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Freya's Chosen
Freya's Chosen
Freya's Chosen
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Freya's Chosen

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With Aeden vanished and Faolan waging a war in the south of Gaul, Fianna is sent on a mission to the Noregr to find aide in their fight against the Sorginak and their allies. As the war heats up after three years of a near stalemate, Aeden reappears to lead the armies of the Gaels, while Fianna's adventures bring her face to face with challenges unlike anything she had ever faced before.

LanguageEnglish
PublisherC.S. Fanning
Release dateJun 20, 2014
ISBN9781311395672
Freya's Chosen
Author

C.S. Fanning

C.S. Fanning has been writing for many years, winning a scholarship for writing during his academic years, and following that with a number of articles for various publications as well as writing a number of non-fiction works on the martial arts, which he has been studying for a quarter of a century.An avid fan of fantasy and science fiction, Fanning is proud to present his first published fantasy novel for your enjoyment.C.S. Fanning lives in a small town in Oklahoma with his beautiful wife, two lovely daughters, and a pack of noisy beagles.

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    Freya's Chosen - C.S. Fanning

    Guardians of the Grove

    Freya’s Chosen

    Copyright 2014 C. S. Fanning

    Smashwords Edition

    This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

    Note: While many places and characters within this work are or were real, this is a work of fantasy. Ideas and concepts from a variety of cultures and time periods have been fused into a story that is pure fantasy. I hope you enjoy – C.S. Fanning

    Prologue

    The windy crag was no place for man. Fortunately he was only half of the race of man. The journey to this place had taxed him to the point that the part of him that was of the world of men had nearly been burned away. From his vantage high above the strange mountain valley he could see the dim forms of his enemies far below. They stood outlined in their black robes against the snow, even in the weak flickering light of their fires.

    A part of him wanted to charge down among them from his perch and discover how many he could slay before they managed to bring him down, but such a rash choice would not bring victory, nor would it benefit those he had left behind. Despite his abilities he would never be able to reach his real targets; the diminutive forms at the forefront of hundreds of their deranged followers.

    It was obvious that the Sorginak had been recruiting heavily. After the failed attempt to take Eire and the loss of their sister, the remaining sisters had left Gaul to their lieutenants and returned to the mountains of their birth to build and consolidate their forces. It had taken the Champion months to track them to their lair, and in that time they had acquired a force that was terrifying. These witch sisters had built an army that was larger than the standing armies of Eire, Caledonia, and Albion combined, and were training Sorginak mages in the dark arts by the hundreds.

    These demigod sisters had tried to take Eire by deception; now they were bent on sweeping away all the people of the north with a single blow. He knew that destroying the sisters would be the only way to end their thirst for power, but he also knew that if he tried and failed in this feat, his friends would certainly fall against the armies of these daughters of Mari.

    Rest and Reconstruction

    Fianna had been there when the island was still a blackened wasteland. She had also been present when a thousand druids had assembled, and using their combined magic, had cleansed and healed the broken land. In a single day they had transformed the former seat of druid power into the paradise it had once been. Some of those assembled had wished to do even more, but Riordan had reminded them that magic has a price. Privately he had shared with Fianna his fear that irreparable harm had been done to the Island already, but that restoring the homes and seat of power for the druids was a necessary evil.

    That had been nearly three years past, but Fianna had been so busy in that time that it seemed like only yesterday that she had left Eire. Still, she often missed her companions, those who had fled the sleepy village of Bretharc so many years ago only to return and play pivotal roles in the battle that saved their village and all of Eire from falling under the control of the Sorginak. Riordan made his home here on the island, but Fianna usually only saw him on those occasions when he was outside the druid compound, which was not often these days. She served as his personal guard at those times, a job he had given her when she had been banished from her homeland.

    Faolan was now High King of Eire, and he had taken Teagan as his queen upon the eve of his coronation. Aeden had not been seen since that last night in the capitol. She should have known that she couldn’t count on a god, not even half of one. He had told her he cared for her and they had shared an evening that she would never forget, yet when she awakened that next morning he was gone.

    Fortunately, there had not been much time to dwell on her loneliness. She really had no reason to feel alone, as she had more companions than she had time for now. She and Iollan had been tasked with a threefold mission. First, they were to develop a team which could handle sensitive tasks where a trained warrior could function better than a druid. The team was selected from the best and most skilled of the volunteers serving the druids. The remainder of these volunteers fulfilled the other two elements of Fianna’s mission. The bulk of the volunteers served as part of a sizeable defense force charged with protecting the island, and the remainder were assigned to serve as personal bodyguards to the druids when they left the island. Less than a third of the orders numbers remained, and it was the guards’ job to make sure that their numbers did not dwindle further.

    The war in Gaul and the Sorginak assault on the order had left trained druids in short supply. Inexperienced young druids were being taught the ways of the order in droves, but many of them would barely have qualified in the past, and Riordan had been forced to call upon some who might have been passed over as he worked to restore the order. The three free nations had been mobilizing since the Sorginak had been defeated in Eire, and the new King of Eire had already taken the northern portion of Gaul back from the invaders, but he was being pressed hard and Riordan was determined to bring him aide both from the druids and from the remaining free lands. This promised to be a busy day, and Fianna was hoping it was equally productive.

    Welcome Captain Fianna Riordan said with a hint of a smile. I trust you and your troops are ready for something more than drills on the beach?

    We are, and please just call me by my name when we are alone; I get tired of all the ridiculous formality all of the time she replied.

    Riordan’s smile was contagious now, and offering her a cup of ale, he agreed. It is so for me as well. These silly titles are such an inconsequential thing, yet apparently they are the very backbone of order; or so the council tells me.

    You’ve been working with Finnis and Sianna too much have you? she asked, smiling because she knew that he had meant to suggest exactly that. Being the high druid of the Gaels was not the sort of sedate life Riordan had envisioned. Both Riordan and Fianna thought that the two elder druids were a bit more formal than was necessary.

    You know that Finnis wants you promoted again don’t you? He says that you should lead the joint force, and to do so you need the title of field marshal or some such thing Riordan told her.

    I have my own command and I have enough on my hands with that. If Finnis wants someone to lead the combined might of the north tell him to find Aeden! She said this last with far more bitterness than she had intended.

    Fianna, I’m on your side in this. If we march to war I want you covering my backside, not rallying the forces of three nations. Unfortunately neither of us is likely to get our wish. I received this this morning he said, handing her a scroll that appeared to have been left in a hog wallow overnight. The messenger that was to have delivered it died of wounds and exposure in a small boat off the Caledonian coast. Fortune favored us that it was found and brought here at all.

    Fianna read the legible portion of the scroll, and was less enlightened than before. The contents were so damaged that the bits that she could make out made no sense to her at all. I assume you deciphered some meaning from this that I am unable to divine? she asked.

    Indeed, though the message eludes me. I can tell by the hand that it was written by a druid whom I selected some months ago to visit Noregr, a land far east and north of Albion. He was sent with a twofold purpose. First he was to see what if any influence the Sorginak might hold in the region. Second, assuming that the Sorginak had not yet turned them to malice, he was to explore the possibility of an alliance. I must assume that something has happened to him, as this report is months old, and I haven’t received anything from him until now. I need someone I can trust to complete the mission to find out what went wrong and pick up where he left off Riordan said looking pointedly at her.

    You want me to travel to the frozen wastes as a messenger with all that is happening now? she asked incredulously.

    Fianna this man was the third I have sent, and none have returned. Something is happening there and we must know what it is. I don’t believe it’s the Noregr people themselves, as they are still trading with eastern Caledonia and Albion and a few other places where I still have eyes. They are a warlike people but not prone to violence against strangers. I need to know what is happening, as we cannot afford a surprise at our backs while we fight our way south.

    I will leave with the evening tide she said, unhappy with the mission she had been given, but recognizing the need. I will take a team of six, including one druid if you can spare one versed in healing and battle magic. Iollan can handle the command while I am gone.

    Make it tomorrow, for I need some time to draft a treaty and find the right druid for this mission he replied.

    After that the two of them tried to relax for a time and just catch up, but their work kept creeping into the conversation and soon they agreed that they would get together again soon and parted company. Both were left feeling sad and nostalgic as Fianna left to prepare for her mission.

    Send Commander Iollan to my tent she told the guard on duty at the entrance to the encampment.

    Captain the commander sends word that he would await you there the guard advised her.

    Iollan could be so exasperatingly insightful that she often wondered if perhaps he didn’t have a touch of the druid gift himself. He seemed always to be where she needed him, and no matter the situation, he seemed to always know what was needed. True to his word he was in the command tent, pouring over requisition lists and readiness reports.

    Captain Iollan greeted her, snapping to attention and saluting her with his hand upon his breast.

    At ease Iollan; we have much to discuss and all this staid formality will only make the tedious become tiresome she snapped, making a mental note of the wisp of a smile that graced his face at her short tirade. Alright commander, can we get to work now that you have had your chuckle?

    Yes Captain, who is going and when do we leave? he asked. She briefly informed him of her mission and was gratified that he, too, thought it a waste of her talents.

    Naturally you will lead in my absence. I am certain that Riordan will take the druids into the war in Gaul before I return. If I am right, leave the third cohort to guard the island, but attach their cavalry to the first. Take the first and second cohorts and follow Riordan. Let nothing happen to him Iollan she said, all too worried about her young friend and the hefty responsibility that he bore.

    As you wish Captain Iollan replied, nodding his approval. Four hundred men should be able to hold the island against any attack, and considering that the primary targets will be with us in the south. I’m not sure how much use barely over a thousand of men and horse will be in the war, but we will do our part.

    Fianna nodded. With luck I will bring you a few legions of crazed north men to relieve the Sorginak of their pretentions.

    They spent the remainder of that afternoon arranging the new command structure to their mutual satisfaction and preparing the units for the likelihood of a hasty deployment. That had no more than completed those arrangements and sent for Donnaidh, the commander of the special task force when a messenger arrive with a summons from the druid council.

    I suspect our preparations were timely Fianna shared with Iollan as she left her tent. Have Donnaidh select five of his best to join me, and have the balance assigned to your own guard."

    It will be done Iollan told her. He was well past his prime and should retire soon he felt, but the thrill of a new adventure still thrummed through him, and he knew that he had at least one more war to fight.

    I guess our days of idle rest are over Fianna remarked in jest as she left him to oversee the final preparations.

    Fickle Mistress

    The council meeting had been quick and to the point. Word had finally come that the queen of Caledonia had sent three full legions south and they would make landfall in Gaul in three days’ time. It was half the number asked for, but as much as any had expected. Riordan had long prepared for this and would set sail himself, along with much of the council in a bid to bring the foe to heel. Already, great numbers of druids served with Faolan to limit the sorcerous advantage of the Sorginak, but it was time now to put an end to their occupation of the lands of the Gaul. Riordan had evidenced no great surprise when she informed him that her cohorts were already prepared to sail and would serve as escorts.

    Prepared as always, I see was his only comment before turning thought to her own mission. Will you take you special cohort with you? he asked. Fianna noticed that he said nothing about where she was going.

    Only Donnaidh and five hand-picked men; more would make the journey both slower and more easily tracked. The balance of the cohort will be assigned to Iollan and the First Cohort she informed him.

    Very well, I have organized my end of your journey. If you will join me in my study I will provide you with what you need Riordan said, rising and dismissing the council with an admonition to have all in readiness by dawn.

    Fianna was greeted by a young druidess when she arrived at Riordan’s chambers. Her first thought was that her far too intense friend had finally loosened his robes a bit but then she noticed that while young, this druidess already wore the blue cord of a druid, not the yellow of an initiate.

    Riordan slipped into the room before Fianna could make an introduction. Ah Fianna, this is Bettany. She will be accompanying you on your mission. She is fully briefed and carries my proposal to the chieftains of the Noregr. She is a skilled healer, and her combat magic is subtle but very effective.

    She’s young Fianna pronounced the words like a curse.

    Less so than you or I when first we left Bretharc and, I believe, easily as talented in her own way" Riordan said giving her that look that said he knew what he was about and she should trust him.

    Are you at all skilled in wilderness survival? Fianna asked Bettany directly.

    Bettany looked at her with distaste. The Black Arrow of Eire is not the only person who was taught to survive from a young age she said.

    Turning back to Riordan with a patronizing grin she said I think she will do nicely.

    Riordan simply shook his head. Fianna was still as testy as ever when it came to business, but she smiled a great deal more. I’ll let Bettany brief you on the specifics of my proposal en route; she is also familiar with Noregr custom and can teach you how not to offend the people once you arrive. Riordan then ushered them out, giving Fianna a powerful hug before she left, and began to finish his own preparations.

    Back in her command tent, Bettany sat to one side quietly organizing

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