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Back Forsworn
Chapters (53)
  1. Map of Kingdom of Finfalla and Surrounding Area- Western Half
  2. Map of Kingdom of Finfalla and Surrounding Area - Eastern Half
  3. Map of Kingdom of Finfalla and Surrounding Area - Full Map
  4. Important Trigger Warning
  5. Prologue
  6. PART I
  7. One
  8. Two
  9. Three
  10. Four
  11. Five
  12. Six
  13. Seven
  14. Eight
  15. Nine
  16. Ten
  17. Eleven
  18. Twelve
  19. Interlude: The River of Life
  20. PART II
  21. Thirteen
  22. Fourteen
  23. Fifteen
  24. Sixteen
  25. Seventeen
  26. Eighteen
  27. Nineteen
  28. Interlude: Fallow Fields
  29. PART III
  30. Twenty
  31. Twenty-One
  32. Twenty-Two
  33. Twenty-Three
  34. Twenty-Four
  35. Twenty-Five
  36. Interlude: Of Man and Monster
  37. PART IV
  38. Twenty-Six
  39. Twenty-Seven
  40. Twenty-Eight
  41. Twenty-Nine
  42. Thirty
  43. Thirty-One
  44. Thirty-Two
  45. Thirty-Three
  46. Thirty-Four
  47. POSTLUDES
  48. Postlude 1: Lana Vica
  49. Postlude 2: Ludo Vica
  50. Postlude 3: Cainan
  51. Acknowledgments
  52. An excerpt from Heartsworn, Volume II in The Forsworn Oath, available for preorder now!
  53. PART I

The sun beat down upon the mound of stones, radiating its heat from their surface. Beneath the stonework, a pond burbled, constantly refreshing itself from some wellspring hidden deep beneath the forest floor. “Hopefully the big ol’ critter has moved on,” Orum said, instinctively lowering his voice to a whisper that wouldn’t carry beyond his own ears. “A naturally occurring source of water, plenty of berry bushes and rooty plants in the area, and a source of shelter. This is our paradise. And it’s not far anymore, is it? We can move all our supplies over in a day, two at the most. Six, seven trips should do the trick, don’t you think? Fine, it could be eight, but only if I’m being lazy and I pack lighter than I should.”

These were all lies, of course, for Orum wasn’t here hoping the creature had moved on. No, he wanted to see those eyes again, even if they turned out to be the last thing he ever laid his own eyes on.

Despite all his talk of searching for a back entrance and masking his smell with stinkmoss, he crept out from the cover of the forest without any thought but reaching the cave mouth as soon as possible. Despite his thirst, he skirted the edge of the burbling pond without stopping to drink from its crystal-clear waters. He climbed the smaller rocks with ease, using clefts in the larger boulders to pull himself up onto the natural shelf that stood before the dark spot in the pile that resembled a massive black eye on the face of a stone giant.

Though he knew it was impossible, that darkness felt as though it was a physical presence, a black wall that would repel him if he attempted to breach it. He laughed inwardly at his own foolish thoughts, careful not to make an audible sound that might alert whatever was slumbering inside to his presence. Still, as he reached the line between light and dark, his hand trembled as he stretched it forward, surprised when he was able to push it all the way into the shadows without any force pushing back in turn.

He followed after, stepping out of the sunlight and into the darkness, the temperature immediately cooling so much that a shiver ran through him. He blinked several times, but the darkness was oppressive, impermeable. There was something unnatural about it; surely some of the sunlight should’ve been able to stretch their rays inside. It wasn’t like it was nighttime. It was the middle of the damn day and he’d only just stepped into the cave.