pain and fear? Had he ever left this cavern? This time?
He held the answer in his right hand. The sword Godslayer glowed with reflected firelight, cold despite the cavern’s heat. Corin gripped it tight, clinging to it for his sanity, and then his eyes touched something on the empty throne. It was a single book on vellum, its ink a cracking crimson. Even with the flames racing toward him, Corin had to stare.
He reached out with a trembling hand and flipped back the cover. It opened to an inner page marked with a softened strip of bark, where a new chapter started with his name, “Corin Hugh,” written in an ancient elven script. He had seen the like at Rikkeborh, in long-forgotten texts, but he had not known its meaning. Now he read it easily in the fire’s rising light.
Now you have heard the story of my king, who lived and died within this darkness. But one final task he asked of me, and this one greater than all the rest. He bade me tell a story of a life that’s yet to be lived—a dream he had, a fantasy about a manling outside time. This is not my memory, but it is Oberon’s, and I set it down as he related it to me.
Corin was a peasant, born in Aepoli beneath the reign of Cosimo Vestossi, and in his time the name of Oberon was not known. In his time, Ephitel was thought a god among the manling nations. Corin Hugh was not a righteous man, but for the sake of Oberon, he was good…
Corin shook his head in disbelief. He flipped forward through the brittle pages, spotting references to the Nimble Fingers, his brief apprenticeship to the wizard Jonderel, his first encounter with Old Grim the pirate, and then his years upon the seas. How much life he had lived in two short decades!
And there was more. He turned page after page, and still it spoke of him. Of heroic acts and legendary wars. Of battles with the gods and a new kingdom for men, but these were things he hadn’t done. Yet.
He swallowed hard and wiped the sweat from his brow. Was this his future? Was this his whole life, borrowed from the dreams of a dying god? He wiped his brow again and realized the sweat was from more than just his fear. The air was cooking now, all around him, the fire crawling along the branches overhead. Soot and embers rained around him, until he feared the book might catch a spark and burn.
He nearly snapped it shut, but one last curiosity stayed his hand. He flipped forward to the end, to the last pages, and read what was written there. In a shaky hand and blotted ink, he read of Oberon’s end.
This was the last memory shared with me by my dying king. Oberon is no more. His body is destroyed, his kingdom stolen, his people driven into hiding. Oberon was maker of this land and good king to his people, but all that now remains to this world are his dreams of a world that could have been, his enemies victorious, and an unending hunger for vengeance.
I share these things. If ever manling reads this book, if anyone can comprehend, my final wish is my king’s final wish: destroy the traitor Ephitel.
Corin raised his head. He touched the winter-cold steel of the stolen sword while fire rained around him, and nodded once within the vast silence of the eerie tomb. “I swear upon the blood of gods,” he said. “I will grant you vengeance.”
Then he closed his eyes and stepped out into the world.
THE END
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Aaron Pogue is president and CEO of Consortium, Inc., a nonprofit arts organization and digital publishing house. A former technical writer for the federal government, he became an indie publishing sensation with his epic fantasy novel Taming Fire. He has penned several bestselling fantasy novels, as well as thrillers and works of urban fantasy and science fiction. Pogue holds a master of professional writing degree from the University of Oklahoma and lives with his family in Oklahoma City.
Table of Contents
OBERON'S DREAMS
DEDICATION
CONTENTS
MAP OF HUROPE
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
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Table of Contents
OBERON'S DREAMS
DEDICATION
CONTENTS
MAP OF HUROPE
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
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
ABOUT THE AUTHOR