Autumn's Outcast: Rise of Fall, #1

By Jeremy Graves

In a world of magic, dragons, and spirits of power, sixteen-year-old Claire serves as the feared and hated heir to a crumbling throne. In the dark of the night, a sinister force takes her mother, the queen that protects her people. Claire must travel untamed lands armed only with the very powers that her own people fear and a temperamental little brother who carries his own scars. They must face ancient threats to find the queen their people desperately need to survive.
Can she return her mother to the throne? Will her people wither without a powerful ruler?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jeremy Graves
• Release date: Dec 1, 2020
• ISBN: 9781954298002

Book preview

Autumn’s Outcast

The Rise of Fall – Book 1

WRITTEN BY

Jeremy Graves

The story continues…

Autumn’s Outcast

Winter’s Challenge

Spring’s Contest

Summer’s War

Wyld Fire

And More…

Copyright © 2020 by Decharlathan Publishing, LLC.

All rights reserved. First Printing Edition, 2020

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

ISBN: 978-1-954298-01-9

Cover design by Chiara N. Monaco

Special thanks to:

Nicole Young – Developmental Editing

Sam at thpeditingservc – Proofreading & Editing

Catherine Graves – Line Editing

Charlotte Graves – Alpha Reading & Development

Rebecca Cunningham – Beta Reading

Teresa Wheeler – Beta Reading

Gabe Wheeler – Beta Reading

For Charlotte,

The princess of our little kingdom.

Join us on the web site to browse upcoming volumes and receive our newsletter. Enjoy full color maps and sign up to receive a free e-book of the first short story in the series at…

www.decharlathan.com

Chapter 1

She was old. Ancient by some standards. Yet the tall woman strode through the workshop with almost otherworldly grace. Perfect features of ageless beauty wrinkled in a frown as she approached her partner in this endeavor. The short round man did not look up from his work, her presence was expected, but he was so focused on his task that he did not register that she had joined him. The enchanting appearance of such a woman had little effect on him, less so when he was this close to his goal.

She clicked the toe of her shoe in impatience as she waited to be acknowledged, a pale, slender hand brushed back the long black hair from her lovely face. While the short man still did not look up, he spoke in the tone he took when wanting others to understand his genius.

Ze task is nearly complete, the weave of spirit in zis device is quite intricate.

She frowned once again, his nerve in summoning her before it was time evident in her features. There was no one to observe her disdain, the man was still enthralled in his work, and no one else was there to know or care. The movement all around her was by things that had long stopped caring about such things. This was a dead world, and as far as she knew, only two beings were able to survive in such a place. Another tap of her toe failed to convey her anger, and so she decided to be more direct with her displeasure. Before she could do so, there was a shrill hiss, and a disconcerting pop assaulted her as the door to another world opened. The workshop was illuminated by a faint purple light as the portal stabilized to a low humming noise. Her partner grinned wide, looking up for the first time. His words were an excited whisper.

It is done, make ready as ze doorway is draining ze stored power quickly.

Wenette turned a perfect face to look into the large bed-chamber. The room had once been hers, though she had furnished it much more extravagantly. The corner of her mouth twisted into something resembling a smile though her eyes darted around wildly. She motioned the golems through the portal as she hissed, I will take back what is mine.

***

Of all the things that wore on the sleepy teenage girl, mornings were among the worst. The noise that crashed through her like a thunderclap did not seem quite real at first. Boom... Boom... BOOM... The sounds echoed through the room, startling the girl and putting her in a terrible mood. Claire! she heard the voice shout. She knew the voice. What she was having trouble bringing into focus was the tone. She had known the sound of her brother yelling much better than she wished, but she had never heard him panic before. Ever. She was pretty sure he was not smart enough to be afraid.

CLAIRE HELP! he called. She snapped to attention and ran to the door, bare feet silent on the red stone. She didn't bother with dressing robes or stop to slick down the dark brown hair that curled at her temples. The stone was cold, and the main halls were lit only by torchlight. Whispered voices assaulted her ears. ‘They are taking her.’ ‘Why are they taking her?’ ‘They must not take her away.’ Even the ghosts were in a panic. She reached the main corridor and hesitated, not knowing which way the sound was coming from. BOOM... She stopped to get her bearings. The next shout was one of rage, this was a more familiar tone for her brother to use. Let her go! she heard. BOOM... She realized it was coming from her parents' room. Why was Jack in there?

Neither of them was a stranger to that room. Their mother would often read them stories in there. Less so as she got older. I said, no! her brother shouted. BOOM... Her ghosts were leading her now, the iridescent glow of the forms was plain to her eyes. Even in the low light, she was running at full speed. She turned into her parents' room, just as her little brother flew backward through the open door. They slammed into each other with Jack bouncing up and running back in. He was in a pair of short trousers, and specks of wood and blood covered him. The room and hall were littered with red stone dust and chunks of strange tan stone. His dark, shaggy hair was damp with the sweat of his exertion. Eyes that generally were the color of hers now glowed with the flame that fueled his power. As he gained his footing, a small orange glow came from his right hand. He threw the globe as you would a stone. The explosion shook the room and deafened her. BOOM…

The sound had been annoying from her room. Standing this close, it stunned her sleepy mind. She had been hit with a brother and had explosions rack her brain several times in the less than a minute she had been awake. Forcing her mind to focus, she looked into the large room. The girl could just make out three large shapes carrying the unconscious form of her mother. They were moving toward a square of dark purple light rimming another place altogether. As another orange glow slammed against the legs of the nearest shape, the sound hit her just as tiny shards of stone stabbed at her face. BOOM... The ghosts said they were taking her. They were taking her mom.

Shards of stone… as she focused on the attackers and could see they were not human. She thought back to her books, her constant companions within the sanctum of her room. Men of stone, powered by a mixture of earth and change aspects, they had unwilling ghosts within them. The dead were within her power.

Terror and rage shared space in her mind, as she focused her emotion and panic into a scream, her power welling up inside her as she focused the banshee cry. She instinctively aimed it away from her brother and just over the body of her mother. The sound ripped through the two remaining golems as they fell lifeless to the floor, the ghosts animating the dead rock torn from them. They lay next to the still unconscious form of the only parent she had left in this world. She started to giggle through tear-filled eyes in terror and relief as she stumbled toward her mom… just as stone hands reached from inside the portal and swiftly pulled her mother through. She screamed again, but this time it passed through a quickly closing doorway. As the girl realized her mother was lost, she heard a cry of dismay from her brother that she now knew all too well.

***

Claire sat feeling alone and defeated. The morning was filled with the bustling of the handful of guards that roamed the Autumn Castle, known to most as the Blood Keep. The crimson stone that was mined for its construction came from the west, from a small mountain range known as the Bloodstone Hills. The castle was a decent reflection of the people guarding it.

Once the towering structure was filled with activity, but now the structure was practically falling apart. The magic that powered its upkeep must come from somewhere, and the Autumn kingdom was without any to spare. Entire wings of the already modest castle lay dormant, and even the rooms used by the royal family showed signs of wear. While the guest quarters were kept clean and ready, few remembered a visit of any real prestige. Though it was old, the design and original construction were quite sound. It was both defensible and stable, even if no standing army had been a part of the kingdom for many years. This attack was different and bypassed all those defenses.

She had given her version of events more than a few times. Her brother Jack knew much more about what happened. After all, he was the one who had woken her with his 'pops' and shouts of rage. The name 'pop' was appropriate when he was a toddler, and his little balls of fire would make a slight popping sound when they hit. Now they left her mostly deaf this morning, and she knew he had been holding back so as not to hit his mother. She sighed as the guard stood, waiting for an answer.

I was sleeping when I heard Jack blowing up the Keep. He seemed upset and was yelling, so I went to check on him. I came in to see those... golems carrying Mom away. We both fought, but they got to her anyway.

You fought? the guard said cautiously.

I screamed and ripped the ghosts out of them, she replied.

The man was pale, as every other person she had told had been. The guards had been patrolling the grounds and the main corridors. No one else had been in the east tower, there seemed to be no need. All entrances to the tower her family slept in were well patrolled, and no one was in the tower except her, her brother, and her... mom. The guards had heard Jack's explosions going off and had come to investigate. Upon hearing her scream, they hesitated, so afraid of the princess that some thought she might be the one attacking. Not that it would have mattered. Mom would still be gone.

Finally, Jack stormed into the room. He had grabbed a tunic, but it was draped over his shoulder as if he had forgotten to pull it over his head, and his feet were still bare on the chill stone. He never seemed to get cold, the little firebug. He walked up to the guard still standing over her and growled, If you think that my sister attacked your queen, then you are both wrong and in danger. He nodded once to Claire and walked away. She knew they would discuss this more in private.

The guards were not bad people, or particularly bad at being guards, but most held aspects of earth or water. Sons of farmers and laborers, they were there to find steady work more than to protect a monarch. The lone woman who wore the guard uniform, Bilney, was the only one to treat her like a person, really one of few people in the kingdom who would do so. The guard had the same gift as her queen mother, the spirit of Entropy. She could turn wood to dust with a touch or could age a person for decades in seconds. Once the guard had ripened an apple for her. She was compatible with the Autumn realm, and not many were. If Bilney had been of royal blood, she might have even been considered for the throne. The people might have put her there anyway if there would have been any point.

The kingdom was running itself to the degree that people mostly did as they pleased. The real point of a queen was to commune with the realm spirit. Dad had once told her the realm spirit was too proper to speak so informally with a man and would need a lady to be a deified handmaiden. Her dad had said many things that would get him in trouble if he was overheard.

Only women could truly be the true rulers of a kingdom. The realm that sat under the lands was fueled by the specific great spirit, each having an aspect of its power. Autumn was of the aspect of change and was only able to commune with a woman whose spirit was of the same. Either way, Bilney wasn't the one interrogating her, and these guys were making her mad enough to do what they were afraid of in the first place. She was just about to show she was getting angry, perhaps angry enough to scream. Sixteen autumns of life had mainly been spent having people cringe from her, and today the princess was not up to shrugging it off. Turns out, she didn't have to.

Mistress Norim glided into the room, turning heads as much with her lovely form as with her chiding words. You have had this poor girl long enough. After her ordeal this morning, you go poking her with your questions over and over. You… yes, you with the sword in your hand as if you were afraid of a frightened young girl, go summon the prince to the royal dining quarters. Princess Claire will walk with me, she said. She added as they walked away, I will try to keep you all safe from your own Maiden. Claire never turned around, but she could hear the shame in their footsteps as the guards went about their duties.

***

Jack was angry enough to weep flame as he heard a cautious knock on the door. The nervous guardsman passed Mistress Norim's message to him, nodded twice in deference, and made haste to whatever guards did this early. Jack wanted to chew him out, more for thinking the attack could have somehow been Claire's doing than for failing his post. As he walked to meet them for breakfast, he fumed to himself. Even at a young age, Jack was more of a threat than any of the guards, save the captain.

The head guard was his personal trainer, the man who kept the Keep in order, and his adopted uncle. He was a friend of Father's before they both made their way into the Autumn realm. Once, when he was very young, his father had introduced the man as Uncle Torg, and even when Jack was old enough to know this was not technically the case, he kept doing it. Partially because he knew Torg had no family save his own, and also because it made the other guards uneasy. Jack wished Torg had been present this morning, his skill with earth was still beyond Jack's own abilities with fire, even with his royal blood.

Claire, of course, referred to him as Guard Captain Torg, but she also had titles for doorknobs and writing quills. Ugh, what a proper pixie his sister was. He loved her but knew she would be useless at anything other than book stuff, at least he knew that until he saw her drop two of those things by yelling at them. It took him several hits to take one down, and he had almost been killed by the three he got. She got two, and he was quite sure she would have gotten as many as would have been standing there, but she held back because he was so close. He needed to rethink how he thought of his sister's abilities. Torg had said that war would come to Autumn in the coming years. They all needed to be ready.

As Jack entered what Mistress Norim deemed ‘The royal dining quarters,’ Jack glanced at the round table next to a small kitchen. Claire was sitting in her usual spot. She must have gotten ready in a hurry, her clothes and hair were almost as disheveled as his. This was saying something as he had picked his wardrobe up off the floor, taking time only to smell them to see if they had another day of wear left. She had been crying. He usually loved to tease and annoy his proper older sister. Still, he had scalded people, literally, for making her cry. Her streaked cheeks re-stoked his anger. Claire might be his only family now.

Mistress Norim brought him a plate and sat down with hers. He had always thought her lovely, her pale brown hair coming down to the middle of her back. She was slender, but her bearing and movement were strong and confident. As was typical, she wore a blue dress, the fabric light and flowing. While she would wear other colors, the naiad was mostly seen in blue.

She held her hands out and asked for them to commune in thanks to the great spirit of the realm. He sat silently while his nanny and second mother did so, but he never bothered. Fire aspects were incompatible with the great spirit of Autumn and he felt silly talking to himself. Claire said she could hear the great spirit whisper, but then Claire heard many whispers. The restless dead flocked to her like sprites to a cream dish, and he wondered what it would be like to have a head full of voices. He might spend his time in books too. Probably not, though.

You two have had a busy morning, Mistress Norim stated, no hint of the unsettling nature of the morning's events. Jackalane, would you be so kind as to tell me what you remember? she asked. Jack didn't care much for his full name, but she never seemed to care. He thought for a moment, putting events in order.

I couldn't sleep, I thought I would go outside and run with the ember sprites, he replied, looking down slightly as he spoke. At only thirteen autumns, he was not to leave the Keep after dark, but that's when the sprites were out, so it was not his fault. The little creatures of fire were drawn to him, and he loved to run among them. I walked near Mom and Dad's room on my way out. I heard stone scraping and got curious, Jack began to explain. He paused a moment, took a breath, and continued. I knocked to see if Mom was moving something, to see if she needed… help. You know about her nightmares...

I know them well enough. Go on, Mistress Norim encouraged.

Well, I knocked quietly, but no one answered. The scraping got faster, so I cracked the door to see what was going on, Jack got louder as the events replayed in his mind.

That's when I saw the big stone men, four of them. Mom was just waking up, and she used her power on them, but nothing happened. One of them put a cloth over her face, and she just went back to sleep. That made me angry. I started popping them, but they were so close to Mom. I was afraid I would hit her, so I threw little ones. It took three hits to stop the first one, two more came toward me, and the last carried her away, he recounted. Jack noticed his breathing had become short and rapid. He was feeling a similar feeling of panic as when it happened. He felt a touch on his arm and felt a calm wash over him.

Mistress Norim was good at that, he often got too worked up, and she could calm him with a light touch. As a water naiad, she could alter moods. The reason she was hired was on the chance that a fire aspect could be born. A fire spirit like his father, but after Claire came along, it was thought that she was an unneeded precaution. Then Jack was born, and she had had to put out fires in both his moods and his curtains. He also once blew up a bakery. It seemed the prince really wanted a cookie.

With his focus renewed, he finished his story. I think I would have gotten them all if more had not come through the portal. When I saw more coming, I yelled for Claire. I thought she could go get the guards, but man, she dropped two of them at once. Claire was a badass, Jack said and smiled with pride.

Language, Jackalane! Mistress Norim chided.

***

Norim took a deep breath, the stories matched what she suspected. She sure had tangled herself up with this family good. She initially took the job to get extra rations for her fellow naiads, and to take herself out of the competition for resources, times were tough. The queen and her consort were nice enough, but she was able to keep things professional for some time. Until the babies came… ah, how she loved them. So few of her kind were able to play the role of mother. Many would not want to, but she had relished every moment. Now they had lost their real mother, and Autumn had lost her queen.

Moreover, Claire was one of the few people she knew of that could become the next queen, change aspects were so rare, and no other great families were still in the kingdom. It wasn't just the children who were in trouble, the entire kingdom would be in for hard times. Norim was about to reassure the children she loved so much, but as her mouth opened to speak, it dropped wide as a large yellow cat with a streak of purple hair hopped from the open window to the table. There the feline promptly turned into a young, very naked girl with yellow blonde hair and a lock of purple hanging off to one side.

Norim looked around to make sure that she was not the only one who was seeing a nude girl on the breakfast table. Both children seemed as shocked as she felt. She quickly realized that this poor cat-girl was in bad need of some attire, it is, after all, bad manners to stand on a table naked, more so with a boy in the room. She urged Jack to give her his shirt. He did, averting his gaze when he realized he was staring. Poor guy, it was a spectacle that was hard to look away from, and she was proud of him.

The girl looked to be about seven autumns or so, though her complexion was too light to be peasantry. Also, she was a cat. Which meant less sun, or hunting at night, or eating birds and mice. Wow, she had tons of questions. Before she could ask any of them, Jack spoke first.

Why do you have some purple hair? Jack asked, still staring at the floor. The girl giggled as she pulled on the shirt, which for her came down to her knees. Then the girl hopped to the floor and pulled up a chair. Sitting down, her eyes barely cleared the table's surface, so she opted to sit up on her knees.

Is that really the first question you want to ask? she asked. The little girl smiled as she continued. With all that is going on, you want to know about my hair? Little Prince, you need to get your priorities straight. You have much to do, she said. She looked at the faces, still gaping at her appearance.

Perhaps introductions are in order. My name is Areena, and I am here to take you to the Oracle of Wreaths. We need to go and get your mother.

Both children were too stunned to respond. She, on the other hand, was not. While the girl seemed anything but dangerous, fae that got as old as she knew to be wary of appearances.

How did you get past the guards? she demanded.

Why, I walked, silly, she replied. Areena shook her head like it was the height of madness to not know how one got from one place to another. "I was sent here, and so here I