Ranger's Oath #1

Fadis, Ranger of the North, had thought he had seen it all when he was with the Stormborn... then one explosion later and thousands of fanged thralls of a lost Vampire-God erupted from the grounds all across his homeland. Rallying fellow rangers, elves, and dwarves to his side— the living fight for their lives.

 But worse whispers come from the dark places of the world: a veil descends across Taria isolating it from the rest of the lands as an ancient Rusis temple comes alive... when two rangers sneak in looking for something to help in the war, they may just unleash something much, much worse.

 Embrace the Rangers of the North and meet the Rangers of the Pines, the 'Deep South' inspired Rangers who would be just at home in the East Texas woods or the Swamps of Louisiana! This is fast-paced epic fantasy with a distinct twist that will have you wanting sugar in your tea and crawfish fresh and spicy... all before heading out to slam arrowheads into the nearest Ikarn vampire thralls!

PROLOGUE

Moonrise upon the northern coasts of Taria revealed many things.
As the Glacial Seas rolled against the rocky cliffs, the air was warm and the
star flowers fragrant. A walk shared between lovers would be just at home here
as would thieves seeking to rob a lone traveling bard. This night, however, a
hooded man returned to a place that he had been to many, many years ago.

Then, he was fleeing a now-dead
maniacal king. But that was years ago and the new menace was different and far
more dangerous. But he knew danger. This was no mere hooded man—this was Fadis,
leader of the Rangers of the North.

For years he had shared in
adventures on the high seas. But as the Blackmoon rose over his home, his duty
was here. He would not fall away from it. But his business was specific, and he
hoped he could perhaps not visit this tavern and end up making a mess.

There was something about taverns.
Few places could see such merriment and tragedy, witness love and loss,
whispers of betrayal. But Fadis truly loved the smell.

He opened the door and lowered his
hood, catching the eye of a red-haired woman sweeping the floor.

"Evening," he said,
giving her a slight nod.

"Evening to you." She
winked.

He had always enjoyed the
welcoming nature of taverns. He took a seat to the left of the bar itself at a
table with two chairs. He had with him a sackcloth sack that he carefully set
beneath the table.

Off to the far right beside the
fire was another figure smoking a pipe. The barkeep noticed Fadis and
approached.

"Food tonight, just a drink?"

"Ale, just one. Can't have my
love getting angry."

She wouldn't actually get angry.
Kirla, a rogue he had met only a few months ago, was busy seeing to their
headquarters, Castle Taria.

But deposing a king made many
enemies, and that was who Fadis sought this night.

The barkeep brought over his
drink.

"I hate to tell you this, but
we're actually going to be closing in about ten to fifteen minutes. I've got a
private gathering. You know, lots of happenings with the vampires and demon
creatures. Important ranger meetings need to happen. After the king and all
that, they’re in control, and well, they make me do it."

"Sad, sad situation. I'm sure
it makes business difficult when the rangers do that."

The barkeep stared at him for a
few moments. "Do I know you? You look familiar."

"I'm a hooded man having an
ale in a tavern. Don't we all look alike?"

The barkeep chuckled. "I
guess you do have a point. Anyway, thank you. Enjoy!"

The barkeep’s chuckling seemed to
become a nervous laugh as he hurried away.

Dumb man.

As the woman continued to move
about the tavern, sweeping, the other figure near the fire rolled his neck,
sending a cracking sound across the room. He stood up and went to a door on the
other side of the tavern.

A few moments passed, and he
returned with a box, going back to his seat. The door of the tavern opened, and
two individuals came in. They kept their hoods up and looked at one another as
they noticed Fadis sitting there.

The barkeep hurried over to them. "Just
a minute. We'll get it all closed up! No problems!"

The barkeep turned to Fadis. "It
is a bit earlier than I thought, but I know you'll understand. Ranger business.
Really important if you want to keep you and your woman at home safe."

Fadis finished his ale. "Of
course. Ranger business in these trying times is important. I'd hate to disrupt
that."

He stood up, clearing his throat.
The barkeep smiled.

He picked up the sackcloth bag. "My
payment and a gift. Give it to the rangers. They have a hard job. Especially
when their numbers are wavering."

The figures, still hooded, looked
over toward him as he said that.

The barkeep stared at him,
baffled. He took the bag and seemed to grimace a bit at the weight.

"You have a good night, okay?"

"Oh, I'll have a night."
The barkeep stepped back, turning toward the three figures on the other side.

Fadis smirked, going behind the
bar and pulling out a bottle of liquor.

The barkeep noticed, dropping the
sack next to these figures and hurrying back over. "I'll say, the nerve
you have! Get out! Get out of my tavern!"

The woman was now standing near
the door as Fadis noticed the figures looking into the bag.

They stood up, taking down their
hoods and drawing their blades.

"Oh?" Fadis said,
pushing past the barkeep. "Rangers these days? Seems you’re missing some
of your party. Oh wait, you're all there."

"Fadis, king killer?!"

"To be fair, I didn't
actually do that—that was my lovely love. But he had it coming. What do I
actually call you fools? We're fighting a war against fanged monsters, and you
decide to try to kill random elves. My son, actually, was in that group."

"Your son is no elf!"

"Right you are," another
voice said.

Fadis's son was just entering the
tavern, having been waiting outside. "But, we know of the mysterious
nobles of the lands, your benefactors. I tell you what, we won't even kill you
three if you can just get a message to them. Tell them we will accept their
surrender and allow you and your ilk to join in the defense of the realm, and
we can put these petty issues aside."

"Fight for rangers?" one
man said. "We were knights of the realm! Not some criminal fodder. We had
honor."

"How much honor? How were
those heads I gave you? Rather easy to defeat a knight these days, I guess?"
He looked to Evri. "I don't know, might be more fun to kill these of the .
. . what did you say they call themselves?"

"Moonfall Syndicate."

The three figures’ eyes widened.

"How do you know such things?"

"Do you realize what I was
doing before I was here, debating with miscreant men of no honor? I was
legitimately fighting evil beyond any of you. Now, I feel like I downgraded."

"Your entire ranger
brotherhood is a degenerate mob. Those were good men you killed! You will pay.
The price on your head will be so high—"

"Wait!" Fadis said,
lifting his finger. "I never said I killed them. Those heads were provided
to me by someone else. I'd hate to drag that person into this. They are already
rather upset they had to be gone from their home for so long. You really don't
want to push this one. I swear, I've been back from sea for a month, and while
I'm trying to organize all of the living to fight, you fools try to fight us?
Have you not seen the vampires, the demon men?"

The man lifted his sword, pointing
at Fadis's face. "There are three of us, two of you. And our blades are
already out."

The woman was now behind the men,
sweeping as she had been. The barkeep nervously polished a glass.

"You don't want a mess here.
Your barkeep already works a lot."

The man spat on the ground. "He
doesn't do the cleaning. That bitch there does."

"Ooh. Poor choice of words.
Well, as steward of Castle Taria, I feel I know much of what goes on. But in
particular, that woman has only been working here for the past week. Isn't that
right, barkeep?"

The barkeep didn't say anything.

Fadis looked over. "What,
remembering who I am? They've already said my name. Might want to tell these
boys here what I did last time I was in here. Now, answer my question!"

"Um-um," he stuttered. "She
is a new assistant. Cleans up the mess. I let her take patrons, um, your guys,
actually."

Fadis smiled, turning his head away
from the man. "See. You're wrong about what you think you know, and you
have two options: take my message or make a mess in here."

"I've still got you
outnumbered, king killer."

Fadis shook his head. "You are
not a smart man. I guess the gig is up. Mirrean?"

The woman sweeping took two of the
men by surprise, swinging the handle of the broom directly toward their heads
and throwing them down to the ground. Evri drew his sword, parrying the final
man's blade down, as Fadis swung the bottle of liquor, fracturing the man's jaw
and shattering the bottle.

The man fell to the ground as
Fadis took the broken bottle and forced it just into his neck enough to draw
blood.

The man struggled to talk but
could barely move his mouth. As he grunted garbled words, Fadis tossed the
broken bottle away and grabbed him, lifting and slamming him onto the bar top.

"You will return to your
masters only because I wish it. You will tell them to meet with the rangers of
Taria in exactly two days at Castle Taria. They can bring a guard if they wish,
but none of the old king's men will be permitted into the keep. They will be
treated fairly and respectfully, but these are the lands of the Rangers now,
and I'll have none of that old king's wretches attacking elves, men, dwarves,
or anyone else. So, we unite or I waste time killing every last one of you with
arrows and keen blades that should be in the throats of our true foe."

Evri was standing with his blade
at the head of the man he had attacked. Mirrean had her boot on the other's
head. Her broom was no mere broom but her custom-crafted bladed bo staff.

“Do we have an understanding, and
will you deliver my demand to the leaders of your little syndicate?"

The man nodded.

Fadis release him and backed up,
drawing his sword as the man stumbled toward the door.

"Let ’em go," Fadis
said.

Evri stepped back, and Mirrean
shrugged. The man looked up at her as he carefully stood up.

"What? You want a kiss? Get
out. Before I have to remove your head, too."

At those words, he hurried out.

Fadis tossed the barkeep a small
bag of gold. "Thank you for your hospitality. Enjoyed my time, as normal.
Just a bit of blood this time, no bodies. That's a win, right?"

The three of them walked outside,
and Fadis exhaled.

"Do you think that'll work?"
Evri asked.

"Well, the rest of the
rangers are rallying. I've made contact with the Riverlands, and Mirrean said
the Southern rangers are more than willing to fight. The issue is our forces
are divided."

Mirrean smirked. "Well, we
are leagues away from one another. The defensive wall is taking a while and
keeping our supply lines steady, and ilk like that picking off our lines isn't
helping."

"Did you really kill all
those men? How?" Evri asked.

"By taking off their heads. Popped
them like crawfish. Simple, hun. Getting them to follow me out of this tavern
was as easy as winking with a little smile. Damn fools."

"She's brutal," Evri
said.

"That's how we are in the South,
sweet and brutal."

They went into the woods just
outside the tavern, where Evri had tied up Fadis's and his horse, along with an
extra for Mirrean.

"I'll be at the castle in two
days. I need to get home. I'm going to owe those dwarves a bit more gold,"
she told them.

"Well, thank you for doing
this. I just hope it is worth it. Your son enjoying that bow?"

"Still prefers a staff. Can't
make him into one of you Northern rangers. No matter what you try."

"Worth a try." Fadis
laughed.

They mounted up.

"Two days. I'll bring the
rest of the leadership. We've got a prince who sent some of them to seek out
his mother or something, hoping they can make it. Otherwise, you've just got
me."

"That'll be good, too,"
Evri said.

She smirked and turned her horse,
galloping away.

"Really?" Fadis asked
him, laughing.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing at all."

"I wonder what a crawfish is?"
Evri asked.

"Ask her when you see her
again. You're going to end up missing your head, too, if you're not careful."

***

The emergence of vampires does not have a set beginning that any
know. Elven scholars point to the emergence of Lord Elria Sonia, a creation of
magic and forbidden arts of a moon cult rumored to be from Keva. Though, such a
fact was denied by the Rusis who called that place their home.

 Under the power of the ancient Blackmoon, Elria
supposedly had the greatest hand in forming the first vampire sanctum under a
spider queen of a forgotten name. Here they weaved their powers and brood until
a supreme lineage of vampire lords began. Slowly, these Vadir high lords spread
their influence, taking the willing and unwilling alike. Thus rose also the
demon men—creatures of death brought back not with necromancy but with blood
magic. When the wood elves of Varmark first met the vampires, a parlay turned into
a massacre, and thus began the first Shimmering War.

The elves called for aid from
their kin across the living realms, but the Orc Wars and the long fighting
against that created scourge was still heavy on their brethren. None save the high
elves of Urlas from the Glacial Seas came, them and the dwarves of Michranok.
Still, the war took the northeastern kingdoms of Baridok and sacked multiple
elven settlements in northern Taria. But the stubbornness of elves and dwarves
against the Vadir high lords was constant. The elves held back a complete
annihilation, choosing instead to keep their creed to their gods and not
destroy another creation completely. Thus, a pact was made and the vampires
given their own realm away from the living one. They were forbidden to ever
return to the living realm, save in very small numbers to take a few souls as
needed to keep up their hierarchy.

But the vampires felt this an
eternal purgatory of such, for they were a creation of raw power and desire,
and to be imprisoned in a constant state of wanting was torture. But they
waited and did as they were told. The oldest of their order knew that the
ancient Blackmoon would return, and though it was thought to be only a passing
night, the vampires knew different.

For thousands of years, the
vampire lords slept in the realm given to them by the wood elves of the western
lands of Taria. A pact, a stalemate to an endless war. But with the coming of
the Blackmoon, they broke from their sanctum and returned to the living realm.
The elves of the West and the Rangers of the North tried and failed to stop
their reemergence. The vampires returned to the lands and lakes between the Crescent
Mountains. Their blight spread out across the lands, choking the forests, as
more of their twisted kin awakened. The woods were ever dangerous.

Now, with the strange fall of a
mist upon the borders of the lands, rangers across all of Taria rally to
protect their homes and people. All the while, the elves of the Varmark
Woodlands, the men in the Riverlands, and the dwarves of Michranok all take
their part in preparing for a new war. While shadows fall to a darker shade,
creeping in the already dark places of the world, great mirrors of fire and
light created in the dwarven mountains are mounted one by one across Taria.

But it will take every soul,
sword, and bow that can be mustered if they are to stop their enemy, and
actions taken in defense and a quest for knowledge will ultimately lead to
exactly what the Vadir high lords, elder vampires of Elria Sonia, seek.

Such begins the tale of the
Blackmoon Wars.