SHADES OF LIGHT – SNIPPET 1
UNEDITED – This 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)
Larick 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.” (more…)
