The Missing Peace Council
          Book 1 of the Council Wars
          Written and Illustrated By
            Anastasia Shively [Jabbress]


         This book is dedicated to my
         Mom, dad, and Terry, for getting me
         Interested in writing and fantasy.




             Prologue
   
  Mid summer, the leaders of each race would meet in Sharn for a secret peace counsel. They knew that if anyone found out, that there would be a world war with all the races fighting against each other. Only a select few knew about the secret and if they told anyone, the spell cast upon them would kill them in an instant. However, someone did find out and the council was in jeopardy.
   The morning of the first day of prayer to the gods and goddess of the seasons to bring peaceful fall and winter, also stated the day the council would meet. Early that morning Amastica, the head of the council, lead everyone into the center of the room so they could say their prayers and start the meeting. An hour into the meeting, two children were escorted into the room for questioning, about brewing a potion and using it on Sashanu (Sa- sha- new). She was suppose to go and make peace with the orks, but was vanquished by the two children. As the children walked through the doors, they slammed shut behind them, a globe of darkness was cast and all the people heard was screams, and then it went silent. The next thing the children knew, the globe of darkness was gone and they were standing right where they were told to stand before it went pitch black and no one was there. They ran outside and told the guards the council disappeared. Of course knowing the guards, they did not believe the two children and ran in to see the empty room themselves. When they came back, they asked them what happened and the children told them everything. Two of the guards ran off to tell the High Mistress of the city, Laura, what happened and advised that a search party should be sent out to look for them. 
   When the guard got there, he ran into the monastery where she had decided where she wanted to live, because she would be considered a priestess not the High Mistress of the city the other reason is that it would be safer then a castle.
   “What is the meaning of barging in like this, I could have been undressed for all you know!” snapped Laura
   “I ask for your forgiveness High Mistress, but I have troubling and urgent news to tell you. Can we go somewhere private please?” said the captain of the guard.
   “Well this must be major news if we have to go somewhere private, let’s go to my private chapel. There we can talk without being disturbed and what ever you have to say to me can be said in the present of the gods and goddess.” Said Laura
   The way to the chapel was a peaceful and elegant walk. When they reached the chapel, Lurana slipped off her shoes because it is considered disrespect to the gods and goddess who made Eberon. The guards, of course, did not take his shoes of because they have a right not to, being the protectors of the churches throughout the world. When they had both entered, Laura shut the door and cast a spell of silence so nobody passing by could hear their conversation except the gods and goddess, who are listening to them.
   “We are in private, what is the problem. If it starts like a story then tell it quickly before my spell is gone.” Said Laura
   “Well it started like this; my squad and I are in charge of protecting the peace council when it is in session, like you well know. We were just standing around waiting for our shift to end, when the two children that were in the room being questioned about how and why they made a death potion, came running out shouting at me and my guards that the council disappeared in mid air. Of course, we did not believe the children because they lied to us once about them not making the death potion and that they were possessed when they made it. When we went in sure enough, they were not there. That is when I came running to you.” When he said the last sentence, he made a little bow.
   “I suggest that we send a search party out to look for them mistress.” Added Daric
   “Well I see why you are coming to tell me this and I am please because we would not want this to slip out to the public. You know what will happen if it does. We must keep the children and anyone else who knows about this quite, I agree we should send out a search party and I will telepathically try to see if I can contact them,” said Laura
   “What if you can not reach them, what will you do then High Mistress?” asked the captain of the guard
   “If I don’t reach any of them, Daric, then I will let you know and go seek council from the gods and goddess.” Laura answered back. “Thank you for letting me know. You are dismissed.” Said Laura
   With this, he made a bow to Laura and the statues of the gods and goddess and took his leave back to his men. 



Chapter 1
The Beginning
   The young, human priestess, Lady Lurana, was heading towards the captain of the guards living quarters to see if they found any volunteers to go out, find the missing council, and bring them back.  On her way, she bumped into the Divine. The Divine is a person who can see things coming and warn them if anything is important or not when she does see things. Of course, by now, everybody knew about the missing peace council.
   “My lady, it is very strange seeing you out and about.” Said the Divine. 
   “I am off to see Daric to see if he has any news about volunteers to go out and find our council.” Lurana answered
   “There is no need to go all the way across the city for just a little question, for I have seen that there will be five heroes who will come to the city looking for jobs in two months. One is an elf princess, a drow, a dwarf, a human, and a gnome.”
   “Why thank you for this info. I will go tell Daric now, and recommend a celebration be held in their name, so we can wish them a safe journey.”
   “I must go myself, milady. Good day to you.” The Divine said this and was on her way.                         
   The priestess was on her way to Daric quarters.
   “Daric I need to talk to you in private.”
   “Follow me milady and we can talk in my office before I go on duty.”   
    Daric led her to the back of his house and into his office and shut the door behind them.
   “What did you need Lurana?
   “I have just run into the Divine and she told me that five people will come to this city in two months, on the third day after our last day of prayers. We must hold a celebration in their name to wish them luck on their journey. Do you think it can be done?”
   “Well to be honest, I think it could be done. With your order of course”
   At this Lurana left and headed back to her room.



           Chapter 2
      The Heroes Arrive and the Celebration
   
   In the next two months, there was a lot of decorating in the town hall, where the feast was going to held. Like the Divine had said, an elf, human, drow, gnome, and a dwarf arrived, the day after prayers were over. The companions were blown away by the big welcome they got when they entered the city. Later, they found out that the whole city was expecting them to arrive. They were greeted a hour later by the head town guard, Daric, and the towns high priestess, Lurana, and were told they would have a feast in their honor, if they would go find the missing peace council before the world went to war, each race against the other races. The agreed and the celebration was held later that night, after the companions were cleaned up from their travels together and got some rest.
   The feast was like any feast. There was a lot of drinking and partying that went all throughout the night and into the early morning. At noon on the next day, after the feast was over, the companions were met at the monastery and told that they were to go to Shadow Keep, on the other side of the Enchanted Forest. They were given a months of rations ,a bow of iron that could slay anything once a day, a wand of 10 resurrections, a scroll of abolishment that could abolish anything, and a letter that was to be given to the leader of the council, if found alive, if not they were given orders to burn it. They were also given a map to show them where they would have to go and were told that the Seer would tell them everything else they had to know. their Divine could not see everything like the past or present, only the future and that itself is hard to even comprehend and do, but the seer can see all, the future, present, and past.

           
              Chapter 3
             The Journey
   
    The group left the next day to Shadow Keep. It was an easy journey until they got to the Enchanted Forest. It was the second day into their trip to the so-called Shadow Keep, when they ran into four mind flayers. Mind flayers are humanoid creatures that eat brains and that can sometimes read peoples minds. Knowing the gnome and the drow, they had encountered these creatures many times in their travels together, they knew the only way to defeat them was with a destruction spell that would shut down their whole system and paralyze them, so they could kutagra them. Doing this to them all, they were able to kill them in a matter of seconds by only coming out with a few nicks and scratches. Down the trail at about 50 miles, they found a camp of mind flayer bandits. Knowing Wollmort the gnome and Dagna the dwarf, they wanted to barge right in the middle of the camp and take them all out, the blasted scrums, but Fearathress the elf maiden, Rogan the human, and Bladen Krest convinced them that barging in would certainly mean their death. This meant that they could not save the world from true destruction. Therefore, they kept going on the trail through the forest that led to the keep. Three days of more travel, they were met at the door of the keep by the Mistress of the Keep, Laura the Seer. On their journey, they learned that some people call her the second most powerful Divine from different traders on their way to Shadow Keep.




             Chapter 4
             The Seer
  
    To their surprise, the mistress was a beautiful young eleven maiden who looked just like the goddess Ehlonna herself.
   “Welcome Princess Fearathress of the elves, Lord Rogan, young Wollmort, Dagna of the dwarfs, and young Lord Bladen Krest of the Drows, to Shadow Keep. I will be able to answer your questions when the next full moon comes out. This is because I see things in the full moon more than in any other moon. You may stay here in the keep until the preparations are done, since it has come to my knowledge that the four mind flares that you killed sent images to their brethrens of who you were and they are searching for you as we speak. It is more comfortable in here than out there, I am sure. I will also need your help for the preparations…”
   “How do you know this?” snapped Fearathress.
   “Well before you interrupted me, my sister, I was going to tell you…”
   “How dare you call me that? You are not my sister,” shouted Fearathress back at her.
   “Anyways, I know this because it does not take much magic to see what happens in my forest. So it was quite easy to see where you were in my forest, besides it is my servants I get must of my news from.” Continued Lura
“I will send some of my servants about getting your rooms. We will start in tomorrow with the preparations, so I can get some rest and you can get some too.”
   “How long will it take?” asked Dagna
   “It will take twenty-four days Dagna,” answered Lura
   The next day, the companions were woken up at dawn by some servants of the keep and told to go down to the kitchen for a swift breakfast, and then after they were done, meet the mistress in the seeing room in the west wing. It is the twentieth chamber on the left, and they were to knock five times and wait for entry. The companions ate their breakfast swiftly, hurried down the corridor, knocked five times, and waited for right of entry.
   “Good morning. I hope you slept well. Let us get down to business shall we? First, I am going to need blood from Bladen and Fearathress. Then I am going to need four leaves from the Divine tree in the forest. Third, I am going to need help from all of you to help me brew the water. Then I will need you to help me pour all one hundred gallons of the water into the Dragons Eye, and then I will pray for the next twenty days with the help of Dagna so, I can get my power to control and see what we need to answer your questions.” Said Lura
   “ What do you mean you need Bladen's and my blood, and what in blasted world are you going to need us to go out and get you four leaves from the tree of the Divine for when you know that we can’t go out there?” snapped Fearathress back
   “Well I need blood from Bladen and you because I have no one else in the keep I can get magical blood from. I cannot just take blood from myself, it just would not work. Besides, who said I was sending you out there to get the leaves. I am going to send my most trusted servant out and get them for us.” Snapped Lura back
   On the twenty-fifth day at midnight Lura and Dagna, caste the spell and they could see Amastica the head of the council in a small dungeon in the Edlwen Forest. That was all the companions could see, but Lura and Dagna had seen more.
    “Who is keeping Amastica?” asked Rogan
   “Who else would keep her, a dragon high lord, orks, and a cleric of Vergenal the god of pure evil? Now that you know the answers to your questions, I want you to out of this keep by the next dawn.” Said Lura
   She saw something that the other people did not besides, Dagna and she wanted them out of Shadow Keep immediately. At that moment, Dagna fell dead. The group buried him that afternoon, after their dinner and left that following morning. 



           Chapter 5
           The Capture
   
   “I know the way to Edlwen forest. I lived there when I was very young.” Said Wollmort
   “I know the land and the people too.” Said Fearathress and Bladen at the same time.
   “Well then we have our guides, let’s go then.” Rogan said impatiently.
   “It will be a five day walk or a day and a half ride there.” Said Fearathress.
   “Well we don’t have horses do we? So I guess we will have to walk all the way there.” Said Wollmort.
   “Let’s get going then!” Rogan said impatiently.
   The companions got halfway there when a group of thirty demons surrounded them and out of now where, when Bladen try to pull out his weapon, it was gone. The spell casters of the group could not even cast a spell to get them out and their weapons back.
   “What do you want with us? We did not do anything to you and we have nothing of yours. I demand you let us pass, give us our magic back, and our weapons!” said Fearathress
   “I can’t do that. My master wants me to bring you to him with no weapons and magic. Besides, who in the hell do you think you are? The queen of everything?” snapped the leader of the demons. 
   At this the rest of the demons laugh at the companions.
   “Just to let you know, I am Fearathress Evilest Crowned Princess of the Ancient Elves, seedier to the throne!” snapped Fearathress back
   “My master and I do not care who you are. You can all come peacefully or we can put you to sleep, in the case of the elf and drow we will knock you out. What is your choice?” said the leader.
   “We would rather die than come peacefully with you!” Rogan shouted back.
   “Suit yourself!”
   The next thing that happened, nobody really remembers. The leader cast a sleep spell, gave a signal to two other demons. Both of them, each came up behind the drow and the elf, and knocked them out hard.
   When they woke up, they were in a cell with none other than the head of the Peace Council Amastica herself. Amastica was a beautiful person. You could see why she was head of the council. She had a little bit of every race in the council in her features and blood, but she had been in this dungeon for a year and some of her features had disappeared in those months she was here. Her hair was matted with dried blood in it, her teeth were yellow, when once they were pure white, and she smelled like a decaying body... Nevertheless, what the companions did not know was she was royal.
   “Amastica” gasped the companions
   “Are you all right” asked Fearathress
   “Do you have any magic” asked Rogan
   “Where are we?” asked Bladen
   “Do you have any weapons” asked Wollmort
   “Hold on! Hold on! I can only answer one question at a time. First, I am all right Fearathress Evilest crowned princess of the ancient elves successor to the throne. Second, I have no magic. The demon lord Krest cast a spell on me and probably the people in your group who are spell casters to keep us from casting even simple spells. Third, I have no weapons or anything for you to make weapons out of, my young gnome Wollmort. Also Bladen Krest, we are in the middle of Edlwen Forest, in an old castle off the river called the River of Fire.” Answered Amastica
   “I know Lord Krest sounds familiar to you, this is because he is your mom’s cousin. Therefore, that makes you his second cousin. He was exiled from your land and your family after trying to kill your father, because your father was trying to make it so you would inherit his title, not your second cousin’s, because you are his only heir to his title. So he tried to kill him. I also just wanted to warn you that he might try to con you into killing us, so you can live and I am not asking you I am ordering you to say no.” finished Amastica
 “Who do you think you are to order Bladen and the rust of us around?” snapped Rogan
“I am sorry; I was under the impression you knew who I was. Oh well. I am as you know the head of the peace council but, I am also heir to the throne of Melizerg to the north of Khorvaire.
   “I humbly beg your pardon then, milady” said Rogan with a slight bow
   “Well, we need to find a way out of here. We can’t just get up and leave.” Bladen said.
   At that moment, a group of guards came in and ordered them to back away from the entrance and put their hands out so they can manacle them. When the group walked in, they were dressed in scale mail and each had a dagger in one hand and a spear and manacles in the other. Once the manacles were on, they were led down some narrow steps, down three regular looking corridors, and up two flights of marble stairs. Then they went down another two more corridors, but these looked more like a richly decorated royal corridors, and then finally through the throne room which looked like a marble that was made to look like a fire. That had statues down each side of the wall of the castles previous rulers.
   “Welcome my young, Lord Bladen Krest, Crowned Princess Fearathress Evilest, Rogan, and Wollmort to my castle. I hope you are enjoying yourselves. Queen Amastica, I hope you have improved your politeness since the last time we met…” said Lord Krest
   “My friends and I would like to know why I’m the heir to your title and the throne. We all would be more comfortable if we were not kept in an old dungeon.” Interrupted Bladen
   “Well I see Amastica has told you that you are my heir. Well this is because were the only one who was born out of my brother and sister, so rightfully you are the heir. You also know very well that I cannot just let you run around the castle with freedom, when I know from experience that you all could very well escape. Don’t you?” said Lord Krest
   “Why will you not let us go then” asked Fearathress
   “Why, I can’t have you run off and tell the whole world I have the head of the council now can I. No, you will stay here till you die.” Answered Lord Krest
   “I want out of here…” started Rogan
   “Guards take them away I am tired of this.” Lord Krest said after he interrupted Rogan in mid sentence.
   As soon as he said that, the group of guards came up and led them away, when a person who was in the shadows came up and whispered in one of the guard’s ear to leave Lord Bladen Krest here. Their master wanted to speak with him. Therefore, that very same guard led Bladen the other direction towards a door on the opposite side.