John H. Carroll's Blog, page 7
October 4, 2013
Wyvern Trilogy Book 2: Chapter 1
I'm really not sure whether to name this book "Liquid" or "Scales". I would like to note that this is a first draft. It has not been edited or smoothed out, so you are likely to find a mistake or ten. :) The final version will be clean.
***************** SPOILERS *************** IF YOU HAVE NOT READ "WYVERN", BOOK 1 OF THE WYVERN TRILOGY, THIS EXCERPT HAS MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR THAT STORY.
You can find "Wyvern", book 1 at these stores:
SmashwordsAmazonAppleBarnes & NobleKobo
Chapter 1
Pelya sucked in air as she deflected the attack with her secondary sword. She swung her main sword in a counterattack.
The elusive woman twirled through the air, dodging Pelya’s blade. Short, brilliant-red hair spun away from the woman’s scalp.
Tina rounded a nearby tree and feinted from the flank to take advantage of an opening left by the woman.The woman easily parried the blow and kicked up with a bare foot. She landed a glancing blow on Tina’s chin, causing the young warrior’s russet ponytail to fly around and smack her in the cheek.
Tina instantly recovered and tried to sneak her blade into the woman’s side.
At the same time, Pelya swung both of her swords, one high and one low. The high one made contact.
The woman flipped backward and landed in a crouch on her toes. Shock registered in rose-pink eyes as a thin cut in her cheek began to leak blood. “You cut me!”
Tina let out a yell of triumph. “Ha!”
Pelya remained in ready stance, waiting for Commander Brynin to call an end to the sparring match.
Tina noticed and jerked back into ready stance as well.
The commander saluted them and sheathed her sword. “That’s the first time your blade has ever touched me, Agent Jornin. I must be losing my edge.”
Pelya saluted her in return before sheathing her own swords. “You’re nearly as slow as an emo bunny, Commander Brynin. Hardly a test at all.” Pelya grinned.
Tina also saluted the commander before falling dramatically to the grass, gasping for breath.
Commander Brynin narrowed her eyes at Pelya. “That’s why you’re sweating like a carnivorous fairy lost in the desert, and why my niece is flopping around on the ground and gulping air like a fish out of water.” Her pealing laughter echoed off the stone walls of the grassy courtyard.
Pelya wiped a sleeve across her soaked brow, thankful for the slight breeze rustling through leaves. “I try to come up with something new every time we spar. I pay attention to your methods and learn from them as well.” She took her gloves off and tucked them in her sword belt.
“Yes, I’ve noticed that.” She waggled a finger at Pelya. “You’ve even tried a few on me. It’s easy to see why you’re a swordmaster. You have natural talent, an indomitable work ethic and intelligence that enables you to improve each time you engage an opponent.”
Tina pulled her hair out of the ponytail and began pulling the sweat-soaked strands back into place. “Yeah, but you still cut her a few times, Aunt Reela. I can’t even do that.”
Commander Brynin came over to Pelya and rested an arm over her shoulders. “That’s because I’m a swordmaster sixth class and she’s only classified as swordmaster second class, though she could probably qualify for third.” The commander studied Pelya’s face. “As Tina said, I cut you a few times, Pelya, including once across the forehead. I saw the blood.”
Pelya’s jaw clenched shut of its own will.
The commander narrowed her eyes. “I sense my mind being pushed. If I didn’t have these pretty little earrings that protect my mind from enchantment, I’d probably forget yet again that you have no scars.” She tapped at one of the dangling earrings with a finger. “So tell me how you manage it.”
Pelya couldn’t breathe. She began to panic at the helplessness she felt. An intricate tattoo covering the left half of Pelya’s torso grew uncomfortably hot. At the age of eleven, she and her best friend Ebudae had saved a baby dragon. Its mother, Hezzena, had given them dragon marks as a reward. The magic of the mark prevented Pelya from remembering it when it wasn’t active. It also prevented her from answering questions about it.
Commander Brynin stepped back. “Are you playing a game with me, Pelya?”
The dragon mark squeezed Pelya’s lungs tighter and set her bones on fire.
Pelya fell to her knees, screaming through clenched teeth near to breaking. The last of the air in her lungs abandoned her dispassionately. Darkness surrounded the edges of her vision.
Commander Brynin jumped forward and took Pelya’s cheeks in her hands. “I withdraw my question! Release her, foul geas!”
The pressure lessened, allowing a breath of desperate air to steal down Pelya’s throat. She collapsed to the ground, her muscles drained of strength.
“I’m sorry, Pelya. No more questions.” Commander Brynin helped Pelya to her feet and steadied her. “Let’s have some chilled juice in my office. We’ll talk about your next assignment.”
Pelya leaned heavily on the commander as they walked to the courtyard door along a path bordered by flowerbeds. Tina opened the door and stepped aside to let them in before closing it. The inside of the manor was cool after stepping in from the summer day. Tina and Pelya took off their boots before stepping onto the soft carpet that ran the length of the hallway.
Commander Brynin, who never wore anything on her feet, said, “Thank you for taking your boots off. The carpet lasts much longer that way. Besides, feet are happier out of the artificial prisons you two call shoes.”
Tina fanned her face with a hand. “We wear boots, Aunt Reela.” Now that she had caught her breath, her voice regained its normal peppiness.
The corner of Commander Brynin’s mouth twisted as she gave her niece a look of amusement. There was a hint of family resemblance in their thin noses and rounded cheekbones.
Tina smiled at her aunt, grey eyes twinkling. Upon reaching the office, she jumped forward and held the door open. At the end of the lush office was a beautiful whitewood desk with carvings of birds around the edges. Tapestries and paintings on the wall were likely priceless along with everything else in the room. Wall to wall carpeting was pleasurable under their bare feet.
To the left was a sitting area with a table that matched the desk. To the right was a large globe. Swaths of blue covered most of it, mixed with brown and green patches. Floating mystically around it were Ryallon’s two moons, Siahray and Piohray.
They walked to the desk where the commander sat in a comfortable chair while Pelya and Tina took chairs opposite her. Commander Brynin leaned back and kicked her feet on the corner of the desk, a common habit of hers. “Have you heard about the Liquid Wyverns? Before you answer, you need to know that details about them are confidential, so anything said in this room is also confidential.”
Pelya gave a short nod. “A little bit. They are powerful magical artifacts, though I don’t know what they do.” She thought back to shortly after she had become a recruit of the Blue Wyverns. “I saw the one in the Academy Library. It moved and seemed to look at me. If I remember correctly, they consist of a mixture of metals including gold, silver and platinum that retain their liquid state. Powerful archmages merge the metals with other ingredients and imbue the devices with more magic than can be placed into something solid. Gems are added to focus power.”
“Yes. I won’t ask who told you that. I’m not in the mood to arrest anyone today.” The commander winked. “Now I’m going to tell you more. About fifty years after the Blue Wyverns were formed, Academy Commander Vernt came up with the idea for Liquid Wyverns. The organization had been growing rapidly and communications were a problem. When things went wrong far away, there was no way of knowing until runners arrived with reports. By then it was usually too late to rescue a soldiers in danger.”
“Which is why the Blue Wyverns engineer better highways and use a system of waypoints to increase the speed of communication,” Pelya responded.
“I bet there’s more to it than that,” Tina said.
Commander Brynin winked. “Very good, my pretty little niece.” She pointed a warning finger at both of them. “I’m trusting you with one of the closest kept secrets in the Wyverns now.”
They both nodded.
“The Liquid Wyverns act as a communication and tracking system for the Blue Wyverns. There are currently twenty-two scattered throughout Blue Wyvern holdings. Each one has a troop of Academy-trained wizards called Liquid Mages who interpret the messages sent between them.
Pelya gave a low whistle. “That’s complicated and powerful magic.”
“Yes it is,” the commander agreed. “In addition to that, every recruit who graduates to become a Blue Wyvern is entered into the system using a drop of blood.”
“That’s why they wanted our blood,” Tina remarked. “I never understood that."
“Yes.” Commander Brynin leaned forward. “Now the extraordinary thing about the Liquid Wyverns is that they know the health of every member of the Blue Wyverns. Whenever one dies, an alarm is activated in the nearest Wyvern. A wizard will be able to tell who has died. If a troop or company is killed suddenly, that would also be communicated.”
“Wow,” Pelya mouthed in awe.
“The original Liquid Wyvern is at the Academy here in Settatt, which is the one you saw.” Commander Brynin gestured to Pelya. “As the Blue Wyverns expanded, keeping track of everyone was more than it could handle. Another was created, and then another. Academy Commander Vernt began to realize that a central device would have to be made to handle the growing number. Thus, the Settatt Wyvern here at Headquarters was created. You won’t see that one.”
“Now I really want to see it,” Tina said in fascination.
“Tough.” The commander smirked. “Vernt invited a few powerful Archmages he knew to be friends of the Blue Wyverns to assist him in making the Settatt Wyvern. It stands at fifteen hands tall and forty-two hands long. Vernt wasn’t able to find a lone sapphire large enough for the heart. Instead, he took a number of the largest sapphires he could get and cast them in a powerful heart shaped device that came to be called the Heart of Settatt.”
“You’re telling us a great deal,” Pelya said. “I must admit to curiosity as to why.”
Commander Brynin nodded. “There’s a lot I’m not telling you. But I trust you both and believe it’s important to understand the gravity of your assignment.”
Tina leaned forward. “Which is? . . .”
“Hush. I’ll get to that.” The commander waved a dismissive hand. “There are currently only three magicians in the world who can make the Liquid Wyverns. One lives in Zimth, the Capital city of Swelth. In fact, the White Talon Company should be picking up a newly made wyvern in twenty days. Their task is to bring it back here to tune it with the Settatt Wyvern.”
“The White Talon Company is one of the best,” Tina said. “Do you expect trouble, Aunt Reela?”
“I don’t know.” The commander frowned. “I’ve only heard a couple of whisperings. It wouldn’t normally be enough to bother me, but those papers you found a year and a half ago, Pelya, mentioned that the mysterious Guild of Scales is targeting the Liquid Wyverns.”
“Perhaps if you’d let me read those papers . . .” Pelya raised an eyebrow.
“She did discover them after all,” Tina contributed, “along with exposing the old Recruit Commander who was sabotaging the Recruit Program.”
Commander Brynin gave a long-suffering sigh. “Yes, I know. She also wants to know about the man named Laen who killed most of her squad in Dralin. As I’ve explained countless times, the papers are sealed away in a vault and can’t be opened except by order of the Council of Eight, which isn’t going to happen.”
Pelya leaned her elbow on the arm of the chair and rested her chin on her fist while staring at the globe.Tina patted Pelya’s thigh supportively. “Do you think the Guild of Scales will try to steal the Liquid Wyvern, Aunt Reela?”
“I don’t know.” The commander held out a hand and studied her fingernails. “I haven’t discovered out anything new about them. I don’t even know where to start searching.” Frustration touched her voice.Pelya turned back to the conversation. “You’d think Indiya, the old Recruit Commander, would have said something about it, or one of the others that were captured.”
“We believe that only four of those we captured knew about the guild.” Brynin took out a dagger and trimmed one of the nails. “The rest worked for pay or blackmail.”
“You didn’t get any information from the four?” Pelya asked. “Surely one of them would have talked.”“Possibly, but they all died before they could be questioned.” The commander went to work on another nail. “Those four had some sort of geas that blackened their blood and killed them in what looked to be an excruciating manner. There was nothing we could do to stop it.”
“I hadn’t heard about that.” Pelya frowned. She herself was the victim of a geas aside from the dragon mark, one that banished her from Dralin. If she ever tried to go back, it would kill her, though hopefully not in the same manner.
Brynin put the dagger away. “We didn’t release those details, and you are to keep them confidential as well.”
Tina gave a sharp nod. “We will, Aunt Reela. Do you want us to join the White Talon Company to keep an eye on the Liquid Wyvern, or do you want us to investigate the whispers, or something else entirely?”
Pelya leaned toward Tina and whispered loud enough for the commander to hear. “Probably a little bit of each along with finding out more information about the Rojuun.” Tina grinned at the statement.
The commander chuckled. “I don’t want you to join the White Talons. The captain doesn’t like spies, as she calls my people. She would try to keep you under rein and that is notuseful to anyone.” She pointed her dagger at them. “By the time you get to Zimth, the White Talons should already have the Liquid Wyvern and be on their way back. Check in with the captain on the road and make certain that all is well. Once you’ve done that, continue on to Zimth and then the two of you are to go into the city to investigate the whispers.” She winked. “And see if you can learn anything about the Rojuun.”
“Do you have any recommendations as to where to start?” Pelya asked.
“I have two contacts you can get in touch with. Tumera is the first. She’s a merchant of exotic goods who has a store in the City Market.” Brynin finally put her dagger away, satisfied that all her nails were short enough. “People talk to her easily, telling her stories from all over the continent and occasionally from beyond. Her grandmother was a member of the Wyverns and Tumera always loved the old tales the woman told to her. She also knows to keep her ear open for word of the Rojuun.”
Tina fidgeted in her chair, never one to sit still for long. “Who’s the other contact?”
“Everyone calls him Idget. Even I don’t know his real name.”
Tina frowned. “That doesn’t sound very encouraging.”
“Don’t let the name fool you.” Brynin grinned. “He’s clever like a fox, but acts the part of an ox.”
Pelya raised an eyebrow. “You’ve become a poet?”
Brynin laughed. “I’d torture you by reciting some, but I’m not certain I have enough rope to keep you tied to the chair. Idget is a thief and a sneak. He pretends stupidity in order to loosen people’s tongues and it works. Do not underestimate him.”
Tina’s brow furrowed. “Is it safe to deal with a thief?”
Pelya leaned toward her. “It’s never safe to deal with a thief; however, they make some of the best informants. Just remember not to fully trust what they tell you.”
Brynin nodded. “Let Pelya handle him. She likely dealt with far worse when she lived in Dralin. To get in touch with Idget, you have to speak to Rymon, the bartender at the Black Moon Tavern. Tell him, ‘horses are stupid,’ and he’ll get you in touch.”
“Horses are stupid?” Tina asked with a laugh.
The commander shrugged. “I’ve never found out the meaning. I suppose I could, I just don’t care enough to do so.”
“Should we speak to the mage who’s making this new Liquid Wyvern?” Tina asked.
“Yes. That would be Professor Klunjun of the Dayblossom Orphanage.” The commander gave them a secretive wink. “He’s really an archmage, but few people know that. When you get a chance, head to the orphanage. I doubt he’ll know anything about the rumors. His head is too deep into his work, but it won’t hurt to ask.”
Pelya frowned. “He works at an orphanage? How bad is it there?”
Commander Brynin tilted her head in curiousity. “That’s an odd question. From what I understand, it’s decent enough for an orphanage. Why did you ask that?”
“You don’t know?” Pelya stared her in the eye. “Surely you’ve investigated my past.”
“A little bit. But information out of Dralin is never trustworthy and I don’t have a strong presence there. I know you were raised by your father in the City Guard, but there’s never been any mention of orphanages. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t wish. I’m just curious about everything.” The commander gave her a genuine smile.
Pelya debated internally for a moment. She didn’t like talking about herself, especially not her time in Dralin. Her childhood had been wonderful most of the time as far as she was concerned, but most wouldn’t have thought so.
Tina and the commander waited in patient silence for her to respond one way or the other. She decided to trust them. “My father was raised in the Dralin orphanages. They were horrible and corrupt. He never told me all of what he saw, but the few glimpses he gave me made me grateful for what I’ve always believed was a wonderful childhood.” Pelya smiled at fond memories. “I loved being raised in the Guard. Everyone there was my aunt or uncle. They sheltered me, taught me countless things and gave me hard-earned coppers to spend. I picked up a practice sword before I turned four and spent as much time as I could learning the art of combat in addition to the values of justice and peacekeeping.”
Brynin frowned. “There’s little of either quality in Dralin.”
Pelya chuckled. “True, but the City Guard is the one force that provides what little there is.” Pelya stood. “Tell me more of this professor.”
“The Professor has lasted a long time at the orphanage, teaching the orphans a few hours each day,” the commander said. “He lives in the northernmost tower of the orphanage, which is cluttered with books and magical items from what I understand. He’s reported to be just as messy as his tower.”
“What about the city?” Pelya asked. “I don’t know much about Zimth.”
“It’s pretty,” Tina said. “Mother took me there once and I nearly broke my neck gawking at the sights. I’m much more worldly now, but I still think Zimth is one of the prettiest cities around.”
“It’s also one of the most disorganized cities in the world,” Brynin added. “There isn’t a straight road anywhere in Zimth. The buildings are oddly shaped and don’t fit quite right.”
Tina laughed. “That’s true. We got lost a few times, but that was part of the fun. Can you give us specifics about the whispers you’ve heard, Aunt Reela?”
“Idget heard from one of his connections that a small group of mercenaries was hired to create a riot around the time when the White Talon Company is supposed to pick up the Liquid Wyvern. He wasn’t able to discern a connection other than the timing, but it’s my job to worry about those things.”
“Coincidences are often planned in my experience,” Pelya said.
“Exactly.” Brynin steepled her hands in front of her chin. “Tumera heard a pair of customers discussing the creation of an artifact. They stopped talking when they noticed her, so it’s really not much at all, but I don’t know of any other artifacts being created in Zimth. She also sent me these.” The commander opened a drawer and tossed three coins on the desk.
They were small with intricate designs on them. Copper was the smallest of the three with silver and gold being similar sizes. Pelya picked up the silver. “I’ve never seen these, they look legitimate though.”
“It’s called ‘uun’. It’s what the Rojuun use for currency.” Brynin tapped each one. “Four copper uuns make a silver uun and eight silver uuns make a gold uun. Tumera learned this from someone who escaped from Rojuun territory.”
Pelya’s head jerked up. “Really? What else did they tell her?”
Brynin’s lips twisted in irritation. “She said she has too much information to put in writing. So I’m left in suspense.” She pointed at them. “That’s why the two of you need to get to Zimth as fast as possible and find out the rest. Speak to these fugitives if at all possible. I need to know more.”
Tina sighed dramatically. “Don’t you want us to take a few days off to rest first, Aunt Reela? We’ve been gone since we graduated from the Academy and not a day’s rest.”
“You’ve had plenty of rest over the last week since you’ve been in Settatt.” Brynin got to her feet and leaned her hands on the desk.
That wasn’t entirely true considering Pelya and Tina had been debriefing the commander the entire time. However, they weren’t about to test her resolve, so they jumped up with grins and saluted her. Then they gave her hugs and headed out.
***************** SPOILERS *************** IF YOU HAVE NOT READ "WYVERN", BOOK 1 OF THE WYVERN TRILOGY, THIS EXCERPT HAS MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR THAT STORY.
You can find "Wyvern", book 1 at these stores:
SmashwordsAmazonAppleBarnes & NobleKobo
Chapter 1
Pelya sucked in air as she deflected the attack with her secondary sword. She swung her main sword in a counterattack.
The elusive woman twirled through the air, dodging Pelya’s blade. Short, brilliant-red hair spun away from the woman’s scalp.
Tina rounded a nearby tree and feinted from the flank to take advantage of an opening left by the woman.The woman easily parried the blow and kicked up with a bare foot. She landed a glancing blow on Tina’s chin, causing the young warrior’s russet ponytail to fly around and smack her in the cheek.
Tina instantly recovered and tried to sneak her blade into the woman’s side.
At the same time, Pelya swung both of her swords, one high and one low. The high one made contact.
The woman flipped backward and landed in a crouch on her toes. Shock registered in rose-pink eyes as a thin cut in her cheek began to leak blood. “You cut me!”
Tina let out a yell of triumph. “Ha!”
Pelya remained in ready stance, waiting for Commander Brynin to call an end to the sparring match.
Tina noticed and jerked back into ready stance as well.
The commander saluted them and sheathed her sword. “That’s the first time your blade has ever touched me, Agent Jornin. I must be losing my edge.”
Pelya saluted her in return before sheathing her own swords. “You’re nearly as slow as an emo bunny, Commander Brynin. Hardly a test at all.” Pelya grinned.
Tina also saluted the commander before falling dramatically to the grass, gasping for breath.
Commander Brynin narrowed her eyes at Pelya. “That’s why you’re sweating like a carnivorous fairy lost in the desert, and why my niece is flopping around on the ground and gulping air like a fish out of water.” Her pealing laughter echoed off the stone walls of the grassy courtyard.
Pelya wiped a sleeve across her soaked brow, thankful for the slight breeze rustling through leaves. “I try to come up with something new every time we spar. I pay attention to your methods and learn from them as well.” She took her gloves off and tucked them in her sword belt.
“Yes, I’ve noticed that.” She waggled a finger at Pelya. “You’ve even tried a few on me. It’s easy to see why you’re a swordmaster. You have natural talent, an indomitable work ethic and intelligence that enables you to improve each time you engage an opponent.”
Tina pulled her hair out of the ponytail and began pulling the sweat-soaked strands back into place. “Yeah, but you still cut her a few times, Aunt Reela. I can’t even do that.”
Commander Brynin came over to Pelya and rested an arm over her shoulders. “That’s because I’m a swordmaster sixth class and she’s only classified as swordmaster second class, though she could probably qualify for third.” The commander studied Pelya’s face. “As Tina said, I cut you a few times, Pelya, including once across the forehead. I saw the blood.”
Pelya’s jaw clenched shut of its own will.
The commander narrowed her eyes. “I sense my mind being pushed. If I didn’t have these pretty little earrings that protect my mind from enchantment, I’d probably forget yet again that you have no scars.” She tapped at one of the dangling earrings with a finger. “So tell me how you manage it.”
Pelya couldn’t breathe. She began to panic at the helplessness she felt. An intricate tattoo covering the left half of Pelya’s torso grew uncomfortably hot. At the age of eleven, she and her best friend Ebudae had saved a baby dragon. Its mother, Hezzena, had given them dragon marks as a reward. The magic of the mark prevented Pelya from remembering it when it wasn’t active. It also prevented her from answering questions about it.
Commander Brynin stepped back. “Are you playing a game with me, Pelya?”
The dragon mark squeezed Pelya’s lungs tighter and set her bones on fire.
Pelya fell to her knees, screaming through clenched teeth near to breaking. The last of the air in her lungs abandoned her dispassionately. Darkness surrounded the edges of her vision.
Commander Brynin jumped forward and took Pelya’s cheeks in her hands. “I withdraw my question! Release her, foul geas!”
The pressure lessened, allowing a breath of desperate air to steal down Pelya’s throat. She collapsed to the ground, her muscles drained of strength.
“I’m sorry, Pelya. No more questions.” Commander Brynin helped Pelya to her feet and steadied her. “Let’s have some chilled juice in my office. We’ll talk about your next assignment.”
Pelya leaned heavily on the commander as they walked to the courtyard door along a path bordered by flowerbeds. Tina opened the door and stepped aside to let them in before closing it. The inside of the manor was cool after stepping in from the summer day. Tina and Pelya took off their boots before stepping onto the soft carpet that ran the length of the hallway.
Commander Brynin, who never wore anything on her feet, said, “Thank you for taking your boots off. The carpet lasts much longer that way. Besides, feet are happier out of the artificial prisons you two call shoes.”
Tina fanned her face with a hand. “We wear boots, Aunt Reela.” Now that she had caught her breath, her voice regained its normal peppiness.
The corner of Commander Brynin’s mouth twisted as she gave her niece a look of amusement. There was a hint of family resemblance in their thin noses and rounded cheekbones.
Tina smiled at her aunt, grey eyes twinkling. Upon reaching the office, she jumped forward and held the door open. At the end of the lush office was a beautiful whitewood desk with carvings of birds around the edges. Tapestries and paintings on the wall were likely priceless along with everything else in the room. Wall to wall carpeting was pleasurable under their bare feet.
To the left was a sitting area with a table that matched the desk. To the right was a large globe. Swaths of blue covered most of it, mixed with brown and green patches. Floating mystically around it were Ryallon’s two moons, Siahray and Piohray.
They walked to the desk where the commander sat in a comfortable chair while Pelya and Tina took chairs opposite her. Commander Brynin leaned back and kicked her feet on the corner of the desk, a common habit of hers. “Have you heard about the Liquid Wyverns? Before you answer, you need to know that details about them are confidential, so anything said in this room is also confidential.”
Pelya gave a short nod. “A little bit. They are powerful magical artifacts, though I don’t know what they do.” She thought back to shortly after she had become a recruit of the Blue Wyverns. “I saw the one in the Academy Library. It moved and seemed to look at me. If I remember correctly, they consist of a mixture of metals including gold, silver and platinum that retain their liquid state. Powerful archmages merge the metals with other ingredients and imbue the devices with more magic than can be placed into something solid. Gems are added to focus power.”
“Yes. I won’t ask who told you that. I’m not in the mood to arrest anyone today.” The commander winked. “Now I’m going to tell you more. About fifty years after the Blue Wyverns were formed, Academy Commander Vernt came up with the idea for Liquid Wyverns. The organization had been growing rapidly and communications were a problem. When things went wrong far away, there was no way of knowing until runners arrived with reports. By then it was usually too late to rescue a soldiers in danger.”
“Which is why the Blue Wyverns engineer better highways and use a system of waypoints to increase the speed of communication,” Pelya responded.
“I bet there’s more to it than that,” Tina said.
Commander Brynin winked. “Very good, my pretty little niece.” She pointed a warning finger at both of them. “I’m trusting you with one of the closest kept secrets in the Wyverns now.”
They both nodded.
“The Liquid Wyverns act as a communication and tracking system for the Blue Wyverns. There are currently twenty-two scattered throughout Blue Wyvern holdings. Each one has a troop of Academy-trained wizards called Liquid Mages who interpret the messages sent between them.
Pelya gave a low whistle. “That’s complicated and powerful magic.”
“Yes it is,” the commander agreed. “In addition to that, every recruit who graduates to become a Blue Wyvern is entered into the system using a drop of blood.”
“That’s why they wanted our blood,” Tina remarked. “I never understood that."
“Yes.” Commander Brynin leaned forward. “Now the extraordinary thing about the Liquid Wyverns is that they know the health of every member of the Blue Wyverns. Whenever one dies, an alarm is activated in the nearest Wyvern. A wizard will be able to tell who has died. If a troop or company is killed suddenly, that would also be communicated.”
“Wow,” Pelya mouthed in awe.
“The original Liquid Wyvern is at the Academy here in Settatt, which is the one you saw.” Commander Brynin gestured to Pelya. “As the Blue Wyverns expanded, keeping track of everyone was more than it could handle. Another was created, and then another. Academy Commander Vernt began to realize that a central device would have to be made to handle the growing number. Thus, the Settatt Wyvern here at Headquarters was created. You won’t see that one.”
“Now I really want to see it,” Tina said in fascination.
“Tough.” The commander smirked. “Vernt invited a few powerful Archmages he knew to be friends of the Blue Wyverns to assist him in making the Settatt Wyvern. It stands at fifteen hands tall and forty-two hands long. Vernt wasn’t able to find a lone sapphire large enough for the heart. Instead, he took a number of the largest sapphires he could get and cast them in a powerful heart shaped device that came to be called the Heart of Settatt.”
“You’re telling us a great deal,” Pelya said. “I must admit to curiosity as to why.”
Commander Brynin nodded. “There’s a lot I’m not telling you. But I trust you both and believe it’s important to understand the gravity of your assignment.”
Tina leaned forward. “Which is? . . .”
“Hush. I’ll get to that.” The commander waved a dismissive hand. “There are currently only three magicians in the world who can make the Liquid Wyverns. One lives in Zimth, the Capital city of Swelth. In fact, the White Talon Company should be picking up a newly made wyvern in twenty days. Their task is to bring it back here to tune it with the Settatt Wyvern.”
“The White Talon Company is one of the best,” Tina said. “Do you expect trouble, Aunt Reela?”
“I don’t know.” The commander frowned. “I’ve only heard a couple of whisperings. It wouldn’t normally be enough to bother me, but those papers you found a year and a half ago, Pelya, mentioned that the mysterious Guild of Scales is targeting the Liquid Wyverns.”
“Perhaps if you’d let me read those papers . . .” Pelya raised an eyebrow.
“She did discover them after all,” Tina contributed, “along with exposing the old Recruit Commander who was sabotaging the Recruit Program.”
Commander Brynin gave a long-suffering sigh. “Yes, I know. She also wants to know about the man named Laen who killed most of her squad in Dralin. As I’ve explained countless times, the papers are sealed away in a vault and can’t be opened except by order of the Council of Eight, which isn’t going to happen.”
Pelya leaned her elbow on the arm of the chair and rested her chin on her fist while staring at the globe.Tina patted Pelya’s thigh supportively. “Do you think the Guild of Scales will try to steal the Liquid Wyvern, Aunt Reela?”
“I don’t know.” The commander held out a hand and studied her fingernails. “I haven’t discovered out anything new about them. I don’t even know where to start searching.” Frustration touched her voice.Pelya turned back to the conversation. “You’d think Indiya, the old Recruit Commander, would have said something about it, or one of the others that were captured.”
“We believe that only four of those we captured knew about the guild.” Brynin took out a dagger and trimmed one of the nails. “The rest worked for pay or blackmail.”
“You didn’t get any information from the four?” Pelya asked. “Surely one of them would have talked.”“Possibly, but they all died before they could be questioned.” The commander went to work on another nail. “Those four had some sort of geas that blackened their blood and killed them in what looked to be an excruciating manner. There was nothing we could do to stop it.”
“I hadn’t heard about that.” Pelya frowned. She herself was the victim of a geas aside from the dragon mark, one that banished her from Dralin. If she ever tried to go back, it would kill her, though hopefully not in the same manner.
Brynin put the dagger away. “We didn’t release those details, and you are to keep them confidential as well.”
Tina gave a sharp nod. “We will, Aunt Reela. Do you want us to join the White Talon Company to keep an eye on the Liquid Wyvern, or do you want us to investigate the whispers, or something else entirely?”
Pelya leaned toward Tina and whispered loud enough for the commander to hear. “Probably a little bit of each along with finding out more information about the Rojuun.” Tina grinned at the statement.
The commander chuckled. “I don’t want you to join the White Talons. The captain doesn’t like spies, as she calls my people. She would try to keep you under rein and that is notuseful to anyone.” She pointed her dagger at them. “By the time you get to Zimth, the White Talons should already have the Liquid Wyvern and be on their way back. Check in with the captain on the road and make certain that all is well. Once you’ve done that, continue on to Zimth and then the two of you are to go into the city to investigate the whispers.” She winked. “And see if you can learn anything about the Rojuun.”
“Do you have any recommendations as to where to start?” Pelya asked.
“I have two contacts you can get in touch with. Tumera is the first. She’s a merchant of exotic goods who has a store in the City Market.” Brynin finally put her dagger away, satisfied that all her nails were short enough. “People talk to her easily, telling her stories from all over the continent and occasionally from beyond. Her grandmother was a member of the Wyverns and Tumera always loved the old tales the woman told to her. She also knows to keep her ear open for word of the Rojuun.”
Tina fidgeted in her chair, never one to sit still for long. “Who’s the other contact?”
“Everyone calls him Idget. Even I don’t know his real name.”
Tina frowned. “That doesn’t sound very encouraging.”
“Don’t let the name fool you.” Brynin grinned. “He’s clever like a fox, but acts the part of an ox.”
Pelya raised an eyebrow. “You’ve become a poet?”
Brynin laughed. “I’d torture you by reciting some, but I’m not certain I have enough rope to keep you tied to the chair. Idget is a thief and a sneak. He pretends stupidity in order to loosen people’s tongues and it works. Do not underestimate him.”
Tina’s brow furrowed. “Is it safe to deal with a thief?”
Pelya leaned toward her. “It’s never safe to deal with a thief; however, they make some of the best informants. Just remember not to fully trust what they tell you.”
Brynin nodded. “Let Pelya handle him. She likely dealt with far worse when she lived in Dralin. To get in touch with Idget, you have to speak to Rymon, the bartender at the Black Moon Tavern. Tell him, ‘horses are stupid,’ and he’ll get you in touch.”
“Horses are stupid?” Tina asked with a laugh.
The commander shrugged. “I’ve never found out the meaning. I suppose I could, I just don’t care enough to do so.”
“Should we speak to the mage who’s making this new Liquid Wyvern?” Tina asked.
“Yes. That would be Professor Klunjun of the Dayblossom Orphanage.” The commander gave them a secretive wink. “He’s really an archmage, but few people know that. When you get a chance, head to the orphanage. I doubt he’ll know anything about the rumors. His head is too deep into his work, but it won’t hurt to ask.”
Pelya frowned. “He works at an orphanage? How bad is it there?”
Commander Brynin tilted her head in curiousity. “That’s an odd question. From what I understand, it’s decent enough for an orphanage. Why did you ask that?”
“You don’t know?” Pelya stared her in the eye. “Surely you’ve investigated my past.”
“A little bit. But information out of Dralin is never trustworthy and I don’t have a strong presence there. I know you were raised by your father in the City Guard, but there’s never been any mention of orphanages. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t wish. I’m just curious about everything.” The commander gave her a genuine smile.
Pelya debated internally for a moment. She didn’t like talking about herself, especially not her time in Dralin. Her childhood had been wonderful most of the time as far as she was concerned, but most wouldn’t have thought so.
Tina and the commander waited in patient silence for her to respond one way or the other. She decided to trust them. “My father was raised in the Dralin orphanages. They were horrible and corrupt. He never told me all of what he saw, but the few glimpses he gave me made me grateful for what I’ve always believed was a wonderful childhood.” Pelya smiled at fond memories. “I loved being raised in the Guard. Everyone there was my aunt or uncle. They sheltered me, taught me countless things and gave me hard-earned coppers to spend. I picked up a practice sword before I turned four and spent as much time as I could learning the art of combat in addition to the values of justice and peacekeeping.”
Brynin frowned. “There’s little of either quality in Dralin.”
Pelya chuckled. “True, but the City Guard is the one force that provides what little there is.” Pelya stood. “Tell me more of this professor.”
“The Professor has lasted a long time at the orphanage, teaching the orphans a few hours each day,” the commander said. “He lives in the northernmost tower of the orphanage, which is cluttered with books and magical items from what I understand. He’s reported to be just as messy as his tower.”
“What about the city?” Pelya asked. “I don’t know much about Zimth.”
“It’s pretty,” Tina said. “Mother took me there once and I nearly broke my neck gawking at the sights. I’m much more worldly now, but I still think Zimth is one of the prettiest cities around.”
“It’s also one of the most disorganized cities in the world,” Brynin added. “There isn’t a straight road anywhere in Zimth. The buildings are oddly shaped and don’t fit quite right.”
Tina laughed. “That’s true. We got lost a few times, but that was part of the fun. Can you give us specifics about the whispers you’ve heard, Aunt Reela?”
“Idget heard from one of his connections that a small group of mercenaries was hired to create a riot around the time when the White Talon Company is supposed to pick up the Liquid Wyvern. He wasn’t able to discern a connection other than the timing, but it’s my job to worry about those things.”
“Coincidences are often planned in my experience,” Pelya said.
“Exactly.” Brynin steepled her hands in front of her chin. “Tumera heard a pair of customers discussing the creation of an artifact. They stopped talking when they noticed her, so it’s really not much at all, but I don’t know of any other artifacts being created in Zimth. She also sent me these.” The commander opened a drawer and tossed three coins on the desk.
They were small with intricate designs on them. Copper was the smallest of the three with silver and gold being similar sizes. Pelya picked up the silver. “I’ve never seen these, they look legitimate though.”
“It’s called ‘uun’. It’s what the Rojuun use for currency.” Brynin tapped each one. “Four copper uuns make a silver uun and eight silver uuns make a gold uun. Tumera learned this from someone who escaped from Rojuun territory.”
Pelya’s head jerked up. “Really? What else did they tell her?”
Brynin’s lips twisted in irritation. “She said she has too much information to put in writing. So I’m left in suspense.” She pointed at them. “That’s why the two of you need to get to Zimth as fast as possible and find out the rest. Speak to these fugitives if at all possible. I need to know more.”
Tina sighed dramatically. “Don’t you want us to take a few days off to rest first, Aunt Reela? We’ve been gone since we graduated from the Academy and not a day’s rest.”
“You’ve had plenty of rest over the last week since you’ve been in Settatt.” Brynin got to her feet and leaned her hands on the desk.
That wasn’t entirely true considering Pelya and Tina had been debriefing the commander the entire time. However, they weren’t about to test her resolve, so they jumped up with grins and saluted her. Then they gave her hugs and headed out.
September 30, 2013
New releases by John H. Carroll
Hi!
I wanted to let you know about some new releases I have. The first is "Liselle" the highly anticipated first book of the "Crazed Trilogy". It continues the story of Liselle and Vevin in their adventures as they learn more about who, or what, Liselle truly is. And of course, they'll hopefully find a little treasure along the way.
"Zachary Zombie and the Wicked Worm" is a new release that I've made free in all stores.
I've added two other children's stories, "Phairyphant" and "Naughty Nanoworms"
"The Storage Room in the Grey Void" is a new story about a video game extra who's existence didn't turn out the way she would have liked.
Enjoy!!!
Liselle
Print
SmashwordsAmazonKoboAppleBarnes & NobleSony
Liselle has spent the last few years living the life of adventure she always wanted. Yet she struggles with the suffering she has seen along the way. As her powers grow, the question of who she really is, or what she really is becomes a greater mystery. Join Liselle, Vevin and their new friends as they try to discover the meaning of life, and perhaps find a little treasure along the way.
Steampunk Roo
SmashwordsAmazonKoboAppleBarnes & NoblePrint
It is a little known fact that Steampunk animals roam the wild Outback of Australia. They live a rugged, but good life. Steampunk City is the center of their civilization, run by Governor Kevin Koala.
Outside of Steampunk City are vast stretches of arid lands. The Steampunk Animal Alliance has built a series of water stops with tanks of water supplied by windmills that pump water from deep in the ground. From them, Steampunk animals can refill their water tanks to keep their gears running.
Horrible news has come that someone is destroying those water stops. It’s up to Steampunk Roo, an agent of the Steampunk Animal Alliance to investigate and hopefully bring a stop to the terrible destruction!
Zachary Zombie and the Wicked Worm
SmashwordsAmazonKoboAppleBarnes & Noble
FREE!!!
Zachary Zombie has been sent by Gert the Wicked Witch to find the magical Dagger of Gik from the ruins of an old wizard’s mansion. He is accompanied by Al, Gus, and Carl, three fellow zombies. Will they discover the lost Dagger of Gik? What dangers await the rotting zombies? Who will lose the most body parts? And who, what, or where in the world is Gik?
Phairyphant
SmashwordsAmazonKoboAppleBarnes & Noble
Mystical phairyphants have existed since the days of wooly mammoths and mastodons. Phairydust allows them to fly on powerful, gossamer wings while they use their trunks to sniff the air for opportunities to make the world a better place for elephants. This is the story of Elly, one such phairyphant.
Naughty Nanoworms
SmashwordsAmazonKoboAppleBarnes & Noble
Life on the streets is generally peaceful for Albert, but the streets are not without their hazards. While avoiding one type of trouble, Albert walks his way into even worse trouble. Will he keep his shopping cart? Will Meezer the cat come up with a plan to destroy the world? Can a shopping cart and a skateboard ever get along? The seventh entry in the Stories for Demented Children Series.
The Storage Room in the Grey Void
SmashwordsAmazonKoboAppleBarnes & Noble
Video games bring entertainment and excitement to the lives of those who play them. But what of those characters created for those games? Perhaps they are a bit more real than we might think. Perhaps they have feelings and desires, much as we who play the games do. And what of the characters who don’t get included in the game? This is the story of one such character.
I wanted to let you know about some new releases I have. The first is "Liselle" the highly anticipated first book of the "Crazed Trilogy". It continues the story of Liselle and Vevin in their adventures as they learn more about who, or what, Liselle truly is. And of course, they'll hopefully find a little treasure along the way.
"Zachary Zombie and the Wicked Worm" is a new release that I've made free in all stores.
I've added two other children's stories, "Phairyphant" and "Naughty Nanoworms"
"The Storage Room in the Grey Void" is a new story about a video game extra who's existence didn't turn out the way she would have liked.
Enjoy!!!
Liselle
SmashwordsAmazonKoboAppleBarnes & NobleSony
Liselle has spent the last few years living the life of adventure she always wanted. Yet she struggles with the suffering she has seen along the way. As her powers grow, the question of who she really is, or what she really is becomes a greater mystery. Join Liselle, Vevin and their new friends as they try to discover the meaning of life, and perhaps find a little treasure along the way.
Steampunk Roo
SmashwordsAmazonKoboAppleBarnes & NoblePrint
It is a little known fact that Steampunk animals roam the wild Outback of Australia. They live a rugged, but good life. Steampunk City is the center of their civilization, run by Governor Kevin Koala.
Outside of Steampunk City are vast stretches of arid lands. The Steampunk Animal Alliance has built a series of water stops with tanks of water supplied by windmills that pump water from deep in the ground. From them, Steampunk animals can refill their water tanks to keep their gears running.
Horrible news has come that someone is destroying those water stops. It’s up to Steampunk Roo, an agent of the Steampunk Animal Alliance to investigate and hopefully bring a stop to the terrible destruction!
Zachary Zombie and the Wicked Worm
SmashwordsAmazonKoboAppleBarnes & Noble
FREE!!!
Zachary Zombie has been sent by Gert the Wicked Witch to find the magical Dagger of Gik from the ruins of an old wizard’s mansion. He is accompanied by Al, Gus, and Carl, three fellow zombies. Will they discover the lost Dagger of Gik? What dangers await the rotting zombies? Who will lose the most body parts? And who, what, or where in the world is Gik?
Phairyphant
SmashwordsAmazonKoboAppleBarnes & Noble
Mystical phairyphants have existed since the days of wooly mammoths and mastodons. Phairydust allows them to fly on powerful, gossamer wings while they use their trunks to sniff the air for opportunities to make the world a better place for elephants. This is the story of Elly, one such phairyphant.
Naughty Nanoworms
SmashwordsAmazonKoboAppleBarnes & Noble
Life on the streets is generally peaceful for Albert, but the streets are not without their hazards. While avoiding one type of trouble, Albert walks his way into even worse trouble. Will he keep his shopping cart? Will Meezer the cat come up with a plan to destroy the world? Can a shopping cart and a skateboard ever get along? The seventh entry in the Stories for Demented Children Series.
The Storage Room in the Grey Void
SmashwordsAmazonKoboAppleBarnes & Noble
Video games bring entertainment and excitement to the lives of those who play them. But what of those characters created for those games? Perhaps they are a bit more real than we might think. Perhaps they have feelings and desires, much as we who play the games do. And what of the characters who don’t get included in the game? This is the story of one such character.
August 30, 2013
Steampunk Roo - A new children's story
I'm interrupting edits on my novel to write a story for my daughter's tenth birthday. I've decided to call it "Steampunk Roo" since my daughter's nickname is "Roo".
The concept is that a Steampunk Kangaroo has discovered that water stops are being vandalized. It's terrible news for the Steampunk animals of Australia. Steampunk Roo and Buzz, a Steampunk dragonfly, are on a mission to solve the problem.
The fun part of this story is coming up with all the ways that the Steampunk animals work and interact. In addition to that, they live in Steampunk Canyon, which has been fun to create too. The problem is that I'm trying to write a children's book and that means I have a limited number of words to work with! I have to tell the story at some point!
Etsy Steampunk Dragonfly
Excerpt:
Steampunk Roo turned and hopped through the vast grasslands in search of watering hole to replenish her tank. If she didn't get water soon, she wouldn't be able to move at all! She had been traveling all through the hot day to get to Steampunk Canyon.
Pistons in her kangaroo legs pushed onto springs that propelled her forward at a ground eating twenty miles per hour. Copper, brass and steel gears turned, adding tension to thick bands of rubber that would store energy for the next hop. A belly oven burned coal to heat a large water tank that in the rest of her upper body.
Gears in her neck allowed her head to turn upward. It was finally cooling off as the sun lowered and thin clouds slid across the sky to provide some shade. She scanned the grasslands for signs of danger and saw movement in the distance to her right. Tiny gears allowed the mechanical lenses of her eyes to slide forward and zoom in on it. A family of Steampunk wallabies foraged peacefully.
I'll publish this story sometime in the next couple of weeks. I hope you'll enjoy reading it just as much as I enjoy writing it. :)
All my best,
John H. Carroll
The concept is that a Steampunk Kangaroo has discovered that water stops are being vandalized. It's terrible news for the Steampunk animals of Australia. Steampunk Roo and Buzz, a Steampunk dragonfly, are on a mission to solve the problem.
The fun part of this story is coming up with all the ways that the Steampunk animals work and interact. In addition to that, they live in Steampunk Canyon, which has been fun to create too. The problem is that I'm trying to write a children's book and that means I have a limited number of words to work with! I have to tell the story at some point!
Etsy Steampunk DragonflyExcerpt:
Steampunk Roo turned and hopped through the vast grasslands in search of watering hole to replenish her tank. If she didn't get water soon, she wouldn't be able to move at all! She had been traveling all through the hot day to get to Steampunk Canyon.
Pistons in her kangaroo legs pushed onto springs that propelled her forward at a ground eating twenty miles per hour. Copper, brass and steel gears turned, adding tension to thick bands of rubber that would store energy for the next hop. A belly oven burned coal to heat a large water tank that in the rest of her upper body.
Gears in her neck allowed her head to turn upward. It was finally cooling off as the sun lowered and thin clouds slid across the sky to provide some shade. She scanned the grasslands for signs of danger and saw movement in the distance to her right. Tiny gears allowed the mechanical lenses of her eyes to slide forward and zoom in on it. A family of Steampunk wallabies foraged peacefully.
I'll publish this story sometime in the next couple of weeks. I hope you'll enjoy reading it just as much as I enjoy writing it. :)
All my best,
John H. Carroll
August 26, 2013
My Dream Gourd
My Dream Gourd
What is a dream gourd?
I first read about dream gourds in Piers Anthony's "Xanth" series. The dream gourd is essentially a theatre setting where the Night Stallion sets up nightmares for people. These nightmares are delivered by "Night Mares" travelling to people to deliver the bad dreams. Day Mares deliver daydreams.
I dream in a similar way to the dream gourd. It's not like in the book where there's a bunch of horses delivering dreams out of a set of course. Below, I list many of the details of the dream gourd that is my head.
There are many more settings than I list, but here are a few of them. I just jotted everything down out of my memory, so aspects won’t always be very clear to the reader.
Important Details
People
These are always changing. Most are just extras in a movie. I may know some of them, but they’re not important. Others may be people I’ve never met.
Often, I’ll have someone I know with me. When that happens, I’m usually trying to handle an issue with them, or we’re on an adventure together, or it’s just someone I haven’t seen in forever and they’re just there for no reason I can figure out.
***
Details
The details of what I’m doing and why are usually different. Those details effect the props in the settings to a degree. I’m not going to explain details here.
***
Blackouts
Each of my settings have blackout paths. These are routes that don’t lead to a specific area, but to a blackout.
In my dream gourd, a blackout isn’t a bad thing, it’s merely a transition. I can leave the dream to go into a deep sleep, I can leave the dream to wake up, or I can transition to another setting.
***
Rewinds
Another cool feature is a small rewind. I can rewind a moment of different dreams if I need to see how it works out with a different response on my part. It helps me to learn how to handle the situation better.
***
Escape routes
One of my favorite features in all of my settings is an abundance of escape routes. They allow me to escape the dream and wake up.
If a dream turns into a nightmare, I can use these escape routes. If I am in danger in the dream, I can use the escape routes.
***
Dangers
There is only one thing I can think of at the moment (there may be many more, I just can’t think of them) that I need to escape from in my dream. That thing is a pack of dogs/wolves. I don’t know why, but this is the one thing that scares me in my dreams.
It starts out with them in the far distant. I usually get quiet in the dreams, hoping they don’t notice me. Sometimes I succeed, sometimes not.
I continue having the dream for a while, but they get closer. When they get close enough, they spread out and flank me. It’s their intention to surround me. This is when I begin panicking.
When I see them is when I must have an escape route. If I don’t have one, I run for the nearest. It’s truly frightening to me in the dream. At this point, I usually begin whimpering in my sleep. I’ll yell out loud if they reach me and I have to fight them.
***
Transition settings
Street near a mall and an aqueduct kinda in Los Angeles
There is an aqueduct that crosses a street in Los Angeles. I remember crossing it a few times. The dream doesn’t have that exact aqueduct, but that’s the model for this dream setting. Around the aqueduct are other streets, strip malls, a residential neighborhood and a shopping mall. I’m usually trying to escape something in this setting and it has different routes away. It may be a crossroads between other dreams, because there is no definitive place to go to from here. Each route blacks out.
***
Bathroom
This is a large locker room bathroom with changing rooms, toilet stalls and urinals. It’s dark, in disrepair, creepy and a bit uncomfortable. The lights are usually flickering. When there are other men in the bathroom, they are usually quiet and distant. The bathroom is a transition area. Many places lead to it, it leads to many others. Instead of blackout paths, it has doors though. Sometimes I look for a specific door, but it won’t be there. The layout of this bathroom usually changes based upon how I enter it. I can occasionally break down a wall to get to another area.
And yes, sometimes I do use the bathroom. Sometimes I change. Sometimes I’m searching for something hidden.
And no, I never wake up with a wet bed when I use this bathroom. :p lol
***
The basement
This is the inside of a building with lots of halls and rooms large and small. There are usually alternate routes to reach the roof of different buildings. Some of these are hidden and dangerous. At least one leads to the ruins in the cliffs. Another leads to the bathroom. There are lots of pipes along some of the walls. Other places are storage rooms with different things and crates, usually messy. There’s a boiler room there too.
I’m usually trying to get somewhere when I’m here. Trying to find the right path is the key to this setting. Most of the routes to the higher areas are secret paths with wooden boards and tight spaces.
***
Settings
The most realistic setting is California City, where I grew up. It’s an important setting.
Empty lot across from house on Corwin in California City. Usually a scenario with flying machines that carry doomsday bombs.
Streets in California City across from Circle Blvd? They lead to my house and I usually am in a time crunch to make it in time.
Shopping Mall in California City. Dreams usually start in the front parking lot and work through one of the stores to the back streets, which lead to my house after that.
California City Blvd. This leads to the Shopping Mall or the Park. I’m usually chasing someone or someone is chasing me.
Park in California City. There are two entrances. There is usually a choice made here. One entrance leads to the church in town, the other leads to the main parking lot of the park which allows me to go to different areas of the park.
House on South Charlene in California City. I rarely go into either of the houses. The dreams are usually outside. Here, the streets around the house play the biggest role. There’s usually a journey before reaching the area. Most things happen around the long row of windbreak trees. There’s a lot of going back and forth either hiding from someone or someone hiding from me.
Intersection of Hwy 14 and California City Blvd. There’s a convenience store there. I’m usually going to California City or away from it to Mojave. There’s usually a decision to be made as to direction of my life. The other two directions lead to blackouts.
Where Cache Creek intersects Hwy 14. This is usually where a barrier happens. The road washes out or I’m forced into the desert. I have to overcome the obstacles.
***
Mojave
Intersection of Hwy 14 and Sierra Hwy. (still Hwy 14) There is a gas station there called the Oasis. I have to make choices and argue with whoever wants me to do something else here.
Railroad in Mojave. I end up on a street that the train crosses. I’m almost always driving and have to make it across the tracks before the train. Usually signifies a deadline of sorts.
The streets outside are in Mojave and are usually reached by that location, often related to the trains. I’m usually passing people on the way to school and take one route. Other times, I’m leaving and go by different streets. One street is a tree lined blvd that is not normally in Mojave. There are always groups of people on these streets. Some are dangerous, most are not.
The streets lead to areas around Sierra Hwy, the main street the town was built around and where I took drivers ed. There are rows of houses in my setting that are very dangerous. The streets and alleys pass gangs where it’s possible for me to get attacked. These streets are not in the real Mojave.
There are shops and buildings next to the Hwy 58/Sierra Hwy intersection. I have a number of choices as to where to go from here. Usually into the housing area or to Sierra Hwy to leave. I can also do the train challenge from here.
There is a desert mountain nearby that I can go to. I don’t remember much more, but it leads to various desert paths.
***
Sierra Hwy.
Sierra Hwy continues from Mojave to Los Angeles. The dream version is different from the real version though.
The desert section goes by the desert mountain. A path leads to it. Between that and a specific freeway exit is a connection of roads that go into the desert. To the left, they go to a couple of different ghost towns.
The highway continues through a mountain pass. It’s very curvy and can become a tunnel. There’s a rest stop to the right that I can go to, usually to discover some sort of treasure, or something important. I’m usually happy when I leave here.
The city comes down out of the tunnel to a city resembling LA. To the right is a hillside area with drivable roads. It leads to caves where I can hide or search for things.
As I get further into the city, it becomes night and all the lights are on.
***
Ghost town one.
It’s not really a ghost town, just a small town. This is off a mountain freeway. It circles from the mountain on two exits. It’s a bit of a challenge to get to it.
There is a glass-front house in the town. There is usually some sort of trouble with the law here.
If I go on the street to the left, it leads to the desert north of California City. From there, I can take the back way to the treebreak on South Charlene.
***
Ghost town two
There are some mountains in the distance that I can reach. The tallest has a trail from one of the ghost towns to reach the top. From the top, you can travel along the ridge of the mountain to another city.
***
The School
I went to Mojave High School in Mojave California. The outside of the school is here. The inside is an consolidation of the school and other places.
I take the bus to the parking lot. Sometimes it’s the wrong bus, sometimes it’s crowded. There’s usually someone trying to bully me or someone else on the bus. I believe there’s conflict resolution here.
The parking lot is always full of cars and busses. There are lots of people here.
Inside are glass hallways (Not Mojave High) They lead to different classrooms. I’m often just beginning school, or I’ve graduated and I’m revisiting.
There are classrooms and I am usually late to reach them. They are full and I am there to meet with a student or a teacher. Most of the time they direct me to someplace else.
There is a grassy area outside of the classroom area. It leads to a circular building with a large parking lot. I can go in here and search for something. There are a lot of glass encased classrooms here.
There is a football field next to the gym. But there’s also a grassy parade field next to it too. The parade field is where a lot of band routines happen when I’m not in the band. When I am in the band, I think they happen . . . wait, that’s not right . . . hmmm . . . usually, I meet with someone under the bleachers of the football field. The football field is dark and spooky most of the times and it’s surrounded by fog. The parade field is bright and sunny and there’s light gleaming from flags and instruments. There’s also a gymnastics team on the parade field sometimes. It’s all very grand.
Instead of going to the classroom area, I can go to glass hallways that lead to upper levels. There’s often a chase in one of these and I’m helping others to escape danger here. There’s a path on the ground floor that leads to the basement transition area.
***
Airfield.
There is an airfield that’s a collection of different places I’ve been, but not any one specifically. In this airfield are the flying machines that are fighting off the end of the world that ends up at my house on Corwin Street. At first, I drive around outside of barbed wire fences but I can’t get in unless I go through the battle.
Battlefield. I travel in WWI or WWII style gear over forested areas to a fence that leads to enemy territory. There is usually someone shooting at us. A small group of us make it while others die in the battles.
Enemy lines. We get across enemy lines. There’s a river canyon to get across. Then we end up in French countryside trying to sneak past enemy lines. There’s a cottage, which is our goal to reach. Once there, something momentous happens. Then we have to get back to our own lines. This inevitably leads to the airfield.
Flying the plane. I fly over the airfield and usually chase an SR71 Blackbird, or I am the Blackbird. We’re at war and the enemy is shooting at the airfield. At some point I have to land. This eventually leads to the house on Corwin where the end of the world is fought off.
***
Plantation.
This is a stereotypical plantation with lots of rooms. Usually an argument or meeting is held inside and it is necessary to find a hidden item.
Outside of the plantation is verdant southern forest with lots of old willows, moss, ponds, streams and humidity. Plans are usually made with a group as to which way to go. A hunt or escape is usually involved.
There is a path. Usually another group is met along the path. From there, we end up further into the wilderness.
***
A freeway stop.
The buildings are on a cul-de-sac off a freeway.
One’s a fast food place. I’m a manager there sometimes, or sometimes a team leader. Usually, I have to catch someone stealing, or inspire a group of workers to accomplish something.
Another is a Denny’s type restaurant. I go there to drink coffee and contemplate. After that, I go to the kitchen or leave to the outside.
The kitchen. This is the restaurant kitchen, but it also intersects with a couple of other areas. Usually, I’m just passing through here like it’s a mystery novel.
Another place is a service station. Usually my vehicle is broken down. I get gas, or get it fixed, or leave it there. I can leave to go back to the freeway or go off onto a lonely desert road.
***
The City
When you get deep into the city, it’s very bright. It’s a combination of LA, San Francisco, London and a city from the future. (Don’t ask, it’s a dream) I remember entering this city on a Zeppelin. I don’t know why.
There is a west to east river cutting the center of the city. It’s difficult to get across. There are a couple of bridges, or you can get a Zeppelin, lol.
On the southwest side of the river is the point of San Francisco. There’s a wharf into the bay. It’s just above the rough seas and dangerous to cross. There’s a small city area with a circular garden there.
There’s a British military base with a large park on the southeast side. It has a garden area with a parking lot and guards that prevent anyone from passing the chain-link fence. Whoever I’m with has a friend that lets us in anyway. Inside, there are warehouses. Dangerous materials are in the warehouses. There’s always some sort of shootout too.
***
The flea market/state fair
My parents always took me to flea markets. Oddly enough, this isn’t any of the ones they took me to. There is an entrance where we have to pay to get in.
Sometimes, there’s not a lot of people. It’s late in the afternoon and all the tables are on an asphalt parking lot. People are tired and at least one person is shielding their eyes from the sun (odd observation) They sit in cars, vans or trucks behind their tables. I usually end up haggling with someone. I usually look to see if there are any bargains on toy trains or cars.
The other version is very crowded and on dirt. Everyone has covers over their tables and most have scarfs or sheets hanging from them. There are lots of trees and tall plants. The vehicles are all cleverly hidden.
The flea-market has a warehouse area with livestock that’s more like a county fair. There are areas with antiques and other old rusty items, including one thin warehouse that carries worn tools.
***
The skyscraper!!!
This is a bit of a scary place. It’s a double tower rising high above a bright city. It has two banks of elevators, one with glass elevators, one with service elevators. There is at least one single elevator that goes along the outside of the building.
It’s very windy on the roof of the building. Scary windy. Sometimes I won’t go onto the roof, other times I do. Sometimes I’m alone, sometimes there’s someone there to challenge me to something.
Penthouse. There is a very businesslike penthouse at the top. Important decisions are made here. I can leave by plane, leave by the roof, take one of the elevators, or take a secret tunnel.
The elevators. Often, the elevators are broken, representing an obstacle. Other times, the elevator I’m on doesn’t go to where I need it to. The elevators are also transitions. I can travel to different settings.
The skyscraper basement. The basement has lots of pipes and secret paths that lead to other buildings and exits. It connects with the transition basement.
***
The canyon/cliffs
There is a desert canyon with a river far down below. There is a trail along the south cliff that leads to a cave. Inside the cave are ruins. The ruins are Egyptian style, but also have a roller coaster style mine cart system sort of like in Donkey Kong 3 for Super Nintendo.
This area is very dangerous.
***
That's about all I have the energy to write about. I have no idea if any of that was interesting or not, but . . . well . . . there you go.
All my best,
John H. Carroll
What is a dream gourd?
I first read about dream gourds in Piers Anthony's "Xanth" series. The dream gourd is essentially a theatre setting where the Night Stallion sets up nightmares for people. These nightmares are delivered by "Night Mares" travelling to people to deliver the bad dreams. Day Mares deliver daydreams.
I dream in a similar way to the dream gourd. It's not like in the book where there's a bunch of horses delivering dreams out of a set of course. Below, I list many of the details of the dream gourd that is my head.
There are many more settings than I list, but here are a few of them. I just jotted everything down out of my memory, so aspects won’t always be very clear to the reader.
Important Details
People
These are always changing. Most are just extras in a movie. I may know some of them, but they’re not important. Others may be people I’ve never met.
Often, I’ll have someone I know with me. When that happens, I’m usually trying to handle an issue with them, or we’re on an adventure together, or it’s just someone I haven’t seen in forever and they’re just there for no reason I can figure out.
***
Details
The details of what I’m doing and why are usually different. Those details effect the props in the settings to a degree. I’m not going to explain details here.
***
Blackouts
Each of my settings have blackout paths. These are routes that don’t lead to a specific area, but to a blackout.
In my dream gourd, a blackout isn’t a bad thing, it’s merely a transition. I can leave the dream to go into a deep sleep, I can leave the dream to wake up, or I can transition to another setting.
***
Rewinds
Another cool feature is a small rewind. I can rewind a moment of different dreams if I need to see how it works out with a different response on my part. It helps me to learn how to handle the situation better.
***
Escape routes
One of my favorite features in all of my settings is an abundance of escape routes. They allow me to escape the dream and wake up.
If a dream turns into a nightmare, I can use these escape routes. If I am in danger in the dream, I can use the escape routes.
***
Dangers
There is only one thing I can think of at the moment (there may be many more, I just can’t think of them) that I need to escape from in my dream. That thing is a pack of dogs/wolves. I don’t know why, but this is the one thing that scares me in my dreams.
It starts out with them in the far distant. I usually get quiet in the dreams, hoping they don’t notice me. Sometimes I succeed, sometimes not.
I continue having the dream for a while, but they get closer. When they get close enough, they spread out and flank me. It’s their intention to surround me. This is when I begin panicking.
When I see them is when I must have an escape route. If I don’t have one, I run for the nearest. It’s truly frightening to me in the dream. At this point, I usually begin whimpering in my sleep. I’ll yell out loud if they reach me and I have to fight them.
***
Transition settings
Street near a mall and an aqueduct kinda in Los Angeles
There is an aqueduct that crosses a street in Los Angeles. I remember crossing it a few times. The dream doesn’t have that exact aqueduct, but that’s the model for this dream setting. Around the aqueduct are other streets, strip malls, a residential neighborhood and a shopping mall. I’m usually trying to escape something in this setting and it has different routes away. It may be a crossroads between other dreams, because there is no definitive place to go to from here. Each route blacks out.
***
Bathroom
This is a large locker room bathroom with changing rooms, toilet stalls and urinals. It’s dark, in disrepair, creepy and a bit uncomfortable. The lights are usually flickering. When there are other men in the bathroom, they are usually quiet and distant. The bathroom is a transition area. Many places lead to it, it leads to many others. Instead of blackout paths, it has doors though. Sometimes I look for a specific door, but it won’t be there. The layout of this bathroom usually changes based upon how I enter it. I can occasionally break down a wall to get to another area.
And yes, sometimes I do use the bathroom. Sometimes I change. Sometimes I’m searching for something hidden.
And no, I never wake up with a wet bed when I use this bathroom. :p lol
***
The basement
This is the inside of a building with lots of halls and rooms large and small. There are usually alternate routes to reach the roof of different buildings. Some of these are hidden and dangerous. At least one leads to the ruins in the cliffs. Another leads to the bathroom. There are lots of pipes along some of the walls. Other places are storage rooms with different things and crates, usually messy. There’s a boiler room there too.
I’m usually trying to get somewhere when I’m here. Trying to find the right path is the key to this setting. Most of the routes to the higher areas are secret paths with wooden boards and tight spaces.
***
Settings
The most realistic setting is California City, where I grew up. It’s an important setting.
Empty lot across from house on Corwin in California City. Usually a scenario with flying machines that carry doomsday bombs.
Streets in California City across from Circle Blvd? They lead to my house and I usually am in a time crunch to make it in time.
Shopping Mall in California City. Dreams usually start in the front parking lot and work through one of the stores to the back streets, which lead to my house after that.
California City Blvd. This leads to the Shopping Mall or the Park. I’m usually chasing someone or someone is chasing me.
Park in California City. There are two entrances. There is usually a choice made here. One entrance leads to the church in town, the other leads to the main parking lot of the park which allows me to go to different areas of the park.
House on South Charlene in California City. I rarely go into either of the houses. The dreams are usually outside. Here, the streets around the house play the biggest role. There’s usually a journey before reaching the area. Most things happen around the long row of windbreak trees. There’s a lot of going back and forth either hiding from someone or someone hiding from me.
Intersection of Hwy 14 and California City Blvd. There’s a convenience store there. I’m usually going to California City or away from it to Mojave. There’s usually a decision to be made as to direction of my life. The other two directions lead to blackouts.
Where Cache Creek intersects Hwy 14. This is usually where a barrier happens. The road washes out or I’m forced into the desert. I have to overcome the obstacles.
***
Mojave
Intersection of Hwy 14 and Sierra Hwy. (still Hwy 14) There is a gas station there called the Oasis. I have to make choices and argue with whoever wants me to do something else here.
Railroad in Mojave. I end up on a street that the train crosses. I’m almost always driving and have to make it across the tracks before the train. Usually signifies a deadline of sorts.
The streets outside are in Mojave and are usually reached by that location, often related to the trains. I’m usually passing people on the way to school and take one route. Other times, I’m leaving and go by different streets. One street is a tree lined blvd that is not normally in Mojave. There are always groups of people on these streets. Some are dangerous, most are not.
The streets lead to areas around Sierra Hwy, the main street the town was built around and where I took drivers ed. There are rows of houses in my setting that are very dangerous. The streets and alleys pass gangs where it’s possible for me to get attacked. These streets are not in the real Mojave.
There are shops and buildings next to the Hwy 58/Sierra Hwy intersection. I have a number of choices as to where to go from here. Usually into the housing area or to Sierra Hwy to leave. I can also do the train challenge from here.
There is a desert mountain nearby that I can go to. I don’t remember much more, but it leads to various desert paths.
***
Sierra Hwy.
Sierra Hwy continues from Mojave to Los Angeles. The dream version is different from the real version though.
The desert section goes by the desert mountain. A path leads to it. Between that and a specific freeway exit is a connection of roads that go into the desert. To the left, they go to a couple of different ghost towns.
The highway continues through a mountain pass. It’s very curvy and can become a tunnel. There’s a rest stop to the right that I can go to, usually to discover some sort of treasure, or something important. I’m usually happy when I leave here.
The city comes down out of the tunnel to a city resembling LA. To the right is a hillside area with drivable roads. It leads to caves where I can hide or search for things.
As I get further into the city, it becomes night and all the lights are on.
***
Ghost town one.
It’s not really a ghost town, just a small town. This is off a mountain freeway. It circles from the mountain on two exits. It’s a bit of a challenge to get to it.
There is a glass-front house in the town. There is usually some sort of trouble with the law here.
If I go on the street to the left, it leads to the desert north of California City. From there, I can take the back way to the treebreak on South Charlene.
***
Ghost town two
There are some mountains in the distance that I can reach. The tallest has a trail from one of the ghost towns to reach the top. From the top, you can travel along the ridge of the mountain to another city.
***
The School
I went to Mojave High School in Mojave California. The outside of the school is here. The inside is an consolidation of the school and other places.
I take the bus to the parking lot. Sometimes it’s the wrong bus, sometimes it’s crowded. There’s usually someone trying to bully me or someone else on the bus. I believe there’s conflict resolution here.
The parking lot is always full of cars and busses. There are lots of people here.
Inside are glass hallways (Not Mojave High) They lead to different classrooms. I’m often just beginning school, or I’ve graduated and I’m revisiting.
There are classrooms and I am usually late to reach them. They are full and I am there to meet with a student or a teacher. Most of the time they direct me to someplace else.
There is a grassy area outside of the classroom area. It leads to a circular building with a large parking lot. I can go in here and search for something. There are a lot of glass encased classrooms here.
There is a football field next to the gym. But there’s also a grassy parade field next to it too. The parade field is where a lot of band routines happen when I’m not in the band. When I am in the band, I think they happen . . . wait, that’s not right . . . hmmm . . . usually, I meet with someone under the bleachers of the football field. The football field is dark and spooky most of the times and it’s surrounded by fog. The parade field is bright and sunny and there’s light gleaming from flags and instruments. There’s also a gymnastics team on the parade field sometimes. It’s all very grand.
Instead of going to the classroom area, I can go to glass hallways that lead to upper levels. There’s often a chase in one of these and I’m helping others to escape danger here. There’s a path on the ground floor that leads to the basement transition area.
***
Airfield.
There is an airfield that’s a collection of different places I’ve been, but not any one specifically. In this airfield are the flying machines that are fighting off the end of the world that ends up at my house on Corwin Street. At first, I drive around outside of barbed wire fences but I can’t get in unless I go through the battle.
Battlefield. I travel in WWI or WWII style gear over forested areas to a fence that leads to enemy territory. There is usually someone shooting at us. A small group of us make it while others die in the battles.
Enemy lines. We get across enemy lines. There’s a river canyon to get across. Then we end up in French countryside trying to sneak past enemy lines. There’s a cottage, which is our goal to reach. Once there, something momentous happens. Then we have to get back to our own lines. This inevitably leads to the airfield.
Flying the plane. I fly over the airfield and usually chase an SR71 Blackbird, or I am the Blackbird. We’re at war and the enemy is shooting at the airfield. At some point I have to land. This eventually leads to the house on Corwin where the end of the world is fought off.
***
Plantation.
This is a stereotypical plantation with lots of rooms. Usually an argument or meeting is held inside and it is necessary to find a hidden item.
Outside of the plantation is verdant southern forest with lots of old willows, moss, ponds, streams and humidity. Plans are usually made with a group as to which way to go. A hunt or escape is usually involved.
There is a path. Usually another group is met along the path. From there, we end up further into the wilderness.
***
A freeway stop.
The buildings are on a cul-de-sac off a freeway.
One’s a fast food place. I’m a manager there sometimes, or sometimes a team leader. Usually, I have to catch someone stealing, or inspire a group of workers to accomplish something.
Another is a Denny’s type restaurant. I go there to drink coffee and contemplate. After that, I go to the kitchen or leave to the outside.
The kitchen. This is the restaurant kitchen, but it also intersects with a couple of other areas. Usually, I’m just passing through here like it’s a mystery novel.
Another place is a service station. Usually my vehicle is broken down. I get gas, or get it fixed, or leave it there. I can leave to go back to the freeway or go off onto a lonely desert road.
***
The City
When you get deep into the city, it’s very bright. It’s a combination of LA, San Francisco, London and a city from the future. (Don’t ask, it’s a dream) I remember entering this city on a Zeppelin. I don’t know why.
There is a west to east river cutting the center of the city. It’s difficult to get across. There are a couple of bridges, or you can get a Zeppelin, lol.
On the southwest side of the river is the point of San Francisco. There’s a wharf into the bay. It’s just above the rough seas and dangerous to cross. There’s a small city area with a circular garden there.
There’s a British military base with a large park on the southeast side. It has a garden area with a parking lot and guards that prevent anyone from passing the chain-link fence. Whoever I’m with has a friend that lets us in anyway. Inside, there are warehouses. Dangerous materials are in the warehouses. There’s always some sort of shootout too.
***
The flea market/state fair
My parents always took me to flea markets. Oddly enough, this isn’t any of the ones they took me to. There is an entrance where we have to pay to get in.
Sometimes, there’s not a lot of people. It’s late in the afternoon and all the tables are on an asphalt parking lot. People are tired and at least one person is shielding their eyes from the sun (odd observation) They sit in cars, vans or trucks behind their tables. I usually end up haggling with someone. I usually look to see if there are any bargains on toy trains or cars.
The other version is very crowded and on dirt. Everyone has covers over their tables and most have scarfs or sheets hanging from them. There are lots of trees and tall plants. The vehicles are all cleverly hidden.
The flea-market has a warehouse area with livestock that’s more like a county fair. There are areas with antiques and other old rusty items, including one thin warehouse that carries worn tools.
***
The skyscraper!!!
This is a bit of a scary place. It’s a double tower rising high above a bright city. It has two banks of elevators, one with glass elevators, one with service elevators. There is at least one single elevator that goes along the outside of the building.
It’s very windy on the roof of the building. Scary windy. Sometimes I won’t go onto the roof, other times I do. Sometimes I’m alone, sometimes there’s someone there to challenge me to something.
Penthouse. There is a very businesslike penthouse at the top. Important decisions are made here. I can leave by plane, leave by the roof, take one of the elevators, or take a secret tunnel.
The elevators. Often, the elevators are broken, representing an obstacle. Other times, the elevator I’m on doesn’t go to where I need it to. The elevators are also transitions. I can travel to different settings.
The skyscraper basement. The basement has lots of pipes and secret paths that lead to other buildings and exits. It connects with the transition basement.
***
The canyon/cliffs
There is a desert canyon with a river far down below. There is a trail along the south cliff that leads to a cave. Inside the cave are ruins. The ruins are Egyptian style, but also have a roller coaster style mine cart system sort of like in Donkey Kong 3 for Super Nintendo.
This area is very dangerous.
***
That's about all I have the energy to write about. I have no idea if any of that was interesting or not, but . . . well . . . there you go.
All my best,
John H. Carroll
August 16, 2013
Habits in my writing I have from playing D&D
D&D and
Writing
I used to play PnP (Pen and Paper) D&D (Dungeons & Dragons) where a group of us would sit down with our books and miniatures and have adventures, roll a variety of dice and nom much snackage. It was a lot of fun. We spent just as much time chatting about our lives as we did actually playing the games.
Please don't let that be a dragon.
Now I'm a writer having adventures without a group, books, miniatures and dice, but still plenty nomming of snackage. . . . It's sort of like a lonelier version of what I used to do I suppose.
I shall do karate to it
But there are habits we used to have in playing those games that I find myself including in my stories when I write.
What do you do?
"You enter a room. In the middle is a golden idol sitting on a pedestal. What do you do next?"
It's a question DM (Dungeon Masters) ask. The DM describes the scenario, the room, the enemies, whatever. It's the players' job to decide what they do from there. (In this instance, you grab it, run from the boulder and reluctantly turn it over to the Nazis waiting at the entrance.)
As a writer, I do the same for my characters. I describe the scenario and let them decide how they would react based on their personalities. It's usually something I didn't expect and I find myself trying to come up with new ideas to counter their actions, just like with D&D players.
What do I do? I charge of course!!!
Pick up your weapons!
Another thing I do is always make sure the characters pick up their weapons and supplies. Often, in battle, someone will drop a weapon or pack so they can fight. In a book, I suppose you assume the character just does it, but in D&D if you don't pick it up, you don't have the sword for the next battle! It's part of the "What do you do next" thing. The proper answer is, "I pick up my sword that the dire rat knocked out of my hand when it scored a critical hit." Then I glare at the cruelly grinning DM and pop another Dorito into my mouth.
I know I dropped that dagger around here . . .
Who goes first, who goes last?
The habit that made me think to write this particular blog post is that I line up my characters' marching order. This is a paragraph I just wrote:
Shahben led them up an animal trail through the trees. Ceval stayed with him and it was clear the two had become fast friends. Teluith walked behind Reben while Evien followed her. Everyone else followed, with the most capable acting as rear guard.
I honestly don't know if I need to do that in the book, but it's vital in D&D. A DM has to know where everyone is so that he can tell who gets to roll the first spot check to see the ogre cleverly hiding behind an aspen tree.
You can't seeeeeeee meeeeeeee.
I find myself always describing marching order in my books, but I don't think I've seen it in many other books. Perhaps in Stephen Nowland's Aielund Saga. But he's a long time D&D player like me. I'm going to have to go back and see if his characters always pick up their weapons too.
I wonder how the reader views the marching order, or if they even notice. I personally couldn't tell you in any of the books I've read, though I do remember getting confused at times as to the locations of characters in some books. Hopefully it helps in my stories and doesn't act as a distraction to the reader instead.
I'm curious as to what readers have noticed in my, or anyone else's books, about these habits. I'm also curious if other writers have other D&D habits they include in their books.
*Note: All miniatures are Reaper miniatures painted by yours truly.
All my best,
John H. Carroll
I used to play PnP (Pen and Paper) D&D (Dungeons & Dragons) where a group of us would sit down with our books and miniatures and have adventures, roll a variety of dice and nom much snackage. It was a lot of fun. We spent just as much time chatting about our lives as we did actually playing the games.
Please don't let that be a dragon.Now I'm a writer having adventures without a group, books, miniatures and dice, but still plenty nomming of snackage. . . . It's sort of like a lonelier version of what I used to do I suppose.
I shall do karate to itBut there are habits we used to have in playing those games that I find myself including in my stories when I write.
What do you do?
"You enter a room. In the middle is a golden idol sitting on a pedestal. What do you do next?"
It's a question DM (Dungeon Masters) ask. The DM describes the scenario, the room, the enemies, whatever. It's the players' job to decide what they do from there. (In this instance, you grab it, run from the boulder and reluctantly turn it over to the Nazis waiting at the entrance.)
As a writer, I do the same for my characters. I describe the scenario and let them decide how they would react based on their personalities. It's usually something I didn't expect and I find myself trying to come up with new ideas to counter their actions, just like with D&D players.
What do I do? I charge of course!!!Pick up your weapons!
Another thing I do is always make sure the characters pick up their weapons and supplies. Often, in battle, someone will drop a weapon or pack so they can fight. In a book, I suppose you assume the character just does it, but in D&D if you don't pick it up, you don't have the sword for the next battle! It's part of the "What do you do next" thing. The proper answer is, "I pick up my sword that the dire rat knocked out of my hand when it scored a critical hit." Then I glare at the cruelly grinning DM and pop another Dorito into my mouth.
I know I dropped that dagger around here . . .Who goes first, who goes last?
The habit that made me think to write this particular blog post is that I line up my characters' marching order. This is a paragraph I just wrote:
Shahben led them up an animal trail through the trees. Ceval stayed with him and it was clear the two had become fast friends. Teluith walked behind Reben while Evien followed her. Everyone else followed, with the most capable acting as rear guard.
I honestly don't know if I need to do that in the book, but it's vital in D&D. A DM has to know where everyone is so that he can tell who gets to roll the first spot check to see the ogre cleverly hiding behind an aspen tree.
You can't seeeeeeee meeeeeeee.I find myself always describing marching order in my books, but I don't think I've seen it in many other books. Perhaps in Stephen Nowland's Aielund Saga. But he's a long time D&D player like me. I'm going to have to go back and see if his characters always pick up their weapons too.
I wonder how the reader views the marching order, or if they even notice. I personally couldn't tell you in any of the books I've read, though I do remember getting confused at times as to the locations of characters in some books. Hopefully it helps in my stories and doesn't act as a distraction to the reader instead.
I'm curious as to what readers have noticed in my, or anyone else's books, about these habits. I'm also curious if other writers have other D&D habits they include in their books.
*Note: All miniatures are Reaper miniatures painted by yours truly.
All my best,
John H. Carroll
July 31, 2013
Book sales data for John H. Carroll, Nov 2010 - July 2013.
Last year about this time, I reported how many sales I had in this post: http://ryallon.blogspot.com/2012/06/my-book-sales-data-nov-2010-april-2012.html
I've decided to do that again. This time however, I'm not separating the numbers by store or month. With 22 titles over 3 years, it's an insanely complicated process to do so.
This is how many sales I've had by title. Each author is has different strengths and weaknesses. Genre also affects sales. I write fantasy, which does not have as large of a fan base. If I were writing romance, then these numbers might have been two or three times as high . . . although I suck at romance, so they might have been worse.
One of my biggest strengths is the fact that I’m fairly prolific. I've published these books and short stories in addition to having a full time job and spending time with my family.
I don’t market or social network anywhere near as much I should. There are so many sites to request reviews, and forums to talk about your book, that a person could spend the rest of their life marketing one book. I prefer to work on the next, so I do minimal marketing.
My primary form of marketing is "first book free" and free short stories. This gets people to know my name and brings a steady trickle of sales to my other titles.
These numbers are increasing each day, sometimes slowly, sometimes quickly. Also, there's no rhyme or reason as to the dates I chose to do the calculations.
Sales Master Sheet June 1 2012 Oct 1 2012 July 31 2013 SALES
(Date published) Rojuun
(Nov 2010) 295 299 344 Anilyia
(Apr 2011) 692 1106 1982 Kethril
(July 2011) 545 914 1724 Willden omnibus
(Oct-2011, unpub Mar 2013) 659 1075 1075 Dralin
(Oct 2011) 285 488 563 Ebudae
(May 2012) 8 190 887 Pelya
(Nov 2012) 0 0 716 Wyvern
(Apr 2013) 0 0 421 Rain Glade
(Sep 2012) 0 7 133 Emo Bunny Illustrated
(Apr 2012) 6 21 62 Collection of Children's Stories
(Oct 2011) 189 293 350 Alien Coffee
(Aug 2011) 194 244 276 Emo Bunny that Should
(Jan 2011, unpub Mar 2013) 147 148 148 Zachary Zombie, Lost Boy
(Apr 2011) 62 62 144 Drippy, Peg-Legged Rainbow
(Sep 2011) 15 17 25 Unholy Cow
(Oct 2011) 21 21 57 Attack, Sugar Plum Fairies
(Oct 2011) 52 52 111 Phairyphant
(Mar 2013) 0 0 18 Naughty Nanoworms
(Mar 2013) 0 0 9 Blue Haired Alien Girlfriend
(Nov 2010) 37 39 91 Test Pilot
(Dec 2010) 22 22 124 Don't Ever Change
(Feb 2011) 44 44 67 Zachary Zombie, Wicked Worm
(June 2013) 0 0 6 Storage Room in the Grey Void
(July 2013) 0 0 4 Grand Total Sales 3273 5042 9337 FREE GIVEAWAYS
(Date published) Dralin
(Oct 2011) 0 0 10592 Rojuun
(Nov 2010) 22728 31105 45529 Emo Bunny that Should
(Jan 2011, unpub Mar 2013) 64087 69095 96317 Zachary Zombie, Lost Boy
(Apr 2011) 28852 29437 39487 Drippy, Peg-Legged Rainbow
(Sep 2011) 12288 16582 25153 Unholy Cow
(Oct 2011) 10845 18192 28963 Attack, Sugar Plum Fairies
(Oct 2011) 23905 30606 57706 Phairyphant
(Mar 2013) 0 0 5 Naughty Nanoworms
(Mar 2013) 0 0 6 Zachary Zombie, Wicked Worm
(June 2013) 0 0 11 Blue Haired Alien Girlfriend
(Nov 2010) 23798 25455 32402 Test Pilot
(Dec 2010) 12769 22538 33739 Don't Ever Change
(Feb 2011) 23063 24931 36483 Grand Total Free Giveaways 222335 267941 406393
Heavy Increase in last giveaway column is largely due to 90,000 free giveaways via Apple being reported by Smashwords. Overall, free giveaways are down. In February of 2013, I decided to begin charging for most of my free stories due to the algorithms of most bookstore changing to minimize the power of free. Dralin, Rojuun and Drippy the Peg-Legged Rainbow are the only ones that are currently free.
I hope this provides small insight to others.
All my best,
John H. Carroll
I've decided to do that again. This time however, I'm not separating the numbers by store or month. With 22 titles over 3 years, it's an insanely complicated process to do so.
This is how many sales I've had by title. Each author is has different strengths and weaknesses. Genre also affects sales. I write fantasy, which does not have as large of a fan base. If I were writing romance, then these numbers might have been two or three times as high . . . although I suck at romance, so they might have been worse.
One of my biggest strengths is the fact that I’m fairly prolific. I've published these books and short stories in addition to having a full time job and spending time with my family.
I don’t market or social network anywhere near as much I should. There are so many sites to request reviews, and forums to talk about your book, that a person could spend the rest of their life marketing one book. I prefer to work on the next, so I do minimal marketing.
My primary form of marketing is "first book free" and free short stories. This gets people to know my name and brings a steady trickle of sales to my other titles.
These numbers are increasing each day, sometimes slowly, sometimes quickly. Also, there's no rhyme or reason as to the dates I chose to do the calculations.
Sales Master Sheet June 1 2012 Oct 1 2012 July 31 2013 SALES
(Date published) Rojuun
(Nov 2010) 295 299 344 Anilyia
(Apr 2011) 692 1106 1982 Kethril
(July 2011) 545 914 1724 Willden omnibus
(Oct-2011, unpub Mar 2013) 659 1075 1075 Dralin
(Oct 2011) 285 488 563 Ebudae
(May 2012) 8 190 887 Pelya
(Nov 2012) 0 0 716 Wyvern
(Apr 2013) 0 0 421 Rain Glade
(Sep 2012) 0 7 133 Emo Bunny Illustrated
(Apr 2012) 6 21 62 Collection of Children's Stories
(Oct 2011) 189 293 350 Alien Coffee
(Aug 2011) 194 244 276 Emo Bunny that Should
(Jan 2011, unpub Mar 2013) 147 148 148 Zachary Zombie, Lost Boy
(Apr 2011) 62 62 144 Drippy, Peg-Legged Rainbow
(Sep 2011) 15 17 25 Unholy Cow
(Oct 2011) 21 21 57 Attack, Sugar Plum Fairies
(Oct 2011) 52 52 111 Phairyphant
(Mar 2013) 0 0 18 Naughty Nanoworms
(Mar 2013) 0 0 9 Blue Haired Alien Girlfriend
(Nov 2010) 37 39 91 Test Pilot
(Dec 2010) 22 22 124 Don't Ever Change
(Feb 2011) 44 44 67 Zachary Zombie, Wicked Worm
(June 2013) 0 0 6 Storage Room in the Grey Void
(July 2013) 0 0 4 Grand Total Sales 3273 5042 9337 FREE GIVEAWAYS
(Date published) Dralin
(Oct 2011) 0 0 10592 Rojuun
(Nov 2010) 22728 31105 45529 Emo Bunny that Should
(Jan 2011, unpub Mar 2013) 64087 69095 96317 Zachary Zombie, Lost Boy
(Apr 2011) 28852 29437 39487 Drippy, Peg-Legged Rainbow
(Sep 2011) 12288 16582 25153 Unholy Cow
(Oct 2011) 10845 18192 28963 Attack, Sugar Plum Fairies
(Oct 2011) 23905 30606 57706 Phairyphant
(Mar 2013) 0 0 5 Naughty Nanoworms
(Mar 2013) 0 0 6 Zachary Zombie, Wicked Worm
(June 2013) 0 0 11 Blue Haired Alien Girlfriend
(Nov 2010) 23798 25455 32402 Test Pilot
(Dec 2010) 12769 22538 33739 Don't Ever Change
(Feb 2011) 23063 24931 36483 Grand Total Free Giveaways 222335 267941 406393
Heavy Increase in last giveaway column is largely due to 90,000 free giveaways via Apple being reported by Smashwords. Overall, free giveaways are down. In February of 2013, I decided to begin charging for most of my free stories due to the algorithms of most bookstore changing to minimize the power of free. Dralin, Rojuun and Drippy the Peg-Legged Rainbow are the only ones that are currently free.
I hope this provides small insight to others.
All my best,
John H. Carroll
July 29, 2013
Excerpt from "Liselle" Book 1 of the Crazed Trilogy, coming August 2013
This is an excerpt from my current work in progress, "Liselle", Book 1 of the Crazed Trilogy.
In which Liselle and Vevin meet Reben and Teluith.
They spent the nights at inns along the way, but made good time. Midday on the fifth day after leaving the campground, Vevin motioned for them to stop. “I smell people ahead. They need to take baths.”
Liselle looked at the trees bordering the highway. There was less activity among the wildlife than usual. Patchy clouds in the sky didn’t give any indication of releasing moisture. The heat of the day had made Liselle sleepy and she realized that the flowers were warning her of danger ahead. “It’s a trap. There are people waiting to ambush us.”
“Shall I go full dragon and take a stroll through their ambush?” Vevin grinned hopefully.
Liselle laughed. “No. I want to talk to them and find out why they’re ambushing us.”
Vevin threw his hands in the air. “What a ridiculous idea! What if they try to kill us?”
With a casual gesture, Liselle cast a spell of protection that strengthened her skin and made her mind immune to intrusion. It also created a barrier against magical attacks. “Then I’ll have to sit on them while asking the questions.”
Vevin didn’t need to do a protection spell as he had the same defenses naturally. “Fine. We’ll do it your way. I’m not hiding myself this time though.”
Liselle rode forward, ready for trouble. It didn’t take long for them to be stopped by trees across the highway. It looked as though they had been dragged there by horses, judging from the hoof prints in the dirt. “Oh no,” Liselle said in a loud, flat voice. “Trees have fallen across the road. Whatever shall we do?”
Vevin held his arms up and looked to the sky. “Where’s a beaver when you need one?”
Liselle giggled.
A man wearing a mask and wide brimmed hat with a turkey feather in its band came out from the woods and jumped on one of the trees across the road. He tripped on a branch before gaining his balance. “Stay where you are, travelers!” he yelled in a tinny voice. With a clumsy move, he drew his sword and pointed it at Vevin and Liselle. “You must pay highway tax to pass.” There was nothing about him to inspire the belief he was dangerous.
“Very well, I shall pay you two sticks,” Liselle suggested. “A fair tax, methinks.”
“Oh yes, very fair,” Vevin agreed.
The man stared at her to discern if she was serious. “You will pay in gold, milady. We’ll start with your jewelry.” He indicated the necklace and earrings she wore.
“But sticks are so much more valuable,” Liselle insisted. “You can use them to make fire, you can use them to beat people with, you can rub them together and you can even use them to make music by banging on hollow logs. I’ll pay you three sticks for your tax. That’s my final offer.” Another trick she had learned from Tathan was that saying outrageous things could throw people off their guard. Vevin was trying to hide giggles behind a hand and was failing. She liked making the dragon giggle.
Confusion ruled the man’s expression. He looked at someone in the trees and shrugged helplessly.
Neither Liselle nor Vevin were surprised when eight poorly-clad bandits with simple weapons slipped quietly out of the woods to surround them. The flowers had informed Liselle that the bandits were waiting and Vevin had his own ways of knowing.
To Liselle’s surprise, a chocolate-skinned woman with sky-blue hair woman came forward. Unlike the other bandits, she was well equipped, wearing brown leather pants and jacket. She wore a white skullcap to protect her scalp from the damage of the sun. A quarterstaff twirled expertly in her gloved hands. She planted one end on the ground and leaned on it while smirking at her new victims.
The woman’s staccato accent was lively and a bit difficult to understand. “Your proposal of sticks, it is more generous than most offers, but it will not be sufficient. You wear such fine jewelry and clothes. Your horses and whatever you have in your packs, they will be of great use to us as well, no?”
The man who had first spoken gave way to her. He had been a decoy, often used by bandits in case their victims decided to kill the leader immediately. It was rarely a job anyone volunteered for.
Vevin turned to Liselle, speaking loudly enough for all to hear. “Remember that I’m allowed to eat thieves.” It was one of the exclusions to the provision in the human-dragon treaty, one Vevin liked to point out whenever anyone dangerous came near Liselle.
“You know I don’t like it when you eat people, darling. It’s messy and the sound of crunching bones gives me the shivers.” Liselle was very thankful that he had never actually eaten anyone.
A dark-skinned wizard slipped out from behind the tree the bandit leader had come from. He wore an earthen-green robe that matched his dark blonde hair and beard. In his hand was a smooth wizard’s staff topped by a circular device with a series of multicolored crystals wrapped in wire. A skullcap identical to the woman’s covered his head. It was an unusual accessory in Soaarth where women preferred bonnets and men enjoyed rounded hats with wide brims.
The wizard’s voice was softer and his accent wasn’t as heavy as the woman’s, though it was from the same place. “Teluith, I think the one might be serious about eating us. There is a spell altering his appearance. They both have magical protections, but I can’t tell you what they are.”
The bandit leader turned her head to speak to him over her shoulder. “Why can you not tell me what they are?”
“The protections are subtle, which indicates great skill.” The wizard’s words made the bandits nervous. Liselle held still so as not to startle someone into doing something stupid.
“Greater skill than your own, Reben?” Teluith’s smirk was gone as she studied Liselle and Vevin carefully. She moved the quarterstaff into a ready position.
Teluith and Reben didn’t look anything like bandits. Liselle had met a group of people in Scinta who had dark skin like the pair. They were originally from the continent of Pomelea over the western ocean. It was a long, difficult journey made by few.
Reben cocked his head in confusion. “You know that my skill is not very good, Teluith.”
Teluith put a hand on her hip. “You must not admit so in front of our guests.”
“We should leave them alone, Teluith. I feel it in my gut. Please trust me on this.” Reben chewed nervously on his lip.
“I trust your feelings, but . . . Very well.” Teluith snapped her fingers and made a gesture. The bandits reluctantly disappeared into the trees with the exception of Teluith and Reben. “Letting valuables go is not in my nature.” The smirk came back to her face. “You two may move the trees blocking this road on your own.”
Liselle concentrated on the trees lying in the road. With a gesture and a breath, they rose into the air and settled in the drainage ditch. The magic use generated mystical winds that affected Liselle, but no one else. Her hair rustled around her face from it. Moving objects took some effort, but she handled it quickly and efficiently.
Teluith darted to the opposite side of the road near were Reben stood. “It seems your gut feelings have saved us again, husband.”
“She didn’t use an incantation or proper gestures. She has power I don’t understand.” Reben fearfully grabbed Teluith’s hand to pull her toward the woods.
“Wait!” Liselle held out an arm. “Please don’t leave. I want to talk to you.” The dark-skinned couple stopped and turned, still holding hands.
Vevin leaned in. “Generally, escaping an ambush like we just did is a good thing. We don’t haveto talk to everyone.”
“We don’t want trouble,” Reben said with a wave. “So sorry to disturb you.”
“I just want to talk to you.” Liselle jumped off her horse and gave the reins to Vevin. She walked toward where Reben was struggling to drag his wife away.
Teluith stood her ground. “Why do you want to talk to us? If you wish to stall us so that troops can come to arrest us, it is foolish. There are no soldiers for a day’s travel in either direction.”
Liselle shook her head as she walked to them. “No. I just want to understand why you would rob people. I’m trying to understand why people do bad things to other people.” She stopped when Teluith held up a warning hand.
“Come no closer. I don’t know who you are, but I will fight to the death to protect my people.” Teluith held the staff in a defensive position.
“As will I.” Reben moved his hands and began speaking an incantation. The mystical breeze created affected only him. It gusted his hair and robes.
Liselle waited patiently for the wizard to finish the spell of protection he cast over him and his wife. “I’m not going to fight you. Why are you bandits? Do you like hurting people?”
They looked at each other with frowns and then at her. “Are you serious?” Teluith asked in disbelief. “What sort of question is that?” A few of the other bandits were peering from the woods, worried for their leaders.
Vevin came up behind Liselle. He had dismounted and was leading both of their horses. “Hi there. I’m Vevin. This is Liselle, my mate. I’m very glad I didn’t have to chomp your bones.”
Liselle smacked her head. “How rude of me. I always forget to introduce myself.” She held out a hand in greeting. “It’s very nice to meet you, Teluith, and you, Reben.”
They looked at the hand as though it might be a snake about to bite them. Teluith took it and shook. “I suppose it is nice to meet you too. It will be even nicer if you will hand over that jewelry.”
Liselle laughed and took one of the small pouches she had hidden in her shirt. “I have twenty silver pieces in here. If you answer my questions, I’ll give it to you.”
Teluith licked her lips. “That is not enough to care for this group, but I will take it.” She snatched the purse faster than Liselle could blink. “So you want to know why we became bandits? Very well, I will tell you.”
“Oh good.” Liselle clapped her hands together and gave a little jump. “Do you have someplace where we can sit? Perhaps we can start a fire for some dinner later.”
Reben and Teluith exchanged glances. “I am not certain if the idea to bring you to camp is good.”
“You’re going to end up doing it sooner or later.” Vevin grinned. “Everyone does.”
Liselle thwapped him in the shoulder. “Don’t mind Vevin. If you don’t want to sit down and be comfortable, we can talk on the highway. The wagon train with lots of armed guards that we passed this morning should be here eventually and perhaps they’ll want to join the conversation.”
Reben nodded at Teluith’s quick glance. “They will be here within the hour and we will not have the ability to defeat them without loss of life.”
“We will have company for dinner then.” Teluith smiled mischievously. “You may hand over your horses to my people. They will keep them safe.”
“Anyone who tries to take our horses is going to lose a hand.” Vevin snapped his teeth.
Teluith stepped back in alarm, noticing the sharp teeth for the first time. “What in the world are you?”
“He’s a dragon,” Liselle mentioned casually. “I haven’t fed him yet, so he might find a hand tasty. Perhaps we should just let him handle the horses. You mentioned a camp?”
Teluith looked at the pouch of coins in her hand as though she regretted taking them. But she nodded and gestured for them to follow her.
In which Liselle and Vevin meet Reben and Teluith.
They spent the nights at inns along the way, but made good time. Midday on the fifth day after leaving the campground, Vevin motioned for them to stop. “I smell people ahead. They need to take baths.”
Liselle looked at the trees bordering the highway. There was less activity among the wildlife than usual. Patchy clouds in the sky didn’t give any indication of releasing moisture. The heat of the day had made Liselle sleepy and she realized that the flowers were warning her of danger ahead. “It’s a trap. There are people waiting to ambush us.”
“Shall I go full dragon and take a stroll through their ambush?” Vevin grinned hopefully.
Liselle laughed. “No. I want to talk to them and find out why they’re ambushing us.”
Vevin threw his hands in the air. “What a ridiculous idea! What if they try to kill us?”
With a casual gesture, Liselle cast a spell of protection that strengthened her skin and made her mind immune to intrusion. It also created a barrier against magical attacks. “Then I’ll have to sit on them while asking the questions.”
Vevin didn’t need to do a protection spell as he had the same defenses naturally. “Fine. We’ll do it your way. I’m not hiding myself this time though.”
Liselle rode forward, ready for trouble. It didn’t take long for them to be stopped by trees across the highway. It looked as though they had been dragged there by horses, judging from the hoof prints in the dirt. “Oh no,” Liselle said in a loud, flat voice. “Trees have fallen across the road. Whatever shall we do?”
Vevin held his arms up and looked to the sky. “Where’s a beaver when you need one?”
Liselle giggled.
A man wearing a mask and wide brimmed hat with a turkey feather in its band came out from the woods and jumped on one of the trees across the road. He tripped on a branch before gaining his balance. “Stay where you are, travelers!” he yelled in a tinny voice. With a clumsy move, he drew his sword and pointed it at Vevin and Liselle. “You must pay highway tax to pass.” There was nothing about him to inspire the belief he was dangerous.
“Very well, I shall pay you two sticks,” Liselle suggested. “A fair tax, methinks.”
“Oh yes, very fair,” Vevin agreed.
The man stared at her to discern if she was serious. “You will pay in gold, milady. We’ll start with your jewelry.” He indicated the necklace and earrings she wore.
“But sticks are so much more valuable,” Liselle insisted. “You can use them to make fire, you can use them to beat people with, you can rub them together and you can even use them to make music by banging on hollow logs. I’ll pay you three sticks for your tax. That’s my final offer.” Another trick she had learned from Tathan was that saying outrageous things could throw people off their guard. Vevin was trying to hide giggles behind a hand and was failing. She liked making the dragon giggle.
Confusion ruled the man’s expression. He looked at someone in the trees and shrugged helplessly.
Neither Liselle nor Vevin were surprised when eight poorly-clad bandits with simple weapons slipped quietly out of the woods to surround them. The flowers had informed Liselle that the bandits were waiting and Vevin had his own ways of knowing.
To Liselle’s surprise, a chocolate-skinned woman with sky-blue hair woman came forward. Unlike the other bandits, she was well equipped, wearing brown leather pants and jacket. She wore a white skullcap to protect her scalp from the damage of the sun. A quarterstaff twirled expertly in her gloved hands. She planted one end on the ground and leaned on it while smirking at her new victims.
The woman’s staccato accent was lively and a bit difficult to understand. “Your proposal of sticks, it is more generous than most offers, but it will not be sufficient. You wear such fine jewelry and clothes. Your horses and whatever you have in your packs, they will be of great use to us as well, no?”
The man who had first spoken gave way to her. He had been a decoy, often used by bandits in case their victims decided to kill the leader immediately. It was rarely a job anyone volunteered for.
Vevin turned to Liselle, speaking loudly enough for all to hear. “Remember that I’m allowed to eat thieves.” It was one of the exclusions to the provision in the human-dragon treaty, one Vevin liked to point out whenever anyone dangerous came near Liselle.
“You know I don’t like it when you eat people, darling. It’s messy and the sound of crunching bones gives me the shivers.” Liselle was very thankful that he had never actually eaten anyone.
A dark-skinned wizard slipped out from behind the tree the bandit leader had come from. He wore an earthen-green robe that matched his dark blonde hair and beard. In his hand was a smooth wizard’s staff topped by a circular device with a series of multicolored crystals wrapped in wire. A skullcap identical to the woman’s covered his head. It was an unusual accessory in Soaarth where women preferred bonnets and men enjoyed rounded hats with wide brims.
The wizard’s voice was softer and his accent wasn’t as heavy as the woman’s, though it was from the same place. “Teluith, I think the one might be serious about eating us. There is a spell altering his appearance. They both have magical protections, but I can’t tell you what they are.”
The bandit leader turned her head to speak to him over her shoulder. “Why can you not tell me what they are?”
“The protections are subtle, which indicates great skill.” The wizard’s words made the bandits nervous. Liselle held still so as not to startle someone into doing something stupid.
“Greater skill than your own, Reben?” Teluith’s smirk was gone as she studied Liselle and Vevin carefully. She moved the quarterstaff into a ready position.
Teluith and Reben didn’t look anything like bandits. Liselle had met a group of people in Scinta who had dark skin like the pair. They were originally from the continent of Pomelea over the western ocean. It was a long, difficult journey made by few.
Reben cocked his head in confusion. “You know that my skill is not very good, Teluith.”
Teluith put a hand on her hip. “You must not admit so in front of our guests.”
“We should leave them alone, Teluith. I feel it in my gut. Please trust me on this.” Reben chewed nervously on his lip.
“I trust your feelings, but . . . Very well.” Teluith snapped her fingers and made a gesture. The bandits reluctantly disappeared into the trees with the exception of Teluith and Reben. “Letting valuables go is not in my nature.” The smirk came back to her face. “You two may move the trees blocking this road on your own.”
Liselle concentrated on the trees lying in the road. With a gesture and a breath, they rose into the air and settled in the drainage ditch. The magic use generated mystical winds that affected Liselle, but no one else. Her hair rustled around her face from it. Moving objects took some effort, but she handled it quickly and efficiently.
Teluith darted to the opposite side of the road near were Reben stood. “It seems your gut feelings have saved us again, husband.”
“She didn’t use an incantation or proper gestures. She has power I don’t understand.” Reben fearfully grabbed Teluith’s hand to pull her toward the woods.
“Wait!” Liselle held out an arm. “Please don’t leave. I want to talk to you.” The dark-skinned couple stopped and turned, still holding hands.
Vevin leaned in. “Generally, escaping an ambush like we just did is a good thing. We don’t haveto talk to everyone.”
“We don’t want trouble,” Reben said with a wave. “So sorry to disturb you.”
“I just want to talk to you.” Liselle jumped off her horse and gave the reins to Vevin. She walked toward where Reben was struggling to drag his wife away.
Teluith stood her ground. “Why do you want to talk to us? If you wish to stall us so that troops can come to arrest us, it is foolish. There are no soldiers for a day’s travel in either direction.”
Liselle shook her head as she walked to them. “No. I just want to understand why you would rob people. I’m trying to understand why people do bad things to other people.” She stopped when Teluith held up a warning hand.
“Come no closer. I don’t know who you are, but I will fight to the death to protect my people.” Teluith held the staff in a defensive position.
“As will I.” Reben moved his hands and began speaking an incantation. The mystical breeze created affected only him. It gusted his hair and robes.
Liselle waited patiently for the wizard to finish the spell of protection he cast over him and his wife. “I’m not going to fight you. Why are you bandits? Do you like hurting people?”
They looked at each other with frowns and then at her. “Are you serious?” Teluith asked in disbelief. “What sort of question is that?” A few of the other bandits were peering from the woods, worried for their leaders.
Vevin came up behind Liselle. He had dismounted and was leading both of their horses. “Hi there. I’m Vevin. This is Liselle, my mate. I’m very glad I didn’t have to chomp your bones.”
Liselle smacked her head. “How rude of me. I always forget to introduce myself.” She held out a hand in greeting. “It’s very nice to meet you, Teluith, and you, Reben.”
They looked at the hand as though it might be a snake about to bite them. Teluith took it and shook. “I suppose it is nice to meet you too. It will be even nicer if you will hand over that jewelry.”
Liselle laughed and took one of the small pouches she had hidden in her shirt. “I have twenty silver pieces in here. If you answer my questions, I’ll give it to you.”
Teluith licked her lips. “That is not enough to care for this group, but I will take it.” She snatched the purse faster than Liselle could blink. “So you want to know why we became bandits? Very well, I will tell you.”
“Oh good.” Liselle clapped her hands together and gave a little jump. “Do you have someplace where we can sit? Perhaps we can start a fire for some dinner later.”
Reben and Teluith exchanged glances. “I am not certain if the idea to bring you to camp is good.”
“You’re going to end up doing it sooner or later.” Vevin grinned. “Everyone does.”
Liselle thwapped him in the shoulder. “Don’t mind Vevin. If you don’t want to sit down and be comfortable, we can talk on the highway. The wagon train with lots of armed guards that we passed this morning should be here eventually and perhaps they’ll want to join the conversation.”
Reben nodded at Teluith’s quick glance. “They will be here within the hour and we will not have the ability to defeat them without loss of life.”
“We will have company for dinner then.” Teluith smiled mischievously. “You may hand over your horses to my people. They will keep them safe.”
“Anyone who tries to take our horses is going to lose a hand.” Vevin snapped his teeth.
Teluith stepped back in alarm, noticing the sharp teeth for the first time. “What in the world are you?”
“He’s a dragon,” Liselle mentioned casually. “I haven’t fed him yet, so he might find a hand tasty. Perhaps we should just let him handle the horses. You mentioned a camp?”
Teluith looked at the pouch of coins in her hand as though she regretted taking them. But she nodded and gestured for them to follow her.
June 29, 2013
"Liselle" Chapters 1 and 2
Hello,
"Liselle" is book one of the Crazed Trilogy. It's set in the world of Ryallon, a couple of years after the Willden Trilogy and begins with Liselle, a main character in both trilogies. I've included the first two chapters along with a map of the country of Soaarth, the kingdom in which this story takes place.
*****************Spoiler***************This contains spoilers for the Willden Trilogy, if you haven't read it yet!!!
Liselle, Chapters 1 and 2
by John H. Carroll
Copyright 2013 John H. CarrollCover Copyright 2013 John H. CarrollCover photography by Tracy Carroll
This book is dedicated to luck. I could use a bit right now, so hopefully this bribe will be successful.
Chapter 1
Gurbin was hungry. The scent of food wafting along the early night breeze drew him in. After ten days of eating roots and berries in the forest, he was ready for a meal. Perhaps there would even be a pretty girl for him to play with.
He looked up at the moons of Ryallon, both of which were half-full. Siahray was a beautiful blue and green orb with white and gray puffs moving slowly across its surface. Piohray was the furthest and smaller of the two, a red moon with swirling vapors. The combination of red light mixed with bluish-green gave the forest below the ridge Gurbin stood upon a lavender cast.
He had spent the last three years unable to see the moons while in the depths of a sinister mountain prison reserved for the worst criminals in the Kingdom of Soaarth. It was far from the city of Varsh where he had spent his life. If Gurbin came to close to the nearby highway, he might be caught and returned to that terrible prison.
The campground with the food that enticed him was far enough from the highway though, and he was very hungry. Pleasant wood smoke brought with it the aroma of cooking meat. It tickled his nose, drawing him closer through the trees. Infernal branches with pine needles scraped his bald head as he came close. The knife he had taken off the lifeless body of the prison’s cook during his bold escape was perfect for shaving all the hair off his body. Gurbin hated hair.
Three horses munched on grass a short distance from a campfire that illuminated a small clearing within the dense trees. Three people would be hard to overcome, but if one of the horses was a packhorse, there might only be two people, much easier to handle. Gurbin snuck forward to one of the trees and looked around.
The most beautiful woman Gurbin had ever seen was sitting on a log to the right of the fire, stirring a small pot of boiling vegetables to go with the side of deer cooking on a spit. Her hair was glossy black, cascading down her back. A gold-wire necklace set with emeralds and finely cut garnets rested against the perfect skin of her neck. She wore a long robe swirled with black and grey colors. The grey matched her pearlescent eyes which shone in the firelight.
Best of all, she was alone, just a stunning young woman preparing to eat an entire side of deer by herself. It was perfect. Gurbin would have plenty of food and then he would get to play, although there was something very disturbing about the violet flower pinned in her hair
“Are you hungry?” the woman asked, turning toward him with a genuine smile.
Gurbin pulled his head back and plastered his back against the tree.
“There’s no need to be shy. The flowers told me you were there.”
Gurbin wondered what in the world that meant. He cautiously came around the tree and approached, licking the air in her direction. “Pretty, heh, heh. I like you.”
A deep rumble spread throughout the clearing to the forest beyond. If Gurbin had had any hair, it would have stood on end. “What was that?” he asked in alarm.
“Oh, that was Vevin.” She looked at the log to the right of her. “Vevin, are you hiding again?”
A thin, young man materialized, sitting on the log next to the woman. Gurbin did a double take when he realized it wasn’t a man at all. The one called Vevin had metallic purple hair and his skin was an odd sort of cream color tinged with more purple. The leggings and vest he wore were also purple with gold filigree throughout. His feet were bare, as was his chest underneath the unclasped vest. Most unnerving were the liquid-silver eyes that glowed with an eerie light. A wide grin with sharp teeth and a deep scar running up the left side of his face from chin to temple added to Durbin’s anxiety.
“Say hello, Vevin,” the woman told the purple man.
“Hello, Vevin,” the purple man replied with a toothsome grin. He lightly swayed side to side the way a snake would when ready to strike.
“Now don’t be scary, dearest. This nice man is obviously hungry and we have plenty of food to share.”
“Nice man?” Vevin asked incredulously. “Where in all the world of Ryallon do you get the idea that he’s a nice man?”
“Well . . . Perhaps he doesn’t seem all that nice, but who knows how long he’s been in the woods all by himself.” The woman gave a decisive nod. “I’m certain that he’s been nice at some point in his life and we shouldn’t judge him by his appearance.”
Gurbin took a step back. There was something very, very wrong about the two, no matter how pretty the woman was.
“It’s not just his appearance, dear,” Vevin said. “It’s his smell. The stench of evil is so strong on him I can even taste it.”
Gurbin took more steps back. He reached the tree and moved behind it.
“You know you’re not supposed to be tasting humans, darling,” the woman pointed out sternly. “You can get into a great deal of trouble doing that sort of thing.”
Gurbin began moving backward faster.
“I didn’t actually taste him,” Vevin replied in frustration. “I think he’s going to try to hurt you.”
“Nonsense. He wouldn’t try to hurt me, would you . . . “ There was a moment of silence. “Now where did he go? See, you scared him off!”
Gurbin began to run through the moonlit trees. It struck him as odd that the last thing he heard was Vevin asking, “What do the flowers say about him?”
***
A few hours later, Gurbin was walking along the ridge of a rocky hill. Large nightflowers had their petals open to the moons. A few puffy clouds cast occasional shadows, but held no threat of rain.
He thought about the purple man named Vevin and the beautiful woman with the flower in her hair. He wanted to go back for her, but couldn’t find the courage to do so.
A rustling sound startled him and he turned to see what it was. The only thing on the ridge was the orange and yellow nightflowers, more than he had ever seen in one place. Gurbin turned back to look at the woods below. It was a fair distance down with lots of rocks jutting out.
Something grabbed his ankle. Looking down in alarm, he saw that he had accidentally caught his foot in a root. A nervous laugh escaped his lips and he turned his face to the moons. A deep breath calmed him as he closed his eyes.
After a moment, Gurbin tried lifting his leg to free it, but the root held on strongly. Another rustling sound came from behind him and he turned to see what it was. The nightflowers were closer, much closer. Panic began to rise and Gurbin pulled on his leg with both hands. He looked down to see the root crawling up his thigh and another one circling around his other ankle.
Then something pushed Gurbin. When he turned, a nightflower was directly in front of his face.
Gurbin screamed in fear and confusion. None of it made sense. Then the nightflower slammed into him, knocking him off the ridge. At the same time, the roots around his ankles let go and he fell over the edge.
The first two times he bounced, it hurt. He tried desperately to grab onto something, but it was futile. Then he didn’t bounce for a moment. When he finally hit the ground again, the speed he had gained in the fall cracked the life out of him.
Vevin stood and threw his arms up in indignation. “Yes, I scared him off! He was going to do bad things to you.” Embers popped in the fire behind him as though agreeing.
“Perhaps you’re right. He did seem very disturbed, didn’t he?” Liselle mused. The man had given her chills with the way he stared at her. “Why are people like that?” She gazed into the trees where the sound of the man running through the woods was fading. “I wonder if I could have healed his mind.”
“The last time you tried to heal a crazy person’s mind, you nearly destroyed yours.” Vevin folded his arms and tapped his foot. “You aren’t going to be able to heal everyoneno matter how much you want to. Worse, when you mingle your mind with someone like that, there’s a chance it can harm your mind.” He knelt and took her hands in his. His fingers had small talons where a human’s nails would be. “I know you want to make the world a better place where everyone treats everyone else well, but there are just too many who want to make it a worse place.”
Liselle stared at her own dirty fingernails. “Why do people want to make the world a worse place? It doesn’t make any sense at all.”
Vevin buried his head in her lap. “I don’t know.”
“You’re frustrated with me again, aren’t you?” She played with his dark, metallic-purple hair. It was wiry to the touch, but she liked it.
He looked up at her, his liquid-silver eyes swirling slowly. “I’m not frustrated, dearest. I just don’t know how to answer that question. It’s easier with dragons. White and orange are good, purple and black are evil, except for me. I’m just awesome.”
“Yes you are.” Liselle smiled.
“You humans are different colors, but it doesn’t affect whether or not you’re good or evil. Humans have good and evil wrapped all together. It doesn’t make sense.” Vevin got to his feet and walked over to where they had extra wood for the fire. He tossed a couple of logs on before turning the side of deer.
“Like my cousin Tathan?” Liselle still thought of him frequently. “He’s very good and very evil all wrapped up in one.”
“Exactly!” Vevin took the pot of vegetables off and placed it on a flat rock. He used his bare hand even though the pot was scalding. His dragon skin protected him even in human form. “Tathan helps people who are in danger, but he usually does it by killing everyone who threatens those people.” He poked at the fire with a long stick. “I wonder how he’s doing.”
“As do I. It’s been nearly two years since we left him and Sir Danth in Oimryi.” Liselle rested her elbows on her knees and chin in her hands. “I still worry about him. If he and Princess Anilyia are caught in their affair, they’ll be executed.”
“Tathan’s too slippery to be executed. I miss him though. He’s so much fun to be around.” Vevin retrieved Liselle’s plate from their pack and began putting food on it.
“He is, but we’ve had fun even without him, haven’t we, darling?” Liselle took the plate he handed her.
Vevin ripped a chunk of meat off the deer. “We have! It’s been wonderful. I loved flying around the mountains of the Island of Scinta.” He shredded a chunk of the meat with his sharp teeth.
It was a bit unnerving to watch her mate eat, but Liselle was used to it. “With the exception of flying over the ocean, I enjoyed the people there. They were so welcoming . . . at least until you flew over the port in your natural form and they asked us to leave.”
Vevin blushed, his skin turning dark purple in the firelight. “I still feel bad about that.”
“I know, dearest. I’m not upset. I was bored after a few months anyway.” Liselle nibbled on her food, not very hungry.
“I wish we had been able to go to Dralin. It sounds like such a fascinating city.” Vevin licked his fingers, having already eaten the large portion he had taken. He was skinny in both his forms, but could put away extraordinary amounts of food.
“I’m glad Dralin has protections against dragons entering the city. The pollution in the air around it was alarming. It wouldn’t have been healthy for either of us. Even the water in the ground around it was tainted with magical pollution. The flowers hate it.” Liselle reached out to the flower behind the log. It reached forward to touch her fingers, giving the floral equivalent of a purr.
“The flowers didn’t like the man who just tried to visit, did they?” Vevin asked again as he tore off more of the deer meat.
“No. They told me he was evil. I still want to make him better. Why would he be evil? What happened to make him evil, or is he naturally evil?”
Vevin didn’t answer because he was rending meat off a rib bone he had torn from the deer. He stopped when he noticed her watching him. “Nom, nom.”
Liselle laughed. “Enjoy nomming your dinner, darling. I’m going to meet more of the flowers in the area. I can hear them calling for my attention.” She got up and walked into the trees in the opposite direction that the man had taken.
After a few minutes, the sounds of her mate’s voracious eating were replaced by the melodies of night insects and the gentle breeze rustling through leaves. A porcupine rustled through nearby underbrush, startled by her passing. The forested hills between Pilmata and Tadash in the country of Soaarth were lush. A multitude of plants and flowers blended their scents with the rich odors of damp earth and bark. Flowers that had closed for the night opened to say hello to her as she made her way around stout trees.
She had always been able to understand the flowers. They looked out for her and she for them. While travelling through the Willden Forest with her cousin Tathan, Liselle had learned that she was born of flowers after her mother hand lain with them in a field. Being half-human and half-flower made Liselle a supernatural entity, if an odd one. One person she had met in her travels believed Liselle was an archangel, though it wasn’t clear of what god or goddess.
A glade opened before her. She stopped for a moment while a bear crossed the other side, its black coat glossy in the lavender light of the moons. The flowers had alerted her to it and the fact that it was hungry. They masked her scent with their pleasant perfumes to prevent the bear from catching wind of her.
Liselle looked back in the direction of camp. The bear wouldn’t be a match for Vevin, who could sense when Liselle was in danger. Vevin took excellent care of her and doted on her. She smiled at the fond remembrance of the first day she had met him in the ruins of Aaltdiin. He had danced his way into Liselle’s heart from that day forward.
The bear was gone, so Liselle made her way into the clearing to greet the flowers there. Nightflowers were eager to see her, spreading their enormous petals wide to show off their colors. A cloud covered Piohray’s light, temporarily altering the moonlight to the blue-green of Siahray. Liselle stretched her arms like the flowers stretched their petals, reveling in the life-giving light.
She laughed and dropped down between two of the largest flowers. They covered her against the slight chill of the breeze while she gazed at the clouds and stars.
Liselle relished the freedom of the open road. She was able to meet new people in the cities and new flowers in the countryside.
A brief stab of sorrow pierced her heart as she thought back to the deaths of her parents, the incident that had begun her on her journeys. The memory still ached, though she had come to terms with it. Desert warriors from the Iynath Empire had come into her peaceful valley and murdered her parents. The only reason Liselle was still alive was because her cousin Tathan had come for a visit at that time and fought the warriors off.
She shook aside the thought and got back to her feet. The breeze was becoming stronger and sending chills up her arms, so she headed back to camp after waving goodbye to the flowers. They were sad to see her go.
Firm gusts whistled through branches and shook leaves. The robe made for Liselle by a girl from the race known as Rojuun protected her skin from a chill, but it was becoming threadbare from heavy use and she was grateful for the warmth of the fire upon reaching camp.
Vevin was chucking the last of the deer bones over the trees far away from camp so as not to attract predators. He came over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist while she held her hands near the fire. “Did you meet any new types of flowers?”
“No, but they were all lovely. I believe that there are more nightflowers in these hills than dayflowers.” Liselle leaned back against him, enjoying the feel of his strong chest and arms. “I’m sorry that I try to fix everyone, Vevin.”
“But I love that about you. You make the world a better place. My only problem is that you put yourself in more danger than you can handle sometimes.” His breath was warm as he spoke into her ear. “Everything about you is wonderful. Each footstep you take brings peace and kindness. I’ve seen people stop fighting when you pass by. One time I swear two people fell in love with each other just because you smiled in their direction.”
“I would tell you you’re silly, but there’s some truth to what you say. I’ve seen it too.” Liselle turned in his arms to face him. “I don’t think I’m an archangel, but I don’t know what I am. It’s so confusing.” She rested her head on his shoulder.
Vevin held her head close with one of his hands. “You’re the Child of Flowers. We know that much.”
“But not what it means.” Liselle pushed herself back and took a deep breath. “I’m being moody. I’m sorry, dearest.”
Vevin grinned impishly. “Does that mean it’s a good time for me to go flying?”
Liselle twisted her lips and put her hands on her hips. “You just got back yesterday after flying for a week.”
“Just joking.” He held up his hands in surrender, but the grin was still present. “Are we still planning to go to Aest?”
Liselle picked her plate of food back up and sat on the log to nibble at it some more. “If you don’t mind. It’s said that the royal castle is one of the most beautiful in the world, with pennants flying from majestic spires.” Liselle sighed dreamily. “I love castles. Uncle Laremy used to tell me stories of damsels who lived in towers while shining knights rescued them from dragons.”
Vevin sat next to her. “I don’t like those stories so much. Any knight that tries to rescueyou from me will squish out of the creases of his shining armor when I step on him.” A low growl rumbled from his throat and through the trees, sending sleeping animals scurrying for their lives.
“Eww. Don’t be like that.” Liselle thwapped him in the chest with the back of her hand. “They were childhood fairy tales. I love you more than I could ever love any silly knight. Besides, most of them wear black armor because it’s more intimidating.” She rolled her eyes.
“I don’t care what type of armor they wear, it’s not intimidating to me.” Vevin snitched a piece of deer meat off her plate, too fast for her attempt at slapping his hand. “Why are they called fairy tales when most of them aren’t about fairies?” he asked thoughtfully.
“Because humans like to confuse dragons, that’s why.” Liselle stuck her tongue out at him. “Do you mind visiting Aest? I don’t think they’ll have enchantments to keep you out like Dralin does.”
“I don’t mind.” Vevin tried to grab another bite, but Liselle was too fast in moving the plate away. He crossed one leg over the other and looked at the glow of firelight illuminating the trees surrounding their camp. “I like visiting cities. People are fascinating and confusing all at the same time. I’m still not sure how anyone managed to create wards strong enough to keep a dragon out of Dralin. I doubt it could happen anywhere else though.”
“I don’t think so either.” Liselle took a bit of vegetables before giving the plate to Vevin. She just wasn’t hungry. “I think it’s extraordinary that the Kingdom of Soaarth has two capital cities. I hope Aest is more pleasant than Thea, and I definitely hope it’s better than the city of Varsh.” Liselle screwed her face into an expression of distaste.
“Oh yes! Varsh is a terrible city with smelly fish.” Vevin eagerly downed the rest of the deer meat.
Liselle looked south, remembering the rough men of Varsh who worked the docks and the battered women who ducked as though afraid someone was going to beat them. “I wish I could have helped the children. They stared at me with such hopelessness in their eyes.”
“The oppressed and downtrodden.” Vevin nodded sadly. “It’s the sort of city that could use someone like Sir Danth. He would help them even if it meant killing everyone who oppressed them.”
Liselle leaned against Vevin and let him wrap an arm around her shoulders. “I just wish people would stop oppressing other people and downtrodding all over them.”
“I’m not certain that downtrodding is a word, darling.”
“I’m the Child of the Flowers. If I say downtrodding is a word, then it is. You get ‘nomming’ after all.”
“Yes, but I’m a dragon. We get extra words because we’re so awesome.” Vevin kissed the top of her head. “But you’re awesome too, so downtrodding is officially a word now.”
Liselle gave him a kiss. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Vevin kissed her back.
The kissing turned into more. Author's note:
I hope you've enjoyed this preview. I'm hoping to have this book out in the next few months.
All my best,
John H. Carroll
"Liselle" is book one of the Crazed Trilogy. It's set in the world of Ryallon, a couple of years after the Willden Trilogy and begins with Liselle, a main character in both trilogies. I've included the first two chapters along with a map of the country of Soaarth, the kingdom in which this story takes place.
*****************Spoiler***************This contains spoilers for the Willden Trilogy, if you haven't read it yet!!!
Liselle, Chapters 1 and 2
by John H. Carroll
Copyright 2013 John H. CarrollCover Copyright 2013 John H. CarrollCover photography by Tracy Carroll
This book is dedicated to luck. I could use a bit right now, so hopefully this bribe will be successful.
Chapter 1
Gurbin was hungry. The scent of food wafting along the early night breeze drew him in. After ten days of eating roots and berries in the forest, he was ready for a meal. Perhaps there would even be a pretty girl for him to play with.
He looked up at the moons of Ryallon, both of which were half-full. Siahray was a beautiful blue and green orb with white and gray puffs moving slowly across its surface. Piohray was the furthest and smaller of the two, a red moon with swirling vapors. The combination of red light mixed with bluish-green gave the forest below the ridge Gurbin stood upon a lavender cast.
He had spent the last three years unable to see the moons while in the depths of a sinister mountain prison reserved for the worst criminals in the Kingdom of Soaarth. It was far from the city of Varsh where he had spent his life. If Gurbin came to close to the nearby highway, he might be caught and returned to that terrible prison.
The campground with the food that enticed him was far enough from the highway though, and he was very hungry. Pleasant wood smoke brought with it the aroma of cooking meat. It tickled his nose, drawing him closer through the trees. Infernal branches with pine needles scraped his bald head as he came close. The knife he had taken off the lifeless body of the prison’s cook during his bold escape was perfect for shaving all the hair off his body. Gurbin hated hair.
Three horses munched on grass a short distance from a campfire that illuminated a small clearing within the dense trees. Three people would be hard to overcome, but if one of the horses was a packhorse, there might only be two people, much easier to handle. Gurbin snuck forward to one of the trees and looked around.
The most beautiful woman Gurbin had ever seen was sitting on a log to the right of the fire, stirring a small pot of boiling vegetables to go with the side of deer cooking on a spit. Her hair was glossy black, cascading down her back. A gold-wire necklace set with emeralds and finely cut garnets rested against the perfect skin of her neck. She wore a long robe swirled with black and grey colors. The grey matched her pearlescent eyes which shone in the firelight.
Best of all, she was alone, just a stunning young woman preparing to eat an entire side of deer by herself. It was perfect. Gurbin would have plenty of food and then he would get to play, although there was something very disturbing about the violet flower pinned in her hair
“Are you hungry?” the woman asked, turning toward him with a genuine smile.
Gurbin pulled his head back and plastered his back against the tree.
“There’s no need to be shy. The flowers told me you were there.”
Gurbin wondered what in the world that meant. He cautiously came around the tree and approached, licking the air in her direction. “Pretty, heh, heh. I like you.”
A deep rumble spread throughout the clearing to the forest beyond. If Gurbin had had any hair, it would have stood on end. “What was that?” he asked in alarm.
“Oh, that was Vevin.” She looked at the log to the right of her. “Vevin, are you hiding again?”
A thin, young man materialized, sitting on the log next to the woman. Gurbin did a double take when he realized it wasn’t a man at all. The one called Vevin had metallic purple hair and his skin was an odd sort of cream color tinged with more purple. The leggings and vest he wore were also purple with gold filigree throughout. His feet were bare, as was his chest underneath the unclasped vest. Most unnerving were the liquid-silver eyes that glowed with an eerie light. A wide grin with sharp teeth and a deep scar running up the left side of his face from chin to temple added to Durbin’s anxiety.
“Say hello, Vevin,” the woman told the purple man.
“Hello, Vevin,” the purple man replied with a toothsome grin. He lightly swayed side to side the way a snake would when ready to strike.
“Now don’t be scary, dearest. This nice man is obviously hungry and we have plenty of food to share.”
“Nice man?” Vevin asked incredulously. “Where in all the world of Ryallon do you get the idea that he’s a nice man?”
“Well . . . Perhaps he doesn’t seem all that nice, but who knows how long he’s been in the woods all by himself.” The woman gave a decisive nod. “I’m certain that he’s been nice at some point in his life and we shouldn’t judge him by his appearance.”
Gurbin took a step back. There was something very, very wrong about the two, no matter how pretty the woman was.
“It’s not just his appearance, dear,” Vevin said. “It’s his smell. The stench of evil is so strong on him I can even taste it.”
Gurbin took more steps back. He reached the tree and moved behind it.
“You know you’re not supposed to be tasting humans, darling,” the woman pointed out sternly. “You can get into a great deal of trouble doing that sort of thing.”
Gurbin began moving backward faster.
“I didn’t actually taste him,” Vevin replied in frustration. “I think he’s going to try to hurt you.”
“Nonsense. He wouldn’t try to hurt me, would you . . . “ There was a moment of silence. “Now where did he go? See, you scared him off!”
Gurbin began to run through the moonlit trees. It struck him as odd that the last thing he heard was Vevin asking, “What do the flowers say about him?”
***
A few hours later, Gurbin was walking along the ridge of a rocky hill. Large nightflowers had their petals open to the moons. A few puffy clouds cast occasional shadows, but held no threat of rain.
He thought about the purple man named Vevin and the beautiful woman with the flower in her hair. He wanted to go back for her, but couldn’t find the courage to do so.
A rustling sound startled him and he turned to see what it was. The only thing on the ridge was the orange and yellow nightflowers, more than he had ever seen in one place. Gurbin turned back to look at the woods below. It was a fair distance down with lots of rocks jutting out.
Something grabbed his ankle. Looking down in alarm, he saw that he had accidentally caught his foot in a root. A nervous laugh escaped his lips and he turned his face to the moons. A deep breath calmed him as he closed his eyes.
After a moment, Gurbin tried lifting his leg to free it, but the root held on strongly. Another rustling sound came from behind him and he turned to see what it was. The nightflowers were closer, much closer. Panic began to rise and Gurbin pulled on his leg with both hands. He looked down to see the root crawling up his thigh and another one circling around his other ankle.
Then something pushed Gurbin. When he turned, a nightflower was directly in front of his face.
Gurbin screamed in fear and confusion. None of it made sense. Then the nightflower slammed into him, knocking him off the ridge. At the same time, the roots around his ankles let go and he fell over the edge.
The first two times he bounced, it hurt. He tried desperately to grab onto something, but it was futile. Then he didn’t bounce for a moment. When he finally hit the ground again, the speed he had gained in the fall cracked the life out of him.
Vevin stood and threw his arms up in indignation. “Yes, I scared him off! He was going to do bad things to you.” Embers popped in the fire behind him as though agreeing.
“Perhaps you’re right. He did seem very disturbed, didn’t he?” Liselle mused. The man had given her chills with the way he stared at her. “Why are people like that?” She gazed into the trees where the sound of the man running through the woods was fading. “I wonder if I could have healed his mind.”
“The last time you tried to heal a crazy person’s mind, you nearly destroyed yours.” Vevin folded his arms and tapped his foot. “You aren’t going to be able to heal everyoneno matter how much you want to. Worse, when you mingle your mind with someone like that, there’s a chance it can harm your mind.” He knelt and took her hands in his. His fingers had small talons where a human’s nails would be. “I know you want to make the world a better place where everyone treats everyone else well, but there are just too many who want to make it a worse place.”
Liselle stared at her own dirty fingernails. “Why do people want to make the world a worse place? It doesn’t make any sense at all.”
Vevin buried his head in her lap. “I don’t know.”
“You’re frustrated with me again, aren’t you?” She played with his dark, metallic-purple hair. It was wiry to the touch, but she liked it.
He looked up at her, his liquid-silver eyes swirling slowly. “I’m not frustrated, dearest. I just don’t know how to answer that question. It’s easier with dragons. White and orange are good, purple and black are evil, except for me. I’m just awesome.”
“Yes you are.” Liselle smiled.
“You humans are different colors, but it doesn’t affect whether or not you’re good or evil. Humans have good and evil wrapped all together. It doesn’t make sense.” Vevin got to his feet and walked over to where they had extra wood for the fire. He tossed a couple of logs on before turning the side of deer.
“Like my cousin Tathan?” Liselle still thought of him frequently. “He’s very good and very evil all wrapped up in one.”
“Exactly!” Vevin took the pot of vegetables off and placed it on a flat rock. He used his bare hand even though the pot was scalding. His dragon skin protected him even in human form. “Tathan helps people who are in danger, but he usually does it by killing everyone who threatens those people.” He poked at the fire with a long stick. “I wonder how he’s doing.”
“As do I. It’s been nearly two years since we left him and Sir Danth in Oimryi.” Liselle rested her elbows on her knees and chin in her hands. “I still worry about him. If he and Princess Anilyia are caught in their affair, they’ll be executed.”
“Tathan’s too slippery to be executed. I miss him though. He’s so much fun to be around.” Vevin retrieved Liselle’s plate from their pack and began putting food on it.
“He is, but we’ve had fun even without him, haven’t we, darling?” Liselle took the plate he handed her.
Vevin ripped a chunk of meat off the deer. “We have! It’s been wonderful. I loved flying around the mountains of the Island of Scinta.” He shredded a chunk of the meat with his sharp teeth.
It was a bit unnerving to watch her mate eat, but Liselle was used to it. “With the exception of flying over the ocean, I enjoyed the people there. They were so welcoming . . . at least until you flew over the port in your natural form and they asked us to leave.”
Vevin blushed, his skin turning dark purple in the firelight. “I still feel bad about that.”
“I know, dearest. I’m not upset. I was bored after a few months anyway.” Liselle nibbled on her food, not very hungry.
“I wish we had been able to go to Dralin. It sounds like such a fascinating city.” Vevin licked his fingers, having already eaten the large portion he had taken. He was skinny in both his forms, but could put away extraordinary amounts of food.
“I’m glad Dralin has protections against dragons entering the city. The pollution in the air around it was alarming. It wouldn’t have been healthy for either of us. Even the water in the ground around it was tainted with magical pollution. The flowers hate it.” Liselle reached out to the flower behind the log. It reached forward to touch her fingers, giving the floral equivalent of a purr.
“The flowers didn’t like the man who just tried to visit, did they?” Vevin asked again as he tore off more of the deer meat.
“No. They told me he was evil. I still want to make him better. Why would he be evil? What happened to make him evil, or is he naturally evil?”
Vevin didn’t answer because he was rending meat off a rib bone he had torn from the deer. He stopped when he noticed her watching him. “Nom, nom.”
Liselle laughed. “Enjoy nomming your dinner, darling. I’m going to meet more of the flowers in the area. I can hear them calling for my attention.” She got up and walked into the trees in the opposite direction that the man had taken.
After a few minutes, the sounds of her mate’s voracious eating were replaced by the melodies of night insects and the gentle breeze rustling through leaves. A porcupine rustled through nearby underbrush, startled by her passing. The forested hills between Pilmata and Tadash in the country of Soaarth were lush. A multitude of plants and flowers blended their scents with the rich odors of damp earth and bark. Flowers that had closed for the night opened to say hello to her as she made her way around stout trees.
She had always been able to understand the flowers. They looked out for her and she for them. While travelling through the Willden Forest with her cousin Tathan, Liselle had learned that she was born of flowers after her mother hand lain with them in a field. Being half-human and half-flower made Liselle a supernatural entity, if an odd one. One person she had met in her travels believed Liselle was an archangel, though it wasn’t clear of what god or goddess.
A glade opened before her. She stopped for a moment while a bear crossed the other side, its black coat glossy in the lavender light of the moons. The flowers had alerted her to it and the fact that it was hungry. They masked her scent with their pleasant perfumes to prevent the bear from catching wind of her.
Liselle looked back in the direction of camp. The bear wouldn’t be a match for Vevin, who could sense when Liselle was in danger. Vevin took excellent care of her and doted on her. She smiled at the fond remembrance of the first day she had met him in the ruins of Aaltdiin. He had danced his way into Liselle’s heart from that day forward.
The bear was gone, so Liselle made her way into the clearing to greet the flowers there. Nightflowers were eager to see her, spreading their enormous petals wide to show off their colors. A cloud covered Piohray’s light, temporarily altering the moonlight to the blue-green of Siahray. Liselle stretched her arms like the flowers stretched their petals, reveling in the life-giving light.
She laughed and dropped down between two of the largest flowers. They covered her against the slight chill of the breeze while she gazed at the clouds and stars.
Liselle relished the freedom of the open road. She was able to meet new people in the cities and new flowers in the countryside.
A brief stab of sorrow pierced her heart as she thought back to the deaths of her parents, the incident that had begun her on her journeys. The memory still ached, though she had come to terms with it. Desert warriors from the Iynath Empire had come into her peaceful valley and murdered her parents. The only reason Liselle was still alive was because her cousin Tathan had come for a visit at that time and fought the warriors off.
She shook aside the thought and got back to her feet. The breeze was becoming stronger and sending chills up her arms, so she headed back to camp after waving goodbye to the flowers. They were sad to see her go.
Firm gusts whistled through branches and shook leaves. The robe made for Liselle by a girl from the race known as Rojuun protected her skin from a chill, but it was becoming threadbare from heavy use and she was grateful for the warmth of the fire upon reaching camp.
Vevin was chucking the last of the deer bones over the trees far away from camp so as not to attract predators. He came over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist while she held her hands near the fire. “Did you meet any new types of flowers?”
“No, but they were all lovely. I believe that there are more nightflowers in these hills than dayflowers.” Liselle leaned back against him, enjoying the feel of his strong chest and arms. “I’m sorry that I try to fix everyone, Vevin.”
“But I love that about you. You make the world a better place. My only problem is that you put yourself in more danger than you can handle sometimes.” His breath was warm as he spoke into her ear. “Everything about you is wonderful. Each footstep you take brings peace and kindness. I’ve seen people stop fighting when you pass by. One time I swear two people fell in love with each other just because you smiled in their direction.”
“I would tell you you’re silly, but there’s some truth to what you say. I’ve seen it too.” Liselle turned in his arms to face him. “I don’t think I’m an archangel, but I don’t know what I am. It’s so confusing.” She rested her head on his shoulder.
Vevin held her head close with one of his hands. “You’re the Child of Flowers. We know that much.”
“But not what it means.” Liselle pushed herself back and took a deep breath. “I’m being moody. I’m sorry, dearest.”
Vevin grinned impishly. “Does that mean it’s a good time for me to go flying?”
Liselle twisted her lips and put her hands on her hips. “You just got back yesterday after flying for a week.”
“Just joking.” He held up his hands in surrender, but the grin was still present. “Are we still planning to go to Aest?”
Liselle picked her plate of food back up and sat on the log to nibble at it some more. “If you don’t mind. It’s said that the royal castle is one of the most beautiful in the world, with pennants flying from majestic spires.” Liselle sighed dreamily. “I love castles. Uncle Laremy used to tell me stories of damsels who lived in towers while shining knights rescued them from dragons.”
Vevin sat next to her. “I don’t like those stories so much. Any knight that tries to rescueyou from me will squish out of the creases of his shining armor when I step on him.” A low growl rumbled from his throat and through the trees, sending sleeping animals scurrying for their lives.
“Eww. Don’t be like that.” Liselle thwapped him in the chest with the back of her hand. “They were childhood fairy tales. I love you more than I could ever love any silly knight. Besides, most of them wear black armor because it’s more intimidating.” She rolled her eyes.
“I don’t care what type of armor they wear, it’s not intimidating to me.” Vevin snitched a piece of deer meat off her plate, too fast for her attempt at slapping his hand. “Why are they called fairy tales when most of them aren’t about fairies?” he asked thoughtfully.
“Because humans like to confuse dragons, that’s why.” Liselle stuck her tongue out at him. “Do you mind visiting Aest? I don’t think they’ll have enchantments to keep you out like Dralin does.”
“I don’t mind.” Vevin tried to grab another bite, but Liselle was too fast in moving the plate away. He crossed one leg over the other and looked at the glow of firelight illuminating the trees surrounding their camp. “I like visiting cities. People are fascinating and confusing all at the same time. I’m still not sure how anyone managed to create wards strong enough to keep a dragon out of Dralin. I doubt it could happen anywhere else though.”
“I don’t think so either.” Liselle took a bit of vegetables before giving the plate to Vevin. She just wasn’t hungry. “I think it’s extraordinary that the Kingdom of Soaarth has two capital cities. I hope Aest is more pleasant than Thea, and I definitely hope it’s better than the city of Varsh.” Liselle screwed her face into an expression of distaste.
“Oh yes! Varsh is a terrible city with smelly fish.” Vevin eagerly downed the rest of the deer meat.
Liselle looked south, remembering the rough men of Varsh who worked the docks and the battered women who ducked as though afraid someone was going to beat them. “I wish I could have helped the children. They stared at me with such hopelessness in their eyes.”
“The oppressed and downtrodden.” Vevin nodded sadly. “It’s the sort of city that could use someone like Sir Danth. He would help them even if it meant killing everyone who oppressed them.”
Liselle leaned against Vevin and let him wrap an arm around her shoulders. “I just wish people would stop oppressing other people and downtrodding all over them.”
“I’m not certain that downtrodding is a word, darling.”
“I’m the Child of the Flowers. If I say downtrodding is a word, then it is. You get ‘nomming’ after all.”
“Yes, but I’m a dragon. We get extra words because we’re so awesome.” Vevin kissed the top of her head. “But you’re awesome too, so downtrodding is officially a word now.”
Liselle gave him a kiss. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Vevin kissed her back.
The kissing turned into more. Author's note:
I hope you've enjoyed this preview. I'm hoping to have this book out in the next few months.
All my best,
John H. Carroll
May 13, 2013
Blue Haired Alien Girlfriend
Blue Haired Alien Girlfriend
Description Joshua is a manager at FishBurgers who walks home alone every evening. One night, he comes across an unusual young woman by the name of Mariella sitting on a bench. He's thrown for a loop when she tells him where she's from, but he doesn't mind. He doesn't mind the fact that she has blue hair either, in fact it makes her all that much more interesting.
The people around Joshua feel that he's a bit odd and know very little about him. Each comes to their own snap judgements about him.
Sometimes love can be a little quirky, sometimes it can be a lot quirky.
You can get it at these stores:
Smashwords
Barnes and Noble
Kobo
Apple
Amazon
Amazon UK
Amazon CA
Sony
DieselWhat inspired the storyMy wife and I met at Burger King where I was a manager. She had a crush on me and I was oblivious to that fact as well as much of reality. We've been married for 16 years, so I'm sure she's forgiven me for that fact.
Because I was so quiet all the time and never brought a girlfriend to work, my wife was told by co-workers that I was gay. She took a chance anyway. Three kids later . . .
I would always take long walks at the time and listen to my music. She always teased me that I had a blue haired alien girlfriend that I would meet on my walks. I admitted to it of course. ;) Anyway, that series of events led me to write this short story. It's a mix of moments in my youth, mixed with a generous helping of fantasy. None of it actually happened, though similar things did.Writing processThis is one of the first short stories I wrote. After writing my first book, Rojuun, I went back and looked at this. I really liked the story, but realized that my writing at that time wasn't very good. It helped me to understand why it was initially refused by Asimov Magazine when I submitted it to them back in 2006.
The biggest problem when I was editing was that I didn't start a new paragraph each time someone talked. I understand that rule now, but at the time I didn't. Recently, I made even more changes to improve the quality.
The cover is the Antennae Galaxy (one of my favorites) as taken by the Hubble Telescope. I found a picture of a park bench overlooking clouds and merged the two photos for what is my second favorite cover from my books.
Excerpt
Joshua stopped in front of the girl. They stared at each other, losing track of time.“Hello,” she finally said in a silky voice that flowed over Joshua’s body.He sat down next to the girl. “Hi.” The word seemed deep, not just a word, but so much more. It was as though Joshua was saying ‘hi’ with his soul instead of speaking a casual greeting. At that moment, hello and hi were the most significant concepts in the universe.Her blue eyebrows wrinkled in puzzlement. “Nobody should be able to see me . . . why are you able to?” Her voice didn’t just enter his ears, it filled his entire being.“Yeah. I’m kinda like that too. No one really sees me, which is the way I like it.”She frowned and tilted her head slightly to the right.Joshua noticed her eyebrows were blue all the way to the roots rather than dyed. He leaned in to study them.She leaned in as well, gazing deeply into his soul.Her violet eyes were faceted like gems. It was nice being so close to the girl. She smelled . . . different . . . nice. The scent wasn’t a perfume, but nice . . . like her voice.“That’s not what I mean.” A mystified expression crossed her features. “I’m invisible, as in people can’t see me.”Her face was perfect with smooth, flawless skin. Joshua had an urge to run his hand along her cheek. “What do you mean?” he asked in confusion. Speaking in full sentences was difficult because he just wanted to stare at her. The girl’s lips twisted a bit. Joshua noticed they seemed to have a touch of blue as well.“What I mean is that I have a device that makes me invisible.” She tapped a round object attached to her utility belt. It had little lights that slowly blinked.Joshua did a double take. He hadn’t noticed the utility belt at first, being too lost in her eyes. He looked at the rest of her. She was dressed in a simple burgundy tunic and a long black skirt. Around her waist was the silver utility belt with devices attached. Many of them had flashy lights like the invisibility device. “Ahh, you’re a Trekkie,” he said with a nod.Her eyebrows furrowed again. Joshua loved staring at them. They were the most amazing eyebrows he had ever seen in his life.“I am not a Trekkie, whatever that is.” She took a deep breath, which was enjoyable to watch whether she was a Trekkie or not. “I’m not even supposed to be here. I just . . .” She trailed off, looking toward the silhouette of the mountains.Joshua put his hand on her shoulder. “Are you okay?” He tried to concentrate on what was going on with her and at the same time, pay attention to how nice her shoulder felt under his hand. He succeeded at neither, his mind exploding in a mixture of sensations.
Conclusion
If you get a chance, I hope you check the story out. It's a fun little tale of a lonely young man and his blue-haired alien girlfriend.
All my best,
John H. Carroll
Description Joshua is a manager at FishBurgers who walks home alone every evening. One night, he comes across an unusual young woman by the name of Mariella sitting on a bench. He's thrown for a loop when she tells him where she's from, but he doesn't mind. He doesn't mind the fact that she has blue hair either, in fact it makes her all that much more interesting. The people around Joshua feel that he's a bit odd and know very little about him. Each comes to their own snap judgements about him.
Sometimes love can be a little quirky, sometimes it can be a lot quirky.
You can get it at these stores:
Smashwords
Barnes and Noble
Kobo
Apple
Amazon
Amazon UK
Amazon CA
Sony
DieselWhat inspired the storyMy wife and I met at Burger King where I was a manager. She had a crush on me and I was oblivious to that fact as well as much of reality. We've been married for 16 years, so I'm sure she's forgiven me for that fact.
Because I was so quiet all the time and never brought a girlfriend to work, my wife was told by co-workers that I was gay. She took a chance anyway. Three kids later . . .
I would always take long walks at the time and listen to my music. She always teased me that I had a blue haired alien girlfriend that I would meet on my walks. I admitted to it of course. ;) Anyway, that series of events led me to write this short story. It's a mix of moments in my youth, mixed with a generous helping of fantasy. None of it actually happened, though similar things did.Writing processThis is one of the first short stories I wrote. After writing my first book, Rojuun, I went back and looked at this. I really liked the story, but realized that my writing at that time wasn't very good. It helped me to understand why it was initially refused by Asimov Magazine when I submitted it to them back in 2006.
The biggest problem when I was editing was that I didn't start a new paragraph each time someone talked. I understand that rule now, but at the time I didn't. Recently, I made even more changes to improve the quality.
The cover is the Antennae Galaxy (one of my favorites) as taken by the Hubble Telescope. I found a picture of a park bench overlooking clouds and merged the two photos for what is my second favorite cover from my books.
Excerpt
Joshua stopped in front of the girl. They stared at each other, losing track of time.“Hello,” she finally said in a silky voice that flowed over Joshua’s body.He sat down next to the girl. “Hi.” The word seemed deep, not just a word, but so much more. It was as though Joshua was saying ‘hi’ with his soul instead of speaking a casual greeting. At that moment, hello and hi were the most significant concepts in the universe.Her blue eyebrows wrinkled in puzzlement. “Nobody should be able to see me . . . why are you able to?” Her voice didn’t just enter his ears, it filled his entire being.“Yeah. I’m kinda like that too. No one really sees me, which is the way I like it.”She frowned and tilted her head slightly to the right.Joshua noticed her eyebrows were blue all the way to the roots rather than dyed. He leaned in to study them.She leaned in as well, gazing deeply into his soul.Her violet eyes were faceted like gems. It was nice being so close to the girl. She smelled . . . different . . . nice. The scent wasn’t a perfume, but nice . . . like her voice.“That’s not what I mean.” A mystified expression crossed her features. “I’m invisible, as in people can’t see me.”Her face was perfect with smooth, flawless skin. Joshua had an urge to run his hand along her cheek. “What do you mean?” he asked in confusion. Speaking in full sentences was difficult because he just wanted to stare at her. The girl’s lips twisted a bit. Joshua noticed they seemed to have a touch of blue as well.“What I mean is that I have a device that makes me invisible.” She tapped a round object attached to her utility belt. It had little lights that slowly blinked.Joshua did a double take. He hadn’t noticed the utility belt at first, being too lost in her eyes. He looked at the rest of her. She was dressed in a simple burgundy tunic and a long black skirt. Around her waist was the silver utility belt with devices attached. Many of them had flashy lights like the invisibility device. “Ahh, you’re a Trekkie,” he said with a nod.Her eyebrows furrowed again. Joshua loved staring at them. They were the most amazing eyebrows he had ever seen in his life.“I am not a Trekkie, whatever that is.” She took a deep breath, which was enjoyable to watch whether she was a Trekkie or not. “I’m not even supposed to be here. I just . . .” She trailed off, looking toward the silhouette of the mountains.Joshua put his hand on her shoulder. “Are you okay?” He tried to concentrate on what was going on with her and at the same time, pay attention to how nice her shoulder felt under his hand. He succeeded at neither, his mind exploding in a mixture of sensations.
Conclusion
If you get a chance, I hope you check the story out. It's a fun little tale of a lonely young man and his blue-haired alien girlfriend.
All my best,
John H. Carroll
May 5, 2013
Comic review: Nadir's Zenith
"Nadir's Zenith" by Jackson Compton and Jerry Bennett
Nadir's Zenith is the Brainchild of Jackson Compton brought to life by the fantastic art of Jerry Bennett.
With the advent and harnessing of hyperspace technology, mankind left for the stars with reckless abandon. In the year 2112, corporations are the off-world governments policed by the Intergalactic Peace Corps. Follow the adventures of IPC Space Marshal, Captain John Nadir on his adventures through the galaxy. "Nadir's Zenith" is Space Opera, 100 years in the making!
Jackson Compton is a wonderfully handsome (so he says) novelist, screenplay writer and comics creator. In his spare time, he doesn't knit, though he knows someone who does.
Jerry Bennett is a comic and children's book illustrator extraordinaire and T-shirt designer to boot! He once sang in the rain, though they didn't make a movie about it. That was someone else.
Follow them on facebook
(All images © Jackson Compton and Jerry Bennett. All rights reserved.)
Comic #1 Description
Jackson Compton - Creator, Writer and Letterer. Jerry Bennett - Artist, Inker and Designer
Standard Comic
Black & White
Page Count: 24
POD (Print on Demand)
Undertaking a secret mission, John Nadir prepares for his departure from Earth to Moon City. Nadir gets more than he bargains for when a simple stop for a layover drink with a spunky Tech Specialist turns into an all-out brawl.
With the advent and harnessing of hyperspace technology, mankind left for the stars with reckless abandon. In the year 2112, corporations are the off-world governments policed by the Intergalactic Peace Corps. Follow the adventures of IPC Space Marshal, Captain John Nadir on his adventures through the galaxy. Nadir's Zenith is Space Opera, 100 years in the making!
Nadir's Zenith #2 TM and © Jackson Compton and Jerry Bennett. All rights reserved.
Comic #2 Description
Jackson Compton - Creator, Writer and Letterer. Jerry Bennett - Artist, Inker and Designer
Standard Comic
Black & White
Page Count: 24
POD (Print on Demand)
Captain John Nadir is recalled to Earth for a secret mission briefing. Little does he know that his very life depends on the outcome.
With the advent and harnessing of hyperspace technology, mankind left for the stars with reckless abandon. In the year 2112, corporations are the off-world governments policed by the Intergalactic Peace Corps. Follow the adventures of IPC Space Marshal, Captain John Nadir on his adventures through the galaxy. "Nadir's Zenith" is Space Opera, 100 years in the making!
Nadir's Zenith TM and © Jackson Compton. All rights reserved.
My Review
Nadir's Zenith is a series of sci-fi comics by Jackson Compton and Jerry Bennett. The first two are available at Indy Planet, while the third is due to be available in June. (There better be more, just sayin'.)
It's fascinating how comics tell a story primarily through illustrations and dialogue. As a writer, I have to use words to illustrate all the extra details. I can't even draw a stick figure well (they usually look like they have broken bones)
I generally do reviews of books, but I grew up on comic books. My brother had boxes and boxes of them. My favorite comic book hero was Silver Surfer, with Green Lantern a close second. Then, in the late 70's, my brother sold his entire collection at the Flea Market for $40, including quite a few 1st editions. *sigh*
Anyway, I meet a variety of people on my journey as an author. One of those is Jackson Compton, who creates the Nadir's Zenith comic series along with Jerry Bennett. I decided to buy the comic books a few weeks ago. I put in an order at Indy Planet. They're $4.00 apiece, plus a couple of bucks for shipping, an excellent price. About a week after purchase, I received an email stating they had been printed, and a few days later, they were shipped to me. I received them in the mail soon after.
Book #1 begins by setting the date (2112) and the advent of hyperspace technology. The illustrations instantly drew me in. Jerry Bennett's artwork communicates what's happening in steps that move the reader through the story. One of the best parts about comics for me is losing myself in the images, wondering what's happening in the background and what it might be like to live in the worlds shown to me. Nadir's Zenith has those details in many of the illustrations without ever taking away from the main focus of the scenes. I believe his talent shines in the facial expressions which lift the characters from the page and make them real.
The story is old school sci-fi pulp fiction (The same flavor as my short, "Test Pilot") We learn about Captain John Nadir, a tough space explorer for the Intergalactic Peace Corps. The dialogue is rapid and just a touch snarky, my favorite. :) Much of the first comic sets up the series, but it's a strong introduction that left me eager to get to the next episode.
And then we're left with a mystery that I don't think will be answered soon. I'm very intrigued . . .
Book #2 starts on a different world featuring a new race of beings. Throw in a couple of humans and things go badly as they generally do when humans are involved. (Trying hard not to give any spoilers) Once again, the illustrations drew me in, making me want to visit that world.
Then we get back to Captain John Nadir along with a new character, Tech Specialist Seraphina Mitchell. (already my favorite character. I hope she sticks around) The background illustrations really deliver much of the story these scenes. They draw the main characters into events around them.
I love the chemistry between characters and the touches of humor sprinkled throughout. They're tough in a galaxy that's just as tough. The story leaves a universe of possibilities for the future.
Each of these comics left me wanting to read the next. I'll be keeping up with this series for as long as they keep writing them. :)
Coming soon, Comic #3
#3 should be out in June. Keep your eye out for it at Indy Planet!
Indy Planet, a great source for Independent Comics
If you're interested in the extraordinary selection of comics available out there, check out Indy Planet.
POD (Print On Demand) comics
Just as I have my books printed on demand through Createspace, Comic creators can have theirs printed through Ka-Blam.
Disclaimer
I have decided to review books that I enjoy. I am an avid reader of fantasy, so most of them will be in that genre. I'm not taking any requests, just reading what catches my eyes. You'll find that most of these are from Indie Authors. The way I figure it, David Eddings, Anne McCaffrey, Alan Dean Foster and Piers Anthony (my favorite authors) already have enough reviews, but Indies could always use a few more.
It is important to note here that while I am a writer, I am doing these reviews as a reader . I also know a number of the authors I will be reviewing. This is not an exchange of reviews, nor have I been solicited by those authors to write the review. If I don't like a book, I won't review it.
All my best,
John H. Carroll
Nadir's Zenith is the Brainchild of Jackson Compton brought to life by the fantastic art of Jerry Bennett.
With the advent and harnessing of hyperspace technology, mankind left for the stars with reckless abandon. In the year 2112, corporations are the off-world governments policed by the Intergalactic Peace Corps. Follow the adventures of IPC Space Marshal, Captain John Nadir on his adventures through the galaxy. "Nadir's Zenith" is Space Opera, 100 years in the making!
Jackson Compton is a wonderfully handsome (so he says) novelist, screenplay writer and comics creator. In his spare time, he doesn't knit, though he knows someone who does.
Jerry Bennett is a comic and children's book illustrator extraordinaire and T-shirt designer to boot! He once sang in the rain, though they didn't make a movie about it. That was someone else.
Follow them on facebook
(All images © Jackson Compton and Jerry Bennett. All rights reserved.)
Comic #1 Description
Jackson Compton - Creator, Writer and Letterer. Jerry Bennett - Artist, Inker and Designer
Standard Comic
Black & White
Page Count: 24
POD (Print on Demand)
Undertaking a secret mission, John Nadir prepares for his departure from Earth to Moon City. Nadir gets more than he bargains for when a simple stop for a layover drink with a spunky Tech Specialist turns into an all-out brawl.
With the advent and harnessing of hyperspace technology, mankind left for the stars with reckless abandon. In the year 2112, corporations are the off-world governments policed by the Intergalactic Peace Corps. Follow the adventures of IPC Space Marshal, Captain John Nadir on his adventures through the galaxy. Nadir's Zenith is Space Opera, 100 years in the making!
Nadir's Zenith #2 TM and © Jackson Compton and Jerry Bennett. All rights reserved.
Comic #2 Description
Jackson Compton - Creator, Writer and Letterer. Jerry Bennett - Artist, Inker and DesignerStandard Comic
Black & White
Page Count: 24
POD (Print on Demand)
Captain John Nadir is recalled to Earth for a secret mission briefing. Little does he know that his very life depends on the outcome.
With the advent and harnessing of hyperspace technology, mankind left for the stars with reckless abandon. In the year 2112, corporations are the off-world governments policed by the Intergalactic Peace Corps. Follow the adventures of IPC Space Marshal, Captain John Nadir on his adventures through the galaxy. "Nadir's Zenith" is Space Opera, 100 years in the making!
Nadir's Zenith TM and © Jackson Compton. All rights reserved.
My Review
Nadir's Zenith is a series of sci-fi comics by Jackson Compton and Jerry Bennett. The first two are available at Indy Planet, while the third is due to be available in June. (There better be more, just sayin'.)
It's fascinating how comics tell a story primarily through illustrations and dialogue. As a writer, I have to use words to illustrate all the extra details. I can't even draw a stick figure well (they usually look like they have broken bones)
I generally do reviews of books, but I grew up on comic books. My brother had boxes and boxes of them. My favorite comic book hero was Silver Surfer, with Green Lantern a close second. Then, in the late 70's, my brother sold his entire collection at the Flea Market for $40, including quite a few 1st editions. *sigh*
Anyway, I meet a variety of people on my journey as an author. One of those is Jackson Compton, who creates the Nadir's Zenith comic series along with Jerry Bennett. I decided to buy the comic books a few weeks ago. I put in an order at Indy Planet. They're $4.00 apiece, plus a couple of bucks for shipping, an excellent price. About a week after purchase, I received an email stating they had been printed, and a few days later, they were shipped to me. I received them in the mail soon after.
Book #1 begins by setting the date (2112) and the advent of hyperspace technology. The illustrations instantly drew me in. Jerry Bennett's artwork communicates what's happening in steps that move the reader through the story. One of the best parts about comics for me is losing myself in the images, wondering what's happening in the background and what it might be like to live in the worlds shown to me. Nadir's Zenith has those details in many of the illustrations without ever taking away from the main focus of the scenes. I believe his talent shines in the facial expressions which lift the characters from the page and make them real.
The story is old school sci-fi pulp fiction (The same flavor as my short, "Test Pilot") We learn about Captain John Nadir, a tough space explorer for the Intergalactic Peace Corps. The dialogue is rapid and just a touch snarky, my favorite. :) Much of the first comic sets up the series, but it's a strong introduction that left me eager to get to the next episode.
And then we're left with a mystery that I don't think will be answered soon. I'm very intrigued . . .
Book #2 starts on a different world featuring a new race of beings. Throw in a couple of humans and things go badly as they generally do when humans are involved. (Trying hard not to give any spoilers) Once again, the illustrations drew me in, making me want to visit that world.
Then we get back to Captain John Nadir along with a new character, Tech Specialist Seraphina Mitchell. (already my favorite character. I hope she sticks around) The background illustrations really deliver much of the story these scenes. They draw the main characters into events around them.
I love the chemistry between characters and the touches of humor sprinkled throughout. They're tough in a galaxy that's just as tough. The story leaves a universe of possibilities for the future.
Each of these comics left me wanting to read the next. I'll be keeping up with this series for as long as they keep writing them. :)
Coming soon, Comic #3
#3 should be out in June. Keep your eye out for it at Indy Planet!
Indy Planet, a great source for Independent Comics
If you're interested in the extraordinary selection of comics available out there, check out Indy Planet.
POD (Print On Demand) comics
Just as I have my books printed on demand through Createspace, Comic creators can have theirs printed through Ka-Blam.
Disclaimer
I have decided to review books that I enjoy. I am an avid reader of fantasy, so most of them will be in that genre. I'm not taking any requests, just reading what catches my eyes. You'll find that most of these are from Indie Authors. The way I figure it, David Eddings, Anne McCaffrey, Alan Dean Foster and Piers Anthony (my favorite authors) already have enough reviews, but Indies could always use a few more.
It is important to note here that while I am a writer, I am doing these reviews as a reader . I also know a number of the authors I will be reviewing. This is not an exchange of reviews, nor have I been solicited by those authors to write the review. If I don't like a book, I won't review it.
All my best,
John H. Carroll
