FARHAYVEN: VENGEANCE Read online

  Table of Contents

  TITLE PAGE

  COPYRIGHT PAGE

  INTRODUCTION

  CHAPTER ONE:

  THE HOODED MAN

  CHAPTER TWO:

  THE NOVICE

  CHAPTER THREE:

  THE JOURNEY EASTWARDS

  CHAPTER FOUR:

  THE STORY OF RAY, PART I

  CHAPTER FIVE:

  THE STORY OF RAY, PART II

  CHAPTER SIX:

  TIMBERSTOCK

  CHAPTER SEVEN:

  THE PLEDGE OF BROTHERS

  CHAPTER EIGHT:

  FORT EASTGUARD

  CHAPTER NINE:

  WINDSWEPT FOREST

  CHAPTER TEN:

  THAT FATEFUL NIGHT

  CHAPTER ELEVEN:

  THE HIGH COUNCIL OF

  ELEMENTHARS

  CHAPTER TWELVE:

  THE STORY OF SPIRIT

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN:

  THE ROYAL ELEMENTHAR POND

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN:

  THE COUSINS GENOX

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN:

  THE HUNT BEGINS

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN:

  AN ENCOUNTER WITH A

  RECEIVER

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN:

  THE ESCAPE

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN:

  THE GAME OF HUNTERS AND

  PREY

  CHAPTER NINETEEN:

  ACCUSATIONS AND CHARGES

  CHAPTER TWENTY:

  BIRTH OF THE SHADOW

  DEATHMERCHANT CLAN

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE:

  THE STORY OF DAWN

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO:

  THE TRIAL

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE:

  SKY’S DARK PRACTICES

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR:

  ESCAPE FROM THE LAIR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE:

  TREACHERY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX:

  DEMISE OF THE SHADOW

  DEATHMERCHANT CLAN

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN:

  BARON CHESSMASTER

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT:

  HEALING

  TITLE PAGE

  FARHAYVEN: VENGEANCE

  S. K. NG

  COPYRIGHT PAGE

  PUBLISHED BY

  EPIC LORE PUBLISHING

  I-01-05, 5TH FLOOR, BLOCK I, SETIAWALK,

  PERSIARAN WAWASAN, PUSAT BANDAR PUCHONG,

  47160 PUCHONG, SELANGOR, MALAYSIA.

  [email protected]

  FARHAYVEN: VENGEANCE

  eISBN: 978-967-13884-0-2

  EDITOR: S.P.C. NAMBIAR

  [email protected]

  S. K. NG ASSERTS THE MORAL AND LEGAL RIGHT TO BE IDENTIFIED AS THE AUTHOR OF THIS WORK.

  INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY CORPORATION OF MALAYSIA (MYIPO) NOTIFICATION NUMBER CRLY00002311.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. NO PART OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE REPRODUCED, STORED IN A RETRIEVAL SYSTEM, OR TRANSMITTED, IN ANY FORM OR BY ANY MEANS, ELECTRONIC, MECHANICAL, PHOTOCOPYING, RECORDING OR OTHERWISE, WITHOUT THE PRIOR PERMISSION OF THE PUBLISHER.

  THIS BOOK IS SOLD SUBJECT TO THE CONDITION THAT IT SHALL NOT, BY WAY OF TRADE OR OTHERWISE, BE LENT, RE-SOLD, HIRED OUT OR OTHERWISE CIRCULATED WITHOUT THE PUBLISHER’S PRIOR CONSENT IN ANY FORM OF BINDING OR COVER OTHER THAN THAT IN WHICH IT IS PUBLISHED AND WITHOUT A SIMILAR CONDITION INCLUDING THIS CONDITION BEING IMPOSED ON THE SUBSEQUENT PURCHASER.

  Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

  Ng, S. K., 1974-

  FARHAYVEN : VENGEANCE / S. K. NG.

  Also available in print

  Mode of access: World Wide Web

  Title from PDF cover

  Reproduction of: Ng, S. K. FARHAYVEN : VENGEANCE.

  Puchong, Selangor : Epic Lore Publishing, 2016.

  eISBN 978-967-13884-0-2

  Electronic books.

  English fiction.

  Malaysian fiction (English). I. Title.

  823

  INTRODUCTION

  A majestic eagle glides freely across the cloudless sky. The late morning sun shines brightly, spreading its warmth and magnificence as far as the eye can see. Down below lies a land with a wide contrast of plains, rivers, mountain ranges and numerous waterfalls. This is the Kingdom of Free Falls, one of the many kingdoms in the mysterious world of Farhayven.

  The world of Farhayven consists of five giant land masses. At the northern most part of Farhayven lies Whitecrust Continent, its surface glazed with snow all year long. Just slightly south-east of Whitecrust is Freezegale Continent where violent and freezing gales are ever prevalent. In the middle of Farhayven one can find Sunwarm Continent, which basks in the sun all year long. Transitions Continent is located to the south of Sunwarm. It uniquely experiences the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter, the only land in Farhayven that does so. Finally, located at the southernmost part of Farhayven is Deathberg Continent. It is a giant floating iceberg that has consumed the lives of many brave explorers. And where the land masses are not in existence, vast and unfriendly oceans dominate this world.

  Besides the constant summer or constant winter of the continents, with the exception of Transitions Continent, the whole of Farhayven experiences two very distinct climate seasons of a different kind; a humid, rainy season and an arid, rainless season. The rainy season, called ‘Wet Season’, lasts for six months and is followed by the rainless ‘Dry Season’ during the remaining six months. The Farhayvenytes, therefore, set their calendars accordingly. There are exactly 30 days in each month. The month starts at the eclipse of the moon and ends with its waning, with the middle of the month seeing a full moon. Daily time is based on the position of the sun during the day, or the elapsed time of the absence of the sun during the night. Calibrated candles, which burn at a specific rate and are calibrated to the movement of the sun across the sky, are used both during day and night for the purpose of keeping time.

  Transportation on each continent is done primarily by land on horseback or by horse-drawn vehicles; and secondarily by river using boats and barges. Travelling between continents is rarely done as many a men have drowned braving Farhayven’s vast and merciless oceans.

  The year is now 1200 of the Known Era. The term ‘Known Era’ signifies the current time period which began when the Farhayvenytes started keeping records of the events that affected them, whereas the ‘Unknown Era’, which precedes this era, signifies the time when no such records are kept. The current technological level of Farhayvenyte society is equivalent to the late Iron Age of our world. Social and governmental organisation is different from country to country, varying from loose alliances of different tribes to very well structured monarchies or democracies.

  Placing its humble existence on the southern tip of Sunwarm is the Kingdom of Free Falls, a land where numerous mountain ranges create a vast number of waterfalls, ranging from the small and simple to the gigantic and breath-taking. The extensive mountain ranges act as natural fences dividing this kingdom into three provinces; namely North-western Falls Province, Eastern Falls Province and Southern Falls Province. The people of Free Falls or ‘Fallsians’, as they like to call themselves, consists of mainly two races. The dark-haired, fair-skinned Fallsians trace their ancestry to slaves or peasants fleeing the tyranny of the war mongering culture of the Kingdom of Serpentia, which lies to the east of Free Falls. They are termed as having Serpentian ancestry. The blond-haired, pale-skinned Fallsians trace their ancestry to the rugged and barren desert lands known as the Arid Plains, which lie to the north-west of Free Falls. These people are termed as having Aridyte ancestry. Through a history of 900 years the two races of Fallsians have learned to live together, not just co-existing in harmony but fusing into one people.

  Free Falls is governed in accor
dance with the monarchy system. This kingdom is ruled by a king who controls the military directly. The military is the only enforcement agency of the government, serving as defenders, peacekeepers and rescuers. The military structure divides into the Royal Guards, the Provincial Guards and the Oceanic Guards. The Royal Guards are headed by the crown prince. The various Provincial Guards and Oceanic Guards are each headed by a ‘recavian’ and are tasked with the safety and security of a specific province or oceanic area. Each of these guards is of the size defined as an ‘ocean’ and is designated numerically. Thus, the Royal Guards are known as 1st Ocean. 2nd, 3rd and 4th Ocean collectively form the Provincial Guards. 5th and 6th Ocean are collectively known as the Oceanic Guards. 1st Ocean is tasked with the security of royalties, government officials and the capital city of Fallsene. 2nd Ocean guards North-western Falls Province, 3rd Ocean defends Eastern Falls Province and 4th Ocean protects Southern Falls Province. 5th Ocean secures Free Fall’s coastal areas whereas 6th Ocean is tasked with faraway, expeditionary missions.

  The daily governance of Free Falls, however, is done by a civilian prime minister and a group of civil officials known as the Council of Ministers. These civilian ministers are elected from the civilian population, and are answerable to the king. Besides the daily running of the kingdom, they are also tasked with the drawing up of the laws of the land. Answering to the prime minister and the Council of Ministers are the three provincial governors and their deputies. Answering to the provincial governors are the town mayors and their deputies and also the village headmen.

  To the east of Free Falls lies the Kingdom of Serpentia. It is a kingdom with a grassland-like climate, and although it is not particularly harsh, living in this kingdom is miserable for most of its citizens due to the political and cultural practices that exists here. The average Serpentian, should he or she be so lucky, survive by practising nomadic agriculture. The unlucky ones are drafted into military servitude of the individual warlords who rule their respective territories. Each warlord, or otherwise known as ‘battlelord’, controls a territory called ‘nestland’ and commands an army of 700-900 soldiers.

  The Serpentians are quite often caught in civil wars as battlelords often attack one another in order to gain more power, land and resources. So the unfortunate draftee will most likely die on some unknown battlefield so that his unappreciative battlelord’s treasure vault can grow bigger.

  The battlelords form an administrative council which administrates the entire kingdom and is known as the Will of Serpentia. And amongst them, one is selected to be their king. The selection process is known as the Trial of Worthiness, but in essence, it is just two men, at a time, fighting to the death; with the survivor getting the throne. The Serpentian king and his warlords victimise the Serpentian people by exacting heavy taxes (in terms of harvested food, goods and services) and enslaving them as forced labourers in metal ore mines. In these mines, safety is almost never a concern and many forced labourers die due to exhaustion, starvation or accidents. Serpentia also has a history of war and frequent partial invasion of Free Falls as the Eastern Falls Province, which it shares a border with, is a rich source of agricultural products and slaves. In between these wars were cross border raids to plunder for food, wealth and slave.

  The Arid Plains, which lie to the north-west of Free Falls, is a dry and almost desolated desert land with rocky terrain. Searing heat burns the senses during the day and freezing winds numb the mind during the night. The people here live in tribes of 600 – 1000 people, each with its own leader. The leadership changes ever so often as leaderships are always challenged and are determined by the outcome of fights to the death. Primitive and uneducated, their societies do not have any clear military structures. When their tribe attacks or is under attack, every able-bodied male in the tribe will take part in the battle. Like hungry beasts fighting over a dead prey, the different tribes constantly fight each other for territory and natural resources; and are very hostile to all strangers. They survive by hunting the few animals that live here and there is hardly any agriculture except near the occasional water hole or the banks of rare streams. Their pride and ignorance cause them to reject any form of wisdom or knowledge as they adamantly retain their barbaric culture.

  The one thing common to all people and societies of Farhayven is that they constantly face the problem of demon attacks. The first demon mysteriously appeared in Farhayven in the Year 200 of the Known Era. This demon is known as Lord Desolator, and is categorized as a Prime Demon. A Prime Demon is one who is born a demon, and not one who has been converted into a demon. The subsequent demons that plague Farhayven are all Secondary Demons and consist of humans who were converted by Lord Desolator. Tertiary Demons are humans or animals who were converted by Secondary Demons. And ever since the arrival of Lord Desolator, the nightly silence of Farhayven is often broken by the helpless and desperate cries of innocent victims as vicious and cruel demons close in on them, toying with them before the kill. The demons do not discriminate against their victims, for every single human being, regardless of race or social standing, is a tempting target. As a result, certain gifted humans began developing strange powers and capabilities out of the necessity to survive against these demon attacks. They are known as ‘Elementhars’, the ones with the capabilities to produce and control the five elements of nature. However, Elementhars are very rare and only in Free Falls can there be found an institution that trains, develops and bonds not only gifted individuals, but ordinary people as well, into a brotherhood.

  The Elementhar institution in Free Falls is known as the Grand Order of Elementhars. It consists of five orders; the Order of Fire Elementhars, the Order of Water Elementhars, the Order of Wind Elementhars, the Order of Earth Elementhars and the Order of Mind Elementhars. Each order is led by a ‘High Elementhar’ and collectively, these High Elementhars form the High Council of Elementhars. A ‘Grand Elementhar’ is elected, based on seniority, amongst the High Elementhars to lead this high council. However, the Grand Elementhar retains his position as High Elementhar of his order. The Order of Water Elementhars lives in the northern area of North-western Falls Province, the Order of Wind Elementhars resides in the western area of North-western Falls Province and the Order of Earth Elementhars is found in Southern Falls Province. The Order of Mind Elementhars used to serve the community of Fallsene City, but as of the Year 1000 of the Known Era, it had mysteriously vanished. The Order of Fire Elementhars was based in Eastern Falls Province, but in the Year 1185 of the Known Era, it was destroyed when its members were brutally massacred. Each of these Elementhar orders live in a monastery-like abode called a ‘monune’, with its members living simple lives of study and practice when not dealing with demon attacks.

  These are the general aspects of existence in the mysterious world of Farhayven. The Farhayvenytes are content in living their lives the way their forebearers had. Things have remained unchanged for several hundred years.

  But events are unfolding…

  CHAPTER ONE

  THE HOODED MAN

  Lightning flashes across the dark Fallsian sky as the wind begins to turn gusty. Thick overcast clouds obscure the dim glow of the crescent moon. A crack of thunder echoes throughout the heavens. The main street of an obscure town in Eastern Falls Province of the Kingdom of Free Falls is empty of all living souls except for two, a mysterious hooded man and a white polar wolf. The pair walks calmly up the deserted street. As the first few drops of tears fall from above, the residents of this town offer a prayer in their respective faiths. For it is not just deliverance from the two unnatural harsh seasons of drought that they are praying for, but more importantly, from an evil fate that has befallen them as well.

  Even when the rain began to drizzle, the hooded man maintained his calm yet purposeful pace. He was dressed in a navy blue shirt under a thick, black, hooded robe that flowed down to the hips at the front, extended down to the calves at the back and had wide, long sleeves. His lower limbs were clad in thic
k, black canvas pants bloused into a pair of extra thick black canvas boots. He wore around his waist a black canvas belt on which was clipped a brown, wooden sheath that housed a long, slightly curved hunter’s knife. Also on his waist he had a large, black canvas pouch. He held in his left hand a jewel embedded silver short-staff. The jewels were embedded at one and a half fingers length from the top of the staff and consisted of a ruby, a sapphire, a brown diamond, a white diamond and a golden beryl. On his back he slung a black canvas backpack. On top of his backpack was secured a long roll of black canvas.

  Streaks of lightning and explosive booms of thunder began increasing in frequency and intensity. The white wolf accompanied the man, pace by pace, with his yellow eyes staring intensely ahead. He bared his sharp fangs ever so slightly. A little girl, of the age six, opened the window of her bedroom, but before she could look outside, her worrisome mother grabbed her and slammed the window shut. Reaching the end of the street, the hooded man looked up to a pathway that led to a fairly luxurious house on top of a small hill. Something sinister awaited them there. Yet they did not pause, nor hesitate, as they made their way up there.

  The heavens let loose all that it was holding back. Lashes of heavy downpour struck mercilessly against the hooded man and his wolf companion. The hooded man looked up at the hilltop house, his eyes registering all its intricate details. It was a white double storey stone house with a small garden in front. The area immediately in front of the main door was decorated with a small fountain. The house was completely dark. The ground floor featured a large and thick wooden main door, and from the split-second flashes of lightning, the vague outlines of a study room to the left and a living room to the right of the main door could be seen through their respective large windows. Lines of what one could only assume to be blood splatter were visible on the glass panel of these windows. The top floor, however, was not as forthcoming as the curtains were drawn shut across its windows. Heavy raindrops pounded the red tiled roof.