Hooked on Windmaster, A Parting, #MFRWHooks

From the sword and sorcery fantasy, Windmaster, an excerpt of a parting as Ellspeth comes to an insight. This scene preceds "Destiny Awaits."


Excerpt:

Dal was not running away from her. In battle he could not afford the luxury of emotions. He was walling himself off in preparation for the fight to come. She remembered the way he looked at her at the well when they made their last preparations to leave. First he pulled something from his personal pack. She couldn’t see what he held except for a flash of brown, maybe wood. An expression of regret flickered across his face. His face reddened when he lightly kissed the item and slipped it over his head to hang beneath his armor. Must be a personal talisman of some kind she decided. The wink he tossed to her matched the smile he flashed in her direction. They both disappeared as he put on his armor.

An impersonal cold emanated from the wizard, a demeanor that increased with each weapon he removed from his pack and strapped to its place. By the time he draped the carry strap of his great sword’s scabbard over his shoulder, no remnant remained of the lover...only the soldier–mercenary.

Beneath Ellspeth, Kaleigh’s sure-footed gait acquired an unfamiliar ragged footing. “It’s not far now, girl,” Ellspeth encouraged. “I hope,” she muttered to herself. Suddenly the gathering of magic swirled around her as the air fluoresced with crimson sparks. The dancing motes grew brighter until, in a final blinding flare they eclipsed the silvery predawn light. When her vision returned, the spire that had been hours away now towered above her head. “Magic can move people?” 

 “No,” Dal said at her ear. “I just dispelled the illusion created as part of the circlet’s protection. Dismount. We’re here.”  

The buff-colored grass seemed unusually thick and pulled at her boots. When Ellspeth stepped down she had to fight the urge to leap into the saddle. 

“Ignore, it,” Dal ordered. His stern voice cut through her increasing anxiety. “When I leave, don’t stand in one place too long or the tendrils will wrap around your feet. Once you are trapped, the vines will pull you down and eventually smother you. However, as long as I’m here the grass isn’t dangerous... Elle, I...”  

An edge in his voice drew her attention.  

His brown eyes glowed with an inner fire, a passion at odds with his controlled expression. “I know the plan called for me to follow you into the spire after you released the wall that keeps out mages. But Bashim’s people are too close.”  

The cold steel of the dagger he placed in her hand distracted her from the emotion she saw in his eyes.

~ ~ ~

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Links to the rest of the hop follows.

Hooked on Windmaster, Destiny Awaits, #MFRWHooks

From the sword and sorcery fantasy, Windmaster, an excerpt continuing Dal and Ellspeth's parting on the eve of battle. The scene picks up where "A Parting" left off.

 

Apologies, due to a blip in scheduling, Destiny Awaits posted this week. A Parting Will Be Next Week.

Excerpt:

The cold steel of the dagger he placed in her hand distracted her from the emotion she saw in his eyes. “Tairneach and the colts will go with me to lead off Ruaridh and his men. We’ll buy you as much time as we can. You memorized the book of clues. You have your flute.” He draped the loops of a soft velvet bag over her neck. The amber jewel within pulsed with hidden energy, a power Ellspeth could feel, despite the cloth and protective wards placed around the jewel.

“I think my dagger will provide the magic direction you need deeper into the cave. Don’t release the protective spells when you get inside. Keep going. Please, Ellspeth, promise me.”

Shaken by the intensity of his request, Ellspeth nodded. 

Dal’s grasp on her shoulders generated a heat out of proportion to the lightness of his touch. “I just saw Bashim in my crystal. I’m sorry, Elle, but he breached the defensive wards of the Isle. I had enough time to send a warning to Sea Falcon. It set sail for Montrat moments ago. They’ll stop there for a day at the Cszabo compound, then head on to Stratven. 

“If I... I mean...” 

In front of her, the glow faded from his eyes and a shadow passed over his face. His hands fell to his side. A cold determination replaced the inner sparkle of amusement she had come to know. “I gave you the master spells. When the time is right, you will remember them. As Archmage I charge you to use them and the power wisely. Kaleigh will take you and the circlet safely to the Falcon.”  

Before Ellspeth could move, Dal leaped into the saddle. She swore she saw a message pass between Tairneach and the wizard. Then the stallion spun on his haunches. One long leap later the faint smell of dust was all that was left of Taer’s, and the wizard’s, presence. The urge to jump onto Kaleigh’s back and race after them almost overwhelmed her.

~ ~ ~

 

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2021 P : Potioner

 

 

The topic chosen for the letter "P" comes from a character in Imprisoned in Stone. A potion is a liquid with healing, magical, or poisonous properties. The potioner is the man or woman who creates it, and in this case her name is Donnelle.

Donnelle is unprepossessive, with neither riches nor beauty. She is an old woman with straggly gray hair and tattered clothes. Noone knew for sure where she came from, but the story was that as a young woman she lost her husband and child in a ship wreck. Although she survived, she retreated to the farthest distance she could from the water to live in a stone hut on the edge of the Cothrom Desert.

To gather the plants to create her potions, she often took a tent and lived for days in the solitude of the desert, her haunting song drifting over the sands.

Although Donnelle isn't a true mage, she has a special aptitude for plants and capturing their healing abilities in potions. Although capable of killing through her elixirs, she held herself to a higher standard and never traded or bartered anything lethal. Her special ability to determine the purpose of those who requested her assistance made sure she didn't assist assassins -- or the Brethren.

 

To learn her fate when she encounters the Brethren,
read the dark fantasy tale of magic, both good and bad.
Imprisoned in Stone - one click to sale sites

If you're following other blogs in the challenge, here's the master list of the other participants.

To make following the hop easier, here is the link to all my posts. Just remember, the next day's post isn't live until midnight.

~ till next time, Helen

M is for Mage

M is for Mage

Being a mage is more than just wielding magic. One of the rules of magic is that its use comes with a price. In the case of Lord Dal, Archmage of the World, the price is everyone and everything he holds dear. Because he held the master spells, Dal was responsible for every wizard from the fullness of their powers to those in the throes of awakening. Which increased his guilt when everyone on the isle that is the heart home of all wizards is killed. No one is spared not woman nor child, nor wizard or villager.

Dal must save the future of magic for the generations to come. For those with power will have magic, whether good or bad. First he has to find the murderer of his brethren. Not only has to keep a powerful token out of the rogue mage’s hand, but prevent the power-hungry man from killing the next generation of wizards, including the woman Dal loves—Ellspeth.

A different price is asked in Windmaster Legend. The lure of magic could cost Subcommander Pelra the gold bracelets of rank, the man she loves... and her life. When the accused weapon is magic, not even being a continent away can save you from the charges of sinking a ship or kinslaying.

Sometimes the price of being a mage is more physical as Colwynn finds out in the fantasy, Imprisoned in Stone. His father wants to learn the secret of binding a mage to the earth, preventing him passing through the veil. The key ingredient to the dark magic is blood. And Colwynn's father decrees the source will be? Colwynn.

Windmaster - one click to estores
Windmaster Legacy - one click to estores
Windmaster Legend - one click to estores

Imprisoned In Stone - one click to estores

Hope you'll return tomorrow’s for "N is for Najest." If you're following other blogs in the challenge, here's the master list of the other participants.

~ till next time, Helen

L is for Legend

L  is for Windmaster Legend the newest of the Windmaster Novels. Windmaster Legend gives full due to the legend of Iol and Pelra that was first mentioned in Windmaster

As an introduction, from Windmaster, the original telling of the myth of Iol and Pelra told to Lord Dal by Captain Ellspeth as they shared a dinner.

"Two stars are named Iol and Pelra. Iol and Pelra were captains; both had won their gold bracelets. Their rank was suitable but his mother had rejected her father’s courtship, so a joining between Iol and Pelra was not allowed. Since no one had ever sailed the southern island route in less than four sevenday, the two families proposed a wager. If Iol and Pelra made the trip in less than two sevenday, the families would allow the marriage. The pair set off in their respective ships with all masts carrying as much canvas as the rigging could handle.

"Iol and Pelra prayed, and in recognition of their devotion the water god favored them with fair skies. Brisk winds pushed them faster than any vessel had ever sailed before. The ships returned in the final hour allowed by the bet. Despite their return within the allotted time, the parents reneged and declared that Iol and Pelra had lost the bet and refused to allow the marriage. The ruling council of Iol’s house ordered him to a remote inland lake to captain an old scupper. Pelra was confined to her family complex. Unable to return to their ships and the sea, the pair sneaked to the twin rocks that guarded the harbor entrance. When the families sent soldiers to enforce their orders, the water god brought up a storm to protect the lovers. Then he transformed Iol and Pelra into shipfish. Legend has it they swam together to the end of the world. One powerful leap carried them into the night sky."

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Tomorrow’s post - "M is for Mage." If you're following other blogs in the challenge, here's the master list of the other participants.

~ till next time, Helen

Tuesday's Titles - Knight of Rapture by Ruth A. Casie

She was his witch, his warrior, and his wife. He was her greatest love. Four hundred years couldn't keep them apart.

Genre:  Historical fantasy, time travel, romance

Publisher: Timeless Scribes Publishing

Buy Links:

      Amazon  Amazon Print

      B&Noble   Kobo    iBook

Blurb:

He crossed the centuries to find her…

For months Lord Arik has been trying to find the right combination of runes to create the precise spell to rescue his wife, Rebeka, but the druid knight will soon discover that reaching her four hundred years in the future is only the beginning of his quest. He arrives in the 21st century to find her memory of him erased, his legacy on the brink of destruction, and traces of dark magick at every turn.

A threat has followed…

Bran, the dark druid, is more determined than ever to get his revenge. His evil has spread across the centuries. Arik will lose all. Time is his weapon, and he’s made sure his plan leaves no one dear to Arik, in past or present, safe from the destruction.

But their enemy has overlooked the strongest magick of all…

Professor Rebeka Tyler is dealing with more than just a faulty memory. Ownership of Fayne Manor, her home, has been called into question. Convenient accidents begin happening putting those she cares for in the line of fire. And then there’s the unexpected arrival of a strange man dressed like he belonged in a medieval fair—a man who somehow is always around when needed, and always on her mind. She doesn’t know who to trust. But one thing is certain. Her family line and manor have survived for over eleven centuries. She won’t let them fall, not on her watch… in any century.

Author Bio:

Casie describes herself as a Storyteller  -  Blogger  -  Dreamer  - Creative Thinker - Good Sport  -  Teammate.

She writes contemporary and historical fantasy romance. Formerly from Brooklyn, New York, she lives in New Jersey with her very supportive husband Paul. When not writing you can find Ruth reading, cooking, doing Sudoku, or counted cross stitch. She loves to hear from readers, so drop her a line at www.RuthACasie.com OR visit her on Facebook: www.facebook.com/RuthACasie or on Twitter: @RuthACasie.