you have in store for a wretched soul like me!" Markus yelled, his words slipping through his decayed teeth.

His words seemed to echo off the canyons walls, emitting an unpleasant chorus of sounds. Gabriel climbed on his blue dragon, and pulled out a tattered scroll.

"By the order of Queen Priscilla we have come here today. Markus Demanchi, you are being tried for the crime of treason against the kingdoms of Dermavu. What say ye?" Gabriel asked in his bold tone.

The small man seemed to roll Gabriel's words around in his mind, as if they were some kind of puzzling riddle.

"I AM GUILTY!!!" Markus screamed, startling the knights with his voice.

Gabriel and the other knights looked at one another in dismay, as if they hoped it would not lead to this fate.

"By the laws of Dermavu, you will be tried by fire." Gabriel proceeded, looking at the scroll.

All the knights raised their swords, awaiting the command. Gabriel positioned himself directly in front of Markus.

"Purity, Honor, and Light may you judge this man in our sight!" Gabriel shouted, signaling the other knights.

They all raised their swords higher, their blades glistening in the bright sunlight. Gabriel's tone sounded triumphant, as if he was proud to be the leader of the sacred chant.

"By Fire!" Gabriel yelled proudly.

"BY FIRE!!!" The rest repeated, mingling their voices into a rhythm.

At those words, the dragons emitted their searing flames. Markus stood there, awaiting the rain of ash and stubble. The flames soon consumed him, and they watched as he burned to nothing but a pile of ash and charred bones. Lance looked at the ashes, and watched as they blew away in a simple puff of wind.

"Looks like he was not pure brethren, or he would have survived the trial." Gabriel said, chuckling a little.

"Agreed Sir, he must have been impure." Mitus said nervously, looking down at the charred bones.

They all turned toward the city of Zirai, the nation's capital. The day still had plenty of hours left, so they decided they could make their journey to the city with ease. Lance could not help but gaze back at the great canyon, wondering if they had done the right thing. He felt a sense of guilt for taking part in the death of the man, but he also felt it was what the queen would have wanted him to do.

"That was some journey Lance if I do say so myself." Mitus said, looking over at Lance.

Lance turned his attention to him. Mitus was a young man who had joined the Brotherhood merely months ago, but was a very strong man for a youth. He had enlisted because he wanted to see the world and take in all the sights of the distant realms.

"Well, the feeling of excitement leaves you once you have been in it since I have. It is always important to keep our focus on our duty and not think of this as a simple game." Lance said, hoping to put the youth in line before someone else had to.

Mitus shrugged his shoulders as if Lance's word bounced off him.

"Oh well, a hunt is a hunt after all." Mitus stated with a smile on his face.

...