The House of Fire : A Coming of Age Fantasy, page 1
Copyright © 2022 B.K. Cook
All rights reserved
Cover Art by MiblArt
Edited by Kenneth Zink
Formatting by Stardust Book Services in collaboration with R. L. Davennor
ISBN Paperback: 979-8-9861540-0-8
ISBN Ebook: 979-8-9861540-1-5
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental
Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
A Final Note
Prologue
It was a dark, foggy night. One of those nights where all light seemed to be consumed as if an invisible force were snuffing the light from the world. Screams pierced the air as arrows flew through the darkness and enormous figures attacked a small village. Terrified villagers ran every which way, fog billowing in their wake as cabins went up in flames. A woman ran with her infant babe clutched tightly in her arms, her husband at her side. They tried to flee the twisted creatures that had attacked their home, but every way they turned, a new monstrosity appeared.
The man led them down a small dark alleyway between two wooden homes away from the village center. Behind them, massive red skinned beasts that looked like enlarged humans swung clubs that had metal spikes sticking out of them into any that got in their path. Their muscles bulged as if it was about to tear their skin and their teeth seemed a mangled mess. A growl echoed ahead of the couple, and a figure that looked like a twisted combination of a human and bear walked in front of them, blocking the exit to the alley. The beast stood more than nine feet tall and had enormous paws with long claws where it’s hands and feet should be. They connected to half human, half bear arms and legs. Scattered patches of thick brown and gray hair blanketed its body, culminating in a grotesque, elongated face. As if a human face was pulled forward and its mouth was replaced with that of a bear. Its eyes appeared human, but were a pure emerald color that glowed in the dark night.
The beast charged the couple, a guttural roar echoing from its throat. The man pushed his wife back towards the village center and charged the beast, doing anything he could to distract it from his wife and child. He screamed a heart wrenching roar, knowing it was the last the thing he would ever do. The woman turned to run just before the bear like beast tore into her husband, sprinting back toward the chaos from which she had just escaped.
She burst into the open clearing of the village center. Bodies lined the ground and the smell of burned flesh, copper, and ash filled the air. In front of the woman, a long slender beast jumped down from the roof of a building, holding a long bow in one hand and a group of arrows in the others. The beast had unnaturally long arms and legs, almost insect like. Its eyes turned toward the woman and the babe, flashing bright yellow. It snarled and drew an arrow in the blink of an eye, aiming straight at the woman, who was frozen with fear.
The beast released the arrow, but just before it impacted the woman, a blade came down before her, swatting the arrow out of the air. The woman looked up to find a large man carrying two giant swords that were nearly a foot wide. His large brown eyes were laced with veins of red. He paused for a second, looking at the woman to make sure she was okay, then blurred into action, charging the beasts and drawing their focus. Another woman appeared on the roof to her left. She had a bow and was firing arrows left and right at the beasts. A leopard ran through the clearing, digging into the leg of one of the red tinted monsters while a silver-haired woman wearing a green cloak slashed and danced her way between the beasts, finishing the red monster that the leopard had its jaws in with a stab to the chest. The woman stood frozen to the spot, sobbing and clutching her screaming baby as she watched the newcomers fend off the twisted beasts. The Ilamantium Order had come just in time.
Chapter One
“I can still feel the burning in my eyes as new veins of white carved their way through my irises. My hands still seemed to vibrate with a new energy after I placed them against the Ilamantium altar. Years of dreaming to be chosen to join the Ilamantium Order coming to fruition. The Elders say they have seen none with veins of white before now. Apparently, I am a new breed of specialist, and the Elders aren’t sure what my affinity is for. Whatever my affinity, I will work hard to prove myself at the House of Water with the other initiates. For there is no greater calling than to protect those who cannot protect themselves.”
- From the journal of Arrachus Wolf: Late summer: Year 1048 (Twelve years before the rise of the new empire)
A jolt ran through my body, and I shot up, realizing I was lying on the forest floor. The scent of wet leaves from a morning dew and pine wafted on the air. The fire I had built still crackled with a few burning embers from the night before. I had been having the same recurring dream nearly every night for the past six years.
In my dream, a blinding light filled the air, and I felt myself instinctively walking toward it. Light broke through the canopy above, like a distant star in the sky. A hooded figure emerged in the center of a pond, ethereal and beautiful, with flowing black hair combed neatly back. The woman straightened out the folds of her long, white, cascading cloak, light blurred the features of her face. She seemed so familiar and yet foreign at the same time. I stood on the edge of the small pond. Water lilies lined the bank and a soft breeze filtered through the trees. The woman beckoned me to join her in the center of the pond. However, I could never get close enough to figure out who she was or what she wanted.
As the dream faded and clarity returned, I turned my attention back to the reason I was in the forest. Lord Rham had tasked me with trapping game in Alcorn forest this week. A job I enjoyed above all the rest. Reading animal trails and setting traps was one of the few pleasures I had in life. So far, I had trapped seven rabbits, five squirrels, and a couple of beavers. More than any of the other trappers, I was sure. Pleased with my work, I set my course for the edge of the forest, ready to get back home and sleep in a warm bed instead of the cold forest floor. Now for the tricky part, to get back to Alcorn without running into any noble born.
In Vail, you were either born a noble and afforded the many luxuries that entailed or born a crumb. Crumbs are viewed as little more than slaves and treated by the nobles as such. I had the great misfortune of being born a crumb, another disposable piece to be used by a noble lord to line his own pockets with gold. All the game I trapped and the hard work I put in went straight to Lord Rham. My family had been serving his since before I was born, and as such, he had claim to all my hard work and only had to pay me a fraction of what it was worth.
I left the forest as the sun was near setting. There were about two hours before it would be completely dark, but that should be plenty of time to get back in time for dinner. It was never a good idea to be caught out in the open after dark, and the noble kids had been taking a particular interest in torturing me for the last few months. I trod down the path, heading back to Alcorn by cutting through an extensive cornfield that lay between the forest and the village. As I neared the village, I heard rustling in the stalks to my left. Nervously, I readjusted the game around my neck and picked up my pace. It was late summer and near harvest, so the corn stalks were well over my head and obstructed view from beyond the narrow dirt path that ran through the center. As I looked over my shoulder to see if anyone was behind me, a couple of boys appeared on the path, large sticks in their hands. Fear gripped me. My heart pounded as I realized I was about to be caught and tortured by the noble born again. I sprinted, dropping the game I had trapped, as they gave chase. I risked a glance back to see where the boys were and found that the path was completely empty again. Surprised by the change, I turned to run again, and a crushing pain blasted through my chest. It felt like I had been kicked by a mule and I found myself flat on my back, looking up at the sky.
Laughter reached my ears as a group of boys surrounded me. A large one straddled me, pinning me to the ground, with the others circling around. I yelled as my head whipped back from the punches being thrown by the much larger boy on top of me. They were the sons of nobles in Alcorn, and I appeared to be their entertainment for the night.
Esben, a massive boy about twice the size of me and already built like a seasoned warrior with broad shoulders and a short haircut in the typical military fashion, was the ringleader of this little group. He was the son of Lord Eldrict Rha
“We still have the same-colored eyes. You can’t do this to me.” I struggled to get out between punches, which, in fact, weren’t even true. Esben’s eyes had already changed and showed veins of red coursing through his brown irises. This wasn’t uncommon when the child’s parents were both members of the Ilamantium Order, as Esben’s were.
Esben let out a malicious chuckle, knowing full well I could see the red in his eyes. “With the Affinity Ceremony coming up soon, we won’t get to have our fun with you much longer,” a sinister smile spread across his face as he continued to pummel me. “Besides, the only thing you people are good for is being punching bags for us before we go off to The House of Fire. You crumbs only know how to plow fields and clean the crap from our chamber pots.”
After what seemed like an eternity, the three noble boys finally had their fill and left me laying on the dirt path covered in blood and bruises. Unlike the nobles who supervised the crumbs, they didn’t care about leaving me in working shape for the next few days. My eyes were almost completely swollen shut, and I felt like I could barely breathe without excruciating pain shooting through my ribs. I tried to get up, but couldn’t muster the strength to even lift my head off the ground. It felt as though my head was splitting and my vision went blurry as my grip on consciousness slowly faded. A couple seconds passed, and my eyes rolled back in my head as darkness enveloped me.
***
I woke to a familiar face shaking me and calling my name gently. My eyes cracked open to find my older brother, Cal, kneeled over me, concern laced across his face as he took in my battered appearance. Cal was seven years older than me and my only living relative. Our father died before I was born, and our mother disappeared six years ago. Cal had been taking care of me ever since. His long, dark, unkempt hair fell over his face, partly obscuring his hazel brown eyes. He was like most from Vail in appearance, with brown eyes, an average height and build, and tanned olive skin with a “C” branded into his chest. His face already showed signs of weathering because of the harsh life of a crumb. Despite the callused hands, he had a gentle touch and never seemed to let his situation get the better of his emotions.
“Take a little tumble on your way back from the fields, Ward?” Cal said with a soft chuckle as he realized I was coming to.
“If only… Esben and his friends found me while I was walking home and took out a little pent-up aggression on me. Also, Esben’s eyes are already changing. I saw veins of red flashing in them while he was beating me. I don’t understand why he hates me so much. The few encounters I’ve had with his father, he’s always been kind to me.”
Cal tilted his head at this. “Lord Rham? Kind to you? Don’t make up lies Ward. We all know they think us little better than the dirt on their boots.”
“Well, maybe not kind, but he’s always treated me better than Esben ever did. He at least acknowledges me as a human and not just a play toy to be abused.” I sighed; a despondent feeling washed over me as the aches of my bruised body seeped into my bones. “I’m just ready to get the Affinity Ceremony over with so I can be rid of Esben and his sycophants. They have been out of control this summer, taking every chance to torture the others and me.” I admitted.
Cal nodded, an understanding expression writ on his face. “I remember when I was seventeen, and the ceremony was coming up. The nobles my age did the same to me and the other crumbs my age. You remember how many times I came home bloodied, and you had to go out and do my work in the days that followed while I recovered? Young nobles don’t care about that work that needs to be done, and the older nobles don’t care if a few young crumbs get roughed up enough where they can’t work the next day. As long as the fields get worked and the nobles get paid, the older nobles turn a blind eye to what their kids do.”
Alcorn was a small farming village, surrounded by fields of crops and a hardwood forest rich in oak, maple, and ash trees. The majority of Nobles were granted land rights to the fields surrounding the village, and have crumbs do the physical labor they see as beneath them. The slightest disobedience, or perceived disobedience, is met with quick and severe punishment, but usually not enough to prevent the crumb from returning to work as the nobles depended on them.
Cal let his soft smile slip. “We can’t control what others do to us, Ward. We can only control how we respond. You can either choose to have a positive outlook on life and handle the punches as they’re thrown at you. Or you can dwell on the inequity that we were born into, and sulk in sadness for the rest of your life. I, for one, choose to look at the brighter side of life, and I think you would be best served to do that as well. Even if we can’t own our own land or business, we can take pride in the work we do. At least Lord Rham allows you to trap in the woods. I know how much you enjoy it.”
This week I was assigned to trapping small game in the woods, which I loved doing more than any other job. For not having anyone to teach me how to track or set traps, I was good at it. Being in the forest felt right to me, as if there was something soothing about being alone in the woods. Just you and your quarry in a battle of wits to see who comes out on top. Studying tracks, learning the animals’ routines, and setting traps where they won’t be seen is a special talent of mine that Lord Rham seems to appreciate. Lately, he has assigned me to trap in the woods more often, allowing me much more time away from the village, which was fine by me. The longer in the woods, the longer I am away from the village, which meant more time away from Esben and his friends.
“Come on,” Cal said, breaking me away from my musings. “Let’s get you back home so I can have a proper look at your wounds.”
The walk home was excruciatingly painful. Every breath made my lungs feel like they were on fire and my head felt like it was about to spin off my body. The walk from where we were in the fields to our cabin in the village of Alcorn was about three miles through more fields of assorted vegetables and over rolling hills. It was a dark night, as the moon was no more than a sliver to illuminate our walk. Thankfully, there were no noble families that lived near where the Crumbs lived, so we had little chance of running into more trouble.
Alcorn is divided into two different sectors: the Runs and the Crown. The Runs are where the Crumbs live and are composed of rows of rundown shacks with dirt paths running through. Small stands lined the streets filled with trinkets and small household goods that the merchants could scrounge together. An array of stale ale mixed with spices wafted on the breeze as cooks prepared pots of food for the public, and lines of weary and dirty crumbs waited to collect their fill. A solemn air engulfed the crumbs as some made their way back to their homes and others made their way to the nearest tavern to spend their wages on cheap ale. Heads hung and shoulders drooped as the fatigue from the day weighed heavily on them.
The Crown was the polar opposite of the Runs, filled with massive mansions built inside a large, fenced community and a private guard to patrol the grounds to make sure no crumbs could venture through. They had massive fountains with extravagant statues and gardens that lined the walkways wherever you looked. The smell of flowers and freshly baked food surrounded the Crown. The nobles took an unparalleled comfort in their opulence while the crumbs scraped out their existence on leftover food and hand-me-down clothes. In the center of the Crown was a colossal mansion, more than twice larger than any other in the community. This was the residence of Lord Eldrict Rham and his son Esben. His title as Lord of Alcorn afforded him a far more luxurious life than even the other members of the Order.
Despite the difference in living conditions, the crumbs were happy not to live in the Crown alongside the nobles. The Runs were the only place we got a break from the constant belittlement of the nobles. Although it wasn’t uncommon for them to come by and make a scene by dragging some poor soul from their home and beating them for the rest to see. I remember this happening to my mother when I was five. She had just gotten home from working in the fields, and we were sitting down to have the small number of rations that we could afford that week. The door burst open, and two giant men wearing plate armor with large broad swords at their back stormed in and grabbed my mother. They dragged her to the center of the street and whipped her because they claimed she had given them a sideways glance in the fields. It was just to frighten the other crumbs to make sure they stayed in line and didn’t have any thoughts of revolting against the nobles. A fearful and beaten community was much easier to control than a well fed and free community.
