Oathbound and Mageborn

About the Book

In the time of Tremors, when the Age of Wonders was dying and the world of Nordalia was split asunder, the great Knight Sir Farren grew tired of war. It is said today by those who idolize him that he grew tired not of battles and bloodshed, but of the cowardly manner in which the mageborn fought from afar and the dishonorable way they waged their wars, laying waste on land and people alike with their magik. Those who dislike Sir Farren even now say he grew tired of losing to a power he could not have and did not understand. The scholars cannot decide who is right, but all agree that he led his people to a place of safety far to the south and east of any civilized centers of man.

His descendants speak proudly of his desire to lead them to a place where the mageborn could not reach them. Where they could live at peace without fearing that one day they or their children would be mistreated by warring wizards.

It is known that in this wild place at the southeastern edge of the known world he forged a Kingdom with the help of the Knights of Legend. Sir Qualce of the fiery lance. Lady Galina the Dwarf Hunter. Sir Korey the Horse Lord. Every one of the fourteen great Knights of that time. While the rest of Nordalia was being torn asunder, and the Kingdom of Nordal was falling apart, Great King Farren and the Knights of Legend were seeing to the growth of their new kingdom. A kingdom they chose to call Freeland Hold.

Border forts were erected on each of the two land locked sides. Peace emissaries were sent into the Dwarvenforge to the west to parley with the dwarves, for they still ruled much of Freeland Hold during the time of tremors, and to the Kingdom of Corrigar in the north. A great port was constructed on the mouth of the river Preada, and the Templars of Dirge, known then and now as the Order of the Dented Shield, were offered sanctuary away from the wars and wizards.

In the third year of the reign of King Farren, Freeland Hold was graced by the presence of Victoria Kingseer, a wandering prophetess of the goddess Shalitor. King Farren and his Knights feasted her and treated her with all of the honors due to one of the Seeresses of Shalitor. There were jousts in her honor, and Sir Qualce of the Fiery Lance gave up his sleeping chambers that she might have rooms befitting her station.

On Victoria Kingseer´s seventh and final night, she prophesied much good news.

“This Kingdom of Freeland Hold shall prosper in the coming years. Peace shall reign for centuries. Each of the Great Knights shall bear an heir, and the king´s bloodline will rule for many generations.”

The Great Knights and the King himself cheered and toasted her, giving thanks to Shalitor for sending the seer to them to bring such good news. But Victoria Kingseer had not finished, and the next words she spoke were directed at the king.

“King upon king shall bring forth heirs. When the last of Farren´s issue sits on the throne and begets no son fit to rule, the get of old shall rise up and the king shall be put to the sword. Love will tear the Hold asunder and men will fall like wheat to the scythe because of the mageborn queen. The bonds of the past shall be broken. She shall lay claim to the throne and that which is forbidden shall be undone as the fields are covered with the dead. A king shall sit the throne who is not of Farren´s blood.”

After hearing this pronouncement, it is written that the King and The Knights of Legend sat long at council, and that when they emerged The Knights were pronounced the Dukes of Freeland Hold. Each was given lands to ward, and an edict was set forth by the Great King. From that day forth, until the walls of Farren´s keep tumbled to the ground, no mageborn would have any right to the throne.

The Kingdom was but ten years old when King Farren´s bride, Queen Tillif, bore him their first child. Sir Qualce tested t

About the Author

Donald and Lori MacVittie are life-long fantasy fanatics who both hold Master of Science degrees in Computer Science. They live in Wisconsin with their three children, cat and yippy dog and are often visited by residents of their favorite fantasy world at the dinner table. This is their second published work in the world of Nordalia, which both inhabit on a regular basis, though many complete and nearly complete tales wait impatiently in a chest for their turn to be told.