Can your greatest strength overcome your greatest weakness?
Derek and the triplets Ayla, Kaylee, and Joshua have known little beyond their uncle's secluded estate since their parents' death. Forbidden from venturing into the mysterious "Dark Place" on the estate, their curiosity leads them to unearth a portal to another world. They are transported to the enigmatic planet Veteris, where the godlike Children of Veteris amplify their innate strengths and weaknesses, granting them unimaginable abilities.
Stranded on this alien world, Derek must harness his newfound powers to navigate its perils, rescue Ayla who gets captured by a despotic, immortal queen, and find a path home. However, time is not on his side; Derek approaches his 18th birthday, and only children can survive in Veteris.
As they struggle to avoid capture and rescue Ayla, the Children of Veteris manipulate events to force a confrontation with the queen who they see as a threat to their survival and the survival of Veteris. This confrontation will decide Derek's fate and the destiny of every child on Veteris.
Laram ran blindly through the castle’s lower tunnels, fleeing deeper into the mountain. Boots scraped on stone, and the hushed voices of his pursuers echoed off the walls ahead of him. When a flicker of light pierced the darkness, Laram shrank into the shadows, wedging his small body into a crevice in the unfinished wall. He closed his eyes and began to pray to the Children of Veteris, but images of the carnage he had witnessed and the Queen’s icy voice filled his head.
“You are all charged with treason! Destroy their portals and bring me a shard from each of their Portal Stones,” the Queen had said as several dozen children cowered before her. The children, all ages, shapes, and colors, huddled together, eyes downcast, seeking safety in their numbers. The rest of the Court met her declaration with a stray shuffle of feet and a hastily cleared throat.
A young Thanalian stepped forward on three shaky legs and said, “If you destroy our portal, we will be stranded here and die a horrible death.” His strained voice broke the tension that had enveloped the room, but it was a temporary reprieve.
“You assume you will walk out of my Throne Room alive,” the Queen said, sneering at him. Then, abruptly, she flashed him a smile that didn’t touch her eyes and said, “I’m feeling merciful today. Guards, take them to the dungeon, where they can live out their days until Veteris claims them.”
“Please, my Queen. I will not mature for another twenty Veterian years. Show me mercy,” the Thanalian said, falling to his many knees.
The Queen rose quickly at his words, and the Court collectively held its breath. “You are accused of treason. Am I to ignore such an offense?”
“My Queen, it is not treason to suggest your reign has gone on too long. Children of Earth have short life spans, yet you have ruled for far longer than should be possible. All of the Court has questioned why you are not yet of age,” the Thanalian said, rising to his feet, his voice no longer shaking as he swept his hands over the assembled delegations representing every corner of the universe.
“All of the Court? Is this true?” The Queen looked into every corner of her Throne Room; all but the bravest and perhaps most foolish averted their eyes. “Seems you are alone in your assessment.”
“My Queen,” said Harry, the Queen’s second, “may I suggest a special punishment for such insolence? Such disrespect can easily fester and grow, don’t you agree?”
The Queen nodded, waving her hand at him to continue.
“Our oddly legged friend does have a point. You have ruled past your eighteenth birthday. I think it’s time they knew the truth.” Harry paused, waiting for the Queen’s assent. She winked at him, and he continued, “You see, we have been god-touched.”
A loud shout yanked Laram back to the present, where a Custodian of the Crown stood a few inches from where he hid. He held his breath, willing the guard not to see him. When the guard turned and stared directly at him, he looked straight through Laram, seeing only the surrounding stone.
Harry’s words, “We have been god-touched,” echoed in his head, threatening his concentration, but if it were true, Laram and his brethren were doomed. To be touched by a Child of Veteris was an extraordinary honor that granted power and immortality. The Children of Veteris rarely interacted with the mortal children who temporarily inhabited the planet, but legends rose and fell when they did. Laram clenched his teeth, but the memory of the Queen’s voice ripped through his concentration.
“How does our being god-touched help exact a proper punishment?” the Queen had asked, rolling her eyes and giving a low chuckle.
“Because the Children of Veteris also gave us the Elixir of Immortality, and we have enough to share with those who deserve it.” Harry paused, a wicked smile spreading across his face. “And maybe those who do not.”
“Are you saying we should waste the Elixir on that?” the Queen asked, sitting up straight, her top lip curling.
“I am. Imagine how long he would suffer in our dungeons if he were immortal? This would be a fitting punishment for him or anyone who defies you.” Harry turned his back on the Court, returning to his seat near the King, who stared blankly at the air, a dribble of spit slowly making its way down his chiseled chin.
“No, please! This is not mercy! You cannot do this to me,” the Thanalian screeched, his three legs knocking into each other as if they were unsure which direction to run.
“I can and I will! Guards, bring him to my chambers. The rest can rot in the dungeons until their deaths. Let this be a lesson to anyone who defies my rule.”
“Our rule,” slurred a voice from behind the Queen. She scowled and replied, “Yes, my love—our rule. You look tired. Harry, bring the King to his chamber so he can rest.” Harry grabbed the King by the elbow and hurried him from the Throne Room before he said anything else to anger the Queen. The King didn’t object, his empty eyes in stark contrast with his young, muscular body.
Laram, unable to hold his concentration, blinked back into existence, but the Custodians had finally left. He wiggled out of his hiding spot and took off with purpose. After many close calls, Laram squeezed out of a tunnel under the starlit sky. It was the Season of Fire, and his short fur sparkled, reflecting a thousand points of light. Laram cursed his luck and rolled in the dirt, hoping he would be harder to track, but his eyes were still glowing embers that would be visible from many leagues away. Sticking to the shadows, he barreled into the woods, leaving the castle built into the mountain towering at his back.
He ran all night, stopping to rest for a few minutes at a time. Whenever he stopped, the memory of what had happened in the Throne Room and his brave yet futile stand came to him.
After sending the traitors to the dungeon, the Queen had addressed the remaining delegates. “From here on out, if anyone defies me, the punishment will be the destruction of your portal and an eternity in my dungeon.”
From the foot of the Queen’s throne, a dirty creature mumbled, “An eternity in the dungeon is preferable to an afternoon in your Throne Room.”
“You have something to say, Leah the Rat?” the Queen asked. Leah remained silent but didn’t avert her eyes. Like the Queen, she was a child of Earth, yet she was filthy and covered in sores. Her emaciated body barely held on to the rags keeping her decent. Her hands and knees were bloody from crawling on the floor to please the Queen. The Children of Veteris had not granted Leah any Gifts, making her a rarity, and that lack of power had doomed her to be the Queen’s pet.
“It looks like Leah has defied you, my Queen,” Laram had said, surrounded by the delegation from Arantha. “You will have to destroy the portal to Earth.” Nervous laughter slowly made its way through the Court, and the Queen smiled contemptuously.
“Perhaps I will destroy the portal to Earth, since I never plan on vacating the throne.”
“But, if you close Earth’s portal, we can never go home. We’ll be stuck here forever,” said Yasmine, the King’s second, who sat next to his now-empty throne. The Queen nearly jumped at her words but managed to maintain her composure. Yasmine could sneak up on anyone.
“Yes, but no one from Earth will be able to use the portal. We will be the last and final children of Earth. We will rule…forever.” Harry, who’d returned in time to hear the exchange, stood before the Queen and shouted to the Court, “Long live the Queen, child of Earth and last ruler of Veteris!” The Royal Court took up the chant with varying degrees of fervor.
“I OBJECT!” Laram shouted, the chanting dying down at his declaration.
“WE OBJECT!” followed a chorus of voices from the Aranthan delegation, and Laram started but straightened his back and held his head high. The Aranthans were a proud and intelligent species that recorded every facet of Veteris culture and were relied upon to keep things running smoothly. Though they were heavily involved in Veterian politics, they were neutral observers who tended to avoid conflict. Their unexpected support, along with Laram’s love of history and all things Veteris, strengthened his resolve and encouraged him to speak out.
Laram continued, “The Crown has never called for the destruction of a portal, for it goes against everything Veteris stands for, and the Children of Veteris will not abide. In addition, to stay on the throne when you are too old is an abomination!”
The dark look on the Queen’s face made his knees buckle. If he had known what she was capable of, he would have held his tongue.
He had not held his tongue, and now he was approaching the border of the Great Desert. It was nighttime, with dawn fast approaching. No one who wished to survive would willingly enter the desert at night, but Laram could see a regiment of guards in the distance, the starlight shining off their armor highlighting their approach. Laram steeled his nerves and plunged into the desert. The sand, still warm from the sun, reminded him of what the Queen had done.
She had stood up and placed a dark, twisted crown upon her head with tendrils of black fire arching upward. The Court swelled backward as she stretched out her fingers, and tendrils of black fire engulfed the Aranthan delegation. The fire melted the skin from their bones, their screams of agony cut short as it quickly worked its deadly magic. Laram found himself lying beneath more than thirty of his brethren scattered on the Throne Room floor. Their bodies were twisted and blackened beyond recognition. He had been frozen with fear and unable to move, though he was alive. He would never forget that smell.
“Find the rest of the Aranthans in the castle and bring them to me,” the Queen said to Yasmine and Harry. Yasmine transformed into a nightmarish creature and flew out of the Throne Room as Harry blurred and expanded into a cloud of black smoke, seeping into the crowd. Screams followed the smoke, leaving a trail of burnt skin in its wake.
The stinging sand, whipped up by a sudden storm, shook Laram from his memory. He bent into the wind, buffeted by sinister voices and shadows with every step. The eyes of predators, both mortal and divine, followed him, but he pressed on, desperate to make it home to let his parents know what had happened here. So he ran on, chased by demons both real and imagined, until he slammed into something solid and the lights went out.
Laram awoke on the other side of the desert, no worse for wear, with no Custodians of the Crown in sight. Not one to decry good luck, Laram rose and continued the long journey to his portal. When he reached it days later, he found his Portal Stone shattered and the entrance buried beneath a mountain of dirt and stone. Laram sank to his knees by the remnants of his Portal Stone and began to hastily collect the pieces, but it was hopeless. He had decades of life before he matured and died—decades where loneliness would be his sole companion. Laram curled up by the base of the broken Portal Stone and sobbed until sleep took him.
******
The Queen hung the pieces of the broken Portal Stones above her throne, admiring her work, particularly the Aranthan Portal Stone. Earth’s Portal Stone was not among them, though the Court was none the wiser. To ensure no one could use Earth’s portal in the future, she’d returned home and destroyed the entrance on Earth but kept the Portal Stone on both ends intact. Many were killed, and the incident did not go without notice. For extra protection, she buried the portal on Veteris and left it guarded by an abomination no one on Earth could imagine, let alone survive an encounter with. To be sure, anyone unlucky or foolish enough to stumble upon Earth’s portal to Veteris would have an exceedingly short trip.