Locmire's Quest: Book One A Tales from Calencia Novel Read online

  The Seven

  The warring Engeniums of Lasticall forwent their hundred-year long conflict in a desperate attempt to defeat Hasbarie. For the past century the High Engeniums and Forest Engeniums had been engaged in a bloody war, which had no visible end in sight. Many irreconcilable differences had to be put aside, for the greater good of Calencia, before the warring factions were able to come to terms of peace.

  The High Engeniums of Lasticall were extremely wealthy and lived in lavish, tower-like homes. Adorned in fine silk robes threaded with gold, they became widely recognized for their flowing silver hair, unblemished faces, bronzed skin, and long pronounced chins that universally distinguish the Engeniums. They were an exceptionally prosperous race and well respected throughout Calencia. Although they seemed noble and just, their wealth was acquired through the blood and sweat of the enslaved Forest Engeniums, for whom the High Engeniums showed absolutely no compassion. A great number of Forest Engeniums had been literally worked to death in the gold mines.

  The Forest Engeniums, the total opposite of the High Engeniums, were meager scavengers who lived in the forests adjoining the city of Lasticall. Although they looked very similar to the High Engeniums, and considered by many a relative to their race, the Forest Engeniums were a different race entirely. They looked just like the High Engeniums: silver hair, bronze skin, and pointy chins. The attribute that set their race apart from that of the High Engeniums, however, was their connection with nature. When a newborn Forest Engenium came into the world, leaves that would eventually wilt away covered the child from head to toe. It was believed that they were actually part of nature itself. They could speak with the animals, hear the whispers of the plant life, and on rare occasions, actually use the forest to aid them in battle.

  With the construction of Lasticall, the Forest Engeniums became stepping stones for their wealthy counterparts. They did not sport the lavish garments of the High Engeniums. Instead, they wore fur clothing made from the remains of their meals. No one served them their food, medicine for the sick did not come easily, and they had very little means of defending themselves from invaders, both foreign and domestic. They were an oppressed race with little hope of altering their circumstances.

  Residing in expertly built log dwellings, but lacking the security of a walled in city, the Forest Engeniums remained at their utmost level of alertness, mainly due to the raids by the High Engeniums on their villages to harvest more Forest Engeniums to work in the mines. The High Engeniums relentlessly raided their homes, taking any extra food and illegal weapons that the Forest Engeniums had procured. By taking these things, the High Engeniums crushed any hopes of insurgency.

  After years of slaving in the mines, the disgruntled Forest Engeniums finally turned on their masters. Armed with bows and spears, which they somehow managed to keep secret, they began a violent revolt against their kin, which became one of the longest and bloodiest conflicts ever fought in Calencia.

  Once the revolt started, the Forest Engeniums committed an act out of self-preservation that they would have never before even considered; they shaved their heads. After the revolt, it became mandatory practice for all Forest Engeniums to keep their heads cleanly shaven to prevent High Engeniums from sneaking into their territory, as well as preventing any further attempts made to make off with their people. This tactic worked well for a while, but eventually the High Engeniums, acknowledging that their hair would grow back, began to shed their silver locks in order to blend in with the Forest Engeniums. This prompted the Forest Engeniums to take a more drastic approach. They began to tattoo their faces with green ink. It had been considered that a High Engenium might have been willing to cut their hair to disguise themselves as a Forest Engenium, but the Forest Engeniums knew that their narcissistic counter parts would never do something to permanently scar their good looks. Once they began inking their faces green, not once did a High Engenium manage to unknowingly infiltrate their territory.

  Even though the Forest Engeniums did not have the durable armor or the golden weapons that the High Engeniums possessed, they kept their revolt going for a very long time, and to everyone’s surprise, they did a fair job at defending their villages. The Forest Engeniums outnumbered the High Engeniums five to one. They used the forest and their greater numbers to their advantage, ambushing their rich oppressors at every opportunity. Eventually, the Forest Engeniums began to build confidence in their battle abilities. By using the art of surprise and their connection with nature, they won several key battles against the High Engeniums. They did not need the walled fortress of Lasticall. They had the forest itself.

  Their hundred-year long war came to an abrupt end after the emergence of Hasbarie and their unexpected civil union at the Calling of the Greats.

  The years of hatred and pent up aggression toward one another spilled over onto the battlefields of the Great War. The Engeniums silenced the cries of an incalculable number of the Breathless with an incessant barrage of arrows, flying rapidly and recklessly, darkening the sky over the bloody battlefield. When Hasbarie's forces surrounded them, they united in a large circle, as one race. With their swords drawn, the Engeniums cut down thousands of the Breathless. After a valiant effort, greater numbers finally overcame them. The last two Engeniums, Mazola Ferrini and Ronmar Elmidas fought as one until the life left their slain bodies.

  Their finely crafted bows and golden long swords littered the landscape. The golden armor of the High Engeniums, and the hide armor of the Forest Engeniums provided little safeguard against the Dark Wizard and his army of decomposing corpses. On this day, every Engenium became equal.