Seeds of dominion, p.37
Seeds of Dominion,
p.37
No, Abissar thought. Darjhen must live… at least for now.
“Forgive me, High Master,” Abissar said gently but loud enough to draw everyone’s attention. He caught Elegathe narrowing her eyes at him. “Perhaps we should hear him out and then kill him.” He put as much calming reason as he could into his tone, knowing Talliah would respond well to it. “Knowledge, after all, is the root of our power.”
Talliah pondered his words for several heartbeats and then nodded once. “Very well. If it is the will of the Hand of Fate, I shall listen to his lies.” She turned cool eyes to Jekka. “I trust your blade is sharp.”
Jekka’s hungry stare never left Darjhen. She said nothing, as if she were frozen in that singular moment before a predator leaps upon its prey.
Jekka’s Vice Master, Traemic, placed a hand on her arm. “Hold,” he said… and to Abissar’s surprise, she did. Abissar would have expected Jekka to leap across the table with murder in her eyes, but she didn’t. Her response seemed… off.
Abissar took a good, long look at Traemic. He’d never really considered the young man before and, come to think of it, that was odd in itself. Traemic was handsome, young, and quiet. The more Abissar thought about it, the more he realized Traemic intentionally stayed in the background… just like Abissar.
In an instant, Traemic transformed from inconsequential apprentice to a person of interest. Abissar vowed to pay more attention to him in the future.
Traemic faced Darjhen. “Speak your truth and know it may not be Fate’s.” His voice was soothing, almost commanding, and even Abissar found himself swayed by the young man’s words. Strange.
Darjhen gave a single nod, yet his lip curled almost imperceptibly, as if the mere mention of truth… or was it Fate… had been distasteful to him.
“My truth. Fate’s truth. Soon enough, nothing we think or want will matter anymore. Not unless we do something right now.”
Darjhen reached into his robes and pulled out a large, heavy metal disk. He flipped it onto the table with a hearty THUNK. For several moments, it spun on its edge, the dark object rotating too quickly to see what was engraved into it. It slowed and then tipped over, gyrating loudly on its edge as it sunk down onto the table. It flattened with a final ring that echoed in the silence. It was a coin, at least twice the size of the plunnos Talliah used to open the thuros, and where hers held the image of Daemanon’s horned demon, this one held them all.
Yet it was a plunnos. It had to be. And if Talliah’s key opened the door between Daemanon and this place, it stood to reason that this larger, Giant-sized key opened them all… and perhaps more.
“It holds all of our symbols, not just our own,” Veikko noted.
The rest of the council seemed to draw in breath at the same time. Abissar felt the power of the huge coin, but he didn’t know what it meant. The others apparently did.
“The Giants have returned,” Darjhen said.
* * *
“It was a mistake to let him live,” Talliah said as they walked down the long passage beneath Daemonostra Keep. “That makes us all a party to his treason.”
“The Hand of Fate voted differently, High Master. I’m sorry,” Abissar said. He’d supported Talliah publicly, but he was delighted. Wyrd was presenting him with one boon after another. The Fakimiar Stones, the pot-stirring troublemaker Darjhen, and the revelation of more and more powerful plunnoi.
“They let their emotions take hold, and over little more than childish fears stoked by a traitor.” She shook her head, as if she might dislodge that fact by motion alone. “The very idea of the Giants returning is laughable. That plunnos should be buried and forgotten.”
“I agree, of course,” Abissar said. He didn’t know what to make of Darjhen’s notion that the Giants were coming back. For Abissar, that circumstance—be it eventuality or mere hysteria—meant nothing. Either they were coming back, or they weren’t. What mattered was that his designs continued to unfold, continued to lead him inexorably toward ruling the Hand of Fate and the continents that lay beyond each High Master. If there were more plunnoi, that meant there were other thuroi. Who knew how many? He had every intention of finding out. Once he did, he would do everything in his power to control them, just as he would the Fakimiar Stones.
The whole world was about to open up, and those who controlled the portals would control the world.
The End
Of
Seeds of Dominion
Continue your Eldros Adventure in the next book in the series:
The Forgotten King
by
Mark Stallings
Scan this QR Code to get it!
About the Author
National Bestselling Author Quincy J. Allen is a cross-genre author with a wide assortment of publications under his belt. His media tie-in novel Colt the Outlander: Shadow of Ruin was a Scribe Award finalist in 2019, and his noir sci-fi novel Chemical Burn was a Colorado Gold Award finalist in 2010.
He’s actively working on his fantasy steampunk series the Blood War Chronicles, and he just wrapped up book three in the fantasy series The Way of Legend with Marc Alan Edelheit. He and Kevin Ikenberry are working on Scourge, the sequel to Enforcer, and he’s also working on Cradle and All, a novel in Jamie Ibson’s Myrmidon’s universe. Most importantly, he is a founding member of the Eldros Legacy, and his debut novel Seeds of Dominion kicks off a series entitled the Legacy of Deceit.
In short, he’s going in eight directions at once and is loving every minute of it. He works out of his home in Charlotte, North Carolina, and hopes to one day be a New York Times bestselling author.
For more information about his ongoing efforts, check him out at:
QuincyAllen.com
EldrosLegacy.com/the-founders/Quincy-J-Allen
(Photo: Zenfolio | Jacobin Photography jacobinphotography.zenfolio.com)
If You Liked…
If you enjoyed this novel and the world it’s set in, then the creators of the Eldros Legacy would like to encourage you to don thy traveling pack and journey deeper into the mysteries of the world Eldros and all the myriad adventures set therein.
The mortal world of Eldros is coming apart. The Giants, who once ruled its five continents with draconian malice have set their mighty designs on a return to power. Mortals across the globe must be victorious against insurmountable odds or die.
Come join us as the Eldros Legacy unfolds in a growing library of novels and short stories.
You can find all the novels at:
EldrosLegacy.com/books
Our website is, of course:
EldrosLegacy.com
The Books by Series
Legacy of Shadows
by Todd Fahnestock
Khyven the Unkillable
Lorelle of the Dark
Rhenn the Traveler
Legacy of Deceit
by Quincy J. Allen
Seeds of Dominion
Demons of Veynkal
Legacy of Dragons
by Mark Stallings
The Forgotten King
Knights of Drakanon (Forthcoming)
Sword of Binding (Forthcoming)
Return of the Lightbringer (Forthcoming)
Legacy of Queens
by Marie Whittaker
Embers & Ash
Cinder & Stone (Forthcoming)
The Dog Soldier’s War
by Jamie Ibson
A Murder of Wolves
Valleys of Death (Forthcoming)
Warrior Mages of Pyranon
by C.A. Farrell
Dark & Secret Paths
The Areyat Islands
by Aaron Rosenberg
Deadly Fortune
Stealing the Storm (Forthcoming)
Crimson Fang
by HY Gregor
Stonewhisper (Forthcoming)
Other Eldros Legacy Novels
The Pain Bearer by Kendra Merritt
Short Stories
Here There Be Giants by The Founders (FREE!)
Dawn of the Lightbringer by Mark Stallings
The Darkest Door by Todd Fahnestock
Electrum by Marie Whittaker
Trust Not the Trickster by Jamie Ibson
Fistful of Silver by Quincy J. Allen
What the Eye Sees by Quincy J. Allen
A Rhakha for the Tokonn by Quincy J. Allen
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Quincy J. Allen, Seeds of Dominion
