Anthony Greer's Blog

Prologue: Raiden Chapter 1.1: KostonChapter 1.2: VilaChapter 1.3: RaidenChapter 1.4: ElizaChapter 1.5: VilaChapter 1.6: KostonChapter 1.7: Raiden
This will be the final chapter posted here from Raven of Dusk: Transcendence, but there will be plenty more where this came from! 

To purchase the full book: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VUGO0SQ






Eliza stepped outside, strangely awake considering the lack of sleep she'd had.Hela began to peek over the faraway mountain range. The gleam caught her eye, so she used her hand to guard it and watched the city come to life.The tips of the triangular crystal structures twinkled. Hela's rays were reviving them from their navy slumber to various vibrant hues across the color spectrum. As Hela grew higher in the sky, its rays slid along the sides of buildings. First the crystal walls would flash a light of white, and then reveal the lively shades that were otherwise concealed in the absence of day. The entire city-state exploded into a rainbow of colors and the small streams of water running along the sidewalks and alleyways caught their reflections.Eliza turned away for a moment, fearing that she'd go blind if she hadn't. She wondered how anyone was able to sleep through this. When she felt her vision return, she glanced down at the surrounding houses. There was a series of aqua and lime colored being lit by the rays. Some of the rooms within them were see-through, but most of the structures had thick crystals that concealed what was beyond their walls. With the buildings lighting up, she made note of a few square blocks that remained white and beige. These were the blocks left uncolored to truly honor the original city of Ancient Kalia.She found herself unsatisfied by the text on Kalian government and decided that a different book might suit her better. She thought about taking the air shuttle over to the Ancient Kalian Library, but it was just a short walk away.Kalian citizens began to move about and leave their houses. Some walked through the crystal-pebbled streets in search of markets, while others were on their way to work. The rock candy streets shot miniature flashes of white, lighting up the roads and walkways. The people's feet flashed with glints of light, as if they were being caught on fire.As she stepped further into the beige cluster of blocks, she found herself entering a world that other people weren’t heading toward. There were no businesses that occupied the space, nor where there stands or tents or homes. Four blocks of the city-state were purposely left barren so that its visitors could get a sense of a world that once was—whether it ever existed or not. She always got an eerie feeling while walking down the streets, being the only hint of color on an otherwise all-white canvass.At the original city’s center stood the only building that actually served a viable public purpose: the Ancient Kalian Library. The library was much prettier than the structures surrounding it. Even though it looked just as frozen in time as the rest of the buildings, the glowing orange and yellow lights from the inside gave it hints of life.She was able to see the etchings in Ancient Kalian on the columns that held the library up as she approached them and wondered if anyone knew what they meant anymore; the language had been dead for thousands of years. Eliza trudged up the stairs and slipped between the large columns. Much to her relief, the doors were already retracted into the adjacent walls. She couldn't remember what time they opened in the morning, but she wouldn't have to wait. Eliza crossed the threshold of the side entrance.The interior felt like a maze with bookshelves in columns and rows well above her head. Air lifts were on the four corners of the library and went up diagonally to any of the five floors above. Usually she studied on some of the higher floors because they were quieter, but she had nothing to research that day. She got the impression that, if she went to start reading, she’d fall back to sleep.The echoes of her footsteps bounced off of the walls. She was used to there being enough noise to mute her steps, but she'd never been in the library at that hour. Most of the staff must not have come in yet, and she doubted that they had many other patrons so early in the morning. She continued to walk along the bookshelf, fast approaching the aisle that would lead to the center of the room.“Ugh.”Eliza stopped.“Ugh.” It was a low grumble. It sounded human, but barely.Blood began to rush to her face. Suddenly her own footsteps scared her. I’m in a building several thousand feet from any other occupied space. It’s quiet and it’s early. Still, something wasn’t right.A hand appeared from the center aisle and clasped the edge of the bookshelf. Eliza stopped walking as a woman slumped out into the open. When she removed her grasp from the shelf, she left a bloody hand print behind. Her other hand clutched a wound in her stomach. Her paling eyes met Eliza's for a brief second and then she collapsed face first to the floor.Eliza dropped the Kalian government book to shriek, but instead covered her mouth and rushed to the woman’s aid. She rolled her onto her back, but the woman’s horrified face was already petrified with death.The silence in the room deafened her. The bookshelves that towered over her felt much more narrow. The way the books were placed on the shelves allowed for her to make out images of menacing faces of vile creatures when looking at them. They were also easy to hide behind. Someone or something could have been two feet from her and she’d have no idea.Eliza examined the woman's dull eyes and then the blood stain on her stomach. It was definitely a stab wound, and from a large knife by the looks of it; possibly even a gunblade. Usually only Serenity Seekers carried them, but that didn’t mean that they weren’t accessible to anyone else. Still, why would someone…?Eliza stood up. The end of the bookshelf was just a couple feet away. She stepped forward. Her footsteps reverberated throughout the entire building. There had to have been other staff around. Against her better judgment, she stepped forward to the center of the room, blocking from her head the fear that came with the unknown. The opaque crystal floor trickled red with the blood from two rows of the bodies of librarians and scholars that she'd seen nearly every day. They were sprawled out and unmoving, covering the left and right sides of the floor as if someone had run down the middle and quickly slashed through everyone in their path. As Eliza stared at the massacre before her, all she could think about was the silence. None of them had made a sound, and if someone was nearby, they weren’t making themselves known.A square 3x3 tiled area in the center of the room had always been guarded. Today, its ropes were sliced in half and dangling on the floor and in its center was a gaping black hole. The large metal tile that had once covered it had been tossed to the side. The hole must have led to a passage below. A guard lay face down before the roped off area. Others were face-up, but still no one was moving.She once heard that something was hidden deep beneath the library floor, but she never bothered to ask what. Clearly, someone else had.Eliza rushed to the nearest body with only the sounds of her echoed footsteps to accompany her. The first body was that of an elderly man who waved at her every time she came in. She wished she could remember his name, but in the quiet even her own name escaped her. She checked for his pulse. Nothing.She examined the woman next to him, but her throat was slashed wide open. She couldn't have possibly been alive. The man next to her looked even worse. This was a slaughter; a very well-coordinated one at that. She reached for the next body, drawing closer and closer to the hole before her. Then she stopped herself.  The first woman she saw was stabbed recently. She was still able to stand before toppling over. These deaths must have been recent, possibly within the minutes preluding her arrival. If she’d taken the shuttle to the library, she might have been here when it happened.The ground rumbled beneath her like the beginnings of a quake. Something below her exploded. The entire floor rattled and a book on a faraway shelf came crashing to the ground. She staggered backward and away from the hole in the ground as the rumbling grew louder; closer. There were bangs coming from beneath, and clangs, and more explosions.“Rexus!” A male voice blurted out.Another explosion. This time a dust cloud mushroomed out from the black hole and dirt scattered on the tiles surrounding it.She couldn’t stay there. She needed to run. Now!Eliza bolted from the corpses near the hole back toward the first row of bookshelves. She grabbed onto the wooden side of it and spun herself ninety degrees. Out of the corner of her eye she witnessed a man in red with a tattered brown coat leap out of the hole. The glare of his piercing, shallow eyes paralyzed her. They were far more pronounced than his unclean face and dark stringy hair. His blood-colored gunblade was already drawn and in her direction and he shot something from it. A yellow ball with streaks of lightning came hurdling toward her head before she could react. She backed up and tripped over the first dead woman she'd seen and crashed to the ground as the ball flew overhead. She felt the air of the ball and missed banging her head on a table behind her by mere inches.“Rexus!” The male voice still down below screamed again.Rexus rushed down the aisle with his blade of death in hand. He held it parallel to the ground and shot a glowing ball of orange and red flames. Eliza scurried backward underneath the table. The cold tile counteracted the heat of the fireball as it slammed into one of the wooden legs, breaking it in half and showering her with an array of sawdust and splinters. She shrieked and covered her face from the debris as her shirt was drizzled with wood shavings.He shot another ball; this one was aimed at her underneath the table. The heat of the ball felt ten times hotter and she couldn't move out of the way fast enough. Her whole body tensed up as a set of red eyes and teeth appeared in the ball of flames and narrowed in on her. Above, the table began to fall onto her. She flailed herself backwards onto the chilly tile and kicked it onto its side, knocking it in front of her. The fireball smashed into the table and made a loud crack as it split in two. The hungry fire began to swallow the table whole and Eliza watched in horror as her face dried from the heat of the devouring flames.Rexus flew through the fire. He leapt high into the air and she gasped her last breath as he held his gunblade over his head and prepared to thrust it forward. He came crashing down on her. Everything went white.Eliza blinked and stopped moving. She couldn't see him over her, nor did she feel the pain that she expected to endure if he had stabbed her. Even the heat of the flames had diminished. She could no longer hear him, or the sounds of the other man whom she’d yet to see. It was as if she’d suddenly been transported somewhere else, though that made little sense.What? My… My hands are glowing. No, my whole body is glowing. She froze in fear of what was happening. She felt paralyzed for a few seconds or maybe minutes. She couldn't tell how much time went by. She still felt Rexus’ eyes on her, and his blade had to have hit her by now, but if so why didn’t she feel anything? She cocked her head, puzzled. There was nothing surrounding her in this white vastness. She didn’t even feel the ground at her feet, but she didn’t appear to be floating either. Her hand reached out to grab something, but there was only air to touch in this white space that went on forever.She stopped glowing and suddenly she could see just fine. Everything returned to normal.Rexus stood over her with his gunblade in hand. His head was tilted and his mouth was open just enough for her to see that he was just as bewildered as she was. What just happened?“Rexus!”Rexus spun around with his gunblade in hand as another man jumped out from the hole in the ground.Eliza rolled over and examined the man that caught Rexus' attention. His clothes were torn in some places and dirty in others. His black hair was unkempt and his right cheek was bruised. He bore a brightness in his blue eyes and had a youthfulness about him despite looking twice her age. He thrust his gunblade forward and an icy blue blade extended from it.The two men stared each other down from across the room with their gunblades in hand. Eliza took the opportunity to slink backwards out of Rexus’ immediate range. She didn't know what caused the glow or who the man distracting him was, but both were the only discernible reasons for why she was still alive. There was a brown knapsack attached to Rexus’ back. It wasn’t buttoned all the way, and she noticed a large threaded book within it. She wondered if it had come from the ground below them. Could that have been what all of these people had died for?“It's over,” the man said. He raised his gunblade parallel to the ground.Rexus did the same.The blue-eyed man bolted toward Rexus, shooting balls of ice from the barrel of his gunblade. Rexus swiped his blade at the first one and incinerated it, then charged the blue-eyed man as he cut through one ice ball after the next as if they stayed in place for him. Rexus swung his blade as the man shot a yellow orb his way. Rexus hit it before having time to react. The ball shot a quick wave of electricity through Rexus’ blade and attacked him with lightning-like streaks, so he dropped it before he could get shocked.The blue-eyed man jumped onto the nearby table and took a swing at Rexus, who ducked and retaliated with a spinning kick that knocked the man off of his feet and sent him crashing back first onto the table. Eliza swore that she heard bones break against the hard wooden surface. Rexus grabbed his blade and thrashed at the blued-eyed man, but he quickly rolled off the table and got to his feet.Rexus punched him in the jaw with his quick-hitting fist and the blue-eyed man fell backward into the side of a bookshelf, which rattled against his weight. He appeared dazed and shook his head as if all he could see were blurs. He’d been knocked in so many directions so quickly that Eliza would’ve been surprised if he knew which way was up!Rexus jumped over the table and flung his blade in an effort to decapitate the man, but he ducked just in time and rolled away around a bookcase.Rexus followed and the two disappeared from Eliza’s view. She heard their gunblades clash several times, but couldn't make out who was winning. Her instincts told her to run. She didn't.The blue-eyed man went flailing over one of the bookshelves and landed on top of it. A ball of fire slammed into the wooden shelf directly beneath him and sent him flying into the air. He retracted his blade and reached for the next shelf. Impressively, he grabbed ahold of it with his hands and dangled a little bit. Rexus ran around the shelves as the blue eyed man hoisted himself on top of it. The man withdrew his gunblade again. His eyes were bright and alert, like a small animal finally aware of a nearby predator. Balls of fire and ice were shot in his direction. He split the ice ball in half and two shards flew passed his shoulders. He side swiped a fireball and it evaporated upon contact. He spun his blade and it caught the gleam of the lights around it like a glacier capturing the eyes of dawn.Rexus ran around to the center of the library and darted toward Eliza again. She got to her feet and prepared to run just as the blue-eyed man rushed across the top of the bookshelf toward them both. He used the edge of it to propel himself off, jumping down onto Rexus with his ice shard outstretched and was met with a blade of solid fire.Clang! Swirls of crimson and blue danced with one another as the blue-eyed man spun around and flailed his blade at Rexus’ side with a wave of fury. Rexus had ducked long before the man could make contact and then retaliated with a swift kick to his face. The blue-eyed man was knocked toward the floor but landed on his hands and flung himself back to his feet. Rexus kicked him a second time, much harder, and sent him sailing across the room.The man with blue eyes wasn't getting up this time. He squirmed a little but Rexus was approaching him too quickly for him to get away; he licked his lips at the sight of his wounded prey.Eliza looked down at the remnants of the burning table in front of her, there were three wooden legs were left in the wreckage. Whomever this man was, he just saved her life. She couldn’t let him die. She snapped one of the legs from the table, spun around, and launched it at Rexus’ head.Rexus turned just before it could hit him and slashed it away. Right behind it another leg spiraled toward him and hit him square in the face. As it hit the ground he looked dazed, but saw the third leg hurdling toward him. Eliza rushed behind the nearest bookshelf while he took the time to dodge it. She hoped it was enough of a distraction for the blue-eyed man to hide. She could slow Rexus down, but she couldn't do any more than that.She broke out in a run toward the exit. She heard Rexus chase after her, but she was fast and he had a heavy book on his back. The rows she ran between felt like they were getting taller and narrower. The entrance to the library grew closer.Rexus had reached the row she ran down and rushed after her. She increased her strides. Her hair flew behind her ears as she took giant leaps in the air and flew past the end of the bookshelf.The blue-eyed man appeared from the right and grabbed her hand. The two crossed the threshold of the library together. She wailed, but kept up with him as they rushed down the stairs three at a time and bolted for the nearest alley.Rexus flew out of the library behind them. Once she saw his silhouette she couldn't look back again. She clutched onto the blue-eyed man's hand and tried to keep up with his pace down the clear alleyway. He spun around a corner and nearly dragged Eliza off of her feet as she was swung around to keep up with him.He broke his grasp on her and dashed toward a nearby air shuttle. He grabbed a key from his pocket and pressed a button, unlocking the shuttle before they reached it. The glass dome retracted into the doorways. He jumped into the driver’s seat and turned back to her.“Come on!”Eliza didn't want to look back and see Rexus behind her. She didn't see another air shuttle nearby. She ran to the blue-eyed man's shuttle and jumped into the passenger seat. As soon as she did, the man revved the engine. Once he got his air shuttle to hover a few feet off of the ground, he took off as quickly as he could.Eliza was pushed into the passenger seat as the wind smacked her in the face. The blue-eyed man finally put up the glass dome and increased his speed to the point where the buildings on both sides were just blurs of the past.Although she could barely make out the buildings, she identified one of them just from the sign of the globe with two gunblades forming an ‘X’ over it. She turned to the driver. “We just passed the Serenity Seeker headquarters.”The man nodded multiple times, but he didn’t slow down.“Why didn’t you stop?”“We’re not going to the Seekers.”For the first time in her life, Eliza had to feel her heart to see if it was still beating. Her eyes narrowed on him in disbelief, and she spoke in the sternest voice she could muster. “What do you mean we’re not going to the Seekers? Where are we going?”The air shuttle engines revved again and several more blocks flew by. Eliza caught a glimpse of her home for a split second, and then it faded into the past. She faced the blue-eyed man, but he seemed so focused on the road that he might not have heard her at all.“Where are we going?”The air shuttle went faster—dangerously fast! She couldn’t imagine an air shuttle gliding by at speeds any higher. Before she knew it, they were looking at the boundaries of Kalia itself. He still wasn’t slowing down.
Eliza gasped and spun around and saw the city she had temporarily called home quickly fading away. “Help!” She screamed. She started pounding on the glass dome that encased them, but she knew that it wouldn’t do any good. “Help!!!"

Prologue: Raiden 
Chapter 1.1: Koston
Chapter 1.2: Vila
Chapter 1.3: RaidenChapter 1.4: ElizaChapter 1.5: VilaChapter 1.6: Koston
To purchase the full book: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VUGO0SQ









Raiden often led tours in the Tri-City Forest that connected Malysai, Kalia and Hewenia, but he rarely ventured beyond the forest to the city-state of crystals and water. As his shuttle flew passed the border, he was overcome by the incandescent navy shades of the crystal structures that slept in the moonlight.Dawn was still a few hours away, but he wanted to ensure that he knew where he’d be going before Hela reclaimed the sky. He passed two of the six rivers that helped outline the city of Kalia and kept in mind the image that he saw in the District of Shadows. The cluster of lights in the center had revealed where he needed to go.Dawn of the First. He thought to himself. It made perfect sense that the clue referred to Kalia. It was the land that the first race of Noreis had inhabited, or so the stories went. Many thought that the first creatures, the Mashinians, had been a myth. Even if they were, enough people were inspired by them to create a much larger replica of the city than had been built by the Mashinians long before the Great Extinction wiped them clean from the planet. The more time that passed, the less people believed that it ever happened. The stories remained, but they’d become more like children's tales than anything.There was much debate about whether building a city-state like Kalia would even be worth the trouble, given how much money went into it. It certainly wasn’t as cost-effective as its neighboring city-states. In Malysai, people built a city-state as a part of the forest and cast nets high above the ground so that even when people fell they wouldn’t be harmed. The city-state of Hewenia was given a grant by the Monarchical Board, but with the riches of many of their religious zealots, they hardly needed it. What saved Kalia was its beauty. It had the ability to attract tourists from all over the world, whether they believed in the first beings or not. Their operation costs were pretty low as well, since the city-state ran almost exclusively on hydroelectric power and solar energy.Raiden turned his attention to a map of Kalia, which was a close replica in size to the image he’d seen. At first he thought that the cluster of lights was the hydro-dome, but it came into view long before he reached the center of the city-state.“Woah,” he gasped at the sight of it.The hydro-dome was easily two-hundred feet in height and encased in thick, clear crystal. Without the gleam of the moonlight, the dome would’ve looked like a half-ball of splashing water that swooshed and made waves that slammed against an invisible barrier. The water glowed neon, so it was impossible to see whatever generators were powering it in its center. Streams of water flowed out of the dome’s base and went on to light the sidewalks, streetlights, and the rest of the city.Raiden faced forward in time to swerve just before crashing into a building of crystal spikes in front of him. He was so taken by the sight of the hydro-dome that he’d forgotten he was still in motion. He sighed, grateful to have avoided an accident. If he drove into the spikes, one of them would’ve certainly impaled him. He continued toward the center of the map, gazing down the sparkling streets as he went. The closer he got, the more he thought of watching his father taking a gunblade through the chest. ‘Just stay behind me and you’ll be safe.’ He’s dead because of me. I’m the reason he’s gone. Now Rexus must face the consequences… or I must face mine. His shuttle glided onto a block where the streams of water stopped and the crystals’ gleams were no longer bouncing off the pavement. Raiden slowed down and examined the buildings in front of him. They were pale and white, as if this part of Kalia had been petrified long ago.“Of course,” he said to himself. He knew that he needed to search no further.When Kalia was recreated, there were four square blocks where the architects had purposely created the city as it may have looked six thousand years before. The crystals here were bland and sterile, made with the resources that the Mashinian creatures had access to when they roamed Noreis. It was far less pretty than the rest of the city-state, hence the shiny tourist trap that had been built around this cluster of buildings.Raiden took another glance at his map, but already knew that he was in the center of the city-state. There was only one place in this sterile district that Rexus would go, and Raiden knew that neither of them would be able to access it until just before dawn. It was then that their fates would be decided.He reversed and turned around. There was an inn two blocks back. Even if there were no rooms available, they’d have a bar or… something. If his life was going to end in a few hours, he wanted to be sure to have one last drink first.Raiden parked in front of the inn and approached the door. It was a triangular shape in the wall with another triangle protruding in front of him. Luckily he knew enough of Kalia to understand how their doors worked.  He placed his hand on the center of the triangle, where creases formed from the three points of the triangular wall and slowly inched towards the center. When the three creases touched, the new triangles they'd formed retracted into the edges of the triangle itself and opened up the entrance of the hotel lobby.The gaunt man at the front desk didn’t even look up from his paper when Raiden stepped inside, but he didn’t care. He wasn’t there for a bed that evening. He veered left and into the bar before the door could reassemble behind him. Raiden noted that, of the fifteen or so tables, only one of them was occupied. The bar itself was completely empty, excluding the Trewanian bartender doing menial sidework from behind the bar.“Good evening,” the bartender said as he took a seat across from her. “What would you like?”“A double-tall maroki please.”“Make that two, actually,” a deep voice had said behind him.The bartender’s mouth dropped for a second and she was at a loss for words. “Of… Of course, Sir.”A man in a fastened silver vest and a silky white dress shirt took a seat next to him, and Raiden knew immediately why this man drew such a reaction from the bartender.“I hope you don’t mind,” Captain Koston Donnick said as he folded his diamond encrusted overcoat and placed it on the stool beside him.Raiden didn’t know how to respond. He gawked while the bartender filled their glasses with liquors from two black bottles.“A maroki,” Captain Donnick said as he inspected the grayish-brown cocktail in his hand. “I heard that these things could burn off your tongue.”“You’ve never had one?” Raiden asked.“No, I normally don’t drink,” Captain Donnick said. “I have tonight, but usually my son does plenty of that for the both of us.”“Heh, he should meet my wife then.”“I wouldn’t trust him around any man’s wife,” Captain Donnick said in a sudden spurt of laughter.The bartender smiled and then started wiping down bottles on the top shelf. It’d prove to be a difficult task for most, but since she was seven feet tall, she had a distinct advantage.Captain Donnick slid several gold coins on the table in the bartender’s direction. “That should be enough for the both of us. The rest is yours.”The bartender stopped what she was doing to bow. “Thank you, Captain Donnick.”“Yes, thank you,” Raiden said. “You really didn’t have to do that.”“I have too much gold as it is,” Captain Donnick said as he raised the glass and peered into it. He gave it a queer look when the cocktail began to bubble and put it back down. He glanced back at the bartender with a set of already glazed eyes. “Perhaps I should have ordered something simpler.”“Nah, live a little,” Raiden said as he held his glass up. Having a beverage with one of the most prominent men in Noreis wasn’t something he’d planned, but it’d be something he could tell Riles when he returned home. Raiden nearly laughed as Koston raised his glass with a great hesitation, as if there was poison oozing within it. He didn’t think that the almighty Koston Donnick would be afraid of anything, much less something that came in a pint. He clinked his glass against Koston’s and took a sip. The liquid burned the tip of his tongue at first, but then his whole mouth came alive with an amalgamation of earthy flavors and the spice of the Tri-city forest pepper plants. By the time the first sip went down, he felt warm and his nerves subsided. Even the thought of impending death couldn’t scare him now. Captain Donnick had barely taken a sip before he erupted into a coughing fit and grabbed a napkin from the nearby tray.Raiden wanted to laugh, but he knew it would be inappropriate. He smirked on the inside and patted the Captain’s back. “Easy there. Perhaps we should get you a draft instead. Marokis aren’t for the faint of heart.” He made eye contact with the bartender, who bobbed her head in agreement.Captain Donnick blushed, nodded, and slid his glass toward the bartender’s side of the counter. He cleared his throat and spoke with his sleeve over his mouth. “If you don’t mind.”“Of course not,” the bartender said. Her hand was already clutched around a draft tap.This time it was Raiden who placed a couple of coins on the bar. “I’ll get the Captain’s.”“There’s no need,” Captain Donnick said.“That’s where you are very wrong my friend,” Raiden replied. “I was just sixteen when my father and I moved from our small settlement all the way to Malysai. I’ve always loved forests. There weren’t too many where we used to live, so the very idea of getting to live in one was nearly unfathomable to me. The way that Hela peers through the mighty trees, the shuffling of the leaves when a gust of wind blows by, the symbiotic relationship between all of the animals and plant life just… I loved it all far more than I thought I would. I longed to work in the Tri-City Forest. Having this new world surround me, and growing up in a way that made me appreciate just how precious it all is made me want to share that with others. “Unfortunately, my education was not quite up to par with those that had grown up in the Malysai school system. It’s not that I wasn’t a good student, I was just taught different things—things that were pertinent to the home I lived in. When he was Monarch Superior, your grandfather passed a Norean-wide law that allowed for kids in my situation to go to trade schools as long as they passed a basic education test that proved that they had the skills that were needed, irrespective of where they lived. If it wasn’t for him, it would have taken me an extra three years to have gotten my dream job, and everything good in my life now are things that I’ve acquired while working there. So, yes, Captain Donnick, I believe that I owe the grandson of the man who made my dreams possible a drink. I owe you this whole damned bar.”The captain resigned from his protest and took a sip of his new, more conservative brew. “I had the right idea when I donated it all. I don’t know why I decided to make all of it back. All money has ever done is cause me trouble.”Raiden smiled and took another sip of his drink. He didn’t know how to respond to Captain Donnick’s trivial plights. He wasn’t poor, but having an abundance of money wasn’t something that he could relate to. Captain Donnick must have realized this. Once he took a sip of his drink he stopped talking for a moment. “So how’d you end up here?” Captain Donnick asked.Raiden thought the question was for him, but then he noticed the Captain addressing the bartender. He wasn’t too surprised. He probably didn’t look very friendly that evening.“What do you mean?” She replied.“Were you a citizen of Hewenia or was your family part of the Nonconformist Movement?”Hewenia was declared a city-state only a century before. While it attracted many Hennians and Trewanians to move within it and deemed it their holy land, not nearly as many of the creatures moved as the religious zealots and the Monarchical Board had predicted. As opposed to millions, only a couple hundred thousand of Hennians and Trewanians left their homes to make the journey for a new one. Most of the races' creatures, both religious and not, chose to remain in the city-states they'd grown up in and became known as the Nonconformists.“Neither,” the bartender replied. “My parents live in Raliffe. My grandfather moved there from Hewenia and started up his own textile business. I moved here when I was nineteen. I attended Kal-U, but I decided not to go to grad school. I'm still paying off my loans.”“School's expensive,” Raiden said. “Not school. Interest rate hikes.”Both men agreed with her.Someone else entered the bar, so the Trewanian left them to greet her new customer.Captain Donnick took another sip of his draft brew. He seemed to like it. The glass was already half empty. Raiden was still getting started on his. Not even Wessena could drink marokis quickly.“I hope my son decides to attend,” Captain Donnick said.“Attend what? Kal-U?”“Anything,” the Captain said with a shrug. “Do you have kids…?”Captain Donnick held his hand out, so Raiden shook it and finished his sentence for him. “Raiden, and yes, I have a son.”The Captain smiled. Even with the distraction of his impending encounter with Rexus, he couldn’t ignore the kindness in the Captain’s aura. “He’s still just a kid though,” Raiden said. “Barely eight years old… Not like your son.”The mention of Marquez Donnick caused the Captain to let out a ‘humph’ and take a heavy gulp of his beverage. “I love Marquez dearly, but you should be glad that he is not yours.”Raiden had read the papers and seen the news just like the rest of Noreis. Everyone knew who Marquez Donnick was and always aware of what he was doing. Marquez’s name was brought up even more than Koston’s!“I leave Kalia tomorrow. I will become Advisor under Queen Kallisto in just a few days, and when I do, only a monarch or the Monarch Superior will have more say in the world than I. I am to become one of the most powerful men in all of Noreis, and yet I still have to worry more about my son and what sort of nonsense he’ll find himself in next.”Raiden heard Captain Donnick’s words, but couldn’t shake the image of another man in his head. The Captain had used a stern, yet compassionate voice, strikingly similar to the kindness that rang in his father’s words. Perhaps this was a sign from the Gods. Maybe the captain was there to remind Raiden of what his father had been like, and what he was fighting for. “I wish I could point him in the right direction,” the captain went on. “I wish he would just listen to me. I’ve been where he is…” A second later, Captain Donnick grimaced at the sight of the bottom of his glass.I should have listened, too. If I only stayed behind…“I’m sorry, Raiden,” Captain Donnick said. “You probably came in here to get a drink and sit alone. I just needed to get out of the palace. I had two drinks there before the serving staff started whispering amongst themselves. Somehow they already knew about my son’s latest indiscretions.”“There’s no need to apologize, Captain—”“—Koston. Please, call me Koston. I need an evening free from formalities.”Raiden ran his fingertips around the edges of the glass, but didn’t take another sip. He wasn’t sure how much of it he wanted to drink. He didn’t want to run the risk of getting sleepy—not when so much was at stake.“I get why he does it,” Koston said as he pondered whether or not he was going to order another drink. “I wasn’t exactly an upstanding youth myself. I certainly had a knack for trouble. Drugs, parties,” he clenched his teeth, “women… I crashed my shuttle into a daycare center once. Thank Gods it was closed that night, but that certainly didn’t excuse my actions.”Raiden kept his astonishment hidden from his face. History and teachings only ever focused on the stories its writers wanted to tell. That one was obviously omitted. “What changed you?”Koston went to speak, but it took him a few seconds to find his words. “My father… As bad as I might have been, he was worse. I can’t remember how often I'd seen him drunk. My grandfather had the ability to prevent an entire war between Meniffa and Raliffe with just the power of his words. He found ways to pay off the global debt without compromising any of our health, education, or defense programs. Even to this day he is revered as the greatest leader we’ve had in centuries. But amidst all of that, he couldn’t prevent his only son from overdosing.” Koston paused. Raiden could’ve taken the opportunity to speak, but he didn’t dare say a word.“He never admitted to anyone how saddened he was. People were able to speculate, of course, but he never showed it to the public, not with an entire world to run.” Koston’s eyes grew heavy with the thoughts of darker times. “I doubt that you were old enough to remember it, but in his last speech as Monarch Superior, he talked about how proud he was to be given the opportunity to be the man that Noreis wanted him to be. The twelve city-states remained at peace, and across the board economies were thriving. He said that the greatest gift he’d ever been given was the ability to rule Noreis, and to earn the respect and love that he’d been given by the people that admired him.”The bartender returned and Koston nodded his head. She began to pour him a second drink.“There was a line in the first draft of that speech that he was advised to omit. His council had no idea if he was going to do so or not until he took to the podium that evening. He had nothing to lose, after all. He’d already lost the thing he prized most in the world. People came from around the world to witness his closing speech. The seats in the auditorium were removed for the occasion so that they could further maximize their capacity. Tens of thousands of people young and old alike were forced to stand so close together they were pressed against one another. Guards and staff members should have been scared of what would happen in the event of a fire, but even they were too fixated on my grandfather’s closing speech to be bothered with precautions.“A whole world waited in silence as my grandfather captivated them with the potential of that last line. Five seconds went by, then ten, and then it was nearly a full minute before he said a word. Finally, he said ‘thank you,’ and walked off the stage without uttering the words that were really on his mind. The greatest gift he’d ever been given was the ability to rule Noreis, and to earn the respect and love that he’d been given by the people that admired him. His greatest regret was becoming Monarch Superior, and to have to watch his son devolve before his very eyes without having the time to do anything about it.”Raiden could only frown. He no longer remembered what he was going to say to Koston before their conversation became so grim. Koston grabbed the pint and redirected his attention to the bartender. “Miss, you mentioned that you went to Kalia University.”The Trewanian turned from her cash till. “Yes?”“And you’re still in debt.”She shrugged. “I have a payment plan. I’ll be caught up in three years. It’s not a big—”Koston dropped a small sack on the counter and a splatter of coins splashed within it. The Trewanian stared at the bag with a set of wide, bewildered eyes. “That should be enough to clear you of your debts. If it isn’t, please contact me personally in Cardeau Palace.”The Trewanian’s mouth was moving, but if she was speaking, the words certainly weren’t loud enough for either of them to hear her.Koston turned to Raiden with his glass in hand. “Without the wealth of the heart I have no money at all. I hope that my Marquez can understand that someday. You should teach that to your boy before he follows in my son’s footsteps. If you can, then you’ll be a far wealthier man than I, Raiden.” Koston clanged his glass against Raiden’s, which was still nearly full. “To the fathers of sons: May we protect them, love them, guide them, and never leave them behind,” he said. He took a hearty gulp of his second drink.
Raiden grabbed his glass, but couldn’t bring himself to take a sip during the toast. He couldn’t stop thinking about the promise he’d made to Riles. I’m doing this because Riles’ life was threatened, Raiden told himself. Even as he thought it, he got the image of Riles waking up that morning and combing the house in search of a father that might have already been dead.

Terribly sorry about the delay on this one... I left my house yesterday with the intention of getting home before work so that I could send this chapter out. Well, that didn't happen so... here it is.
Prologue: Raiden 
Chapter 1.1: Koston
Chapter 1.2: Vila
Chapter 1.3: RaidenChapter 1.4: ElizaChapter 1.5: Vila
To purchase the full book: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VUGO0SQ







“Your heart must be pounding,” Justine said to him during their late night stroll down the halls of Kalia Palace. “Your inauguration is what, three days away?”“Four,” Koston Donnick replied as the gleams from the navy blue crystals twinkled in his kind eyes. “Surely you haven’t gotten your days mixed up!”“I couldn’t even tell you what year it is anymore,” Justine readjusted her silver robe, retying the belt of white crystal beads so that she didn’t reveal her bodice to her cousin. “If you think that being Captain of the Guard keeps you busy, just wait until you become an advisor or a monarch. I’m so busy that my servants sometimes have to remind me when to eat and sleep. Even in a quiet city-state like Kalia, I’m constantly working on something.”Koston didn’t deny that part of the reason he had gone to visit Queen Justine Illa of Kalia had been to get advice about the next step in his career. However, he also chose to spend his final vacation halfway across the world so that he could clear his head. It was hard enough to concentrate on just leading the Knights of Cardeau. Being a Donnick and becoming Queen Kallisto’s advisor would cast him and his son beneath an even greater spotlight than they were already under. The blaring lights as bright as three Hela’s were too much for his liking as it was. Kalia Palace had always been a great escape for him, but the knowledge that he was leaving before tomorrow’s end made it seem like he hadn’t taken a vacation at all.Justine stepped forward to get a look at his face. He bore the looks of a man younger than his forty years. His golden hair curled and tickled the back of his neck, though traces of gray were starting to become prevalent. His eyes and mouth remained very soft. The shadow of crow’s feet had only just begun to appear on his face. Despite his gentle appearance, Koston was a man of over six feet and wielded the strength of any two knights in his Guard combined. “You seem pensive, Koston.”“I am,” Koston admitted as the two entered another grand hall. The crystal pillars that held up the thin ceiling looked like they reached to the sky, where the moon and the stars were easily able to shine through. A set of guards remained on both entrances of the hall, but they were mostly there for ambiance.“I still don’t understand,” Justine said as she gave him a careful inspection. She knew him well enough to disbelieve that her cousin asked her on a stroll in the middle of the night without reason. “I…” his voice trailed off with his thoughts. He again contemplated what to say, and how best to say it. When they approached the middle of the room, away from the hearing range of the palace guards, he spoke. “I don’t know if I’m making the right decision.”“What are you talking about?” Justine asked. “Of course you are. The citizens of Cardeau have been celebrating in the streets ever since the announcement was made. They’ve been hoping for this for years.”This was true. It was one thing to be the grandson of one of the greatest Monarch Superiors of all time. It was another to be Koston Donnick, for he was the man who donated all of his family's riches to charity, only to soar through the ranks of ennoblement via his own talents and then (coincidentally) made back most of his wealth. He’d been born into greatness and made his name great yet again. He grew up being loved by all and now he was exponentially more so. After all of these years, he still didn’t know how to handle it.“Are you worried about Marquez?”“Of course I’m worried about Marquez,” Koston replied. “I’m also worried about the path I’ll be taking. It’s one thing to be the Captain of the Guard. Without joining the ranks of the Serenity Seekers and becoming a commander, there’s no other promotion in sight. By switching gears and delving into politics—”“People will expect you to become the king, and then Monarch Superior.”“Yes.”“But that’s not a secret, Koston. You knew that long before Kallisto offered you the position.”“I did,” Koston said. “I don’t know if I’m ready for it.”Justine almost burst with laughter. Koston shot her a bewildered look, but it didn’t stop her from nearly doubling over. When she was finished, she readjusted her long silver hair and gave him a soothing smile. “I’ve never met a man who is more ready for this than you. Your story is beyond inspirational, and more importantly it’s relatable. The whole world stopped when Jessa… The public loves you. The Monarchical Board loves you. Even Monarch Superior Donavont inquired about your inauguration at the last board meeting! You are ready for this.” She sighed. “It’s Marquez whom you should concerned with.”“I know—”“And Kallisto herself,” Justine added with a slight sneer.Koston nodded cautiously. He knew all-too-well to what Justine was referring.“Monarchs are elected, but advisors are selected. I heard that the opposing party just had their primaries.”“They did,” Koston said. “Chiron Roltare has been nominated.” “Again?” Justine asked. “He tried to run against her years ago and lost tragically. You would think that her opposition would learn to get more creative with their nominations.”“He could win this time,” Koston said. “Kallisto has lost too much popularity, especially after the Red Fever incident. It’s the only reason she reached out to me. With me at her side she gets the votes back that she’ll need in order to maintain her throne.”“I’m glad you’re aware of that.”“I hate politics, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t understand them.”Justine was frowning. “You’re not doing this because of what happened with Jessa, are you?”Koston opted out of responding, but the answer was obvious.“That was fifteen years ago, and Kallisto was a very different woman back then.”“Sixteen, actually, and she might have changed, but my debt remains. I never got the opportunity to repay her.”“You’ve been her Captain for more than half of her reign.”“And what a dull reign it’s been! Thankfully so, of course, but there’s been no real need for me and we both know it. If I didn’t have my grandfather’s name, people wouldn’t know that I was Captain of the Guard at all.” Koston went to say more, but the vibrations in his pocket cut him off. He let out a groan long before even bothering to look at his telecom. There was only one reason for him to be contacted that late at night. The identification number on the screen was one that he didn’t recognize, but in his son’s case, that didn’t mean anything.It was no surprise to Koston when his son appeared on the screen. His hair was disheveled and his eyes glossed over. “Father, I need you to pick me up.”“You have got to be kidding with me.” Koston’s eyes narrowed in on his. He grasped the telecom in his hands, threatening to break it under his might.Marquez did his best to ignore his father’s burst of anger, which included an avoidance of eye contact. “I’m at the Seeker station two blocks from the palace.”“I…” Koston bit down on his tongue almost hard enough to draw blood. He didn’t want to say something that he’d regret. He’d done so to Marquez before and it nearly broke his heart. Through clenched teeth and a reddened face he said, “I’ll be right there,” and shut the telecom off before risking a tirade.Justine frowned. “He’s going to be a problem for you when you become Advisor.”“When I become Advisor?” Koston said with a laugh, “Do you have any idea how much of a problem he is for me now as Captain? Just last week I was running a meeting on palace safety when I was notified that Marquez was bungee jumping from the roof! The other week I got a disturbance call and found him drunk trying to fornicate with one of the queen’s handmaidens—one of the few that he hasn’t defiled already! There’s no end to his tomfoolery, and frankly there are times when I’m embarrassed for him. I’m sorry, but I have to go pick him up now.”“Wait—before you do.”Koston got so caught up in his son’s latest debacle that he’d forgotten about the conversation that he and Justine were having before getting the call. He wouldn’t dare walk out on the queen without listening to what she had to say.“Marquez will be a problem for you, but your real battle is going to be with her.”“With Kallisto?”“I know her in ways that you do not. She’s a political strategist, and definitely one of the smartest. If you absolutely need to help her win the election to repay her for what she did, I understand. But you also need to be careful around her. She is not so giving these days. She will do whatever is necessary to stay on the throne. With one of the world’s most popular men at her side and no more debt to repay, she will want to ensure a victory against you when the time comes.”Koston understood. He knew that he was just a short-term solution for his queen’s long-term plans. “Well then it’s a good thing that I don’t want to be King. If I refuse to run, I am no threat to her.”Justine nodded cautiously. “Make sure she believes you. A lot can change between now and then. Don't forget: I never intended to become anything more than a district representative. Fate had other plans.”Koston nodded, but had nothing more to say. His mind had left the conversation the moment that Marqeuez had entered it.
The security guard stood up in awe when Koston came barreling through the front door of the Kalia Serenity Seeker Department. It wasn’t every day that an overnight guard got to meet a celebrity. That night he got to meet two.Koston was used to seeing that genuine look of surprise whenever someone new cast eyes on him, as if they were staring at one of the gods and not a man. When he spoke, he used the calmest tone he could muster. It was the best way he could think of to counteract his reddened eyes that oozed with fury and exasperation. “I’m here to pick up Marquez Donnick.”The guard’s eyes remained as wide as his pudgy stomach, while traces of dinner trickled down his thin lips.Koston withdrew his badge, which bore the emblem of Cardeau: a string of progressively larger blue diamonds with the words ‘Freedom, Respect, Equality, Excellence’ written underneath them. He knew that showing his credentials was overkill and that the guard knew who he was before the triangular doors even parted. It was still the most effective way to get him out of his trance.“Of course, Sir,” the guard responded promptly. He sat back down and accessed his telescreen. Koston got a glimpse of an image of a dark skinned woman with braids in a Seeker uniform on the screen, but couldn’t make out the background. “Moira, please escort Marquez Donnick to the waiting room.”“Will do,” he heard Moira say. The telescreen went blank.Koston cocked his head. “That’s it? No fines or bail or anything?”“Not for a first offense in Kalia. There was no reckless endangerment since the air shuttle was parked at the time. The people that called it in didn’t see any indecent parts of him or either of the girls. The reason your son was apprehended was because he was an intoxicated minor. The charges could have been more serious, but given the circumstances he got,” the guard began to snicker, “lucky.”Koston gave him a stern glare that evaporated the humor from the guard’s face. He walked over toward one of the chairs in the waiting area and took a seat. He was the only person there besides the guard, for which he was grateful. He didn’t want the press to see him, or for anyone else to recognize him.Koston examined the room while he waited. The ground was made up of crushed blue crystals, much like the ground outside. There were two-inch deep streams connected through the bottoms of the outside walls that ran all the way over to a small pond right beside the front desk. On the opposite end of the pond were tubes embedded in the walls where water ran up to the ceiling and was disbursed into a maze of pipes, lighting the white hanging lights above him. Nowhere else in the world had architecture quite like Kalia. It was a city-state that earned the tourism it brought in. The door to the back office opened and the Serenity Seeker, Moira, stood in the threshold. A drunken Marquez stumbled passed her and toward his father with a widened shirt collar and an even wider grin.“Father,” Marquez said gleefully. His vest was undone and his dress shirt remained just half-buttoned, and in all of the wrong holes. He bore lipstick stains on his neck and cheeks and what looked like the start of a hickey just below his shoulder. He was so elated that Koston had to wonder if his son had any inkling as to the degree of trouble he was in.Marquez fell forward, but Koston caught him just as he lost his balance. He was heavy, but Koston didn’t have a problem keeping him up. “Thank you, officers,” he muttered. It was a sentence he had uttered too many times.  He wrapped Marquez’s arm around his shoulder and helped him stagger out of the Seeker station. Thankfully, the streets had emptied out that night. There was nothing that he’d wanted less than an audience as he helped his drunken son into an air shuttle.Marquez continued chatting on like he had no idea what was happening. “It was so great, Father. The night was looking like a bust, but then on my walk back to the palace these two girls were trying to start their shuttle. Milo offered to help them, but they wanted me. I got inside then,” he snickered, “and then I really got inside.”“Shut up, Marquez,” Koston said as he shoved him into the passenger seat. He didn’t care that Marquez buckled over and nearly fell on the floor of the shuttle. He just needed to get him out of public view. Once his son’s feet cleared the doorway he shut it and trudged to the other side as Marquez hoisted himself into a sitting up position.“I didn’t finish, but I think it still counts.”Koston smacked Marquez in the back of the head. He was just as stunned as Marquez as was, but he didn’t apologize for it. “What is wrong with you?! Are you trying to ruin your life, because you’re doing a fantastic job! How many more times am I going to be bailing you out like this?”“Ugh,” Marquez said, rubbing his forehead.“You’re nearly eighteen. You’ll be an adult before you know it—and then what? Your actions have consequences—for you and for me.”“And that’s what matters, right?”Koston whacked him in the head again.“Ow!”“Don’t give me that bullshit. You can’t play the poor-little-rich-boy game anymore. There is no reason for anyone to take pity on you—not when you’ve been given every advantage in the world!”“I don’t want to talk about this right now,” Marquez muttered.Koston couldn’t tell Marquez’s level of intoxication, but it didn’t stop him. “Four nights before my inauguration and I’m picking you up for underage drinking in the middle of the night? The public is only giving you attention because of your name—and there’s so much else that you can do with it.”Marquez grumbled an inaudible response.“You have a standing invitation to the Barencos Advisory Academy, even after you slept with the dean’s daughter. Instead, you want to pursue modeling. I put you in charge of the annual Donnick charity benefit and you didn’t even show up. You can go to the greatest school in the world and become anything you want—”“And I’ll still never be the man you are!” Marquez screamed.Koston stopped.Marquez leaned forward and let out a moan as he massaged his throbbing temples. The screaming must have hurt him physically about as much as it hurt Koston emotionally.“Marquez…”“You’re right, Father. I have everything. You’ve given me everything, but that’s because you’ve had it too. I should grow to be a better man. I know that I have that potential, but… Well, dammit, what’s the point? The more I try to be like you, the less I’ll be myself and the deeper I’ll be in your shadow, and in my great-grandfather’s shadow.” Marquez leaned his head on the window, absorbing the coldness of the glass. “You ever wonder why your father didn’t make anything of himself?”“Don’t you dare!”“How do you follow a man like his father? You just don’t. You can’t. There’s nothing more you can do. He understood that, and I get it too. I can’t be like you, Father, because there’s no way I could, even if I spent my whole life trying.”Koston didn’t mutter another word. He had no idea what to say. As he watched his son struggle to recover from his evening, all he could think about was how much easier parenthood would have been if Jessa had still been around. Even though it had been sixteen years since her passing, he knew that she would’ve had the answers. After all, she was the one that had carried him out of a Seeker station when he was Marquez's age.“There’s more to life than…” Koston stopped speaking when he heard Marquez’s snoring. The boy’s wild night must have tuckered him out. There was no reason to speak any further. If tonight had been any indication of their past conversations, Marquez might as well have been asleep the whole time anyway.Koston felt a buzzing from his pocket again and cringed at the thought of who else might have been trying to contact him at that hour. When he saw that it was Milo, he realized that he shouldn’t have been surprised. He didn’t answer the call, but that didn’t stop his knight from sending him a message.‘Want to come over for some after hour’s training? I haven’t felt your blade since we’ve been here.’ Koston figured that the message would be something to that effect. It was all-too-convenient that Marquez had been the one to ask Koston if his best friend could accompany them on this trip. Unbeknownst to him, Koston had already cleared Milo’s schedule so that he could steal an hour or two here and there in the absence of others.
Marquez had done too good of a job to ruin whatever mood Koston might have been in. He replied with a ‘Not tonight’ and leaned against his headrest. He wondered if Marquez had any inclination that he’d ruined his night of fun. Probably not, and it was best that it be kept that way. 

Here are the links to earlier parts:

Prologue: Raiden 
Chapter 1.1: Koston
Chapter 1.2: Vila
Chapter 1.3: RaidenChapter 1.4: Eliza
To purchase the full book: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VUGO0SQ




Vila scoffed upon seeing Arowden’s copy of the ‘Book of Gods’ open to the first page on his desk. Everyone in Hewenia had the words of the ‘greatest sin of all’ memorized, especially Arowden. So why was he rereading the bold-inked words that were ruining his life?Arowden conspicuously peered around to see if anyone had seen her enter before closing the front door. “Now that your laws have passed, can we start discussing our exit strategy?”Vila nodded, doing her best to hide her otherwise prevalent irritation. She dropped her overcoat on top of the scorning pages of the book and prepped for their obligatory conversation; Arowden stood in silence on the other side of the room.If tensions grew any hotter, she was going need to take off another layer of fur. Looking at him was a difficult task for her. She scanned the walls instead, noting that everything on them had pertained to his life as a devout follower of the Trenthean religion. His communion cup was mounted on the wall, beside it were rotating images of him playing in one of the many ceremonial bands. The opposite wall had more photos of him as a child at day camp, where young Trewanians were brought to first learn of the teachings that didn’t interest her. His whole life had been about following the laws of his religion, at least until he fell madly in love with her.The walls were free of any hint of his secret love-life. She knew that she meant everything to him, but if Arowden had invited anyone over for dinner, they’d have no clue that she ever existed. Her walls were just as barren.“I didn’t see you at the polls,” she said with a voice as stale as hardened bread.“Why would I have been there? The Separation of Religion Act won’t pass in the state senate, and those tax allocations won’t take effect until long after we’re gone.”Vila groaned. She spent weeks wishing that she could find the words that best described how she felt about her personal life. She wasn’t used to having one. She always thought they were overrated, and with all of the stress spurned from her love life with Arowden, she still didn't think that she was wrong to believe so.He stepped toward her. Although calm, his face drooped. He placed his hand on her gut, causing her to quiver. “Our time here is almost up. We've got about what, two weeks left? One? Do you think we even have that?”“I'm not trying to evade conversation about the decision on whether or not we leave this place, I'm just—”“Whether or not we leave? We're going. We don't have a choice.”Vila stalled and frowned.“What I want to know is why we're still here,” he said. “We're putting ourselves at risk of being discovered more and more every day. If someone notices you, it's over. We need to leave.”She knew he was right. Still, that didn't make much of a difference to her. “I'm not ready to leave yet.”Arowden shrugged. “When will you be? When your water breaks? When you’re being rushed to the hospital to give birth to a kid that’ll be born looking like Gods-only-know what?”Vila turned around and grabbed her overcoat, knocking the ‘Book of Gods’ on the floor in the process. It wasn’t done intentionally, but she couldn’t help enjoying the fitting irony. She thought that it was finally appropriate to have the talk, but her feelings told her otherwise. “I don't know, Arowden.”“What do you think the doctors will say? We don’t know if our kid will come out green or blue. We don’t know if his skin will be scaly or smooth, or even how many arms he’ll have.”“Or her.”“What?”“I think it’s a girl,” Vila said.“Heh! Well we can’t know for sure now, can we? If we go to a doctor we might as well condemn ourselves to death, or at the very least a lifetime sentence in the Circle of Judgment!”She went to walk by him but he grabbed a hold of her hand.“Your life isn't the only one at risk here, Vila. Mine is, too, and so is our baby’s.”She bit her lip and gazed up at his bright purple eyes. She could tell that he wanted to say something endearing to her. At the very least he wanted to tell her that he loved her, but would she say it in return?Vila had to recall the happier times; like their awkward first encounter when she knocked on his door asking for his vote, only to learn that they disagreed with every one of her platforms. She thought about that argument, and how dinner spurned from it, and then somehow a kiss goodnight. As wrong as they’d both felt about the decisions they’d been making, they couldn’t help but be drawn to each other, and the secrecy had been more of a turn on than anything.Things were different when she got pregnant. As the bump of a child in her womb grew, so too did the reality of their situation. They were both all-too-aware of their bleak circumstances. The dissimilarity in the Henthean and Trenthean religions that governed Hewenia made their laws fall outside of the Norean Common Law: the global set of rules that governed the other eleven city-states. They couldn’t flee and ask for asylum elsewhere. Their sin came with a lifelong punishment, possibly even execution. When the child came to term, they would need to disappear.She closed her eyes and felt Arowden’s hand pressed against the heart of their unborn child. The thoughts of their plight returned to the back of her mind. “Just give me a little more time, okay? I’m not due just yet.”He knelt down and rested his head upon her shoulder.It had been weeks since she’d felt any sort of embrace from him. She’d forgotten how warm and cared-for he made her feel.“I will. I know that this is tough for you.”Her telecom started to vibrate.He removed himself from Vila and gave her adequate room to look at who was trying to contact her. It was Dane.Vila answered the call and Dane’s puzzled face appeared in the 4x4 inch screen. “I thought you already left for today.”“I was about to,” Dane said, “but then I got to the most interesting call.”Arowden’s body tensed up in front of her. Dane couldn’t see him, but he could hear the words her secretary said.“What’s going on?” Vila asked hesitantly.“Advisor Havelin just called. King Cirion has requested your presence.”“The king!” Vila gasped. “What for? When?”“He didn’t say, but he wants to speak with you immediately—before the ceremony tonight, even!”“Thanks, Dane…” her uncertainty rattled her words. What could the king of Hewenia have possibly wanted with her? The legislation she’d fought for had been a hot topic, but was hardly worth a meeting with the leader of the entire city-state. King Cirion must have thought otherwise.She turned the telecom off and exchanged glances with Arowden, whose face was glossed with worry.“I guess we can't have this conversation right now even if we wanted to,” he said.“I… I’m sorry…”“No, don’t be. These are extenuating circumstances. They shouldn’t be, but I know that all of this is still important to you.”She bobbed her head and slipped passed him without giving him so much as a pat on the shoulder. “We’ll talk more tomorrow?”“Of course,” Arowden said, but by the time he finished she was already out the door.
Vila rushed to Hewenia Temple as quickly as she could. Thankfully, Arowden didn’t live far from it and the streets were quickly emptying out. Hennians and Trewanians must have been preparing for the Ceremonial Circle rituals. That was yet another reason why Dane’s message had puzzled her. Whatever the king wished to talk about, they would barely have time to discuss. The ritual would be starting within the hour.Hewenia Temple came into view from between two convex adobe structures. It was made of wood and gold, and in the shape of an asterisk. The outer ends were only one story tall, but further toward the center the stories grew, making the temple appear to be in the shape of six staircases or a jagged pyramid. Torches that spouted orange flames were hung on each of the corners of every story.She rushed toward the entrance and stepped inside, finding herself in an elongated room with a royal blue carpet that had gold kanji written on the sides. They were scriptures that came from the 'Book of Gods.' On one side it was written in the language of the Hennians. On the other side was the same scripture written in Trewanian. Marble columns held the glass ceiling up a full fifteen feet above her head. She was able to catch Hela as it began to set from above, as if she hadn't stepped inside of a building at all.In the next room was the largest of the many prayer chambers within the temple. It was a square room the size of an arena and lined with statues of gods and other prominent figures. There was a gentle, euphonious hymn coming from a prayer circle to her right. Hennians and Trewanians knelt, bowed, and even cradled into fetal positions before whatever gods they wished would answer their prayers. She took her eyes from them and ventured further into the temple, quickly approaching the monarchical chambers where King Cirion and Advisor Havelin were waiting for her.She reached the final hallway and stood before two brute guards at the door: one was a Hennian, and the other a Trewanian. She bowed before them, and in turn they then bowed to her.“Greetings, Representative Pirral,” the Hennian guard said. “King Cirion and Advisor Havelin will see you now.”The two guards stepped aside.“Thank you,” she said as the Trewanian guard opened the door for her.Advisor Havelin rose to his feet while King Cirion remained seated on his maroon fur coated throne. Despite the fact that the Hewenians kept most things about their world evenly balanced, both the king and his advisor were Hennian. The majority of the secondary government officials were made up of Trewanians. That was likely the main reasons why both Hennians kept their jobs.“Representative Pirral,” the king was smiling. He lounged across the throne in a way as if he was a part of it. His body was relaxed, but somehow his informality only seemed to allow him to exude more power. She was half-expecting a pair of servants to appear before him and fan him with heavy leaves while a third fed him fresh fruit. “Please have a seat.”Vila bowed while still at the entrance of the doorway of the king’s grand chambers. She did her best to focus on stabilizing her breath. She clasped her bottom two arms behind her back in an attempt to keep them from shaking. It only kind of worked, but 'kind of' was going to have to do for this meeting. As she cautiously walked across the room she kept her eyes on the king. Across from King Cirion, Advisor Havelin stood over a chair designated for him while a seat beside him remained vacant. Advisor Havelin didn’t look nearly as intimidating as the king, but he stood straight as an arrow and appeared confident to a fault. When he took his seat, she quickly followed.“Thank you for getting here on such short notice,” King Cirion said. His voice was deep and rippled with strength and assertion. “I wasn't sure if I gave you enough time to get here before tonight's ceremony.”Vila wasn't planning on attending the ceremony that night, but neither the king nor his advisor needed to know that. When she spoke, her voice was timid and meek, like that of a disorderly child speaking to their headmaster. “It wasn't a hardship at all, Your Grace.”“Good to hear.” He was still smiling. If he had disapproved of her legislation, he probably wouldn’t be. He was the king, and she was just a district representative. He could have crushed her if he so wished. “Since we obviously don't have much time to converse before I'm needed to start the ceremony, I will keep this meeting short.”Vila nodded. She went to say ‘okay’ but the word got stuck in her throat. Deep breaths, Vila. Deep breaths.“I have an offer for you. You're welcome to take your time and think about it, but I would like an answer from you by the end of the week at the very latest.”She cocked her head inquisitively.“Advisor Havelin is retiring,” King Cirion said, eying the advisor as he spoke. “He already put in his letter of resignation. It will be effective immediately upon the hiring of a replacement. We want to offer you the position.”Vila clutched onto her chair’s armrests with all four of her hands. She stared blankly at the king for a moment, fully taking in what he just told her. Surely, she must have been hearing things. He couldn’t have called her in to offer her the second most powerful seat in all of Hewenia! “You... you are serious?”“You're the first to be asked,” Advisor Havelin said to her. His voice didn’t exude the power that came from King Cirion, but at that moment it was no less intimidating.Vila leaned forward to make sure that she could hear every word that Advisor Havelin was about to say as clearly as possible. “Both the king and I are very impressed with how you run your district. While there's been debate about your liberal policies with regards to our desire to keep this city-state's religious traditions our highest priority, we cannot ignore all of the positive changes you've made during your three years of political service.”The king continued where Advisor Havelin had left off. “I could have asked someone from the senate to be my personal advisor, but I wanted to look outside the government's inner circle when coming up with a possible candidate. And we want you.”“However, we would also like you to keep this to yourself until you've made a decision. If word about any of this gets out, well...” Advisor Havelin clenched his teeth, “a few politicians are going to have their feelings hurt. I would like my retirement and this transition to be as seamless as possible.”“Obviously you're going to need to think about the opportunity that's been placed before you, so please take the next few days to ponder where you'd like your political career to take you.” As the king concluded, he looked in Advisor Havelin’s direction again. Vila followed the king's eyes and, at first, thought he was looking at the advisor. She saw that the king's fixation was actually on the seat that Advisor Havelin occupied, implying that it was hers for the taking.“Thank you, and yes, I think I will need a few days’ time.” She was shocked that she went through the full sentence without a fumble. “Thank you—both of you. The mere fact that you believe that I'm the best candidate for the position means more than you could possibly ever fathom. You really do believe that I'm the best candidate for this position? I'm sorry,” she felt a rosy color spread across her cheeks. “I think all of this is still settling in.”King Cirion answered with the hint of a smile. “Representative Pirral, you are as vibrant as you are intelligent. You have a unique and youthful perspective on our city-state and how things should be run. Yes, in my personal opinion, you are the best candidate for this position.”Hearing those words almost made Vila hit the floor. She thought that, at best, it would be another ten-to-fifteen years before she’d get a shot at higher government. How was this happening now? “Thank you. Your words mean a lot to me. I will definitely consider the opportunity.” She didn’t know what else to say.“Let us adjourn then,” King Cirion rose to his feet. Advisor Havelin and Vila followed suit. “The ceremony will commence momentarily. I trust that you will be there.”“Yes, of course.” She hadn’t planned on it, but with an offer of that magnitude on the table, she couldn’t refuse him. “Thank you, Your Highness.” Vila bowed and left the room.
As she walked back down the halls of Hewenia Temple, she remained stunned at the notion that the king was interested in her being his new advisor. It wasn't until after she left the temple that she'd remembered the life growing inside of her.

Prologue: Raiden 
Chapter 1.1: Koston
Chapter 1.2: Vila
Chapter 1.3: Raiden
To purchase the full book: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VUGO0SQ






“She's only fifteen, Tomas,” Tessa Bennihan hissed at her husband in the next room. “Not in her mind she isn't.”“I don't care! She took my shuttle and disappeared this morning. She was gone for more than seven hours. I had no idea where she went off to and she wasn’t responding to any of my messages. I was worried sick.”Her father hesitated before speaking. “I thought she told you about the interview today.”“No.”Lies. Eliza thought as she sat awake in her bedroom. She had told her on several different occasions. After her mother said, “no,” she stopped bringing it up, but that was beside the point.“Tessa, she's fine. She went and came back unharmed. And she didn’t even get the offer. Do I agree with her actions? No, but things could have been a lot worse.”“Yes. She could have been in an accident, or gotten lost, or killed!”“I mean, she could be doing drugs or have taken up some other nasty habit. She could be a delinquent, but she’s far from it. She’s a little anti-social, but she’s careful, very smart, and even more convincing. I almost considered letting her stay down in Larcos.”“Out of the question!” Her mother screamed back.This made Eliza smile. She had always been her father’s girl. Her mind traveled back to the days in Larcos when he’d gotten off of work late in the middle of the night. Mother would have been a sleep long before then, exhausted after a full day of making meals and walking airily around the house. Eliza was usually still awake, studying local or planetary law or reading essays from some of her favorite authors. When father got home he would take her out to their local diner for a midnight snack. They would talk for hours. While he ended up becoming an ecologist, he had once had political aspirations himself. Those nights in the diner had been the highlights of Eliza’s week, but the last time he had taken her out was months ago. Ever since they moved from Larcos to Kalia, Tomas Bennihan was usually too tired to do anything.Thoughts of how hard he worked made her frown. Having an argument with her mother about Eliza must have been the last thing that her father had wanted to do that evening.“She wants to get into the BAA. She thinks that in six months she’ll be mature enough to live on her own—and in Barencos of all places! Humph! Barencos—can you imagine, Tomas? It’s the largest city in the world. It must be crawling with criminals and it’s on the other side of the continent! What makes her think that we’d ever allow her to go there?”Her father had told her long ago that the Barencos Advisory Academy was damn near impossible to get into, but if anyone could do it, his daughter could. If she did, she had his permission to attend. When her father had gone silent, Eliza could only imagine what sorrowful facial expression he was giving his wife. Eliza gulped and braced herself for whatever stratospheric octave tone of disbelief was going to come out of her mother’s mouth. Thankfully, her father spoke before her mother shrieked in apprehension. “It’s across the narrower end of the continent, and it’s only half a day’s drive. In six months she’ll be sixteen; practically an adult.”Her mother began to stomp across the room. It was better than listening to her scream at him. To Eliza’s surprise, when Tessa responded she sounded more hurt than loud. “She’ll still be just a girl. I… I don’t get it. Why can’t she just wait another two years and apply with other people her age?”There was a pause.“She will always be our little girl, but it's time to start letting her go.”There wasn't too much more that was audible enough for Eliza to make out. Her mother had cried for a little bit, and Eliza assumed that her father was consoling her. Hopefully Tessa would feel better in the morning.Outside her window, the moon shimmered down on the streets of crushed crystal, making them sparkle. The ground below became a sea of stars. Even after living there for several months, Eliza was taken aback by Kalia’s beauty.The city-state itself was predominantly constructed out of crystals and water and ran on hydro-electric power. The sidewalks were marked off by inch-wide man-made streams that came from the hydro-dome in the center of the city, and trailed off to light up the crystal spires spread across Kalia, properly dispersing electricity. The streams glowed neon in the night, lighting up the parts of the pavement that the dancing blue flames atop the street lamps could not. The triangular and hexagonal crystal structures that dominated the Kalian landscape were already dulled to their nighttime navy hues. They wouldn’t shine again until Hela reclaimed the sky.Her parents had become silent. Eliza strained her ears to determine whether she could still make out if they were awake or not. She wasn’t the least bit tired, and on particularly beautiful nights like this one, she often took a stroll around the city-state, or would sometimes head to the park to read. She had checked out a book on Kalian government on her way back from Hewenia earlier that afternoon. Vila had advised her to admire a new representative, and her mother wasn’t about to let her intern somewhere out of the city, so she was going to have to find someone within it that she liked.She grabbed the book and slid out of bed. She was dressed in a long-sleeved shirt which was size too big for her, and shorts that her mother once said clashed with her outfit. People looked at her funny when she went out sometimes, but she lost will to care long ago. When she left her room, she heard snoring coming from her parent’s bedroom. She didn’t know if they were both asleep, but she doubted that either would check on her that night. She slipped through the kitchen and then out the front door.The soft hissing sound of the shimmering stream gave noise to the otherwise silent streets. With the text in hand, she admired the architecture of the buildings that lined the sidewalks. Some of them were close to the shapes of regular houses, while others looked as if spikes of crystals were shooting out of them in all directions, sometimes as high as fifty feet in the air. No two structures in Kalia were exactly alike. Every street brought with it a totally new set of buildings. Eliza sometimes took scenic routes to the park, but that night she chose a more direct one.She found herself at the end of a street, staring at an open grass clearing lit up by lines of trees made of crystal that absorbed the moonlight and bounced it across the field. There were nets at the end of it that were used for Kaliki Ball, a popular sport in Noreis. In the center of the park were a set of benches facing a neon fountain. All too often she caught lovers in an embrace while sitting before it. It’d be a great place to take a significant other, if she ever decided to get one. Eliza preferred this spot because the light was bright enough to read by even on cloudy nights.Only two of the benches were occupied, so she found a space quickly and made note of a group of two guys and two girls toward the other end of the park. She couldn’t make out who they were, but noticed that one of the guys was bouncing a ball the size of his head up and down with his feet. He then launched it into the air, did a backflip and hit it with his chest to his other guy friend while the two girls giggled in their short skirts.Eliza scoffed and opened up the Kalian government book to section four where she’d left off. She started to mutter the first sentence out loud, but found herself listening to the girls as they continued to giggle. She glanced back over to them, all laughing and having a fun evening. Although still too far to see, she could tell they were an attractive bunch. Nothing about them or what they wore hurt her eyes (a phrase that even her mother used about her all too often).She watched them, but only grew more perplexed. She was as smart as she was driven, and had worked damn hard to ensure that she’d have a great career ahead of her. So if she put all of this effort into an enjoyable life, why wasn’t she the one giggling over some jock goofing off? What made them so special? Was she unable to appreciate the simplicities of life, or too intelligent to not be amused by a guy doing tricks with his ball? She wondered they would chase the moving red dot of a pen light if she had one handy. Then again, the red dot wasn’t a six foot tall man who likely bore a six pack.The jock with the ball kicked it high into the air again. This time he leapt three or four feet off the ground in a spinning front flip that was nothing short of impressive. As the ball hurdled toward him, he yelled something out and he kicked it sideways. Before she knew it, the ball was shooting toward her at a disturbing speed. She dropped the book and held her hands out in front of her to brace for impact. She closed her eyes and looked away and then—gasp!She opened her eyes and turned to face forward again. The ball was between her fingers. Her hands were burning after it slid between them at such a velocity, but somehow she caught it,.The group of four rushed toward her, muttering things to one another as they approached.Oh no. Eliza thought. Upon getting a closer look, she realized that she knew the two girls from school. She didn’t care enough to learn their actual names, but she’d designated them with her own names, which were befitting of their personalities: Drama, and Bitchface. Next to Drama and Bitchface was a clean-shaven young man barely taller than she was wearing the emblem of the city-state of Cardeau across his chest. And the other man… No. It couldn’t be.Bitchface approached and her look of astonishment turned into a sneer. “Oh. It’s her.”“Oh my Gods, it’s the know-it-all.” Drama let out a laugh. “And in her usual attire I see.”The boy with the emblem smiled, but quickly withdrew it. Eliza got a closer look in the Cardeau emblem he wore when he entered the light. It wasn’t the emblem of just any Cardeau resident: this man was knight! “Good evening,” he said to her in a tone much friendlier than that of the two girls.The second man stepped into clear view. Eliza recognized him instantly and shot him a disdainful glare. It was Marquez Donnick, the great-grandson of Abraham Donnick, who was arguably the greatest Monarch Superior that had ever lived. The Donnicks were quite possibly the most respected and well-known family in all of Noreis, or at least they had been before Marquez started hitting the tabloids. As famous as his father was, Marquez had become infinitely more infamous. There was a new story every week about a party he had thrown that got too rowdy, or about him being apprehended by the authorities for underage drinking, drug rumors, or reckless driving. Still, he was constantly on magazine covers. Photos from his latest model shoots were shown and he was consistently revered as the sexiest man alive (which only added to the controversy, being that he wasn’t technically a “man” yet).As his perfect skin glowed in the moonlight, even Eliza couldn’t protest that he was the most beautiful person she’d ever seen. His sandy-brown hair was the perfect kind of messy, and his brown eyes were like two lovely portals that countless women had found themselves lost in. His gilded clothes were perfectly fitted and she was able to make out his muscular, but not overpowering frame through the custom-made fabric. He smiled, with perfect teeth of course, and Eliza had to think for a moment about what he actually said to her. “Nice catch!”She didn’t respond right away. Drama and Bitchface were giggling again.“Can I, uh, can I have that back?” Marquez asked her sweetly, as if he was talking to a child.The very notion irritated her enough to get over his good looks. He was only two years older than she was and was handed everything on a silver platter. He had no right to talk down to her. “You’re Marquez Donnick, right?”“Oh my Gods, she knows who he is,” Bitchface laughed.“I didn’t think she knew anything that actually mattered,” Drama said.Marquez ignored them. “I am. And this here is my knight and best friend, Sir Malifest Milo.”“Pleased to meet you,” Milo said with a nod, more fixated on Marquez than Eliza. “You are the son of Koston Donnick.”“I am aware,” Marquez said. He walked over and slid between Bitchface and Drama, placing his arms around each of them. They swooned, of course, and then continued giggling. “And, from the sound of it, you know these two lovely ladies as well.”“Unfortunately.”“This is the girl we were telling you about,” Drama said. “The one our teacher told would pass as long as she stopped correcting him.”Bitchface spoke. “There were two weeks where everyone thought she transferred—”“Or died,” Drama added.“But she was just in the library. Then everyone was, like, really sad.”“Oh, and Marquez, you should see some of the clothes she wears,” Drama said.“Yeah, like, this outfit doesn’t even do it justice,” Bitchface said. “I can’t believe that her mother even lets her go out in that.”“Are you sure she even has a mother?” Drama asked.“Hey!” Marquez barked, catching everyone by surprise. As the moonlight splashed on his symmetrically perfect face, a hint of sadness slipped into his eyes. “Everyone has a mother.”“My mother is fine with what I wear,” Eliza lied. “At least my clothes don’t insinuate that I’m easy. Lord only knows how many times the two of you have gotten the worms.”Sir Milo burst with laughter. Marquez snickered too, but controlled himself while in close proximity to the girls that he was actively trying to sleep with.Bitchface stepped forward with a snarl on her face and a pair of scorning eyes that were preparing to rip Eliza to shreds. “At least someone would want me. Look at you. You’re a helpless, pathetic, silly little girl who has to find love in books because deep down inside you know that no one will ever give a shit about you.”“Ouch,” Drama and Sir Milo muttered.Eliza and Marquez exchanged glances for a moment. Even he looked like he was ashamed to want to sleep with Bitchface at that moment. Of course, he probably still would.Eliza sighed and stood up, just a few feet from Bitchface, who was balling up her fists. “Even with all of the books that I read I’ll never have as much wit as you have infections. Your clothes should come with their own ‘caution’ signs.”“And your clothes should come from somewhere other than the department of eternal rejection.”“What would you know about the department of eternal rejection? Word around school is that you’ve accepted every applicant that’s wanted to get between your legs.”“At least someone would want to,” Bitchface hissed.“At least my nose isn’t broken.”“What?”Eliza flung the ball toward Bitchface, who caught it right between the eyes and yelped with pain as blood spewed from her nose like a broken faucet. She shrieked with tears and covered her face. The guys laughed uncontrollably.Drama looked too shocked to speak. Eliza took her silence as an opportunity to approach her. She leaned in and whispered in Drama’s ear. “By the way, I walked it on Professor Stupin having sex with your mother during parent-teacher conferences. She looked like she enjoyed it.” Eliza paused. “I guess I do know things that actually matter.”Drama’s mouth spilled open and she let out an uncontrollable howl before bursting into tears. The boys gawked at them both, trying to figure out what just happened and who was more perplexed.“She’s—she’s horrible!” Drama exclaimed. Eliza turned around and grabbed her book. “Have a good evening, gentlemen.”“Hey—wait!”If she didn’t know any better, she would’ve sworn that it was Marquez that was trying to flag her down. When she turned back around, she saw his beautiful figure standing before her and was at a loss for words.“Hey,” he said with a smile. He shyly scratched the back of his head. His aura was warm and inviting. He wasn’t at all how she imagined him to be.Eliza gawked at the very thought that he could be nervous around her. There was no way that he could have found her interesting. She was too interesting for someone like him to find interesting.“That was, uh, wow. You really know how to take care of yourself.”Eliza blushed like an idiot. “Yeah, sometimes. I should… go… though…”She turned around again, but he reached out his hand and gently caressed her shoulder. His warm palm sent shivers down her arms and all she could think was ‘he’s touching me!’“Wait—before you go…”Eliza looked at him again and opened her mouth. It was several seconds before she said anything. “I’m Eliza.”“Hi, nice to meet you,” his eyes were so beautiful in the moonlight, as if they were singing a silent serenade meant just for her. She could understand why so many women got lost in them. “But that’s not actually what I was asking.”“Oh,” she said airily.“Those girls don’t really have the worms, do they?”Eliza felt as if she’d just been splashed with cold water. “Huh?”“It’s my last night in town and I’m really looking to get some ass, but I don’t want to contract anything, you know?”Eliza sighed. “They’re just rumors.”“Oh—phew! That’s great news. Father’s advisor inauguration is in a couple days and if I caught an STD he’d be real pissed at me.”The soft light continued to kiss Marquez’s face, but as she looked past his whirlpool eyes she got a better look at his overall exterior. She had to admit that he was still pretty… Pretty douche-y. “Good night, Marquez.”He spoke before she could turn around again. “Which one have you heard is easier?”“What?”“I kind of want a sure thing. You know them better than I do. Which one has a looser skirt—or better yet, no underwear?”Why did I waste that ball on Bitchface?“The girl whose mother is getting screwed,” Eliza muttered.“Huh?”“You wanted to know who’s easier,” And I want to rid myself of this conversation. “It’s that one. I basically just ruined her life, so she’ll be in need of some consoling. Though really, it should be an easy choice since the other one is bleeding profusely from the face.”A wide grin spread across Marquez’s face. “You are the coolest girl that I’ve ever met.”And you, Marquez, are an asshole. He grabbed her hand and used his other to high-five it. “I owe you one.” He back stepped toward the girls and Sir Malifest, and pointed his index fingers in her direction. “If you’re ever in Cardeau…!” He turned and ran back toward the others.Eliza shook her head and walked in the other direction. She was going to need to find a less exciting place that evening if she had any hope of getting some reading done.

First off, book sales are going great! Purchase today if you haven't already, and please share this with your friends and various interest groups. Word of mouth is truly the best way to market pieces of work such as this one.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VUGO0SQ
Currently it's ranked #7,753 in the entire kindle store, and #53 in "Dark Fantasy"






That said, here's the analysis from Tuesday's excerpt:

This segment is focused entirely on the Arias family, and how each of them is dealing with the tragedy of Galen's death. Raiden, having been hit hard by the loss of his father, is now seeing his grief through the eyes of his son. Raiden, himself, has yet to reach the grieving phase and is fixated on his anger and a unrelenting desire to avenge his father's death. Being so caught up in what has happened before his eyes, it is the only solution that Raiden can see. As he watches Riles say his good-bye to Galen, Raiden knows that he's not ready to do the same, and that Riles was the reason for why they went after Rexus in the first place. He feels terrible for leaving his son, but he insists that killing Rexus is the only way to resolve things.

In the final moments in Raiden's POV segment, he makes a promise to a mostly unconscious Riles that he will return in the morning once the deed is done. The promise is meant as much for Riles as it is for Raiden, who is well-aware that he may not return. Riles simply gives him more motivation to do his best during his vengeful quest.

The other relationship developed here is between Raiden and his wife, Wessena. Wessena isn't has hurt by the loss of Galen, but even if she was, Raiden wouldn't know it. He makes several comments about his wife's problems with alcoholism throughout the story, primarily in this segment because this is where we actually see it. Despite pounding wine by the bottle, she is the one keeping her men together. She's successful in this case because she is the strongest of the three during the day of Galen's funeral, but this isn't always the case. Riles has a much closer bond with Raiden and Galen--both of whom leave him by the end of this section. Raiden worries that Riles will have to fend for himself in his absence, unsure if Wessena can be up to the task of taking care of their child.

As for Raiden and Wessena's marriage outside of this tragedy, well, that can be best summed up by this exchange:

Raiden noticed the wine glass in Wessena’s hand as he walked down to the main floor. How was she drinking again already? This was an impressive feat—even for her!“Ray,” she said between sips. “I was just about to wake you. We’re leaving shortly. Are you really going in that?”Raiden ogled his wife’s attire. She was dressed more appropriately, sporting a long black dress and a golden chain necklace that his father had once given her for her birthday.“I wore this on our wedding day,” Raiden replied.
“Hardly the same occasion, Ray!”



That's all I've got today! Check in for the next segment on Tuesday. I'll also update this blog once or twice in between with news of how the promos are going. 

A couple of announcements before jumping into this chapter:
1. The full novel: "The Raven of Dusk: Transcendence" will be available for $.99 for a week, starting tomorrow.
What makes THIS promotion extra special is that this novel will the featured book of the day for one of the biggest online sites there is: www.ereadernewstoday.com. The last time I did a promotion with them, I put up The Messengers for "free" and nearly 4,000 copies were downloaded (and that wasn't a book of a day promo. People had to sift through the site for that one!). There are several other sites that will feature "The Raven of Dusk: Transcendence" later in the week, and I'll list them as they go.
2. Book 2: "The Raven of Dusk: Children of the Rain" is available for pre-order now and will be released on 8/20. Here is the link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011VEB9QC
3. Since I'm posting the first full chapter of RoDT, I'm going to start adding links to previous chapters. And here they are:

Prologue: Raiden 
Chapter 1.1: Koston
Chapter 1.2: Vila
To purchase the full book: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VUGO0SQ

That said, enjoy!


Raiden made sure that his suit was assembled and hung up in the closet when he’d gone to bed the night before. If that morning was like the last, he wouldn’t want to get out of bed until he didn’t have a choice.Hela was shining through the opening in the curtains and directly over his eyes. It gave him a rough idea of what time it was. He was surprised that Wessena didn’t already wake him. She probably didn't know what to say. Today wasn’t going to be a fun day for either of them.He rolled out of bed and headed for the shower, trying to ignore the mild headache he’d forced upon himself. He and Wessena drank a lot the night before in honor of his father. She out-drank him of course, but he still tried to keep up. He found himself drinking the water in the shower while bathing in it. His mouth was so dry that his tongue nearly stuck to its roof. He knew better than to not drink water before sleeping, but last night he didn’t care.Raiden winced when he went to scrub his forearm. The cuts he’d gotten from the fall still hurt, but they were likely to heal within a couple of days. He told the Seekers that he received them while trying to find Father’s body. He said that he received a message from Father while he was already in the District of Shadows and then went looking for him. He mentioned that Father told him about a man named Rexus Poloray, but he said nothing about the second clue or where he would be the following morning. Rexus threatened Riles’ life and murdered the man he loved most. Raiden wanted him dead, and he was going to see to that personally. Father telling him that the Serenity Seekers needed to be left in the dark further justified his actions.He left the bathroom and walked across the room wearing just his towel. He was more lean than muscular, just a stick figure in comparison to his father. Galen had been a peacekeeper for the world, so bulking up was part of his job description.Moments later he faced himself in the mirror, dressed in all black and white with a cyan vest and cuffs that matched the iciness of his eyes. It was a little too colorful for a funeral, but he didn’t own a black vest, nor did he have the time to buy one. He fussed around with his sable hair, but didn’t know how best to arrange it. He usually left it unkempt and free to do whatever it wished, but was that appropriate for the occasion? Eventually he gave up on it and headed downstairs.“Those can go on the table, and that can go on the desk in that corner there,” Wessena said to a pair of men as they entered the house. One was carrying a bouquet in each hand, while the other was holding a heavy basket full of food. They’d been receiving gifts ever since the night before. Being a high-ranked Serenity Seeker had bought Galen Arias a lot of prominence.Raiden noticed the wine glass in Wessena’s hand as he walked down to the main floor. How was she drinking again already? This was an impressive feat—even for her!“Ray,” she said between sips. “I was just about to wake you. We’re leaving shortly. Are you really going in that?”Raiden ogled his wife’s attire. She was dressed more appropriately, sporting a long black dress and a golden chain necklace that his father had once given her for her birthday.“I wore this on our wedding day,” Raiden replied.“Hardly the same occasion, Ray!”“Sorry, I—” he stopped talking while he unbuttoned the vest and placed it on the arm of the brown shaggy couch in front of him. “Better?”“Much better.” Wessena placed the empty glass on the end table beside her and gazed into the nearby mirror to double-check her hair. Some of it was pinned backward, while the rest draped over her shoulders. Her golden brown locks contrasted with her dress, but went with her necklace quite nicely.“Where’s Riles?”“Riles!” Wessena shouted toward the top of the stairs. “Riles, get down here!”There was no response.One of the movers reentered the house with another bouquet.“Sheesh,” Wessena muttered. “Do you want to get your son?”“Sure,” Raiden said. He headed back up the stairs while his wife poured herself another glass and started dosing out another round of orders.Riles’ room was at the end of the hall, which in reality was only about the length of the kitchen, but that morning it seemed much further away. The door was cracked open, but he couldn’t see Riles inside. The boy hadn’t left his room much since he’d received the news. Raiden wanted to be there for him, but he was barely consolable himself. He knew that this was one of those moments where he’d need to be a good father, but he didn’t know the first thing about how to handle this situation. He didn’t have the tone that Father had; that hint of certainty in his voice that made Raiden know that everything would get better. Riles would have to settle for whatever consolation Raiden could provide; the understudy of a real father. He propped the door open and saw Riles sitting at the foot of his bed staring blankly at the wall. He was fully dressed in a suit much like Raiden’s, with hair just as messy. He was the spitting image of Raiden twenty years before, and bore the same expression of confusion and helplessness on his face. He had a black shoebox tucked underneath his arm. He hoped that Riles knew better than to bring toys to a funeral, but the boy had never known of hardship, nor had he ever lost anyone.“It’s time, kiddo,” Raiden said in the doorway.Riles’ bottom lip protruded. He grasped onto the shoebox with his tiny hands and his eyes started to water. He turned around and plopped himself down on the bed.“Hey,” Raiden entered his son’s room and sat on the bed next to him. If he was to watch Riles cry over Galen, Raiden couldn’t guarantee that he’d be able to hold it together. He tried to think about how Father consoled him when he was sad. He could try and emulate him, but he could never live up to the standard. “Hey… C’mon buddy. Don’t cry.”“I…” Riles tried to speak between staggered breaths. “I don’t understand. What do you mean we’ll never see Grandpa again?”Raiden never fully explained the concept of death to his son. He never thought he’d have to. “Grandpa… He had to go somewhere. He needed to go on another mission.”“But he never said good-bye.” Riles eyes grew red and puffy. The brightness once within them had become dull and gray.“He didn’t think he had to. But…” Raiden had to catch his breath. He didn’t know what he could say to make Riles feel better. If he did, he’d be telling himself the same thing. “Even though he didn’t say good-bye, he loved you very much. You know that, right?”Riles nodded and clutched onto the shoebox even tighter. He hugged it like he’d hug a stuffed animal, which only served to make Raiden more curious.“What’s in there?”“Grandpa’s figurine.” Riles had a collection of Serenity Seeker action figures. Every time Galen came to visit them he’d bring Riles a new one. The boy had full sets of the latest editions of figurines from Malysai, Barencos, and Meniffa, and at least four or five from every other city-state. “I named them all after famous Serenity Seekers,” Riles went on. “This one is his. I had a full set of ones from Malysai, but without Grandpa it’s not complete anymore.”“Riles…”A tear slipped by Riles’ left eye. “Grandpa will want this one. It was my favorite… It’s the best.”Raiden had no idea what to say to that. He stood over Riles while the boy continued to cry and clutch onto the shoebox, unable to say a word.
Raiden let Riles take the shoebox to the funeral with him. The boy clutched it in his hands tightly while he stood at half Raiden’s height. Wessena took to Raiden’s other side and held his hand during the ceremony.Galen Arias couldn’t have been buried in a more serene space. The funeral was held twenty minutes north of the rain forest in a clearing large enough for just under a hundred graves. The entrance was marked off by a small wooden gate, while stone walls and shrubberies three feet high made up the other boundaries. Greens were emitting orbs of white along a tiny stream on the right side of the cemetery. The trees beyond it disembogued a light mist that Hela shone through, covering the ground in the yellows and whites of an eternal dawn.Nearly fifty Serenity Seekers were present for the funeral. All of them stood in formation behind the Arias family, and every one of them was in uniform: gray pants and a black vest with six lines of zippers forming a 'V' over the chest, and the small emblem of the Seekers over their heart. Around their waists were utility belts which bore their guns and a gunblade holster. It was customary to be in uniform during a fellow Seeker’s funeral, or so Raiden was told.The priest in front of them had been giving his sermon, but he’d be just as effective if he’d said nothing at all. Raiden watched him speak and he saw his lips move, but didn’t think about the words that were coming out of them. His thoughts were too wrapped up in the casket in front of him and the man inside who’d soon be lowered into the ground.Raiden thought about the day before his sixteenth birthday, when he and Father left the desert sands that marked the only home he had ever had, and consisted of the only people he had ever known. It had become just him and Father, and was for a long time after. They spent the better part of a year driving around in that air shuttle, looking for the perfect new place to call home. There were days where they hadn’t interacted with another soul, and there were parts of the world Raiden would never have thought to have existed. Looking back at their journey into the unknown, he’d realized then that those were the happiest times in his life. Now those memories were his, and his alone. Riles squeezed his hand. The sermon was concluding, and they’d be saying their last good-byes.Raiden accompanied the rest of the guests in reciting the closing prayer. He repeated after the priest, but he failed to ponder the words that slipped passed his lips. His focus remained on the casket, and the thought of the dinner he meant to make for Father after Rexus Poloray was dealt with. Their table would never be set for four with Galen in mind again. He’d yet to confess to anyone that he was there when Father had died. He didn’t want to let that out yet, nor did he want to admit his role in Father’s death. All he proved to be was a liability in Galen’s mission. If he had never followed him into the depths of the forest, Father would never have needed to save him from falling. His decisions were what brought Father to an early grave. He was going to need to make it right; he needed to complete what Galen had set out to do.When the prayer ended and the priest stepped away from Father’s casket, Riles let go of his hand and approached it. Wessena went to grab him, but Raiden gently touched her shoulder and shook his head. Riles stepped forward alone through the traces of the yellow mist with the shoebox in hand. His tiny body just barely stood over the black casket. He stalled for a moment. All Raiden could see was the back of his head, but he had a good idea of what Riles w doing. Galen failed to say good-bye to him before he left the other morning, but Riles wasn’t about to do the same. He placed the shoebox on top of the flat center of the casket.Raiden stepped forward and put his hands on Riles’ shoulders.“Good-bye, Grandpa,” Riles said.Father’s coffin began its slow descent into the ground.
The events of the day had taken a toll on Riles, who fell asleep shortly after dinner. Wessena had been cleaning and organizing flower arrangements ever since they’d gotten back. “So many baskets,” she kept muttering to herself.She popped open a third bottle of wine in the kitchen, but Raiden didn’t bother to protest. He never vocalized how much he disproved of her drinking, and this wasn’t the night to start. He had other things on his mind.Wessena started washing dishes in the kitchen and he continued think about his plan. Father’s gunblade was already in the air shuttle. Once she went to bed he would slip out. Kalia was across the Tri-City Forest. He could get there in just a few hours, which gave him more than enough time to wait out Rexus. The next morning was the third dawn. Dusk of the Eternal, Dawn of the First, Three and Three... Tomorrow morning is the dawn of the third day. Rexus must be taken care of.The noise of the faucet stopped. He saw Wessena dry her hands in the kitchen and take another sip.“I’m surprised your mother wasn’t there today.”“I’m not,” Raiden said. Why would she have been? She’d missed so many other important family occasions.Wessena entered the room, kissed him on the cheek, and sat beside him. The two watched the air shuttles blaze by outside of the gigantic window that marked the fourth wall of their living room. The walkway that gave them access to the rest of the block was lit with green and orange bulbs intertwined like a pair of dance partners and wrapped around the bannisters of pathways that paralleled their block.She put her hand on his cheek and gently swiveled his face toward her, commanding all of his attention. “I'm so, so sorry.”“It’s not your fault. You didn't kill him.”“He was your father. You loved him more than anyone.”“No. Not anyone.” He leaned forward and met her soft lips with his own.She kissed him back with a pair of moist lips still wet with wine and draped her arms over his shoulders. She rested her head on his chest and he felt her silky hair as he brushed it with his fingertips. He wished he felt more than he had for her at that moment, but he couldn’t take his mind off of the gunblade and his plan.They laid there for a few moments on the couch. Wessena had begun to lightly snore. He wasn't surprised in the least that she was tired. She'd been up before Hela that morning trying to make last-minute preparations for the funeral. She didn't want him to be forced to do it, which was sweet of her. She had always been sweet as long as she was sober.“Come on,” Raiden nudged her. “Let's get you to bed.”She lifted her head up and wiped her eyes. Even though they were open, he could tell that she wasn't really there. Her body rose from the couch and she sleep-walked up the stairs. He kept close behind her in case she tripped and fell. Halfway up the staircase, he'd taken a glance at their wedding photo from eight years before. She’d worn a long-flowing white and blue gown, and he was in the suit he gone to the funeral with. They were both so young. His face was thinner and his eyes were much brighter. Her hair was big and bushy, and her whole face lit up as if it was truly the happiest day of her life. Raiden couldn't help but smile. He never expected to marry at such a young age. After all, he had moved to Malysai to escape that fate in the first place.Wessena lead them to their bedroom where she stepped inside. Their bed was already made; a boxy silhouette in the darkness. He stalled at the doorway while she took off her dress and slid under the covers. It wasn't until then that she noticed he wasn't there.“Aren't you coming to bed?”“Not just yet, my love. I'll be there in a few minutes.” The words cut into him as he spoke them. He didn’t like lying to her, but he couldn’t tell her that this might be the last time she’d see him alive. It was too hard to think about.Wessena took his words to heart and rolled over and returned to sleep.I don’t have to do this. He thought to himself. He didn’t know if the threat of his son’s life was legitimate. It could have been something Rexus had said just to get answers. Killing an eight-year-old hardly seemed like part of a master plan. And Riles had just lost his grandfather. Was the risk of leaving him with an alcoholic worth his desire for vengeance? Why hadn’t he just gone to the Serenity Seekers, even with Father’s insistence that they not learn of the Transcendence Theory? Neither Father nor he knew of it themselves! Why had he been so dead set on taking care of this himself? He realized that his grief was making him nonsensical, but as such thoughts came to him, he remembered the look on Father’s face before Rexus had plunged a blade through his chest. Anger returned to him and he knew that he had to be the one who would kill Rexus. It was the only way to make things right.He closed his bedroom door and trudged across the hall toward Riles’ room. He cracked the door open and saw that Riles was still asleep. Raiden tip-toed over to his bedside and knelt beside him as he slept. He kissed Riles’ forehead. Riles muttered something, but he shushed him. “It's okay. Go back to sleep.”Riles didn't give an audible response.Raiden brushed Riles' bangs from his face and watched him sleep for a few more minutes. Leaving him would be the hardest part of this whole trip. He needed to be back by the morning before Riles woke up. He didn’t want his son to wake up without his father, like Raiden was going to have to do for the rest of his life.As he watched Riles sleep, he recalled what he had said to his father’s lifeless body after their battle with Rexus. “No one threatens my son and lives,” Raiden whispered. “No one.”Raiden returned to his feet and guided himself toward the door.“Are you gonna say good-bye?”Raiden gasped. He thought for sure that Riles was asleep. Did he overhear what Raiden had whispered to him?Despite muttering those words, Riles didn’t seem to be awake.Raiden took a long, deep breath, and then responded. “No son. I’ll see you in the morning.”“Promise?” Riles’ lips moved, but his eyes were still closed.“Yes, Riles. I promise.”

In an interview I did with A Smiling World (www.asmilingworld.com), Bill Moore asked me if Vila and Arowden’s relationship is reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet. Like with Romeo and Juliet, Vila and Arowden’s relationship would be met with great conflict if anyone ever found out. Hewenia, the city-state in which Vila and Arowden live in, is co-habited by the Hennian and Trewanian races. The two races bear much in common, unlike their human counterparts, and thus, the city-state of Hewenia was erected in order for these two races to have a place to celebrate their culture and fuse church and state.
This is a great concept for both races, but it comes with a few unique twists. Most notably (and as the story progresses, the most important) is that the city-state of Hewenia does not fall under the Norean Common Law. Due to religious differences, the Global Alliance of Noreis discovered that, in order for Hewenia to exist, they would have to have special laws that were pertinent only to them and thus cannot by governed by the rest of Noreis. In Vila and Arowden’s case, this means that they cannot be protected by the government if it is revealed that, not only are they lovers, but Vila is pregnant with a “child of mixed breed.”
In this chapter, we learn that Vila is one of the most liberal political leaders in Hewenia. She has cleverly replaced the word “religion” with the word “culture” in order to get her point across that Hewenia exists so that Hennians and Trewanians can celebrate their unique way of life. She is also, brazenly, pushing for the Separation of Religion Act, which would provide a way for her city-state to not be governed by their religious text, the “Book of Gods.” Obviously, there are a lot of parallels that can be drawn between Hewenia and various countries in our world, but I’m not even going to get into that subject just yet.
The point is that Vila has a clear goal from the very beginning of this story: she lives in a land dominated by religion, and yet she is still pushing forward and making great headway as someone who doesn’t follow the social norms of her people. The first paragraph in her chapter talks about the Well of Repentance, which is a major symbol in Hewenia. Hennians and Trewanians come from everywhere across the world to partake in a ritual that is deeply ingrained in their religion. Vila lives just a few minutes from the Well and she has never once partaken in the ritual herself. She is an outsider for her beliefs, and an even bigger outsider for committing the Greatest Sin of All.
“The greatest sin of all is for a Trewanian to love a Hennian, and for a Hennian to love a Trewanian in return. Such a love will bring about a child of mixed breed—and with the child bring about the destruction of the Trenthean and Henthean ways of life.”
Vila has that quote hidden behind a picture so that she doesn’t have to stare at it all day. She knows that she’s gotten into enough trouble already, and she doesn’t know how to get out of it. So, yes, in a way Vila and Arowden have a Romeo and Juliet relationship, but in her next chapter it is revealed that, while Arowden makes an excellent Romeo, Vila’s Juliet loves more than just Arowden. As complicated as her circumstances already are, the pot gets sweetened for her when she’s presented with a once in a lifetime offer that—well, I shouldn’t get too ahead of myself.
The second part of this chapter is the re-introduction (well, a re-introduction if you’ve read “The Interview”) of Eliza Bennihan. In this scene, Eliza reveals herself to be a younger, more spastic version of Vila herself. She’s intrigued enough by the girl’s audacity to hear her out while Eliza is requesting an internship for her, even though she knows that she’s going to tell Eliza “no” from the very beginning. Eliza reminds Vila of herself if the Vila had the freedoms brought by not being in Hennian and living in a city-state that isn’t governed by religion.
When she does reject Eliza, the girl is heartbroken, but Vila cannot let her leave looking distraught. Vila reveals to the girl that she’s had to make compromises to get to where she is, even if it doesn’t look it. Eliza is shocked by this, and refuses to make those compromises in her future. Of course, Eliza is half Vila’s age and hasn’t had any real experience in the political sphere, so she has no idea what her future is going to hold.
Before leaving, Eliza suggests that Vila is pregnant and that that’s the reason for why Eliza is getting an internship (because obviously Vila intends to take some time off for maternity leave. Eliza has no idea that Vila’s “maternity leave” would involve disappearing with Arowden forever). Vila is shocked by this allegation and refuses it. Still, the very comment resonates in both of them, and becomes a crucial part of the story as it progresses.

When Eliza leaves, Vila returns to a speech that she has to write and deliver later that day. Yes, she’s going to have to disappear before coming to term, but if she can least start the conversation of separating church and state, it will have to be enough. 

The line to the Well of Repentance was ridiculously long that morning. Vila had to walk parallel to it on her way to her district office, watching the faith-filled Hennians and Trewanians stand in line for their moment at the Well. Each of them clutched onto a piece of paper that they had written a confession on; each of them hoped that they’d be forgiven upon casting it into the eternal flames. Hennians and Trewanians traversed across the world to reach the Well to relinquish their sins. Vila’s office was but a five minute walk to the Well. Not once had she ever cast a word into the flames.Two pairs of violet eyes made contact with hers as she walked. A Hennian and a Trewanian in line must have recognized her and then turned to converse with one another.“Is that Representative Vila Pirral?” The Hennian asked the Trewanian, placing all four of her arms on her hips. Her blue, scaly skin was mostly concealed in the large brown mioghi furs she wore.“I think so,” the Trewanian replied as she looked down at her Hennian friend. For Trewanians, looking down at other creatures was a way of life. The average height for them was over seven feet, which was a major contrast with the Hennians, who were commonly the same height as humans.The female Hennian gazed up at her Trewanian friend. The Trewanian’s skin was light green. If the creatures weren’t so brute they would look sickly. “I hear she doesn’t pray at Temple.”“I hear she doesn’t pray anywhere.”“What I do and don’t do is none of your concern,” Vila snarled as she passed. “Good day, ladies.” She didn’t hear the rest of their conversation. She didn’t care to.Vila took a left on the dirt-paved road and examined the two rows of tan adobe homes and offices. Most of the buildings were dome-shaped, while others were in the form of pentagons or hexagons with Hennian or Trewanian kanji written on them in black and gold. She walked between the buildings as several air shuttles flew overhead.Her telecom vibrated in her pocket. She reached for it through her heavy mioghi furs and withdrew the device, a slender black object no larger than a pen with several buttons on it. She pressed the leftmost one. A holographic screen appeared with a list of e-mails on the left, video messages on the right, and a 4x4 inch screen in the center. The screen was usually blank, but this time it read: “New Video Message from Arowden Knownthey.”Vila put it away quickly and continued toward her office. Whatever Arowden had to say, it was best that she watch it in private. He was most likely freaking out again and she had too much going on that day to put any effort into calming him down. She reached her office and scoffed at the faraway line to the Well before stepping inside. Despite housing the office of a district representative, Vila’s building was far from impressive. The waiting room was home to a couple of chairs on one side, and on the other were desks where her two Hennian assistants were often busy at work. Of her two employees, so far only Dane had arrived that morning.“Good morning, Vila,” Dane said without taking his eyes off of the telescreen in front of him, typing with all four of his hands.  “Big day today,” she said as she headed toward her office.He glanced over at her as she walked passed him. “Excited?”“I’m more anxious than anything. This could make a lot of waves.”Dane smiled. “What about your rule hasn’t?”Vila nodded. It was common knowledge that she was quite possibly the most liberal of the Hewenian government officials. Some claimed that she was a heretic. Others believed that she’d never even read the ‘Book of Gods’, the text that every believer in Hewenia followed. She never revealed if they were right or wrong. Her beliefs were her business and no one else’s.“I’ll be rewriting my speech,” Vila said. “I’ll send you a draft in an hour.”“I look forward to reading it,” Dane said gleefully. He seemed far more thrilled about the legislation than Vila was that morning. Then again, he wasn’t the one that had to give a speech and face the scrutiny of her more devout constituents while she pushed for the Separation of Religion Act. If only one fanatic interrupted her speech by setting a picture of her ablaze, it would be a successful afternoon.Vila stepped inside her office. Unlike most of the offices of government workers, Vila’s was nearly a replica of her living room. Given the ratio of time she’d spent there as opposed to her home, it felt appropriate. She bypassed her all-too-comfy sofa and approached her desk: a long, sleek, and polished auburn piece of carpentry, and as beautiful as it was powerful. She sat at it and withdrew her telecom. She had to watch Arowden’s message before starting her draft. She wouldn’t be able to focus otherwise.Arowden’s pale green face appeared on the screen. His violet eyes gazed right through hers and he spoke with conviction and solemnity. “Hey you… I couldn’t sleep last night. Actually, I haven’t really slept well these last three nights.” He was on the verge of tears already. “Ugh… Here we go,” Vila muttered. She crossed both pairs of her arms and continued to watch the message. “I know that you’ve got a lot going on, but I still don’t understand why you’re doing this. You can’t have much more time left, and we haven’t talked about how we’re getting out of here yet. You’ve got what—another week? Maybe two?”Vila frowned.“I know you must be scared,” Arowden looked as if his skin was replaced by brittle lime-colored glass. “I am too, my love, but you can’t avoid me much longer. We have to talk about our exit strategy. The only chance we have is to disappear. I know it’s scary. I’m scared too… Please get back to me.” A second later, the screen was black and the words ‘End of Message’ appeared in bold white letters.Vila let out a long sigh and stared down at her blue scaly skin and toward her stomach, which was heavily covered in furs. Arowden was right. They needed to leave Hewenia before their child came to term. The words etched in gold above her door (which she covered up with a landscape painting of the Cavian Mountain Range long ago) served as a constant reminder to the bleak reality of her situation.
“The greatest sin of all is for a Trewanian to love a Hennian, and for a Hennian to love a Trewanian in return. Such a love will bring about a child of mixed breed—and with the child bring about the destruction of the Trenthean and Henthean ways of life.”
Vila wished that she hadn’t watched his message before starting on her new draft. Nothing was more distracting than the thought of her doomsday child. She wished he hadn’t said anything at all. She’d contact him later that day, after her speech was done.She put away her telecom and turned on the telescreen at her desk. She opened up a new text document and wrote ‘My Speech’ at the very top. This would be the fourth draft of her speech. She could’ve pulled up one of the first three versions for inspiration, but it wasn’t necessary. She’d known all three of them by heart. The words ran through her head when she sat alone in her office, and she continued to mumble them in bed while Arowden would cling to her with both of his arms, fast asleep. Neither of the three versions seemed perfect, and she was running out of time. She placed her fingers on the keyboard below and paused.Come on, words. Come on…A pop up appeared on the bottom right corner of her telescreen. She highlighted it and saw Dane’s face appear. “Representative.”“What is it, Dane?”“You have a visitor.”If it was Arowden, she’d be pissed. “I don’t wish to speak to anyone right now. You know how important today is.”“I do, but she’s come a long way—and you did schedule a meeting with her.”Vila cocked her head. “Her?”“The potential intern.”Vila smacked her top two hands on the desk. “Are you kidding? I specifically remember telling her that I had to reschedule.”Dane’s face turned from the screen. “I—Miss!”Vila almost rose to her feet when her door opened. “Excuse—” she gawked, suddenly finding herself unable to finish her sentence.A girl appeared in her office and shut the door behind her. She stared at the representative with a pair of emerald-colored eyes. Her hair was a dark brown with lighter highlights and came down to the tips of her shoulders, attempting to round out her otherwise hard face. She wore a shirt as blue as the sky and an expression of determination that overshadowed her timidity. What should have surprised Vila was that this girl couldn’t have been older than fifteen, but what actually baffled her was something she didn’t predict.“I’m sorry in advance for barging in here. I did see your message, but I didn’t want to be canceled on again,” the girl said quickly. She clutched a portfolio in her left hand. “My name is Eliza Bennihan, and I would like to be your intern.”Vila opened her mouth.Eliza stepped forward. “I know you have a busy day today with writing a speech and all before your legislation comes to a vote, so I’ll try and be as concise as possible.”Before Vila had time to react, Eliza was already sitting at her desk, sliding her portfolio across the table. “You’ll see there that I have three years of experience in Larcos on Representative Gerald’s campaign. He wrote me a lovely letter of recommendation. I started working for him as just an errand girl—I often took time between classes to do lunch runs for him and his staff and tried to provide whatever political insight that I could. Of course, it was hard to get adults to listen to a—then—twelve-year-old girl, but after I got him to read a draft of a speech I wrote for him, he chose to use it and coined some key terms that allowed him to get re-elected. By fourteen, people on his campaign were doing lunch runs for me at school and I was asked to stay on as a shadow to his campaign manager. Then my father’s job transferred him to Kalia and my parents weren’t fond of me living on another continent and forced me to go with them. How are you today, by the way? It’s quite beautiful out—you’ve picked a wonderful day to push for the Separation of Religion Act.”“You’re a girl,” Vila muttered.Eliza glanced down at her still-developing breasts, which were mostly concealed within her dress shirt. “That is a true fact, yes.”“I mean, a human girl.”“Of course I am.”Vila turned off her telescreen. This girl was even more of a distraction than Arowden! “I wasn’t expecting you to be a human girl.”“Ohhhhh,” Eliza bobbed her head slowly. Strands of her hair swayed with her. “You were expecting me to be a Trewanian or a Hennian—like yourself. I get it now.”Vila went to sneer, but stopped herself.“Is something wrong? Actually, don’t answer that. I just barged into your office and sat here without asking, so of course there is, but since I’m now sitting here and you’re obviously taking a break from your speech, can we do this interview?”The word “no” wouldn’t escape her lips. Eliza took Vila’s non-responsiveness as a ‘yes’ and began. She pointed to her portfolio and opened it. “So on the first page here is my resume. As you can see I am about to graduate from Haddenford Secondary School in Kalia two years before most of my peers. I’m looking to get into the Barencos Advisory Academy in a few months—and I’ll be sixteen by then so it’s the earliest that anyone can get in. My marks are all perfect, and below that is my list of job titles during my time with Representative Gerald’s campaign.”Vila turned the page and saw the letter of recommendation written by the representative. She skimmed through it, making note of phrases like “incredibly bright” and “strong-willed” as she went on. She turned to the next page and saw another letter, this one from the Dean of Students at her old school in Larcos.“Even though I'm a human, as you’ve cleverly pointed out, I am quite educated in the Hewenian ways of life. I’ve read the ‘Book of Gods’ in both of its original languages, and am fully educated about the origins behind the Well of Repentance, the nightly Ceremonial Circles, and I know much about your city-state’s brief, but impressive history. I can also name all of the monarchs that this city-state has had in the last hundred years both chronologically and alphabetically. Would you like me to—”“No. No, that won’t be necessary. I believe you,” Vila said. She continued to scroll through the pages of Eliza’s portfolio. She found herself unable to not at least examine what this girl had accomplished. Only a particularly ballsy individual would ever storm a representative’s office in search of a job. Most would have sent Eliza on her way, but she got the inclination that the girl knew that she was doing the right thing by ignoring the rules. “I’m noticing that you have great grades and some valuable skill sets, but I’m not seeing too many extra-curricular activities. Why didn’t you partake in student government or other leadership classes?”Eliza bit her lip. It was the first time since she’d barged in that she hesitated to speak. “Truthfully?”“Well I wouldn’t want you to lie to me.”“I don’t really get along well with most people.”“How so?”“I’m socially awkward.”“Really?” It came out more sarcastically than she’d intended.“I don’t really like what most kids my age like. Boys are troglodytes and sports are good for exercise but they don’t excite me. I’m not into games or make-up or dresses—my mother picked this outfit out for me. She picks out all of my nicer clothes. When I dress myself the gay baristas at the café by my house tell me that I hurt their eyes, which is disconcerting because now one of them is blind. I don’t care about fashion though. I like to read, I like to learn about government, and I love to watch videos of the senate when it’s in session. I’m a little grateful that the Monarchical Board meetings aren’t televised. If they were, I don’t think I’d get anything done!”“So what do you do with your friends? Do you… have any friends?”“I’ve had several friends!” Eliza protested.“Had?”“Yes—three! There’s Sally, but she hasn’t spoken to me since we were four. Then there was Tamika, but she found better friends. My last one was Aurelia, who was my best friend until last year when she called me a bitch.”“Why did she say that?”“Did you read the opening line to the letter of recommendation from the Dean of Students at my old school?”Vila returned to the third page of the portfolio and read the first line of the letter Eliza referred to. “Eliza Bennihan is a very astute and driven individual.”“He said that I am ‘astute’ and ‘driven’.”“Yeah, so?”“That means I’m a bitch.”Vila closed the portfolio and placed all of her focus on Eliza. “That’s hardly a selling point for an internship interview.”“In most cases, no, but I think that you’ll find them to be some of my more likeable qualities.”“Being a bitch?”“No, being astute and driven. You’re a pioneer in this city-state. At the age of twenty-seven you are not only one of the youngest representatives to ever get elected, but you did so successfully on a platform completely devoid of religion. That is unheard of in this city-state! I’m not saying that following the ‘Book of Gods’ is a bad thing. I’m simply stating by your essentially replacing the word ‘religion’ with ‘culture’ and—thus implying that you believe in a separation of church and state—was genius. Not even the conservatives or the fanatics made too much of a fuss about it.”“Well, I’d like to think that I’m right,” Vila said with the traces of an unintentional smile. “Our forefathers created the city-state of Hewenia so that Hennians and Trewanians alike had a place to gather and celebrate our culture. There are a lot of commonalities in our respective religions that intertwine with our culture, but the two remain mutually exclusive. And I’m twenty-nine, by the way.”“Yes, but you liked it when I said you looked twenty-seven.”“You said that I was twenty-seven, not that I looked it.”“But you do look it.”“Oh. Well, thanks.”Eliza smiled slyly and clasped her hands on Vila’s desk. “When I found out that I was being moved to Kalia, I instantly knew that I wanted to work as your intern. I find you to be a very fascinating individual and if my career path could emulate anyone’s, I would want it to be reminiscent of yours. You’re a strong woman; you’ve stuck to your guns and you remain unrelenting and unmatched. As your intern I would do my best to continue to keep you guided in that direction. I’m excellent as a speech writer and I’m proficient in social and global media. I’m also not afraid to ask you the hard-hitting questions that you’ll sometimes need to be asked.”“You have more than up-sold yourself,” Vila said. Eliza’s whole face lit up the way most girls would if the loves of their lives had just proposed to them. “That said, I respect you and hope that you will consider me as a candidate for internship. I can start tomorrow—or right now even. I can make my parents understand.”Vila smiled, but the smile was short-lived. “Miss Bennihan—”“Eliza.”“Eliza,” Vila sighed. “I’m sorry, but this just isn’t a good time.”Vila had never known what a person looked like while having their soul crushed until that moment. Eliza's eyes welled up, but she knew that the girl was going to do her best not to cry. Even so, part of Vila wanted to cry for her.“You’ll… You’ll like me,” Eliza said in a voice just a hint above a whisper. “I know you will.”“It has nothing to do with that.”“I know that I’ll stick out here, but that’s always been one of my strengths. Frankly, that’s been one of yours as well.”Vila felt a kick. She clutched onto her stomach and saw Eliza’s eyes divert toward it. She removed her hands quickly and placed all four of her palms down on the table. “I’m sorry. You are a very convincing young woman, but soon I will be too busy to advise anyone.”“You’re pregnant.”“What? No!” Vila said all-too-quickly. “I’ve got a lot going on. And even if I did bring you on as an intern, you won’t get into the Barencos Advisory Academy. Good grades and two letters of recommendation from government officials won’t be nearly enough. You need in-school experience, and, not to offend your lineage, but over ninety-five percent of students accepted into that academy come from families that are respected world-wide, like the Xeras', or the McKellas, or the Donnicks. If any of the Bennihan’s had ever been involved in a political sphere, you would’ve led with that.”Eliza frowned, but understood. Vila was relieved. Hopefully the girl wouldn’t make that accusation again. Vila had managed to go nearly her full three month term without anyone noticing the very small bump over her stomach. She couldn’t let this fifteen-year-old kid blow her cover.“Hey—look at me,” the representative said in the voice that she had practiced to use on her child one day. Eliza obeyed. “If you want your career path to emulate mine, you won’t let rejection get to you. I once had to work under a religious fanatic for university experience because no one else would have me. I had to write propaganda pamphlets and keep my opinions to myself for a year. Right now you strike me as the type of girl who could never do that, but—”“Funny; you strike me as a woman who never did.”Vila bit her lip. “A little bit of humility might do you some good, Eliza.”“Look at me,” Eliza retorted while she, too, examined herself. Her confidence continued to wane. “Think about what I’ve just told you and everything that I’ve accomplished in just the last three years.”“I can’t deny that it’s impressive—”“Think about what my life must be like beyond that portfolio. Think about my peers or my family. The kids at school write me off as a freak and my mother so desperately wants me to be normal that she refuses to see everything that I am and can be. I know a thing or two about humility. I eat my lunch in the library surrounded by a scattered pile of open books. Then I silently have dinner across the table from my mother, who just stares at me and hopes that she’ll eventually find a conversation topic that will pique both of our interests. I took a huge risk by even coming here. If you send me on my way, I’ll be devastated.”Vila reached for Eliza’s hands and held them with a firm, yet gentle grip. The suddenness of Vila’s actions caught her by surprise. Before she knew it, she was speaking in a much softer, more soothing voice than she’d used a long time. “You will leave here, and it will be devastating. That much is true. But if you are truly like me, you will find another way to get what you want. I am certain that, for you, the solution is out there. It might not be where you thought it would be, but you will prevail, and you will eventually get to where you want to go. I have no doubt of this.”The girl remained silent, fixated on every word that Vila had said to her.“Now, if you will, I have some work I must attend to, and you have another representative to start admiring. Good day, Eliza Bennihan.”Eliza bit her lip, but respected Vila’s decision enough to not waste any more of her time. She withdrew from her seat and picked up her portfolio. “Good day, Representative Pirral. And good luck with that speech… and with your child.”“I’m still not pregnant,” Vila said. She returned to her telescreen and purposefully kept her eyes away from Eliza.She could feel it in her bones how much Eliza wanted to refute her, but the girl said nothing. Vila pretended to read her blank screen until Eliza finally gave up and left the room. When the door shut behind her she reached for the telecom in her pocket. No, she couldn’t look at Arowden’s message again. She had a speech to prepare and a political career to continue.

Funny enough, this first scene in which Koston is introduced was originally put in halfway through book 2, roughly 600-700 pages later. I started writing it without any plan, outline, or even the acknowledgment that Koston had these secrets, and after I felt like a PFLAG parent who was dumbfounded by not seeing the signs in the 600 pages beforehand.
What’s important to note about Koston isn’t that he likes men, but that he loves honoring others more. In the short story, “The Wedding”, you see what is probably the first major moment in Koston’s life where he sacrifices a piece of himself for the benefit of others. Kallisto is there even then to advise against it. She believes that his intentions stem more from hubris than honorability; a common theme in their multiple interactions.
What we see initially in Koston’s first chapter is exactly what he wishes to conceal. Koston finds himself “glancing nervously at the windows of Damien’s home. Black curtains were draped over the already closed blinds. The younger man’s bedroom door was locked and his front door was bolted shut upon Koston’s arrival.” In order for him to maintain his reputation, the world cannot know that he regularly visits a gentleman escort. Is it more because of the lie itself, or the homosexual act? That much is revealed a little later…
Koston’s fleeting moments of genuine joy are cut short when his “escape” reveals himself to be another one of Koston’s admirers. Koston is about to step into the second-most powerful position in all of Cardeau, and everyone is comparing him to his grandfather, who is the embodiment of both the man Koston doesn’t want to become, but is willing to become in order to appease the public. Later, when we meet Marquez and see the dichotomy of his and Koston’s relationship, several parallels can be drawn between the men of the Donnick line, the paths there have been taken before, and where Koston and Marquez want to be and are currently heading. I could probably time a 50,000 word analysis on that subject, but that’s tangential to this chapter.
As this chapter progresses, we still Koston go from being his true self to falling deeper and deeper into the crevasses of his fatal flaw. The lowest point lies in his conversation with Queen Kallisto. Kallisto represents both the one person who could have helped set him free many years before (again, read “The Wedding”) and the person who has ensnared him in a delicate political web. He is her last option. She doesn’t want Koston to become her advisor, but he represents the only way that she might remain on her throne and attempt to redeem herself from a costly political maneuver. Those that don’t know Kallisto (really, that’s basically everyone except Koston) would think that she’s purposely taking advantage of him for his position and his loyalty to her as the Captain of the Cardeau Guard. 
In reality, she wants to put him in this position about as much as he wants to be in it. As badly as Koston wants to avoid this position of power, Kallisto feels as though she’s nothing without it.

The end result, at least in this chapter, is a sour one. Kallisto despises Koston’s popularity, but would never reveal his darkest secret. They are bound now and, as it’s revealed later in the story, for more reasons that one. However, that doesn’t mean that she can’t still get in a good jab or two if opportunity knocks. Thus, her implication that he’s a whore at the end of a section that started with him being intimate with one is the perfect conclusion for Koston’s opening chapter.