A Song of Summer Winds

The first wave of attackers broke through the forest cover just as the sun rose.

Within minutes, they were upon the prince and his traveling companion, furiously assaulting them with pitchforks, wood clubs and a few rusted swords. They were amateurs and the prince easily sidestepped their unskillful attacks, battering them with his heavy war hammer and beating them back with his great-sword. An hour later, each of the attackers lay bound on the floor, battered and bruised, completely stripped of their valuables.

The prince recognized most of them. They were drunkards from the local inn the Prince and his companion had stayed at the night before. In the pockets of the man who seemed to be their leader, he found a notice:

10,000 Solaris for the man that captures the Prince Alyn Oakheart, former heir of Tyrsis, dead or alive.

He expected no less. Kelg was savage and heartless, he could accept no less than complete obliteration of the Oakheart family line.

A bitter taste made its way into his mouth. He remembered Kelg, as he had once been...a loyal commander in the Oakheart army. He had been an orphan that Alyn's father, Aeron, had taken to foster in the Tyrsian royal palace. Kelg and Alyn had grown up together, training at swords together in front of the castle donjon, or riding into the country for overnight adventures. Inseparable...until 3 years ago, that is. A dark mood had inexplicably settled over Kelg, and since then, he rarely sought out the companionship of his friend afterwards. As commander of the Oakheart legions, he was ruthless, sacking and destroying everything that came in his path. He had only been tolerated because of his excellent reputation in the field and his success in driving the Myrians away from the borderlands. King Aeron had fought frequently with Kelg, and eventually was forced to dismiss him because of his unquenchable bloodlust. When he left Tyrsis, there was no humanity left in his eyes. A year later, he rode against Tyrsis and his homeland at the head of a Myrian army...

"Alyn?" He looked up, startled. Alysane had been looking at him, puzzlement in her large green eyes.

"Hmmnn?" She looked worried

"Who are these men? Why do they hunt us?" A tear was forming in her eyes. The dark purpose in the face of the men that attacked them set her off edge.

"Locals, I think. They wished to collect a bounty...on my head. Come. We must move on, there will be others. The road south is too dangerous. We will head east to my Uncle's holdfast."

They packed up their bags and were off, leaving their attackers still bound in the clearing where they had been attacked. Eventually, they would be able to free themselves from their bonds. Either that or they would be found by the animals of the night.

They continued along the Unteroad, heading east into the crannogs. Alyn had amended his plan from earlier. Attacking Kelg now would only mean certain death, for him and for Alysane. Myrian scouts scoured the countryside looking for him while opportunistic bounty hunters sought to capture him for the large reward sum offered. He hoped to head east, into the lands of his third Uncle, Mors Kayfall, lord of the crannogs and east hinterlands. He would return to Tyrsis and Myr with his uncle's army and bring the dog Kelg to heel. The events of the last few weeks overwhelmed him, milling about in his mind without rest.

His glance shifted over to his riding companion. He had loved her, then hated her, and now loved her again.

He realized that he loved her more than life itself, the sweetness of her smile more precious than the air he breathed, the gentle curves of her body the temple and shrine of his life.

She noticed his stare, losing herself in the soft gaze of his amethyst eyes, sending shivers of desire up her spine. A smile blossomed on her face. Maybe, they could stop for a while in the woods to take a break...

* * * * *

Eighteen bodies hung limply from the posts of the castle walls. That morning, eighteen of his palace servants had been found trying to sneak out of the palace. He had ordered them executed immediately.

Kelg was sick and tired of Myr. He had thought that his fury would be quenched once he held the south and the Oakhearts were exterminated. He retired to his chambers, angry and in a dark mood. She was there waiting for him. She immediately went to him, softly crooning sweet words of comfort as he held her, looking into his plain, blocky face. Her startling blue eyes captured his, enslaving them to her will. Something unspoken passed between them. Something that was unholy and evil. Her strawberry-blonde hair cascaded on her shoulders, soft as the finest satin, enticing him, luring him deeper into her trance.

Her breath teased across his neck, eliciting a rough groan from his thick throat.

He had met her on a dusky summer evening.

He had gone to his homeland in the hills of west Tyrsis after returning from an army campaign in the far west. A strange, sweet voice had been on the air. He could hear it resounding in the hills, soft...sweet...exotic...luring. It had called to him and, like a blind man, he had stumbled through the hills in search of the voice, heedless of anything else, addicted to its enchanting melody. He found her bathing in a small stream, naked as the day she had been born. The smooth, cream colored skin on her shoulders and back rippled with muscles underneath as she carefully bathed herself, rubbing at her hindquarter and body, singing that strange tune continuously.

Abruptly, she looked up, seeing him. She hastily covered herself with her hands and sunk into the water of the stream, trying to hide herself from his intent eyes.

"Pray thee, do not stop, my lady. Your song has captured my heart."

"What is thy name, sir, and why have you been spying upon me." Her voice was soft, but sultry, caressing across his senses, stirring tingles and sparks of electricity across his entire body.

"A mistake, my lady. I heard your voice on the wind and came in search of it...I..." He stammered unable to find the words he was looking for. Her eyes glinted with mirth, her high cheekbones raised in a brilliant, winning smile. His knees shook visibly. This woman was affecting him in ways that he had never thought possible.

"No fault of yours, then. Pray tell, who are you? Where do you come from? Why are you here?"

From there, their conversation had melted into oblivion. He could not even remember what happened afterwards, for he had been lost in her bright blue eyes. Three days later, he married her. Myles and Ellesaria Kelg.

For a while, he had been happy. He had a beautiful wife, he was in the kings favor, and he was best friend to the crown prince and heir-apparent.

Slowly, however, urges he had never felt before crept into his mind, ensnaring his thoughts, bending his mind towards glory and greatness. He slowly began to resent his lord and king, wanting to rule over himself.

His mind stirred back to reality. He tenderly bent down and tasted her lips. He was weary and would sleep now. Sleep. Yes, sleep....

* * * * *

Ellesaria marveled at the control she had over her husband. He had been a simple, but sweet brute when she met him in the hills three years ago. So easy to mold, so easy to control. He had never felt the evil emanating from her spirit, nobody ever could...before it was too late.

She was growing weary of this simple man. His position of power had been useful in deposing the Oakhearts and the Taligaris but, of late, his usefulness to her was diminishing. There would always be ample time to deal with that later...

Though over a thousand years old, thoughts of her past still left a bitter taste in the back of her mouth. She was cursed. Given immortality; immortal pain, immortal suffering, and immortal grief. Centuries and decades of loss had hardened her heart immeasurably and, now, she was barely human.

She cursed her memory for being so accurate. She still remembered the prophecy.

The prophecy, given over 800 years earlier by an old, blind mystic, foretold her release from existence. A man would come to her. A man whose heart beat in tune with hers, whose every breath echoed off of her own, whose soul was the definitive complement of her own. Her soul mate.

She had searched for more than half a millennia, looking for this soul mate. Finally, she had given up. Her hopes crushed and her strength to continue greatly diminished.

Her conquest of the south felt empty now, bereft of all meaning. Where would she go from here? What was left in her empty, soulless life.

Her body spasmed, unexpectedly. A vision.

The image of a man, startlingly beautiful with long flowing silver-blonde hair appeared in her mind's eye. His eyes twinkled with purple fire. She knew him...he was the former crown prince of Tyrsis. Alyn Oakheart. Her mind reached forward, touching his soul and spirit, searching his essence, probing his body and soul hungrily. Her eyes fluttered and flew open. This was the man. This was the man that would set her free. Her soul mate. She could feel him and all of his thoughts, a jolt that coursed through her, sending a heat through her body that she had not felt in hundreds of years. She would find him. She would make him hers.

* * * * *

Alyn could feel something entering his mind. The faintest of touch and the slightest trace of something amiss. He could feel the presence...a female presence. Whoever she was, she grew bolder and plunged into his soul, feeling him, letting him feel her.

An image of her flashed into his mind. Beautiful, sultry, mouth slightly parted and turned upward in a knowing smile. She saw him and was letting him see her. He recognized this apparition. It was Kelg's woman, the she-banshee that had driven Kelg mad. She had been a beautiful maid, drawing the attention of every man with blood in his veins at his father's court. Something about her had unsettled him, though. Her eyes seemed to know too much, her smile seemed too diabolical to be human. The raw allure of her body was animal, bereft of human emotion. She was calling to him, a song that shuddered through the hot summer night, eliciting a reaction from his body that he did not willingly give.

She held him in her eyes and her disquieting magic embers of blue fire reached into his soul, touching him to the core.

And then she was gone. He could not tell if it had been a dream or real. He felt Alysane next to him, holding him as she slept.

He shuddered involuntarily. Something about the dream felt too real to ignore. He still remembered her eyes; boring into his soul, relentlessly searching him, and voraciously tearing him apart. But most of all, he remembered her song. It had wafted through him, turning him into a mindless automaton. For a moment, he had lost total control over his body, her mindless slave.

Alysane stirred next to him. She kissed him hungrily, somehow feeling his disquiet. He returned the kiss feverishly, needing to feel her, taste her, and smell her. They clung to each other desperately in the early hours of the morning, loving the other more than all else.

They would continue east, hopefully reaching the city of his uncle, Ullenhyre, later in the day. When he thought of Ellesaria, he flinched. She had turned Kelg into a monster. What would she do to him? He shivered, uncontrollably, despite the warm summer air about them.

* * * * *

Kelg awoke reinvigorated. His wife was waiting for him. Without a word, they embraced. He immersed himself in the sweetness of her soft, supple body, drinking in her scent with insatiable gulps. She responded, throwing her arms around his neck as her mouth sought out his own. The kiss was real and, despite her coldness, sent sparks of electricity throughout both of their bodies. His hands eased down her shoulder and back, gently resting on the flair of her hips. He kissed her again, hungrily, losing himself in her essence. She pulled his cloak off of him, followed shortly by his undershirt. His hands meanwhile had returned to her shoulders, gently removing the straps that held her dress in place. The silk fell off of her body in rivulets of red and blue. He gazed at her body. She was the image of perfection.

He trailed kisses down her neck, teasing her with soft nips. Deftly, he removed her silken over-shirt, freeing her perfect breasts to his searching hands and eager mouth. He took one of her nipples in between his fingers, rubbing it to a hard erect nub. His mouth enveloped her now erect nipple and gently caressed it with his coarse tongue. She purred, emitting soft moans as he continued to tease her breasts. The juncture between her thighs had grown wet with anticipation of what was to come.

Reaching down, Kelg hooked his thumb and index fingers into the band of her panties and stripped them down. The smell of her sex wafted across his nose, making him swoon with desire. Meanwhile, her hands had sought out the lacings of his breeches, releasing them and allowing them to drop to the floor. He stood before her, erect and ready. She grasped him intimately, sending a shudder through his entire body. Stooping to her knees, she gently licked the head of his member, relishing the salty taste of his desire. She continued to lick and suck at his member, eliciting stifled moans from his strangled throat. With a harsh groan, he lifted her up in his arms and carried her into his bedchamber. He gently placed her atop his bed and settled down next to her. Immediately, her fingers curled around him, causing him to groan and arch his back.

She guided him to the entrance of her flower. With one swift movement, he sunk into her entirely. They moaned together, simultaneously relishing the moment. The face of the man above her flickered and reformed into the white, unblemished, beautiful face of her true love. Emotive purple eyes with gold flecks stared back at her own as he thrust into her, quickly driving her to a mind-blowing orgasm. The physical shockwave of her orgasm swept across space. He was soon to follow, thrusting into her one final time, impaling himself completely in her hot sheathe before unloading his semen into her fiery depths. His limp member slipped from her canal with an audible squelching noise. She quickly got up, sliding her panties back up her long, shapely legs. She retrieved one of her bathrobes and redressed. He was still recovering from their recent lovemaking when she sat down on the bed next to him. His face was back to the plain blockiness that it had been for the last three years, the image of Alyn lost. She gently caressed his broad muscled chest. His breathing slowed, and he sat up. Her eyes found his and again he became her slave. He could not resist her. No matter how much his soul and body rejected the evil that she was. He could not resist her enchanting smile, devilishly beautiful body, and soft, sweet, sultry voice. She sang in his ear, telling him what she wanted, how he could please her.

He smiled, happy at the thought of aiding her.

He was decided.

That night, he sent out nearly one thousand of his finest warriors. An evil smile twisted his blocky face. Alyn could not even feel the trap closing...

Ellesaria decided that she did have a use for her lackwit husband after all... A smile grew on her face. She allowed herself to bask in the summer wind, hearing its song as it howled through the streets of Myr all about her.

* * * * *

Chapter 3 will continue with the journey of the Alyn and Alysane as they make their way to Ullenhyre, the city of his uncle Mors Kayfall.