Tag: Fantasy

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The Sundering of the Two moons

Excerpt from Sundering of the Two Moons.

Available as Kindle E-book and Paperback through the amazon store.

Randew.” Suda called to his new commander of the guard. The Graul came near and bowed, “Go back across the bridge. Tell the men there to push forward and to hold the southern entrance. Then return to lord Rivon and tell him what has occurred.”
Randew nodded, two fingers pressed to his heart. He went to leave but Dusan’s voice stopped him, “Go and tell him yourself. We have done what we came here to do, and we have paid a heavy fee for it.”
“I have not done what I set out to do.” Suda said, fire burning in his eyes, “I set out to make sure that none of our lands are ever governed by a tyrant king and I stand by that pledge by any dark road that Livella cannot light for me. I shall go into the southern realm and end this would be God’s rule.”
The company were speechless, and they stared at Suda as though seeing him for the first time. He seemed tall in his grief, a fire burning in his red hair like Drage of old. To them he was the vision of a king, with a crown of red flames upon his head.
Randew left and Suda stepped towards Lidya’s body, “Your idols Dusan.” He called behind him.
The priest nodded and from his back he pulled out four disks, each as large as his palm. One was of silver, with an image of a star. The second held the image of a mountain and it was made from a mix of many metals. The third disk held a glass phial and clear water from the rivers of Brinsita sat within. The last bore mirrored glass, so that one could truly admire Gadrika’s work. Dusan placed these upon Lidya’s body. The mirror atop his head, the phial of water at his mouth, the star upon his chest and the disk of Orna on his midriff, “Son of Dragor, descendant of Livella, let your soul go now to rest within her halls. Soon we shall find a ship and Thera shall carry you beneath the stars, where Drage will claim you.”
They prayed together but when Dusan went to retrieve the tokens, Suda stayed him with his hand, “On these four tokens I lay a pledge.” An eerie silence grew in the cavern as everyone seemed to hold their breaths, “I, Suda of house Drage, pledge that I shall not return to my home. Nor shall I find simple rest until the king of Scaraden is laid utterly to ruin and his four towered church is destroyed and in its place a star of Livella built. If I should fail, then my house shall ever be laid in enemy of Scaraden, and I swear not to go to the halls of Livella until this pledge is fulfilled.” He lifted his sword from the floor and ran his hand along it. He winced as blood dripped towards Livella’s token. From the chamber below a wind rose and the blood fell not onto the star but the mirror of Gadrika. As it touched, there was a blinding flash of green flame, and the blood became a pungent sickly smoke. An eerie calm fell over the tunnel and doom weighed heavy upon the company.


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Knights of Earth

Excerpt from The Escape from Humanity

AVAILABLE AS KINDLE E-BOOK AND PAPERBACK THROUGH THE AMAZON STORE.

Tom had entered another world; he was walking through the most beautiful forest he had ever seen, full of all the colours of spring, summer and autumn mixed together, of all the seasons, it appeared that only winter never touched this forest.  As the wind blew through the trees and whistled through the leaves, the trees themselves rose up in song, a song spanning the years the trees had seen, ferocious battles and fallen kings were lamented, whilst heroes and great deeds were glorified in their continuous song. The trees were obviously unlike any from earth with their song in the air they were more alive, and more splendid, the very smell of their wood filled Tom’s body with the vibrancy of their life.  Around him people walked, paying no heed to him at all, they were slightly different to the others from his dreams; their scaled skin carried tints of green and browns like they were born from the earth itself, and leaves of different types and colours grew through their long brown hair and around their eyes, instead of red scales they had twig like veins that stretched out across their skin.
Tom was happy to walk amongst these people, he realised he had dreamt of these people once before, and had learned of their history in another dream, they were the forest dwellers and they had long known peace, continuing to pay tribute to their high King.   Suddenly a deep fear seemed to grip Tom, screams shot up from the distance and bells hidden in the branches sounded out, the war that had for so long been held back from these woods had finally reached them, and it burst through the trees abruptly.
Fire leapt from tree to tree and Tom could feel such an evil in that woodland paradise as it quickly became a fiery hell.
Tom instinctively dropped to the floor and closed his eyes tight, and when he finally felt brave enough to open them, the world before him lay in a burnt out waste. All around him the beautiful and peaceful forest dwellers lay lifeless on the floor, their twig like veins glowing dully with the dying embers of the fire that had devoured them; with blood dripping from their half open mouths the last of their beauty was lost from the world.

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The Sundering of the Two moons

Excerpt from the Sundering of the Two moons.

AVAILABLE AS KINDLE E-BOOK AND PAPERBACK THROUGH THE AMAZON STORE.

We fought through hordes of blue eyed Graul, killing most who could do nothing against our strength, until we reached the meeting hall. Borgarinda charged in without thought. I did not see the wave that crushed him until it was too late, nor did I hear the scream as it forced all the air out of his lungs. All I truly heard was the sickening crack as his bones were crushed.
I yelled as anger filled me. My hand crashed into the floor and great stone slabs launched at the attacking Thera-ilma. He fell to the floor, ribs cracked.
Suddenly the Ilma that were trapped there attacked but it stopped at one of our enemy’s words, “Release the flood.”
My heart stopped, and my breath caught in my throat. I heard Selosa yell and saw the spit coming from her mouth. Borgarinda had power over water, yet he could not stop such a bombardment and I wondered what hope we would then have. Suddenly Selosa’s cry seemed to slow. The window’s shattered and I could see every shard, see every vibration as people screamed. I looked down at myself, amazed by the blue flames that seemed to dance upon my body. All of a sudden, those blue flames burst forth like a great swirling tornado. My aura charged at the oncoming wave with a crash that shook the tower. I screamed as the blue flames broke the control of the Thera-ilma, until Selosa and Aila smote them.
The wave crashed to the floor, and I fully released my aura, breaking the wave apart so that it fell harmlessly to the floor as a gentle wave. The hallway became silent as the Thera-ilma and Graul that remained fell to their knees, begging for our mercy.
My eyes scanned the faces of the Ilma held there, falling on one, “Mother.” I yelled as I charged towards her and my father. She embraced me, her brown hair falling across my face.
“You stupid boy.” She said while she stroked at my hair, “You should not have come.”
I laughed as my father looked at me, surprise on his face. What I had unleashed, few of the Ilma could do with control.


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Knights of Earth News. The Sundering of the Two moons

Crafting a saga

Crafting a Saga.

At times I wonder, how did I create a saga? Whenever I ask myself this question I always stop, unsure whether I could plot the path from idea to realised story, to a vast interconnecting web of narratives.
I have asked myself the question countless times during the last couple of months. How did this story come into being and how did it then become one of the largest universes I had ever created, full of many planets with a millennia of unknown history?

The Thomas Lita series had it origins in one of the humblest of settings, childhood. Growing up as a fan of Tolkien, Doctor who and Marvel, I played a lot as characters in these universes. Eventually, creating my own characters, with their own stories. In those games, the first seeds of the Thomas Lita universe were formed.
As I grew older and more “Mature” the games stopped but the stories did not. In my head these characters lingered, their stories growing every time my mind wandered to them and yet I had no outlet for their use. I had toyed with the idea of writing but had never gone further than hasty and outlandish plans.
In sixth form that all changed. One day, when I should have been studying, I started writing and have never looked back. Re-reading the original, handwritten, copy of The Escape from Humanity, is always a thrill. Not only was the story not particularly good, but it was also vastly different from the story I would eventually publish six years later. Then, there was no wider universe. Ilmgral was a faraway place with no real connection to the story, the Ilma had no Origin and the Graul did not exist. Thomas Lita was then a strange mix between the X-men and the doctor, with plans to match.
I had finally done it though; I had started my career as a writer. The next books in the Knights of Earth Saga formed quickly and I knew how the story would end as one series, with no prequels or sequels. Oh, how naïve I was.
The Second draft changed everything, and it was one side character that brought the change. I soon realised a major plot hole in the first draft. Why would Cirtroug/Urgarak call someone to the volcano, who had the power to defeat them.
I began to imagine another character, one who lingered in the shadows, pulling the strings of Tom’s life. The Tempter was born within the second draft. Instantly, the character fit into my already made plans and I began asking questions of his origins. Answering these questions took me down the rabbit hole of lore I would need for these stories to work.
Within weeks of introducing the Tempter, I had created the God’s and the Vassal’s, realised their origin stories and how they connected to the Knights of Earth saga. I had created the Graul and separated them from the Ilma. Stories grew from their separation, like the Enlightenment of the Graul and the curse of the Ilma.
This led me to the realisation that The Knights of Earth Saga, could not stand alone. I could not answer all the questions that needed answering while still telling a compelling story. I had to tell these stories separately.
Even now, after publishing two novels in the Knights of Earth Saga, I am still learning about this world and this universe, creating more stories that my heart says I must tell.

Jacob Bower.

The first hand-written copy.
Editing The Escape from Humanity.
My first print copy.
Cover art.
Glad I finally got an artist for this.
Really glad I had an artist for this.
Categories
The Sundering of the Two moons

Excerpt from the Sundering of the two moons

AVAILABLE AS KINDLE E-BOOK AND PAPERBACK THROUGH THE AMAZON STORE.

She withdrew her arm, but her physical form was changed, and her right arm was gone from the shoulder and her shining form was blackened there. In pain she wept, and her tear lingered by the star that now burnt a vibrant red. In a great explosion it erupted and Livella was tossed far across the universe, but she stared in wonder, for in the place of the star, a child lingered.
He was grey of skin, with coarse hair covering him but his hands were stone and veins of ore glittered across his body in the light of the stars that remained. Livella came to the child and words of the mortals named him Orna and she nurtured him. Quickly he grew and the elements of the destroyed stars became his plaything and together Livella and Orna began to re-order the universe. From her lost stars, she fashioned new ones. These were smaller and less majestic, for her sacrificed stopped her from pulling anymore light from Livinden. Around these lesser stars, Orna formed planets. Worlds of swirling rock he formed, or giants of gas that nurtured great storms. Again, the voices of Agraldin sang in a majestic tone for the glory of the Gods and their creations but still no life came.
Soon Livella became weary of the realm that is as she felt no love now that her stars had been destroyed and she returned to Livinden, but Orna could not linger long in that realm of light. He was born in Besan Gretan, and he was bound to it. Orna now loved Livella, and he wished to ease her hurt and so coming to the area of his birth, he collected the remnants of the star that birthed him and formed a new world. All his power he poured into Ilmgral, and he fashioned continents for the coming of life and dreamt of great oceans where life would start but this thing he could not create. In the attempt, he formed rivers of molten rock and the world became a mass of flames and poisonous fumes that spread to many of his creations, and he roared in his anger.
Livella heard his cry and came from Livinden and looked upon the world of fire and was saddened and yet she shed no tear, for only two tears would she ever shed. One at her sacrifice and one more at the final day. The tear of her sacrifice lingered still by the world Orna had created. Reaching out she grabbed it and feeling the power within she laid it on the world. It glowed for a second and then the rivers of molten rock were calmed and from fissures great oceans formed. Clouds lifted above the world and the first raindrops fell in gentle tears onto the mountains. Water flowed into great bowls of the earth that overflowed and ran in many streams and rivers back to the sea.
The amazement of Livella and Orna was great, but Livella moved, and her radiance was veiled so that the oceans froze, the rivers became glaciers and the voices of Agraldin lamented. At their call, a fist hammered under the frozen ocean.
Livella moved quickly and she pulled towards her a star and Orna placed Ilmgral in orbit around it and set it to turn so that equally the heat of her star could fall upon it. The oceans thawed and rivers flowed again.
From the great sea a figure rose in splendour. He was tall and nimble, with a skin partly like scales of fish that mirror him. His eyes were blue with hints of green and he regarded his parents with love, “You have given life to me from your sacrifice’s and from me the beginnings of life shall come. They will need guiding by starlight and moonlight.”  Thera, they named him, and he parted the sea at his feet and revealed a mountain like a red sunset and another of silver. These Orna took and he shaped them and placed them as moons over the planet like silent guardians to move the tides and aid with the nurturing of life.

Categories
Knights of Earth

The Sundering of the Two Moons

AVAILABLE TO READ AS KINDLE E-BOOK OR PAPERBACK THROUGH THE AMAZON STORE.

The Final story of the History of Ilmgral Volume one, gives the story its title.

Written like an old love story, it tells of the tragic lives of Morelin and Lucarnia, whose love created the biggest loss to face Ilmgral.

Morelin, descendent of the vassal Mina, is charged with a terrible mission. To spy on the Krun-ilma, the people of the great wood, to see if their is truth to the long rumours of their treachery. On the edge of that magical forest, under the light of the two moons, he stumbles upon Lucarnia the evergreen, the wood kings daughter and the fairest of that race to ever walk upon the world.
Slowly their love grows, but the treachery of the wood king, sees the pair separated and as the tapestry of time tries to weave them back together, Agral, god of death, sets in motion events that will tear the celestial bodies of Ilmgral apart.

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The Sundering of the Two moons

The War of the Dividing Mountains

THE SUNDERING OF THE TWO MOONS, OUT NOW AS KINDLE E-BOOK AND PAPERBACK THROUGH THE AMAZON STORE.

The war of the dividing mountains.

The third short story of the sundering of the two moons follows the story of Suda Drage, Lord of the Dragor realm and descendant of the vassal Drage Livella. A once great leader of a company of Ilma, Suda must reform his band of heroes after the Kingdom of Scaraden threaten the dividing mountains and he pass of Sikaorna, gifted to the line of Drage hundreds of years ago. A dark pledge leads Suda and his company into the realm that Agral cursed long ago, almost to the utter ruin of the Dragor Realm.

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The Sundering of the Two moons

Notes as Both Squire and Lord

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The next story of the Sundering of the Two Moons shows the Ilma now bestowed the powers promised to them. Notes as both squire and lord comes from the journals of a young man of the Ilma, born in the town of Cradlin as he enters the service of Selosa Aquitex, one of the greatest generals of her time.

This story takes place during the darkening of the lands of Cradlin. In this story you follow Bruska as he experiences the battle of the crossroads, the sack of Cradlin and the terrible burning of Fasurasuta. Its first-person style gives an in-depth and personal look at the world during one of Cradlin’s hardest periods, that helps surround the reader in this truly unique world.

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News. The Sundering of the Two moons

The Sundering of the Two Moons- An Expansion.

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The Ilma are mentioned in the Escape from Humanity but who are they? An Alien race, some good, some evil? Immortals who have great knowledge of the universe? What is their curse and why do they consider themselves the chosen people of the Universe? Who are the Graul? The servant race, now some of the most powerful beings in Besan Gretan?  Briefly is the history and beliefs of the Ilma hinted at in the Knights of Earth saga, yet it is a rich history, full of tragedy, deceit, and the corruption of power. A story of the long defeat, how those chosen to be the wardens of the Gods, become vengeful Gods in their own right.

The Sundering of the Two moons is the first part of the History of Ilmgral. In this book series I will bring you the long tapestry that saw the Ilma rise to absolute power and be cursed by it. This history is told in short stories of various styles, giving an in-depth outlook into the history of Ilmgral, like the Silmarillion never could for Middle earth.

The Sundering of the Two moons, focuses on the earliest years of Ilmgral and consists of four stories:

The Beginnings of the Universe are told in the book: The Holy Quadrant. Here the three plains of existence are explained, along with the coming of the Vassals and the immense powers given to the Ilma, with their place as custodians explained.

Notes as both squire and Lord- Follows Bruska Crud, one of the Ilma as he navigates becoming a squire to one of the greatest warriors of the time, Selosa Aquitex. He witnessed some of the Key events of the middle years of the Age of Vassals, including the battle of the crossroads and the burning of Fasurasuta.

The War of the Dividing Mountains- Newly come into his Lordship, Suda Drage, relation of the Vassal Drage Livella, must defend his home from the Kingdom of Scaraden. This story, though thousands of years before the events of the Knights of Earth Saga, ties in the most of all these tales, for it is the Pledge of Suda Drage that lingered as a dark shadow over the Ilma in all their many wars and would eventually bring war to Earth, until one from the Dragor would realm would do war upon Scaraden again.

The Sundering of the Two moons- This tells the story of Morelin, a high lord of the Ilma and Lucarnia, daughter of the wood king, an evergreen of the Krun-ilma, as their love and betrayal of their duties, eventually tears the celestial bodies of Ilmgral apart.

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News. The Sundering of the Two moons

OUT NOW!

The Sundering of the Two moons releases today. Get it as a paper back or Kindle E-book through the Amazon store.

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Not much is known about the worlds beyond our solar system, the worlds that until recently we did not know existed. Chance has allowed me to study in the great libraries of Ilmgral, to see its vast history that Earth has now become a part of. For that reason, I have created this story, to show you the long tapestry of events that would one day bring universal war to Earth.
In this volume I cover the early years of the Ilma, from the creation of the universe to the most tragic event of those ancient years.
From the libraries of Dragor, I have translated these tales, so that we may better understand the role that has come to us.

Read four unique short stories, detailing the early years of Ilmgral. Each written in its own style, with compelling characters.