Silvertree Chronicles Bk. 07

Silvertree Chronicles Book Seven, Knights Rise, as the Light of Darkness Falls

Synopsis: With the death of Serius Silvertree a veil of evil was lifted from the world. Few knew of the depth of his sacrifice. The father of nine had to make last-minute changes to his will while in a petrified state and marry his two brides. The question nobody has an answer to; who the next blade wielder would be.

***Inspired by multiple fantasy environments. Not endorsed by any of them. © EmotionalStorm July 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.

Mia 18th 8555

Kora gave birth to four children. Two boys and two girls. The future Duke Serions Silvertree. Followed by his sister Ginnar, brother Oliviran Silvertree, and sister Brimium Silvertree.

Mia 29th 8555

Gia gave birth to two boys and a girl. Son Zirrian Silvertree, Daughter Korina Silvertree, and son Charlus Silvertree.

Septa 4th 8567

The 7 remaining children of Serius Enter the Academy as they had powers manifesting. The other 2 taken by their Solar mother. All received magical elven long swords for them to work with during their training and amulets depicting the holy symbols of Corellon Larethian with the Lady of Dreams intertwined.

Septa 5th 8567

All seven children were visited in their dreams by their father. Only one got guidance that the sword was there destiny to pursue. That night Charlus Silvertree, a battle mage in training got the first shock of his young life.

Serius looked at Charlus, "My son, you will become the new Champion to Corellon Larethian. I selected you and described skills from our ancestors that I wanted you to be born with to ensure you could succeed; succeed where I failed.

First and foremost, never challenge a divine entity to a dual on the material plane, or to challenge them at all. They should never be able to contact you directly but that fiend did, rules were broken, and prices were paid by many.

That enabled him to do what he did to me, unaware of these rules among the Gods. Varus'Nor has this information. As it will be years before the sword is in your hands, I wanted to warn you of this now. You will learn much from the Blade Wielders Journal."

Charlus looked at the ghostly image of his father, "The Blade Wielders Journal is missing."

Serius looked at him, "Not missing just locking in a secure compartment. You will be happy to know for your work you will have two homes away from everything to act as bases of operation. They also have 11 hidden compartments in each one for storing and securing information. The security is even more advanced. Only a handful of Dragons, 2 of your dragon uncles from Jazzia, have access to it.

None of them have the ability to add or remove anybody from the access lists. When you get to your 75th birthday you will have to stay with the house and claim the blade. It is your destiny to complete my work. There is more to it than that. You cannot talk about or write this down for anyone. There will be a challenge question as it is in the 80th clause of my father's will.

The answer you cannot share is, 'The champion is off chasing pink unicorns.' It is a line from the journals of Jazzia as a means for the human and dwarven kingdoms to let it be known they are in trouble. Back in her day. My father destroyed the journal for Jazzia and the others as requested by Brannar.

It is not in the Blade Wielders Journal for that reason. Do not know if they continue to use that phrase or not. It is a hidden plea for magical assistance to a problem. The 80th clause was the idea of the gods but the question and answer came from my father.

Personally, I find it very humorous, like many who were handed the blade early in life, she felt she had to keep justifying her actions. That is what we are working to avoid for you and those that follow. Let you grow up first and take on the blade as an adult."

Charlus looked at his father, "Why me?"

He smiled, "Your sharp mind will get you noticed. When you complete your magical training. You will be asked to be trained in the Queens Diplomatic Service. What many do not know, but suspect, is that there are a few different variations to this service.

My combination of classes, I was built to be survivable, but that did not keep me in the shadows. I would have been good at maintaining an existing Knights network, but not for establishing it. I questioned that choice, but of those who came from my father, I was considered the best suited, as none of them had your skillsets.

I even commented on the fact it might take a generation or two for the blade to be in the right hands to reestablish the Knights network. You are that generation. You did not test as a gestalt, that was hidden in the divination as you will be a rogue duelist as well. It was to help keep you in the shadows even more for now.

You can read at an astonishing rate, remember documents verbatim for hundreds of years, if not your entire life. Able to recall page and paragraph numbers. You will have no need to carry a spellbook as you will still prepare them but you can read it from your own mind.

You will still carry one to keep up appearances and you will learn enchanting, wonderous items being the biggest one. You will learn mythic magic and create new spells, some that will become elven mythic spells. You will carry many labels, from genius to progeny.

The fact is these are all from your genetic make-up, not from being a champion. I was on a mission to rebuild the Knights of old. Get an intelligence network in place. Not rely just on the information Dragons were able or willing to give us. The first two books I want you to go home and read is the Dragon Tomes.

These are the keys you will need to eventually build what is required to get the intelligence the Elven Kingdom will need in the future. Zirra has copied out those that are relevant for combat and encrypted all of the necromancy spells. All 7 of you got this instruction, but it is extremely important for you.

You will transcribe those into another set of tomes from memory and secure it when you become champion with none of the necromancy. There is more than battle in those pages and you are preserving the rest of it.

The others will be destroyed when this task is done. Have Brima teach you more about sword use and acrobatics, many books in the library will aid you in this endeavor. You will learn to fight with both hands at the same time. Cast the movement portion of your spell with swords in hand.

There is a book that has the basics on that in the library and you can fill in the holes easily with the way your mind works. You will become a diplomat, a spy, an unrecognized general as you work behind the scenes to evaluate and find good people to rebuild the Knights.

You should have a much happier and longer life than I did. I loved 3 women. You know of only 2. The others are forbidden to talk about the third, as are you. This information you will have that no other offspring of mine will have. The mother was from another plane. She was the Solar from my journal.

I had 2 children with her in a single night of passion that the Gods allowed us to have. The son went with me and the daughter with her. The entries on him were stricken from my journal and you are not to add them back.

They told me my first son with her would not be the blade wielder as originally planned. I turned over custody of the child to his mother. To help make him a hero standing beside his sister. Both of them will be heroes alongside their beautiful mother and doing wondrous work. She stops to talk with me every now and then.

Jazzia had her secret about 6 dragon children and I had mine about 2 celestial children. The Queen is the only other one who knows about the second child, other than Varus'Nor. I requested certain abilities from the past champions for you.

Like Eldar, you will come by all of these abilities naturally and not by magical means. Do not show up your instructors very often, advice from Eldar. Only on major mistakes. There are close to 1,500 hundred years of books in that library. By the time you're an adult you will have them all memorized; if not a lot sooner. Build up the library.

Your mothers and grandmothers will help you. You have the right gifts to get this job done. This task my father wanted me to take on. I started this in life...and in death. In dying, I got to choose which of you would be his champion. Another champion will be on the field and they will be able to draw the attention away from you.

You will never purposefully reveal who you are in this regard, at least to the general public. Like your activities, you will be in the shadows. All have had their holy symbol adhere to their chest this night. Zirra crafted them all by divine direction and each is unique and usable only by the assigned wearer.

It serves as a reminder that no matter which path in life they take, the Gods will watch you all. You each know that the holy symbol is not the key to being the champion. You will get a lot of pressure to marry. Especially from the Lady of Dreams, but your own will on the matter is what counts. The symbols only signify a candidate, not the new champion. Good luck my son."

Charlus woke and went to his journal and realized there was nothing from the conversation he could put in his journal in any detail. He added the following:

'Was visited this evening by the spirit of my father, as were all of his children. He offered his advice on our lives, our paths, and on following our own hearts when it comes to love. He wished us all the best. He let us all know the Gods would be watching over us.'

His other brothers and sisters lived in the same common area currently and they saw he was up and writing first. They read what he wrote. They all smiled and nodded. They went and added the same entry to their journals.

Septa 5th 8570

With much fanfare and in open court the draconic spell books that were overseen by Zirra were destroyed. Removing any chance that draconic necromancy magic could be derived from them, they would have to seek out the Dragons for that knowledge that they would never share openly.

None, but the mothers and grandmothers, knew that all of Serius's children were required to read them with all of the necromancy encrypted. Relayed through Zirra by divine direction.

Mia 17th 8584

All of Jarronus's children had made their intentions known. Of his 72 children, 11 had died. 32 remained Silvertree. The other 29 married off or formed into 5 new houses over the years. Olivana's children all moved onto new houses, thus ending that branch immediately. Only Slaraxxa's son, Field Marshal Silver Wing, remained of his half-dragon children.

Juna 12th 8587

Having completed reading the final books 7 years earlier in the Silvertree Library Charlus had issues finding things to read, even from the Academy Library. He was the last one to leave his classroom that day as his instructor asked him to remain behind.

He just finished a text on ancient ciphers used back in the days of the Dragon Wars and returned it to Instructor Silver Quill from whom he had borrowed the book. The name he went by, but some suspected he hailed from a different house. Charlus believed that was the case as well. Some of his rhetoric and actions led Charlus to believe he was an agent in the Diplomatic Service.

Instructor Silver Quill looked up at Charlus, "I have to ask. Why were you interested in this book?"

Charlus shrugged, "I was going through the catalog of books and most of them are in the Silvertree library. I have read them. I was looking for something different to read. I saw that you had it in your personal library here in the classroom and asked you to borrow it."

His instructor chuckled, "Never read a book a second time?"

Charlus looked at him and shrugged, "Only in class when required to do that in class."

Instructor Silver Quill got up from his desk and handed Charlus a piece of paper, "What do you make of this? See if you can make it out. If so come and see me when you have an answer."

Charlus looked it over for several minutes. The Instructor smiled, "No shame in looking at reference material."

Charlus looked up, "Simple single layer encryption using a substitution cipher from the book Dragon's Axiom by Valin'Tri Goldenear in the year 3157 to try and describe the mindset of dragons. A trite and oversimplification of dragon mentality. Not to be confused with the book Dragon's Axiom by Jarron Silverleaf and a part of our current reading list.

That book, all 36 volumes of it, went through the thinking and mental philosophies of 15 separate dragon species. It at least hints of others existing in smaller numbers. Just not large enough or no direct contact with the author to form an observed summary opinion of them. To answer the question, I have known for many years I would be contacted about joining the Queen's Diplomatic Service. I accept the offer."

The instructor just stared at Charlus and nodded, "Get packed. You will leave in the morning; once I clear this with your mother. Do not speak of this testing with anyone. I am signing your paperwork for early graduation. You are already a very gifted caster."

Charlus nodded and left. The instructor pulled out a crystal and secured the room. "Are you secure?"

The voice from the other end, "Always, unless forced into the open court or a private meeting with the Queen. What do you have for me?"

Instructor Silver Quill tried to contain his excitement, "I found what you have been looking for. You will need to get the Queen to sign off on bringing him into the service."

The voice sighed, "You're certain this is worth the Queen's attention?"

The instructor chuckled, "The student in question just gave me the answer to the Brinnia's assessment without leaving my sight and in less than 3 minutes. He said he was destined to go into the Diplomatic Service."

The voice from the other end could be heard walking. He finally asked, "That test is over 5,000 years old. The fastest anyone has ever done it, without being told where to look, was almost 20 years. That was before the Dragon's Axiom by Jarron Silverleaf was published and became the definitive work on the subject. When did he check the book out in the Academy library?"

The instructor chuckled, "Never! We monitor that book. It has not been checked out in over 1,500 years. He did say he had a family library and had run out of reading material."

The voice stopped pacing from what Instructor Silver Quill could make out, "What area of study, what family, and how far from being an adult?"

The instructor sighed, "He is a battle mage who wears a pair of swords everywhere. The Silvertree family and he is almost 43 years out from being an adult!"

He heard the crystal drop on the desk and then he heard the conversation, "Your Majesty if you have a moment. Absolutely nothing pressing."

The Queen knew the opposite was true and cleared her audience chamber and secured it, "What do you have for me Spy Master?"

He sighed, "An anomaly. A candidate for the Diplomatic Service that we need your permission to bring on board."

She sighed, "Why is this an anomaly and I thought you said this was an emergency?"

The Spy Master cleared his throat, "Your Majesty, he is 43 years away from being an adult. The test we use to evaluate how a student approached a problem did not work with this student. At least not as intended or should I say expected.

Brinnia's assessment is what it is called. It is a cursory test to see if a student can figure out what kind of cipher was used, and if they are fortunate enough to find the book in question an invitation to this service is extended in the text. The best anyone has done in 1,500 years is to determine it is a substitution cipher before we bring them in for further evaluation.

The book used in the test is over 5,000 years old. Before then the fastest it was completed was 20 years and occurred while the book was on the student reading list. This child looked at the document and not only told him it was a substitution cipher but what book it came from and accepted the offer given in the text without ever leaving the instructors sight."

The Queen remained quiet for several seconds, "Another evaluation would normally be done?"

The Spy Master replied, "Yes, Your Majesty. For us to see if they could figure out other encryption methods. I did not get the child's full name. What is the name Instructor Silver Quill?"

The instructor smiled, "Your Majesty, it is Charlus Silvertree."

The instructor and Spy Master heard the crystal drop on the other end. She looked through the journals of her ancestors and found what she was looking for. She finally answered, "I will speak with the mother and let her know I am in favor of him joining the Diplomatic Service."

She let the crystal go dark and whispered to herself, 'Knight Paladin.'

She had always been fascinated by the stories of the Knight Paladin. Her father read them to her as a little girl. She put the book and crystal away and pulled another one, "Brima Silvertree?"

A voice came over, "No your Majesty, she is home. Do you need me to get her for you?"

The Queen thought for a second, "No, tell her I would like to see her and..." She pulled out the records on the Silvertree line and looked at them. "Gia Silvertree as soon as possible. In my audience chamber."

She unsecured the audience chamber. She looked at her guard, "I am not to be disturbed unless they are from House Silvertree. Then show them in immediately."

Her escorts reentered the room and took up their positions. Twenty minutes later the doors opened and she looked at the escorts, "Leave us. We are not to be disturbed short of an attack on the Palace."

They left and she secured the room, "Speak freely. I want to know if you have been given an insight into the next Champion?"

Gia shook her head, "No."

Brima sighed, "I was visited by my son years ago in my dreams. I was told if you ever inquired, and only if you inquired, you should know a champion will be named. A champion who will not wield the family blade. It is destined for another."

She sat back in her chair, "Your library, how large would you guess it is?"

Gia giggled, "You are asking the wrong Silvertree that question. My son Charlus spends a lot of time there and he has asked me to buy rare books by the arm full over the years. He has read everything in the library at least once. Very smart boy. I was surprised when he did not get assessed as a gestalt."

The Queen nodded, "The only one?"

The ladies nodded. She debated on what to tell them and then sighed, "He has weapons training?"

Brima answered, "Yes they all do. All gifted with the elven longsword as I taught them. They were all visited by their father. Shortly after entering the Academy. All of them have their holy symbols fused into their chests. They were all told that is not how the next champion would be identified, it only identified potential candidates. We have no way of knowing if others might exist in other houses either."