Good morning to all! It's been a couple of weeks since I posted anything, because I've been doing the finishing touches on the book. Right now we are on track to be in print no later than July 2015. Very exciting times for me!
I decided to celebrate reaching this milestone by posting a small excerpt from the book. In this scene two of the characters from the Warrior Guild are trying to hunt down the Guardians, who are from an ancient race of humans called the Balsarius. The Balsarius are a peaceful people who make up the bulk of the Scientist, Artisan and Worker Guilds. They are at war with another race of ancient humans called the G`Alad, who primarily make up the Warrior Guild in this ancient human society. The G'Alad destroyed the colony of the third race of ancient humans, called the Masu`ri, who primarily made up the Religious Guild.
Enjoy!
~D.B. Stearns
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Hafs sighed as he handed Ben a sack from the back of the small wagon. The day was warm, and the sky was clear as they stopped at each village to sell or trade a collection of cheap knives as a cover. Through their Klah weapons, they could see the face of the young man they had to find. They knew it was important to bond him to a Klah weapon.
The days passed as they traveled around looking for the witches. One warm afternoon the wagon rocked to the side. The movement snapped Hafs’s attention back to the road. Ben had fallen asleep, and the horses had started to wander.
“Ben, wake up,” Hafs complained, nudging Ben.
“I’m awake. I was just meditating on the meaning of life.”
“And what is the meaning of life?” asked Hafs.
“Right now it includes a powerful need to eat,” Ben said with a smile.
“I agree. How far to the next village?”
Ben rolled up his shirtsleeve and revealed a thin device on his forearm. He
touched a small panel on it and a holographic projection of the area floated in the air in front of them. The mountains rose majestically. A gorgeous lake high in the mountains had a river that flowed down a fertile valley to another lake far below. Several small villages filled the area.
“Oh, I know where we are now. This is really close to where the Balsarius had their last fort,” Ben said.
“There are several villages along here where we can try to sell these knives and maybe get some clues about this medicine woman.”
“This was where the women struck?” Hafs asked.
Ben pointed to an area on the map, “Yep, over here. They kicked our asses, ran us off the damn planet, and then abandoned it. Makes no damn sense to me. Stupid witches.”
Hafs gave Ben an irritated look. “Witches? Really? There’s nothing mystical about Anti-Grav technology.”
“You don’t know what they’re like. It’s not just the Anti-Grav tech that gets you. It’s all that projecting emotions crap. It’s too much for a person to handle. I know. I was there. You’re lucky you didn’t have to stand against them. It would scare the piss right out of you!”
“Yeah, I’d trade my time spent in the pits of hell to stand against your witches any day,” Hafs sneered. “So they just abandoned the fort after they ran you off the planet?”
I decided to celebrate reaching this milestone by posting a small excerpt from the book. In this scene two of the characters from the Warrior Guild are trying to hunt down the Guardians, who are from an ancient race of humans called the Balsarius. The Balsarius are a peaceful people who make up the bulk of the Scientist, Artisan and Worker Guilds. They are at war with another race of ancient humans called the G`Alad, who primarily make up the Warrior Guild in this ancient human society. The G'Alad destroyed the colony of the third race of ancient humans, called the Masu`ri, who primarily made up the Religious Guild.
Enjoy!
~D.B. Stearns
////////////////////////
Hafs sighed as he handed Ben a sack from the back of the small wagon. The day was warm, and the sky was clear as they stopped at each village to sell or trade a collection of cheap knives as a cover. Through their Klah weapons, they could see the face of the young man they had to find. They knew it was important to bond him to a Klah weapon.
The days passed as they traveled around looking for the witches. One warm afternoon the wagon rocked to the side. The movement snapped Hafs’s attention back to the road. Ben had fallen asleep, and the horses had started to wander.
“Ben, wake up,” Hafs complained, nudging Ben.
“I’m awake. I was just meditating on the meaning of life.”
“And what is the meaning of life?” asked Hafs.
“Right now it includes a powerful need to eat,” Ben said with a smile.
“I agree. How far to the next village?”
Ben rolled up his shirtsleeve and revealed a thin device on his forearm. He
touched a small panel on it and a holographic projection of the area floated in the air in front of them. The mountains rose majestically. A gorgeous lake high in the mountains had a river that flowed down a fertile valley to another lake far below. Several small villages filled the area.
“Oh, I know where we are now. This is really close to where the Balsarius had their last fort,” Ben said.
“There are several villages along here where we can try to sell these knives and maybe get some clues about this medicine woman.”
“This was where the women struck?” Hafs asked.
Ben pointed to an area on the map, “Yep, over here. They kicked our asses, ran us off the damn planet, and then abandoned it. Makes no damn sense to me. Stupid witches.”
Hafs gave Ben an irritated look. “Witches? Really? There’s nothing mystical about Anti-Grav technology.”
“You don’t know what they’re like. It’s not just the Anti-Grav tech that gets you. It’s all that projecting emotions crap. It’s too much for a person to handle. I know. I was there. You’re lucky you didn’t have to stand against them. It would scare the piss right out of you!”
“Yeah, I’d trade my time spent in the pits of hell to stand against your witches any day,” Hafs sneered. “So they just abandoned the fort after they ran you off the planet?”
“Not just the fort. The whole damn planet!” Ben exclaimed. “Been near impossible to track the bitches down ever since. We hear a rumor, get hot on the trail, and it turns cold as a stone. Like chasing damn ghosts, I tell ya.”
“Wow. We go from witches to ghosts,” Hafs said sarcastically. “We’re bound to run into zombies at the next town at this rate. I heard of a Dead Hookers’ Ball on the coast ...”
“Just keep laughing, demon-boy!” Ben snarled. “Like I said, they have a new way to travel, and it’s not by shuttle. I would have seen that.”
“Whatever, Ben,” Hafs said, rolling his eyes. “They probably hear you stumbling around behind them in a drunken stupor, so they just hide and wait till you leave.”
Ben frowned at Hafs, who smiled back at him.
“Well, there is that ... but I only drink in days that end in ‘Y’,” Ben replied.
Hafs laughed until Ben joined.
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