Ty Arthur's Blog, page 5

Read a full chapter from Light Dawning

[image error]We’re now only three days from the official “Light Dawning” release date – many thanks to everyone who has already pre-ordered a digital or physical copy!

With Friday’s release just around the corner, there’s still more from this grimdark horror story to be revealed. Today a full advance chapter is unveiled and can be read below. This chapter introduces the main character Tala, who was covered in a character profile reveal last week.

If you missed, the book’s opening first chapter also recently premiered online via Metalunderground.com here. You may want to read that one first to get a better grasp on what’s occurring in the city before this chapter begins, although they can be read interdependently of one another.

TRIGGER WARNING: This chapter includes a graphic depiction of sexual assault, extreme violence, pregnancy gone horribly wrong, and a dead child. If any of those scenarios will offend you, now would be the time to stop reading.

2 (Eastern Ward, Border District, Eventide)

Beneath a squat, stone building not far away in the heart of the doomed city, another victim of the occupation also felt death nearing. The whispers in Tala’s head were like tolling bells, and she knew the time was at hand.

She felt their spidery presence across the dome of her skull more strongly than usual, while fighting off the panic and trying to bring about calm through force of will. The act itself of trying to enforce calm made the effort futile, the whispers gaining ground inch by inch as she tried and failed to stave off growing desperation. Something was coming that would bring her world to an end, and there was no way to stop its rapid approach.

The surging fear wasn’t for herself, but for the rest of the inhabitants of Cestia. She didn’t know what would happen in that last final instant if she lost control. Every moment of her life was a struggle against a rising flood only barely contained and kept down with hard-earned focus. That battle was finally about to be lost for the first time. Shortly she would feel those things breach the gates and spill through, the long-overdue deluge about to consume everyone else along with her.

She tried to keep the shield in place while the big one held her down, fixating on anything in her surroundings that might keep the calm from shattering. His breath was unpleasant and made gorge rise in her throat, distracting from the all-important task, and his rough hands only brought on pointed, piercing hate.

It would have to be his eyes then, a detail to converge on that could be disassociated from the man himself. Unlike most of the invaders she’d seen out on patrols, his eyes were soft and multi-hued, one a dark blue and the other a light green.

For a moment Tala slipped quietly back behind the shield, ignoring what was happening to her body and maintaining the balance that kept Cestia safe from what the whispers heralded.

It was the laughter of the other two off to the side of the room, taunting that they’d be going next, that allowed the anger to slice through that carefully crafted defense. Those insistent whispers, there her whole life but never able to be heard clearly, finally found the one weak point and made just the tiniest crack.

That single minute fracture was all it took.

The sob that burst from her seemed to excite them, prompting the soldier holding her down to increase the urgency of his thrusts, which only made the anger inside grow further. The shield’s crack widened and the constant dull roar finally came up to the forefront of her mind in a clear voice. It was all over for the soldiers, and they had no idea this particular act of inhumanity, one drop in a sea of violence, would be their last.

She felt it all slow down in that moment and desperately tried to repair the breach, to return stability to her mind and force the crack closed somehow. Even while making the attempt, she knew it would be too late to stop something from reaching through. Like a waking night terror with no control, they would cavort and scream while she remained helpless. They would tell her all those secrets about reality she didn’t want to know in that one agonizing eternal second it would take to re-establish the shield.

The moment dragged on so long she didn’t even realize her tormentor was nearly finished. The knight grunted twice in rapid succession, again forcing that stench into her nostrils, and it was over. He was spent and immediately uninterested in his conquest, not knowing what was already growing there under the maligned influence of the whispering voices.

He had become a father through forces he couldn’t possibly comprehend, and he’d terribly regret it until the moment he died.

When the soldier took to his feet, not sparing even a look down at what damage he’d caused now that he was done, she softly begged them to leave while they still could. Tala pleaded for them to flee in quick, choking sobs through the tears now flowing freely. The knights ignored her appeals; having heard them delivered hundreds of ways in the preceding years of the occupation. Their ignorance was a fatal mistake, not realizing she was trying to save them from the repercussions of their actions.

The soon-to-be father laughed while buckling his breeches, calling out to the other two to take their turns before they returned to the street above and finished off their patrol of this run-down ward. They shared in his mirth, conversing like old friends engaged in a cherished pastime, oblivious to whatever pain they might be causing or what horror was stirring unnoticed nearby. This area of the city was a slum no one wanted to be assigned to, but they could still find some fun with the locals before returning to tearing apart yet another home in a search that everyone knew was futile.

Tala felt the whispers quiet down when the moment approached, all of the voices in rapt, silent attention for what was to come. The moment that would change everything was heralded by an unpleasant stirring sensation inside, dull at first and then sharp and violent as the first contraction rippled from within. Pain blossomed into full bloom while something was rapidly taking shape and gaining form, pressing against the thin breach of the wall.

She tried to push back but couldn’t stop its advance through where the crack had briefly appeared in that one moment when all her careful control had finally broken. In a last ditch effort to stave off the coming storm, Tala mercilessly berated herself, screaming every profanity and insult she could think of across the back of her skull.

With no other means available, she hoped the force of her self-loathing could hold it off. She slipped back easily to all those years of screams and beatings when the cruel men in the robes had taught her never to slip up, not even for a single moment.

She cried out in agony and clutched her stomach, rolling over and tightening into a ball as all those thoughts scattered and fled before the whispered onslaught. The second soldier struck her across the face without bothering to remove his gauntlet first, thinking she meant to deny him his prize. His desire was the last thing on her mind when she rolled back over and spread her legs apart, not even bothering to worry about the bleeding split in her lip or the bruise spreading across her cheek.

The soldier’s excitement rapidly turned to confusion and then disgust when the birthing began. From echoing silence to jubilant cries of exultation, the whispers spoke to her in their discordant miasma, feeding her the knowledge of how to bring her child from their realm to hers. Something jet black and dripping obsidian afterbirth struggled out from beneath her skirt, a single protruding limb of the thing that escaped when her lapse of control fractured the veil between here and there.

Tala screamed again, more forcefully this time, when the first joint of the spidery leg worked its way out of her, followed by the sopping ovoid bulk of her bastard child. The whispers went from insane cavorting to soothing croons, warping the fabric of her form and allowing something that should not be. What should have torn her body in two instead contorted in lunatic ways that no physical thing should have been capable of achieving. A terrible kind of sense was found in those whispered ministrations, and she allowed herself to wrap around and through those secret truths denied to others, briefly accepting them for the first time.

The final limb tore through, slipping in the pool of blood gathered around the exhausted new mother as it sought to acclimate itself to this alien reality. Four multi-jointed and barbed legs sprouted out from the thing, glistening with the dampness of its birth. Its center was a sagging mass of flesh barely formed; bearing a dissolved face that ran like wax, crying out hideously to its mother.

Looking closer, she saw it clearly cried out to its horrified father as well, seeing now that beneath all the moist viscera he too bore one eye shining a dark emerald and the other a dull, dark sapphire. From leg to leg her offspring was nearly as long across as a man was tall. She let her thoughts float above the recognition of the insanity of that realization, pushing down that part of her that screamed no such thing could have come from her.

Tala should have been sickened, but couldn’t bring herself to be, finding the whispers offered entirely new ways of viewing the world around her if she followed their calls. Looking at what she had brought out of nonexistence and into the meat of solid space, she recognized something of herself inside it, and knew then that she truly loved this thing, no matter how vile it appeared or how bizarre its inception.

Those spindly legs protruding from its massive center bulk seemed unsteady and fragile, as if wouldn’t be capable of even remaining upright, let along moving at all. In a burst of surprising speed it skittered at its father, breaking the stunned motionlessness of the room and forcing the knights into action.

Unable to see the beauty in his own child, the unintentional father brought his mace crushing down, the curved points on its bottom edge slicing through the creature’s middle segment. It’s already ruined features smashed down against the dirt, crushed between the floor and the force of the blow. With no pity to spare for the wretched thing, the soldier pressed his boot against its back legs and viciously pulled upward, ripping the spiked mace out and rearing back for another blow.

He never got the chance to land it, as some twisted parody of a maternal instinct kicked in. Seeing the bloody remnants of her first child being smashed to death, Tala was on the knight in an instant. Not expecting any sort of assault from a woman who appeared to be half dead, the couple crashed to the ground. Keenly aware that his armor was strewn across the floor, removed to facilitate his desires against the mad woman whose name he’d never even heard, the knight struggled to reclaim his weapon and defend himself.

His hands immediately ceased their searching and shot up towards his assailant when Tala’s fingers sunk into the soft vulnerable eyes that had nearly prevented all this madness. She didn’t relent when the first shockingly painful blow to her temple came, or when the next desperate punch struck her side. The whispers told her where to apply the pressure and how hard to push down, and she didn’t intend to disappoint them. She kept shoving relentlessly inward, even when she felt something sharp jab the side of her thumb, followed by the sudden giving way of a sticky surface.

Something content sighed across the back of her skull when his screams reached their crescendo, echoing her own not long ago when she birthed their unexpected child, followed by a bright burst of light behind her own eyes.

Forgetting the spasming form of her unwanted lover beneath and shaking the bright stars from her vision, Tala rushed up to fend off the other two soldiers. Not trusting what her sight told her, she found one already lying unmoving just where she herself had been on her back moments before when reality still made sense. While no blood pooled around the body, he had clearly been pierced through to the bone a dozen or more times. Short, jagged wounds gaped open across his body, all filled with a viscous black fluid.

In the corner of the room she spied her next quarry, on his knees and looking down in mute shock at the razor sharp end of a segmented leg piercing his sternum. When it retracted back the third soldier collapsed, trying but failing to bring out some words of denial that would return the world to the way it had been earlier, back when he thought that easy prey would provide a momentary diversion.

With the knights down, Tala could finally reach her child, which was now pulled up tightly against the basement’s corner, feebly jabbing its one remaining solid leg out against any other assailants. When its mother approached, that segmented appendage folded up tightly against the newborn’s body. It seemed to lose the strength born of self-preservation then, sagging down and succumbing to the devastating nature of its crushing wounds.

She gathered it up in her arms, heedless of the slashing spines and razor sharp bottoms of its limbs, and whispered soft words to her dying infant. This time the whispers were her own.

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Character Profile: Erret

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We’re getting very, very close to release now, but there’s still more coming before Friday! Following profiles on Myrr and Tala, today we look one of my favorite characters from upcoming grimdark novel “Light Dawning” – the unhinged Father Erret.

A missionary seeking to spread his northern religion that worships the light and focuses on reaching the limits of human potential, Erret sees the occupation not as something to fear, but rather as an opportunity to turn the city towards his god’s faith.

One of those delightfully obnoxious religious fanatics who is more devoted to his cause than even the higher ranking members of his order, Erret found himself exiled to convert unbelievers in a hostile environment far away from priests and bishops who were tired of his sermons.

If he’d had more followers, likely a religious schism would have occurred, as Erret finds the leadership of the clergy to be entirely derelict in their duties, wasting away on golden thrones when their religious text clearly commands them to spend their lives on the move in service to the light.

Unlike the vast majority of Cestia, which is in deep despair or numb indifference over the brutality of the occupation, Erret views the entire ordeal as something holy, existing in a state of religious rapture. In his view, pain is growth and a sign that you are on the right track.

In his twisted worldview, he’d happily watch the entire city burn to the ground if it meant the few remaining survivors would accept his god’s truth.

 

 

Examining how “Light Dawning” differs from traditional fantasy

There isn’t a chosen one here certain to rise above adversity and save the world. A humble farm boy doesn’t go on an epic journey to become a sword master or arch wizard. Magic is by and large a very bad thing here, because if anyone in this particular universe finds themselves with supernatural powers, it probably means they drew the attention of some insane cosmic being far beyond human comprehension.

After the book’s opening chapter was premiered online yesterday, today we’ve got an interview up at MyLifeMyBooksMyEscape.

This time we take an overview look at the four main characters,  discuss how the book differs from traditional fantasy, explore the many facets of grimdark, and see the surprising reactions from advance readers.

Just eight more days till “Light Dawning” is officially released!

1st Advance Chapter Online

After the character profile for Myrr came online, now its time to get your first real taste of what to expect from upcoming grimdark fantasy novel “Light Dawning” and meet Myrr up close and personal!

In today’s stop of the book promo tour, Metalunderground.com has premiered the entire opening chapter!

Here we meet two main characters, Myrr and Casterly, as they hide in a cellar with a group of freedom fighters, hoping to simply survive the day without being discovered by the soldiers searching for them. Give it a read right here and let me know what you think!

Special thanks to U.K. progressive metal band Code and Norwegian depressive black metal outfit Shining for the music that fueled the writing sessions for Myrr’s segments of the story.

Character Profile: Tala

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The “Light Dawning” character roll call continues! After covering Myrr last week, now we arrive at Tala, who is introduced in the second chapter.

Traveling from her monastery home, this quiet and mysterious woman was trapped in Cestia just as the occupation began.

She finds herself in a desperate situation in Cestia’s waning last days, accosted by uncaring soldiers who are unaware of the deadly danger lurking within. Stoic in the extreme after a lifetime of unimaginable hardships, she bears each new indignity of daily life without breaking.

Infested with insane whispers from a realm beyond the physical, Tala must spend every waking moment holding them back, or the world will know true despair. Even the slightest crack in her mental shield could see something anathema to stable reality slipping through. For Tala, motherhood is a gift and a curse.

The light to Myrr’s dark, Tala teaches her fellow fugitive to restrain the darkness possessing his soul, but secretly wonders if perhaps they should both give in and put their unwanted parasites to use.

You can meet Tala, Myrr, and the rest of the cast when “Light Dawning” sees official release on May 26th! Before that we’ll introduce two more characters in the coming days: the freedom fighter Casterly and unhinged missionary Father Erret.

New interview

[image error]The promo tour for “Light Dawning” rolls onward as we are now less than two weeks from official release day!  Today a brand new interview is online via Are You Afraid Of The Dark, the blog of author A.F. Stewart.

In this one, I discuss my favorite characters in the novel, as well as other topics like writing in multiple genres, challenges faced by all authors, and the next projects on the horizon.

One part in particular I’d like to highlight is the role of the main character Tala, who will be covered in tomorrow’s character profile reveal.

Of all the characters in the book, two stand out most to me. My favorite would probably be Tala, who is the strongest character of the bunch. Despite having been dealt a very band hand in life, she always soldiers on, and she’s managed to keep going despite extreme hardship that would have destroyed anyone else. Harboring a dangerous secret within her, she has no choice but to remain strong in face of unrelenting adversity.

Representing how so much is expected of women in a society while they are frequently treated poorly despite their contributions, Tala has to spend every waking moment working to keep a maelstrom of insane whispers and screams from spilling out of her mind. If she lets her guard down for even a split second, no matter what physical or emotional hardship being endured, she could inadvertently open a doorway between sane reality and another place filled with nightmare things. Sadly, very few will ever acknowledge her constant efforts, but if she ever lapses in her vigilance, the world will suffer for it.

Besides Tala, I loved writing the character Father Erret. Not your typical priest or cleric of a fantasy novel, Erret is an extremist who managed to anger his own religion’s hierarchy and ended up having to leave his home to spread his beliefs elsewhere. Rather than descending into despair over the city’s current condition, Erret is in a constant state of religious rapture, believing the entire invasion and occupation to be a testing of his faith and an opportunity to turn the citizens to his way of thinking. He believes pain to be the proper expression of a life worth living, and would happily watch the entire city burn if it would convert the survivors to his religion.

Be sure to catch the full interview right here and stay tuned for much more coming as we head into the May 26th release date!

New interview up at The Scary Reviews

[image error]The promo tour for “Light Dawning” is now in full swing!

After an indie spotlight via The Bookwraiths on why I chose the grimdark genre for this book and a character profile on Myrr, now the first official interview for this book cycle has gone live.

Chatting with The Scary Reviews, I cover everything from screaming cell phone customers to Big Bird to one of life’s real horrors – rejection letters!

Find out all about the inspiration behind “Light Dawning” and what books I’ve been reading lately right here.

 

Character Profile: Myrr

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Our roll call of “Light Dawning” character profiles begins with Myrr, a man on the run introduced in the first chapter.

After coming across a sentient relic that the Knights Of The Black Gauntlet have been tearing apart Cestia searching for, Myrr reluctantly becomes involved in a rebellion he fears just as much as the soldiers.

Concerned more with survival than grand schemes of liberation, Myrr has run afoul of the Knighthood and currently resides in an underground safe house with other unfortunates marked for death.

Masquerading as a scribe who takes tally of where the city’s meager resources are sent, this former “collector of antiquities” is possessed by a dark force beyond human comprehension and is desperate to be free of its malign influence. Between his parasitic internal companion and the hard earned lessons of the deadly occupation, Myrr prefers to keep others at arm’s length.

A thief and worse before the city fell to the southern empire, his willingness to engage in low deeds and knowledge of every last back alley and bolt hole in Cestia has allowed him to survive when more noble men have fallen. As the occupation drags on, Myrr has to ask himself: is this kind of existence worth holding on to?

You can meet Myrr and the rest of the cast when “Light Dawning” sees official release on May 26th!

Why Grimdark?

“For me, grimdark is taking the uncaring nature of reality and injecting it into fantasy.”

[image error]The promo tour for “Light Dawning” officially kicks off today courtesy of the fine folks from The Bookwraiths as I tackle the question “Why Grimdark?”

You can read the full article right here – head over and leave a comment with your thoughts on my answer!

For those who missed it, my grimdark fantasy / horror novel “Light Dawning” will officially see release on May 26th, 2017!

A whole lot more is coming soon, including character profiles, advance chapters premiering online ahead of release, and a series of interviews covering every aspect of the book.

 

Get ready to get grim!

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The promotion machine is about to rev up into full gear, with a storm of interviews, guest posts, indie spotlights, and reviews set to arrive ahead of the official May 26th release date for “Light Dawning.”

Stay tuned for a whole lot of inside info on how this book came together, along with a series of advance chapter premieres revealing the main characters!

For now, check out the various pages where my new grimdark fantasy / horror novel is available for pre-order, and be sure to wishlist or click “want to read” to help spread the word!

Kindle pre-order
Paperback pre-order
Goodreads landing page
New Amazon author page