It is a troubling time in the Kingdom of Shale. As a marauding group calling themselves the Rogues begins launching raids across the kingdom, a small group of hybrid warriors intertwined magically with mythical beasts swears to defend the kingdom. When a hooded prowler breaches castle security and escapes into the night, the Royal Guard splits in two-one group pursues the oddly powerful intruder, while the other chafes at being left behind.

The powerful stranger is on a ruthless search for just one thing-the Relic Sword-and he'll stop at nothing to get it. After he leaves the Royal Guard with nothing but destruction, unanswered questions, and a taste for revenge, the King's soldiers begin a dangerous journey to find the supposed assassin before he unleashes a legendary power on the world. But as they search, the lines between friend and foe begin to blur, and the allegiance of some becomes questionable.

As swords clash and arrows soar through the air, no one knows who to trust; but everyone is about to learn that the Relic Sword has the capability to change the future of the Kingdom of Shale forever.

In The Of The Gods

The Rise of the GuardBy John F. Raines

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © 2010 John F. Raines
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4502-4532-6

Chapter One

Blade stood on the ramparts of Castle Shale. He wore his Guard armor, as every member of the Guard did while on duty (except for the assassin Shadow). The heavily plated armor, made with the finest steel, was just light enough for the Guard members with wings to fly. The helmets had all been designed after the creatures they were intertwined with. Blade's helmet had a nose guard reminiscent of a griffin's beak, and Pyre's armor had a phoenix engraved into the breastplate, which glowed red as he burned.

Blade glanced at Jinx and Pyre, who patrolled as well. The fliers were always the ones who patrolled the ramparts around the base of the tall tower, which reached high out of the keep and had many smaller towers reaching out from it to dizzying heights. The offshoot towers first ran parallel with the ground before angling sharply toward the sky, giving the tower a look reminiscent both of a tree and a trident. The fliers patrolled there because if they saw an assassin, they could immediately take wing to intercept them.

They were in the capital city of Syienna, near the center of the Kingdom of Shale, which extended for well over a hundred miles in whatever direction they might travel. They were guarding Castle Shale, where King Leon Shale sat upon his mighty throne to rule his mighty kingdom.

It was not a particularly difficult job, simply a tedious one. For the many months they had lived in Castle Shale, the Guard had not caught wind of so much as a rumor of an attempt on the King's life, but its members had served countless hours of patrol duty. The only thing that piqued their interest in the least was the castle itself—which, fortunately, was quite large and offered much potential for exploration.

Below them was the large courtyard between the keep and the outer wall, filled with many different types of plants—some exotic, like the bright red dragon's-tongue flowers, and some not, like the many oaks and firs. Winding through the lush gardens below were dozens of pathways and streams, fed by the river, that forked around the castle like a living moat. Below, the garden fountains spluttered and splashed water from the river up into the sky in glittering cascades, both for aesthetics and to provide extra water to some of the thirstier plants in the gardens.

Beyond the courtyard was the main wall that surrounded the entire castle. The wall was at least sixty feet high and was built in jagged angles that formed a stone star encompassing Castle Shale. Blade doubted whether anyone, hostile or otherwise, would ever be able to get past those immense walls unnoticed, let alone penetrate the castle itself. The walls were constantly manned by at least two hundred archers, who kept a wary eye on the streets and comparatively quaint buildings of Syienna, which seemed to tangle around the castle like briars about a rose.

The city had been founded there, at the foot of the castle, entirely because of the protection Castle Shale had provided during the chaotic age before the rise of the Kingdom of Shale, in the reign of King Leon the Conqueror, some four hundred years ago. Beyond the walls, the vast city stretched out for miles in each direction. Syienna was massive—the largest city in the kingdom and possibly the world.

Trade from all over the mainland came through Syienna, making it a rich melting pot of cultures. Merchants with strange accents and even elves were a common sight within the borders of the city. The hillsides surrounding the city were guarded by two large forts, Fort Freeman (named so because King Leon the Conqueror had freed every slave who toiled over it) and Fort Dread, which had been King Jeremiah the Builder's attempt to rival the ancient fort of Krone. (It was well agreed that he had failed miserably.) Each fort was capable of repelling an advancing army if need be. Each fort had a garrison of nearly five hundred troops, if not more, all of whom had been trained in archery. Indeed, Syienna (and, to an even greater extent, Castle Shale) was the safest place in the entire kingdom. It is precisely the last place that the Royal Guard is needed, Blade thought miserably.

Blade glanced again at Jinx and Pyre, still patrolling along the ramparts of the keep. He also knew Crunch, Crash, and Howl were undoubtedly within the castle, looking for any assassins who might be skulking around down there. Shadow was, of course, secretly following King Leon the Meek himself, as he always did, ensuring no one could do harm to the king.

The Guard worked shifts of seven at a time, while the other seven trained and relaxed. Shadow, however, usually was forced to work nearly twice as much as his comrades, for the King felt insecure when he wasn't being guarded by his "invisible warrior," as he had come to call Shadow. This so-called invisible warrior, on the other hand, liked nothing more than to shut himself up within the walls of his room and study who knew what in those large, dusty tomes he was always reading and scribbling in. Shadow was a mystery, even to Blade. He rarely talked, and the few glimpses anyone got of him in his room were always of Shadow either meditating or reading from his strange books.

And Silver is probably out in Syienna, flirting, gambling, and bartering his earnings for whatever catches his fancy. Blade smiled as he imagined Silver, with his shimmering hair and metallic eyes, bragging and boasting in his cavalier way. Silver was the least disciplined of the Guard by far. He had trouble completing all of his duties— especially the ones he considered boring, a category that seemed to include every duty he was assigned in Castle Shale. Even when Silver was on duty, he talked a lot, and took many unscheduled "breaks." He was sometimes scolded for his behavior, but he never did listen. And why would he? Blade thought. After all, who would ever be foolish enough to try to punish a hybrid? Every hybrid could wield more magic than any but the best trained human, not to mention their vastly superior speed and strength. A human would be a fool to start a fight with a hybrid without at least ten good fighters to back him up.

Blade and the two others looked down at the gardens between the castle and the main wall. The moonlight trickled down, softly illuminating the grounds and glinting off the river and fountain water as clouds from the distant coast began to roll across the sky, choking the light of the stars and soon even beginning to strangle the moon.

Blade didn't mind. He could see well in the dark, for he had a griffin's eyes—golden irises, slitted pupils, and all. His eyes swept over the courtyard, searching for any signs of enemy movement. No movement ... as always, no movement.

He looked over at Jinx as she passed by, and she responded with an apathetic smile. Her golden, feathery hair flowed out onto her shoulders from under her helmet, which curved along her brow and descended to her nose like a widow's peak. Her helmet also had harpy wings engraved with gold leaf running along the sides of it. Jinx leaned on her spear like a walking stick as she marched, marking every other step with a wooden clunk as the butt struck the ground.

"Good night for a stroll, wouldn't you say?" Blade asked sarcastically. Jinx didn't deign to answer the question. She gave Blade a halfhearted grin and continued on her way, her golden wings...