C.P.D. Harris's Blog, page 33
July 24, 2016
Teaser from Seeds of Ruin
Tis the Sunday after release and it is time for another teaser from the Bloodlust: The Seeds of Ruin (Domains of the Chosen #6).
Agga turned his eyes from the bay. “The arena in Frostbay won’t see action for some time, now. We will have to avail ourselves of another place. Now, watch the ice, right about there. If all goes well, you will soon witness something wondrous.”
The Runemaster said nothing else, but stared intently at the bay. Hilena felt a tremor, or rather sensed a shift in the patterns of the bay. As she was puzzling this out, Lignam stiffened and stood still.
The ice heaved, and then some monstrous appendage thrust into the air, mud, water, and ice sloughing from it. Another and another followed. They kept rising and Hilena realized that what she saw were towers and tall buildings. As she watched, a whole city, larger than Frostbay, smashed its way through the ice, like some great beast rising, roaring, from the depths. The patterns and power at work were dazzling, like staring at the sun.
Ice split and fell away in ship-sized sheets. A great spray of water misted over the whole scene. Tall towers, buildings, streets, and houses soon shed their coat of muck and ice, while other sections rose further out. A coastline appeared. The last of the sections to resolve was familiar to Hilena; it contained the palace that housed both Antidilluvius and the Dark Heart.
July 21, 2016
The Rune 1.7
After much soul-searching, I have decided to write a few short stories, unrelated to the other works, before continuing on with the next of the Shadow Wolf Sagas, just to keep it fresh. As always, this is raw and uncut; enjoy responsibly.
<>
For several tense minutes we moved quickly, and everything passed in a blur of old concrete, endless pipes, and shadowed side-passages. Despite being llonger of limb I found it difficult to keep up with the ground-eating strides of my guide. Worse yet, Amy with the gun was suddenly taciturn, moving too quickly and urging silence. I worried over that quiet and what it could mean, thoughts of growlers, or worse, stalking us and impending betrayal chief among my fears.
But, after we put some distance between us an the growlers, Amy with a gun suddenly seemed to relax.
“Thank The Word,” she said, stopping and stretching.
“For?”
“The camp was moved. Something must have gone wrong, most likely one of the local denizens found it and became a pest. It happens. Thankfully, I just found a marker.”
She gestured at the wall with her gun. At first I saw nothing. Then, suddenly, the words “THIS WAY” suddenly appeared. Looking at the words I felt a strong sense of direction, almost as if I was being pulled toward the destination. Runes.
“What is this camp exactly?”
“It is a gathering of people like us. People who can see the Runes,” said Amy with the gun, walking in the indicated direction. We passed another set of “THIS WAY” Runes. “They will decide what to do with you.”
When I realized that I was able to read the Runes, I had slowly distanced myself from everyone I loved. Most of them merely thought it was “the greys”, the deep depression that acts as a kind of passage to adulthood in our dysfunctional society. Still the realization that I might never see my sister or my friends again washed over me and I paused.
“You alright?” asked Amy with a gun.
“I’ll live.”
“It won’t be bad for you. Once you are vetted, we will try to find you some place comfortable. Eventually, you will fit in just fine.”
“Thanks.”
Amy with a gun gave a quick smile, and turned, moving toward the next set of “THIS WAY” Runes, which directed us down a twisting passage.
“Stop!”
“Look, buddy, we had our bonding moment and it was nice and everything, but I want to go home,” said Amy with the gun, rolling her eyes.
“Look at those runes.”
I pointed at the “THIS WAY” runes. Underneath, in a different script, I saw a different set of runes. “MARK THEM”
Amy stared hard at the wall, frowning. She opened her mouth, and closed it again.
“I see it now,” she said quietly. “But it is beyond my ability to read. Tell me what it says.”
“Mark them.”
“Oh no,” said Amy, face falling.
July 19, 2016
Teaser Tuesday
Tis Tuesday and thus time for a teaser. This week it is from my newest, release Bloodlust: The Seeds of Ruin, which I put out on Sunday.
“All that remained of Valaran diVolcanus after the Grand Championships was a tiny, ugly tree. Try as we might, not even the Chosen could destroy the tree without causing massive damage to the surrounding structure. The matter was set to study and everyone forgot this ‘Dire Root’ except on days that Sadira was in the Arena, when the ugly little thing popped out of the ground and blossomed, gruesome and blood red. Eventually they just raised the sand a couple of feet so people did not have to look at the thing at least.” After hours’ tour guide at the Grand Arena.
<>
Hilena suppressed a shiver as her former partner let loose a rasp of pain, halfway between a moan and a cough. The sound was horrific, like wet-lung, but she dared not look back to where he lay in the covered steam-waggon. It was best to let nature take its course at this juncture; Jerus was gone.
What was happening to him broke her heart, but each rasp hurt her a little less.
Master Kress had examined him after the plant had taken root. The big man had told Jerus he would be fine and given him a sedative.
“It has taken root in his bones,” Kress had said to her after Jerus had fallen into a deep sleep. “Removing it is out of the question. You must deliver the root to Frostbay at all costs. I will be sending my remaining servants to escort you. They will be with you, even if you do not see them.”
Hilena was astute enough to have spotted two of them. One appeared to be pathetic old cripple who, despite his faltering speed, never seemed to fall behind for very long. The other was a familiar looking brute of an ogre. She was also astute enough to know what would happen to her if she tried to help Jerus, to escape her duty, or to get rid of the terrible burden that he had become.
July 17, 2016
Bloodlust: The Seeds of Ruin available now!
Bloodlust: The Seeds of Ruin is now up on Amazon.com!
Click picture for store page
I am pretty damn happy with this book, although I have not been able to promote it as much as I would like. Read it and let me know what you think!
July 14, 2016
Moar Teazers
The Rune will be back soon, followed by another round of Shadow Wolf, but…
The release date for Bloodlust: The Seeds of Ruin is rapidly approaching and I am giddy and apprehensive. While it seems unlikely that the series will conquer the mainstream without a much bigger investment in promotion, this book is getting some really nice reactions and I will be pleased to get it into the hands of loyal readers and discuss it with them.
Soon…
“CITIZENS OF KRASS, YOUR CHOSEN GREET YOU!” Sadira’s voice carried across the arena, even above the intensifying cheers of the spectators. “We have returned to you victorious, but the glory of our mission belongs to the people of Krass! It was you who gave us your sons and daughters to fill our Legions! It was your toil that built the guns, the arms, and the ships that carried us through the day! It was your will and your law that we carried and enforced on distant shores and your open arms that welcomed allies who saw us through the worst of days. It was your choice that saw us and every other Chosen who fought in Ithal’Duin take up the mantle of duty, fulfilling the ancient Covenant.”
Sadira paused, drinking in the noise of the crowd, while a score of pages came forth bearing cloaks and laurels. She leapt down, flashing a smile at Gavin and together they all knelt to receive the golden Laurels and their cloaks to the thunderous cheers of the assembled people. After the shouting, Sadira stood, raising her arms once more.
“Many of you wonder why I came to the fighting grounds instead of receiving the mantle of Triumph alongside the heroic Legionnaires of our beloved Ninth Legion. Firstly, we do not wish to sully this day for our heroes, as you will see. We have also come here to give back to the people who have given us so much. As you have no doubt heard, there will be games today; in honour of our victory the sands will run red today!”
The people roared. Gavin, for his part, hid his distaste for the idea. He did not like celebrating a battle with a slaughter on the arena, even if it would cement their position with the people. He allowed himself to be swayed by Sadira’s relentless pragmatism and his desire to strike back at his detractors. The people of Krass loved the Great Games.
“But that is only part of why we came here. The fighting grounds are the best place to start a battle. Since the covenant the Chosen have settled their disputes here, in the arena. We come before you, the people of Krass, on our day of Triumph, begging for justice.”
July 12, 2016
Teaser Tuesday
This weekend I am releasing Bloodlust: The Seeds of Ruin (Domains of the Chosen #6)
For those who have not seen it, here is the cover.
No link yet…[image error]
And here is a teaser from the book itself.
“I don’t have time for this,” Gavin muttered. He channelled all of his desperate fear and anger into a powerful spell, hoisting a pair of broken waggons into the air. “I AM THE MINDRIPPER, SHOW YOURSELVES IF YOU WISH TO RECKON WITH ME!”
His voice roared through the storm. They waited, tense and ready. Then the very air seemed to change.
“They’re gone,” said Silver Rose.
“Cowards,” muttered Green Sting.
Gavin turned and kept walking. He cast his mind back through the bond to Sadira, but she resisted him. Whatever she was doing, the level of concentration required prevented him from deeper communion.
“Let’s wait here,” Gavin said, pointing to a sheltered area under a bridge. “Whatever is happening is coming to a head now.”
Just a little taste…
July 10, 2016
Seeds of Ruin Cover
This is the final cover for Bloodlust: The Seeds of Ruin (Domains of the Chosen 6), barring a little colour adjustment to the font. The whole thing is the work of Dan Barclay, as always. I am pretty damn happy with it.
We thought a green font might be better for the title, given the themes of growth and flora, but it just does not ‘pop’ well.
Here are some of Dan’s early sketches. The process is very iterative with lots of back and forth. We started with a stonehenge shape for the stone but mobed tp something with a little more presence, squat and monolithic.
One of the more interesting ideas that we tried early on was to have a fetus at the heart of the Oathstone. I love this take, but the skull just attracts more attention.
July 5, 2016
Teaser Tuesday
Here is another teaser for the Bloodlust: The Seeds of Ruin. The idea comes from a joke first related to me by a friend. People who live in places with snow should be familiar…
The wind cut through the streets of Frostbay, driving the hardy citizens indoors. Those who had pressing business outside wore enormous fur-lined jackets and face masks. Gavin did not need these, the cold was uncomfortable but not life-threatening to a Chosen. The snow was a different matter, obscuring his vision as it would any man.
Visibility was reduced to a matter of a few strides at times and Gavin was having trouble finding his destination. He could not get his bearings through local landmarks; Frostbay was simply too unfamiliar.
“Ancestor’s rancid shite,” muttered Green Sting beside him. “I hate the cold.”
The Quickling Hearthbound was bundled in thick furs, despite his magic. Silver Rose, by contrast seemed even less effected by the cold than Gavin.
“It must be around here somewhere,” said Gavin.
“What are we looking for again?” asked Green Sting.
“The Winter Snake Inn,” answered Gavin. “The sign is a picture of a furred white serpent on the snow over a yellow hole. It is a reference to a joke that people in the north play on visitors from the south.”
“I don’t get it,” said Green Sting.
“Think about it, Billiam,” said Silver Rose. “What leaves a yellow hole in the snow?”
“Oh,” Green Sting burst into laughter.
July 3, 2016
Sunday Teaser (New Book)
This is a teaser from my new book, Bloodlust: The Seed of Ruin which releases in two weeks!
Points to anyone who can guess what the plant is from[image error]
Hilena switched waggons again near Volcanus. There was little left of Jerus by then, just a moaning husk. They were careful not to touch the green tendrils and thorns as she and a pair of her silent escorts lifted him from one covered waggon to another in an isolated grove out of sight of the road.
The plant had infected Jerus and was draining vitality from him. That much was clear. But some of the changes wrought on his frame were curious. He had patches of thorns piercing his skin and one had even burst through his right eye. His veins were green and rough patches like bark covered one of his sides now. His breath rustled in and out his mouth, rasping and wet, the only sure sign of his continued life.
Even the silent cutthroats that escorted her on the journey to Frostbay seemed taken aback by the sight of that infected corpse, caught in a horrific state between life and death, a slow meal for some monstrous growth. No one wanted to end up like Jerus.
Somewhere along the way the last drop of feelings that Hilena once had for Jerus had been wrung from her. His pathetic moans no longer twisted in her heart like a knife, and her resentment of the burden he had become lessened as her feelings for the man that he had been faded. He was a task, an odious one perhaps, but nothing more.
June 26, 2016
The Reckoning and the Nature of Power in the Domains of the Chosen
Why the Chosen would participate in a system that oppresses the majority of the Gifted?
In my Domains of the Chosen series, the Chosen are the potent, ageless rulers of a sprawling Empire that clawed its way to power after surviving a massive magical cataclysm. The Gifted are those who develop the ability to wield magic, and in the Domains they are considered too dangerous to be allowed to develop their talents freely. The Gifted can choose to become Vassals who are sundered from the most destructive aspects of their magic, or to fight for their right to join the ranks of the Chosen as Gladiators.
The answer, in short, is to view the Gifted as weapons of mass destruction. States with nuclear weapons frown on other states trying to develop weapons of mass destruction, but tend be accepting of those that already have them. This even holds up with enemies: Kim Jong Un is dangerously unhinged and could be a much greater and more lasting threat than Isis, but because seems to have nuclear weapons we must practice detente with him instead of regime change.
The long answer is that the Chosen see other magic-wielders as a threat. The Reckoning began because the powerful Gifted of old began a massive war for dominance. The war was of such impressive scope that new races were created (Armodons and Minotaurs are among these and the created races suffer greater racial stigma in the Domains, because they are the product of magic) and the nations of old were mostly destroyed or became puppet states of powerful Gifted. That war went on and on, ending only when the forces that were wielded spun out of control, resulting in massive storms of Chaotic magic that scoured life from the entire planet and tainted the landscape.
The Chosen represent the Gifted who survived because they set aside their differences (temporarily, for survival) and made a pact with the people with the only safe haven around, Krass. Krass needed the Chosen for extra protection, and to help feed and shelter the massive influx of refugees that made their way to the city. The covenant they made was to the benefit of both groups; people hated the Gifted because of The Reckoning, but they needed them to survive. The Chosen needed shelter and could not survive without people (someone needs to grow food, make clothes, etc).
But The Chosen are not a monumental group. They are old enemies who often trust each other less than than anyone else. Any new Gifted who reaches the status of Chosen, migt be an ally for an enemy faction. Thus they use the Great Games as a way to control who has a shot.
It is also worth noting that by the time any Gladiator has a chance to join the the Chosen they have a large amount of popular support from years of public performance in the Arena, which counteracts the lingering fear of the Gifted for most citizens.
Finally a key point is that the Gift is not hereditary. The Chosen do not have a greater chance of having children with the Gift than anyone else. Thus any Chosen with children has a large chance of having ungifted kids; if they love those kids then they have an automatic desire to protect them from other Gifted. If the Gift were hereditary I expect things would play out very differently, with magical-aristocractic families ruling over ungifted peasant slaves.
In the end it is all about power. We can see the lengths that people go to keep and amass power throughout history, frequently killing their own family members and engaging in horrifying atrocities. In the Domains of the Chosen, magic is power.
