Etania's Worth Read online

  Etania's Worth

  Daughters of Tamnarae, Volume 1

  M.H. Elrich

  Published by M.H. Elrich, 2018.

  This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

  ETANIA'S WORTH

  First edition. December 8, 2018.

  Copyright © 2018 M.H. Elrich.

  ISBN: 978-1386441045

  Written by M.H. Elrich.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Etania's Worth (Daughters of Tamnarae, #1)

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  A Note for Readers

  Glossary

  Works Cited

  About the Author

  Thank You To:

  My best friend and editor, C.E. Stone

  My childhood best friend and inspirational author, C.M. Fritzen

  My husband, for speaking the truth

  My mother, for encouraging my dream

  “A wife of noble character who can find?

  She is worth far more than rubies.”

  -Proverbs 31:10 NIV

  Chapter One

  Eighteen-year-old Etania Selali took a deep breath. She scanned the small crowd, blowing at the brown wisps of hair that fell in front of her face. She pressed her toes against the wooden floor of the chapel and looked over the crowd of Nova citizens.

  He wasn’t there.

  She shouldn’t be surprised. She shouldn’t be disappointed. Yet, her heart felt like a hard rock in her chest.

  “He’ll come, Etania,” her friend, Grace Stegel said comfortingly.

  “I hope so,” Etania said, but her heart prepared for the worst. Her father never came to anything important. As she was about to look again, Priest Alfred began his speech.

  “Today we have come together to celebrate our sons and daughters. From the time they were five, they have learned how to read, write and do basic computations. I have personally had the pleasure of teaching not only them, but my own daughter as well.” Priest Alfred looked over at Grace, who blushed and curtsied at the compliment.

  “Now,” Alfred continued, “We will have the parents present their children as adults, honoring their achievements and announcing their future plans.” Polite clapping and cheering rang out at this announcement. “Before we begin, let me pray a blessing over us.” Everyone dutifully bowed their heads and closed their eyes.

  “Deo,” Alfred said, “Thank you for giving us the blessing of children and enabling us to educate them in a time of peace. We are so grateful you sent your son, Melchizedek, to be a sacrifice for us and to put an end to the Long War. You then blessed us with your Mark, so that we know you are always with us. We come before you today to present our children as adults so that you may bless their futures. May it be so.”

  Etania looked up eagerly. She prayed with the others, but only as a recitation, rather than a personal plea. Priest Alfred called out each new adult’s name, and their parents came to the stage to join them and say a few words. This process was repetitive, so Etania barely paid attention to it.

  “Etania,” Grace whispered, “has Melchizedek told you about your future?”

  “No, why would he?” Etania asked.

  “He cares about us,” Grace replied.

  Etania shrugged. Deo and Melchizedek, if they were anything like her father, were too busy to pay attention to her. She looked again, hoping a second glance would reveal her father’s black hair.

  “So you’ve never been Marked?” Grace said.

  “You have, right?” Etania replied, trying to divert the subject. “What did Melchizedek say when he marked you?”

  “He told me that I must endure some trials, but if I trusted him, it would be alright. Do you have any idea what trials he might be talking about?” Grace asked.

  “Isn’t that what your father is for?” Etania answered, looking over at Priest Alfred.

  Grace crossed her arms over her bust and huffed. “I asked you.”

  “Okay, fine,” Etania said, with a slight smile on her lips. “Everyone undergoes hard times of some sort, so he must be talking about that. Did he say anything about your decision to become a seamstress?”

  “Yes, he said I will make more than clothes. I have no idea what that could mean,” Grace replied. Etania shrugged again.

  “Sorry friend, I don’t know either,” she said.

  “Next is my lovely daughter, Grace Stegel,” the priest announced, breaking their conversation.

  As Grace and her mother took the stage, Etania continued to search for her father. Even though she knew she should pay attention to what Priest Alfred was saying about her friend, she was distracted. Her father was nowhere to be seen, and she was the next one to be called. She found her mother, Tala, in the crowd. Her mother met her gaze and shook her head, and Etania felt her heart harden like stone.

  Where is my father this time? She wondered.

  JAKIN SELALI SCANNED the horizon, trying to spot any movement of branches in the thick forest. He listened for the crunch of leaves, sensing that the Skazic were out in the brush. He was as certain of it as he was that the Skazic were fallen humans from the races of Tamnarae. There were even rumors that the Skazic had sold their souls to Malstorm in order to become more powerful beings— twisted versions of their previous selves.

  “There’s nothing here, Lehrling Jakin,” Keyel Evant, his apprentice, said.

  Jakin grunted in reply to his title, one given because he was part of the original twelve who served Melchizedek during the Long War. Though the war was finished, his personal hunt of the Skazic wasn’t. In addition to being a hunter, he was considered the voice of Melchizedek to Southern Tamnarae, advising King Toren and his people regarding Deo's will. After training Priest Alfred and other priests scattered across the country to be that voice, he had established King Toren in his role, and focused on the hunt. He hoped to be done with the Skazic swiftly so he could attend Etania’s adulthood ceremony.

  “Maybe they can transform into trees,” Keyel suggested.

  “Some of them can, but not the ones we’re hunting,” Jakin explained.

  "What are we hunting?" Keyel wondered.

  "A Soacronis," Jakin replied, referencing the type of Skazic.

  “I don’t think we’ve hunted one of those before,” Keyel said, narrowing his blue eyes to scrutinize the brush around them.

  “The last time I saw one was years ago, right before you joined me,” Jakin said.

  “Is that what you were doing near my house?” Keyel asked.

  “Yes,” Jakin replied with a smile. “As I recall, a young man interrupted my hunt by jumping out and asking to be my apprentice.”

  “That was very rude of me, Master,” Keyel stated.

  Jakin laughed. “I was jus
t joking! Smile a little, will you?”

  But Keyel didn’t smile. In fact, Jakin had only seen the man smile a few times since he’d trained him. The man was so tight-lipped that Jakin learned most of Keyel’s past from his mother.

  Jakin sighed. As much as he wanted to continue hunting the Skazic, he felt the Soacronis would continue to evade capture. A fallen member of the dragon race, the Soacronis had wings, so it might have flown away. He couldn’t miss another event that was important to Etania and his wife, Tala.

  “Come on, Keyel. We should teleport home,” Jakin said.

  “We’re leaving so early? I’m surprised,” Keyel replied.

  “I have an important event to attend,” Jakin explained. “I will drop you off and we will resume our hunt tomorrow morning.”

  “Yes Master,” Keyel said.

  That’s what Jakin liked about the Leici. His previous apprentices questioned his whereabouts, wondering where he personally lived. Keyel respected his need for privacy and didn’t prod for further information. Perhaps Jakin was a bit paranoid to hide the fact he had a family from most people. Yet, if the Long War had taught him anything, it was to be protective of the people he loved.

  Gripping Keyel's hand, Jakin concentrated as his flame Neuma, or power, flickered within his heart. The amethyst flames flowed from his heart to his hands, and twirling around Keyel and surrounding them both. Jakin pictured his house in Khartome, the capital city that sat on an island in the middle of a lake. In a blink, they were gone.

  When they reappeared, they were standing inside his house in Khartome. This house, close to the castle, served as a perfect place to rest when he had late meetings with King Toren. Once Keyel was safely secured inside, Jakin used his flame Neuma to teleport again to his family home in Nova, the small town located beside the lake that contained Khartome. He made sure to teleport to his room so none of the townspeople could see him. There, he quickly pulled on a hat and changed his clothing, putting on colored monocles. The double monocles, which were secured by chains, were for covering his purple eyes—an abnormal coloring that designated him as a Lehrling. He walked downstairs and was about to leave when his butler, Barick, stopped him.

  “Lord Jakin,” his butler began.

  “Yes?” Jakin paused.

  “They just finished. The bell was tolling at the chapel,” Barick said, “so you might as well wait for them here.”

  Jakin groaned, placing aside his colored monocles and hat.

  Tala is going to kill me.

  ETANIA SIGHED AS SOON as she said farewell to Grace. Even though her mother had praised Etania’s hard work and personally unbraided her hair as the ceremony required, it wasn’t the same without her father present. At least he didn't have to hear Etania's choice for apprenticeship: becoming a librarian like her mother. With Tala, Etania would keep the historical records of Melchizedek preserved and make copies of them for others.

  Etania followed her mother inside their house and stepped back as her father swept her mother into a hug and a kiss. Her mother pushed against her father.

  “That’s enough of that!” Tala said breathlessly. “You promised you would attend Etania’s ceremony and you didn’t! You definitely don’t deserve any kisses.”

  “But I want some,” Jakin replied, pouting by sticking out his lower lip.

  Etania rolled her eyes and tried to navigate around the couple, determined to reach her room before they started arguing.

  “Wait just a minute!” Jakin said, putting his finger up.

  Sighing, Etania turned from the first step of the stairs and looked at her father.

  “What do you want?” she questioned.

  “I want to make up for missing your ceremony!” Jakin exclaimed, picking up two cloth bags from a side table. He handed one to Etania and one to her mother. Etania wanted to toss the bag out the window, but her mother began to smile.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  “Open it and find out,” Jakin replied.

  Tala looked at Etania and both of them untied the cloth bags. Her mother pulled out a necklace with a heart amulet, the delicate silver glistening in the fading sun.

  “It’s beautiful,” Tala gushed. “Help me put it on, will you?”

  Jakin assisted his wife as Etania looked at what her father had given her: a dagger with an amethyst stone in the pommel.

  “What do I need this for?" Etania wondered.

  "For becoming my second apprentice!" Jakin replied.

  "Second?" Etania repeated. She knew nothing about another apprentice.

  "Yes," Jakin said, as if that one word explained everything. Etania put her hands on her hips.

  "I am not going to become your apprentice!" she declared. "I’m going to be mother's apprentice."

  “What!” Jakin exclaimed. “Why?”

  Because I don’t want to be yours! Etania thought, but bit her lip to keep those words from slipping out.

  “If you were at the ceremony,” Etania said, “you would have learned that I was near the top of my class in reading and writing.”

  “Really?” Jakin said. “Wow, that’s impressive.”

  “I know!” Tala agreed. “I’m so excited for her to join me tomorrow for the first day of apprenticeship.”

  “Tomorrow? So soon...” Jakin let out a breath. “Well, if my daughter and wife are happy about this, I guess I have no choice, do I? Besides, I’m not sure how my first apprentice would feel about having another one.”

  “Great, it’s settled,” Tala said. “Let’s get something to eat.”

  Etania’s mother ushered them both into the kitchen, where Barick and his wife, Serena, were setting the table for food. Etania sighed. Her mother was always good at sweeping aside potential conflict and making sure fights didn’t break out. Personally, Etania was grateful for her mother’s skill, wondering how she might ever react to her father without Tala’s presence. Dinner was civil, filled with conversation about Tala’s latest project and her father’s latest hunt. There was no mention of the apprentice. Etania asked to be dismissed, and left the table, heading upstairs to her room. Her bedroom was across from her parents’ and simply furnished, with a wardrobe, desk and bed. Placing the new dagger and its sheath on the desk, Etania changed into her nightgown before flopping onto her bed. As she pulled up the covers, she considered her father's words.

  Jakin wanted her to be his second apprentice. She wondered briefly who the first apprentice was, but dismissed the thought. The mere fact he wanted her as his apprentice surprised her. If he didn't care enough to make it on time to her ceremony, why try persuading her to be his apprentice? It didn't make any sense, and she smiled at the thought of even trying to become a fearsome warrior.

  That will be the day! She joked to herself, yet sobered when her mind fled to Grace's question. Have you asked Melchizedek about your future? Etania snorted. Her choice to become a librarian was her own, and it suited her. She loved books, so it naturally made sense that she should apprentice under her mother. With that justification, Etania went to sleep.

  FIRST DAY AS AN APPRENTICE. Etania tried not to let that thought scare her as she sat with her mother in a wagon going to the castle of Khartome. The wagon bumped along a dirt road leading to the bridge that connected the mainland to the island capital. Traffic stopped on the bridge as the King’s guards, or Praytor, checked paperwork at the base of a tower. The tower was stationed at the bridge’s beginning and had a gated tunnel running beneath it, through which all traffic had to pass. Once they were permitted through, the wagon continued along the stone bridge until it passed by the open gate of a second tower, which sat on the bridge’s opposite end. They passed underneath this tower and, within minutes, they were at the foot of the island. The wagon then brought them through the city, winding in a circle uphill, until they reached the castle at the top of the island of Khartome. The wagon pulled up to the castle gates, and the passengers stepped out.

  The portcullis was drawn up to allow the castl
e workers entrance and Etania looked up to see the sharp metal ends of it as they passed beneath. Most of the servants went to the keep, stables, or kitchen to attend to their duties, but Etania and her mother went to the library. It was located within one of the large, round towers of Castle Khartome. Three levels of the tower were devoted to the library, while two levels were dedicated to the defense of the castle. Double oak doors allowed access from the inside of the castle grounds, and the Praytor checked their papers before allowing them inside.

  Etania smiled wide as soon as she stepped into the spacious library. In front of her were stairs that descended to the first floor. To her right the second floor continued in a circle, and to her left was a stairway that went to the third floor. Everywhere she looked were scrolls, tightly rolled and shelved, as well as leather-bound texts. Sconces with candles provided ample light. There were slits that let in light as well which archers could use for the defense of the castle as needed. Etania followed her mother downstairs.

  The first floor was different from the others. In the center were tables where the royal scribes would organize books and scrolls. Librarians, recorders, and academics bustled around the floor, moving from table to table. There were ink stains on the tables, and several inkwells standing by pieces of stretched paper, anxiously waiting for words to be pressed upon their blank surfaces.

  "Come, I'll show you how to use our organization system," Tala told Etania, leading her around the library and explaining the meaning of the placards.

  Priest Alfred spotted them both and came hustling toward them. Not only was he the Priest of Nova, but he was the Head Librarian at the castle.

  “Tala, Etania, I’m so glad to see you! We are in need of some scribes to copy some scrolls. Are you ladies ready to get to work?” Priest Alfred asked.

  “Yes!” Etania exclaimed, and her mother seconded the declaration.

  Priest Alfred handed them both a piece of paper. Etania glanced down at the titles: A Historical Commentary on Melchizedek, Son of Deo by Davi Jesh and The Mysteries of Melchizedek’s Disappearance by Ezik Turnis. She felt a grin tugging at the corners of her mouth.