The Dark Levy: Stories of the Nine Worlds (Ten Tears Chronicles - a dark fantasy action adventure Book 1) Read online

  THE DARK LEVY

  Ten Tears Chronicles

  Book 1

  BY: ALARIC LONGWARD

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  THe DARK LEVy

  A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR

  OTHER BOOKS BY THE AUTHOR:

  GLOSSARY

  MAP OF NORTHERN ALDHEIM

  PROLOGUE

  PART 1: THE SILENT WORDS

  CHAPTER 1 - Ynys Môn, Wales, year 1815

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  PART 2: TEN TEARS

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  PART 3: THE FLAMING HEART

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  PART 4: FINDINGS AND FAILURES

  CHAPTER 15

  CHAPTER 16

  CHAPTER 17

  CHAPTER 18

  PART 5: SNAKE DANCE

  CHAPTER 19

  CHAPTER 20

  EPILOGUE

  AFTERWORD

  The text and the story copyright © 2015 Alaric Longward

  (www.alariclongward.com)

  All Rights Reserved

  Cover art by Eve Ventrue

  (http://www.eve-ventrue.com/#/)

  Design by The Cover Collection

  (http://www.thecovercollection.com)

  Editor

  (http://www.johnhudspith.co.uk)

  ISBN: 978-952-7114-93-3 (mobi)

  ISBN: 978-952-7114-94-0 (paperback)

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the author's permission.

  For my darling wife, once more.

  For Lumia and Arn, for making me smile every single day.

  For my cousin, who has read every book of mine.

  And for the forgotten gods.

  A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR

  Greetings, and thank you for buying this book. The follow up to this one, The Eye of Hel will be out early 2016. Also, a sister series to this book, Thief of Midgard and the first book in the series, The Beast of the North, is already out. I humbly ask you rate and review the story in Amazon.com and/or on Goodreads. This will be incredibly valuable for me going forward and I want you to know I greatly appreciate your opinion and time.

  Please visit

  www.alariclongward.com

  and sign up for my mailing list for a monthly dose of information on the upcoming stories and info on our competitions and winners.

  .

  OTHER BOOKS BY THE AUTHOR:

  THE HRABAN CHRONICLES – NOVELS OF ROME AND GERMANIA

  THE OATH BREAKER – BOOK 1

  RAVEN’S WYRD – BOOK 2

  THE WINTER SWORD – BOOK 3

  BANE OF GODS – BOOK 4 (COMING 2016)

  GOTH CHRONICLES - NOVELS OF THE NORTH

  MAROBOODUS - BOOK 1 (COMING WINTER 2015)

  THE CANTINIÉRE TALES – STORIES OF FRENCH REVOLUTION AND NAPOLEONIC WARS

  JEANETTE’S SWORD – BOOK 1

  JEANETTE’S LOVE – BOOK 2

  JEANETTE’S CHOICE – BOOK 3 (COMING LATE 2015)

  TEN TEARS CHRONICLES – STORIES OF THE NINE WORLDS

  THE DARK LEVY – BOOK 1

  EYE OF HEL – BOOK 2

  THIEF OF MIDGARD – STORIES OF THE NINE WORLDS

  THE BEAST OF THE NORTH – BOOK 1

  QUEEN OF THE DRAUGR – BOOK 2 (COMING EARLY 2016)

  GLOSSARY

  Able – a French Ten Tear and Albine’s brother.

  Albine – the French girl and one of the Ten Tears and Able’s sister.

  Aldheim – the jewel of the gods, home of elves and the First World of the mortals, Aldheim is a beautiful world full of adventure and uncanny beauty.

  Alexei Donskoi – a Russian Ten Tear, Dmitri’s, and Anja’s brother.

  Aloise Bardagoon – wife of Almheir Bardagoon, the Regent’s wife, a lover of music and a lady in dire need of Shannon’s help.

  Anja Donskoi – a Russian Ten Tear, Alexei’s, and Dmitri’s sister. The brains of the outfit.

  Asfalon Bardagoon – son of Almheir Bardagoon.

  Bilac – a Fury Whip of the Dark Clans, jailor, and teacher of the Ten Tears.

  Cerunnos Timmerion – formerly the Regent of Aldheim, the defender of the land.

  Cherry – a strange, mute member of the Ten Tears. Guardian of Shannon.

  Cosia – a Fury Whip of the Dark Clans, jailor, and teacher of the Ten Tears.

  Dana Crowther – utterly powerful member of the Ten Tears and Shannon’s driven sister.

  Danar Coinar – lord of the House Coinar, devious and driven.

  Dancing Bay – the waters of Freyr’s Tooth and Spellcoast. Dangerous and pirate ridden.

  Dmitri Donskoi – a Russian Ten Tear and Alexei’s and Anja’s brother.

  Elder Shannon – Shannon’s grandma, and a priestess of the old ways.

  Euryale – the snake headed native of another world, Euryale is the captor of humans of earth, the creator of the Dark Levy, the mistress of her house of gorgons, and she has many devious plans. One of the First Born, just shy of the gods.

  Eye of the Crow – Hel’s eye, her sole contact to the lands and beauty she once knew, before forced to be the caretaker of the dead and the Rot.

  Ferdan – Elder Shannon’s overly religious friend.

  Filling of the Void – the beginning of everything, when ice of Nifleheim’s rivers and molten bridges of lava mixed in the void.

  Fanged Spire – once the palace of Cerunnos Timmerion, now home of Euryale.

  Freyr’s Tooth – the northern part of the elven kingdoms.

  Ganglari – servant of goddess Hel, shape shifter, and a lord of Helheim.

  Gjallarhorn – god Heimdall’s fabulous horn, used to open and close all doors.

  Grey Downs – once the island seat of House Timmerion, ruined by the Lord Cerunnos in the year of Sundering.

  Hand of Life – goddess Frigg’s gift to the quarrelsome elven lands of Aldheim. Also called the Second Light, counselor of the Regent. Hand of Life was always thought to be an elven female, but Shannon proved the theory wrong.

  Hel – goddess of the underworld, keeper of the dead.

  Hel’s war – the war goddess Hel unleashed at the theft of the Eye of the Crow

  Himinborg – the great city of House Safiroon, close allies of the House Bardagoon. Himinborg guards the only land route to the Freyr’s Tooth and the noblest lands of the elves and hosts the sundered Gate of Svartalfheim. Lord of the House Safiroon is Talien Safiroon, an ancient, masterful Spell Lord.

  House Bardagoon – led by the Regent, Almheir Bardagoon, they rule over the majority of the holiest elven lands of the Freyr’s Tooth.

  House Coinar – the southern house and fourth in Aldheim, fabulously rich of trade and raids. Foes to the north.

  House Daxamma – the Holder of the Southern Passes, the high elven house commands more land than the other four great houses. The house stands in the mountain range
to South Aldheim, where few elves venture since the Sundering. Often considered savage and less noble than houses of the Freyr’s Tooth and northern Spell Coast, Daxamma are deeply distrustful of the Regent and the other higher houses. Enslavers of humans, Daxamma use them freely in their armies and are ever the arm and muscle of House Coinar.

  House Safiroon – The second house of Aldheim, they hold the southern half of Freyr’s Tooth, the holy continent just north across straights from Spellcoast. Himinborg is their fabulous capital.

  House Timmerion – formerly the first house of Aldheim, the house fell into ruin in Hel’s war.

  House Vautan – the third house of Aldheim, they command the northern tip of Spellcoast and are allies of the Bardagoons and Safiroons.

  Jotun – ice or fire, the giants hate the gods.

  Lex Cyburn – one of the Ten Tears, the conciliator, and the one who loves Shannon.

  Ljusalfheim – home of house Bardagoon, the first house in the northern half of the elevated continent of Freyr’s Tooth. There stands the Hall, Freyr’s Seat.

  Maa’dark – Gifted Hands. Spell casters who can see and use the power.

  Markax Daxamma – lord of House Daxamma, uncannily tall and less wise than other of the five, nonetheless a lord of much power.

  Medusa – Euryale’s and Stheno’s sister. Lost in Midgard.

  Niflheim – land of primal ice, home of the nine frozen rivers and Hel rules the land, in addition to Helheim that is located in this land.

  Ron Cyburn – one of the Ten Tears and a thug.Saa’dark – Dead Hands. Sacrifice of worth to gain power.

  Serpent’s Run – the sea-lanes near Vagabond’s End, rumored to host a great serpent.

  Shannon Crowther – the human Hand of Life, healer, and a miracle in Aldheim.

  Shinna Safiroon – the eldest child of Talien Safiroon, Shinna is to one-day rule Safiroon holdings. She is to marry the eldest of house Bardagoon, Asfalon Bardagoon, to cement the alliance between the two houses of Freyr’s Tooth, the noblest of the elven houses.

  Silver Maw – armor of the Hand of Life.

  Skills – the power of creation often grant those humans entering Aldheim skills that are not spells.

  Spellcoast – the vast continent of the elven nations.

  Stheno – Euryale’s sister. The one she is trying to restore to her.

  Svartalfheim – the land of the dark elven and dwarven races.

  Talien Safiroon – as old as Almheir Bardagoon and Danar Coinar, Talien has ruled the southern half of Freyr’s Tooth for thousands of years, shrewdly navigating the schemes of House Coinar and Daxamma, guarding the north for the Regent and his allies to the south, House Vautan. He is the father of four elven boys and one daughter, Shinna Safiroon.

  Thak – a fire jotun, a giant.

  The Dark Levy – a levy of the troubled of the earth to travel bi-yearly to another world, where they discover who they really are. A device of Euryale seeking for something specific.

  The Gates – the ways gods built to cement the Nine together. Lost since Hel’s war.

  The Houses – elven lands are divided into thousand houses. They compete fiercely and challenge each other into a game of power. The top five command the loyalty of the rest and this division makes up the power division of Aldheim.

  The Nine – the nine worlds the gods claimed at the time of the Filling of the Void.

  The Sundering – the tumultuous event of the closing of the gates after Hel’s war.

  The Tenth – the land of the Timmerions, our earth, the world elven houses tried to make for themselves, hoping to be like the gods. Home to the Dark Levy, humans whom the Timmerion’s once manipulated so they could touch the power.

  Trad – house Vautan’s fabulous capital on the Spell Coast.

  Ulrich Cyburn – an Austrian member of the Ten Tears, foe of Dana.Vagabond’s End – pirate islands of the Dancing Bay.

  Vanir – gods and goddesses allied with the Aesir.

  Wild’s Coast – after the Sundering, the eastern Aldheim was thrown to anarchy. Few know what is taking place in the formerly glorious elven kingdoms.

  .

  ‘The Eye of the Crow,

  from Hel’s face shorn.

  The gods are gone, for the Horn is lost,

  and both will be found at a great cost.

  An awkward fool,

  will dance with the twisted ghoul,

  the Cold Hand shall seek the tools,

  and argue over love’s curious rules.

  The Pact of the sister is fulfilled,

  the false god wickedly thrilled.

  The Horn shall blow,

  freedom for those below.’

  - Frigg’s Prophesy -

  MAP OF NORTHERN ALDHEIM

  PROLOGUE

  This is the story of two sisters, one dark and outwardly happy, the other red of hair and lost; sisters so different yet bonded in love. Yet, despite their differences under the light of the sun, in the silence and deep of the night, they were equal in suffering, both haunted by secrets half forgotten.

  In that, they were not alone. There were others.

  This is the story of the sisters’ descent into struggle and danger; a story of lands beyond our memory and the hidden road full of wonders. It is not a road for everyone, for it is called the Dark Levy by its mistress, and only those who carry the curse, the blessing some few would call it, can heed its call.

  The sisters found the Nine Worlds.

  These are the words of Shannon, as spoken hundreds of years after the events that took place across the realms. She was a human of the Tenth. Then she changed.

  Listen.

  PART 1: THE SILENT WORDS

  ‘Yfed y gwaed dy gyd-ddyn.’

  Dana.

  CHAPTER 1 - Ynys Môn, Wales, year 1815

  We hiked up the hill after my sister. She was whooping and running up the track with our old guide, and I cursed softly. Damn her.

  I was not happy, but Dana was obviously ecstatic as she skittered after the oddly boulder-like sailor on the rubble-strewn, mud-plagued route up the hill. Her bright yellow shoes were slipping on the slick mud, which covered the solid Welsh hillside. Our parents were not content either, despite the fine weather. It had been raining that morning, and everything was glistening wet. Mother echoed my curses, for the disgustingly happy Dana would look a mess when we eventually returned to the flowery valley and Grandmother’s ancient, odd tile house. Despite the hardships, Mother and Father resolutely puffed their way along, despairing of the path up the ancient hill, a near obscure, almost forgotten track that was bravely fighting against a horde of invading weeds. I followed them; trying to enjoy the bright, clear weather and the shrill cries of birds one could hear above the distant hammering of the sea against high, craggy cliffs.

  It was hard to enjoy life that day. Then again, I had had trouble enjoying anything for long years. I shook my head at Dana as she waved at me, but I attempted a smile. I managed it, but it was almost painful.

  She was sixteen, eleven months younger than I was and acted like a damned ten-year-old. To imagine she was my sister? Impossible. Sometimes she seemed like a light-footed, merry wood spirit of our old Welsh stories, where I felt like a moss-covered boulder forced to roll along and after her. She had a knack of enjoying life, quaffing it down with gusto and thirst, which was annoying, occasionally. I had begun to hate cheerful people, and Dana was far too cheerful that day.

  We were close, despite my annoyance with her. We had always been close, but there were differences in our character. From an early age, people had noticed how brilliant Dana was at everything. She was outgoing and seemed genuinely interested in anything people spoke with her about. She had a knack for making anyone feel special, no matter the topic. Yesterday, I had seen her speaking with the old Colonel Hayes about Napoleon’s return from Elba. She knew nothing of the subject, not a thing, but the colonel was left smiling. Perhaps he had entertained fantasies of marrying her. She had plenty
of suitors.

  People. They loved her, and the ease she navigated myriads of different personalities and interests was admirable and sometimes, to me, a bit dishonest, for I felt like she was cheating. Surely she pretended to be interested in them and their stories. She pretended, that’s it. I didn’t. I could not. They all thought she would end up a politician, though of course she would not. She would marry and be content with making babies. She would marry well. She laughed happily like a child, sang like a lark, danced like Kathleen Bailey in our village, which is very well indeed. In short, she did everything exceedingly well.

  The truth is I was jealous of her. She didn’t only excel in everything she tried; she was prettier than I was. She was petite and beyond beguiling, her pouty lips were full, her oval face framed by long, dark hair that was so thick and wavy one had to resist tugging at it. She had sensual laughter, her eyes twinkled with blue fire, and her face was that of the angels. And I had freckles, was tall as my father and clumsy as a drunken elephant. I’ve never seen a drunken elephant or an elephant at all, but I’d imagine we would get along famously if I did.

  Not that I was ever drunk, for I didn’t really enjoy feasts. I was thought weird. Crazy, even.

  I shook my head at her. She had again stopped to wave at me, beaconing me to hurry. She grinned; she did that when she was challenging me, silently urging me to fire up and take her bait. A competition, that’s what she wanted, perhaps to determine who gets to the summit first. A simple, innocent thing, indeed, sisterly competition, yet I did not bite. Never did. I was never a challenge for her and never wanted to be. She looked briefly disappointed, even after years of similar disappointments, and I shrugged as she turned to run on.