The world of Leniva

Chapter one: A War

The constant clang of swords and cries of dieing men rang up from the battle below to the balcony where Anoria was standing. Her arms were folded across her chest, and she dared not actually stand on the balcony for fear of the arrows from the enemy. She looked down into the crowd, searching for her husband, the king. His dark armor would be the same as everyone else, she only hoped he wouldn’t be one of those dead on the ground.
“How are we doing mom?”
Anoria looked at the ten-year-old girl sitting on the bed, looking through a little black book. It was well worn, with the stitches on corners coming undone, and the pages turning yellow. The Avathar symbol, a snake with a knife, on the front was still silver, but it had faded quite a bit. For centuries the book had been passed from generation to generation through the Royal family. Beginning with Darnove, the first Avathar. The book had been made by the Devil himself, given to Darnove to save his young daughter from the hands of the king.
“The town will have to be rebuilt, but they haven’t made it past the wall yet.”
The girl nodded. “Have they gotten close?”
Anoria shook her head. “Your father hasn’t brought out the Shadows yet.”
The girl got up, and walked over to her mother. She looked out at the town that now lay in ruins. The fire had all but destroyed the town; people lay dead in the streets, women and children along with the men. Those that could, had run to the castle, saved by the first homes on the outskirts that had caught fire. The men had picked up any weapon they could to defend their beloved capitol, while the woman and children had come into the castle. All that had made it were downstairs, filling the ballroom, dinning hall, throne room. Any room that could be used was used. Anoria stayed with her child on the second floor in her and her husband’s chambers. A guard from the High Guard stood outside along with her daughter’s personal guard, who had been trained by the General.
She looked down at the girl standing beside her. With her black hair, and pale skin she looked like any other Avathar child. But no, Her child was destined to be the Deldawath, to take the same place as her self. Her name was Adonia, and not only was she Royalty, but she was also a very smart child. At the age of one she had started to walk and talk in full sentences. At two she had begun to learn magic. What would have taken any normal child to almost full adulthood to learn had taken her only three years. She had memorized all of the spells given to a Deldawath, but could perform an amazing half. Anoria smiled a bit at the memories, then looked back down at the battle. She leaned against a wall, and sighed.
Adonia looked up at her. “Don’t worry mother. I’m sure our soldiers can hold them back.”
Anoria nodded. “I’m sure they can darling.” She took her daughters hand and pulled her away from the window, away from the bloodshed that was happening below. She picked her up and set her down on the bed then sat beside her. “What do you want to do while we wait?”
“I want to watch.”
Anoria sighed, of all the things her little girl had taken a liking to it was sword fighting, dueling, something no woman should do. “Besides that.”
Adonia took a deep breath. “Read then I guess…” she picked up the book, and began to flip through it again. Anoria sighed again and shook her head, then looked up at the window at a loud cracking noise. She stood, ordering her daughter who had already put down the book and gotten off the bed to stay put, and walked back over to the balcony. Her heart filled with dread as she saw the gates fall, and the wave of Maythrians poor into the courtyard. Anoria stepped back from the window, her hands falling to her side as she went to her daughter.
“Mom what is it?”
“We need to get to the tower.” Anoria took her daughter’s hand and Adonia barely managed to grab the book before she was pulled away from the bed and over to the door. Her mother opened it to find their guards gone. Her heart began to pound as she realized something was wrong. She took her daughter closer, and carefully stepped out into the hall, looking up and down before pulling Adonia out beside her. She quickly pulled her down the hall, hoping to make it to the tower to lock the doors when a door beside her burst open, and she was thrown against the opposite wall. Adonia stepped back in shock, looking up at the door.
A tall man stood there, looking down at Adonia for a time. He looked at Anoria, then walked over and got her to her feet. She had hit the wall hard, and her head was bleeding from a cut. he reached back and took Adonia’s hand, and began pulling her along the hall. Adonia tried to pull away, not knowing this man, and not trusting him in the slightest. as they walked past a window Adonia looked out before she was pulled along. The Avathars were loosing… the city was falling. He pulled them along the hall, Adonia still trying to get free. Voices from the hall behind them made her turn, and she almost tripped. The Maythrians had made it into the castle.
She no longer tried to get free, only fallowed the man and her mother. He took them into a room, then left, telling them to lock and bar the door. Adonia took the liberty of doing so, seeing as her mother was still a bit dizzy. Once locked she went back to her mother, and sat beside her on the bed. Anoria looked down at her, blood beginning to trickle down her cheek. Adonia reached up and wiped a little of the blood away.
The voices that had fallowed them down the hall came closer, and soon footsteps could be heard as well. Anoria held her daughter close, and Adonia buried her face in her mother’s dress. The Maythrians stopped outside their door and tried to open it. Anoria pulled her daughter up off of the bed, looking around for a place for her to hide. She leaned close and whispered to her. “Hide.”
Adonia nodded, and began looking around for a place to hide, finally finding one in the back of the closet. Anoria had just closed the closet door when the door to the room was thrown open. She was pulled away from the closet, and down the hall, leaving Adonia alone. Adonia stayed in the closet, her knees pulled up to her chest, and her arms wrapped tightly around them. She could feel the back of the closet against her back, and the side against her right side. There were clothes that hung in her way of making it to the door, and she hoped it would hide her incase of a search. Slowly she fell asleep against the wall, unaware that she was doing so.
Hours later Adonia woke, and looked around, realizing instantly where she was. Slowly she crawled over to the door, and tried to open it, but found it sealed. She tried her best to remember the spell to unseal it, but found she couldn’t remember. She leaned against it, tears coming to her eyes as she slid to the floor. She had no idea what time it was, nor if it was the next day. She put her back to the door, and let her legs go straight to the other side of the closet. They were sore from being bent for so long, but she was cramped in the small closet.
She looked up, then down at the crack between the door and the floor, trying to figure out the time. No light came from it, so she assumed that it was late.
“They’re probably looking for me.” She thought out loud. Her stomach growled and she realized she hadn’t eaten yet that day. She took a deep breath, and slumped against the door.
She was about to fall asleep again when voices from the hall caught her attention. She began to bang on the door, yelling for help, but the voices walked by, not hearing her. She got down on the floor, and pressed her cheek to the stone. It was cold, but as she looked out she could see the sun on the floor further out. Something was in front of the door. She lay there, and continued to yell and bang on the door, hoping someone would hear.
Minuets, then hours passed and still no one had heard. She fell silent and decided to try and make her own way out. Though it was dark she began to try and decipher the words on the page. She knew the pages by heart, and flipped to the page where the light spell was suppose to be. As she squinted in the darkness the black lines on the pages seemed to dance and move. She groaned and lied back down on the floor, getting as much light from outside as she could.
As the sun began to set she finally got the spell. She closed her eyes for a moment, and a ball of light grew to about the size of her fist, floating in the air, just above her. She quickly flipped through the pages, looking for the right spell to unlock the door. She found the spell, and muttered it under her breath. The lock on the door beside her clicked, and she jumped up, tucking the book into a pocket. She pushed against the door with her shoulder, back, other shoulder, but no luck. She sat down, trying to think of what she could do.
She stared at the door for a long time, the orb still floating above her. She slumped down so that her knees were bent with her feet against the door, and her back on the cold stone floor. She put her hands against the wall and pushed as hard as she could with her feet against the door. It moved a little, but caught on something, and she was even more stuck. She moaned and put her back against the door, putting her feet against the wall, and pushed as hard as she could.
It tipped a little, but as the door moved she fell to the floor. Whatever it was it was tipped because of the door, and would now be easier to push over. She pushed against the door again, and she heard whatever it was crash to the ground. The door opened enough that she could look out, and she found that it was the next morning. Someone had heard the crash, because the sound of voices and people running came from the hall. She hit her shoulder against it, trying to push it further open.
The door to the room opened and some people stepped in. Adonia recognized one of the voices and sighed in relief. “General Loughan. Please get me out of here.”
”We’ll be one minuet my lady. We just need to close the door.” She stepped back as the door shut again. She could hear them moving the thing that had been placed in front of the door, then the door opened. As she stepped out into the light a pair of arms pulled her into a warm embrace. “Oh darling…” he held her close, stroking her hair.
His hair was black, as were his clothes, and eyes. He looked down at her and Adonia looked up at her father. “Where’s mom?” she asked softly, hoping beyond hope she wasn’t right.
Her father looked at the General, then back down at her. “I’m so sorry honey…” he picked her up and took her out of the room. Adonia seemed to be in shock.
‘No. It couldn’t be. Mother couldn’t be… Dare I think it? … Dead…’



I have stolen ideas from every book i have ever read. My principal for reserching for a novel is "Read like a butterfly, write like a bee," and if this story contains any honey, it is entirely because of the quality of the nectar i found in the work of better writers.~ Philip Pulman, Acknowledgments,The Amber Spyglass