Strange Blessings - E. VI

Some ways down the road from Mal'ur's eastern gate was a trail that led into the depths of the Dragon's Peak Mountains. It connected to the main road, with a standing sign covered in old Standard scrawl.

Tobias shouldered his rucksack as he made his way up the rise in the road, keeping an eye out for the sign. He wore the same leather tunic he had arrived to Mal'ur in, and carried some personal tools and possessions, along with some food, in his sack. Over his other shoulder hung his blanket and sleeping roll. His waterskin had its own strap and hung near his hip, sloshing with each step.

He was supposed to meet the other pilgrims at the road sign. He wondered if they were young people like him, or if they were adults. Donna hadn't been specific about who they were, so they probably weren't from the school.

Tobias made it over the rise, cocking his head and spotting the sign. A humanoid sentient stood near it, and the closer he came, the heavier his stomach grew.

Hammer of Fire

Today I finished the 2nd revision of Book II of The Legacy Incarnate: Incarnate Dream, and will be moving on to the third and final revision of the manuscript!  I am excited to get this book ready for publication this year, and I hope my readers are as excited as I am to continue the adventures of Sabra the Incarnate.

I mentioned in an earlier post that once I finished the 2nd revision I would announce my secret trilogy project I keep hinting about.

It's called the Hammer of Fire Trilogy.

The three unlucky main protagonists of Hammer of Fire.
Left to right: Jivasi, Ndegana, and Jilanu.  These
are earlier drawings, done in 2013.

The Hammer of Fire circles mostly around a group of the Crin race that live in southern Misten alongside negro humans called the mwaneusi.  It's a tale of an ancient, corrupt warrior faction, a sorority being poisoned from within, and a group of righteous vigilantes all trying to win control of the people and the very land they live on.

Ideas for this tale started brewing in my head in 2012, I believe, and started gaining more momentum in 2013.  Surprisingly, HoF was inspired a lot by the Warhammer 40k universe.  I've never read any Warhammer books; I read a lot about the stories and universe on the Warhammer wiki, and it inspired me to write a darker and grittier fantasy than I normally do.  While Hammer of Fire won't be nearly as violent and gory as W40k, it definitely has a darker edge to it, and will be unlike any of the other Chronicles of Libera books you a have read.

Anywho, keep an eye out on Xenithar's Lair for more updates about this upcoming trilogy and the Legacy Incarnate!

Remembering the old days

I did a fair amount of
digital art for this series.

I recently finished reading the Kajt Chronicles, a quartet I wrote during Junior High and a sequel series to the Silver Dragon Legacy.

While the writing was terrible, there is still a lot of potential in the plot, characters, and races, and looking back at the Kajt Chronicles helps me love my younger self more.  What I mean by that is I love the passion and drive my younger self had to write these books.  They are amateur and unpolished.  They stole some ideas from other stories.  Some of my characters are Sues.  But the books were full of my soul.

I also realized how dark and sad the series is.  I remember having so much fun writing it that I guess I forgot how sad the story really was.

For those not familiar with my older works, I'll break it down for you :)

Strange Blessings - E. V

I have created a list of links to the Strange Blessings entries, which you can find in the right column of the blog.  It should be much easier to navigate the story this way :)

I greet you, mother and father, sister,

I write to you because I am not able to visit to tell you of my news. I hope someone is able to read this to you.

As my honor demands, I will be honest: I do not like going to Mal'ur Academy. I went because you worked hard to get me there. It is hard, and many students find an enemy in me, because I am Hakaan. It is not your fault, nor mine, that there is such hatred at the school. I hid my pride and stubbornness and went for you, and though I have learned some things, most of all I have learned to hate this place.

But there is one good person here, a human woman named Donna Meun. She is kindly, and talks to me like an equal. She told me of the dragon-riders, who are gathering hopefuls to be dragon-riders. I thought much about this thing, and I have decided to travel to the valley on the mountains to be with the dragon-riders.

I told Donna my decision, and she has arranged with me to travel with two other young hopefuls to the valley. I am afraid it will slow me down, as I wished to fly there, but she tells me that my companions can teach me much about dragons and their people on the way.

Please don't be angry with me for my decision. I know our tribe says they are not of Zanoll, that we are only unwilling visitors on this island for many generations, and that we should have nothing to do with the other people, the enslavers. But my decision is final, and I hope this matter will bring peace to all of us.

May you always find peace in serekal, and may the eastern wind lift you.

~Tobias Terrekan

© 2015 by Sarah Bailey. All rights reserved.

Sunstone now available on Amazon!

Book 1 of The Legend of Draconite: Sunstone is now available on the Amazon store!  You can purchase a hard copy of the book for $15 USD.  Please check out the Amazon page for more info and an inside book preview :)

Strange Blessings E. IV

Tobias checked out the history volume and hurried back to his dorm, thoughts whirling over what he had read.

There were two dorms on campus, one for females and one for males. Both were three-storied L-shaped buildings around Mal'ur Academy, and Tobias' dorm building, also known as Dragon Dorm, was located on the north side of the academy.

He shouldered his book bag as he jogged up the stairs to the third floor. Boys wandered the hallways, socializing and heading to their rooms. Tobias kept his eyes down as he scooted to the last door on the left. Boys both accidentally and purposefully shoved shoulders with him on the way, and despite a few of the harder ones he received, he didn't say a word.

Strange Blessings E. III

 Update on this story has been awhile coming.  I'm going to try and update this story as often as possible, rather than every Sunday.  I'm hoping to post this serial at least once a week, so keep an eye out for more Strange Blessings!

~~~

Tobias went through the motions in his classes, his mind on Donna's advice. His hands managed to write assignments and he absently made his way from classroom to classroom.

“...read up on Chirik the Wise.”

Even though he had a load of homework, Tobias went to the library at the end of the school day. It was in the northwestern quarter of the main building, and was a long, vaulting room. Ladders patrolled several stacked shelves against the walls. Students meandered along the shelves or glanced through selected books on the study tables.

Tobias shouldered his book bag and made his way to the librarian's desk. A green lizardman sat on a heavy wood chair, stamping books with blue ink.

“Mr. Kia,” Tobias greeted. The Crin lifted his head and narrowed his red eyes. It was a moment before he answered, and Tobias tried not to fidget in front of the desk.