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  Crown of Vengeance

  ( Fires in Eden - 1 )

  Stephen Zimmer

  Crown of Vengeance

  Stephen Zimmer

  Prologue

  THE UNIFIER

  A solitary figure stood gazing outward, at the edge of the crenellations ringing the circumference of the great tower soaring up from the top of the massive, mountain-citadel. Shrouded with a regal, proud air, The Unifier, the Lord of far more than Avanor, regarded the heart of His worldly dominion with an invigorating feeling of growing mastery.

  Yet there was a deep concern weighing upon His mind, of a nature that rarely manifested to His pervasive senses.

  The Unifier was a figure that embodied majesty and charisma, His captivating persona as legendary as the astounding feats that He had performed during His ascension to power. He was one of the most comely men to ever draw breath upon the face of Ave, and one would be very hard pressed to discover anyone who would dispute that observation.

  He was fully six and a half feet tall, with a slightly olive tone to His smooth, unblemished skin. The immaculate state of His skin was noted by all who gained the privilege of close proximity to the Unifier. It was unmarred by scratch, bruise, or wrinkle, though His age was known to be great, and His travels extensive. It was regarded as yet another outward testimony to divine favor, as not even the immortal races fully escaped the ravages of time on their physical forms, whether Wizard, Elf, or the winged Elder in their skyward havens.

  His large, even teeth were of the purest white, and His angular facial features seemed to be chiseled in, lending Him a strong mien with perfect proportion and balance. His face would have challenged the skills of the greatest of sculptors in endeavoring to replicate a close likeness, with its flawless symmetry and harmony.

  The Unifier had short-cropped, coal-black hair that had a perceptible curl to its texture. His body was lithe and muscular, with wide shoulders tapering down to a narrow waist, with sculpted, long legs extending below.

  The Unifier’s luminous blue eyes were one of His most exceptional physical features. They always gave the impression of containing unimaginable depths within them, and it was known well that His eyes conveyed His moods with a mesmerizing power. The attribute was spoken of by those who had found favor with Him, and also by those who had found disfavor, and still survived to tell of their icy terror. The azure gaze held a mysterious, captivating quality, one that could make the most strong-minded and proud female swoon in euphoric vulnerability, or cause the most formidable of battle-hardened warriors to tremble in stark, quivering fright.

  His exquisite physique was clad in a flowing tunic of pure white silk that descended all the way down to His ankles. It rippled in the high breezes, shimmering in the day’s light.

  The precious silk cloth used for the garment had been a gift from Theonia, acquired by the empire’s merchants who had traded with the exotic lands to the far east. The ells of silk cloth had been the crowning element of a bounteous tribute from the Theonian Emperor, which had included a wealth of rare spices and other uncommon luxuries. Few ever undertook the long and perilous journeys along the Rising Sun Road to the eastern lands. Fewer still returned with such treasured items as that which had been enthusiastically presented to the Unifier, by the delegation sent to Avalos from the Emperor of Theonia. The quality of the immaculately woven silk was much rarer and finer than any now being produced within the Theonian Empire, who rigidly protected their indigenous silk trade. In the rays of the sun it looked as if it glowed from within, casting an angelic hue upon its exalted wearer.

  The collar, hem, and sleeves of the tunic were brocaded with broad bands of magnificent, intersecting golden designs. The most expert hands in all of Avanor had labored relentlessly in fashioning the full-length tunic for the Unifier, sewing and cutting meticulously from the precious cloth. Through their painstaking skills they had rendered the Unifier a resplendent tribute of their own; a one-of-a-kind garment, for a man without peer.

  The light tan shoes covering His feet were of the softest leather, coming from the rekka, a creature native to Kiruva. Even the most prolific of hunters and fur traders in that faraway, river-crossed land seldom encountered the small, cautious animal, rarer by far than ermine or sable. The hide of just one of the diminutive beasts alone was worth several quality war stallions, and two rekka had been used to fashion His footwear, part of a lavish gift from the last Grand Prince of Kiruva.

  The Unifier’s waist was tied about with a light belt woven of golden thread, which pulled His long tunic in, while also serving as a graceful adornment.

  Truly, the Unifier was a vision of regality and grace, without equal.

  The Unifier did not claim any one heritage, realm, or ethnicity, instead seeming to possess many lineages, hearkening from all the known lands of Ave. Though the subject was rarely raised directly in His presence, there was little to nothing known of His true origins. The only knowledge held by the scholars and monks was that He had risen up rather suddenly from the masses in Avanor, in a tumultuous age long ago.

  His ascent had come at a dizzying in speed, a tale of epic proportion now sung by gleeman and bards across the lands. Coming during a bitter time of war and upheaval, the Unifier had swiftly become indispensable to Avanor. His reputation had spread like lightning, as He gave incomparably wise counsels to Avanor’s lords, and was then involved in incredible, supernatural events that were witnessed by multitudes. How He had gained their ear in the first place was forgotten, but its affects were not.

  He had been regarded by all as unwaveringly selfless, and as a dedicated peacemaker, helping the Duchy to avert many of the little internal wars between Avanoran barons that had caused so much suffering among the populace. In this area, He was far more effective than even the Western Church’s Peace of the All-Father movement, which had been created to lessen the violence and ensuing suffering of the peasantry. The people of Avanor began to look to Him more than the Church, to resolve their dilemmas. Then, a very unexpected development had occurred, one that had surprised everyone.

  The last titled Duke of Avanor, William The Bold, had lost his only heir to an unexpected illness, incurred during the onset of the young man’s prime. It was a dark sickness that even the mystical powers of the Unifier had been unable to thwart.

  Trusting nobody else, the old Duke had designated the powerful Duchy over to the Unifier upon his passing. The timing was most fortunate, as the populace saw it, as the declaration had preempted much further trouble when the Duke passed away rather abruptly, within just days of naming the Unifier to succeed him. The people lamented the Duke’s fate, believing that tremendous grief had broken his will to live.

  To the Unifier, the death of the young man and the Duke, and the timings of their demises, were not mysteries, but just a few of the secrets that He harbored. The Unifier had risen up with no established name or quality of lineage. Yet His charisma was without equal, and his powerful, commanding presence inspired people, both great and small, to follow Him.

  He offered a compelling vision of a world governed by one order, a rule of law equal for everyone in it, in which all lands could prosper, and all wars would be brought to an end. The only conflict that He desired to prosecute was one that would achieve this unprecedented state in Ave, the War to End All Wars, seen as a very noble goal by the rulers of lands used to chaos and plight.

  His incredible qualities, and the unparalleled vision that He embraced, were why there had been no subsequent challenge to His hold upon the Duchy of Avanor. At first, He had given no name, merely calling Himself the Servant of the People. By sole virtue of His magnetic persona, bringing even the most volatile of rival barons into cooperation for the be
tterment of Avanor, the Avanorans had soon begun referring to Him by the name that the world now knew Him by; the Unifier.

  He had selected Avanor for two very specific reasons, one having to do with the solitary mountain looming over Avalos, and the other involving its storied people.

  The land of Avanor had been fertile ground for the Unifier’s ambition. The spreading of a new order and fighting a war to end all wars resonated strongly with the blood of Avanor’s people, no strangers to martial adventures. From the days when Thrydrik the Wanderer and his Midragardan band had first been given rights to the land by King Louis I and intermarried with the Galleans, to the conquests in Norengal, Paleria, and Gael, to the raising of Kingdoms in the Sunlands during the Holy Wars, Avanor had made its presence known in blood and fire across the face of Ave.

  History recorded many bold testimonies to the small, potent land, whose people had conquered kingdoms and triumphed against tremendous odds. They were an ideal kind of people to support the Unifier in the beginning of His rise. From the seat of Avanor, the Unifier had gone forward to build an initial alliance of Seven Kingdoms, which had spearheaded the influence and acquiescence that followed thereafter.

  Few had objected to the rapid ascension, as none wished to be seen as in conflict with a being that most held to be personally blessed by the All-Father of the Western and Eastern Churches, or The One God, according to the followers of the Prophet. The fact that The Unifier did not show any signs of age was cited as a glorious sign that He was truly a rightly guided man. It was commonly held that no son of evil could transcend the very laws of life, gifted with such physical beauty and a silvered tongue. Even the Great Vicar of the West and the Grand Shepherd of the East refused to challenge these widespread beliefs, vigilant as they were against all forms of heresy.

  To the more perceptive within the realm, it seemed as if time itself was moving faster. The Unifier would not have disagreed with their assessment, for things were indeed well in motion that led towards immense, unprecedented ends.

  The harshest truth of it was that only the Unifier, and a handful of others, knew what the nature of those ends really were. Each and every day His influence was spreading farther, and that of His Enemy declined, continuing the legacy that had been born out of the blackest and most fiery pits, transcending time itself. From a fathomless fall, a glorious ascension was being forged by sheer force of will and power. The road of vengeance led steadfastly towards a resplendent crown, one that was now within grasp.

  The Unifier silently gazed out over the mighty city of Avalos, and the luxuriant sheen of the ocean waters reaching out towards the west. The steady breezes coursing in off of the sea buffeted the pennons flying from the numerous towers of the titanic citadel, both on the terraces below, as well as from the singular, great standard flapping against the unsullied backdrop of the teal sky far overhead. The pennon snapped about vigorously in the high winds, exhibiting its blazing white star at the apex of the vast citadel.

  The waters of the capacious harbor fed by the Saina River teemed with the sails of numerous ships, from very small vessels rowed by a single man, to great merchant round ships and oared galleys.

  As it was nearly the summit of the day, the city below was abounding with activity, its traffic coursing steadily through its narrow streets. Large throngs were gathered within its great market squares, engaged in the day’s business.

  Graced with many great towers set at intervals between the robust gatehouses commanding the entrances to Avalos, the far ranging circuit walls on the city’s outer edge hemmed in its most important elements. Beyond those walls, and past the clinging suburbs, the surrounding countryside could be seen for league upon league to the distant horizons.

  The low, undulating terrain revealed the orderly, telltale signs of numerous cultivated fields and outlying villages. The rich green of the spring was emerging into its fullness, enlivening a beautiful panorama of sparkling blue waters, green and flowering trees, wavy grasses, and vivid meadows, arrayed amongst the signs of human construction and habitation.

  Affording such a magnificent view, the apex of the citadel was not the only spectacular vantage point on the prominent mountain. The great citadel had been built according to the direction of an assemblage of the greatest architectural minds across the world of Ave. No less would have sufficed for the Unifier.

  A small army of elite stonecutters, sculptors, and carpenters had found themselves completely engrossed for several years in building the principle edifices occupying the various terraces, aided by multitudes of porters and other manual laborers involved with the epic construction.

  The great northeastern empire of Theonia, known for its lavish palaces, golden-domed churches, and spectacular craftsmanship in marble and stone, had sent its greatest builder and architect, Andronikos Comnenus. The Kingdom of Paleria, now a part of the Sacred Empire, had dispatched its best designers, who had guided the building of several wondrous castles that had been built deftly into the sides of mountains. Architects of Avanor and Norengal, renowned for having achieved many great successes in building powerful, nearly impregnable castles, had pushed themselves beyond any level that they had previously known in addressing the needs of fortification. Gallea, Ehrengard, Lambar, the Fahtamid Khalif, the Great Emir of Andamoor, and many others had contributed their most capable minds and bountiful resources.

  Several individuals had been sent across tremendous distances, undertaking harrowing journeys just to bring their own insights and expertise to the awesome endeavor. A large proportion of these hailed from the exotic lands of the far east, the mysterious places where even the farthest-ranging adventurers rarely tread.

  Also testifying powerfully to the unique nature of the citadel, and the exalted Lord that it was built for, the spectacular creation had not been completed without the involvement of a few contributors of an extremely unusual nature. An enigmatic group had suddenly manifested during the construction of the great palace and citadel, from origins known only to the Unifier. After their arrival they had gone into the depths of the mountain, only to emerge and depart swiftly upon the great palace-citadel’s completion. The hidden individuals were uniformly very tall and lean, and impeccably silent and graceful in their movements. Dark face veils had shrouded their very faces, not entirely unlike the fashion common to many of the fanatical warriors of Andamoor.

  Their presence known by their mere arrival, their separation from the laborers, artisans, and designers afterwards was rigidly maintained by a dedicated, ardent force culled from the elite of the Unifier’s own garrisons. The very few persons who had come within any close proximity to these obscured figures had reported feeling a chilling fear, or an overwhelming sense of anxiety, take firm hold of them. Most, with nervous laughs, related that they had shrugged it off later as just a trick of a fanciful mind, or the result of too much fatigue incurred from overworking.

  In just over ten years, with the efforts of so many thousands of laborers, innumerable oxen and horses, and countless thousands of pounds of gold and silver, the huge edifice sprouted and bloomed to ever greater heights on the mountainside. To the surrounding populace, the grandiose constructs seemed like a living, organic entity, vigorously rising up the side of the lone mountain that stood sentinel over Avalos.

  Great quantities of rock and soil had first been removed from the mountain, as vast platforms were cut out and leveled, prepared for the buildings that were then erected upon their surfaces. Many laborers had kept pieces of the black rock as mementos, as it was of a unique kind, found only upon the mountain itself. Seven terraces were prepared in all, the largest at the base of the mountain, and six others rising in concentric fashion above the first.

  As a whole, the citadel was an unparalleled, triumphant achievement, and a tribute of a magnitude never before seen in any realm of Ave. The end result was a fortress and palace complex unrivaled in its collective design, splendor, size, and strength.

  The mountain citadel had been bu
ilt for one singular purpose; to honor the eminent being that now stood silently on the high tower, gazing out over the capital city. No other place in Ave was more appropriate for the seat of His worldly power, the place from where the way was being prepared for the One whom He served.

  The august figure did not move for quite some time, senses far beyond those of mortals telling Him that something momentous and profound was about to occur within the world. What it was, He could not yet tell, but He knew that it carried great danger, as much as it did tremendous potential.

  He knew that His most challenging task would involve divining its nature, and turning it to His own purposes. He did not fear it in the slightest. Rather, He saw an opportunity beckoning; to hasten the day when the world itself would be cleansed, and then recreated, ushering in an age that could not arrive a moment too soon.

  Section I

  JANUS

  “Daddy’s gone.”

  The thunderous words hurled Janus Roland into a spinning descent, his chest tightening as his breath froze within him.

  He had just gone to sleep, less than one hour before, after drifting off while reading a novel. The previous evening had been relaxing and uneventful, holding no warning that his entire world was about to be irrevocably shattered.

  A surreal feeling enveloped him as he sat up from bed, as if he was in the midst of some feverish nightmare. Indeed, reality had been turned upside down, and from that moment on it was as if color had been drained out of everything.

  The world was cast in a cold, sickly pallor from that moment of shock onward. If a hell existed, Janus would not have disputed that the immediate aftermath of that horrid night was a sharp taste of its environs.

  In disbelief, snapped awake with heart pounding, he stumbled from his bedroom across the hallway from his parents’ room. Kneeling by the side of the bed, as if in the midst of saying a prayer, was the still form of his father.