Victor Deus (Heritage of the Blood Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

amber, and it had saved him from a fall that would surely have ended his life. Forward his mind raced, to a dream that he had with a beautiful woman sitting on his bed telling him not to go into a battle the next morning for it was a trap. A dream that had saved the lives of not only himself, but those of his men as well. Forward again, to a familiar voice in the back of his head telling him to apply for the commission to the continent of Terroval to command the Knights, a position for which he thought himself unqualified. The sea danced at sunset as she smiled, knowing he had remembered.
    “See my love I've been with you since you were a child, and I shall be with you until you die. Our children shall be the salvation of both of our peoples, and your name will be remembered for as long as our blood flows through the veins of our progeny.”
    That night, the men and women of the Terrazil Protectorate had two things to celebrate, the arrival of five thousand men and women to help in the fight, and their commander, who they thought lived and breathed war, had found himself a wife.
     
    *****
     
    Back in the Lion's heart Tavern
     
    “Thanks to the newcomers, the Protectorates numbers grew, and their capability of fighting a vastly superior enemy seemed to be increasing exponentially. No one knew for sure where those five thousand and more people came from. Some speculated that they were the gods themselves come down to aid mankind. Others said that they were manifestations of Terrazil herself brought forth to aid in the battle. I for one, believe the story that the newcomers were in fact the good dragons of the world who had taken the form of the races of Terrazil. Which can be true we may never know, but either way those five thousand that came are what kept the people of what was then called South Harbor alive.”
    “For seven hundred and fifty years they defended the land, the city of South Harbor grew prosperous, and expanded greatly. They had produced enough men and women, and enough had come in from the mainland to bring their population to upwards of a million people. Three fourths of the cities population was in the Protectorate in one form or another and the other fourth provided the necessary duties to keep a city working efficiently.” The old bard looked at all the expectant faces, and smiled.
    “What happened next?” a kid who had managed to sneak into the bar without anyone noticing asked. A fact which made the room erupt into bursts of laughter. The bard ruffled the boy's hair, and grabbed a new drink before walking to the center of the room. The sound of chairs screeching could be heard as people moved so that they could see this grand spinner of tales more clearly.
    “Ah yes, what happened next? Well, we have all heard of the great disaster that occurred about three thousand odd years ago, and we know the upheaval that it brought, but the things that were faced in the civilized lands were trivial compared to the disasters that were wrought upon the land of Terroval.”
    “Winter is a common thing in the land of Terroval, and the harshest winter was welcome compared to some of the dangers the people of the Protectorate faced. This however was unexpected, and as we all know it's the things that sneak up on you quietly that you need to be the most cautious of. People had begun referring to Terroval as the Anvil, and the creatures that inhabited the continent as the hammer. Over the last few generations, changes had become more apparent in the people that lived in South harbor. Since the land was harsh, only the strongest survived, and this had an effect that was unexpected by most. The people were getting stronger, faster, smarter, and more adaptable than ever before.”
    “The problem however, was that this phenomenon was also occurring amongst the enemy's numbers. In point of fact, they still had a thousand years and more of this effect than did the members of the Protectorate. They had been sending