Chapter 1

It was a brisk April morning, snow still covered most of the ground and barren trees of the forest. Martin woke shivering in the icy breeze that was weaving its way through the skeletal trees. He looked around getting his bearings from his surroundings. He had been making his way west towards the coast but had to make camp for the night, this was because it was not safe to travel the hills of Cymru at night. Martin was heading to the coast to meet with a ship carrying supplies for his village and the ancient temple near it. He stood up out of his sleeping skins and stretched breathing in a lungful of spring air. He walked over to the remains of last nights fire, he poked and prodded the ashes with a charred stick, he frowned, as no embers seemed to appear in the ashes. He muttered to himself and reached for a bag that sat next to him, hidden among some tree branches and leaves. Out of the bag he pulled a metal box, the box was rusted and worn and looked very old. He opened the tin and in it there was a collection of twigs and cloth, there was also two stones, one was rough where as the other was flat and smooth. He took some of the twigs and cloth and placed them in the center of his ash pit. He then took out the two stones and struck them together. Moments later he had a small fire burning some dry leaves and branches. Out of his bag he took out a sack and from the sack he took some long strips of dark red meat that he skewered with a stick and placed above the fire to cook. While he ate his meat, the fire popped and crackled as he sat reading a crude map that was scribbled on a piece of scruffy cloth. As he looked over the map he heard a rustling somewhere behind him, he immediately dropped the map and jumped to his feet to face the direction of the sound. Martin stood ready for anything the sleeping forest threw at him. Except for this.

…

Hannah woke with a start, she was lying on a hard wooden bed in a dark dingy cabin. She looked around looking for a sign of where she was and possible light sources. Looking around she suddenly remembered where she was, she calmed herself and focused on a corner of the room she knew there was an oil lamp. She focused all her magic, though the people of her village called it by a different name that is far too long and complicated to record here, on the wick inside the lantern willing it to light. A moment passed and the wick burst into life illuminating the cabin that she occupied at the bottom of the cargo ship she boarded weeks before. She had been instructed by the Udanilage Adawehi, or eldest magician, to go to the land beyond the great eastern sea to repair an ancient temple that lay there. So Hannah, a sixteen-year-old apprentice Adawehi set off on her first assignment alone. Though she was nervous at the idea of travelling far from her home, she packed her travel bag and set off to the port town near her village. Her journey to the port town was most enjoyable thanks to her childhood friend, Andrew, who had accompanied her to the port and waved her off as the cargo ship departed and set sail to the lands beyond the great eastern sea. During the trip she had felt quite ill so she had retreated into her cabin for most of the trip. The few times she left her cabin was for meals and to occasionally go on deck to admire the dark emerald green of the sea contrasted against the sapphire blue of the clear skies above. During her trips to the ships main deck she would talk to members of the crew, during these brief conversations, due to sudden onsets of seasickness, Hannah learnt that the land beyond the Eastern Sea was known as Albion. Four weeks into the journey Hannah had found her sea legs, she spent most of her time on deck with evenings under the gleaming stars. During evening meals she would perform simple magic to entertain the sailors, these included lighting lanterns, moving crates and levitating. Then at the end of the fifth week of the journey the ship was hit by a ferocious storm, with waves as high as the mast and lightning so powerful it made the sea itself evaporate under its touch. During the storm Hannah was ordered to her cabin until she was called for. It had been three dats since the storm and Hannah sat in her cabin still waiting to be called for. She stretched her arms above her head, looking around the now lite room she noticed that the door to her cabin was ajar and she could see a light flickering on the other side of the door. This confused her, why had she not seen the light when she had woken up? And why had she not been called for? With these questions in mind she wriggled off the bed and quietly dressed herself, she wore her apprentice robes which were a light brown cow hide that reached down to her ankles, on her feet she wore simple leather sandals, something she was still getting used to wearing seeing she had never worn shoes of any kind at her village. Hannah crept up to the door and peered through the crack, she could see a lantern sitting outside on a crate but that was all she could see through the crack. She stopped there for a moment listening for any sign of life beyond the door, all she could hear was the creak of the boats planks and the faint sloshing and splashing of the sea beyond the planks. She cursed under her breath, why couldn't she detect life other life like some of the other magicians of her village? She sighed softly and carefully pushed the door open, peering through the gap in the door, as it grew wider. When the gap was wide enough Hannah squeezed through an out into the cargo hold. There was no sign of any living soul, the only movement was of shadows cast by the dancing flame of the lantern. She stood still in the cargo hold listening for anything. Suddenly a creek of wood came from behind her, she spun round to see a shadowy figure standing on the steps to the crews sleeping deck. Hannah looked hard at the figure but couldn't quite see the face. It was as if it was cloaked in a shifting a shadow, as Hannah looked at it though she saw a glimpse of a face but then the shadows would shift covering it from sight. Hannah swallowed hard, "wh…who are you?" she stammered too afraid to focus on her words. The figure just stood still starring at her, or at least it seemed to be. The shadows shifted to reveal the figures mouth, it was turned up into a toothy grin. "My dear, that is not the right question to be asking, try again." It said in a mocking and patronising tone. Hannah stopped dead her eyes wide, "What...What are you?" she managed to ask, her mouth going dry. "That is a good question, you may call me Sadri" The figure stepped down as it said this, and as it stepped down Hannah stepped back. "What do you want? Why are you here?" she said regaining some of her courage. "Well my dear..." he started to say but hannah interrupted with "Stop calling me my dear, i am not your dear!" she said raising her voice as if to defy him. "Very well Hannah" he answered and then continued with his response "I want you, I want you to come to me and join me in my quest to reunite humanity." It said in a formal and serious tone. "Reunite what? What is humanity? And why me?" Hannah responded unsure of what he had said. "Well my... Hannah, You are and all of the crew on this ship are, you are humanity." He seemed to add emphasis to that last sentence, as if it were the most important statement. The statement also seemed to have hatred behind it, which Hannah picked up on almost immediately She may not be able to detect life but she could pick up on emotions, even when they came from a strange shadowy figure like Sadri. "Now then shall we set off then?" He asked, though again there was a sense of something else in how Sadri had said it, as if it were a command rather than a question. "I don't want to go with you, I have to get to Albion to repair a temple." Answered Hannah defiantly, though she wasn't sure why she had told him so much. "You shall not go and repair that temple! You will come with me now." Bellowed Sadri, the shadows around him shifting more erratically. "No I wont I'm staying right here!" Hannah shouted this last part and as she did the shadows around Sadri shot out towards Hannah. Fortunately she was prepared for this, as soon as she saw the shadows coming at her she used her magic to shield herself. The shadows wrapped around Hannah's shield, but try as he might Sadri could not penetrate her shield. "Blast it girl why do you have to resist me?" The voice sounded as if it were all around Hannah but laso far away at the same time. "I resist because i do not trust you nor do i wish to go with you!" With this she focused all her magical energy into her centre. With it all built up she then pushed all her energy out and past her shield. This wall of energy pushed the shadow away from Hannah, up the stairs, past the figure on the stairs and off the boat leaving no trace but a muffled roar like wind. With the shadow gone Hannah dropped her shield and collapsed to the deck.

…

Hamad lay on the edge of the sand dune watching the bandit camp below. He had been tracking them for many weeks. He had been instructed to kill the bandits as quickly and quietly as possible. Hamad was Hashshashin, he had been sent by his tutor as a test of his skills. So there he was on the sand dune wearing a sandy coloured robe tightly wrapped around him, to give him mobility and prevent the robe from interfering with his mission. From his vantage point above the camp Hamad watched as the bandits went about their post-raid duties, unpacking their wagons and camels, feeding them, and storing their plunder in one tent and their weapons, an assortment of swords, shields and afew flint lock pistols. The sun began to set and Hamad made his move. He drew his blade, a curved scimitar, and made his way down to the camp carefully and quietly. His plan was to cause a distraction by destroying the bandits weapon store, then while the bandits panicked and tried to salvage their weapons he would sneak up to the bandit leaders tent and kill him. From there he would take out the rest of the bandits in the chaos that would ensue. After a few close calls with some bandits Hamad reached the weapons tent and slipped inside. Once inside he set about rigging some of the black powder barrels, the bandits would have stolen from military supply convoys, and placed some of his home made explosives around the tent. Once he was happy with his sabotage he slipped out of the tent, right into a group of bandits. They immediately drew their swords and shouted warnings to the rest of the camp. Hamad jumped back away from the bandits, who were now starting to surround him and drew his sword, which he had sheathed while he was sabotaged the weapons tent. Now with his sword drawn Hamad was ready to fend off any attack the bandits threw at him. First to strike was a man not much taller than Hamad but far more built up. He lunged at Hamad who easily parried the attack and countered with a swipe of his sword to the man’s throat. The man’s corpse dropped to the floor at the feet of two of his comrades who looked down at the corpse in shock and then up to the one who had slayed their friend. They both ran at him, as Hamad went to counter these new attackers he was grabbed from behind. This did not stop him, he pushed against the man that held him, lifted his feet up and kicked hard into the two men in front of him. This sent them flying back into the weapons tent. Hamad instantly used his backwards momentum to knock the man holding him off balance causing him to fall backwards onto the ground. As Hamad fell after him he moved his head forward and as the man hit the ground Hamad brought his head back and head butted the man, breaking his nose and knocking him out. The now unconscious man released his grip, as he did Hamad rolled side ways, just as a bandits sword came down and embedded itself in the unconscious mans chest killing him. That’s two down thought Hamad as he adjusted himself into a crouching position. “You fools your supposed to kill the assassin not each other!” Shouted a voice from behind the other bandits. “But boss he wont stand still to let us…argh” the man was unable to finish his sentence as a blade was now sticking out of his throat. “Don’t answer back! And don’t give me excuses, now kill the assassin.” As the man finished his orders the remaining bandits ran at Hamad. He rolled back and onto his feet parrying the attacking bandits assault. The first bandits to lunge at Hamad fell dead on the floor moments later their throats cut, but still the bandits continued their onslaught. In the end Hamad had to retreat, but as he did he activated the home made bombs that sat in the weapons tent. Which just happened to be next to most of the bandits that were pursuing Hamad. The explosion that followed sent the bandits flailing into the air, some on fire and some caught by shrapnel and musket balls. Hamad stood at the edge of the devastation starring down the bandit leader who stood on the opposite side of the wreckage. The look on his face was, as Hamad later put it, was priceless. His jaw was dropped and there was a glint of fear and shock in his eyes. He stood stock still for another moment and then turned and ran, He didn’t run far when he felt a sharp pain in his back. He stopped, juddering as he moved his hand up his back to where a throwing knife was snugly buried in his back. He shuffled around to face his assailant, who to his surprise was now standing in front, his curved sword drawn. “who…are…yu…you?” stammered the bandit leader. “I am your end, pray to whatever deity you believe in you will be meeting them shortly.” Hamad said cooly and with that said he slashed his sword over the mans throat. The man collapsed to his knees gurgling until finally he collapsed to the ground dead. Hamad wiped his scimitar and sheathed it. He turned and walked away back to his home and master.

…

Martin stood aghast, standing in front of him still partly covered by the bushes was his good friend and mentor. “ Giles! What are you doing here?” said Martin in a frustrated but also pleased tone. “Well my young disciple you rushed off so quickly after getting this assignment you neglected the fact that you need to know what it is you have been sent to collect from the coast.” Answered Giles in a jovial and mocking tone. “I…” Martin stopped realising he had no defensive response to Giles.

It had been three days since Martin had been called to the ancient castle at the centre of their village. The records they had from before The Fall say the castle was called Beeston Castle, because of this they had named their village Beeston. When Martin got the message that he was to go and see the village council he was getting ready to camping with his father, William. Naturally Martin, Being fifteen years old ran off to see the council immediately. He ran through the village, which in the nine hundred and ninety years since it was founded had grown into a thriving community. The village could act as an enclosed community or as a trading hub, which is how they ran the village. Their farms were renowned throughout Albion for their abundant crops and their ingenious use of the wind to aid in harvests and plantings. Martin reached  the bridge to the castle, which had been repaired that many times over the last nine centuries that it looked like a mish-mash of different materials. As Martin approached the gate to the castle two guards waved him through and he rushed on to the council chamber in the biggest room of the castle. He stood in the large chamber facing the council, which consisted of five villagers who were elected every two years. On the council there was, Helena the daughter of the founding family, the descendants of the first to settle in Beeston after The Fall. Beside Helena sat Jeremy, the villages blacksmith who can trace his lineage to families who came to Beeston nine hundred years ago. Next was Thomas who was the villages preacher, He came to the village only ten years before from an island West of Albion which Thomas called Eire, but to most was called the forgotten island due to the lack of travel to and from Eire and the stories of bandit hordes and savages living on the island. Thomas of course did not agree with these ideas but said nothing about Eire. Beside Thomas was Elizabeth, she was one of the oldest members of the village and was only on the council because of this fact, at least that’s what Martin’s father said. Finally there was Edward, he acted as the head of the council and what he said was law in the village. “Ah Martin I see you got the message, though I’m surprised you got here so quickly we thought you were going hunting with your father” said Edward in a cheery tone. “uhm…yes sir we were getting ready to leave when the messenger delivered your message. My father said it must be important so I should come here at once. So here I am sir.” Said Martin somewhat nervously. “Ah very good and yes it is rather important, it is to do with your coming of age next week. We need you to run an errand for us and the temple for your initiation” responded Edward in a cheery but more serious tone. “Really sir? A week before I actually become of age?” Asked Martin excitedly. “Yes indeed Martin we need this task done now and it’s a perfect task for a coming of age initiation. Now Thomas shall give you the details.” Answered Edwards with a grin on his face. ”Thank you Edward” said Thomas taking over in a strong Eire accent, though Martin just heard it as a strange accent no one he had ever met had. “Now Martin we need you to go to the coast to meet a transport ship from the land to the west over the great sea. We need you to collect something from the ship that will help repair the ancient temple which has become damaged due to its age” Explained Thomas, Martin stood there only hearing some of what Thomas was telling him, he was already working out what he would need for the journey and how he would get to the west coast of Cymru. “Do you understand what you must do Martin?” Continued Thomas. “Yes sir I do, I will set off immediately” said Martin hardly able to contain his excitement. “No Martin it is getting too late to start such a long journey, perhaps you should leave first thing tomorrow” said Edward interrupting Martins enthusiasm, the other council members nodded in agreement as Edward spoke “Ah uhm yes sir I suppose your right, I will prepare for my journey” said Martin some what disappointed but he also understood why Edward had said this. “Yes that would be best now hurry along im sure your parents will want to help you.” With that final comment from Edward Martin ran out of the castle towards his house near the edge of the village.

         Martin’s family house was built by mimicking the way castle walls were built nearly two thousand years before. The walls were built from squared off stones and the space in between the stones was filled with a mixture of water, sand and lime. Other houses in the village were built from wood taken from the near by forest, these houses had a timber frame and then covered in wooden panels that had woven twigs between them. Martins family had a wooden floor, like all the other houses in the village, The roofs were made from wooden planks though some of the newer houses had clay tiles, a design that had only just been re-discovered in another part of Albion. Martin spent the rest of the day with his father, William and mother, Julia. They helped him pack his travel pouch with raw meat, fruit and a tinderbox, which was Julia’s idea. With his bags packed Martin spent one last  night in his own bed before setting out on his initiation early the next morning.

         Martin had been lucky during his first two days of travel, the weather had been relatively clear with only light showers on the second day of his trip to Cymru’s west coast. He had been traveling during sunlight hours and camping at night. One night he thought he could hear the howling of wild dogs and then a high pitched scream, the next morning on his way through a boggy area he saw shredded cloth with a dull brown coloured mark on, that was all he saw of what he assumed was another traveller who had been unlucky enough to get caught by the dogs. It was of course the morning of his fourth day away from his village that his mentor, who he had not been able to see during his preparations to leave, had caught up with him. “So what is it that I missed Giles?” Asked Martin, who was rather frustrated by the appearance of his mentor. “Well my dear disciple the ‘thing’ you will be collecting is in fact a girl.”

…

Chapter 2

       Hannah woke dazed and confused she looked around and noticed she was in the cargo ships medical room, though it was more a gap between two cargo holds with a sheet over the entrance and a bed inside it. “Ah good your awake” the voice came from an older man sitting near the entrance to the medical ‘room’. “You’ve been unconscious for twelve hours, we were quite worried” continued the man. “Is the ship alright has the shadow gone?” asked Hannah now more aware of where she was, though she was worried that the shadow was nowhere to be seen. “My dear girl you pushed it off the ship, though the crew aren’t one hundred per cent sure what happened, some could see what happened but couldn’t move, they said it felt like a force was holding them down. Others saw nothing because they were asleep. Then there’s me…” The man trailed off but Hannah realised why. “You were the figure standing on the stairs was you?” Hannah asked, sure she was right. “Uhm…yes yes that was me. I had come down to check on you after the storm. I put the lantern down in the cargo hold and I thought I heard someone moving behind me on the stairs. I went to check and…” the man trailed off again, Hannah could see the anguish and shame on the mans face. “It’s okay no one could have fought off such power. I’m not sure how I pushed it back. I suppose that is why I passed out afterwards.” She said trying to comfort and reassure the man. “Now I must ask how far off are we from Albion? I must get to my destination I am to be met at the harbour by an escort.” She continued changing the topic. “Well Mrs the storm has pushed us slightly off course we will be stopping off at Eire, but I must ask you to stay on the boat the people of Eire do not bode kindly to outsiders. We will make repairs to the ship and carry on our journey, hopefully with little delay.” With this the man stood bid Hannah a good day and went to prepare the ship for anchor.

…

Hamad strode into his village, victorious and proud of what he had accomplished. His village was a grand place filled with riches and wonders. The village was a key site for scholars and alchemists, though the alchemists of the city were only every used for manufacture of explosives and gunpowder. The scholars of the village were always sort after for their knowledge in law, history and forgotten arts, such as science and complex mathematics, after all mathematics was a vital part of business throughout the desert kingdoms who survived through trade alone due to how inhospitable the deserts were, more so since The Fall. Hamad made his way to the main square where a large group of villagers were standing by a podium that had been setup in the centre of the square. As Hamad got closer the people around the podium glanced back at him and parted to allow him through. He noticed that his master was at the podium talking to the crowd “My fellow villagers please stay calm one of our assassins has been sent to dispose of the bandit filth…” As he said this he saw Hamad approaching and gestured towards him “In fact he has just returned from his mission, successful no doubt” He smiled at Hamad and ushered him over. “Now my student have you been successful with your mission?” He looked at Hamad expectantly, though he also seemed to already know the answer “Yes master, it is done the bandits will not be bothering the local villages again” As Hamad announced this to his master and the crowd, a muscly man at the front of the crowd, who Hamad recognised  as one of the villages blacksmiths, shouted angrily “If that is true why has a large group of bandits been seen heading for us? Explain that!” At this statement Hamad froze glancing at his master who stood calmly next to him. “Perhaps it is another group of Bandits? Have you considered that?” Retorted his master. “I Uhm… Well then what are we going to do about them?” Asked the blacksmith, calming himself and looking at Hamad’s master for guidance. “Well what we must do is prepare for their attack. We will need barriers and weapons as soon as possible. Hamad and I will head to the Assassin’s guild to summon the others. Now how long do we have and do we know how many there are?” Asked the master taking command. A young man not much older than Hamad responded “Well sir we aren’t sure how many there are possibly a hundred maybe more or less, we couldn’t tell. Also their about two days away.” He said nervously to one of the most influential men in the village. “Good, Good. I will need the village militia to work with the blacksmiths and alchemists to prepare defences for the village and set up somewhere for the women, children and elderly villagers to hide in safety. Now Hamad let us head up to the guild hall to gather the others and make plans for the defences of the village.” With these instructions given the master made his way to the guildhall north of the town square. The villagers watched the master walk away, looked around at each other then set to work preparing for the impending siege.

…

Shay-Ri woke groggily from her stasis pod. She looked to the holo-display beside her. It read Oh Nine hundred on the 31st October 3120. She had been in stasis now for twenty years. She yawned and pressed the display “Good morning Saai have we arrived?” A translucent face appeared on the display, it resembled a young girl around the age of thirteen “Good morning Shay-Ri I hope you slept well. We have arrived in the inner solar system we are preparing for orbit now.” Responded Saai in a friendly manner. “Have we made contact with any of the forward outposts on the planet yet?” Asked Shay-Ri hopeful to be able to get down to the planet and breath fresh air, rather than this recycled air that was pumped through the colony ship. “Not yet Shay-Ri. The commanders assume that the outposts are out of range. But do not worry yourself. Your father and the other commanders will handle everything. Why don’t you get ready for school. I hear it will be continuing in an hour.” At this the head on the display faded to show the ship board time. “Great school, just what I wanted."

…

         An hour later and Shay-Ri sat in the colony ships school with thirteen other students. The school comprised of fifty students separated into age groups. The youngest being four and the oldest being eighteen. Shay-Ri had four more years until she finished school and two more years before she started doing work experience in part of the colony ships crew.

         She sat next to the classrooms window looking at the star field beyond the re-enforced window and hull. “Shay-Ri? Shay-Ri! Please pay attention I am trying to teach you about this solar system and the planet we are heading to.” It was the classrooms holo-teacher trying to get Shay-Ri’s attention, though Shay-Ri was listening it was just the fact that she was so close to home now, her true home, that she couldn’t help but be pre-occupied. “I’m sorry Mrs its just the fact that we are so close to the end of our journey and our home that I cant focus on class, as interesting as it is” Shay-Ri added this last comment on quickly so as not to offend the holo-teacher. “But Shay-Ri you aren’t from Earth, No one on this ship is, your not even fully human.” This came from Angelica, a thirteen year old related to one of the ships computer engineers, probably why she looked similar to Saai, the colony ships AI. Saai was an abbreviation for self-aware assistant intelligence. It had been created to aid in the running of the colony ship and help its crew in day-to-day life. “Just because my father is a Kaerithian doesn’t mean I’m not allowed to call Earth my home? My mother is a human!” This brought tears of anger to Shay-Ri’s eyes. Say-Ri was a half breed, half human half Kaerithian. She was one of the five half breeds on the colony ship, and the second oldest, though more were bound to be on their way. With over three thousand crew on the colony ship one thousand of which were Kaerithian. “Come now settle down we can all call Earth home, after all it soon will be.” Said the holo-teacher trying to calm the two girls down. It took sometime but both girls settled down. An hour later and the lesson was over and Shay-Ri hurried home where her mother was preparing their lunch. “Ah Shay how was your first lesson back? Did you learn anything interesting?” Shay-Ri, or as her family called her Shay, trudged into the kitchen and slumped at the kitchen table. “I learnt that I hate Angelica and I hate school” moaned Shay-Ri “Now sweety that’s not very nice” said Shay-Ri’s mother, who was called Elizabeth. “Neither is Angelica! She said Earth wasn’t my home home because im half Kaerithian!” responded Shay-Ri interrupting her mother “Now Shay you know that’s not true, we can all call Earth home, after all it soon will be if all goes well.” Continued Elizabeth trying to sooth her daughter. “I guess so… Anyway how are you and my little brother?” Asked Shay-Ri changing the topic to her four months pregnant mother. The fact that humans and Kaerithians could mate was a pleasant surprise and with the gestation period of seven to eight months meaning Elizabeth was half way through her pregnancy. This also means Shay-Ri’s little brother or sister, they weren’t sure which Shay-Ri just hoped for a little brother, would be one of the first colony ship children to be born back on Earth. “Well dear your little brother has been very well behaved today. I have a check up with the colony ships doctor tomorrow to see how he’s doing and to check if he is a he.” Elizabeth smiled down at Shay-Ri, subconsciously placing her hand on her stomach. “Well I hope it’s a boy I want a little brother to play with!” said Shay-Ri excitedly. At that moment Shay-Ri’s father, Tav-Ri, walked into the kitchen with a smile on his face. “Ah here is my lovely family. How has everyone’s morning been?” he asked as he patted Shay-Ri on the head and kissed his wife placing his hand on her stomach. “Well someone’s in a good mood, have we gotten in contact with one of the outposts?” Asked Elizabeth with a smile on her face. At this question Shay-Ri jumped up out of her seat excitedly “Did you daddy? Are we going to be able to go down to Earth soon?” “Soon my farra flower. We managed to get hold of one outpost in Ireland. They say they lost contact with the other out posts shortly after they landed in their designated LZ’s. I’m sure its nothing but we are going to be sending search teams to the other outposts in the next few days.”