Anshar

Michael Djanthi

Description

Anshar is a mysterious angel. He was born more than 12 billion years ago and he has seen more of life than he can remember. He was created to perform the function of a Gatherer. His kind policed the borders between the lower worlds and they prevented demons, elementals, vampires, and other lesser entities from crossing into the realm of Earth. Anshar and his partner Rodare were also charged with the duty of escorting the souls of select fallen humans from the lower worlds into the Celestial City.Anshar carried out his duty for billions of years, but now, he faced a challenge that even his legendary strength could not overcome. He was dying. Gatherers were subject to a rare kind of malady called The first darkness. The disease strikes without notice and robs angels of their strength, sanity, and celestial power. The Creator took pity upon Anshar and gave him a chance to overcome the disease.Anshar was allowed to enlist the help of Melvina, a beautiful and talented human woman with a rare gift. She did not know of the origins of her power. She did not know why The Creator had chosen her to help an Angel. She believed that helping this powerful celestial stranger was her only way to freedom from a life she longed to escape. As Anshar descended into madness, his plan to cure himself would unleash a plague of death, chaos, and destruction upon the earth. With the help of Melvina, a gifted human Adept, and a crafty Archangel, Anshar would face a colossal battle for his very existence.

Sujets

• Fantasy (canción de Mariah Carey)
• Fantasy

Informations

• Publié par: Michael S. Djanthi
• Date de parution: 08 février 2017
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781935674733
• Langue: English

Extrait

Anshar


Anshar is a mysterious angel. He was born more than 12 billion years ago and he has seen more of life than he can remember. He was created to perform the function of a Gatherer. His kind policed the borders between the lower worlds and they prevented demons, elementals, vampires, and other lesser entities from crossing into the realm of Earth. Anshar and his partner Rodare were also charged with the duty of escorting the souls of select fallen humans from the lower worlds into the Celestial City. Anshar carried out his duty for billions of years, but now, he faced a challenge that even his legendary strength could not overcome. He was dying. Gatherers were subject to a rare kind of malady called The first d arkness. The disease strikes without notice and robs angels of their strength, sanity, and celestial power. The Creator took pity upon Anshar and gave him a chance to overcome the disease. Anshar was allowed to enlist the help of Melvina, a beautiful and talented human woman with a rare gift. She did not know of the origins of her power. She did not know why The Creator had chosen her to help an Angel. She believed that helping this powerful celestial stranger was her only way to freedom from a life she longed to escape. As Anshar descended into madness, his plan to cure himself would unleash a plague of death, chaos, and destruction upon the earth. With the help of Melvina, a gifted human Adept, and a crafty Archangel, Anshar would face a colossal battle for his very existence.


















Anshar


Prologue


Melvina loved the smell of wheat and barley in the summer. She ran barefoot in the fields that swept the acres behind their farm. She drew deep breaths of the essence of the grain and laughed to herself. She loved her life. She loved her family. Most of all, she loved the freedom that her father had given her to explore and enjoy the expanse of their world.

The country of Sangaaova was small in comparison to many of its neighbors. They were a peace-loving people, consisting mostly of farmers and cattlemen. Their borders were secured by steep and rugged mountainous terrain that ran all the way down into the sea. The farmers and cattlemen of the region worked and lived in the broad valley expanses that were rich wi th minerals and deep black soil carried in by ancient glaciers.

They had lived there for hundreds of years, longer than any one of them could remember. Melvina was one of three children in the family. Her sister Salva was younger and her brother Taras was two years older. Her parents were kind and loving and she could not imagine life any better. Her feelings made the nightmares that she suffered all the more confusing.

Each night as she slept, she woke up crying and screaming. She could only remember fragments of the dreams . Mostly, she recalled running and fighting with people that she did not know. In the dream, she woke up just as she saw Salva reaching for a weapon to fend off a group of men. Her brother was always the first to find her. He comforted her and sat with her until she went back to sleep. The dreams had been recurring for months. Her parents wanted her to visit the local healer woman for help, but she did not want them to bear the expense. She also did not want the other girls in the village to know that she had been to see a healer woman. They would think that she was crazy. That was the last thing that she wanted.

T oday , she wanted to run and clear her head of all the pain and chaos that filled her dreams. Today, she wanted to be free. As she ran, she realized that she was nearing the mountain pass that bordered her family farm. She looked back at the road and then up at the steep rugged trail that led into the mountains. The mountains were tall enough that they were covered with snow all year round. She did not want to go that far up into the trail, but she had always been curious about what lay beyond.

Cautiously, she slowed her pace and ran onto the trail. The air almost immediately became colder. She began to shiver and she pulled her thin shawl around her shoulders. She realized that she was not dressed appropriately for even a short foray into the mountain. She turned reluctantly and began her long trek back to the farm.

Moments later she heard a noise that seemed out of place. She heard men talking. She had been on this path hundreds of times but she had never seen anyone else venture so far up. She crouched down behind a boulder she spotted on the trail. As she waited, she saw a large group of oddly dressed foreigners. The men were still in the distance, but she could see that they carried weapons. By her estimation, there were hundreds of them. Without thinking, she began to run back toward her farm.

She ran without breathing. The closer she got to the farm, the more she realized that nothing good could come of foreigners bearing weapons. Her nightmares attempted to surface into her conscious mind, but she pushed them back. She began to sob gently to herself as she neared the back entrance to her home. Taras was the first to meet her.

“What is wrong my sister?”

Melvina could scar c ely gather her breath. She allowed herself to sob quietly as her brother held her. Then she looked up at him.

“Soldiers are coming. Foreigners. We must tell Father.”

“What do you mean soldiers? What did you see?”

Without answering, Melvina grabbed her brother ’ s arm and dragged him along as she searched the house for their Father.

“Melvina you are acting like a crazy woman. Tell me what is wrong with you! Taras demanded.

A couple of moments later, their Father appeared. Memner was a wise and powerful man. His farm was the largest of all the properties in the region. He was wealthy and very well respected. His children were generally quiet and well behaved. He was not accustomed to the sound of chaos in his home.

“What is the meaning of all this noise Melvina?” Memner looked directly at his daughter. His gaze was fierce and stern.

“Father, I saw men… … .soliders… …. .coming this way. They were foreigners.”

“Melvina, child, our mountains have protected us for as long as anyone can recall from intruders. Even the sea approach is filled with sharp rocks and coral. Who would dare even attempt to attack us?”

“Come with me and see for yourself Father!”

Without even looking around, Melvina ran out of the house and back up the trail toward the mountains. Her Father and brother followed, trying their best to keep up with her.

After a few minutes, they all saw the horror that approached them. Memner recognized the men , even though he could not believe his eyes . They were Coloran. The Coloran Empire was the largest and most ruthless civilization known to man. They also embraced slavery. The men were probably looking for slaves in the defenseless valley.

Memner knew what they needed to do.

The men were at least an thirty minutes away from their village. The villagers possessed only rudimentary weapons. From what he could see, they had no chance. The best thing that they could do is hide. In his estimation, neither would save them. Then he realized an awful truth. Perhaps their only chance was to bargain with the Colorans. A tribute in wheat or gold might appease them….. perhaps.

A few hours later……..

Melvina awoke bound and gagged in a sordid grass covered wagon. She saw her sister Salva lying bound and gagged next to her. She recalled all to clearly the struggle that her father and the other villagers had put up against the Colorans. The farmers were no match for the trained Coloran soldiers. Melvina remembered what had happened all to clearly.

The soldiers slaughtered the farmers mercilessly. They took the wheat and gold that her Father had offered , and then they killed him. She had tried to run with her Mother and sister, but the soldiers spotted them and quickly subdued them. Her Mother refused to go quietly and one of the soldiers slit her throat. He raped her dying body and his comrades laughed and cheered him on.

Her worst nightmares had come true right before her eyes. She began to cry. One of the soldiers heard her and struck her with his sword. She passed out again. She awoke in what appeared to be a dungeon. She looked around for Salva. She recognized many of the women from her village. They sat huddled and dazed in the various corners of the dark dismal room. There were women of several other races there. She could not imagine why they were there. Some of them were pregnant. Some of them were no more than children, much younger even than herself. A few moments later, a group of men entered the room and began pulling women toward a brightly lit opening. Melvina and Salva were grabbed and they both struggled against their captors. Neither of them had eaten in some time and they grew faint in moments. Melvina passed out again.


When she awoke a few minutes later, Melvina struggled to cover herself with the tattered remnants of a shawl that she had stolen from one of the slaves in the dungeons. She knew that her situation was hopeless. Melvina and her sister, Salva, were surrounded, desperately attempting to flee from a growing mob of young gladiators that had been set upon them. Salva was barely 10 years old. Melvina had hoped to see her eighteenth birthday in a few days. That was before the centurions burned their home, slaughtered her parents, and took the two of them captive. Now their lives had been reduced to sport.

Salva was been wounded by the first band of men that had rushed toward them. They had been thrown into the arena naked, hungry, and covered in honey. The shawl provided little more than a scant semblance of dignity. Fortunately, Melvina had been able to pick up a broadsword that had fallen onto the ground during the struggle. She had nothing to lose by at least trying to use it.

Melvina’s brother, Taras, h