Read the first chapter of the Lucid Cycle: Shields of Twilight

Arrianna Stride in the City of Refuge

Too much was at stake for Arianna to be late. Carrying her books, she pushed her way through the thronging crowds. Glancing up she spied the clock tower looming over the Scholars district, its two hands taunting her for her lateness. 

Exasperated, she blew strands of her long brown hair away from her face and picked up the pace. As she hurriedly made her way across the plaza, other students called out greetings which she could only answer with a curt nod of the head or quick wave of a hand. She crossed the courtyard leading to the main library and reached the heavy oak doors just as the two rather annoyed looking prefects were about to slam them shut in her face. 

 "Blast it, Ari, you always leave it to the last minute,' scowled Naric, his brown eyes narrowing at her flustered appearance. 'You'd best get inside quickly. The Exarch will be starting her lecture soon."

Arianna straightened out her long blue dress and flashed him a smile. 

 "Thank you, Naric. I'll be sure to thank you for not slamming the doors in my face; for once," she replied sweetly. The Prefect rolled his eyes and shoved her gently inside. 

 The Scholar's library was one of the biggest and oldest buildings in the city of Refuge. A polished serpentine floor was lined with marble columns supporting the structure's enormous bronze domed roof. The interior was kept in perpetual darkness to protect the fragile books and tomes within from the sunlight. Flickering candles and lanterns were the only way to see. Arianna hurried over to the reception desk, behind which sat one of the spectacles wearing librarians. The elderly man was fixated on a piece of parchment and utterly unaware of her presence. She coughed softly to get the man's attention.

 "Yes, I know you are there, Miss Stride. What's your excuse going to be this time, I wonder? Your cat pooped in your shoes again? Or perhaps you will use the good old, ‘there was a wasp in my washroom excuse," the librarian said, chuckling to himself. He put down his quill and raised his bushy white eyebrows in amusement.

 "Please Irin. I made it on time. Just. Please give me a break. Pretty please," Arianna pleaded nervously, fingering the diamond shaped pendant around her slender neck. 

Irin sat back in his chair and rolled his eyes.

 "Fine, fine. How can I deny such an eager student a chance to learn?' he said with an amused grin. "Take a lantern from the table. The Exarch is holding her lecture in the auditorium. You remember where that is?"

Arianna nodded. "Twentieth row south, fifth row east. Thank you, Irin," she replied as she hurried over to the table and picked up a glowing lantern. She tucked her books under her arm and rushed off towards the auditorium. As she walked, she could see other students moving through the pitch-black aisles of books. The glow of their lanterns gave the place an eerie feel; it reminded her of the ghost stories her mother would tell her as a little girl. She shivered at the memory. Some of those tales had scared her half to death. 

 She counted the aisles as she walked, the place was so big that some students ended up getting lost for hours. When she'd first joined the academy, she too had experienced the panic of losing her way in the darkness. In those hours of disorientation, she could have sworn that she had seen inhuman figures moving from bookshelf to bookshelf. The library rightly had a reputation for being haunted. 

Arianna held her lantern up to scan the numbers engraved on the shelves.

 "There's nothing to fear," she muttered to herself to keep her often wild imagination in check.

 Finally, she reached aisle twenty, and the sounds of voices drifted to her from the dark. Rounding a corner, she was almost blinded by the change in brightness. Two dozen students were gathered in the open space of the auditorium, their lanterns shining. 

 The auditorium was several levels high with over a hundred seats set out in concentric circles rising upward. At the base was a stage lit by lanterns built into the base and a large chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Arianna kept her head down as she ducked into the group of gathered students. Hopefully, the Exarch wouldn't spot her.

 "Miss Stride. Good of you to join us," said Exarch Gail. 

Too late.

Arianna winced and sheepishly took her seat with the other students. Once they were all settled, the Exarch ascended the stage. She was a tall woman about forty years old and wore the dark blue and gold coloured cape of her office. She wore her long greying hair in a bun, and a pair of thick-rimmed spectacles offset her stern features. Like all the older scholars, her eyesight wasn't the best. Years of perusing the dark corridors of the library or dabbling in alchemy harmed the eyes. She fixed a steely gaze on her pupils.

 "I see we have a full attendance today. A rare occurrence as Miss Stride has blessed us with her presence for once."

Arianna squirmed in her seat. She could have died of embarrassment. She fidgeted with the amulet around her neck, a habit she’d had since she was a child.

 "Today, we will look at a theory that has recently become a hot topic of debate. This theory has divided many Scholars for several years. It is the Waning theory. That the magic powering the Barrier Towers that protect this land is flawed."

 An excited murmur came from the students. Arianna sank in her seat wishing now that she had missed the lecture and the world would open up and swallow her. The theory had been her father’s; Nate Stride. He had been criticised by the Scholarly Board and condemned by Refuge's ruling council as a troublemaker for expressing it. Her family had paid the price for Nate’s insistence, with Arianna's brother, Ethan being forced out of the academy and exiled from Refuge for his staunch support of their father. She too had often been on the receiving end of snarky comments from her peers despite the academy's best efforts to shield her from the fallout.

 "Excuse me, Exarch but wasn't the Waning theory discredited by the ruling council as foolish and folly?" asked one of the students, a skinny man with the accent of a Trimarin. The posh tones made them sound pompous and more than a little arrogant, which of course was one of the defining features of his people. It was the Trimarin Arcanists whose magic powered the Barrier Towers. To every Trimarin, the Arcanists were a source of pride, to question their power was an insult.

 "You are correct, Fallon. It was. But as I am sure you are aware that tensions in Refuge are growing due to the rising population. Eventually, we will have to expand the city if the current numbers are to be sustained. Some in the council believe that the day has come to even venture beyond Sanctuary’s borders. The Barrier, as you all know, is what has protected this land from the enemy beyond. The Waning theory, however, puts into question two things; first, is whether we are truly safe from the enemy's reach and second, that the land beyond Sanctuary remains uninhabitable. Things that many refuse to contemplate," the Exarch replied calmly. 

Fallon snorted and shook his head dismissively. 

 "The Towers are functioning properly, there is no danger. If there was some flaw, then why hasn’t the Enemy exploited it? " Fallon retorted dismissively.

The Exarch placed her hands on her hips and scowled at the arrogant young man. 

 "Perhaps, but as we all know, the building of the settlements of Hearth and Haven has been rife with problems. The various factions in the council were constantly clashing over land rights. So much so that violence has been reported in recent weeks. This growing conflict has resulted in the council coming to us for guidance and a solution. Which in turn has caused some of us to contemplate the Waning theory once more."

Arianna leaned forward in her seat; the Exarch's tone had piqued her interest. It sounded as though the Scholars' may have had a change of heart over her father's theory. Annoyance filled her, and her skin grew hot as she recalled what her family had endured. Tentatively she raised a hand. 

 "Miss Stride. You have something to say?" 

Arianna stood. All eyes falling on her.

 "Forgive me, Exarch, but if I remember correctly, you and the other ministers rejected my father's theory. He had no intention of spreading panic. He simply believed that the Enemy was still out there and perhaps seeking a way through the Barrier. That the magic of the Trimarin Arcanists was flawed."

 "Oh boy, here we go with this ridiculous theory. The Barrier is infallible, my people saw to that. To suggest otherwise is preposterous. I cannot believe that we are discussing the ramblings of a mad man," mocked Fallon.

Arianna flushed in anger.

 "He devoted his life to his research. He was not mad!"

Her cheeks were hot, and she was desperately trying to fight back the tears threatening to spill from her eyes. Nonetheless, she pressed on.

 "His words were twisted, he was mocked, and he was chased out of this academy. It was not his fault that everyone is in denial about the dangers he raised," she said, her body shaking. 

The Exarch looked as though Arianna's words had slapped her. She looked ashamed. 

 "Miss Stride. I regret some of the things that were said about your father—how he was treated and humiliated by this institution. Nate was a great man, and I miss him deeply. However, we are not here today to discuss the circumstances, but the theory itself."

Arianna could feel herself trembling with emotion. She couldn't sit through a lecture where people openly discussed and debated an issue that had impacted her so adversely. 

 "May I be excused from this – lecture?" she asked, her voice quivering. For a heartbeat, she feared that the Exarch would refuse, but the elderly scholar sighed and dismissed her with a gesture. Arianna picked up her books and hurried out of the auditorium. 

*

Following her flight from the auditorium, Arianna had sought shelter in one of the library's dark alcoves. It had been there that Naric had found her. She was no longer upset, just more determined to put an end to the talk of her father and his contested theory. She would prove he was right and finally exonerate his and her family name. A single candle was flickering on the alcove’s table, casting them both in orange light.

"This is the one Ari," said Naric, placing a dusty old book onto the table. “Listen, you should ignore Fallon. The guy’s a pompous ass and between me and you he’s only here because of his father. Nepotism is common amongst the Trimarins. Er, listen, me and a few of the guys are doing some Arcanist training later, do you want to come along? I promise you’ll be dazzled by what I can do.”

Arianna reached across the table eagerly and opened the book. Dust flew from its pages causing her to sneeze, but she persisted, nonetheless. 

 Naric waited for a response, but Ari was too enthralled in the old tome to even acknowledge his existence. 

"I’ll, er, leave you to it then.” 

With an exasperated sigh, Naric departed the alcove leaving her alone with the book. 

Arianna ran a finger through the book’s contents page. It was titled ‘A History of the World Before, During and After’. She knew her father had sought every ounce of knowledge of the past and the days leading to the Calamity. Before his exile he’d spent day and night in study. 

The first few hundred pages covered topics from the rise of the old kingdoms, countless conflicts, and the age of exploration. It wasn’t until midway through that she reached a chapter titled; ‘They who Dwell in the Nether’. Just the words sent a shiver up her spine. She put the book on her lap and pulled the candle closer before settling into her chair. The events of the ‘Calamity’ had always been shrouded in mystery. Even two centuries later, the Scholars knew very little about the beings that had almost hunted humanity to extinction. Where did they come from? What were they? And most importantly were they still out there beyond the protected lands of Sanctuary?

 ‘The first we knew of the danger was in the realm of Vizor. Located far to the west of Zure, its lands were rich in game and minerals. Vizorian traders travelled the known world selling their precious cargo of obsidian, gems, and sapphires. For centuries, the mighty kingdom held the western lands of Sumino in its thrall, but then, almost as if it occurred overnight the Vizorians vanished. Rumours began to spread to the east of a ‘Calamity’.

Arianna sat back in her chair. 

“So, even at the beginning we knew virtually nothing of them,” she muttered to herself. She read on. The rest of the chapter was quoted as having been written by Sarivan, Scholar of the Kingdom of Grondarin.

 ‘To those in the western realms’ life continued as usual. That was until stories spread of a shadow spreading across the land. As I write the details of those days, I can still scarcely believe it. Had I not seen it with my own eyes, I would dismiss my next words for those written by a madman. 

On the 21st of Rindar’s Eve, a host of what can only be described as shadows appeared on the banks of the river Ryo. The people watched in stunned awe as the horde walked, not over the stone bridge, but on the flowing waters itself. With every step, the water boiled and steamed as though the shadows gave off some hidden heat. We would later learn that wherever they step or whatever they touch perishes. Where they walked, the grass would die, and whole forests shrivelled to nothingness. The animals would flee, but those unable would rot and decay within seconds. To our horror, it was the same with people. 

The King of Grondarin marched his army to face the shadows. I watched the ensuing ‘battle’ from a nearby hillside, a safe distance from the action. To my left and behind the army was the city and capital of the Kingdom, Grand Gron. From my estimation, the King had mustered at least twenty thousand men to face this horror. The full might of his army. 

With blasts from the warhorns, the army advanced on the shadows. I could see catapults and trebuchets firing flaming salvos that soared through the air to crash on the spot where the shadows stood unmoving. People began to cheer, thinking the enemy had indeed suffered losses from the barrage, but as the smoke cleared those cheers turned to cries of terror. The shadows remained; the attack had inflicted no damage on them at all! Archers shot their arrows so that they fell like hail, but again, to no effect. The people on the hill watching in horror as I was, now turned and fled to the city, either to warn their friends or family or perhaps seek shelter. I do not know. I, however, remained. Entranced by what I was witnessing. With a roar, the army charged and as the armoured knights approached with lances lowered the shadows finally began to move. They swarmed the knights; I can still hear the screams of the horses as they rotted whilst in mid-charge to nothing but skeletal husks, their riders were thrown from the saddle. Of the knights, I saw the once gleaming steel of their armour rust and turn to dust before my very eyes. The infantry reached the shadows, and within minutes thousands of men were turned to decayed husks. In the horror of it all, I could see the shadows moving. Whereas before they were formless, they now took on shape. I could not believe my eyes, for they were the very thing of nightmares. With his army destroyed, the King fled to Grand Gron, and the shadows followed.

I fled in a blind panic east and have not stopped running, save to write this account. A few days later, word reached me that the entire Kingdom of Grondarin had fallen, and the shadows were advancing ever eastward. Wherever a lord sought to fight them with fire and steel, they were never heard from again. Panic spreads and death along with it.’ 

 Arianna shivered, and the candle flickered casting the alcove in shadows. She was scared, not just because of the words that were in the book, but more so because; what if her father was right? What if the enemy was still out there just waiting for the Barrier Towers to fail? What if the Enemy found a way inside?

*

I hoped you enjoyed this exclusive look at the first chapter of The Lucid Cycle: Shields of Twilight. If you liked what you read please pre-order a copy, there’ll be more information about the book over the coming months ahead of its release date in June. If you’d like to sign up to be an ARC reader please get in touch and subscribe to my newsletter.