NOVEL NEXT Chapter 22: Velena Ilagron
Lukas stumbled out of the portal with a splash, coughing up pond water and blinking rain out of his eyes. The downpour was intense, sheets of icy water slammed down from a sky so dark it might as well have been mourning the death of the sun.
The portal shimmered for a second above the rippling surface, then vanished with an anticlimactic pop, leaving nothing behind but the ridiculous fact that the mighty, dramatic exit from Linemall had landed them square in someone's backwater koi pond in the middle of a thunderstorm.
So much for a dramatic entrance.
Lukas wiped the rain from his face and saw that Katrina, Jesse and his property had all already passed out Had they been attacked? Were they dead?! Panic lanced through Lukas' chest as he knelt beside them, pressing two fingers to Katrina's neck and then to Jesse's. After making sure that they were still alive, he turned to see where the Kraken had floated off to and as he did, Lukas stumbled forward before collapsing to his knees. Waves of exhaustion seemed to wash over him, flooding all of his senses.
Now he knew why all of his companions had lost their consciousness.
His vision blurred and now each movement felt incredibly slow and uncoordinated.
Lukas was barely in control of his own body, as he tried to claw his way out of the pond to no avail.
All of a sudden the only thing he could think about was lying there and allowing himself to rest.
But he knew he could not.
The portal had brought them here in a split second, travelling thousands of miles in the blink of an eye. Lukas should have known that there was a price to being able to pull off such a feat, even with the involvement of magic. He just wished they had given him a heads-up about the price that came with stepping through that portal.
To make instant teleportation possible, it was clear to Lukas now that the portal had drawn on everything that they could offer. Nearly all of the magical energy from his Mana Pool had been drained, going even further to rip all of the physical vigour and stamina that he had within him to bring him from Linemall to what he assumed could only be the Kingdom of Ilagron.
Dread filled his gut as he groaned, all the muscles in his body screaming at him to stop moving and give it a rest. But he could not stop now, not when there was nothing to assure their safety in these foreign lands. Lukas did not think that the owner of this property would be very pleased to find three random strangers along with a humanoid octopus in their backyard.
As Lukas struggled to bring himself to his feet, he slipped on the rocks before crashing to the ground face first. He cried out in pain, as hopeless as ever. Lukas stared up at the large estate they had found themselves in and realized that there was nothing more he could do. His body refused to listen to him despite his internal pleas of desperation.
Lukas felt the weight of soaked clothes and sheer exhaustion dragging at his limbs like anchors. He tried crawling forward but it was pointless. His vision clouded at the edges, dark spots dancing in time with the pounding rain. Just as he began to lose his hold on his consciousness, a warm glow flickered through the storm—dim, golden, and impossibly out of place.
Lukas forced his eyes upward and saw her: a woman standing in the arched doorway of a distant estate, a flickering lamp held high against the storm.
The rain twisted the light and masked her face, turning her into a silhouette of flowing fabric and quiet stillness.
Lukas wanted to call out, to move, to do something, anything—but the world tilted and he crumpled into the mud with a quiet exhale, the storm swallowing him whole.
Lukas stirred to the soft crackle of a fire and the scent of something warm and spiced drifting through the air. He blinked slowly, disoriented, until the image of a hearth with orange flame dancing on hot coals came into focus.
He found that he was lying in a modest but clean bed, wrapped in thick woolen blankets, the weight of them oddly comforting. A small table beside him held a cup of iced water, still beaded with condensation, and a bowl of steaming soup that smelled faintly of smoked fish and herbs.
The room was old, its stone walls lined with weathered tapestries, shelves stacked with faded books and relics of a nobler past. And there, standing silently by the window, her back to the firelight was the same woman who he'd seen before he passed out.
Immediately, his instincts screamed at him to be on guard. Enough Mana had gathered back within him such that he could draw on every single drop of water in the room he found himself in and they did; obeying his command in a single moment. The water flowed through the air before shaping itself into a sharp blade of liquid which hovered inches away from the woman's neck.
The woman flinched and turned around to face Lukas, taking a tentative step back away from the blade till she had her back against the window. She was tall, draped in a dark sea-green gown that clung to her like the tide. Her silver-streaked hair was braided down one shoulder, the kind of braid worn by women who worked with their hands, not for beauty but for practicality.
Her skin bore the weathered grace of someone carved from wind and salt—creased gently around the eyes, but still commanding. Her eyes, when she turned, were like storm glass: pale gray, unreadable, but holding the quiet strength of crashing waves held just barely at bay.
The woman reminded him of Lady Kaitlyn Drakos, those eyes bore grief immeasurable yet it bore the regality and strength of a hard-headed ruler.
"Who are you?" Lukas asked, his eyes narrowing as he finally noticed that he was alone in this room. "Where are my companions?" He tried to keep his cool but was unable to hide the hint of worry which creeped into his voice.
She eyed the blade of water that threatened to cut through her neck at a moment's notice and raised her hands in clear surrender.
"My name is Velena. Velena Ilagron. Your companions are fine. Katrina and Jesse…they are in the kitchen, helping me prepare for supper. They tell me your name is Lukas. Certainly a strange bunch, you folks don't look like you're around here. Travellers I presume?" The woman seemed surprisingly calm for someone being held at knife point.
Lukas relaxed but only slightly, still keeping the blade of water at the ready.
Words meant nothing but her knowing his name did give him some assurance that his people were safe.
And Ilagron...this woman bore the name of the same Kingdom that the portal had brought them to. She must have been a member of the Royal Family.
"You are...quite the skilled mage. But I would like it if you tried not to kill me. Would it be too much to ask that you put that away so that we can go join your friends downstairs?"
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Lukas eyed her suspiciously only for a few moments before finally giving in.
The blade of water shifted into the shape of a ball before being plopped back into the cup that had been set on the table beside his bed. At the very least, Lukas now knew that his skill over the Divinity of the Seas had certainly improved.
Velena smiled and gestured at the pile of clothes that she had set at the foot of the bed. "Change into those when you are ready. Dinner will be served in around twenty minutes. It is a pleasure to meet you, Lukas. Join us when you are ready."
Lukas was not sure what to make of Velena Ilagron. The woman did not seem like she posed a threat to them but Lukas could never be sure. Just like the Lady Kaitlyn had warned them, he had no idea what it was like outside of Linemall but with some of his strength having returned to him, Lukas would be ready for whatever came their way.
But he was also hungry and he did need to get something to sate his appetite. And Lukas was gorydamn sure that this small bowl of stew would be no where enough to curb his hunger. So Lukas made his way downstairs, each step slow and cautious, the wooden floorboards creaking softly beneath his bare feet.
The estate was quiet, eerily so. Empty halls stretched before him, lined with dusty portraits and faded banners that hinted at a forgotten grandeur, the kind that time had no patience for. It reminded him of the abandoned palace he had awoken in.
It did not seem like there was anybody else in here except for Velena herself. The rooms remained startlingly empty, any indication of other residents in the house remained absent.
At the end of the hallway, just before the staircase curved down, Lukas caught familiar voices drifting up from below.
As he descended the wooden steps, he found Katrina already at ease, her damp blonde curls tied back, legs crossed comfortably in front of her as she chomped on a slice of grilled trout; laughing softly at something Jesse had clearly not found funny. Jesse sat stiffly across from her, eyes still scanning the room like a soldier waiting for the other boot to drop, his spoon dipped into a thick stew but untouched.
When the young dragonborn saw Lukas, Jesse immediately stood and made his way over to him; terribly glad to see that he was finally awake.
"Where's the…Kraken?" Lukas whispered to the boy.
"Is that what you call him? The Kraken, huh? Haven't seen a Beastkin quite like him. He's back in the pond. He was far too huge for me to haul back into the estate. Went back to check on him and he seemed plenty satisfied staying in the pond." Velena answered, which made Lukas raise an eyebrow.
The woman definitely had a bloody good set of ears on her. Lukas would have to be careful what he wanted to say when she was around.
It was a good thing that Velena assumed that the Kraken was just another one of the Beastkin and he figured anyone else would do the same. Lukas had thought they would have to hide the giant humanoid to prevent the wrong kind of attention falling on them.
Guess he had been worried for nothing knowing that the Kraken could just pass off as just another traveler from the Kingdom of Khaitish.
The dining table was simple but welcoming—laden with bowls of clam chowder thick with roots and seaweed, fried sardines served with tart berry compote, and warm flatbread dusted with salt and dried herbs. Katrina was already eating and so was Velena. Seeing that Velena herself was happily indulging in the food set out for them, Lukas figured that it was not laced with something unwanted. And Lukas was starving. He nodded at Jesse, assuring the young dragonborn that it was safe here. At least for the time being.
They would eat and be grateful for the food by making sure they did not leave a single crumb on the table.
As the meal went on and the firelight painted soft shadows across the stone walls, the tension slowly unraveled into lively conversation. Between spoonfuls of chowder and bites of salted fish, Velena enlightened Lukas on where the portal had brought them to.
A lot had changed since the Kingdom of Dragons had closed its borders to the outside world.
The woman had actually laughed out loud when Lukas asked if they were in the right place, if they were really in Ilagron Kingdom. It was a good thing that he did ask because her answer allowed him to understand a bit more about today's day and age beyond the borders of Linemall.
"We were once one of the Four Great Kingdoms of Humanity," she told him, staring into her cup. "Many centuries ago, it was our fleets that ruled the coastlines and it was our ships that fed half of Hiraeth. But we sided with the dragons during the Great War and we paid the price. We surrendered when it was clear the war had been lost and most of our territories were claimed by the Nozar Kingdom. They allowed the Ilagron Family to continue ruling as nobility but we have become nothing more than an earldorm; banished to this island in the middle of the seas. It has been this way for centuries now. Have you all been living under a rock? I did not think the Khaitish were so incredibly closed off from the rest of the world."
So there were only Three Great Kingdoms of Humanity now; Khaitish, the Land of the Beastkin followed by the Kingdoms of Nozar and Easthaven.
"We haven't exactly had the luxury of keeping up with the finer details of post-war politics. In fact, the Great War is taboo to bring up in Khaitish. Our people avoid talking about it like the plague." Lukas glanced briefly at Katrina and Jesse, indicating that they should let him do the talking. The two younglings took the hint, simply nodding along despite having no idea what he was on about.
"We barely know anything about what happened during the war, let alone about what happened to Ilagron. Not in any real way. Just rumors. Many back home act as if the Great War never even happened." Lukas hoped that explanation was convincing enough.
Velena's eyes flickered with a mix of understanding and something sharper, a glint of old pain.
"Taboo, huh? I suppose it is easier to pretend," she paused, her gaze turning distant, her fingers tapping idly on the armrest of her chair. "Ilagron wasn't the only Kingdom that fell during the Great War, y'know."
Lukas knew she was talking about Linemall but he did not dare say another word.
Velena let out a soft sigh, standing up from the table with a graceful but weary movement. "I think it's time I head in for the night," she told them, her voice carrying the quiet finality of someone accustomed to long, solitary hours.
The woman began to gather the empty plates, her movements methodical, as if the rhythm of cleaning up for herself was a part of the day-to-day lives. Not something that would be a part of a noble's life, not when they should have servants to tend to them.
"The storm's not letting up so you're welcome to stay the night. The weather has not been kind to Ilagron...for years now. In fact the seas have not been kind to anyone in the past few years. You're welcome to stay for the night," Velena added, glancing over her shoulder with a half-smile.
The three of them thanked her graciously and even offered to help with the dirty dishes, yet Velena refused; telling them she would be a bad host if she allowed her guests to do such a thing.
As they stood to leave, Velena paused at the doorway to the dining room; it seemed that she still had something she had to tell them.
"Just so you know, there's nothing much to see in Ilagron Village." She looked over her shoulder at them as she spoke, her eyes shadowed. "I would love for you all to stay for as long as you like. It has been a long time since I've had good company. But I cannot with good conscious allow you to remain here any longer than you should. I highly suggest you three take your octopus friend and leave this village by the end of the week."
Her words hung in the air like a warning.
Lukas sensed there was something deeper. "And what exactly happens at the end of the week?"
Velena turned fully towards them and gave them a grim smile.
"At the end of this week, this estate will no longer be under my ownership. It will likely fall into the hands of debt collectors and this village itself will cease to exist. By the end of this week, the Ilagron Family will no longer be fit to rule. And when that time comes, Nozar will claim this land as their own. And believe me when I say that they don't take as kindly to strangers. In fact, they have a particular distaste towards your friend over in the pond."
"And what will happen to you?" Katrina asked, concerned. She didn't like what she was hearing.
"Me? You shouldn't worry about me, sweet child. This is my home. And it always will be. I'll go down with Ilagron Village as its Countess. I will fight with my dying breath even if it means standing against the Kingdom of Nozar alone."