Zardien – Lightning’s Fire, Light’s Roar Ch. 2

Summary: The Baronet Kilivirain discovers the Counter Lightning Jewel

Archival Note from The Jewel Riders Archive: This story is presented as it was originally published on Stormy’s “Avalon” fan site in the late 1990s and early 2000s. It is presented for archival purposes and for the enjoyment of the Jewel Riders fandom. If you are the author of this story and wish to have it removed from the Jewel Riders Archive (or wish to share more!) please email us at archivist@jewelridersarchive.com. Happy Reading!


Part Two: The Baronet’s Ambition by Voral, shfelliotrpg@hotmail.com

But where? Where was this forest in which Voral dwelt? The answer, I tell you all now, lies here.

The world of Avalon, divided into many subregions ruled by the local feudal lords, and they in turn divided their land into lower ranking feudal lords, and so on. Or sometimes lower feudal lords managed places of small importance, and so they were forgotten about.

And so was the case here. In a very remote northwestern region of Avalon, not all the way northwest but one of the regions slightly south of it, lied an area known as Crevonia.

Crevonia had nothing; it was one of those regions no one ever noticed because all it had was annoyingly deep forests, rolling hills, and a very harsh climate during the winter.

And so, Crevonia was given to four lowly barons to divide up into four northern, western, eastern, and southern baronies in which each baron ruled one. The high duke who gave it to them who just glanced over the land before giving it away. It had no important resources or good land for villages, so why would the kingdom care about it? Just give it to four low class power-wanting barons, to do whatever.

We go to the Western Crevonia, one of the four baronies of Crevonia. It, like Northern Crevonia, was backed up by mountains. And like the other three baronies of Crevonia, it was full of a deep forest, rolling hills, and extremely harsh cold climate during the winter. And yes, my fellow readers, this is the place Voral lived as a hermit.

It is years after Western Crevonia was made a barony. The third generation of the baron sits on the throne. And yes, this is the point in history when young Voral lived in Western Crevonia.

Now the current baron of Western Crevonia, an aged man, had four children, all male. Now it is a very well known fact in the succession of any royalty, the oldest son succeeds the father. But here was a very unusual case. Four the Baron of Western Crevonia had feternal twins. One was born minutes after the other. But Baronet Thomas (“baronet” being the title of the son of a baron/on an interesting note: Thomas was named after one of Western Crevonia’s finest knights who died protecting the castle from raiding barbarians; he served the second baron of Western Crevonia), the first one born, BECAUSE he was the first, was named heir to the throne. The second born, Baronet Kilivirain (named after the one of the most beautiful hills in Western Crevonia; the current baron often
visited there to reflect), was not. However, since they were both the baron’s first two sons, they were both granted to have small castles wherever they would choose.

The baron would have two more sons after this, Baronet Thomas II and Baronet Timothy, but they are of little importance.

The one we must turn our attention to is Baronet Kilivirain. The second son of a baron in a small barony that is one-fourth of a small remote land that hardly anyone cares about, pays attention to, or even knows about…who could possibly have guessed this seemingly-nothing lowly-nobility person would have become such a threat to Avalon? Then again, no one guessed what kind of mind he was developing…

It is many years after Kilivirain was born. He is now 21. While his brother Thomas, the heir to the barony, has his small castle built in a clearing very near to his aged father(the Baron of Western Crevonia)’s house. Kilivirain had his small castle built deep within the forest of Western Crevonia, equipped with the lowly amount of 20 soldiers. Thing was, no one could ever find it because the builders of Kilivirain’s castle were forced to stay at Kilivirain’s castle by Kilivirain afterwards. It was so well hidden and impossible to find, the baron eventually gave up trying to convince Kilivirain to tell him where the castle was, and let his son do whatever. For what could a lowly baronet,
not even the heir to the throne because he is a second son, of this small barony possibly do? But no one knew how deep obsession and jealousy ran…

Now Kilivirain himself at age 21, looked much like Voral, not including the fact they were at the same age. He had raven black hair, brown eyes, a good muscular build, a good height at 6’2″, and astoundingly handsome, again all traits of Voral except Voral had blue eyes. Why did they look so much alike? Perhaps fate did it as a prediction of what would happen next…

But also, Kilivirain’s face always looked cold; he only smiled when he caused pain or completed a goal he desired. The pain and torment that developed in his mind could be seen translucently behind his outer membrane of ice. This reflected his personality and mind all too well.

Now Kilivirain was brilliant and well-educated. He possessed a strategic genius in battle. His athleticism was astounding, and he had astronomical hunting skills. He was near unstoppable with a mace and his skill with it admired by all who knew about it. He was a great orator and quickly submitted his 20 soldiers to undying loyalty to Kilivirain. His top advisor once noted, “I swear, if this boy had the power of a baron, he could take over Avalon.”

But most of all…he was one of the few people who knew the forest as well as Voral.

Indeed, Kilivirain was unbelievable in all aspects. And in truth, he would have made a great baron under the right guidance…that is, IF he was in line for baron. But that was for Thomas, not him.

And Baronet Kilivirain literally was raised by the soldiers; his father, the Baron of Western Crevonia, neglected him. The baron gave attention mostly for Thomas, because he was going to be the next baron. Thomas II and Timothy managed to deal with it, but then again they lived in the castle with the baron. Kilivirain was isolated in his own castle from 15 onward, and hardly ever left the forest from which his castle dwelled. Seclusion corrupts the obsessed, hating, and jealous mind…

Now at 21, Kilivirain’s mind was filled with hatred for his father and for Thomas. HE was born only minutes after Thomas. HE was more competent. HE, in his own mind, deserved that barony. HE was forgotten about by his father, and left to live on his own.

Isolation and deprivation of love slowly twisted the mind of Kilivirain all those years…making him more and more demented…and more and more cruel. He even at age 20 killed one of his own servants with his mace for serving him stale bread.

But it was not until he was 21 that the fateful day came. For while Kilivirain wanted that heirship to the barony so much, he in his current power would have no chance of gaining such a prize.

Or would he? Kilivirain fell in a state of depression for he had no way of having a chance for the barony…and began taking long walks in the deep forest to enjoy the one thing that gave his heart pleasure…the beauty of nature.

Now Kilivirain refused to ride a horse, for he always enjoyed exercising his legs to stay in top condition. Such was the same on this day…a day much like the day Voral took a daily walk through the forest as well.

And of course, it had rained, and there was mossy uneven ground, but Kilivirain was a little more observant than Voral was to even the slightest things, and knew when it rained like this, to be careful where one steps…YEAH, RIGHT. One is a fool to think they can outwit mother nature…and the inevitable happened…

“AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!”

Kilivirain slipped on a wet, mossy slant of ground in which the moss overgrew on rocks and soil, loosening rocks on his way down, and tumbled to the bottom of the slant, landing on his behind. Not a happy experience.

And of course, he looked among the rocks as he got up. (now…where have we heard this story before?…hmmm….:P) All sorts of different shapes…hey, since when did rocks have the color of dark violet and the shape of lightning bolts?…wait a minute…this was more like a stone…a JEWEL…

You can guess the details…all the same as Voral. The flash, the power surging through the body…the silence…the pulsating of Kilivirain’s body of power and energy…and then the quiet voice…but somehow this voice was much more twisted than the voice that came to Voral…

“…WeLcOmE, tRaVeLeR…YoU HaVe FoUnD tHe RaReSt oF aLl tHe sToNeS…It WiShEs YoU tO HaVe iT’s pOwEr…UsE iT wElL…”

Kilivirain looked at his clothes, and knew at once they were not his own.

“Wha…WHAT?”

He was totally in dark gray armor from head to toe except for jet black gauntlets and a few other armor pieces. On his head lied a helmet that’s color was a variated blend of dark gray and black. Around Kilivirain’s waist was a jet black belt, with a large black mace with a large dark violet glow. On the left side of his chestplate lied a picture of dark purple lightning bolt dripping with deep red blood.

Then Kilivirain in the same type of moment as Voral knew what he had become…the vessel of the COUNTER LIGHTNING JEWEL.

Then all of a sudden…Kilivirain knew he had the means to become stronger…and the first of his means to gain the heirship to the barony…
———————————————————————

Stay tuned to chapter 3, in which Voral has his first experiences with the Lightning Jewel.

~Voral

 

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