Stories in the series "The Great Houses War"
# 1: The Great Houses War Part 1: Call to Arms
"The king is dead!" Caeron Tallirhan, rightful heir to the throne of Baranur, looked up with a start from the game of King's Key he had been playing. His grandfather was dead? He hadn't even known that the old man had been ill. He stared at the young squire panting at the door leading into Caeron's chambers in his country manor in Dyunill. The boy, who was not much younger than Caeron, was dressed in furs to protect him from the ... [ Read More ]
# 2: The Great Houses War Part 2: The Noose and the Falcon
King Caeron surveyed the meadows to the southwest from his vantage point on a tall hill. Fremlow City was just beyond the horizon, he knew, but the army of Duke Valeran Northfield was all that he saw. All the blue Northfield banners bore black falcons, however, indicating that the duke himself was not present. If he had been, there would have been a white falcon to mark his position. Caeron's own heraldry flew on a large banner just behind him, ... [ Read More ]
# 3: The Great Houses War Part 3: The Stealthy Guardians
Sir Zephrym Vladon, captain of the king's guard, clutched Crown Prince Brad tightly to him as he rode through the Wherwell Forest, ten leagues west of Magnus. A light snow was falling, but did little to obscure vision. Zephrym wished that he had the blossoms of spring filling out the forest rather than the dark skeletons of winter, so that they could be shielded from view. He knew that insurrectionist soldiers -- those who sought to uncrown King Caeron and ... [ Read More ]
# 4: The Great Houses War Part 4: The Empress of Beinison
Aendasia, Empress of Beinison, Duchess of Northfield, and Queen of Baranur rode west along the Kings' Road at the head of her army. Her title of empress was merely a formality since her son actually ruled Beinison, but the title Queen of Baranur held real power. She had succeeded her great uncle King Stefan II upon his death, according to his wishes. A short distance ahead stood Woldarun, a village under her rule, the last along the road before she would ... [ Read More ]
# 5: The Great Houses War Part 5: The Girl Who Would be Queen
"A moment, Lord Sumner?" Baron Aubrey Talador said. Sumner, second Duke of Dargon, paused at the top of the stone stairs, his hand upon the handle of the solid wood door leading into Dargon Keep's Grand Hall. He looked down warily at Baron Talador, a candle flickering in his left hand, the light glinting off the jewels the baron wore. "What do you wish to speak about that can't be said in the hall?" Sumner asked. Talador drew a little closer and glanced ... [ Read More ]
# 6: The Great Houses War Part 6: Master of the North
Duke Valeran Northfield was thoroughly soaked with rain water by the time he reached the sheltered confines of his pavilion. Despite the downpour, he had wanted to ensure that the sentries were posted and his army's encampment safe. He had been satisfied with the results of his inspection, and thought that, with any luck, the enemy did not know that he was here. If things stayed that way until dawn, he calculated that he could launch a devastating surprise attack ... [ Read More ]
# 7: The Great Houses War Part 7: The Knights’ Charge at Balkura
Baroness Galina Fennell sat in a simple pine chair, staring into the fire that crackled in a stone hearth. The floor beneath her feet was dirt strewn with rushes, the building a peasant's dwelling that doubled as a tavern of sorts. The master of the house, a widow of the civil war that had raged for nigh on five years, served homemade ale and rented the rooms upstairs to travellers. Such was the best a humble village like Balkura had ... [ Read More ]
# 8: The Great Houses War Part 8: The Turning of the Tide
Queen Dara stood at the back of the Olean shrine in Dargon Keep, near the entrance, while a priestess devoted to Ol and a few robed acolytes conducted an unfamiliar ritual in the centre of the small room. They were placing stalks of meilore on a stone slab and kissing each other in ritualistic fashion. Observing the sensual performance, she was mindful of many of the reasons she had converted to Stevenism after meeting Caeron. On the other hand, she ... [ Read More ]
# 9: The Great Houses War Part 9: The Queen of Baranur
"How did they get behind us?" "To arms! To arms!" Queen Dara, ruler of Baranur, was jarred suddenly awake by voices shouting outside of her pavilion. She looked about blearily. By the light of the single candle illuminating her tent, she could not see anything out of the ordinary. Her sword leaned up against the trunk with her clothes in it, her chainmail gambeson was draped atop another trunk. She decided that she had been dreaming and snuggled back under her blankets. "Damn ... [ Read More ]