SHADES OF LIGHT – SNIPPET 1

UNEDITEDThis is a snippet from my new book in the Age of Magic series with Michael Anderle. Follow the Facebook Page, check out the Rise of Magic books by Chris, Le, and Michael and enjoy! What you have here is the prologue, so… be sure to pay attention to the next one too (when the story really starts)

Shades of LightLarick reached the top of the hill before his fellow mystic, Volney, and therefore felt like the beauty of the view was his and his alone. They had traveled over land and sea to reach this spot, and as the wind whipped at Larick’s heavy robes, casting them about like thrashing waves, he felt as one with nature.

Spread out before him was Roneland, the top portion of an island divided since the Age of Madness. Remnants of a city, old ruins of buildings that once reached into the heavens from the days of technology toppled and largely covered in vines and earth in spots, some completely overgrown so that they appeared to be new hills.

The ghosts howled, though Larick knew it to be simply the wind blowing through those old ruins, as he had heard those same ghosts many times before. He stood with the sea behind him, the green, rolling hills flowing in every direction, with the highlands just visible, rising up in the distance.

Heavy breathing came from his right, pulling him from the moment. He turned to see Volney, a shorter man with a shaved head like Larick’s, but with piercing blue eyes. Though the man was less physically intimidating, when those eyes turned white the man was a force to be reckoned with.

“If only I could learn to simply levitate,” Volney said between breaths, holding his chest, “this would be so much simpler.”

“You know, brother,” Larick replied with a taunting smile, “you could also spend more time on the physical.”

“And lose time from my mental studies? Hardly.”

For the first time, Volney looked up at Roneland and all exhaustion melted from his expression, replaced with awe.

“This is the place?” he asked. “Where are all the people?”

“My records indicate we’ll not find them in, or even around, the cities. Here, from what I’m told, the people scattered, avoiding the cities and turmoil, holding their own in the mountains on the one hand, or creating great fortresses in the lowlands.”

“There,” Volney said, eyes glazing over for a moment as he mentally reached out, sensing life. He pointed to a cluster of trees on a far hill. “Not more than a couple dozen, though.”

“The clans are like that here.” Larick pulled out his parchment, checking his notes. “Yes, small groups, though we’ll probably find some larger ones as well, and it seems they’ve come together in the lowlands.”

“And magic?”

“Rudimentary at best, I’d imagine. No one was able to give me more than that, but since they’ve had no one to teach them until now, I can only assume it’s a wild practice. Boys and girls discovering hints of magic, but unable to control it.”

“Or even if they can control it, such powers may be unlike anything we’ve ever seen.”

“Again, rudimentary at most.”

Volney motioned to their right. The wind at the edge of a cliff was looking up at them, oddly enough. It shifted, then danced as it materialized further into the form of a small, translucent woman. She moved with the wind, circling them, and then came to a stop a foot from Larick’s face, tilting her head to look at him.

“I see we’re not alone,” Larick said.

“Do you want me to…?”

“No, allow me.” Larick put away his parchment and closed his eyes, focusing his inner eye, searching for the source of this spell. Oddly, he found only one presence nearby, that of a child. With a gentle soothing, he opened his eyes to see the wind spirit return to the air, flowing half-way down the hill. There, waiting, was a pair of wide, surprised eyes. A small girl, wearing nothing but brown rags.

Larick mentally projected himself forward, so that he appeared in front of her, though in fact he hadn’t moved at all, and he said, “There’s nothing to be afraid of, child. Not from us.”

With a giggle, the young girl ran off, soon disappearing into a clump of trees below.

“Rudimentary?” Volney laughed. “I have a feeling we’ll learn as much as we will teach, brother.”

Larick nodded in agreement. He had to admit, he hadn’t been expecting this. They were in for one hell of an adventure.


FROM JUSTIN >>> So… I’m going to wait and say more next time when it’s not the prologue. This is to set up the world, and these characters WILL appear in the story, but aren’t the main characters. I hope it intrigues you at least a bit! Let me know 🙂   And next time (tomorrow maybe?) we’ll get to meet the characters who are on the cover! YAY!

There you have it! But I always like to spread the word about books I like and though I’ve done this one before, it 100% relates, so I have to make sure you all know about the Rise of Magic books, which start with RESTRICTION, by CM Raymond, Le Barbant, and Michael Anderle.

Rise of MagicRise of Magic

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic…” Arthur C. Clarke 

She didn’t mean to use magic

She didn’t even know she HAD magic

She just wanted to save her brother, who was dying in her arms.

Accused of using illegal magic, and sentenced to a cruel death at the hands of the city’s guards, Hannah has no choice but to trust in the aid of a strange old man who wields unimaginable power.

The Founder has returned to correct the wrongs of unjust. But to do that, he needs Hannah, a young woman from the city slums. She has a key to unlocking a power even greater than his own–if she can only learn to trust herself and the magic flowing within her blood.

Restriction is a fantasy set in the far future, where magic and monsters ravage the land of Irth and only the strong survive.

Set on the foundation laid by the Kurtherian Gambit Series, Restriction tells an entirely new story in the Age of Magic–and of the heroes and villains who battle for control of its destiny.

Read now and Enter the Age of Magic…

Get the Rise of Magic books 🙂