Beast Shifter

By Peter Slivka

After months of fear, the kingdom is thrown into turmoil as the prophecy comes to pass. War has come to Enpherium and the future of the kingdom rests on the shoulders of one powerful person; but he doesnt even know it yet.

Eldridge is a sixteen year old with a rare gift, the ability to shift his form into any creature real or imagined. His powers are unlocked with war on his doorstep and instinct takes over as he defends the kingdom from the army of controlled creatures sent by an evil sorcerer. But as the conflict increases he must struggle against greater foes, as his gift take its toll on him and leaves him exhausted, right before the final and greatest battle.
The kingdom unites and splits into groups to tackle small quests with one goal in mind; defend the kingdom from the continued onslaught, while searching for the legendary source of power able to reenergise Eldridge in time to take on the final threats.
Sometimes it takes a support team, sometimes just one boy.
Eldridge is that boy. He is the Beast Shifter.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris AU
• Release date: May 30, 2014
• ISBN: 9781499000795

Peter Slivka

Peter Slivka is a young freelance writer situated in South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. An avid reader and book specialist at his local retail store, he is surrounded by books day and night. His favourite Genre is Fantasy fiction, which lead him to write Beast Shifter.

Book preview

Copyright © 2014 by Peter Slivka.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2014906752

ISBN:      Hardcover      978-1-4990-0079-5

                Softcover        978-1-4990-0080-1

                eBook             978-1-4990-0081-8

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 04/14/2014

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris LLC

1-800-455-039

www.xlibris.com.au

[e-mail]

616888

Contents

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Epilogue

Dedication:

This book is dedicated to all those who helped make it happen.

To my teachers, who inspired my love of writing and set my imagination free.

My friends, who supported me through thick and thin; forcing me to continue writing because they wanted to know what came next.

And finally my family; without you I wouldn’t be who I am and none of this would’ve happened.

Thank you all for your contribution and thank you to the publishers and readers for making this dream a reality.

Prologue

S he tossed and turned, the images playing over in her mind. She turned with a start, a large crashing boom echoed around the kingdom. Towers were toppling, smoke billowing thickly from the ever increasing fires. There was movement to her left as something blurred past her. Chaos erupted on the streets, people running, being chased; a mass of movement. She didn’t know what it was, she couldn’t see that much. But she did know where she was. She looked down to her feet, to the burnt sign in the mud. Ayevid it read.

Ayevid was the kingdom of the west, and ally to Enpherium; the kingdom she lived in. She had never been to Ayevid, but had always wanted to; it was too late now, she would never have a chance. The ground shook. The palace loomed over the crumbling kingdom, one of the last structures untouched. The outer walls were the first things that she saw fall. The houses and smaller buildings were next to go, burnt down impossible quick. She couldn’t understand how this was possible. The kingdom was falling incredibly quickly before her eyes; the military men unable to do anything to slow it down.

The earth shook. She could still see the palace through the smoke and haze, and she watched on in horror as it began to fall. Towers collapsed into themselves, throwing dust and debris into the air. The sound was deafening. The palace slowly fell, piece by piece, until there was nothing that she could see left. The smoke was too thick now to see through. Her heart began beating faster, her breathing short and difficult. Her vision faded, and she dropped with a thud into the dirt.

Her eyes shot open, and she sat up in bed panting; feeling nauseous. It was difficult to breathe, and she couldn’t see; it was too dark. She took a deep breath and tried to calm down and regain her senses. She slipped out of bed, tightening her nightgown and threw on her slippers. It was the first week of spring and there was still a chill in the air. She found a candle by memory and lit it. She left her hut and all but ran to the castle.

She reached the stairs and began to climb them, heading to the main entrance, where the night guards stood silently. The guards, who were quite used to her night time disturbances, saw her coming and were immediately alert. One ran off to send for The Queen, while the other waited for her, to guide her through the castle. It wasn’t uncommon for her strength to suddenly fail her after such a vivid vision. They reached the back of the main hall just as The Queen and guard burst through the door. They were followed by a few elderly men, who seemed quite upset at being awoken. These were the members of the high council; they were second in control, making decisions for the kingdom whenever The Queen was absent.

What is it? The Queen burst, her voice heavy with sleep and anxiety.

I saw Ayevid! she gasped in reply, It was destroyed. She finished before her legs went weak and she fainted.

She regained consciousness quickly. A man stood above her, gently dabbing her forehead with a damp cloth. She was now lying over several chairs in the throne room. The man stepped back and helped her to sit up. In the middle of the room, The Queen was standing next to an octagonal table. She was surrounded by the entire high council, those farthest from The Queens room having finally made it down. There were many furrowed brows and baggy eyes, as they spoke over a map of the land.

She got up and approached the table. The Queen looked up at her, and so too did a few of the high councillors. There were 13 of them in total; all elderly noblemen. The man who had been looking over her, The Queens physician, had left the room. The High Council was officially in session, and few people had the privilege to be able to be in the throne room while they were in session. She was one of those people; others were the five military leaders, visiting diplomats when directly invited, and anyone else expressly invited by The Queen or High Council members.

We sent scouts out immediately after you informed us. The Queen explained, Hopefully the events haven’t transpired yet, and we are able to warn the people of Ayevid. It will take several days by horseback to reach Ayevid along the Agoran Road; several more for them to return. We have begun preparation for both scenarios. It will be sunrise shortly. You must return to your hut now before the rest of the kingdom awakens. We wish to keep this a secret for as long as we can. Have I made myself clear?

Quite, your majesty. She replied, "Understood; it will be done.

She left the room as the group continued planning, making her way back to her hut. She passed through the main entrance and looked at the guards, they were different to the ones who had escorted her in. They gave a simply nod and she smiled politely and carried on.

The sky was slowly lightening as the sun slowly breached the horizon. Another night was over and the sounds of the day began. A couple of houses had light coming from withing as the trades men began their days. She hurried into her hut and shut the door. She kicked her slippers off and lay down on her bed, staring at the ceiling.

Chapter One

E ldridge awoke one morning to the sound of shouts and bells. He ran his hand through his shaggy sandy brown hair; a striking contrast to