In the Young Kingdoms, shadow attacks have become more frequent, and murder is committed in Mystivia for the first time in five hundred years. The Veil has been lifted, and a horde of Shadowbeasts has been unleashed upon the land, submerging its citizens in a new Dark Age. Only the wickedness of the Shadowmaster could be capable of such carnage. In this thrilling sequel to The Keep of Shadows, heroes Sinjin Storm and Valera team up to fight the forceful power of the Shadowmaster. They unite their powers to save the land, but their alliance is much more than a quest on behalf of the people-it is a quest to find their own destinies, as their true purposes unfold in a hidden plan set in motion two thousand years before their birth. With the assistance of an unexpected company of outsiders, Storm and Valera must lead an assault on Dao Mines. Within the mines exists a secret plan of darkness, wrought by the Shadowmaster and his Shadow Realm, to extend the boundaries of their world, crushing goodness and light. The only hope for survival lies in the secrets of the Ancients, as Storm and Valera set forth on a journey that may prove more dangerous than either could have foreseen.

Secrets Of The Ancients

By David J. Boseke

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © 2010 David J. Boseke
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4502-6322-1

Chapter One

The Ruins Of Faldain

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The land had recovered some from the chaos spreading through the Young Kingdoms just before the battle at Shadowkeep, but now after only a week, that recovery seemed as if it would be short-lived. The war had paused unexplainably, and the Torrians retreated to the lands of Chronin for no apparent reason. The troops massed at Akaar only two short weeks ago, could have leveled the city if they had wanted to, but instead they chose to pull back in their hour of victory. One thing that Jaxom realized immediately as he watched the endless hordes of Torrian soldiers retreating into the woods, was that this war was somehow tied to the ongoing battle between Sinjin Storm Torvaal, the surviving son of King Erlick of Chronin, and Jason Malachor Torvaal, the wizard who murdered Storm's father and stole his kingdom. Their personal battle seemed to affect the destiny of the entire Young Kingdoms.

The one thing that had remained stable since the Battle of Shadowkeep was the weather, which could only be a blessing from the Lord of Light. The snow had melted off in a day and a crisp fall breeze had replaced the biting winter wind that howled through the streets of Akaar only a short time before. With harvest for this season halved, still there would be no shortage of food this winter because the storehouses were full of grain and there were plenty of cattle and swine to go around. The sudden change in weather had caused hardships, but with the seasons returning to normal, anticipation for the coming spring was growing and hope blossomed in the Young Kingdoms once again.

The air was still frigid and icy above the clouds where Storm and Valera flew on the wings of the huge red and gold Dragon named Galen. In fact, he was the Lord of the Dragons and a Changeling as well, as Storm found out after their first meeting. Galen actually killed a Hell Hound that was about to attack Storm's grandfather, Sorrell. This huge Dragon melted into another form and became a man named Galen Faldain. Now he was a Dragon once more, and he was taking Storm to the highlands of Faldain, Galen's homeland, where Storm wanted to stay for a couple of days to try to get some perspective on all that had happened so far.

Storm knew that he needed to plan his next move and he knew that he had to go into the land of Chronin, a full hundred leagues behind enemy lines, and all the way to Dao Mines. Once there, he hoped to find some artifact of the Ancients to bring back to Mystiva. However, if he were able to find these artifacts, would they even be what he needed?

These questions, as well as Ben's condition, weighed heavily on Storm's mind as he felt the icy cold air slam into his face. Storm had thought that after the destruction of Shadowkeep and the Ghostblade, his mind would be more at ease and less worrisome, but he had been wrong. The entire Young Kingdoms, as well as his own thoughts, seemed to echo with the return of the Shadowmaster. Most people did not even know what had transpired in the dungeon of Shadowkeep that day, but somehow they knew that a dark cloud was descending over the lands. No one could tell what was happening; only that something had changed once again.

"Storm I'm freezing! Can I ask Galen to take us down for a few minutes," Valera said in her mental voice to Storm as easily as she had talked to the Dragon.

"Of course, I think I am turning blue myself." Storm gripped the large scales running down Galen's back and waiting for the inevitable dive toward the ground, knowing that Galen had heard the request as well.

A moment later Galen pulled his wings up straight, holding them to catch the air, and bringing them to a complete stop in midair. Hanging motionless just below the clouds, they could see the tops of the trees far below. The moment seemed to last forever, hanging in the air as if suspended from above on invisible strings. Unexpectedly Galen started the dive toward the ground, gaining speed with each second that went by, but then he suddenly pulled up short and angled back up toward the clouds.

"I am sorry my friends, but I do not think we should return to the ground just yet. Look down," Galen said in a deep booming mental voice to them both.

Storm and Valera looked down in unison and they saw what Galen was referring to; the woods were crawling with Torrian troops moving through the trees and away from Akaar. From this high up above them, they resembled ants moving through grass. They had crossed the Pine River just after taking a low dive over the ruins of Shadowkeep, which now was nothing more than a smoking hole in the middle of a circle of burned out woods.

After crossing the river, they banked left and headed due north which coincidentally was the same direction that the Torrians were retreating. The question was, would they go all the way through the Faldain Highlands and toward Grimmer Tor, or would they turn east toward Chronin. Unfortunately, it would take time to see what they would do. The troops were acting erratically; almost running through the woods. There did not seem to be any leadership, instead the troops seemed to be in a panic as if they were fleeing from something.

Rylar Village came into view in the distance to their left, but there was not much left. Rylar had once been a thriving city of nomads located in the heart of the North Woods. It was far enough from any borders to be free domain; which simply put, means that they do not fall under the rule of any Kingdom. They were a self-sufficient and self-governing people that loved life, and now they were gone, probably destroyed for sport by the Torrians on their march to Akaar. These people were not a threat to anyone and killing them was nothing less than a malicious act of cowardice. The more Storm saw of this war, the more he wanted to kill Malachor instead of bringing him to trial. Corruption would not rule his path though, as his predecessor Abba had allowed.

Galen slowed his flight considerably by the time they passed by Rylar, and now Storm and Valera both were much more comfortable with the ride. After flying north for another few minutes, the troops began to angle to the east toward Chronin as Storm had thought they would. They would cross the Pine River just below Shadow Lake. They would then take the Tora Pass, a wide plain between the Alanar Peaks and the Crystal Mountains, and from there they would be back in the Kingdom of Chronin.

Galen continued north, leaving the Torrians behind, and flying over the North Woods toward Alanar Peaks. Storm had requested him to take them to a place, quiet and serene, where he could think for as long as he needed to. Storm had no idea where this place was, but he trusted Galen to get him there. Besides, he did not really care where they were going. He just wanted to get away for a day or two, and then he would be in a better frame of mind to continue on this path, chosen for him before he was born. This is something that he had a lot of trouble accepting. For as long as he could remember, he had been very adamant about his own destiny and direction in life, but suddenly he finds out that his life is already laid out for him and he has no choice in the matter.

Valera coming along was unexpected, but he had to admit that he liked the idea of getting to know his sister, someone that he had not seen since they were babes before the fall of...