Heritage: Book One of the Gairden Chronicles Read Online Free PDF Page A

began to shift and contort, taking the shapes of humans, castles, and sprawling battlefields to accompany Annalyn’s words.
    “Dimitri, known as the Serpent King across the four realms for his malevolence, gathered his army and stormed Leaston, which was unprepared for invasion. The banner of Sallner flew over the ruined realm. Thus began the Serpent War. With the east conquered, Sallner set its sights on Darinia. Janleah, war chief of the west, united the clans and called upon Torel for aid. King Ambrose Gairden allied with the clans and led the north against Sallner. Anastasia, a supremely gifted Touched, defected from Sallner and joined her beloved at the head of his army.
    “It soon became known that Dimitri and Luria Thalamahn were more than just ruthless tyrants—they were disciples of Kahltan, the Lord of Midnight. Calling upon dark magic, Luria and Dimitri corrupted their people, guiding Sallnerians down the wide road of evil, greed, and bloodshed. Luria grew more wicked as the war continued, and became known as the Queen of Terrorfor her depravity, for the blasphemous acts she committed on those she slaughtered. Combing the battlefields, Luria breathed life into the dead and turned them against the living.”
    Sharp cries and sounds of revulsion sprang up as corpses made of stars rose from the ground, glowing a deep scarlet, and threw themselves against former allies. Aidan watched the spellbound audience. Most stared at the events unfolding above them, enraptured by the history of his family’s bloodline. Lifting his eyes to the galleries, he noticed several nobles watching him, measuring. Aidan felt the weight between his shoulders increase. He could almost hear their thoughts: How will history remember Aidan Gairden?
    Taking a breath, he looked to his right. A gap of at least two feet separated the last line of tables and the wall. Perhaps if he moved quietly, he could sidle to the door. Daniel would surely let him slip out. After that he could—
    “... after so much death and destruction, Ambrose wasted no time. He married Anastasia in the southern courtyard of Torel Fortress, and guests from Leaston and Darinia flooded to act as witnesses. As the ceremony drew to a close, legends say the clouds parted and a crone descended from the Lady’s light. She had come, she said, on behalf of her goddess to bless the marriage. Each Gairden would produce only a single heir, and the blood of Anastasia and Ambrose would flow through their line, but forked like a river. Along one fork flowed the blood of Anastasia, the most exceptional Touched of her time. Along the other, a finely balanced savagery and skill in combat inherited from Ambrose Gairden, considered by many to be the greatest warrior who ever lived.
    “On the battlefield, the Darinians had stood in awe of the strength of Ambrose and Anastasia. They called Ambrose Ordine’kel , or the Guardian Blade; Anastasia was Ordine’cin , the Guardian Light. As a show of respect toward their allies in the west, the Gairdens named the gift Ordine , and their strength of the Guardian would guard Crotaria until the end of time.”
    Aidan stole a glance at his father. Whether Edmund the Valorous could have equaled or bested the Gairden patriarch was the subject of many boisterous tavern debates. Aidan had spent hours watching his father spar in the training yard, wondering what it would be like to move so gracefully. He would never know. He had inherited Ordine’cin , and could wield a sword about as effectively as he could wield a log. That was fine by Aidan. Being born with Ordine’cin did not make a Gairden a Cinder the first time they kindled, or make those born with ’kel equal to Ambrose Gairden the first time they picked up a blade. Aidan had studied hard—most of the time—the same as any Touched outside his bloodline had to do. He fingered the gold loop around his right forefinger, admiring it. He had earned it.
    He blinked and redirected his attention to