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“Please, step inside from the rain, my lord. My apologies for not being able to greet you at the door.”

‘My lord’, that’s what she was called now. No one ever called her ‘my lady’. It took a while for her and everyone else to acclimate themselves to it, but the citizens of Volk loved their traditions. 

And tradition called for a companion to be addressed as ‘my lord’.

A shadow passed overhead and the loud buzz of an airship engine made her look up before stepping inside the foyer. It cleaved the grey sky like a large, fat, sword. The sharp sound of carriage wheels on cobblestones, the neigh of horses and the loud clatter of machine vehicles disappeared once the door was closed.

The interior of the house was as unassuming as the outside, Madame Eleonora does not like to advertise her girl’s profession. The lady of the house chose gas lights rather than the modern electricity; she said that the warm light of gaslights flattered the complexion more. Kiera much preferred electricity because the other option made her brown skin looked sickly.

She might have left all her feminine trappings, but that did not mean that she no longer had vanity.  

The furniture was tasteful in both style and function, as well as the wallpaper and the hand-woven rugs on the floor.

“Nonsense, Weatherby. And I wager I can guess what it was that kept you busy.” She said as she handed her slightly damp great coat, her hat, her leather riding gloves and her riding goggles to the butler who in turn passed it to the gawking footman. She lifted a hand to sweep her cropped hair away from her face; they curled around her head like a dark halo, dropping raindrops on her dark fine coat.

She saw the footman’s eyes dropped to the ring she wore on her left hand; shimmering gold and red ruby blinked in the gas lit room. 

It was a smaller replica of the ring that her Guardian, Lord Aristo wore on his left hand, a symbol of what he was: a Guardian, which made her…

…ah, there it is, Kiera smiled to herself as the footman’s eyes widened, she could tell that he finally realized who and what she was; Lord Kiera, the only woman ever to be chosen as a Companion. 

Copyright © 2012 by D.F. Jules

The Guardians and The Companions

Lord Aristo

Head Guardian

Companion

Lord Kiera

Lord Leon

Guardian

Companion

Lord Brandon

Lord Emir

Guardian

Companion

Lord Hashimoto

Lord Vincent

Guardian

Companion

Lord Junsu

Lord SungJoon

Guardian

Companion

Lord Daniel

Lord Firdaus

Guardian

Companion 

Lord Riyan

Lord Raphael

Guardian

Companion

Lord Assan 

Lord Gregory

Guardian

Companion 

Lord Sulaiman

Lord Jaya

Guardian

Companion 

Lord Benedict

The 3 Kingdoms: Volk, Sihr, Shǎn Diàn

Okay, I changed my mind again. 

Instead of The Three Cities, the series will be The Three Kingdoms. I was hoping that making the books about Cities rather than Kingdoms would simplify the plot line, but nope, it didn't work. So, we're back to the original idea.

Guardians of Volk, the first book of The Three Kingdoms will introduce the three kingdoms; Volk, Sihr and Shǎn Diàn. 

Volk is a kingdom that, unlike both Sihr and Shǎn Diàn, runs on both clockwork and magic, one with a rigid society, a polite gloss that covers the steaming underbelly of desperation and ruin. It is a kingdom built upon niceties, order and nobility; where the men are supposed to be gentlemen and the woman, ladies.

Unless you're one of the Guardians. The Guardians, although they are of noble blood, often moved between the high class tea parties and soirees to the prizefights and taverns. They are highly regarded (and feared) and generally spoiled. When you are a Guardian, there is no such thing as a closed door or a closed fist, and boy, do they take that for granted at times.

Volk is a kingdom where the rich gets richer and the poor is, well, poor. Where smiles can hide fangs or claws (in our Guardian's cases, literally) and reputation is everything. Hypocrisy is a way of life and where rules are meant to be broken...as long as you remain discreet.

Sihr, is a kingdom that runs on magic either Wild (magic that the nomadic tribe uses) or Academy (city folk magic), they are very closed off with the neighboring kingdoms, protecting their magic but is opened to trading with both Volk and Shǎn Diàn out of an agreement they made long ago. Although the magic that sweeps the land responds to both man and woman, it is found that woman can control it better. In fact the Magic Academy teaches more woman than men, even in war magic. The city is protected by the Priestesses by blood, magic and sword. 

Because of the abundance of magic, clockwork machines and gadgetry rarely works in this kingdom, so they rarely use them, although they use some but mostly little house objects. 

 Shǎn Diàn is a kingdom that is a combination of three different cities; the Nah, the Ixing and the Hanuk, and is usually always on the brink of civil war. The kingdom is rich in knowledge, clockwork technology and art. They are also famous for their military prowess, agriculture and engineering.