Schism: The Battle for Darracia (Book 1) Read Free

Darracians.
    The Quyroo s were divided into two distinct groups, Tree Dwellers and Bottom Dwellers. The Tree Dwellers lived in the tall branches of the Desa Forest in huts attached to the bark of the tree resting between the leafy branches. They used all the resources the planet had to offer. Whatever they harvested was controlled by a Quyroo league that traded only with Darracians, who then controlled all prices. The Bottom Dwellers often were outcasts, thrown from their clans to live on the floor of the forest, eating only what they could forage.
    The Darracians had built a complex city here in the clouds, with its many storied buildings floating over the mountaintops, and its vast ocean, never to be touched by the unpredictability of the land.
    In the distance, Aqin, the giant dormant volcano , smoked sulkily. It had erupted eons ago, long before the Darracians had seized control of the planet. Small illegal Quyroo villages dotted its craggy, red hills, stubbornly clinging to their rocky walls. The Quyroos were forbidden to build on the sacred land of the great volcano, but many of the Bottom Dwellers persisted in breaking the law and tested the limits of Darracian patience and strength.
    The Darracians were a prosperous people, wily as they were smart , and ruled the planet with their wits as well as their brawn, though many claimed it was only by the grace of the Elements alone. They had been the dominant force for more than a thousand years, when V’sair’s long-ago ancestor, Carnor the First, had harnessed the power of the Elements to overcome the civil wars that were destroying Darracia.
    V ’sair took in the might of his father’s army and smiled, knowing the Elements were not always on the side of the righteous so much as on the side with the greatest warriors. Whatever his beliefs, without the support of his kingdom, a hollow crown would rest upon his head. Without the test of the Fireblade, he may not be considered powerful enough to lead these people. His parents never had even let him hold a Fireblade, even if he knew he had the strength to light it with his warrior’s heart. A heaviness rested in his chest. Darracians respected might and despised weakness.
    He looked at the army of guards that surrounded the many towers, their granite faces all the same dark gray of his father. The Darracians’ tough pebbled skin and huge mass made them formidable enemies. He wondered whether they would they put their faith in him when the time came. Sradda willing, he thought automatically, his father should live another two hundred years, but when the time came for him to be crowned, would he have the support of these beings? They were a cold people; it was strange that his sire had taken his mother, the peaceable and pliant Planta woman, as his mate.
    Reading his thoughts, Reminda smiled and said, “You’re wondering how your father chose me?” Her forked tongue touched the tip of her full lips. V’sair had the thick, solid tongue of his Darracian ancestors and had loved trying to catch his mother’s serpent-like appendage when he was a child. She smiled, and her cheeks dimpled.
    “ It’s not fair that you know all my thoughts.” He had the grace to blush the palest blue. The darkening shadows, however, painted his face violet.
    “ Even if I were not Planta, I would know your every thought, Vsos. You are my son.” She pressed her smooth forehead against his. “Tell me of the storms that are brewing behind your fine eyes.”
    V ’sair ducked his head away, embarrassed that the guards might have seen his mother’s affection. “Stop. I told you I am not a child. Am I not allowed a modicum of privacy?” He stalked down the wide terrace, feeling the heat of the two setting suns on his face, even at this distance. If he wasn’t careful, he would burn, as both he and his mother could not withstand the strong rays of both suns.
    “ You cannot compete with the strength of the Darracians. They will destroy