Excerpt: Kingmakers

The distance between the kingdom and Polential was not far, though Jen had only reached as quickly as she did because of hard she had chosen to push herself. The reality of her oath and the objective of her quest were both ignored as she made her way onwards; now that she was finally here, Jen could no longer put it off.

She had truly only reacted the way she did back then because of Arthur’s presence. He was always looking down on her, always trying to protect her. Arthur believed that he was always right, no matter how many times she had proved him wrong. Even though it had been a year since she had last seen him, he had not changed. It was that very same attitude of his that caused Myer to die; she would never forgive him for that.

Myer, Jen thought, why did you give me your Talent? She fingered the necklace that hung around her neck, the second present she had received just before Myer and his beloved died. If she had never met Myer, she would never have known the things she did know now, but− If she had never met Myer, her world wouldn’t have changed the way it did, forcing her to change as well.

Here, in the unfamiliar Kingdom of Polential, there was no turning back. As long as she did not keep to the words of her oath, her life was forfeit and she would never be able to return home. Her parents... Her friends...

I need to get rid of the heroes... But how? Myer had mentioned of them to her in his many tales. As far as she knew, they were powerful... Almost immortals. The magic around Polential kept them ageless and strong... It had been some twenty odd years since the last war that Polential had pulled everyone into. The heroes were so much more powerful and so much more wiser than she was, did she have even have a small chance of success at all?

Regardless, Jen thought, trying to calm herself down, I should make myself familiar with this city.

Glorien, capital of Polential, home to the royal blood and the heroes of Polential. Jen took a deep breath and began to explore.