Shield of Honor: The Secret of the Zar: Shield of Honor, #1

By Eduardo Lozano

Shield of Honor: The Secret of the Zar is about a warrior named Dario that was born in royalty.  His family is massacred and by fate he is saved by a farmer who raises him as his own son.  Dario is unaware that he comes from an ancient bloodline of warriors and is sole heir to the throne of Hiros.  He is an honorable, humble young man that lacks self-confidence.  His life completely changes once again when the evil wizard Lord Sesmic tries to kill him again.  Dario learns about his past and about the Zar.  The Zar holds the secret to defeating Lord Sesmic.  Dario is faced with the ultimate challenge of recovering the powerful sword that fell from the sky.  He must go on a great adventure to find the Zar.  Does Dario have what it takes to find the Zar and defeat Lord Sesmic? 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Eduardo Lozano
• Release date: Jul 5, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386845324

Eduardo Lozano

Eduardo Lozano has been a writer all his life.  He has written short stories in Literary Magazines since he was a teen.  Lozano has written, produced, and directed several plays and even won first place in a short film contest for his film Payback.  He is currently living in Japan and teaching English.  He loves to play video games and is full of energy.  He created his own Youtube channel where he reviews Japanese games.  He is a jack of all trades but a master of none but better than a master of one.

Book preview

Chapter 1

The End of an Era

THE END DRAWS NEAR for Hiros, the great kingdom of the West.  The dark forces of Lord Sesmic have breached the walls of the castle; it is only a matter of time before they take control.  Darkness falls upon us all, not even the mighty power of the Zar can save us now.  The Taru, people of the underworld, outnumbered us.  The magical powers of Lord Sesmic are too much for King Fernand and his troops.

King Fernand stands strong by the main gates of his enormous castle wearing his silver shiny armor while holding the Zar.  He has long black hair, a thin moustache and brown eyes.  He raises the Zar and yells out, Fall back!  The power of the Zar will protect us.

No one knows where the Zar came from.  It is a sword but with magical powers.  It’s a long, sleek double edge sword with a symmetrical red ruby on the silver handle.  Legend has it that it fell from the sky when a war broke out between the gods.  It is rumored that similar swords throughout the earth have fallen with magical powers.  It is uncertain of how many swords fell, all that is known is that those were the chosen ones to protect the land.  The evil underworld gods granted the power to Lord Sesmic to cause chaos and to liberate them from the underworld.  Their treachery caused the gods to cast them out from the sky during the Eternal Wars.

Lord Sesmic stood as tall as the tallest horse known to man, with his fierce red eyes, pale emotionless face, wearing his black armor and red cape.  His sword was a spectacle to watch because at his command when he drew it out for combat it could be engulfed in flames.  He yelled out to his soldiers, Attack, leave no one alive, this I command.

King Fernand’s guardian Lin comes running from the main gates to the king wearing his traditional gray armor with the red star plastered on the back of his armor.  Sire, we can’t hold on much longer, flee while you still can, said Lin gasping for air.

Flee?  Never, I was born as a warrior and I shall die as one.  Retreat to the second level, King Fernand yelled out.

As the Hiros army retreated to the next level, their men slowly were being slaughtered one by one.  King Fernand has been in many battles throughout his life.  Deep inside he knew that this was going to be his last stand.  He knew he would most likely die today but he wanted to go out on his feet rather than on his knees.  He wanted to run away to regroup but it would only be a matter of time before Lord Sesmic catches up with him.  He fought on because he had to protect his kingdom but most importantly his family.  He came from a proud bloodline of royalty. This didn’t matter to him.  There was not enough gold or prestige in the land for him.  All he wanted was the safety of his family. 

HEADING SOUTH WAS A small army composed of knights and the great wizard Makai.  Makai rode strong on his white stallion.  He wore a silver shiny robe and pointy hat that covered his balding head.  He styled a brown goatee with brown eyes that were slightly slanted.  He had in his hand his powerful staff made of solid steel with a spherical object on the top.  Inside the sphere rest a powerful gem that is the root of Makai’s power.  It has been rumored that Makai has been alive since the beginning of the Eternal Wars.  Makai was born and raised in the arctic mountains of Shan.  It was a frigid frosty place to live but it was the best place to develop as a wizard.  Makai stayed in the frozen tundra for the most of his life under the command of BalthaZar one of the greatest wizards that ever lived.  Makai has been in many battles throughout his life but the one that always follows him around is when dueled against Riri.

Riri was a sorceress that learned from the great Balkan and lived in the volcanic mountains of Magnaen.  They met when they were apprentices.  Balkan and BalthaZar were best friends and treated each other as brothers.  Soon after Riri and Makai met they became best friends too.  They had many great adventures together and soon fell in love.  They were a dynamic couple with great potential to be the best.  It was apparent that Riri had greater skills early on when she saved Makai from being killed by Zema an evil sorceress from the south that had powerful thunder magic.  Everything was perfect until one day a chain of events completely severed their love.  What started the chain of events was the death of Balkan and BalthaZar.  Makai blamed Balkan and Riri blamed BalthaZar.  No one knows the truth.  That was the beginning of the end.  Makai always thought of Riri.  He couldn’t help it, he felt guilty as he marched on with the knights. 

They were escorting the women and children to sanctuary.  But most importantly they were guarding King Fernand’s wife Eliza and their baby son Prince Dario of Hiros sole heir to the throne of Hiros.  Dario carried a burden that many of us would not be able to fulfill.  He carried the responsibility of following his forefathers’ legacy.  A legacy that has withstood the test of time since the end of the Eternal Wars when the Zar first was raised high by the first ruler of Hiros.  Dario bares a secret mark on the palm of his left hand.  He was born with a symbol that looks like his family’s crest.  The symbol looked like a four-sided star.  It sorts of looks like an X since the star was angled.  No one knows what the symbol means but many speculate that it is a pathway of Dario destiny.

YOUR MAJESTY, A CREATURE of the sky is approaching, you need to pick up the pace, Makai said.

What are you suggesting?  That I abandon my people, Eliza asked.

"No!  I am just advising you the importance of your son’s destiny, Makai said.

I know, I know!  If we hurry we can make it to those woods, she interjected pointing west.

Renzo, Arton!  Lead the people into the woods and protect your queen and future king!  The rest come with me we need to stop Count Trigon, Makai yelled out.

AS MAKAI AND THE REST of the brave soldiers pursued their fate, King Fernand’s army is slowly decreasing one by one.  The once beautiful castle now became a cemetery of the remains of the King’s army.  Bodies and body parts laid everywhere with the occasional moan of a wounded soldier gasping his last breath of air, struggling to stay alive while others fought.  The gates of the second level momentarily protected King Fernand and his men while the dark forces were viciously destroying the double doors. 

Sire, what shall we do?  They are so many, said Sir Ector.

We can only retreat so much, eventually we’ll be trapped, shouted Sir Lin.

King Fernand stood tall and raised both of his hands holding his mighty sword and shield, Listen to me!  You all made an oath to your people and me.  If this is our last stand, we’ll so be it.  It is an honor to fight alongside you.  Death knocks on our door this very second, but it doesn’t mean we will go without a fight!  Are you with me?

A loud yes echoed throughout the room.  Whatever goes through these doors we will stand our ground.  Strike swift, strike hard, show them what Hiros is to us, King Fernand said as he raised the Zar and it began to glow.

The men bellowed out KAZAH when suddenly a burst of flames went through the doors breaking the barrier that separated these two forces.  That is when a creature from the underworld came barging in.  The creature was so tall it took about three full-grown men to reach its head and it was as wide as the double doors of the second level castle.  It charged King Fernand and swung his club.