Civil Dawning

Prologue

"Attention!" ordered the powerful, familiar voice from her company commander. Reflexively her body reacted as she snapped upright, arms pinned to her sides as she stared straight ahead.  She maintained her position and focus as the battalion commander purposefully strode into the small tent. She was not alone; there were four other soldiers standing with her, each keeping their eyes locked forward as the commanders approached.

Wordlessly, Colonel Tenybrias’ intense amber eyes interrogated each soldier individually, his attentions pausing only a few seconds longer on the young female before scrutinizing the remaining soldiers. A few words were exchanged in whispers between the company commander and Colonel Tenybrias before he turned to address the warriors before him, “At ease,” the sonorous voice commanded.

“I have been informed that you all have performed exceptionally on the battlefield, showing courage in the face of death and destroying the enemy as you helped bring us to victory. You have all brought honor and glory to our great nation. Lord Seyvil is most pleased with our success, as I am most proud of each and every one of you.

You all are to be commended for your efforts. It is rare to find soldiers with such skill and dedication as you all have shown, I only wish I had more soldiers like you,” he intentionally paused for dramatic effect, scanning each soldier briefly before continuing, “To reward such good behavior, you all will be promoted within your ranks and will each be rewarded a munificent sum of 1,000 gold. With such generosity, I expect each of you to continue to remain dedicated as one of our elite warriors. I am confident of your future performance, do not disappoint me.”

He let his words sink in a moment before issuing any orders, “All but Lieutenant Navnlos are dismissed."

Snapping to attention the four did as they were told without question or hesitation, simultaneously saluting their commander before exiting the tent; meanwhile, Lieutenant Navnlos continued to maintain her position. Colonel Tenybrias turned to the company commander, “That includes you as well,” the tone in his voice clearly indicated it was not open for discussion.

The demon commander did not bother to hide his emotions, but openly wore his look of astonishment and paused for several moments before he snapped to attention, brought his fist to his chest and saluted his superior office before marching out of the tent.

The Colonel was neither horrifically ugly nor especially attractive; his features were rugged but pleasing enough to the eye. His wild golden hair was confined to the nape of his neck with a simple black ribbon; though occasionally a stray lock would slip lose and hang freely about his face. His amber eyes were intense; they examined the young female in an invasive but non-sexual manner. She appeared to be in her early to mid 20’s, and stood with a sense of confidence and assurance well beyond her age. Closing his eyes, he inhaled deeply several times as he examined her scent. “So what is your real name?”

“Navnlos, sir,” names had got her in enough trouble in the past

“Yes, your commander has already informed me that you are known by a mononym,” he brought his face within inches of hers and began speaking demarian, “The definition of navnlos is nameless. Do you think yourself clever?”

Lieutenant Navnlos cautiously kept her face neutral, although internally she felt chords of panic ripping through her. He slowly circled her, which only furthered to increase her anxiety. Although she couldn’t see him, she could feel the warmth of his breath on her neck as his lethal whisper hissed in her ear, “I am waiting for an answer, terran. What is your name?”

She answered him with silence. Switching back to common, Colonel Tenybrias continued, “Might I remind you that you are disobeying a direct order. Should you disobey, I will get the information I seek out of you, one way or another,” she felt his fingers gently touch her neck and knew what he was implying; vampyres had that power of seeing into the minds of those they drank from, and she knew he was not bluffing.

They exchanged several moments of silence, “I’m waiting terran, don’t try my patience,” he said as he stepped back into her field of vision.

Knowing she had no alternative, she gave him part of the information he demanded as she stumbled over her birth name, intentionally omitting her family name.  His features remained a mask of neutrality, completely unreadable to her. He surveyed her for a short while and then repeated not only the birth name she had given him, but also her family name which she had deliberately withheld. For a fleeting moment, Lieutenant Navnlos forgot herself as her eyes widened and mouth dropped, her head snapping in his direction. It was only a matter of seconds before she remembered herself and regained her composure, but he had seen her momentary lapse. He stalked towards her, invading her personal space once again as he articulated each word, “You seem to have a problem following orders, do you have issues with discipline as well?” he spoke in such a way that he didn’t have to raise his voice to achieve the intended affects he desired.

He studied for a time before continuing on, “We will be leaving for Kezuu as soon as possible. Go pack you things and report back here immediately. Speak nothing of our conversation, Lieutenant Navnlos . Dismissed."

Lieutenant Navnlos snapped back to attention, brought her fist to her chest and rendered a salute before exiting the tent.


*                    *                    *

The ride to Kezuu was a short one; Lieutenant Navnlos had never been to the captial city of the growing kingdom before. It seemed to lack the diversity and beauty she had seen in other large cities during her travels, as a matter of fact it seemed crowded, filthy, and downright ugly. Poorly built and maintained buildings were crammed together, towering over the small children who played in the streets wearing little more than dirty rags. The evidence of sickness and disease was undeniable as she looked on with pity at those who were less fortunate as they wasted away in the streets. She found herself fighting back the urge to vomit as the stench of raw sewage wafted into the small carriage as it lurched over the uneven cobblestone path.

She couldn’t tear her gaze away as she gaped in horror at the scene, unable to comprehend how anyone could live in such depravity. Since joining Lord Seyvil's ranks, she had never been to the main capital, and her visit was making her reconsider her actions. Lord Seyvil had promised to make the world a better place, but it seemed perhaps he need to bring his attentions to his own homeland before venturing his ambitions elsewhere.

She was unable to hold her tongue regarding the issue, "Sir, with all due respect, how can Lord Seyvil make promises of a brighter future when his own city lies in filth and poverty?"

"Believe it or not, he has already made numerous improvements since he first overtook the city nearly a decade ago; you didn’t see what Kezuu was like when he first assumed the throne. It may not look it, but he has already made vast progress and continues to seek perfection and harmony. Ask anyone here and you will find they speak well of him."

"Surely there is something more he could do,” she had spoken honestly without thinking of who she was speaking to.

Colonel Tenybrias did not hide the irritation seeping out of his voice, “I will overlook your ignorance this one time.”

“My apologies sir, clearly it was not my place to speak or make such assessments.”

As they began making their way up the hill towards the keep, Lieutenant Navnlos decided to venture out on a limb regarding another matter, “Sir, if I may I would like to inquire I would like to inquire again why I am being brought to Lord Seyvil."

“You know, Lieutenant, just last week we executed someone who questioned the authority of their commander. Thankfully it was not my battalion, but I did hear of it. They strung him up by his neck, and left his body in the road for the crows to peck at. Rather nasty business, don’t you think?”

Remembering her place, she turned her attentions back towards the small carriage window and remained silent for the remainder of the ride. It was not long before they arrived at their destination, and as she gracefully stepped out of the carriage she recalled a time when she had difficulty accomplishing something that now seemed so simple. Then again, she wasn't wearing the heavy cumbersome dresses of the past; these days she wore more practical clothing which suited her active lifestyle.

The castle was neither as large nor as grand as others she'd seen before, though it seemed to suite its purpose well enough. There was a time she would have stared in awe of such a structure, but anymore it was merely another fortress. Obediently she trailed behind her superior where she was lead to a small, windowless room and was instructed to wait. She noted in her solace that the walls and furniture were very plain; although the furnishings weren’t aesthetically pleasing, they served their purpose. Having just spent long periods sitting, she found it refreshing to stand as she examined the simple rug laying before her feet.

The wait was shorter than she had anticipated; Lord Seyvil bounded into the room with Colonel Tenybrias in tow, and upon hearing them enter she instinctively snapped to attention. The demon lord was wearing a look of disbelief as he practically ran towards her. "At ease, at ease," he said as he studied her.

As he continued to gape at her, his thin, purple lips spread slowly into a smile revealing rows of sharp, white teeth as he began laughing uncontrollably. He was still a little breathless as he tried to speak, "I can't tell you how happy I am to see you!" Lieutenant Navnlos didn't hide the look of confusion on her face, but patiently waited for him to explain; instead he just kept prattling on and on about how happy he was to see her and grinning.

This was the first time she’d ever seen Lord Seyvil with her own eyes, and she was not surprised to find him particularly unwholesome to her tastes. Thick yellow skin took the place of hair upon his head, and instead of eyebrows he had protruding ridges above his bright, citrine eyes. She noticed that his pupils themselves were vertical slits similar to that of a cat or snake, and made quick, tiny movements as they took in the world around them. Unable to withstand the anticipation any longer, she finally she interrupted his evident celebrations to elicit more information on what was going on, "Sir, with all due respect, may I ask what is going on?"

"Did you know it was foretold you would come here? By the god himself no less! We had heard rumors you were presumed dead, yet here you are, and I could practically kiss you."

"Sir? I don't understand."

"Oh Colonel Tenybrias, you have done exceptional, not that I expected any less. Now," he enunciated her full birth name perfectly, "It was wise of you to hide your true identify. You will continue to do so, however we can't have you running around proclaiming yourself nameless, now can we? No no, that will not do. We will have to come up with an alternate alias for you."

"Sir, I still don't understand. I was foretold?" she said in consternation.

"Yes, yes, but more of that later. A half demon, who would have thought such a thing was possible? Did you know you are the only living half demon in recorded history? Such a thing shouldn't be possible. Though I do note something else about your scent and aura, something decidedly not demonic," he was speaking rapidly, more to himself than her.

"Lord Seyvil, you know what I am?" she asked naively.

"You have nothing to worry about, you are amongst friends here, comrades who will accept and understand you in a way no one else can,” he started speaking more slowly and eloquently than before, though his excitement was still clearly evident, "Colonel Tenybrias has informed me of your courage and skill on the battlefield, we will nuture that skill in you and soon your enemies will cower before you. Oh, you will be our savior!" She continued to stare at him in frustration at his lack of clarity, "Come, our lord Deszo will want to see you. You will be the key to achieving peace and serenity to this world. That is what you want, yes?"

"Yes my lord."

"Good, good. Well then from this day forward you will go by neither your birth name nor your mononym."

The grin faded from his face as he contemplated the matter, muttering few suggestions to himself before Colonel Tenybrias interjected, "Perhaps we should pick something close to her birth name, for simplicity’s sake? Some variant of it perhaps?"

“Yes, yes, Colonel, you are absolutely right, that’s perfect!” he said as his eyes suddenly went wide and the grin returned.

He spoke her new alias aloud, and then had her repeat it several times until she had enunciated it perfectly. "It roughly means ‘Lilyae, the dark slayer.’”

"I don't think I want to be known as 'The dark slayer,' I joined your ranks to help peop-"

"And so you shall, by destroying those who interfere with our dream and desire war over peace. We will create a utopia, you and I. If we are to give you a new name, a fresh identity, it needs to be one that will strike fear in the heart of our enemies!" he spoke with gusto and excitement, "We will make you more dexterous and deadly, ensuring you have the skills and knowledge needed for success. Imagine, no more war, no more famine, and no more suffering. The world will be perfect. To achieve our goals, the price must be paid. Will you stand with us to ensure our utopia? Will you do what must be done for the greater good?"

"I..."

"Stand with me, and I promise we will accomplish great things."


"I will stand with you, my lord," she said with a small bow.


"Then come, let us speak with Lord Dezso. This is your destiny, Saur'ak ‘sa Lilyae."





**Author's Notes**

Originally, I had no intention of adding a prolgue to book 2, and none of my previous drafts I have written up for "Civil Dawning" have one. I feel too often they are added when they aren't really needed. Then about two weeks ago I had this phenominal idea for a proglue, and so the above is the second draft...meaning its subject to change. lol  I am pretty sure its very obvious who is referred to above, but for effect I wanted to leave out her name save for the very last words of the prolgue. If you've read the first book at all, I'm sure you'll notice a few similarities and references to earlier scenes.

My husband likes my second book a lot more than my first, but I have a feeling most males will prefer the second book which is more action and adventure, and most females will prefer the first book which is more drama and romance.

One last note: I thought I saw a spelling error earlier but now I can't find it. If you see it let me know. :)