Silvertree Chronicles Bk. 05 Pt. 01

Silvertree Chronicles Book Five Part 1, From the Brink, (Enhanced Edition)

Synopsis: The distant and last living elven heir of the Silver line Jarronus'via Silvertree steps into the unknown shoes of past blade wielder heroes and champions over a millennium since the dragon's return. The Silvertree line on the brink of destruction and once again the Gods look to call upon the family of Champions past.

***Inspired by multiple fantasy environments. Not endorsed by any of them. © EmotionalStorm June 2020. This story cannot be transferred to any other site besides Literotica.com without the prior authorizations in writing from the author and EmotionalStorm must be credited for this work.

Authors Note: For those who have not read my bio, please note I write as a form of therapy for a Traumatic Brain Injury. I know the English majors will probably encounter issues that annoy them. If these are your focus, instead of the story itself, then this is not the story for you. I am not and will never be a professional writer.

I do it to tell the story, for those who wish to read them. I originally submitted this story back in September of 2018. I have worked to try and improve my writing style while struggling with this issue. I have added some editing software and written a few other stories. Now I am revising and editing this earlier work to try and bring it up to a higher standard from what I have managed to learn over the last few years.

Septa 27th 8402

Jarronus'via Silvertree was born to Pheoana Silvertree a year after her husband's death. She was shocked his 'will' included the documentation outlining the request to disown all other members of the known Silvertree family. She now worried what would become of this long and prestigious family name, if her son failed to produce heirs. Let alone heirs capable of wielding the family blade.

She went back through records up until the time of the last champion to wield the blade. She tried to figure out where things went wrong. She decided to try again and named her son after the heir apparent for the blade and her eldest son. She saw where her other 5 children died before the age of a 100.

The note Jazzia left in her journal where she called out, "I only expected one child to live for any length and the others would likely die young. It is the 'champions curse' in my eyes." Her prophecy proved true based upon notes left by her remaining son in the Journal.

Jazzia commented, "The Lady of Dreams oversaw death and the death of the champion's children was a likely conclusion to any future Champions who wielded the sword."

She worked to hide the sword away so her son would hopefully never find it or desire to carry the Moon Blade. Let it skip a generation or two to let the family time to regrow. The Lady of Dreams hated that note in the Journal but Corellon Larethian would not let her take action on that entry.

He had warned her and he felt his wife deserved to be called out concerning that fact. It was Jazzia's 'I told you so' clause she stipulated in her agreement to marry and he would not deny his champion when the Lady of Dreams proved it to be true for her children.

He had felt the argument she had with the champion played a role in her decisions on when and how Jazzia's elven children would die. She did not deny it to him. She could not because it was true.

Mia 21st 8417

Pheoana came home to find her son holding the active blade and about had a heart attack. Hidden in a bag of holding behind the headboard of her bed, yet her son had found the blade. A voice from the behind her let out a sigh, "He is the last elven heir capable of wielding his family blade."

She turned on her heels to see a lady in white walking slowly from the house. She looked at her, "Who are you?"

The Lady turned, "You will know soon. He will know me when he is an adult. She disappeared in a flash of light."

She gasped, "The Lady of Dreams?!"

She thought, "I should read that journal again."

She noted the journal was not on her nightstand, but on her bed and open. Along with her husband's journal. While she had hidden the blade, she had not hidden the history. Both books had been read by her son. Many things concerned her in its pages.

The note from Jazzia and the short lifespans of champions being among them. She decided to hold off on getting the child any necklace. Adding an entry into her will in case anything happened to inform the child about the visitor, the importance of the necklace, and the need to produce heirs to save his family's legacy.

Regardless of the warnings in the journal, children were the only hope for the family name to continue. She left her will in trust of the Elven Queen. She explained, while her house was on the brink of extinction, she wanted the best for her son in case anything happened to her.

Junta 9th 8417

Pheoana was left with little choice. Her son was manifesting dangerous powers and needed to be in the Academy. They tested the boy early and found his skills off the charts of any student they had ever trained during his tenure. His records on this sealed from all except the Magister of the City Academy. Even the mother was not made aware of the extent of the facts concerning her son.

Septa 3rd 8447

Completed with his battle sorcerer studies and casting tier seven spells already had his instructors worried. He still had another 30 years to go to be an adult. The current Magister of the Academy, only in the position for 7 years, went searching through records trying to find any reference to this. He found the boy's evaluation and was shocked.

Then he found a list of Silvertree students with unheard of talent who graduated from the City Academy. Going back to Eldar Silvertree, a Grand Master Blade Singer and the Second Master Trainer. He sent for and received a copy of the records from the Quatarsia Academy for all Silvertree graduates as most had gone through the Academy there instead.

He found the term he was looking for; a gestalt. One had not been identified in the Academies in over 900 years. The Magister caught the child doing things with his sword he would expect to see out of a fifteen-year Blade Singer candidate. The tenth Master Trainer having just been named. He had to know if he had one in his Academy. He decided to risk it. He contacted Master Trainer Sidnar'via Goldeagle.

Magister Golden Rose brought him into the office, "You add a third student yet?"

Master Trainer Goldeagle shook his head, "I am about 20 years into my existing students. I thought I might wait until I could start a third so they did not feel that far behind."

Magister Golden Rose chuckled, "I have a battle sorcerer who just finished training. He has no place to go but home. Casting tier 7 spells now."

He looked at the Magister, "This is unusual how? How does this affect me?"

He looked at Master Trainer Goldeneagle, "The child is not even 45 years of age yet and has skills with a sword. He is a few weeks away from his 45th birthday. He has skills I have seen on 15-year Blade Singers and is ambidextrous.

He is a descendant of Eldar Silvertree the Champion and second wearer of that ring. His initial assessments are higher than any student in this Academy and he appears to be a gestalt, hidden by the previous Magister. I believe he has not been trained to his full potential yet."

The Master Trainer looked around for a minute. He had his own journal kept since the first blade Wielder of his house blade. He looked back, "Get him to the proving ground. I want to see this child in action."

He brought his 2 65-year-old students in and had them face off with the field set at tier 2. His students seemed perplexed by this.

He yelled out, "Begin."

His first student, Apprentice Goldenclaw went for a mirror image. While the boy closed the distance with a leaping tumble and smacked his student in the wrist with the flat of his training blade so hard that it sent the blade flying and stuck point first into the right wall. Jarronus held him at sword point at that moment. His student stood there dumbfounded by this child. He pointed at his other student.

He yelled, "Begin."

This student, Apprentice Golden Mirror, came in to attack and got hit by a thunder wave that knocked him against the back wall and into the instructor. The Master Trainer looked at his students, "Try 2 on 1 with him."

He watched as his students circled to get into a flanking position. The boy did not try and stop them. The one in the back moved first, Golden Mirror. The one in front, Golden claw, moved faster. He flipped over Golden Claw advancing in front of him. He switched hands and fought them side-by-side.

Neither student was accustomed to fighting a left-handed opponent, and it showed. Jarronus passed up obvious chances to take one out. The boy kept them on the field for 20 minutes, feinted a move, and rolled across the back of Golden Mirror. Then flipped over the back of the same student and had the two students facing each other. He launched another thunder wave sending the two of them off the field.

Goldeagle looked at Jarronus Silvertree, "You that good with a live blade?"

Jarronus thought, "Karti'Ros left hand."

Master Trainer Goldeagle looked and nodded, "We never want to cross Moon Blade with Moon Blade." Jarronus bowed to him and sheathed the sword.

The Master Trainer looked at his two students. "The young man you have been sparring with is a graduating battle sorcerer. He is also a descendant of the first Grand Master to ever graduate the city Academy as a Grand Master Blade Singer, the only one to do it before there was a Master Trainer.

He was the second Master Trainer. The first being his own instructor after producing such a fine student and appointed by the Gods, he was Master Trainer Yetto, an elf-blood descended from the same house as the student he took on. That house was House Silvertree.

That ancestor, the first graduating Grand Master, is known as The Champion and Duke Eldar Silvertree. Also, a Field Marshal and General of a mercenary company. His daughter was in the field in combat at this boy's age. Fighting orc, ogres, and giants. She gave the Master Trainer ring to her last student and a descendant of the Silvertree line.

The new Master Trainer was a gestalt, a Sorceress Blade Singer, and is the only known wearer of a ring that called her out as a Champion Bladesinger when she passed the band off to her half brother in order to enter the war.

She taught her students not to be flanked. Something that has been lost over the last 1,000 years, yet this boy knows how to do that innately. Also fighting with either hand, which Eldar had added to the training over

She was the Champion known as Jazzia Silvertree, the last known champion that the gods put onto the field. I questioned the Magister wanting me to look at a graduating battle sorcerer. Then this leads me to believe they have put another gestalt, which has not been seen at either academy in 900 years."

Jarronus bowed to him, "I have received no guidance, but I suspected there is more that I could do if I had been trained to do it. Was that all Master Trainer?"

Master Trainer Goldeagle smiled, "No, that was not all. I want to train you. It is a 30-year program and I know you are already casting tier 7 spells but you have the talent to be a Grand Master, hell even a Master Trainer like Jazzia. That is why he did not cast something that would hurt you seriously."

Jarronus smiled, "I am Storm Born like one of my ancestors. They called him an Arcane gestalt. He was a sorcerer and a Battlemage. Also, a Duke in his own right, an Admiral, and recovered the Eternal Forge before dying of poison from that last mission."

The two young men giggled at this tale, on the surface. Underneath they did not like the instructor's comment about this new student being a Master Trainer on the first day of an initial evaluation. Master Trainer Goldeagle glared at them, "I can confirm what he has said. There are references throughout my ancestors' journal.

About Eldar. He who put this blade into my family's hand! Brannar, one of his sons, who was not a champion of the Gods, but was born of the storm that killed his mother and twin brother. He was trained as a Battle Mage and could innately cast as a sorcerer.

The term gestalt was added later to his records, the first to get that designation, but not the last. The last ones were listed as the 6 sons of Jazzia Silvertree. Brannar found the location of the Eternal Forge, brought down the Dragon War treaties, and worked on the reformation of the Alliance we have with the metallic dragons.

He was an Admiral and diplomat who got the ships together and worked to successfully recover the forge. He died in the Palace from poison after reporting back to the Queen in person immediately after the battle to reclaim the island the forge was on. Poisoned by the Lich he destroyed during that battle.

The boy is not being a braggart. If anything, he has left a lot of it out. The last Champion in the Silvertree line was over a 1,000 ago. My Moon Blade wielding ancestor was brought in to help guard over that island for several years, why it is in my Blade Wielder's journal.

Jazzia Silvertree was the one who, to this day, was the youngest Grand Master and Master Trainer ever. Also, a Blade Singer Sorceress gestalt, yet she was Silver-dragon blooded. No champion has been revealed since then."

Jarronus looked at the Master Trainer, "Convincing me to undergo this training is not the problem. Convincing my mother is the problem. This blade scares the hell out of her."

He nodded, "I will talk to her."

He put his students to work. He could tell his apprentices were jealous of this student and they both feared that neither of them would ever hold the ring he now wore. They were talented and on their way to being Grand MAsters, but they had both just been beaten by a student with no formal Blade Singer training yet.

He traveled to House Silvertree Estates. The guard pointed him back past the stable to the garden. Pheoana sat there planting flowers under the great Silvertree when he rode in and looked over at her.

Pheoana looked up, "Can I help you?"

Master Trainer Goldeagle nodded, "Yes, you might be able to help me." He hopped down and looked at her. "I am from the Academy."

Pheoana got up, "Everything alright?"

He chuckled, "I would not know if alright is the word I would use. I am Master Trainer Goldeagle."

She sighed, "My son is a sorcerer."

He nodded to Pheoana, "Yes, but something tells me you do not know just what he is capable of doing."

Pheoana glared at him as she got up to walk off, "What makes you think you know my son any better than I do?!"

He looked at her, "Brannar and Jazzia Silvertree. If you read the journal then you know what I am talking about." She stopped in her tracks but did not turn back. "Eldar put the blade at my side into my families' hands when he reclaimed and cleansed the 14 blades.

When Knight Paladin Silvertree fell in battle on the field, my ancestor was sent to Griffon's Peak to lead the assault. He died on the field that day. I have my own Blade Wielder's journal. I know what his evaluation records say. He tested off the charts.

The previous Magister chose not to tell you of this fact, not even the Royal Family. If he were still alive I'd have him in front of the Queen for this oversight. He sealed it away. Jarronus could have been the youngest Grand Master to graduate if they did not work strictly to bring his innate arcane talents under control.

He is casting tier seven spells now. I tested him earlier at the request of the new Magister. He saw him working on his own with the sword. He bested my 2 20-year apprentices one-on-one and the two of them against him. He could fight with either hand. He has God gifted talents."

Pheoana turned and snapped at him, "DON'T SAY THAT! Damn it! DON'T SAY THAT!"

Pheoana crashed down onto the ground at his feet and cried.

He looked at Pheoana, "What are you hiding from me? From him? From yourself?"

She looked up, "The Lady of Dreams put that accursed sword into his hands. His powers started spiking out of control days later. I had it stashed away in a bag of holding and hidden, and yet he found it."

Goldeagle nodded, "You can try and keep him from his destiny. The question is do you want him to have the skills he needs to survive whatever challenges the Gods throw at him. That is what you have to understand. Destiny cannot be avoided. The question is will he be ready when his destiny comes. It sounds like he will be a new Champion."

He stood and got mounted up. Pheoana did not even look at him. She finally yelled out as he rode away, "Train him so he will survive! That he may save this house as the last heir."

He looked at Pheoana's crumpled and crying form on the ground. Now he understood her other fear. The house would die with the boy if he failed to train Jarronus to survive. He rode out leaving her to her tears. He knew he was training the next champion in his heart.

Octa 6th 8472

Pheoana Silvertree was found dead in her room 2 days before. She had not been seen in a few days by the house staff, as she had taken to sealing herself off in her room for days at a time in the last few years. She was found with hundreds of empty wine bottles scattered about her room. This fact was kept from the general population.

It appeared she had drunk herself to death. The clerics knew better. The smell of bitter almonds and black in the mouth. It was obvious to them she had been poisoned and reported that fact. If she did it herself or if someone did it to her was unknown.

Her son was informed 4 days after the fact. After the room had been cleaned and any signs that she died of anything but being in her sleep all but removed from the home. When Master Trainer Goldeagle arrived on the morning of her discovered death he talked with the guards at the gate.

They talked of a mysterious elf who looked to be trying to court the woman. She kept putting him off. Days earlier she had him escorted off of the property. No two guards remember seeing the same elven man.

The description ran from the type of elf, height, eye color and a few even had the man being a woman. The circumstances caused the Master Trainer no end of lost sleep. On this day he took his only student to the Palace.

Jarronus was informed the Queen held his mother's will and was summoned to see her. The Master Trainer accompanied him. They walked in and this shocked the Queen. She had not kept up on who the Master Training was training these days.

They met in her Audience chamber, "Please keep this informal. Your mother was concerned she would die before you became of age. Concerned for the future of your family. Needless to say, as the last heir of the house you are the patron.

The sole heir to the fortune that it has amassed over the years. You are also being granted the right to handle your accounts as an adult and considered a patron now. She never set a caretaker to oversee the House. Knowing who your instructor is, I do not see a need to put that restriction upon you.

She left a letter and the account numbers you need. The list of assets includes almost 70% of the town of Quatarsia including most major businesses. Minus the bar, sawmill, enchanters shop, and alchemy shop. I ordered a review of the books of those businesses.

They show no funds going to your family since the duchy was dropped. Yet your House has paid the taxes on every business and 2 homes for the last 600 years as they are shown as being owned by your House.

Now, this presents some challenges. You are a hereditary Barron with this action today but the Duchy was dissolved centuries ago when that portion of the family line refused to keep it up. You are the descendant of a Knight Paladin.