The First Fall (The Shadowweaver Trilogy #2)
Prologue
Before the Banishing
I t's a beautiful day for a betrayal.
Because ultimately, that is the plan of Obliver, Tieron, and Linna, high priests of the Gods of Krillium.
"She's not going to show," Obliver growls, pacing around the theatre within the Cliffs of Barez.
"You have no way of knowing that," Tieron says in his deep, rumbling voice. "She knows what's good for her." Tieron is the most confident of the three, but even he has a glimmer of doubt running through him.
Linna looks up at the entrance to the theatre, hoping beyond hope that she will see Lucinda walk through the entryway. "And you two are sure we can't do this without her?"
Tieron shakes his head emphatically. "The Bloomtide was clear. We need all four of us to harness enough of the ambient devotion magic to make this spell work."
"And why do all of them have to be banished just to get rid of the Frostweaver?" Linna asks, once again probing to find a hole in their plan. She understands why banishing the Frostweaver is in the best interest of everyone, but she does not like the things that will have to happen to achieve that goal .
Obliver groans in frustration, his hands dragging down his face. "Linna, we have been over this a thousand times."
"Then tell me," comes a soft voice from behind them. All three high priests turn to see Lucinda, the high priest of Winter, the key to completing the spell and banishing the Frostweaver once and for all.
"Lucinda, finally. Let us begin." Obliver speaks with the authority of someone who is not used to being told no. His God, the Harvest Lord, would have used his magic of Influence to force Lucinda to submit and participate if she had not shown on her own.
The dark-haired woman squares her shoulders and bravely faces the ornery man. "I still want, no need, to know the why of this, Obliver."
With a groan, Tieron steps forward and grabs Lucinda by the arms in a grip that is familiar and punishing. "Lucinda, the Frostweaver is attempting to dismantle this world, our entire way of being. The Gods say the only way to stop him is to trap him in another realm. But to do that, we need all four of us to harness ambient magic."
"I understand that part just fine, Tieron," she snarls, shaking him from her arms. She would never forget the times Tieron had too much wine and decided his hands deserved to be other places on her body.
"The Gods are connected in this realm. As they were created, their magics were tied together," Obliver says with an air of indifference. He thinks Lucinda didn't notice the sideways glance he gave Tieron, but she did, and it made her hands shake. "We have to banish them all at once, to separate realms, to sever that tie. Then we can bring our Gods back."
"And mine stays gone," Lucinda says quietly, sadness churning within her.
"As he deserves to be," Tieron snarls.
"The Frostweaver just wants us, and all humans, to be able to have easier lives," Lucinda tries, once again, to convince the others that this plan does not have to happen. She doesn't have to reveal her ulterior motives for keeping the God of Winter free from banishment because her words are true regardless of her motivations.
Linna rises to her feet, shaking her head. "Respectfully, Lucinda, the Sunfire has been very clear that the Frostweaver's plans will spell the end of Krillium as we know it." When Linna speaks of the God of Summer, it is with a reverent sadness that leaves Lucinda curious about its origins.
The argument goes around in circles for some time. Eventually, Lucinda submits and agrees to participate in the ceremony. It was all a farce, anyway, the arguments. The Frostweaver had instructed her to participate to protect her family. He would not let her children be harmed because he wished to stay in this realm.
"And after the ritual, you'll bring the others back?" Lucinda clarifies. Her concern for leaving the world without Gods is at an all-time high. She shoves her hand into the pocket of her loose pants, feeling the Witch's Ladder she fastened resting there, hopeful she can figure out how to utilize it to bring the Frostweaver back sooner rather than later. The others had not shared how to do that with her, but maybe she could find it written down somewhere in their chambers.
"We have to find a member of our family who can awaken the magic and use it as a tether to bring the God back, but yes, we will be returning them immediately," Linna responds, resting her hand on Lucinda's shoulder.
Looking up at the position of the moon in the sky, Obliver reaches to lock hands with the others. "It's time."
Lucinda wonders what the Gods were doing now, all of them awaiting banishment. The trust they have in their high priests is admirable, even if Lucinda does not agree with the reasoning of why they feel the need to rid the world of the Frostweaver. He is only trying to better this place they call home. As they chant the spell, their hands clasped tightly, Lucinda's mind travels to the Frostweaver, whom she has been serving as his high priest since she was just eighteen years old.
Her mind travels to his long white hair, the way his icy eyes glimmer in the sun, the brutal way he exacts justice. He is by no means a gentle God, but he is a just one. Despite the brutally efficient way he handled everyone, he was surprisingly gentle with her, never requesting more of her than she was willing to give.
This banishing ritual is a simple spell, and it is completed quickly, much to the pleasure of the high priests. The four stand there and slowly drop their hands as they look around the theatre, aching to see a difference in the world now that the Gods are gone.
"Did it work?" Lucinda says quietly, afraid of the answer that may come.
Before anyone can respond, a thick, hot rush of colored particles of energy blankets them, knocking them off their feet. It buzzes like a swarm of bees, and it makes Lucinda's head ache with the imposition.
"What is it?" Linna asks, struggling to stand amongst the energy. She turns to speak to Obliver, only to find him choking on the strange particles, flecks of red and black overflowing his mouth and dripping down to his tunic. Despite her efforts to save him, Obliver's movements slow, and Linna steps back with resignation at the loss of his life.
The energy swirls around the other three and then passes over them, floating through the air as if they possess a conscious mind before thinning and disappearing into the world.
Tieron is the first to speak after the particles clear. Lucinda's shoulders slump at the blissful silence they leave behind. "The plan remains the same, Linna."
Lucinda's head jerks towards the high priest of Spring. "What plan?" she asks, looking swiftly between the two remaining high priests.
Tieron crouches next to Obliver's body and rifles through his clothes to extract a dangling pair of flower earrings in a small pouch. With barely a glance at the item, he shoves it into his pocket. "I believe I'll have these back now, thanks." When he locks eyes with Lucinda, her blood runs cold at the malice that coats his skin. His lip curls up at the incredulity on her face, his laugh sinister as he says with condescension, "The Gods have fallen, and we will not be bringing them back."