THE HAUNTED KINGDOM 2 - Charles E.J. Moulton (good books for high schoolers .txt) 📗

T H E T A L E S O F T H E H A U N T E D K I N G D O M

A Trilogy of Novels
By
Charles E.J. Moulton


BOOK TWO

THE WASTELAND OF

LOST MAJESTIES


© 2005 CHARLES EDMOND JAMES MOULTON

CHAPTER ONE:
THE FIRST PESTULENCE

The Banquet Hall, Palace of Rigor Mortis in Nocturania
Sunday evening, September 23rd, 1425 A.D.

The palace of the Nocturanian King was located not in the middle of the capital of the country or even in its vicinity. It was located in the absolute outskirts. There were no worldly dignitaries traveling from henceforth famous dominions to this land. The only renowned celebrities that were guests here at the castle belonged to dimensions subterranean in valor. Demons came to live here in this castle for a time, not rulers. Their names rung true of infamy and greed.
Nocturania had now been the devil’s empire since approximately three centuries. Two once joined brothers had fought over their own land and created two countries. These two empires were as diverse as they could be. The bad land was Nocturania and was excluded from everything that the good land, Prosperania, was continentally endeavoring to accomplish.
The country had fallen apart to the extent that local mayors and senators managed most of the bureaucratically necessary arrangements.
King Adnicul of Nocturania handled most of the dealings with war and terror. He would ride around the country and whip up excitement for some new change of strategy whilst wearing his suit of armor. The King wore a helmet with a four horns. He would never show his face during these raids. He would rape innocent girls, wearing the helmet and his dark blue cape while doing so. His blue stallion Centurion had held more than one maiden, abducted to some cave to be forced to show passion. The farmers would say yes to something they knew nothing about, a promise of eternal happiness and banquets of pheasant and swan. The local merchants would donate money they could not spend and waste energy they did not have on useless projects. Fraytollah had been kept in shape and the taxes had been raised only because of these useless donations. Now there was no Fraytollah harbor to speak of. What was left was war. In came tyranny and combat. Adnicul had been told by the evil one that he himself as the king of Nocturania was the savior that had tutored the witch to become demonic. He was the ultimate crossbow that could shoot its steel against the will of the present level of angelic fortune.
The real luxury in the land, however, lay in lavish demonic representation.
The Nocturanian king had a large banquet every year with every possible beverage and a large array of food assortments. The guests were all chosen by Lucifer and the date could be chosen by Adnicul. Lucinda had requested a banquet for the 23rd of September of this year and both demons had willingly obliged. They had understood that she wanted to celebrate and event she waited for long. Thirty three years had passed now since she had been thrown out of the kingdom of Prosperania. Avenging herself for having to sleep in the rain for so many nights back then was understandable.
Cursing the kingdom of her brother was one thing. Putting the actually theory to practice. Now war was on the verge and recreation was important to gather strength in order to do it all right.
Of course there were rumors among the village people near the palace what this feast was. The strange king who held this extraordinary banquet every year and no mayor was invited. Nocturania was hated in Medatlantia. So, who was at the feast? There were rumors of demons and the villagers tried to peak through the windows. Those who did had there heads cuts off and stuck on big poles outside the castle.
That evening was a gala evening. The entire hall was filled with lights. There were about a hundred of so called rush lights in the hall. They were desiccated vegetation with a burning wick standing on five legged stands. There were an additional fifty wall-mounted candleholders of gilded bronze with candles made of bee’s wax. There were forty metal and bronze chandeliers with twenty candles each. There were a hundred oil lamps burning on figurines of naked sirens penetrated by dragons. There were one hundred lighted copper candlesticks held by one hundred demons in togas.
All of the servants present here tonight were demons from the underworld. Their large jaws revealed four giant teeth sticking out above their green lower lips. With eyes so tiny but wide as copper kettles, they glanced the area of thee hall with extreme serenity. The ugly brutes were all dressed in sown wool indigo blue togas over an orange loin cloth under a gilded crown of fig leaves.
Along the wall there was a long row of tables that stretched the entire hundred feet length of the ballroom. Every table was full to the brim with food. There was ostrich and goose, duck and chicken, swan and peacock, snail and capons. All of this had been brought by Lucifer himself to the hall. There was asparagus and apricot, pickled lemons and truffles, mead and apple metheglin and wine. There were venison pies and trout, eels and crayfish, custards, dates, prunes, grapes and figs.
Along the fifty foot width entrance of the hall were sixty trained musicians and a chorus of thirteen singers, singing estampies and ballatas and madrigals. There were ten fidiculas, ten aulos, ten recorders, ten shawms, ten zithers and ten kettledrums.
There were two hundred people in this ballroom. One hundred were dancing and the other hundred were eating on lectus coaches. Some of them were copulating, some of them were performing little dances. Most of them were drunk.
The entire hall was full of people, old demons, young demons, cross eyed demons and black demons on leave from the underworld. They were dancing as if they had never done anything else.
In the middle of the room stood Lucifer himself in a red costume with a pointed hat and a ostrich feather stuck on top. His red skin against the canvas of the red clothing was compensated by a yellow taffeta scarf that he had wrapped around his waist. He was carrying a blue lance and walking around the hall between the dancing parties of revelers. Right in back of Lucifer was Adnicul, wearing a toga of blue satin studded with gilded diamond rubies. Next was Nina Ray, all in white. Her blond hair fell down over her chest and reveal and open bosom. It was an arranged toga that left the breasts present and available for Lucifer to fondle. She had a black mask on that hid her scarred face. Next to Nina Ray was Lucinda. Lucinda was wearing a dress from the future. It was red satin and blue-green silk studded with glitter and sparkling glass. Her hat was wide and white. She was holding a shepherd’s staff. This was supposed to symbolize that Lucinda was the savior that would lead these poor demons to the rescue by making the whole world a playground for Lucifer.
None of them knew that Lucifer had no intent on saving them. He just wanted to save himself.
The four apocalyptic leaders walked slowly up to the head of the room through the dancers. They all nodded very politely as they danced. There was Caligula and Nero dancing to a not yet written minuet. There was Cleopatra dancing with Cain and Salome dancing with Vlad the Impalor who had been so willing as to visit the alternate reality to join them in the ball.
Once arrived at the head of the room, Lucifer turned to the feasting guests of blissfully symbolic copulation. The three others promptly assembled themselves alongside of them.
Lucifer spoke with a very dark voice and played with his taffeta scarf as he did.
He raised his one claw and the music ceased.
Two hundred guests and one hundred demons listened.
“Dearly beloved demonic saints” he chuckled. “We are gathered here to celebrate an occasion of great variety. My dear assistant fiend Lucinda has, in the metamorphosis that had her acting the awakened demon Nomed Snekawa, put the entire land of Prosperania to sleep. As you all might gather, it was a fantastic joyful conquest. We even got the little princess to believe in her. It was no small feat to convince the girl. The victory over Belinda is an example that women, too, have balls of their own that they can roll into combat and carriage. We are now at the verge of battle. As you know, Nocturania has no army. We use forest gypsies to do the small work, such as raid villages and pretend to be sea farers. You are our army. You are the hope for the dark part of civil service and solitude. What we have here, though, is a full scale invasion. We hope to take over the neighboring country that my brother Michael created so many years ago. It will demand much of you. It will demand your utmost dedication and concentration. We will win, but you will have to see to your utmost powers and use them in a way that crushes the Winsletenna family. We intend to wipe out the entire country. We intend to leave little king Alex completely alone and search for his sibling just like I did many years ago without triumph. Lucinda is my last weapon against Eden. Now, however, gents and ladies of death: revel, copulate and devour yourselves and sink into the ultimate revelry of debauchery.”
Lucifer clapped once with his red hands and the music commenced.
The ball continued and the men and women started dancing again.
The four apocalyptic revelers withdrew into a corner, map and feather pen in hand.
Each one had a glass of melomel fruit mead. Each one was smiling.
In the midst of them sat Lucinda on her own lectus sofa, feeding herself with grapes.
The feast would continue until dawn.
The three hundred demons would then disappear to the underworld and Lucinda would be left alone with Adnicul without all the chandeliers and oil lamps and revelry.
As for now, she wanted to enjoy the fruits of conquest.

The Haunted Kingdom, Iuventus Sacrum, Clurafar, Prosperania
The morning of September 24th 1425

"One for the weapon. One for the health. One for the road ..."
- Lucinda Winsletenna, 1422

The first thing his royal majesty heard were birds, it was a prosperous chirrup that paled quickly. The sound started high and made a small trill in the end only to end upon a middle note. Alexander quickly realized it was a robin, a Turdus Migratorius, the same bird that he had seen outside the inn when he had come back from the stately visit to Alliland three years ago.
It had been a giggle that time. Did this birdsong sound like a giggle?
Alexander opened his eyes, only to see a wooden table and a cup.
The gilded cup the potion had been in it.
He