A Tale of Redemption & Romance
Romance, Medieval Fantasy
100 pages 

eBook

• Smashwords (all formats), ISBN: 978-1-4661-7853-3
• B&N Nookbook – pending
• Amazon Kindle – pending

Print

• CreateSpace, pending, ISBN: 1-4679-5035-1 / 978-1-4679-5035-0

Zain.

A soul manipulated to dark deeds, forever separated from the honor he one time cherished as a knight of a powerful realm. Many have wondered about the history of the dark knight of the Mountain of Souls. But silence surrounds him, feeding the darkness and manipulating a lonely spirit troubled by a strange past.

But though evil has an uncanny instinct about weaknesses, honor and love have a way of finding even the smallest strength.

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J. R. R. Tolkien

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Excerpt:

Maera watched as the expression of shame grew to irritation and anger. But there was no rumble or burning. No icy rage or spark of emotion from the man’s soul. There was silence. There was nothing to lead her to the question that would lead him to the answer.

Maera felt a tear escape as she said ‘Lord knight, I cannot help if you do not voice the question. The silence of the wall keeps my gifts useless and your help distant. Please.’ She searched his gaze as yet another tear fell. ‘Please, my lord. Ask the question so that I may be of help.’

The knight went to one knee and lowered his head. “Forgive me, my lady. I cannot. The wall was built to protect my friends from the weaknesses that caused me to do evil. I can’t allow you to see them. Nor can I allow them to have power. The wall must stay.”

Maera lifted his head with a gentle touch under his jaw. ‘Why must you alone battle the weaknesses that lie beyond that wall? Who decreed this punishment? The king? An Oracle? Did a great sage determine that this battle should be yours alone?’

The knight removed her hand from his jaw to again lower his gaze. “No.”

‘Then why have you done so?’ He didn’t answer. Maera knelt, lowering her oak staff to the ground to take both his hands in hers. His gaze refused to meet hers. ‘My lord knight, battles are more easily won when waged in the presence of friends.’

“Yes.”

Maera nodded. ‘And you are now aware of a weakness that must be strengthened.’ The knight’s gaze finally met hers. ‘So do not refuse the help that is offered to you. Accept it and stand.’

“And what if the consequence of standing against the wall were your death?” He shook his head and pulled his hands free. “No.”

Maera released a deep breath as she continued to watch his face, her hands delicately clasped in her lap. He only stared at the ground. Silent within and without. The silence hurt her. Goaded her. Teased her…

Maera sighed again as she took up her staff and laid it carefully across her lap. ‘Very well,’ she said softly.

Maera closed her eyes, and when she opened them she was again before the wall. She rested a hand upon the wall’s smooth and cold surface, and the orb upon her staff began to brightly glow; so bright the entire barrier went white. Maera’s form began to pass through–

A hand caught her by the arm and pulled her back. It was the knight, and his eyes showed a type of fear she didn’t recognize. “No. You mustn’t enter there, my lady Oracle.”

‘This past will not be allowed to bar your way to your new future, searching soul,’ she insisted with gentle passion. ‘If I alone must quest to find the key to its destruction, then I am ready to do so for you. I am Oracle. This is my gift.’

The knight shook his head and pulled her farther away. “No. I will ask a question, but you must not enter.”

‘And will this question you ask help you design the removal of the wall? Or will it serve only to distance me from entry?’ Maera saw the answer in his lowering of gaze. She gently gripped his arm. ‘My lord, the builders of this wall reside in your past. You must usher this past away. If you do not, I greatly fear that your friends will lose you to the silence as I have.’

He took her hand from his arm and released a deep breath. Then he turned and faced the wall, examining it as Maera examined his profile and the expressions therein. “And how do I remove a wall that may release a monster?”

‘Tell me the story of your past.’