Free Ashar'an Rising (Nexus Wars Saga) by Robert Day

times, each one different but the same. I know that sounds stupid.”
    “ Not at all,” acquiesced Ka'Varel. He lowered his large frame on the log next to her, placing the tome on his lap, still staring unblinkingly at the small fire with his forest  green eyes. “It is what I have thought many times, but that is the nature of prophecy, to show something without making it visible or overly obvious.”
    Kitara regarded the white haired man askance. He was a stranger, enigmatic and mysterious, whose appearance heralded many startling revelations, yet she felt from the moment she saw him that he was worthy of trust and respect. There was about him an aura of power and charisma, much like her father but more tangible.
    “ Why are we going to Lloreander?”
    His emerald eyes closed then, and for a moment she thought she had angered him.
    “ How much did Valdieron tell you?”
    “ Everything,” she admitted softly, almost apologetically.
    “ That is good, though even Valdieron does not know the extent of this.” He gave a slight chuckle, though for what reason Kitara could not tell. “Do you know of the Sylvan Druids?”
    The name was not unheard of by Kitara, but she had no recollection where or when she had heard it.
    “ They are the Elvin Wise Men,” continued Ka’Varel, “Masters of the Essence. They are as one with the forest in which they live. They must be warned of this coming threat.”
    “ How much of a threat has it become?” asked Kitara anxiously.
    “ You know already of the Nexus Gates, but like sand hills on a beach, the Seals which hold them are slowly being eroded. With each Portal opening, more Demons will come forth. However, there is one Portal we cannot allow to be reopened.”
    “ Why?”
    “ The Ashar'an are kin to the Kay'taari, but the Unlife that the Ashar'an worship is not a term for the evil they spread, but a sentient entity. During the last War of Power between the Kay'taari and the Ashar'an, this entity was banished to the voids and sealed there with the same magic used to create the seals outside the Nexus gates. But do not fear yet, for the seal inside the void is empowered by the outer seals, and although these are weakening and breaking, it will take the final destruction of the outer seals before the inner seal will decay.”
    Any other person telling her this would have caused Kitara to laugh it off as a story or embellishment, but she knew Ka'Varel would not be telling her unless is was truth. “How long will it take for all of the outer seals to break?”
    Ka'Varel sighed. “I do not know.” There was tiredness in his voice, and the Princess wondered at his true age. He appeared not much older than her father, but he carried about him an ageless aura.
    “ The seals are breaking one at a time, as if a power is concentrating on one after the other, so I cannot say how long it will take. There are seven remaining not counting the one inside the void. It may be half a year before they are all broken, with luck it will be longer.”
    He did not have to say that without luck they could be at war even sooner. As the daughter of a King, Kitara knew the realms were not prepared for a battle of such magnitude. A widespread era of peace had existed for as long as she could remember, and her father had severely cut the ranks of his own armies for economic reasons. Other leaders had done likewise, the total of battle trained soldiers far less than they had been a decade before. Her father was sending missives to these leaders to warn them of the possibilities of war, but even so, time would prove crucial if they were to rebuild their forces.
    “ Will Valdieron be successful?”
    She had meant to ask if he would be safe, but did not want to show how her feelings ran for the young warrior, but even so she felt his eyes on her as she stared into the fire, and she could not help but feel he was smirking slightly. She unconsciously felt for the hard presence of the piece of the Disk