Maev and the Wrath of the Dead

This story was supposed to be for the Prompt: Start your story with a character seeing something terrifying BUT unfortunately I lost track of time and missed the cut-off date. Sooo, since Reedsy doesn’t have an option to submit something after the deadline even if it’s not for the contest they recomended I just submit it under a different prompt for the current week but not for the contest.. So, when you read this story it has NOTHING to do with the prompt “Set your story on a film or TV set, starting with someone calling “Cut!”.” 

This story has continuing characters. It can be read on its own or if you enjoy this & want to read more about Maev’s adventures just look at my past submissions and leave feedback. Enjoy!! 

“I am  Grynvyr  Saresh, herald of the goddess of death Nephthys, reborn in the flesh of our most loyal of followers, the Empress Hatshe. Who hath durst to summon me?” 

King Corvallis eyed the dragonborn girl warily that hovered in front of his throne. 

“Lady Saresh, I am called Corvallis the Eternal,” he answered placing a hand on his chest, “first of my name and King of Vestroya.” He dipped his head in a sign of respect. 

Grynvyr’s gaze swept around the throne room. No less than twenty dragons encircled her, swords drawn. Above, the ceiling disappeared into darkness. Behind her a set of massive wooden doors were shut with two dragons hefting halberds on either side. Below, two young dragonborn lay unconscious. 

“Wherefore has't thee summoned me to this place?” she asked, turning back to Corvallis. 

“Herald Saresh, I did not summon you here. And the body you possess is not that of the Empress Hatshe but a young dragon from my court.” 

Grynvyr held her hands up and turned them over as if seeing them for the first time. She then looked up at her wings in astonishment and whipped her tail back and forth. 

“Aye, I  knoweth this person. This girl,” she said rolling her neck and shoulders. “She invoked the words that hath brought me from the middle-after.” 

“If so, then it was in error. All I sought was the return of my daughter,” Corvallis said motioning to one of the unconscious dragons. “Not to disturb your slumber.” 

“And yet thee has't, King Corvallis,” she said icily. “And once done, I must prepare the way for mine goddess.” 

“I warn you herald, be mindful with your next course of action.” 

“Art thee threatening me? I am a herald of death!” Grynvyr smiled cruelly. 

Corvallis stood up from his throne and spread his wings. 

“Have you forgotten so soon herald that I am the Eternal. I fear no gods!” 

******* 

All Maev could see was darkness. Somewhere close by there was the sound of a boy blubbering. He was so high pitched and bothersome that she had to place her hands on her ears to try to block it out. “Stop it!” she shouted irritably but the wailing continued. “Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!” 

Suddenly her eyesight cleared as the air rushed back into her lungs. She gulped for air and lifted herself up on her elbows. Lightning raked across the room as thunder shook her to her bones. All around dragons were flying about while bursts of red, green, and golden fire erupted. There was a roar of mayhem and confusion that buffeted against her, and she instinctively raised her arm to protect herself. 

A hand grabbed her wrist and she turned to see a dragonborn teenager. He had a bloody gash across his cheek and his navy doublet was torn at the shoulder. Next to him he held tightly by the collar the odd dragonborn boy that Maev had seen at the Elder Tombs. The dragonborn was shouting something to her that she couldn’t make out over the noise of the battle. He then turned back to the dragon boy, said something, and pointed at Maev. The dragonborn passed her wrist to the boy and then flew up into the fray. 

The dragon boy shimmied closer to her, cupped a hand by her ear and shouted, “Count Talerus orders me to get you out of here!” He pulled on her wrist and dragged her across the room towards a wooden door that towered over top of them. 

“Who is Count Talerus? Where are we?” Maev asked the boy as he struggled to pull open the door. 

“We’re home,” he said as he placed his back against the door and struggled pry it off its hinges. 

A blast of flame shot over their heads and the two ducked.  

“What’s, what’s going?” 

“Help me with this door! We need to get weapons. Your father needs help!” 

My father?, thought Maev. What on Earths is going on? She turned to look back into the room. There, soaring in the middle of the chamber over a fine-grained slate throne that sat several floors above the ground was a golden dragon with wings so large and wide that to Maev it looked like they could block out the light of a sun. In all her races Maev had seen large dragons but nothing even remotely this size. But that wasn’t what filled her with the feeling of a foreboding as if a sinister presence slithered through her mind and made her shake with fear. 

Floating in front of the dragon was a dragonborn-looking girl. No, not a dragonborn girl, something else entirely. All around her was an aura of hissing and gleaming red. Her hair was a long flowing whip of fire while her eyes crackled and pulsed with a ravenous taste of power. Her arms were outstretched to either side and her fists were hidden by a blinding white glow of crackling purple energy. 

A dragon plunged down at Grynvyr. She extended her arm and several streams of black lightning erupted from her hand encircling the dragon. She then balled her fingers into a fist crushing the dragon. Another dragon soared in from her right slicing down with a sword. Grynvyr held out her other hand and a buffer of white light slowed the blade to a stop. The sword shuddered as the dragon strained to finish his strike until Grynvyr effortlessly flicked her wrist and swatted the dragon away sending him crashing in a plume of smoke into the far wall.  

“Who, who is that?” gasped Maev pointing at the dragonborn girl. 

“Astira. Well, it was,” Birlan grunted as he tried to pry open the door. “A spirit called Grinveer or some such possessed her when she cast the teleportation spell to bring us home and now, she wants to kill us all!” 

At that Grynvyr turned to face Bilnar and Maev. 

“Who calleth for me?” 

“Oh, bloody hell! I told her we should have just gone out the front,” lamented Bilnar. 

“Don’t just stand there, move!” said Maev fiercely and she dove into Bilnar knocking him to the side as Grynvyr emitted a blast that shattered the door into splinters. 

“Erylis!” said Talerus desperately and he flew down to Maev’s side. 

“I told you to get her out of here Birlan! She is in no condition for battle!” Talerus told Birlan shortly. 

“I-I am sorry Count Talerus...it’s just that...” Birlan sputtered but before he could utter another word Grynvyr threw a blistering fire ball down upon them. Talerus turned in time to catch it on his shield, but the force knocked him clear off his feet and into the wall. 

“Herald, your fight is with me!” said Corvallis angrily and he released a wall of golden flame at her. Grynvyr raised her hand and the fire buffeted against an invisible barrier. Her arm began to shake with the effort to hold back the blaze. Corvallis advanced, pouring more fire down onto Grynvyr forcing her to raise her other arm as she was engulfed in the inferno.  

Talerus leapt to his feet and glanced at Maev. Seeing she was alright he raised his right arm and pulled back on his left. He closed his eyes focusing all his thoughts and energy inward until a dazzling silver arrow slowly appeared in his hand. 

“Now your day is done, Hearld of Death” Talerus said evenly, and he released the shaft.  

The bolt flew clean and true through the air but as it approached where Grynvyr was aloft it abruptly altered course. As Talerus looked on helplessly his arrow traveled up the stream of fire until it pierced Corvallis in the chest.  

Corvallis roared in agony. As he spun downwards, he released a torrent of fire before crashing down and disappearing under a plume of smoke and debris that filled the throne room. 

“No!” said Talerus, horrified. 

“Aye!” sneered Grynvyr as she turned to Talerus. She extended her hand and tendrils of sizzling energy wrapped around him. She curled a finger beckoning Talerus closer. 

“Few times has't I faced one as powerful as this Eternal,” she told him as he came within inches of her. 

“But like those he hath fallen. Because of thee. Telleth me,” she asked as she grasped Talerus by the chin. “How doth it feel to betray thy own?” 

Maev could just look on overwhelmed by a nauseating wave of powerlessness and helplessness as Grynvyr raised her hand for the killing blow. To her side Bilnar had recoiled and curled into a ball rocking back and forth. She had to do something. She couldn’t just stand there and let her kill that dragon.  

Her hand shook violently as she reached into her robe and pulled out her wand. Her breath came in staggered leaps as she haltingly raised her arm. Staring up at Grynvyr it felt as though she were walking across a delicately thin tightrope. Every breath, every movement, all thought seemed to tip her off-balance where she would plummet into the cold, darkness of dread that poured out of Grynvyr. But she had to. Something in her, some memory of Talerus from deep in her mind cried out for her to save him. Whatever this sensation was or whomever he was she couldn’t stand by and watch him die. 

“Eraldatu fideoak!” yelled Maev frantically. 

Immediately the binds around Talerus transformed to thick, spongy noodles and fell away.  

“I told you,” said Talerus in a low and deadly voice, “your day is done!” and with that he stabbed upward with a silver magical arrow in his hand catching Grynvyr under her jaw. 

Grynvyr wailed as she clutched at the wound. With her concentration gone Talerus created another magical arrow and stabbed her in the chest. Then, suddenly, out of the cloud of dust from below appeared Corvallis. 

He grasped Grynvyr in his taloned hands as she desperately raised an invisible shield around herself. 

“I am the Eternal, first of my name and ruler of Vestroya!” said Corvallis furiously as he pushed and squeezed on the bubble.  

“I regret that to end you I must destroy Astira but I cannot allow you to bring your goddess here.” 

“Thou art too late! The lady cometh and she wilt lay waste to all.” 

“You might have the truth of it herald however my daughter is the Bringer of Death. When your goddess does arrive, she will find no willing victim in her,” Corvallis said with finality. And with a last effort he crushed Grynvyr as flashes of lightning snapped and flickered out from his hands before being silenced. 

Corvallis opened his hands and let a blackened powder of ashes fall.  

“Daughter?” he said weakly to Maev as he collapsed. 

Birlan picked Maev up and brought her over to where Corvallis lay. 

“I thought I had lost you...” Corvallis said heavily. 

Maev looked to Birlan and then to Talerus who came up behind them. 

“I’m...I’m not Erylis,” said Maev tentatively “I-I don’t know where I am, who you are or what on Earths is happening here.” 

“She’s still disoriented from the battle your highness,” offered Birlan. 

“No!” said Maev impatiently. “I wasn’t in any battle, and I’m not disoriented.” 

Corvallis reached out, cupped Maev’s head in his hand and looked into her yellow eyes. 

“I am sorry my child,” he said lowering his hand. 

“Wait, she’s not Erylis?” Birlan asked, startled. 

“Then who are you and what have you done with Erylis?” Talerus asked his voice quavering with anger. 

“My name is Maev and I didn‘t do anything to Erylis. I-I do have these memories. At first, I didn’t think much of them. They kinda came and went. But now, being here, seeing all of this,” she said motioning around them, “it’s starting to make sense.” 

“I think, somewhere in these memories I do remember part of this place and you,” she said pointing at Talerus. “But I’m not who you think I am. I got tricked by an elf. I thought he had transformed me into a dragon but, but I think he made me switch places with the person you’re looking for.” 

“And where was this?” asked Talerus. 

“I’m not sure. But I think I can take you to him. Maybe he knows where she is.” 

“Talerus,” said Corvallis motioning for him to come closer. “You must take the girl back to her home world, find Erylis and bring her here.” 

“Yes, my lord.” 

“Birlan you will stay here and attend to me.” 

“Yes, your royal highness.” 

“No one must know what has transpired with my daughter or the full events of what occurred here today. I will have a full recount with Erylis once she is here. Is this understood?” 

“Yes, my lord,” answered both Bilnar and Talerus. 

“Now go and make haste. I fear I have not much time to prepare.” 

“Yes, my lord,” the two said and started to leave. 

“One moment, Count Talerus,” Corvallis called out. 

“Know that your consciousness is clean. The blow that struck me was from Grynvyr and not by your hand.” 

“Yes, my King,” said Talerus thickly. 

“And Maev?” Corvallis said. 

“Do take care of Talerus. He is quick to action and heedless of dangers. I see in you one that can provide him with balance in this quest.” 

Maev didn’t know who to respond. Talerus looked to her like a highly skilled and trained warrior. He almost single handily took down that evil spirit and here was a king asking her to watch out for him? 

“I-I’ll do my best,” said Maev uneasily to which Corvallis smiled. 

“That is all I can ask. Now go! The hour is short, and we must prepare.” 

Maev turned to look at Talerus who had a concentrated stoic look on his face that she couldn’t read. 

“Ready when you are,” Maev gestured forward. 

Talerus nodded stiffly and the two headed toward the exit. 

“Do you think they will be able to bring Erylis back in time, my King?” asked Bilnar as he turned into his dragon form and helped Corvallis to his feet. 

“There is no other path. They must or all will tremble and fall before the goddess of death.”