Hooked on Imprisoned In Stone, dread #bookqw #mfrwauthor

 
Showcasing magic of a darker kind, Imprisoned in Stone, a snippit using the #bookqw DREAD.

To set the stage, Dylan's soul is bound to a stone monument. It is the time of binding and Cuhlwich, head of the brings up a vision from Dylan's past.

Excerpt:

A berserker fury flared in Dylan’s mind. He struggled against his bonds. The bolt of flame he cast touched the shimmering chains and exploded into nothingness.

“There is no escape for you,” Cuhlwch said with a laugh. “I have no preference for an eternity without release. It is just that killing is easier than binding, and I tire of these visits. But there is one thing I will do for you. A sentimental request from my great-grandfather.”

With swift steps, Cuhlwch crossed through the circle of hooded figures and picked up a shard of sandstone. He walked back and brandished the rock in front of the black obelisk... in front of Dylan. “Come, wizard,” Cuhlwch snarled. “Don’t you want to see your wife again? I can show you Ethne.” He whispered a command and the stone’s flat surface turned into a mirror.

The reflection of the trees overhead faded. Now a small creek separating a pasture from an apple orchard appeared. Sunlight danced over a pond. Dread filled Dylan’s heart. He knew the place. He had built the dam across the creek and lined the narrow watercourse with rocks he found while plowing the field.

Cuhlwch tilted the rock and the static image came to life.

 

 

**  END OF EXCERPT *** 

Purchase Imprisoned in Stone at these sellers  

 

~till next time, Helen

 

Stosh's disguise

 

Disguises can be achieved in various ways. Trelleir used magic to hide his dragon form. Unless he chose to reveal his true self, all anyone saw was tall, thin man, a scholar who was totally unskilled in the handling of weapons. In reality, his abilities with a sword were impressive, even more so when supplemented by dragon strength.

In Dragon Destiny, Anastasia donned a physical disguise that of a teen-age boy so that she could attend the Ceoltier Guild, the disguise was necessary because only new could study at the guild and be the historians and jurists. The masters and students all knew Anastasia's true gender, but didn't care. Anastasia, or Stosh, her cover identity was one of them. 

However, no disguise is perfect as seen in the following excerpt. To set the stage, Anastasia is at the Ceoltier's Guild and is lonely. Adding to her melancholy is her part in the death of a man. 

Excerpt:

Anastasia put a finishing touch on the sketch of the high peak on the easel and laid the charcoal stick down. Aches in her fingers reminded her of how long she had been at work. Her quarters on the top floor of the building offered more benefits than the bright, autumn colors of the Revarn Mountains in the distance. The buzz of speech drifting up from the open windows of the eating hall caught Anastasia’s attention. A familiar voice sent her racing to the other side of the room and the window that overlooked the courtyard. Down below, a dappled brown horse stood at the rail.

“Uaine’s here!” Anastasia cried. Throwing on a faded apprentice tunic, she ran down the stairs two at a time until she caught herself on the locking bars of the front door. A tug and the heavy wood panel swung open to reveal a changed Uaine. No longer the beardless youth of her first acquaintance, a muscled, self-confident male stood before her.

“It is good to see you, Anastasia,” Uaine said. He picked her up and swung her around in an abundance of exuberance.

She felt a warmth creep up her back. The power of his arms brought back a reminder of another embrace, one now seasons past. Branin was far away, Uaine was here.

A cough broke the direction of her thoughts. “I don’t want to intrude on old friends reuniting after several seasons apart,” Vivel’s wry tone said. “However, two male apprentices embracing on the front steps might set tongues wagging.”

The emphasis on male reminded Anastasia of the slip of her disguise.

“Sorry.” Anastasia wriggled out of Uaine’s grasp. She bowed to Vivel. “Master Cuisle is in the eating hall with the other masters. Would you like me to take your bag to your room?”

“Thank you, Stosh,” Vivel said using Anastasia’s apprentice name in gentle reminder of her place at the guild hall. “Cuisle has called a cloak ceremony for dinner tonight. You are dismissed from your lessons until then.” His gaze turned stern. “And dressed appropriately.” Uaine draped the carry strap of his bedroll over his shoulder and picked up Vivel’s travel sack. “I’ve got it. Just show me where to go, Stosh.”

The sparkle in his eyes awakened a long suppressed feeling. Grabbing his free hand, Anastasia pulled him toward the stairs.

 ~ ~ ~

 I hope you enjoyed this excerpt. ~till next time. Helen

 

Find Dragon Destiny at Amazon /  more sellers .

More Excerpts, reads of the first chapters, and buy links for the rest of the Dragshi Chronicles is here.

 

2025 Challenge Reflections

Thank you for visiting Journey to Worlds of Imagination during the 2025 Blogging from A to Z in April Challenge. To reflect on the past thirty days, it was a challenge that I hope to revitalize my fiction work-in-progress, Fire and Legacy, the next book in the Tear Stone Collectors fantasy series. Adding to the uniqueness of finding a topic was not duplicating thoughts from any of the previous ones. Surprisingly, the letters that normally give me trouble such as Q, V, X, Y, and Z were relatively easy. ”N” which should be easy refused to cooperate.

If your followed along, thank you. If a topic interests you, the link to each day's post follows. Most topics contained an anecdote from real life, fantasy worlds, of excerpts from the Windmaster Novels, the Dragshi Chronicles, Imprisoned on Stone, and the Tear Stone Collectors.

Archaeology
Blue Sky
Cave and Caverns - in real life and fantasy worlds
Disguise
Event-New Orleans an exciting reader signing event. More info to come.

Freedom
Guilds
Holidays
Islands
Jon or John - same name, different characters

Kimeshi - emergence of a dragon
Libraries - recollections of libraries
Matawan - historic town, historic house museum, and my books
Names - trouble with characters’ names
Obsidian - statues on black stone

Passengers
Query - writing experience
Rivers - real and fantasy
Sailing - seas, sailing, and storms
Threat - not even a dragon is safe
Underwater - escape from beneath the waves

Vigil
Wall -battle from the ramparts 
X-ray - the call sign, not the machine
Youthful Characters
Zealot- dragons and magic, search them out

PS - I finished the entire challenge for the sixth time. Woo Hoo.