Page 1 of Sea's Secret

Series Prologue

Once upon a time, there was a land crafted from magic. From the very sky to the depths of the deepest seas of Terra, magic could be found. Humans and magical beings roamed these lands. Humans raised up kingdoms, multiplied their people, and built grand castles and cities. Magical beings and humans lived in harmony together. There was a specific group of magical beings that cared for every living thing, magical or not. This race blessed all life and helped all to grow and prosper under both the light of the sun and the glow of the moon. They were called the Ancients.

“Ancients” was the name humans gave these magical people, for they were said to have been around from the time the world began. It was believed they could go between worlds, and that they dwelt in the very heavens where the creator lived.

Prosperity grew and wealth was abundant on Terra for a long time. Yet, eventually, every precious gem had been mined and every ounce of gold stripped from the lands. Humans sought after more, searching for other riches and treasures. But the world had given all there was to give. Still, the humans hungered. Eventually, these humans, unsatisfied with all that their world could give them, sought to take the magic for themselves.

The curse upon the ten Kingdoms of Terra all began with one man, it is believed—but there were whispers of greed and desire long before that boy's birth. Something had already stirred, perhaps setting the stage for a traitor to be born.

In the highest mountains of Haleston, Prince Falcon, at a very young age, fell in love with an Ancient girl, but his love was not returned. Try as he might to win her, she would not marry him—would not love him in return. Prince Falcon grew bitter and hard, and when it was his time to rule his father’s kingdom, he made a vow to extinguish all magic from the world.

But not all kingdoms agreed with the traitor, King Falcon. Other kingdoms formed an alliance of their own against him and his followers. There were seven kingdoms who aligned themselves with the traitor king. Four kingdoms pledged their allegiance to the Ancients and three chose no side at all, neither aiding the magical beings, nor the traitors.

Then the great war began. Darkness swept over every kingdom. The very air of Terra seemed to change with such bitter greed and hatred; it became thick and wet. Illness was rampant, causing many to die. The very soil and ground shook in anger at such a betrayal of the ancients who had cared for all life on Terra. Plants would not grow. Water tasted stale. Many human cities, villages, and towns were lost to the storms that raged throughout the lands and to the roaring seas which flooded inland, to the mountains, in rage, swallowing up many betrayers.

War raged on; battles covered every land. The sun grew red, tinted in the blood of the fallen. Everyday, more precious life and lands were destroyed. The blood that saturated the soil, and the death that clung to the air, continued to poison the people, but still, they fought.

Then, when the battle reached the highest mountain peak in the Kingdom of Haleston, where the traitor, King Falcon, ruled, icy winds blew, and an Ancient by the name of Draken fought against the traitor king. There on that mountain, drenched in the blood of both of their people, Draken took the very life out of the king, and vowed that he would curse all the human heirs from all the royal lines. Every kingdom which had betrayed his people, would pay for the blood they had shed.

On his own mountain, the traitor king died with malice and hate still dripping from his lips.

There are other stories, though, other tales of the traitor king. These other tales say that he did not die upon that mountain–no, but that he was transformed. It was said, in some kingdoms, that he turned into darkness itself–into a being which had no light, no form, no shape, but only a mist that destroyed whatever it touched. Others believed that the Ancient, Draken, cast the traitor king inside of the mountain, locking him up deep within, buried under the weight of what he had done, trapped inside the very soil and rocks which hated him. With his own blood, and that of his people, the oath and vow Draken made was sealed, and the corrupted King was imprisoned forever, in misery.

Despite the different tales of the traitor king, all of the human royalty of Terra are cursed upon their birth. Draken, the ancient who stood on that mountain and defeated the traitor king, kept his vow, and he did curse all the heirs of each of the seven kingdoms, who had killed his people, as well as the three other kingdoms who stood with no one. For, not choosing a side, is not knowing what you believe, and some say that the three kingdoms who didn’t choose a side in the Great War were worse than the seven who had destroyed the world, because they watched it happen, and yet they did nothing at all.

Chapter One

Dominick

The streets of Thorn smelled different.

Could it be the golden sand?

It was my first time visiting the Kingdom of Thorn, and I believed that the abundance of that unique, golden sand did have a dusty, yet almost floral-like, scent to it. It wasn't unpleasant, only drastically different from the salty sea and seaweed smells I was used to. I always missed the sound of the sea’s lapping waves, beating on the hull of the ship whenever I was on land.

The sand beetles’ clicking in the evening was a comforting percussion of background noise, a sound I needed, because silence was painful.

I watched Sands’ back as he guided me down the sandy streets, weaving in and out like the currents of the sea. His black hair was just long enough to pull back and tie up with some twine, although it wasn’t noticeable from the front, for his hair still fell over his face. His small ponytail was incredibly useless. I wondered if he only kept it because he knew how much I hated it. Whatever his reason, it made my lips twitch upward, and I shook my head as I followed him.

Before Sands entered my life, I was not sure what would become of me. With him around, my life finally became bearable. Not only did I trust Sands with my life, we agreed on most things. Even though we remained pirates aboard the dreadful Captain Veeto’s ship, we both hated it because being on board the Crimson Blade was like being a slave to it. We both wanted to escape, but we understood that we could only escape with a well thought out plan.

We were working on that.

We wove through the streets of Thorn within the shadows of buildings, under the moonlight. Thorn was a true desert kingdom with no trees swaying in the wind and very little vegetation. I’d heard that Reoll and Sorra, two blessed kingdoms near Thorn, were very similar in their climates and landscapes. Although the Crimson Blade had traveled to both of those kingdoms a few times, I’d never been permitted to go ashore.

Sands kicked up dust as I inhaled, and it caused my throat to burn.

“It’s so sandy and dusty here,” I coughed.

“Isn’t it grand?” Sands asked, looking over his shoulder at me.

“It’s dry,” I grunted, my throat in desperate need of moisture.

“Yes, so?” Sands asked, still leading us on. Our voices were low, and we tried to stay out of sight as much as possible.

“I don’t like it.”

“Well, I don’t remember asking you,” he grunted.