Savior Read online

  Savior

  The Saga of Java Mountainstand, Book 3

  By Loren K. Jones

  Twilight Times Books

  Kingsport Tennessee

  Savior

  This is a work of fiction. All concepts, characters and events portrayed in this book are used fictitiously and any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2018 by Loren K. Jones. Expanded and revised from a previous electronic edition published by e-Quill Publishing, Brisbane, Australia 2011 with title “Savior.”

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except brief extracts for the purpose of review, without the permission of the publisher and copyright owner.

  Twilight Times Books

  P O Box 3340

  Kingsport, TN 37664

  www.twilighttimesbooks.com/

  Revised Electronic Edition: November 2018. Author’s preferred version.

  Cover art by Brad Fraunfelter.

  Published in the United States of America

  For my wife Pamela, and children, Cimmaresa, Alexander, and Dana, who tolerated me while I was writing these books.

  Loren K. Jones

  Table of Contents

  Timeline of the Brondian Continent

  What has Gone Before

  Glimmerey

  CHAPTER 1: THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS

  CHAPTER 2: RETURNING TO WHITEHALL

  CHAPTER 3: SURPRISES AT EQUINTAIN

  CHAPTER 4: LINK COUNTY

  CHAPTER 5: LOTHAR

  CHAPTER 6: OLD FRIENDS

  CHAPTER 7: GIGGLES AND LAUGHTER

  CHAPTER 8: WINTERHAVEN

  CHAPTER 9: OLD ENEMIES, NEW PROBLEMS

  CHAPTER 10: REUNIONS

  CHAPTER 11: REFUGEES

  CHAPTER 12: LAKELAND

  CHAPTER 13: EMPRESS JAVA

  EPILOGUE

  Timeline of the Brondian Continent

  NOTE:

  BL stands for Before Lux. FR stands for Frander

  Year 6715 BL

  A bored dragon called Dandarshandrake decides to experiment on humans, making them better

  Year 4796 BL

  Dandarshandrake's experiments begin to show promise.

  Year 2239 BL

  The people Dandarshandrake is experimenting on separate into clans: Chosen, Cat, Artisan, Servitor, Common

  Year 1628 BL

  Dandarshandrake's "pets" begin to build a civilization

  Year 1018 BL

  Lux (the word for city) is founded

  Year 843 BL

  The people of Lux begin conquest of other tribes

  Year 357 BL

  The people of Lux permanently stratify and take up signifying prefixes: Chosen (Zel), Cat (Kel), Revered (Fel), Honored (Bel), Common (Del)

  Year 00

  The Empire of Luxand is Founded by Dandarshandrake, saying they are his "Chosen" people

  Year 414

  Luxand conquers 70% of the Brondian continent

  Year 1599

  Sahrendrake is hatched

  Year 1899

  Lebawandrake is hatched

  Year 3057

  Sahrendrake joins her sire's experiment and becomes Lady Sahren the Nurturer

  Year 3186

  Lebawandrake joins his sire's experiment and becomes Lord Lebawan the Cutter

  Year 5316

  Dandarshandrake embraces oblivion

  Year 5327

  The empire of Luxand fragments without the unifying force of Dandarshandrake

  Year 5411

  Queen Fiora Zel’Kanis of Farindia banishes her father’s Royal Guards to Kel’Kavin

  Year 5608

  Marydyth Zel'Karyn is born in Coravia

  Year 5624

  Marydyth Zel'Karyn joins the Army of Coravia

  Year 5627

  Knight of Justice Marydyth Zel’Karyn goes to Evandia

  Year 5631

  Knight of Justice Marydyth Zel’Karyn renounces the path to may Carlstan Zel'Fordan

  Year 5646

  Marydyth (Mary Death) Zel’Fordan dies defending Evandia

  Year 5849

  Stavin Kel'Aniston goes to the dragon's cave above Kel’Kavin

  Year 5850

  Stavin founds House Kel'Aniston and saves King Kalin

  Year 5851

  Stavin saves King Kalin for the second time and Princess Marina goes to Kel'Kavin

  Year 5852

  Stavin becomes Prince Stavin and receives the Sword of Zel'Hallan from Shovar

  Year 5853

  Evandia annexes Old Farindia and Stavin leads the force that brings Farindians into Evandia

  Year 5856

  Stavin becomes King of Coravia to save it from Lebawan's priests

  Year 5859

  Stavin goes to Reynadia and becomes the Blessed of Arandar, then saves Reynadia from Ravashanal

  Year 5866

  Stavin and his wife Shari go and find Klamath, the Capital of Vaskan

  Year 6019

  War breaks out between Luxandia and Evandia, soon involving all of the Old Empire kingdoms

  Year 6026

  A mage from Luxandia calls forth the Dershal Plague, killing 80% of the population of all six kingdoms

  Year 6033

  The Dershal Plague runs its course, finally dying out but leaving few survivors

  Year 6121

  Survivors isolated from the plague cautiously re-establish the kingdoms

  Year 6592

  400 years have repopulated the Brondian Continent

  Year 6980

  A mage released the Red Death Curse, killing most of the people in the southern part of the Brondian Continent

  Year 6981

  The Kingdom of Forinstan arises on the eastern part of the continent, below the Great Bay. (FR -548)

  Year 7416

  A foolish boy makes a rash request of the God of Chaos and becomes Amberdrake, heir to Dandarshandrake as the greatest mage that ever lived (FR -113)

  Year 7494

  Blackmoore Javinson is born to King Javin and his queen, Morval. (FR -35)

  Year 7519

  Blackmoore Javinson ascends the throne over the body of his murdered father.

  Year 7526

  King Blackmore begins his fall into madness

  Year 7528

  The Fornistanian Revolution begins

  Year 7529

  Amberdrake ends the Fornistanian Revolution by killing King Blackmoore

  Year 7645

  Prince Kaster of Greencastle marries Werrin, a Silent Clan assassin. In the Duchy of Rey, Adept Mage Frander leads a coup against the duke and proclaims himself King Frander

  Year 7654

  Prince Arten of Hiddendell marries the former mercenary, Naria Grantsport.

  Year 7668

  Java Mountainstand joins the Firewalkers

  Year 7671

  Java Mountainstand becomes Lady Java and becomes Lady of Mountainstand and Link Counties

  Year 7673

  Java Mountainstand is adopted by Duke Arten and Duchess Naria of Hiddendell, becoming Princess Java

  What has Gone Before

  AFTER FIVE LONG YEARS OF WAR, the Duchy of Lender’s Dale is finally free of Emperor Frander’s army of occupation and his magical control of the people. Duchess Samantha Lender is firmly on her throne, and her ravaged duchy is beginning to rebuild thanks to the help and generosity of Samantha’s guardian, Princess Java of Hiddendell, better known as Java Mountainstand.

  Java was originally a runaway servant who had become a mercenary in a bid for independence. It was Java who had rescued Samantha, the last survivor of the royal fami
ly of Lender’s Dale, and been made a lady as a reward and in acknowledgment of her guardianship over the young duchess. And it was Java who had won the hearts of her comrades and commanders, and been adopted by the childless Duke Arten and Duchess Naria of Hiddendell.

  Finally, with peace and maturity, Java’s life is settling down. She has accepted that, whatever her plans had been, being made a princess has irrevocably altered the course of her life. Her resignation from the Firewalkers has set in motion yet another round of changes, starting with her proposal of marriage to her longtime lover, Jah’Moke Cawfy.

  Marta Freeholm, founder of the Firewalkers, retired and accepted the position of Lady High Chatelaine of Link County, Java’s holding in Hiddendell. Shair Skyhaven, Java’s beloved lieutenant, has also retired, and accepted the position of Lady High Chatelaine of Mountainstand County, Java’s holding in Greencastle.

  For Java, who had counted on both Marta and Shair’s council for years, keeping them with her was a relief beyond her ability to express. For the two retiring mercenary officers, it was both a shock and a blessing.

  Glimmerey

  EMPEROR FRANDER SAT ON HIS THRONE with an extremely puzzled expression on his face. Before him stood his most powerful followers, his generals. Each was a force to be reckoned with in his own right, but their devotion to Frander was unquestioned.

  “Why do they fight me?” he asked. “I am bringing about a utopia on Dracana, and I can’t grasp why anyone would oppose me?”

  “My Emperor, it was just Lender’s Dale. You know they have never been considered to be very civilized. Throw in Greencastle and they may as well be a back-woods tavern. We shall retake them.”

  “But how did we lose them? Why did we lose them? This makes no sense to me,” he told his generals, “I must know why they did this. I must know how they did this. I must know what magic they possess that I do not.”

  All six generals bowed deeply before the leader said, “We shall discover this information for you, My Emperor.”

  CHAPTER 1: THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS

  Home. No matter where it is, home is always the best place to be.

  Master Scholar Princess Sharindis Zel’Andral, “Travels with Stavin”

  PEACE. THE CONCEPT SEEMED ALMOST ALIEN to Java. For the first time since she had run away from Equintain, her future seemed peaceful. Lender’s Dale was free of Frander, and Greencastle was no longer in danger. No one knew what his next move would be, but that was a problem for the future.

  Nothing had been heard or seen from Frander’s forces since they had broken and retreated from Lender’s Dale. For the Army of Lender’s Dale, the war was over. For now, at least.

  And Java felt like she was done. Her main goal of freeing Samantha’s duchy had been accomplished. And even though Greencastle was now her duchy in a very real sense, she was going home to Whitehall to embrace the destiny that had been pressed upon her. And that, as strange as it seemed, didn’t sit well with Java.

  I’m never going to have any more fun.

  Princess Java Mountainstand of Hiddendell took her leave of the Firewalkers and Firedale, accompanied by the people who had made her what she had become. Jah’Moke rode close on her right, and Robin rode knee-to-knee on her left. Marta Freeholm, Shair Skyhaven, and Sabrina Derinsham followed close behind. Behind them, in a column of twos, came two hundred Firewalkers, escorting their princess and former captain back to Hiddendell. There they would take up residence in the compound that had been the Firewalkers’ home since Marta had formed the company twenty-three years before. Sabrina was the only member of the procession who was not a Firewalker, but her relationship with Shair made her family to Java.

  They were headed to Greensboro first to petition Duke Kaster to ennoble Shair and name her Lady Skyhaven. The trip was uneventful except for the hostility of some of the village mayors and headmen to the company of mercenaries that filed through their territories. The people of Greencastle felt that the mercs were a necessary evil, but an evil nonetheless. Now that Frander was no longer an immediate threat, the very people they had been hired to protect were making them feel unwelcome.

  The mayor of Lone Pine, the closest town to Firedale, and the only town that had existed before the war in the marginal territory that had become Mountainstand County, greeted them before they entered the town and set the tone for their trip.

  “Just keep on going. We’ve had enough trouble out of you lot.”

  Java rode forward and dismounted. She had never met the mayor before. “Who are you?” she asked as she stood and looked up into his face. He was easily as tall as Ander Lesten, but where Ander was smoothly handsome, this man was as rough as a dirt-clod. Sporting a five-day growth of whiskers, his face looked dirty to Java, and his bulbus nose was speckled with black spots.

  “I am Mayor Cavenal. Who in the hells are you?” the mayor snarled, his hostility toward the mercs making him surly and careless.

  “I am Princess Java, and the Lady of Mountainstand County. Watch your tone when you speak to me.” Java’s angry blue eyes bored into the mayor’s brown eyes. “You will convene a meeting of the Town Council immediately. Is that understood?”

  Mayor Cavenal looked down into Java’s face and stepped back. He had never met the princess, but the girl in front of him matched the description he had been given. “You’re really Princess Java?” he asked in a cautious tone.

  Java drew her hand up and tapped the twin ducal brooches that were pinned to her sash. The light was poor, but the mayor could make out the emerald of the Greencastle brooch beside the sapphire and topaz of the Hiddendell brooch. “Do you need more proof?”

  The mayor licked his lips nervously and dropped briefly to one knee, shaking his head. “No, Princess. No, I believe you,” he said as he backed away. “I will convene the council at once, Your Highness.” He continued to back away, never taking his eyes off Java.

  Marta rode up beside Java and smiled down at her as the mayor finally turned and ran back into town. “You seem to be getting used to being a princess, Java.”

  Java grinned up at the woman she would always call captain and shrugged. “It has its uses, Sir.”

  Lieutenant Maren Kelven, as the senior Firewalker officer and commander of the detachment, ordered her women to pitch camp outside of town. While the troops were busying themselves setting up tents, she walked over to Java and her party.

  She bowed to Java before saying, “The hostility of the mayor is an unpleasant surprise. During the war, Lone Pine was more than glad of our presence. And our silver. With your permission, Princess Java, I would like to be part of this. Captain Rivers is going to want to know what is happening.”

  Java nodded. “Yes, Sir. You’re welcome to come along if you promise to stop calling me princess when you don’t have to.” Java’s sour look made the women around her laugh.

  “As you wish, Java,” Maren replied, smiling at the slight figure beside her, her teeth gleaming in the light of the setting sun.

  The Town Council members were all present in the Alder Tree Inn when Java and her party arrived. The innkeeper, Valden Coopersmith, was a member of the council and a distant cousin of Sabrina’s. He saw her with the mercs and quickly went to her side. “Sabrina, what are you doing here? Is that really Princess Java?”

  “It is,” Sabrina said softly. She looked at the slight figure striding through the common room and nodded. “Watch your step, Valden. She’s not to be trifled with.”

  Java stopped when she was facing the council, and the mayor quickly called them to order. She swept the room with an angry scowl before speaking. “I am Princess Java Mountainstand, Lady of Mountainstand County,” she said, pausing to scan the faces before her again. They don’t look happy to see us. “The greeting my party received tonight will not be repeated. Is that understood? I consider the Firewalkers to be my family, and the Vandals and Thunderfeet to be my friends. Any insults you offer them will be considered an insult to me personally.”

  The
mayor cleared his throat and stood to bow. “Princess, please forgive me. I didn’t know you were among the group that was approaching the town, otherwise I would never have greeted you in such a manner.”

  “That you would greet any of the mercenaries in such a manner is inexcusable!” Java snapped irritably. “These men and women have been fighting for you, keeping you safe, for more than five years. If they had pulled out after the second year, when their initial contracts ran out, every man here would have been pressed into the Guard, and Frander would have taken Greencastle.” Her cold blue eyes scanned the Town Council and the spectators. There were a number of robust young men among them who should have been with the Guard, but had never been called upon.

  Java turned and held out her hand to Shair, who stood to join her. “This is Shair Skyhaven. She is accompanying me to Greensboro, where I shall ask Duke Kaster to name her Lady Skyhaven. She will then be returning as my Lady High Chatelaine for Mountainstand County. Mayor Cavenal,” she said as she fixed the mayor with a stern glare, “I would suggest you remember her face. Each of the mercenary companies has volunteered a force to aid her in the administration of the county.” A slightly nasty smile curved her lips for an instant. “The next mercs that knock on your door may well be Tax Collectors.”