Elaina J. Davidson's Blog, page 56
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Excerpt: House of Valla - every 1000th page
Page 1000
Gillil, a red Sylmer, bright redtail and hair, his eyes as blue as the daytime ocean, also glowing, surfaced,powerful arms holding Saska horizontal on the bouncing ocean. She was stillunconscious, but seemed not to have suffered from the dunking.
“It’s too rough out here!” he calledout. “We’ll go around to the long island.” He vanished into the water brieflyto come up under Saska, using his back as a raft for her still form. His armswrapped backward about her, and he used his powerful tail to propel themforward.
Stirri said, “Enchanter, you haveextra biology within; you are able to breathe water, did you know? No? Well,now is not the time to learn. Put your arms around my waist.” He turned hisback to Torrullin and, once Torrullin complied, set off just below the surfaceto pull his burden along with powerful strokes.
Page 2000
TYMALL HUDDLED ONthe dais. He was bound with Valleur rope that had none of the properties ofvulci, but nevertheless held him. In truth, he could have freed himself uponregaining consciousness, being Valleur, but had chosen not to. He would havesucceeded, although not easily, not with four guards over him. Tymall wasfatalistic, his anger dissipated.
Torrullin approached witha measured tread his son knew well. His father attended to his emotions beforehe lashed out. When he attained the platform, he halted. “Did you hurtTaranis?”
Tymall was confused. Itwas not what he expected to hear first. “Ask him.”
Torrullin placed one footon the dais and leaned forward on it to stare into his son’s grey eyes. “Icannot. Taranis is dead.”
“I did not touch him.”
“You lie, Tymall. Hisinjuries were internal, a ruptured spleen, collapsed kidneys, broken ribspierced his lungs, put pressure on his heart, his liver was torn, and hisintestines were as liquid.” Torrullin was silent for a beat. “A pulse at shortrange, Tymall, with venom, and exacerbated by sustained kicking.”
“I did not kick him.”
“Then you hit him withintent to cause as much harm as possible. Margus may have thought it necessaryto subdue Taranis, and Taranis would have fought, I know, but Margus prefersdirect death when time is an issue. Vulci achieves imprisonment once the painbarrier is too great; Margus would not have used a pulse.” Torrullinstraightened and stepped onto the dais. “My father was also hit about the head.Slapped. Spat on. Viciously gagged.” He hauled his son roughly to his feet andstood him up. “Look me in the eyes and tell me if you caused your grandfatherharm.”
Page 3000
Millennia back Beacon laid claim toa sister world in its solar system, a world that became a hungry nation’sbreadbasket. Known as Beacon Farm, it was sparsely populated, as available landwas relinquished to farming. Farmers rotated through the system and permittedno casual emigration from Beacon to Farm. Still, produce from Farm wasinsufficient and imports were of paramount importance. It seemed to work;Beacon was a clean, well-governed world with no poor and hungry. But there wasa dark side.
Manufacturing was done under licenseon other, less congested worlds, with no qualms about pollutants and nocompassion for those exploited. Beacon’s powerful business cartels strip-mined,denuded forests, and quarried with no thought for the future. They paid highprices, yes, but left nothing but sterility and poverty behind, and moved on tothe next proposition. Beacon was hated by other worlds.
Spacefaring for eons, they were alsoarrogant and superior. What was once regarded as a survival necessity, thosepathfinders to other worlds, transformed into greedy business practice. Themight of the cartels respected only two other human worlds; Valaris, forlimiting Beacon to normal, healthy trade, and Xen III, for denying them accessto long dormant minerals and ores after the domes were brought down.
Page 4000
KNOWING A NETWORK ofsites existed meant it could be felt. There were now faint tugs at thesubconscious, although without definition and direction; on Ceta also, a worldchosen from a proverbial hat for a showdown, and thus they transported to astatue of an angel in a forest.
“Cetans were more comfortable with religiousfigures,” Elianas said. He frowned at the angel, not liking it. He always feltstatues of angels and cherubs were no more than a soothing device. Akin to alie.
“Likely,” Torrullin said, and moved away.“There is nothing to learn here.” He did not like the angel either.
“Has our focus changed? We intended to trackhistory of others; are we now tracking the net?” Elianas demanded.
“Gods, how can we not?”
Lowen now knew of the ancient connectionbetween worlds. “It seems to me early history will have a Valleur connection -any world.”
Page 5000
Elianas raised an eyebrow, the firstsign of underlying emotion. “If that is how you prefer looking at it.”
“That is what I prefer, yes. Sobloody what if you are Warlock. So what if Lowen has mighty Wings. So what ifwe stepped over lines in that nowhere place; it did not translate to here,unless we reveal results.”
“Crap. I am Warlock here and Lowendoes possess her shadows. It translated.” A thread of frustration now weavedinto Elianas’ speech.
“But no one knows.” Torrullin tappedthe table, frowning.
“You are fooling only yourself.”Elianas’ eyes narrowed. “You have had a vision or visitation or something likeit, haven’t you, something pretty enlightening. This is why you regard ourissues as small; it has nothing to dowith the reality of death and destruction.” Elianas’ hand whipped across thetable to grip Torrullin’s wrist. “What changed for you?”
Torrullin suffered the grip withoutcomplaint. “Tarlinn.”
Elianas removed his hand with asnort of disgust, before muttering, “What happened?”
Torrullin smiled inwardly. Now theycould talk. The man’s curiosity had been aroused. The Throne’s involvementmeant questions and answers they had not before considered. “I revealed all.”
Page 6000
Hunkered on the bank of the Lare River,exhausted after the night’s ferrying, but relieved they had found everyone thatneeded finding, Karydor watched the water gradually turn to sludge. Pulling hiscloak’s hood further forward to afford him breathing room, he sworesoundlessly.
When Echayn’s long legs appeared in his fieldof vision, he snorted. “Lord Sorcerer could probably have done something aboutthis.”
“Perhaps,” Echayn murmured.
“That’s a mighty secret you kept from me,Echo.”
A sigh sounded first, before the Valleurspoke. “Way back, in Lorin time, sorcery was untamed and that meant signs andprophecy was rife; even the less proficient among the Valleur could readimages. When your son was born, certain women of a certain caste understood howimportant he is. He was and is needed for the cycles, for the then and for thenow, and especially for the time the circle is opened, and time is made new.They saved him by placing him with parents genetically identical to you andCylene. Rebirths? Yes and no. The genes speak of a rebirth, but his mother andfather have not been either you or my sister, nor will they be in this cycle.It’s complicated. Even Elianas would not be able to explain it.”
Page 7000
Torrullinglanced at Elianas. “We need the Kaval.”
“Andwe have no time to waste,” the dark man nodded. “I will accompany Nefilim toSorison, and aid in delaying the event, while you go to the Dome.” Reachingout, he gripped Torrullin’s forearm. “Already you are sifting through likelycontainment fields, something Elixir excels at, but be careful. Let this notharm you.”
“I’llbe careful,” Torrullin murmured. “Elianas, you get the hell away if that weaveshows sign of eruption, hear? If you vanish into the netherworld, I am comingafter you. Reaume cannot deal with what I will do to extricate you.”
Elianassmiled. “I’ll be careful, promise.”
“Thengo. I will come to you.”
“Shallwe, Nefilim?”
Themassive dragon lumbered to hindlegs. “Follow my signature.”
Hedissipated, and Elianas, after sending Torrullin a brash grin, followed.Torrullin stood and paced to the edge to stare down into the darkness filledwith nightlife of the natural order, and inhaled a shuddering breath. Changecannot be avoided, he mused. Change now bites me in the arse.
Salutingthe world, he vanished.
A Golden bloodline through the Ages. Indeed, for the Valleurare also known as the Golden, the race of Master Builders ruled by the mightyHouse of Valla. From then to now, into the future and back, the Vallastransform not only Time but also alter the dynamics for all civilisations.
Nemisin is First Father, or so he believes. Vannis is knownas the last Vallorin … until Torrullin Valla steps forth. He changeseverything; the House of Valla will never be the same as Torrullin battlesdarklings and dragons, a Darak Or and a Warlock, witches and soul takers, aTimekeeper and the evil lurking in his own family.
House of Valla brings together 17 volumes inthe Vallas’ history. Prepare for the long haul, for this is a mighty tale …
HOUSE OF VALLA
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