Read The Lord Of Lightning (Book 3) for Free Online Page A

pride. Ravensdred remembered the proud Athelings of Man, dressed in their finest ritual armor, valiantly slashing and hacking at his soldiers. He really enjoyed killing those humans. It was such a shame that internal, political intrigues had already weakened the nation. The king, Haergill, fled the capital years before, and the kingdom was loosely held together by the viciousness of the High Atheling.
    If Haergill had still been in command, and his nation had been at the height of its power, what a glorious battle that would have been, Ravensdred thought to himself.
    His Dark Master undoubtedly arranged the inner corruption that destroyed Haergill's court, as he had for every other kingdom, setting them against each other, making them weak enough to be defenseless against the invading garond armies.
    Then, the garonds went to war against the elves.
    There were barely a hundred elves left in the world. And even though Ravensdred brought ten thousand soldiers, he left with half that number after the elves finally succumbed.
    That had been another gigantic failure. He had been sent to take the capital Lanis Rhyl Landemiriam, and secure all the magical items of the elves for his Master.
    But, after the last elf had been killed, the enchanted walls of the city closed, and would not open. The walls were like a living thing. They leaned out and pushed down ladders, became slippery, and even stacked bricks higher when the garonds piled on top of each other to get over the edge. Chisels and swords by the score were broken until he realized it was useless, and his armies could be better used elsewhere.
    He had to leave it to his Dark Lord to access the elvish capital with his frightening powers.
    And his failure was compounded further with the survival of one, lone elf, a maddening, frustrating, single, young female elf. Ravensdred's hands worked at the thought of her. She killed his troops at will. She was unstoppable. They should have just sent her out when the garonds attacked, and every last garond would have been killed.
    There was no way to catch or kill her. He had to leave the last elf also to his Master. He will surely find some way to end her life, Ravensdred thought.
    Of the humans of Wealdland, there was only the Weald and Reia to finish. His attack on the Weald had been foiled with the burning of the Three Bridges of Rogar Li. Clever old Yulenth had seen to that. His troops couldn't cross the rapid Bairn River. Garonds were pathetic when it came to swimming, and at the time, they had no boats.
    Ravensdred frowned to himself to consider the large fleet of long boats his troops would have to use to cross the New Sea that now separated Wealdland since the destruction of Byland by the fool Stavolebe.
    And then there was the Battle of the Eastern Meadowlands.
    Ravensdred growled to himself to remember that colossal failure. Besting the human army, better than ten to one, the human general Kellabald had beautifully commanded his armies into a route of the garond forces.
    He still remembered fighting Kellabald who wielded the Sun Sword, the Mattear Gram. That human was unbeatable. But then, a despicable human betrayer stabbed Kellabald in the back on the field of battle.
    Ravensdred involuntarily turned his head and spat with the memory of Apghilis, the dishonorable traitor. He had heard from one of his soldiers that the son of Kellabald, Arnwylf, had killed Apghilis at the Battle of Byland.
    Good, Ravensdred thought, let those who must win by attacking from behind be slain in battle.
    Ravensdred thought of Kellabald mortally wounded by treachery on the field of battle in the Eastern Meadowland, crumpled before him. Ravensdred had been deprived of finishing Kellabald by the accursed Archer from Kipleth. One of his strange black arrows had pierced his arm as he raised it for the killing stroke. Ravensdred still carried that arrowhead with him at all times.
    He felt in his pocket the lump of metal that had been an Arrow of Yenolah,