The Stormborn Saga Read online

  Contents

  The Stormborn Saga

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  Part One: Of Eels and Dwarves

  Part Two: An Ancient Secret

  Part Three: Sunrise

  Part Four: Valrin of the Sea

  Part 1 Shadows of Old

  Part 2 Mysterious Friend

  Part 3 Underrealms

  Part 4 The Black

  Part 5 Sacred Bonding

  Part 1 Wind Temple of Swia

  Part 2 Songs of Harrodarr

  Part 3 Ghosts

  Part 4 For a Friend

  Part 5 Slavers

  Part 6 Realms

  Forward to Ranger's Revenge

  Ranger's Fury

  Part One: Return to Taria

  Part Two: Separate Paths

  Part Three: Night Journey

  Part Four: Saelmark

  Part Five: Purified

  Part Six: The Dwarven Problem

  Part Seven: Fall of the Crown

  Author Notes for Ranger's Fury

  Black Moon

  Part One: Heroes of Saelmark

  Part Two: Night Journey

  Part Three: Coast of Taria

  Part Four: The Sleeping City

  Part Five: The Rogue and The Rusis

  Part Six: In the King's Bedchamber

  Part Seven: Holding

  Part Eight: Sunrise in Taria

  Part Nine: The Dwemhar Answer

  Part Ten: The Coward

  Part Elven: Shadows of the Black Moon

  Author Notes for Black Moon

  Aieclo

  Part One: Return to Swia

  Part Two: The Observatory

  Part Three: Titans

  Part Four: Forest Folk

  Part Five: Shadow Runner

  Part Six: Northern Trek

  Part Seven: The Black Reach

  Part Eight: All the Lost Shadows

  Part Nine: Silir

  Part Ten: Rings

  Part Elven: Between Ice and Fire

  Part Twelve: Phantoms of the Mines

  Part Thirteen: Scourge

  Part Fourteen: The Ranger and the Captain

  Forward to Echoes of Time

  Epochs

  Part One: Visions

  Part Two: Clocks

  Part Three: Under

  Part Four: Embers Catching

  Part Five: City of Fire

  Part Six: Twilight Time

  Part Seven: The Benevolent One

  Part Eight: The Darkening

  Part Nine: Escape

  Part Ten: Asunder

  Author Notes for Epochs

  Shards of Etha

  Part One: Dragon Master

  Part Two: Lone Rusis

  Part Three: Swamp

  Part Four: Transformation

  Part Five: Shadow Play

  Part Six: Shroud of Marog

  Part Seven: Eruption

  Part Eight: Storms

  Part Nine: Rocknests

  Part Ten: A Failed Path

  Part Eleven: Upon a Goddess Darkly

  Part Twelve: Unto the Depths

  Author notes for Shards of Etha

  Shadow Cry

  Part One: Requiem's Awakening

  Part Two: Citadel of Fire and Ash

  Part Three: The Crypt

  Part Four: Rite of Rukrunro

  Part Five: Lonesome Death

  Part Six: The Dragon King

  Part Seven: A Mother's Love

  Part Eight: Of Spears and Coffee

  Part Nine: Nexus

  Part Ten: The Last Song of Aieclo

  Part Eleven: Bloodlust

  Part Twelve: Sea-Captain

  For news, books, and bonus content

  Part One: Black Scales

  Part Two: The Lone Isle

  Part Three: Wura's Game

  Part Four: Legend of The Lost Captain

  Note to Readers

  Copyright

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  For news, books, and bonus content

  The Stormborn Saga

  (Includes the Stormborn Saga, Ranger of Taria, and Echoes of Time trilogies)

  (Updated and expanded special edition)

  ©2019 J.T. Williams

  This special edition is only available during the 2019 Holiday season and will be removed from sale shortly afterward.

  Congratulations on starting this epic adventure! I hope you enjoy the saga!

  -J.T. Williams

  If you would like to know about new releases, specials on other books, and get insider information before anyone else, head to my website and join my mailing list!

  www.Authorjtwilliams.com

  The World of the Dwemhar

  STORMBORN SAGA

  Stormborn

  Mage Soul

  Elf Bane

  Stormborn Saga Trilogy

  Ranger’s Fury (Ranger Trilogy #1)

  Black Moon (Ranger’s Revenge #2)

  Aieclo (Ranger’s Revenge #3)

  Epochs (Clockmaster’s Shroud #1)

  Shards of Etha (Clockmaster’s Shroud #2)

  Shadow Cry (Clockmaster’s Shroud #3)

  The Dark Compass (The Lost Captain #1)

  HALF-ELF CHRONICLES

  Half-Bloods Rising

  Seer of Lost Sands

  Shadow of the Orc Star

  Necromancer’s Curse

  Wrath of the Half-Elves

  The Last Dwemhar

  ROGUES OF MAGIC

  Rogues of Magic Trilogy

  LOST TALES OF THE REALMS

  Ranger’s Folly (Ranger’s Revenge Trilogy Prequel)

  The Dwarven Guardian

  A Stranger’s Quest

  Wizard Trials

  The Thief’s Sin

  All books listed here are within the same world. For further information, please head to my website!

  Stormborn

  Stormborn Saga Book One

  J.T. Williams

  Part One: Of Eels and Dwarves

  It was an early morning in the southern Glacial Seas before the sun had risen over the white-capped waves, when to his own desires, a young boy pushed off his blanket and sat up.

  He was a determined young man, and though the house was warm and a breakfast was an arm’s reach away, he had always felt alone. This was his home, as much as he could call it one. He had no mother and he had no father. He was Valrin, the orphan of eels, or so he had playfully been named now that he spent his mornings gathering them. His Aunt Tua looked after him. She wasn't his true aunt, but he was thankful for her. There were few warm arms to be had in the fishing village of Travaa, and there was even less warmth outside.

  Valrin chewed on a fish cake with red berries and strapped up his boots. Donning a slightly bigger-than-needed coat, he slipped on his gloves and pushed open the door.

  It was just now entering the months of fall in the southern lands, but the polar lights greeted him. One of his few friends in this desolate port town.

  The town itself was built into the rocky shores that went up from a cove that was frequented by fishers in sour weather. The few houses that had sprouted up were generally guest homes used only during the fishing season.

  As he went toward the water's edge, he checked two traps for eels. The fishers loved eels and he wasn't too sure why. He never had much luck fishing with them himself but perhaps it was different out at sea. He had never gone fishing on one of the massive ships and actually seen what they used them for. He always hoped to, but he never had a chance.

  "Two," he said to himself. "That ought to get me a bit of coffee."

  Coffee was a much sought-after substance that Aunt Tua loved. She had looked out for him for as long as he could remember, and she was actually part elven. It got her in trouble by some of the other fishers. The people of the Glacial Seas sought to keep to themselves and their own races. There were no other elves on the island but she was okay with that. It was strange, in a way, but her careful watch always made Valrin feel like something was different about him. For a while, the fishers said he was good luck. There was even a rumor he had washed ashore during a horrible storm and was chosen by the storm itself to live. Aunt Tua was never very specific on how he came to be.

  For years, he heard the names "Storm Child” and “Ocean Soul," but he never felt offended by them. He loved the ocean and storms. As powerful as they could be they made him feel truly alive. As he grew older and now edged toward the years of being a man, by the standard, there were even more peculiar looks at him.

  As the sun began to rise, he passed one of the fishers who was much older than the rest.

  "Valrin, have you gotten any of your slimy bastards?"

  He nodded. "Yes, sir, I do. Were you needing one?"

  "Nope, but I have a feeling you will have some traders coming in. I'm going to go fish myself. There are dwarven vessels on the horizon. You know they always bring good wares."

  Dwarves were the best for the oddities, and Valrin pranced up the hill to where he could see the other side of the island and the approaching ships. There were several in the outline of the orange sky. He quickly ran to his other traps and began to sack his catches. Running from one part of the island to the other, he went to every nook he’d hid his traps. The people of the village cared little to search for eels themselves. Besides, why do it when they could have a young boy like Valrin do it?

  As he returned to his house, Aunt Tua looked him up and down.

  "Now you're loo
king a mess this 'morn."

  "I am. Thank you for the fish cakes. You know how much I love them."

  "That I do. I was feeling a bit restless last night. I couldn't concentrate. I will be happy when the dark winter comes. Did the other fisher leave out like she said?"

  "She did. Her boat is gone."

  For the past few weeks, Valrin had spent his days with an elven minstrel fisher named Evia. It was a strange combination, a minstrel fisher, and she was a rare sight. A woman of younger years, and one who took a liking to Valrin.

  "Vals," she would say, "you mustn't worry about what others do unless it is their actions that cause harm. Then you must deal with them."

  Valrin remembered this and kept it in his mind. He had heard many sayings of the wise, but this one made sense to him more than any. He had seen many misgivings in the port. He had even seen men killed over money.

  There was much evil in the world, and he could only do so much to not be saddened by it.

  Though Aunt Tua would have rather he waited until they had settled in, it was clear the dwarven vessel he had seen at sunrise was approaching the wooden docks. He quickly carried his simple creatures to see what the dwarves would trade. He knew Aunt Tua wouldn't mind. She stayed indoors during the day and always told him she loved the night, and though it was strange to many, he understood it. As he came near the docks, he noticed this was no fishing ship as he had seen before.

  It was a large ship, with green rails and massive pointed crossbows along its deck.

  Many stocky dwarves stomped down a gangplank, and a few of them had blood on them.

  There was one man who stood in front of them. Valrin didn't like the look of him. He seemed to like bones and was not afraid to shake some poor sea creature's skull at the fishers who had come to greet him.

  "I say to you all," he began, "I am a simple dwarf. I only seek a dangerous man who has thus far evaded my capture. There is a ship. Its center mast is destroyed. It has a rough crew of the most dangerous types. Elves. Men. A woman who casts magic from her hands. We need your help. If you see this ship, if it makes port, with great care, simply cast the contents of this bag in a fire."

  He handed the bag to one of the fishers.

  "I will personally pay the entire island a sum of one thousand pieces of gold and supplies to last the winter tenfold for the capture of this crew."

  "Tenfold?" the man taking the sack asked. "What could a crew do so much as to be worth this kind of reward?"

  "Do not worry of it," the dwarf said. "Just know that their captain is dangerous and none of them can be trusted. I had some of my own betray me to him, and I would like to deal with the deserters."

  The dwarf smiled, and the others with him laughed as they went back to their ships.

  Valrin dropped his bag. The dwarves were already leaving.

  The men talked among themselves of the vast reward they had been offered. Whoever these wanted people were, they would not be wanted for long.

  Valrin was down for the rest of the day. The dwarves, though of a fleet of many ships, were not interested in trade, and it seemed no other ships would come in. Valrin sat on a bluff overlooking the harbor as the sunset began to fall.

  "Aye, I know where the wind does blow,

  Over icy waters blue,

  Forever wandering the depths,

  Of a sailor's life, I wish I knew.

  Sunrise high and across the sky,

  Sun sinks low and starlight shines.

  A long night, winter cold and dark,

  The polar lights of godly signs.

  ‘Ever a night, I think and wish,

  For my parents to come from the sea,

  Take me back and teach me why,

  I only remember a stormy sky.”

  Valrin closed his eyes and lay back. He looked up at the sky and thought of the island he had called home for so long. The winds blew over him, and he took a deep breath. He then heard something. Something that seemed frantic in nature.

  He looked up to see that a ship was coming into the harbor but not very quickly at all. It had red sails, and the center mast was broken down the middle. Men used rows to move the ship onto the shore.

  As night began to fall and the sun was just leaving the sky, Valrin jumped up and ran down the bluff to the shoreline.

  He wondered if this was the ship. The vessel the dwarves searched for. He was one of many who were now on the shore. There were several crewmembers looking out, and several more looking behind them.

  A tall man jumped to shore and immediately put his hands up at the rather rowdy group of islanders.

  "I am Edanos of the free vessel Truest Bliss. We come with no arms drawn, seeking peace."

  One of the fishers stepped forward. Valrin knew him as Guna. In his hand was the sack given to them by the dwarf from before.

  "We had heard of a ship. Dwarves are lookin' for you."

  The crew of the Truest Bliss seemed to become disgruntled. There was a shorter man next to Edanos who whispered up to him. A woman stood to his right and pointed to the tree line, and Edanos looked and seemed to nod in agreeance.

  "People of this isle, I do not have the fortune of the dwarf captain, nor do I seek to buy your loyalty. I have a small supply of grain for payment to take one of your tall trees on the bluffs. We will need no assistance in harvesting it, and by morning, or sooner, we will be gone."

  Guna drew a small blade, as did other fishers, while a vast majority lifted up an arrangement of spiked hoes and even a gigging stick.

  "You will not be going anywhere. You will be staying, and we will have a happy winter courtesy of a dwarf's reward.”

  The many crew aboard the ship drew back longbows. Valrin noticed they were elves. The shorter man grasped a hammer.

  Is he a dwarf? Valrin wondered. He didn't seem to have an issue with this captain.

  The woman beside Edanos lifted her hands, and a blast of fire landed just before Guna.

  "We may be kind,” Edanos said, "but do not threaten my crew, fisher."

  "Braei, send the man to the afterlife," the shorter man said. "Archers, prepare to release!"

  About that moment, Aunt Tua pushed her way through the crowd.

  "What kind of nonsense is happening here?" she asked.

  Guna pointed. "These are wanted men, and a good reward is wanted for their heads."

  "And how is a wee man like you going to get that reward with several elven arrows in your chest? Not to mention that war hammer." She turned to the captain. "Your crew is welcome to my house, and ignore these rascals. They are only here for a season. It is just me and the boy Valrin here all the time.

  Valrin joined her, and Edanos signaled his crew to stand down. Those fishers gathered seemed to do the same, except for Guna.

  Edanos went to Aunt Tua and bowed. "Thank you. I assure you we will be here only as long as necessary."

  The fishers all went their own way as the bulk of the ship’s crew disembarked. Guna shook his head, obviously disgruntled, but having lost his support, he, too, sank away.

  Valrin watched as many elves stood on different parts of the ship. They were tirelessly watching the opening of the cove.

  As a large group of the crew, including the one called Braei and the dwarf, went to harvest the tree, the captain was beckoned to Aunt Tua's house.

  Valrin was amazed of the man. He had no hair on his face, a strange fact for those of the Glacial Seas. He wore a dark tunic with metal brooches and a curved sword.

  "Mr. Edanos, will you sit and have some tea? I have a large stew I've been cooking and a store of dried meat. If it is not enough for your crew, my apologies. I didn't expect such an arrival this time of year."

  "Your kindness is almost overbearing. I will gladly accept, and thank you for your words against the men outside."

  She smiled. "They are too simple-minded to even be called men. They are pigs, in truth, and I'm happy when they leave. You have an attractive woman with you. I'd say watch her."

  Edanos laughed. "Braei can well take care of herself in an unscrupulous crowd. I promise."

  As Valrin stared at the captain, he looked away as he was noticed by Edanos' careful eyes.

  "Do you live here, son?"

  "I do."

  "Your father a fisher?"

  "I do not know him. My father and mother were lost to me. I came here in a storm."