Tuesday Teaser

I know St. Patrick's Day was this past weekend, but I felt like a bit of magic and lore was needed for this teaser.  I hope you enjoy a bit from a world of fantasy WIP I like to call "Maiden of the Veil".  Be sure to check out my fantastic critique partner's teaser April London as well as Jennifer's awesome blog.

            “I want to send another regiment into the Veil.  One of them has to be able to get through.”

            “My, King, it is impossible.  It is protected by the oldest magic.  The last regiments you sent all died and so will those you send this time.  We just do not have the ability to pass through the Veil.”

            “Why can’t you just learn it again?”  Zatar roared and slammed his fist down on the table.  “We have conquered most of the known world and yet we can not touch the land of Marea that sits within a stone’s throw of my greatest city.”

            “Yes, my King,” Teric tried to placate his king with a soft response, “We are trying to locate those that still know the magic, but most would die before helping us destroy Marea.  It is a sanctuary to people of many lands, not to mention the power of our own legends.”

            “She’s just a story, nothing more.  I should tear down the stupid shines that litter my cities for her honor.”

            “She’s more than a story, my King.”

            “Why,” said Zatar, “have you seen her, Teric?” 

            “Yes, I did once.  When I was a young boy my father told me stories of the Maiden and I used to spend my free time wandering up and down the Veil hoping to catch a glimpse of her.  One day I finally did.  I had been playing down by Blue Creek, which runs into the Veil, and I stumbled on a rock and broke my leg.  It was a horrible break; the bones were sticking through the skin, blood everywhere.  I screamed as loud as I could, trying to get it to carry back to the town, but I knew in the back of my mind it wouldn’t.  I lay down on the ground, thinking I was going to die.  Suddenly the most beautiful woman I have seen, even to this day, appeared above my head.  I could feel her fingers brushing up and down my leg and I remember her saying two words.”

            “What?”  The king had settled into his chair and was listening intently, though still not believing what his counselor was saying.

            “Kellima amillek.”

            “What does that mean?”

            “The only translation I could ever find was in some old scrolls in a temple of Luminos in Deseth Valley.  A very old priest there helped me find it.  It means something like ‘what is broken let it be fixed.’  Nothing is very clear when it comes to Marean culture, much less their language.  The scrolls were from an interview done about fifty or sixty years ago with a Marean prisoner.  All I know is that same phrase spoken to me was heard by many of the soldiers that were healed in the Great War nearly fifty years ago and that my description of the woman is the same as theirs.”

            “What, she didn’t age in fifty years?” Zatar scoffed.

            “No, she didn’t.  The scrolls in the temple also told of several prominent Marean rulers.  The dates for each ruler appeared to stretch over centuries of time.”

            “No one man could live more than a century?”

            “Longer than that, some of the documents spoke of reigns over a time expanse of four or five hundred years or more.”

            “So you are telling me that the so-called Maiden of the Veil that helped my father’s men fifty years ago is the same one that helped you?”

            “Yes, I believe so.”