THE SCEPTRE OF ZANAFIAR: CHAPTER TWO

[Reno]

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS HAS BEEN POSTED WITH THE WRITTEN PERMISSION OF THE MODERATOR, KATE, AND THE GOODREADS SUPPORT TEAM.

Hi all - I am a Goodreads author and this is my third children's book. My writing was heavily influenced by my late nan and following her passing I have decided to provide free access to my book in weekly installments with the kind permission of Goodreads. The second chapter is below - I hope you enjoy it!

CHAPTER TWO: THE RULER'S COUSIN

The wizened old man sat in his armchair slowly stroking his long white beard and staring thoughtfully into the open fire.
It would be only hours now before he would at last see his son again. Then he, Dravas, could begin teaching Darius, equipping him with all of the knowledge and wisdom that, some day, he would need to take over from him as Master Elementalist and ruler of all Zanafiar.
His eyes flickered upwards and rested on the golden sceptre that lay in the gold-encrusted glass case mounted on the wall and, sighing, he wondered what life would have been like without the responsibility of being its keeper. Sometimes…just sometimes…he wished, if only for a moment, that he wasn’t blessed … or cursed … with this legacy. It was such an honour to be Master Elementalist and Keeper of the Sceptre. It made him the most powerful being in the land, not to mention ruler of Zanafiar. And yet it was a responsibility that had been the cause of the most tragic time of his life: the death of his wife, Arrianne, and the loss of his son, Darius.

Hundreds of years earlier Dravas’ ancestor, Rufius, had been the Head of the Council of The Elements, a powerful group of elementalists who, between them, governed and ruled Zanafiar fairly and wisely.
These six elementalists were the first in Zanafiar with the ability to summon and control elemental creatures – earth, water, fire, nature or air. Rufius was a particularly powerful elementalist and was able to summon and control not only all of the elementals, but also healing spirits from the Realm of The Dead and reflective beings from the Plane of Light.
Each of the elementalists on the council had taken an oath never to abuse their powers. To enable future generations to benefit from their abilities, they enlisted the help of a sorcerer and each had their power transferred into a jewel, thus creating seven powerful elemental gems, which after their deaths could be handed down to each of their descendants.
There were seven gems in all. The council elementalists created the five elemental gems –earth, water, fire, nature and air. A further two additional gems were created by Rufius. The reflective gem gave its user the ability to summon a glass imp from the Plane of Light. These imps were able to deflect many spells and weapons that were being aimed at the holder of the gem. The white necromantic gem gave its user the ability to summon various healing spirits from the Realm of the Dead.
Each of the jewels was powerful when used alone, and could summon fairly strong elementals depending on the user’s ability. But when used in conjunction with the others, the extent of power and control over the elements was much greater. Together, the gems could summon even king elementals, giving the user ultimate power and control. The reflective gem, when used with the others, was able to summon Reflector, a being from the Plane of Light, who could deflect any spell or weapon away from the holder of the gems. The power of the white necromantic gem, when used alongside the other six jewels, was so great that it could summon the White Necromancer, a spirit princess from the Realm of The Dead, who was able, in some cases, to grant the gift of life.
However, the power contained within these stones bred greed, and, in time, the five council elementalists became consumed and corrupted. They began to misuse the gems for their own benefit, even summoning elemental creatures to fight amongst themselves.
Rufius, a good and fair ruler, had then decided that it was too dangerous to leave such powers with those that were so easily corruptible. He stripped the five council members of their responsibilities and became the lone keeper of the gems.
Alone, Rufius continued to rule Zanafiar fairly and wisely. He encrusted the gems into the handle of his own golden sceptre, which served as a portal for the combined power of the seven stones. From then on, it became known as The Sceptre of Zanafiar. Protected by many powerful elemental forces, it was handed down over the years to the first-born of his direct descendants, who each took over as Master Elementalist, ruler of Zanafiar and Keeper of The Sceptre.
Dravas, like his ancestors before him, had inherited this legacy and had been a good, fair and powerful ruler. But he had an enemy – a dark elementalist named Meerol, a descendant of one of the disgraced council members. Meerol had tried to lay claim on the sceptre and had even tried to steal it, unaware that it was protected by very powerful elemental forces and could not be touched by anyone other than its rightful keeper. The only way the sceptre could be used by another was if the rightful keeper willingly gave it, or if its keeper died or disappeared, in which case the protective elemental forces would be broken.
Meerol’s plans to steal the sceptre had failed, but the evil elementalist had not given up there. She sent her armies of followers to capture Arrianne, Dravas’ beautiful dalkien wife, and held her to ransom, threatening to kill her if the sceptre was not handed over to her. But by the time Dravas found out, it was too late. Meerol and her armies had already cruelly thrown Arrianne into the acid Devil’s Sea, taking the most precious thing in his life. With no body to resurrect, not even the power of the white necromantic stone could bring his wife back.
Dravas was left alone to take care of their newborn baby, Darius, who was only a few days old. Grief-stricken, he swore that he would never allow anything to happen to his son.
Using the power of the sceptre, he banished Meerol to the Dark Fortress on the island of Necron, which was surrounded by the deadly sea that had taken Arrianne’s life. He called upon the king air elemental to keep the dark elementalist imprisoned, so that if she ever tried to escape, powerful air elementals would immediately appear and cast her into the Devil’s Sea. But he knew that Meerol had followers and he could not take any risks where the safety of his son was concerned.
It was then that he had decided that Darius would have to be sent away for his own safety, at least until he was of age to begin learning to summon and control the elements properly to protect himself. With a heavy heart, he had summoned the king air elemental once more, and commanded it to create a gateway to send Darius into another world …the human world.

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