Savior
The Saga of Java Mountainstand, Book 3
By Loren K. Jones
Twilight Times Books
Kingsport Tennessee
Savior
This is a work of fiction. All concepts, characters and events portrayed in this book are used fictitiously and any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental.
Copyright © 2018 by Loren K. Jones. Expanded and revised from a previous electronic edition published by e-Quill Publishing, Brisbane, Australia 2011 with title “Savior.”
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except brief extracts for the purpose of review, without the permission of the publisher and copyright owner.
Twilight Times Books
P O Box 3340
Kingsport, TN 37664
www.twilighttimesbooks.com/
Revised Electronic Edition: November 2018. Author’s preferred version.
Cover art by Brad Fraunfelter.
Published in the United States of America
For my wife Pamela, and children, Cimmaresa, Alexander, and Dana, who tolerated me while I was writing these books.
Loren K. Jones
Table of Contents
Timeline of the Brondian Continent
What has Gone Before
Glimmerey
CHAPTER 1: THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS
CHAPTER 2: RETURNING TO WHITEHALL
CHAPTER 3: SURPRISES AT EQUINTAIN
CHAPTER 4: LINK COUNTY
CHAPTER 5: LOTHAR
CHAPTER 6: OLD FRIENDS
CHAPTER 7: GIGGLES AND LAUGHTER
CHAPTER 8: WINTERHAVEN
CHAPTER 9: OLD ENEMIES, NEW PROBLEMS
CHAPTER 10: REUNIONS
CHAPTER 11: REFUGEES
CHAPTER 12: LAKELAND
CHAPTER 13: EMPRESS JAVA
EPILOGUE
Timeline of the Brondian Continent
NOTE:
BL stands for Before Lux. FR stands for Frander
Year 6715 BL
A bored dragon called Dandarshandrake decides to experiment on humans, making them better
Year 4796 BL
Dandarshandrake's experiments begin to show promise.
Year 2239 BL
Year 1628 BL
Dandarshandrake's "pets" begin to build a civilization
Year 1018 BL
Lux (the word for city) is founded
Year 843 BL
The people of Lux begin conquest of other tribes
Year 357 BL
The people of Lux permanently stratify and take up signifying prefixes: Chosen (Zel), Cat (Kel), Revered (Fel), Honored (Bel), Common (Del)
Year 00
The Empire of Luxand is Founded by Dandarshandrake, saying they are his "Chosen" people
Year 414
Luxand conquers 70% of the Brondian continent
Year 1599
Sahrendrake is hatched
Year 1899
Lebawandrake is hatched
Year 3057
Sahrendrake joins her sire's experiment and becomes Lady Sahren the Nurturer
Year 3186
Lebawandrake joins his sire's experiment and becomes Lord Lebawan the Cutter
Year 5316
Dandarshandrake embraces oblivion
Year 5327
The empire of Luxand fragments without the unifying force of Dandarshandrake
Year 5411
Queen Fiora Zel’Kanis of Farindia banishes her father’s Royal Guards to Kel’Kavin
Year 5608
Marydyth Zel'Karyn is born in Coravia
Year 5624
Marydyth Zel'Karyn joins the Army of Coravia
Year 5627
Knight of Justice Marydyth Zel’Karyn goes to Evandia
Year 5631
Knight of Justice Marydyth Zel’Karyn renounces the path to may Carlstan Zel'Fordan
Year 5646
Marydyth (Mary Death) Zel’Fordan dies defending Evandia
Year 5849
Stavin Kel'Aniston goes to the dragon's cave above Kel’Kavin
Year 5850
Stavin founds House Kel'Aniston and saves King Kalin
Year 5851
Stavin saves King Kalin for the second time and Princess Marina goes to Kel'Kavin
Year 5852
Stavin becomes Prince Stavin and receives the Sword of Zel'Hallan from Shovar
Year 5853
Evandia annexes Old Farindia and Stavin leads the force that brings Farindians into Evandia
Year 5856
Stavin becomes King of Coravia to save it from Lebawan's priests
Year 5859
Stavin goes to Reynadia and becomes the Blessed of Arandar, then saves Reynadia from Ravashanal
Year 5866
Stavin and his wife Shari go and find Klamath, the Capital of Vaskan
Year 6019
War breaks out between Luxandia and Evandia, soon involving all of the Old Empire kingdoms
Year 6026
A mage from Luxandia calls forth the Dershal Plague, killing 80% of the population of all six kingdoms
Year 6033
The Dershal Plague runs its course, finally dying out but leaving few survivors
Year 6121
Survivors isolated from the plague cautiously re-establish the kingdoms
Year 6592
400 years have repopulated the Brondian Continent
Year 6980
A mage released the Red Death Curse, killing most of the people in the southern part of the Brondian Continent
Year 6981
The Kingdom of Forinstan arises on the eastern part of the continent, below the Great Bay. (FR -548)
Year 7416
A foolish boy makes a rash request of the God of Chaos and becomes Amberdrake, heir to Dandarshandrake as the greatest mage that ever lived (FR -113)
Year 7494
Blackmoore Javinson is born to King Javin and his queen, Morval. (FR -35)
Year 7519
Blackmoore Javinson ascends the throne over the body of his murdered father.
Year 7526
King Blackmore begins his fall into madness
Year 7528
The Fornistanian Revolution begins
Year 7529
Amberdrake ends the Fornistanian Revolution by killing King Blackmoore
Year 7645
Prince Kaster of Greencastle marries Werrin, a Silent Clan assassin. In the Duchy of Rey, Adept Mage Frander leads a coup against the duke and proclaims himself King Frander
Year 7654
Prince Arten of Hiddendell marries the former mercenary, Naria Grantsport.
Year 7668
Java Mountainstand joins the Firewalkers
Year 7671
Java Mountainstand becomes Lady Java and becomes Lady of Mountainstand and Link Counties
Year 7673
Java Mountainstand is adopted by Duke Arten and Duchess Naria of Hiddendell, becoming Princess Java
AFTER FIVE LONG YEARS OF WAR, the Duchy of Lender’s Dale is finally free of Emperor Frander’s army of occupation and his magical control of the people. Duchess Samantha Lender is firmly on her throne, and her ravaged duchy is beginning to rebuild thanks to the help and generosity of Samantha’s guardian, Princess Java of Hiddendell, better known as Java Mountainstand.
Java was originally a runaway servant who had become a mercenary in a bid for independence. It was Java who had rescued Samantha, the last survivor of the royal fami
ly of Lender’s Dale, and been made a lady as a reward and in acknowledgment of her guardianship over the young duchess. And it was Java who had won the hearts of her comrades and commanders, and been adopted by the childless Duke Arten and Duchess Naria of Hiddendell.
Finally, with peace and maturity, Java’s life is settling down. She has accepted that, whatever her plans had been, being made a princess has irrevocably altered the course of her life. Her resignation from the Firewalkers has set in motion yet another round of changes, starting with her proposal of marriage to her longtime lover, Jah’Moke Cawfy.
Marta Freeholm, founder of the Firewalkers, retired and accepted the position of Lady High Chatelaine of Link County, Java’s holding in Hiddendell. Shair Skyhaven, Java’s beloved lieutenant, has also retired, and accepted the position of Lady High Chatelaine of Mountainstand County, Java’s holding in Greencastle.
For Java, who had counted on both Marta and Shair’s council for years, keeping them with her was a relief beyond her ability to express. For the two retiring mercenary officers, it was both a shock and a blessing.
Glimmerey
EMPEROR FRANDER SAT ON HIS THRONE with an extremely puzzled expression on his face. Before him stood his most powerful followers, his generals. Each was a force to be reckoned with in his own right, but their devotion to Frander was unquestioned.
“Why do they fight me?” he asked. “I am bringing about a utopia on Dracana, and I can’t grasp why anyone would oppose me?”
“My Emperor, it was just Lender’s Dale. You know they have never been considered to be very civilized. Throw in Greencastle and they may as well be a back-woods tavern. We shall retake them.”
“But how did we lose them? Why did we lose them? This makes no sense to me,” he told his generals, “I must know why they did this. I must know how they did this. I must know what magic they possess that I do not.”
All six generals bowed deeply before the leader said, “We shall discover this information for you, My Emperor.”
CHAPTER 1: THE RETURN OF THE PRINCESS
Home. No matter where it is, home is always the best place to be.
Master Scholar Princess Sharindis Zel’Andral, “Travels with Stavin”
PEACE. THE CONCEPT SEEMED ALMOST ALIEN to Java. For the first time since she had run away from Equintain, her future seemed peaceful. Lender’s Dale was free of Frander, and Greencastle was no longer in danger. No one knew what his next move would be, but that was a problem for the future.
Nothing had been heard or seen from Frander’s forces since they had broken and retreated from Lender’s Dale. For the Army of Lender’s Dale, the war was over. For now, at least.
And Java felt like she was done. Her main goal of freeing Samantha’s duchy had been accomplished. And even though Greencastle was now her duchy in a very real sense, she was going home to Whitehall to embrace the destiny that had been pressed upon her. And that, as strange as it seemed, didn’t sit well with Java.
I’m never going to have any more fun.
Princess Java Mountainstand of Hiddendell took her leave of the Firewalkers and Firedale, accompanied by the people who had made her what she had become. Jah’Moke rode close on her right, and Robin rode knee-to-knee on her left. Marta Freeholm, Shair Skyhaven, and Sabrina Derinsham followed close behind. Behind them, in a column of twos, came two hundred Firewalkers, escorting their princess and former captain back to Hiddendell. There they would take up residence in the compound that had been the Firewalkers’ home since Marta had formed the company twenty-three years before. Sabrina was the only member of the procession who was not a Firewalker, but her relationship with Shair made her family to Java.
They were headed to Greensboro first to petition Duke Kaster to ennoble Shair and name her Lady Skyhaven. The trip was uneventful except for the hostility of some of the village mayors and headmen to the company of mercenaries that filed through their territories. The people of Greencastle felt that the mercs were a necessary evil, but an evil nonetheless. Now that Frander was no longer an immediate threat, the very people they had been hired to protect were making them feel unwelcome.
The mayor of Lone Pine, the closest town to Firedale, and the only town that had existed before the war in the marginal territory that had become Mountainstand County, greeted them before they entered the town and set the tone for their trip.
“Just keep on going. We’ve had enough trouble out of you lot.”
Java rode forward and dismounted. She had never met the mayor before. “Who are you?” she asked as she stood and looked up into his face. He was easily as tall as Ander Lesten, but where Ander was smoothly handsome, this man was as rough as a dirt-clod. Sporting a five-day growth of whiskers, his face looked dirty to Java, and his bulbus nose was speckled with black spots.
“I am Mayor Cavenal. Who in the hells are you?” the mayor snarled, his hostility toward the mercs making him surly and careless.
“I am Princess Java, and the Lady of Mountainstand County. Watch your tone when you speak to me.” Java’s angry blue eyes bored into the mayor’s brown eyes. “You will convene a meeting of the Town Council immediately. Is that understood?”
Mayor Cavenal looked down into Java’s face and stepped back. He had never met the princess, but the girl in front of him matched the description he had been given. “You’re really Princess Java?” he asked in a cautious tone.
Java drew her hand up and tapped the twin ducal brooches that were pinned to her sash. The light was poor, but the mayor could make out the emerald of the Greencastle brooch beside the sapphire and topaz of the Hiddendell brooch. “Do you need more proof?”
The mayor licked his lips nervously and dropped briefly to one knee, shaking his head. “No, Princess. No, I believe you,” he said as he backed away. “I will convene the council at once, Your Highness.” He continued to back away, never taking his eyes off Java.
Marta rode up beside Java and smiled down at her as the mayor finally turned and ran back into town. “You seem to be getting used to being a princess, Java.”
Java grinned up at the woman she would always call captain and shrugged. “It has its uses, Sir.”
Lieutenant Maren Kelven, as the senior Firewalker officer and commander of the detachment, ordered her women to pitch camp outside of town. While the troops were busying themselves setting up tents, she walked over to Java and her party.
She bowed to Java before saying, “The hostility of the mayor is an unpleasant surprise. During the war, Lone Pine was more than glad of our presence. And our silver. With your permission, Princess Java, I would like to be part of this. Captain Rivers is going to want to know what is happening.”
Java nodded. “Yes, Sir. You’re welcome to come along if you promise to stop calling me princess when you don’t have to.” Java’s sour look made the women around her laugh.
“As you wish, Java,” Maren replied, smiling at the slight figure beside her, her teeth gleaming in the light of the setting sun.
The Town Council members were all present in the Alder Tree Inn when Java and her party arrived. The innkeeper, Valden Coopersmith, was a member of the council and a distant cousin of Sabrina’s. He saw her with the mercs and quickly went to her side. “Sabrina, what are you doing here? Is that really Princess Java?”
“It is,” Sabrina said softly. She looked at the slight figure striding through the common room and nodded. “Watch your step, Valden. She’s not to be trifled with.”
Java stopped when she was facing the council, and the mayor quickly called them to order. She swept the room with an angry scowl before speaking. “I am Princess Java Mountainstand, Lady of Mountainstand County,” she said, pausing to scan the faces before her again. They don’t look happy to see us. “The greeting my party received tonight will not be repeated. Is that understood? I consider the Firewalkers to be my family, and the Vandals and Thunderfeet to be my friends. Any insults you offer them will be considered an insult to me personally.”
The
mayor cleared his throat and stood to bow. “Princess, please forgive me. I didn’t know you were among the group that was approaching the town, otherwise I would never have greeted you in such a manner.”
“That you would greet any of the mercenaries in such a manner is inexcusable!” Java snapped irritably. “These men and women have been fighting for you, keeping you safe, for more than five years. If they had pulled out after the second year, when their initial contracts ran out, every man here would have been pressed into the Guard, and Frander would have taken Greencastle.” Her cold blue eyes scanned the Town Council and the spectators. There were a number of robust young men among them who should have been with the Guard, but had never been called upon.
Java turned and held out her hand to Shair, who stood to join her. “This is Shair Skyhaven. She is accompanying me to Greensboro, where I shall ask Duke Kaster to name her Lady Skyhaven. She will then be returning as my Lady High Chatelaine for Mountainstand County. Mayor Cavenal,” she said as she fixed the mayor with a stern glare, “I would suggest you remember her face. Each of the mercenary companies has volunteered a force to aid her in the administration of the county.” A slightly nasty smile curved her lips for an instant. “The next mercs that knock on your door may well be Tax Collectors.”