Isle of Wysteria: Throne of Chains Read online

  Contents

  Acknowledgments

  The story so far:

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Isle of Wysteria:

  Throne of Chains

  By Aaron Lee Yeager

  This book has DVD extras. When you are done reading be sure to go to www.IsleOfWysteria.com for Bonus chapters, Bloopers and Outtakes, Cast and Crew Commentary, and leave a question for your favorite character to answer.

  Follow me on facebook and twitter to receive updates on new books and events:

  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Aaron-Lee-Yeager/282416035209232

  https://twitter.com/AaronLeeYeager

  Acknowledgments

  Wow, here we are, the final book in the series. What a wild, wild ride this has been, and there are so many people to whom I am indebted that bolstered me up and brought me to this point. Rather than list them all like I normally do, I’m going to put the focus on just one of them. My wife.

  People often ask me what is the secret to my success, and I always tell them the same reason: I married the right woman. My wife is the most amazing wonderful companion I could ever hope for. I can honestly say she is the most perfect match for me there could be. There is no one who could ever take her place. Every good thing in my life that I have, I have because of her.

  Isle of Wysteria is easily the most intimate series I have ever written. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sat back and thought, “Wow, I don’t know if I want people knowing this much about me.” In many ways, it has ended up being a kind of journal for me.

  Obviously, I am not Athel, but if you know Athel’s journey, you also know me. Her story is my story. A fictionalized and fantastical version, to be sure, but my story nonetheless.

  I hope knowing that doesn’t ruin it for anybody. I know some people don’t like to peek behind the curtain, or know the magician’s tricks. They enjoy not knowing. If you are one of those people, just assume I was kidding and enjoy the story as if I never said it. J

  Hmmm…I need to fill out a couple more paragraphs to make this seem more legitimate. Something light. Um…well, how are you guys…doing? Good? Oh, good, that’s good. Everything’s good. Super…good. Sometimes I want to spell it guud, cause that’s how I say it, but my editor won’t let me. She also insists that I can’t make up words, and I’m like, “what’s the point of writing fiction if I can’t make up words? Lerf, hruuun, mala’krr? Amiright? I know, right? It’s hard to know when to capitalize made-up words. Is mala’Krr capitalized like this because it’s a proper name? I dunno, I’ll ask my editor, she’ll know. She likes answering questions like that.

  I’m kind of hungry for hamburgers right now. You know, steakhouses always have the best hamburgers. I know you’re supposed to order a steak, but I usually get a burger, because they’re freaking awesome, and they’re usually only like ten bucks compared to like a 25 dollar steak. I’m getting kind of spoiled. There was a time when I thought a Whopper was a great burger, now I can’t stand them…okay, well I can stand them, I just want something better. I can’t really enjoy fast food burgers anymore, I need real steakhouse burgers. So, keep buying my books so I can eat real burgers, okay? Thanks. My tummy thanks you, from the bottom of its…tummy?

  Wow, that didn’t take up as much space as I thought it would. So….how are the kids? Great…great…glad to hear it. If I just keep writing like this will you keep reading it? One of these days I’m going to just cut and paste some public domain document into the acknowledgements to see if anyone notices. Like the Magna Carta…okay, I don’t actually know if that is public domain or not. I suppose I could ask my editor. I’d look it up on my iPhone, but then I’d lose my spot on the anime show I’m watching and I’ll have to find it again. What show? Glad you asked. My Love Story. It’s one of the cutest and most adorable love stories I’ve ever seen. Both the guy and the girl are so pure-hearted, it is just a joy to watch. You should check it out.

  Well poo, now I’ve made this way too long. I supposed I could edit it down but…

  Dedicated to Stephen

  The story so far:

  After years of scheming and preparing, even going so far as to bribe the sexy palace guard Privet, to train her in swordplay, Athel Forsythia renounces her claim to the throne and escapes from her forest homeland of Wysteria to join the federal navy, only to be stopped by her mother the Queen, who allows her to leave with an impossible caveat: She must take her new fiancé with her.

  Alder is everything she didn’t want in a husband; short, bony, and formal, but she drags him along anyway so she can wallow in her newfound freedom. They are assigned to the Dreadnaught, along with Spirea Sotol, the only member of a criminal family being prosecuted by the authorities back on Wysteria to have escaped. The crew of the Dreadnaught is odd, but welcomes them, until they discover that her captain has been captured, and they hatch an unusual plan to free him. While helping the Dreadnaught crew, Athel discovers that they are not freeing him from pirates, but from a navy prison.

  Revealing themselves as ex-pirates, the crew of the Dreadnaught takes them along to Umor Guild headquarters, where they plan to return to their old ways. While there, Spirea betrays Athel and reveals her royal status, earning her a seat on the Guild Council again, but condemning Athel to being a hostage.

  But it was the pirate Guild itself that was beguiled. The Dreadnaught crew put them all to sleep with an ensorcelled brew, and turn them in to the federal authorities in return for having their records expunged. Athel is freed, and is prepared to leave the treacherous Spirea behind, but Alder pleads for her life to be spared.

  Spirea cannot understand why Alder would stick up for her, nor can she comprehend why he is so nice to her, even as she insults and mistreats him. For the first time in her life, someone has treated her with kindness, and she does not know how to respond. Despite her resistance, she begins to fall in love with Alder, and that terrifies her.

  As they travel to Thesda, Spirea hatches a plot to force Athel to sell Alder to her, but the plot backfires, and her tree, Sumac, rejects Alder. Nevertheless, she continues to pine after him, even though she can no longer marry him.

  At Thesda, Athel uncovers a sinister plot. People are being kidnapped in broad daylight and shipped away to places unknown. Along with Spirea, she leads a team to capture those responsible, but they are defeated, and both of them are infected with a magical spell that begins altering their personalities.

  Back on Wysteria, Athel’s mother and the other leaders are summoned inside the royal tree, where they make a startling discovery. The acidic seas are eroding the edges of all the islands in the world. If something is not done to stop it, all dry land will disappear. But, as she contacts the Stone Council, she finds their reaction to the news troublingly blasé. Fearing for what is to come, she dispatches Privet to find Athel and bring her home.

  Meanwhile, Athel finds herself forming an unlikely friendship with Spirea, but before they can overcome their families’ rivalries, Spirea is captured by the authorities and sentenced to be returned to Wysteria, where she will surely be executed.r />
  Not willing to leave her to her fate, Athel and the Dreadnaught crew hatch an unusual plan. They travel to Stretis, with the intention to steal the Eye of the Storm necklace, an heirloom of the throne which will grant royal status to anyone crafty enough to claim it. More importantly, it also conveys diplomatic immunity.

  They all pitch into the ill-conceived plan and Athel finds herself growing jealous of the way women are fawning over Alder as he plays his part. The magics they unleash go completely haywire, and in the confusion, they manage to make off with the necklace.

  As they travel back to Thesda to present the necklace to Spirea and save her life, Athel’s behavior becomes bizarre. She fawns over Alder, takes up the cooking and the cleaning, and begins wearing a maid’s outfit. By the time Privet catches up with them, she is almost unrecognizable as the person they knew.

  Alder finds himself conflicted. He is falling for Athel, and feels guilty because he knew something was wrong, but was too pleased by her attentions to say anything. Luckily, Privet realizes what spell is upon her, and they are able to restore her just in time to get the terrible news: Athel’s mother is desperate to warn everyone about the advance of the seas, and in protest of the Stone Council’s attempts to silence her, she formally withdraws Wysteria from the League.

  They reach Thesda, but it is too late for Spirea. Her family’s curse, which passes along a demon, possessing each head of the household in turn, has fallen upon her, and she is utterly consumed and replaced by the dark presence. They discover this has been happening for generations to her ancestors, but something is different this time. The spell cast upon her and Athel has interfered with the transfer, and a sliver of her remains within. Athel and the others take her to the man who placed the spell on them, and forces him to modify it, allowing the real Spirea to slowly replace the demon which has possessed her.

  Athel decides to stop fawning over Privet and propose to him. Alder helps, even though his feelings for her are blossoming into love. He decides that he wants her to be happy, even if it is not with him, and gives his all in preparation of the courtship dinner.

  Athel proposes to Privet, and although he does have feelings for her, his own emotional scars and trauma of the past get the better of him, and he rejects her. Athel is deeply hurt. As Alder consoles her, she begins to truly appreciate his companionship, and the seeds of her own feelings for him begin to grow.

  When an agent of the Kabal that controls the Stone Council captures the crew of the Dreadnaught, they find themselves utterly powerless to stop her. She casts a dark spell on many of them, bringing out their deep, hidden feelings. When she casts it on Captain Evere, it reveals that he deeply hates his wife’s people for what they did to him. When she casts it on Privet, it reveals that while he is strong physically, he is a coward inside.

  The agent Mandi casts it on Alder, expecting him to murder Athel for all the mistreatment he endured as her slave, but instead he manifests pure love for her. Shocked, Mandi stumbles and falls to her death, and Alder kisses Athel, who finally opens up her heart and realizes that she loves him, too.

  Athel and Alder are married through her tree, Deutzia. During the wedding Spirea wakes up; the demon inside of her thrashing about in confusion as its memories merge with hers. It escapes the Dreadnaught and leaves, taking the Eye of the Storm with it.

  Fearing for her friend, Athel sent Tigera, the man whose magic resided in Spirea, to find her and continue to make adjustments to the spell in the hopes that the real Spirea would eventually reemerge.

  Making good on its threats, the Stone Council gathered together a massive fleet of ten thousand airships to attack Wysteria. Caught behind enemy lines, Athel and the Dreadnaught crew embark on a desperate plan to destroy a secret communications tower that would force the fleet to withdraw and regroup. The forest of Wysteria fought valiantly to defend itself. Even the goddess Milia manifested to protect her children, and during the fight she was wounded to the point of death.

  Athel’s plan worked, and with the tower out of commission, the fleet temporarily withdrew, leaving a crippled forest behind. Deciding to take back the initiative, Athel and her mother devised a daring plan to stage a raid against the federal treasury in an attempt to bankrupt the navy into calling off the offensive. Gathering together the leaders of the largest pirate guilds on Aetria, including the conniving Setsuna, they emptied the vaults, only to be trapped inside with the authorities quickly approaching. Setsuna and Privet fought an honor duel, which he won, forcing her to help them escape, and unwittingly becoming her fiancé according to the laws of her people.

  Through their actions in the tower and the vaults, they came to the horrible realization that the magic used to make airships fly and communicate over vast distances was actually void magic, created by sacrificing living souls. They also discovered that ruper spice was the means by which the Kabal were harvesting those souls.

  In an attempt to cut down the flow, they ventured to the dangerous dragon isles, only to be attacked by the dragons themselves. Learning that the dragons were being hunted by the Stonemasters, they fought to free them, and led the dragons on a raid, destroying the enormous facility that manufactured the spice to begin with.

  Back on Wysteria, things were falling apart. Athel’s mother had fallen into a coma, and her older sister’s madness led her to squander away their resources and resolve in her absence. Despite their economic collapse, the Stone Council managed to force the navy to return to Wysteria, unpaid, unsupplied, and starving, with orders to destroy it utterly.

  As Athel returned to her homeland, the Stormcallers of Stretis, in a particular act of cruelty, conjure up a tidal wave that hit Wysteria’s east coast, destroying huge swaths of the forest and several cities. Athel arrived to find her homelands in ruin, her people scattered, her hopes dashed.

  Making the ultimate sacrifice, Athel entered a cocoon and fused with the forest, becoming the new Queen. She emerged, rallying her people, and pushing back the weary and exhausted attackers, and infecting them with a plague that could not be easily cured without the Wysterians’ ability to grow massive amounts of special healing herbs.

  When the Stone Council denied the navy’s repeated requests to pull away and heal themselves, and realizing that their own lands were in danger of falling into the sea, their morale broke, and more than half crossed the line, pledging their allegiance to the newly formed Wysterian Alliance, and giving the island such a huge influx of warships and personnel that further attack became impossible, effectively ending the invasion.

  On the eve of victory, Athel and Alder were present for the birth of their first daughter, born through her tree, Deutzia. However, as the fruit is picked and the baby removed from within, they discover that it is not a daughter, but a son.

  Athel finds herself overwhelmed with duties as she tries to find a way to save her family and heal the seas. She presents a plan to the world leaders to form a joint task force to attack the Stone Council in their fortress the Monolith. But, the Stonemasters’ defenses are brutally effective, and casualties could be extremely high. To minimize the death toll, Athel proposes creating synthesis, merging their different magical specialties together to create weapons and devices that can defeat the defenses of the Monolith. The world leaders are reluctant to engage in such a taboo, and many walk away at the mere suggestion of it.

  But a few are willing to try, and Athel faces the daunting task of teaching different races that have been at war for centuries to set aside their differences and work together. Those are not her only troubles. The women of Wysteria grow ever more resentful of the foreigners living on their soil, and the men begin to chafe as they see their former enemies treated far better than they are.

  What’s worse, the High Priestess of the Church of Milia believes that Athel’s son may be some kind of demon, and when Ash manifests the ability to destroy trees simply by touching them, that fear seems all but confirmed
.

  Unwilling to allow her son to be killed, Athel suggests a compromise, digging into the archives and scriptures to discover the truth about Ash’s abilities. But, the more they dig, the more riddles they uncover. Though the church opposes the very thought of it, it appears that the men of Wysteria may have, at one point in the past, had their own magic, and their own god as well. Athel and Alder even find an inner sanctuary beyond the holiest place within the royal tree. A place only reachable by a husband and wife together.

  When a series of terrorist attacks begin mortally wounding the trees of the forest, Athel fights to keep the peace. The women of Wysteria are quick to blame the foreigners, but the truth ends up being even more problematic. The men of Wysteria, encouraged by Queen Sotol, are hurting the trees, secretly forming a rebellion against the women to protest their harsh treatment and perpetual slavery.

  Amid all of these dangers, Privet presses Athel to pursue a romantic relationship with her. Though she desperately wants to return his feelings, she fears that indulging in selfish interest will only threaten the peace further. When an emotional outburst from her nearly causes an island to leave the Alliance, her fears are confirmed.

  Afraid of her own feelings, she sends Privet away on a mission to secure more fresh water. Setsuna accompanies him, and takes full advantage of the opportunity, treating Privet to romantic dinners, freeing his brother Dwale from slavery, even going so far as to purchase a mountain manor and a hereditary title for both Privet and Dwale, making them full citizens of Ronesia, so that they might never be put into slavery again.

  Though he finds himself growing ever more fond of Setsuna, Privet’s heart belongs to Athel, and he decides to return, breaking Setsuna’s heart in the process.

  With Alder’s help, Privet creates a proposal dinner for Athel. She resists, trying to lock away and bury her feelings, but the power of his heart overwhelms her, and she gives in, finally admitting how much she loves him, and getting engaged, despite all of the political problems she fears will occur.