Prologue

“No,” Dazzart whispered as he lifted the broken, bloody body of his mother from the smoking stones outside of the Cave of Torture. The scent of sulfur made his eyes water and confirmed his worse fears. “No, you will not die on me. You cannot leave me.” Ogres weren’t suppose to cry, but his voice trembled all the same.

He pushed back a strand of her scarlet stained golden hair and she fluttered her eye lids open. Praise be to the God of War, she lives. “Dazzart ...” She coughed and blood sputtered from her mouth.

“Tell me what to do mother. Show me how to heal you.” He stroked her cheek, so soft and fragile, unlike his own tough green skin. “Shall I find Eolande?”

“No, not even the elixir can ... It’s my time, son. You must accept this.”

He clenched his teeth. “I’ll kill her. I found father inside the cavern. I swear Adieal won’t breathe much longer because of what she did to you both.”

Her cold hand caressed his cheek and he shivered, missing the warmth of her touch. “My son ...” His mother, once the most powerful and beautiful sorceress in Carnitha smiled. She had a chipped tooth and crimson stained lips, but Dazzart had never seen a lovelier smile. “You cannot destroy Adieal alone.”

“I have the armies of Carnitha on my side. I might not rule my homeland but I do run the military.”

She coughed again. “I know. Your father and I were proud when ... Son, I cannot hold on much longer but I had a vision I must speak to you about.”

“Tell me, mother. What is this vision?” Her second sight had never failed her. She foretold Dazzart’s rise to Tribal Leader when he was a small ogreling.

“A sorceress with a good heart shall vanquish the evil from Carnitha. Find her Dazzart. She will destroy Adieal. Promise me ...” She didn’t finish. Her eyes rolled back and her body fell limp. He closed her eyelids, kissed her forehead, and placed his mother on the ground.

A tear slid from his eye. He was a strong ogre, but the loss of his beautiful, fair sorceress mother brought tears to his eyes. “I don’t know how I’ll find her, or where, but I vow to you, I shall find the sorceress you spoke of mother. It will become my life’s mission.”

Dazzart’s battle cry echoed as he entered the cave, found the body of his father, and carried him out. He placed his ogre father’s body beside his mother and slammed his fist into a large boulder, splintering the rock into two pieces. Rage flooded his body and he desired nothing more than to break every bone in Adieal’s body, alas he knew better. Only magic could destroy the evil sorceress who murdered his parents. He had the army of Carnitha on his side to control her army of demons; however, the only one who could kill Adieal was the sorceress his mother spoke of. He would find her, this kind-hearted woman, even if he had to cross the Great Divide to do so.

Chapter One

Janet sighed as her son, a grumpy teen with long bushy hair and big brown eyes, attempted to make his way to the front door. She expected to enjoy some alone time with Spencer, her flesh and blood. After all, Saturday was her one day off. Although she knew her housework needed to be done. The living room floor hadn’t been vacuumed in God knew how long. The carpet appeared more brown then beige these days. She sighed as she stepped in front of the doorway and impeded Spencer’s way. Things wouldn’t have gotten so out of hand with the housework if it wasn’t for Spencer and his damned Ogre Nation computer game. She had created her own kickass sorceress character and now all she wanted was to spend some quality time with her son, his elf avatar, Nidhogg, and her sorceress avatar Maurelle.

“Where do you think you’re going?” She raised her brow as she awaited Spencer’s reply.

“Um, I had plans with Dad.”

“Not going to work, son-of-mine. You know your father’s in Vegas with Stacy.” Stacy the white trash slut.

“Um, I ...”

“Don’t you want to play Ogre Nation with your mother? I thought you loved that game.”

“I do. Look Ma, I sorta got an invite for this Ogre Convention and Online tournament. Don’t even think about asking if you can go. I’m meeting a friend there and—”

“And what is this friend’s name?”

Spencer only stared at her. After staring her son up and down, Janet realized that he had dressed a little nicer than normal. New black Levi’s replaced his torn blue jeans. Instead of his typical grey Nike sweatshirt, he wore a new red and black Puma raglan sweatshirt. He even smelled nice. She could have sworn he was wearing some kind of Calvin Klein cologne but couldn’t put her finger on the exact kind.

She flashed her son a knowing grin. “Is this friend a girl?”

He shrugged. “Maybe.”

“Don’t play games with me, Spencer. You wouldn’t be all dressed up if you were just meeting Mike, Kevin, or Garret at the convention. Why didn’t you tell me? You know I love the game too.”

“I ... um ... I’m going to miss my bus if you don’t let me go.”

“Where is this convention Spencer? Is it in Dayton or Columbus? You’d have to take countless busses to get there.”

“It’s in Cleveland.”

Janet let out a giggle as she stomped her foot on her grungy carpet. “You expect to take a bus to someplace that’s four hours away?
“Kevin said there’s a charter bus leaving from Dayton. I was going to walk to his house and—”

“No, you’re not taking the bus. I’m coming with you and driving.”

“Ma, the convention and tournament are by invitation only. Only the best players get invited,” he replied almost as superciliously as his father once did.

“Listen, Mister, you’re the one who got your mother addicted to the game.” She jabbed her finger into Spencer’s chest, hoping to make her point. “If it wasn’t for my need to connect with my only son, the dishes would be done regularly, I’d be able to make real dinner instead of Stouffer’s frozen lasagna, and the carpet we’re standing on wouldn’t look like a dirt volcano erupted all over it. I’m coming with you and I’m driving. I’ll use your invitation to get in.”

“Fine,” Spencer huffed as he rolled his eyes. “Let’s go then. I don’t want to be late.”

Spencer pulled out his Ipod and headset the minute they entered Janet’s trusty Mustang. She sighed, wondering why her only child chose to listen to a blaring racket. No doubt to drown my voice out. Janet was a child of the eighties and loved the music; fond memories of dancing to Cyndi Lauper and Madonna filled her head. Spencer was a child of the millennium and the ear-splitting noise he claimed rocked.

She tried to engage her son in any sort of conversation. She tried asking him about school, tried talking about how she ran into his friend Kevin’s Mom at work, and even about the buzz surrounding the newest release from Ogre Quest Enterprises, a game called The Last Sorceress. Spencer made her feel as if she spoke to a brick wall.