The Rise of Ancient Fury Read online

  A Coming of Age Fantasy Novel

  published by

  www.benwolf.com

  The Rise of Ancient Fury

  Book Three of The Call of Ancient Light Series

  Published by

  Splickety Publishing Group, Inc.

  www.splickety.com

  Ebook ISBN: 978-1-942462-49-1

  Print ISBN: 978-1-942462-50-7

  Copyright © 2021 by Ben Wolf, Inc. All rights reserved.

  www.BenWolf.com

  Cover design by Hannah Sternjakob

  https://www.hannah-sternjakob-design.com

  Contact Ben Wolf directly at [email protected] for signed copies

  and to schedule author appearances and speaking events.

  All rights reserved. Non-commercial interests may reproduce portions of this book without the express written permission of the author, provided the text does not exceed 500 words. For longer quotations or commercial concerns, please contact the author via email at [email protected].

  Commercial interests: No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means—electronic, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission of the author, except as provided by the United States of America copyright law.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, and incidents are all products of the author’s imagination and are used for fictional purposes. Any mentioned brand names, places, and trademarks remain the property of their respective owners, bear no association with the author or the publisher, and are used for fictional purposes only. Any similarities to individuals living or dead is purely coincidental.

  Printed in the United States of America.

  To Andrew Winch:

  Thank you for your endless support and friendship,

  and thank you for critiquing book one of this series in its infancy.

  I am proud and honored to call you my friend.

  To Tim Hartwell:

  You were a mentor and a close friend to me for many years,

  and you inspired me to write not just this series and many more.

  I will always treasure our creative times and adventures together.

  Contents

  Original Map of Kanarah

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Epilogue

  Shameless Commercial

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Original Map of Kanarah

  Prologue

  Steel scraped against ancient stone, and Lumen’s eyes cracked open. Four slams, one after another, tore fissures from the floor of his prison to its ceiling. Pebbles trickled from the cracks and collected around Lumen’s feet.

  His luminescence flared, and the crystals that dotted the inside of his prison glimmered. He focused his power, pushing outward, and thousands of smaller cracks spread out from the fissures until the entire tube crumbled around him.

  Lumen stepped over the mound of rock shards and into the surrounding cavern, finally free of his prison, his place of coerced solitude for the last 1,000 years.

  At last, he was free.

  At last, he would bring freedom to Kanarah.

  Inside his throne room, the King turned his head to the west. The words of the nobleman addressing him faded to nothing as a new awareness engaged his mind.

  “Summon Matthios.”

  The nobleman silenced, and he stared at the King with wide eyes. “Your Majesty?”

  The King fixed his eyes on the nobleman. “Summon Matthios now.”

  With a low bow, the nobleman retreated to do the King’s bidding.

  Not two minutes later, a muscular man in bronze armor stood before the King. He, too, bowed low. “What is your bidding, Majesty?”

  “Muster your army. Head to the Golden Plains outside of Kanarah City.”

  Matthios raised his head and stared at the King with eyes like molten bronze. “Has the time come, my King?”

  “Yes, Matthios. Lumen has been released.” The King stood from his throne and handed Matthios the bronze staff he’d used to banish Lumen a thousand years earlier. “You once forged this weapon that I might use it to battle our enemy. It is yours to wield from now on. May it keep you safe as you face our enemies.”

  Matthios accepted the weapon and bowed. Then he turned back and headed for the throne room door.

  Chapter One

  Calum’s heart threatened to beat through his breastplate. Lumen, the General of Light, fabled warrior and the prophesied savior of Kanarah, stood before him.

  White armor covered his strong limbs, and a silver sword hung from his belt. A golden crown glistened atop the figure’s head, and his eyes flickered like two balls of fire above a white half-mask that covered his nose and mouth.

  Just like in Calum’s dreams.

  Calum had actually done it. He’d made it to the Hidden Abyss, and he’d freed Lumen.

  “Calum.” Even Lumen’s deep voice exuded power like nothing Calum had ever experienced.

  His throbbing heart stilled for a moment, and he stared at Lumen.

  “Thank you for freeing me.” Lumen started toward him. He towered over Calum by more than two feet. “I have been watching you.”

  The words sent tremors through Calum’s bones, but he stood firm. “Then you know we need your help now. Our friends above—”

  “Say no more.” Lumen extended his arms and looked at both Lilly and Magnus. “Gather round, children.”

  Magnus cast a tentative glance at Calum, but Lilly stepped forward without reservation. Condor followed suit, and Riley and Axel stepped forward next. With hesitance, Magnus complied and then looked to Calum, who stepped forward last.

  Lumen nodded. “Prepare yourselves.”

  Without further explanation, Lumen opened a sort of white glowing void beneath their feet, and they all dropped into it.

  Calum’s stomach flipped, but the next thing he knew, he saw blue skies with a few fluffy clouds hovering over a great expanse of blue water. Beneath his feet, the rugged gray rock ended in a drop-off only ten paces behind him. It left Calum dizzy and disoriented at first, but the awe of what Lumen had just done overwrote that sensation quickly enough.

  Calum, his friends, and Lumen all stood atop the very rock formation near where they had found Lumen’s prison. Then recognized the sight he’d
left behind only minutes earlier.

  Only a few hundred feet away, the Jyrak reared back its massive head and released a droning roar.

  Calum looked to Lumen again, but he was gone. He scanned the skies until Axel pointed toward the Jyrak, and they all faced the monster.

  Well within the Jyrak’s reach, Lumen unsheathed his sword as the monster raised its hand to strike. In one swift motion, Lumen cut a long white arc across the Jyrak’s torso from its left shoulder to its right hip, and it roared again, this time in pain.

  Glowing orange blood spurted out from the Jyrak’s torso along that line and tainted the blue water below, and the Jyrak toppled over into the surf. Its illuminated yellow eyes faded, then they disappeared with the rest of its body under the water.

  Calum couldn’t believe what he’d just seen. He stood there, mouth agape as the Jyrak sank beneath the churning waves.

  “Impossible,” Axel said from behind Calum.

  “He is the General of Light.” Even Magnus’s voice carried an air of disbelief. “An ancient warrior more powerful than any of us can imagine.”

  If Lumen could slay a Jyrak only moments after reawakening, what else could he do? And what chance did the King have of defeating him a second time? Who could stand against such power?

  But now wasn’t the time for marveling, not when there were people nearby who still needed help.

  “Condor. Lilly.” Calum focused on them. “I need you to fly down to the water and search for survivors in the shipwreck. Save as many as you—”

  “That will not be necessary.” Lumen’s voice split the air, and he hovered toward the edge of the rock near where Calum stood. “I will retrieve them.”

  Before Calum could say anything else, Lumen plummeted toward the water. In a matter of seconds, another white void opened above the rocks behind Calum and the others. From it fell Kanton, Jake, dozens of Jake’s crew, and three Wolves, all of them dripping wet and looking around with wide eyes.

  “What in the Overlord’s name?” Jake rubbed his head. “How—?”

  As Lumen emerged from another void in the center of all of them, Calum pointed at him. “Lumen saved you. All of you. And all of us.”

  One of Jake’s crewmembers immediately lowered to one knee and bowed, but the gesture soon spread throughout the entire group. Soon after, Calum bent his knee as well. It felt strange, at first, to bow to Lumen, but when Calum considered what he’d just witnessed, how could he not?

  “Rise, my friends.” Lumen’s blazing eyes fixed on Calum’s. “We are no longer needed in this place. There is a battle to be won for the soul of Kanarah. Join with me.”

  This time, when Lumen opened the void, Calum readied himself for it. His stomach still flip-flopped, but Calum wasn’t as disoriented this time as he found himself standing in an ocean of golden grain underneath a clear blue sky.

  “How do you do that?” Axel rubbed his eyes and clamped his hand on Calum’s shoulder to stabilize himself.

  “It is an ancient magic, one far older than even me,” Lumen replied.

  In the distance, the outline of Kanarah City loomed on the horizon. Calum recognized the spot as not far from where they had found Lilly with an arrow in her shoulder. It seemed like a lifetime had passed since then.

  “What are we doing here?” Lilly’s eyebrows lowered, and she glanced around the vast fields. “I don’t have fond memories of this place.”

  “No kidding.” Axel pushed a lock of brown hair away from his forehead. It had grown long—much longer than he’d worn it in the past—and his once youthful stubble bordered on becoming a beard.

  “Gather round.” Lumen raised his hands, and the group surrounded him.

  Calum grinned at the awed expressions on the faces of Jake and his crew as they set their gazes on Lumen, proud that he’d been the one Lumen had appeared to in dreams. He’d been the one chosen and charged to set him free. And somehow, against everything Kanarah had thrown at Calum, he’d actually done it.

  Lilly’s eyes met Calum’s for an instant, then she looked away, a reminder that they hadn’t made it here without suffering loss. Calum sighed.

  Falcroné had died less than an hour earlier, and Calum knew the subtle grief on Lilly’s face delved far deeper in her heart than she wanted known. The only comparison he could draw was when he’d lost his parents, or perhaps what he’d feel if something were to happen to her.

  “The end draws near for the King,” Lumen said, his voice smooth and deep. “It begins here. Now. Together we will work to free Kanarah from his grasp forever. Gone are the days when you toiled under his oppression, under the heavy burdens he placed upon all of you. From this day forward, you live as free men and women.”

  The three Wolves yipped and their ears perked up. Riley straightened his spine and peered across the plains toward Kanarah City.

  “What is it?” Calum asked.

  “The King’s soldiers.” Riley growled. “Hundreds of them.”

  “Hundreds?” Axel gawked.

  “Too many for you to handle?” Magnus quipped. He still clutched the stump where Vandorian had cut off his hand, and Calum cringed a little at the sight of it.

  Axel straightened up a little taller. “Not at all. I just expected there’d be more.”

  “This is merely an advance force,” Lumen said. “They have come here for me. The King knows I have been released. He is determined to quash our uprising before it begins, but he will fail.”

  “Got that right.” Axel cast a glance at Calum with a smirk.

  Apparently, Axel actually believed Lumen after all. Then again, after what they’d seen Lumen do so far, who wouldn’t?

  “Come with me. We must meet them in the field.” Lumen’s hand came to rest on Calum’s shoulder, and Calum could feel raw power crackling under the ancient warrior’s touch. Lumen looked to the rest of them. “All of us.”

  “Whoa. Wait a minute.” Axel held up his hand. So much for him not saying anything. “You want us to fight them? That’s not happening.”

  “I hate to agree with Axel, but we are in no condition to fight after all we have just endured.” Magnus held up his right arm, which now ended in a scabbed-over stump thanks to Vandorian’s blade. Eventually, the hand would regenerate, he’d said, and Calum assumed he’d be able to wield his sword once it did.

  What’s more, the Dragon Emerald remained in the pouch on his belt. After all this time and all the opportunities he’d had to lose it, Magnus had maintained its possession—in part thanks to Dallahan, one of Riley’s Wolves, who’d recovered it from Vandorian.

  “Now is not the time to shed blood.” Lumen’s eyes panned from Axel to Riley, Lilly, and Magnus. “But if you are to be my generals, my imperators in the battles to come, then you must witness firsthand how to deal with the King’s men.”

  Calum nodded. He could do this, and he would. For his parents, for Nicolai, and for everyone else who’d died to help him along the way. “Let’s go.”

  Instead of taking Lumen’s hands and transporting up to the army, this time they walked among the golden heads of wheat. Though Riley’s Wolves stayed behind, Condor accompanied Lilly.

  Condor hadn’t been the disruptive force Calum had expected when Lilly asked him to join their group. Had Condor not intervened back at Oren’s fortress and in multiple battles since then, Calum doubted they’d even be alive right now.

  Even so, Calum didn’t like how close to Lilly Condor had already gotten in Falcroné’s absence. That was something he’d have to watch out for.

  When they made it about halfway to the approaching soldiers, Lumen stopped and turned back to face them.

  “These men are led by Matthios, the Brazen General,” Lumen said. “He is one of the King’s Imperators, a mighty warrior who wields powers not unlike mine. Like the King himself, he has the ability to bewitch you, to plant seeds of confusion in your minds. Do not speak to him, and guard your minds from his poisonous words.”

  Minutes later, Lumen sto
od with Calum and the others facing Matthios and the three hundred men in gleaming silver armor who accompanied him. Like Lumen, Matthios towered above the rest of his men and wore armor almost identical to Lumen’s, but bronze instead of white. Atop his bald head sat a small circlet crown made of bronze.

  He, too, wore an armored mask that covered his nose and mouth, also bronze. Instead of blazing white orbs for eyes, his eyes burned like molten bronze, a sight that sent chills through Calum’s body. The guy just looked evil.

  No sword hung from Matthios’s belt, but he wielded a long bronze staff tipped with two bronze spearheads, one on each end. Its shaft was textured with what appeared to be scales like those of a snake. When he stopped walking, Matthios plunged one of the spearheads into the soft ground at his feet and stood next to it, still gripping it with his right hand.

  “Lumen, General of Light.” Matthios’s deep voice rattled Calum’s insides just as Lumen’s had. “Your King bids you welcome.”