Swords with Souls
A Medieval Fantasy Fiction Story
(Adult Content)
By Dan Watt
(Author of the Children of the Myth Machine series)
(Author of the Plagueborn series)
Coronation Preparations
caedar-writig-artwork.com
A call erupts everywhere that Novak has returned. As the space before the throne fills up, she glances around for the Sword Maker.
When Novak appears, he looks different. There’s a darkness in his eyes and his skin radiates heat. He’s wearing a fleece shirt with bone buttons that look as if they came from a small animal. The shirt is only buttoned half way up his shirt. Sweat glistens off his hairy chest. While a bearskin robe is pulled onto his shoulders by two female giants in simple cotton dresses he stands proudly with hooded eyes and a constant smirk. His demeanor is the opposite of what she encountered the other day. After he sits on the throne one of the female giants places a thick silvered chain with a gold amulet tooled into the shape of the sun around his neck. Squinting she can see tiny gemstones around the inner circle of the amulet. She sees the pale yellowish green forms surrounded by black of a Sarsen stone at the top. Along the side edges are dark cassiterite stones. And at the bottom she sees the pale white of flint. She also notices that his right hand has never left the grasp of the handle of the sword she and the Sword Maker made for him.
“Haashir, step forward,” Novak’s voice booms out.
Haashir steps forward with pride. He’s wearing a fine dark blue suit of silk from some far-off nation to the East. He bows.
“I like this amulet very much,” Novak says stroking the star shaped amulet. “And I understand you have another gift.”
“Yes, my lord,” Haashir replies in his deep, ethereal voice. “Jedreck,” he calls.
Jedreck tenderly pulls something out from a small wooden chest that must have been hidden behind his seat.
Lara gasps.
Jedreck lifts up a huge crown adorned in gems. Although polished the crown appears to be ancient.
“My father would have liked to have worn that crown,” Novak’s voice booms with arrogance that wasn’t there the other day.
Haashir nods at Jedreck. Jedreck places the crown onto Novak’s head. A male giant and dwarf both dressed in wool cloaks step forward. In one hand they carry a clay bowl. The giant holds a branch from an oak tree and the dwarf a blackthorn stem. The giant steps forward, dips the tip of the oak branch into his bowl and shakes it at the king as he pronounces, “Oak for strength and vitality.”
Next the dwarf steps forward. He dips the tip of the blackthorn stem into his bowl then shakes it at the king and pronounces, “Blackthorn to ward off evil.”
It’s a slight movement and expression of terror but Lara sees Novak tremble for a moment as though in pain. For a blink of an eye his hand comes off the handle of his sword. When it returns it turns white from grasping on even tighter.
“These are your new wives,” the oldest of his dwarven wives says with concern in her voice. “For a king must spread his seed widely.”
King Novak turns his hooded eyes towards Lara. “And her,” he says with a greedy tone.
“And her,” his elderly dwarf wife says stepping back in surprise.
Lara looks around for support. Jedreck won’t look at her, neither will Haashir. One figure is looking right at her. The Sword Maker has rage on his face as he steps between giants and dwarves.
Chloe Bruce did the extreme fight scenes for Daisy Ridley’s character Rey in the Star Wars series.
Caedar Writing & Artwork 