Praedora

War of the Twelve #0.5

by Alex Robins

When dreams and reality intertwine

Praedora is plagued by the same recurring dream. A nightmare in which she is lost and alone in the dark, hunted by creatures from another age. The warrior knights of her temple may hold the key to ending her ordeal, but first they must deal with a more urgent threat.

A nearby village has been attacked; its inhabitants are missing. A distraught survivor whispers the name of those responsible: greylings. The same malicious predators from Praedora’s dreams.

Convinced that there must be a link between the two, Praedora leads a rescue party south, hoping to find the answer to her troubles.

Instead, what she discovers will change her life forever.

Genres: Fantasy

39 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2021

About the author

Alex Robins was born in Norwich, England back when it was still trendy to wear lycra tracksuits and bright pink headbands. Norwich School Library was where he first discovered his love of reading, an old converted undercroft packed to the rafters with books. The first fantasy series he read was The Dragonlance Chronicles by Margaret Weis & Tracey Hickman, quickly followed by The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and David Eddings' The Belgariad.

At the age of twelve Alex moved across the channel to Nantes in France. Speaking very little French, the first few years were difficult and sometimes lonely as he scrambled to get a grip on the intricate grammar and vocabulary of the French language. His taste in books branched out from epic fantasy to science-fiction, mysteries, thrillers, and historical fiction, but he always came back to his favourite fantasy authors when looking to escape the outside world.

After degrees in agronomy, project management, and computer sciences, Alex founded his own company dedicated to online voting. He met his wife during a game of badminton and they spent several years getting trounced in various regional tournaments before getting married. Alex now lives in the sunny Loire Valley in western France, surrounded by imposing castles, sprawling vineyards, and two children. After reading fantasy books for the last thirty years he decided to write one. The Broken Heart of Arelium is his first novel, and the first in the War of the Twelve series.

Reviews

[Sumit · Rating 4 out of 5]

“𝙒𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙘𝙧𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨. 𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙖 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙊𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙖 𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙞𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙚. 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙤𝙧 𝙞𝙨 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣. 𝙒𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙗𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙞𝙩.”

Praedora is the preclude novella of the War of the Twelve series, set in a fantasy world that is divided into Twelve Order of Warriors who once scoured the war-torn lands of evil to save humanity, it tells why Aldarin, one of the main characters of the main series was sent to Arelium.

As the name suggests, it is narrative from the perspective of Praedora, the first Priestess of the temple of Brachyura, Fourth of the Twelve who is plagued by a recurring dream in which she is hunted by the Greylings, a creature from another age. How she deals with this ordeal and also defends her Order from the attacks of the Knight of Zygos, Seventh of the Twelve may hold the answers to her nightmare.

I'm amazed how Alex, within just a few pages crafted this tale, whiffing off a promising world-building with its own history, magic, and creatures as well as perfectly fleshed-out characters. I'm hooked to know how Aldarin’s adventures continue in the series.

𝙈𝙮 𝙍𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜: ⭐⭐⭐⭐(4/5)

[Ninou Civrais · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice little short story, I liked it because I had read the first two books first.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Works well as an appetizer and a complement to the other books in this series.
If you've only read this story, I recommend that you plunge into the War of the Twelve quartet!

[Hilda Baard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have only read the first chapter, but I enjoyed what I did read.

[PAR]

Praedora continues to suffer with nightmares, over and over again. A nightmare in which she is lost and alone in the dark, hunted by creatures from another age. She decides that perhaps a visit to the temple to see the Warrior Knight may be her answer. When she arrives, the knights are busy preparing for battle. A small village has been attacked. The villagers are missing with only a few survivors. One of the surviving villagers tells that they were attacked by Greylings. Convinced that there must be a link between her dreams and these Greylings, Praedora leads a rescue party south, hoping to find the answer to her dreams. She does discover and answer, but it may not be what she was looking for. You will need to read the novel to discover the answer. I received this novel through StoryOrigin and this is my honest review.

[Anthony Cruz · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good side story in the war of 12 series. Recommend reading after the first two books.