I thought I would also take this opportunity to give you an excerpt, just in case you care. Be warned that my usual ability with typos will be even more noticeable here as almost no editing has taken place (that being kinda the point in a challenge like this.) The novel is called 'The Dream' and here's a short synopsis for you first:
The world of Erinea is falling apart. People are vanishing, whole nations have fallen into darkness and a mad Sorceress is planning war on those that remain. It is up to a Poet, a Priest, a Mountain Guide and a Herald, sent out from the city-state of Ciria to sneak into her kingdom in an attempt to stop her and the madness that has fallen upon the world. All is not as it seems, however; old ties bind heroes and villains alike and a great awakening lies on the horizon which could mean the end of more than just Erinea, or the birth of something far greater.
Anyway this short excerpt is from what is probably chapter five and, fittingly enough, it begins with a dream and leads into what is, so far, the only scene of fantasy action to have taken place in the story so far, but I'll let you read on to find out more:
For the first time in weeks I had a dream which I could remember, in which the details were clear, though I could not make much sense of it.
I dreamt that I was sitting on an unfamiliar mountaintop and it seemed that all Erinea lay stretched out before me. I could see the great pyramidal tombs of Ankha's ancient kings, the domed palaces of Fasa, Ciria gleaming white and, across the see, the island of Sereva, wreathed in shadow. I could see further still, to places long since forgotten, lands across the sea, lands beyond the Spine. It was beautiful, enticing, and I had the sense that it was also waiting for something, holding back some secret until just the right moment. Erinea was indeed beautiful, like a bride waiting for her groom.
I tried to take it all in, knowing that it was important to see and to remember, but fearing that I could never remember it all, that I would miss some perfect detail I would later regret, but as I stared I realised that I could balance it all in my mind. I could hold the beauty of Erinea there and it would stay safe, but I had to concentrate, one slip and something might be lost.
Then I realised that I was not alone on the mountaintop. There was a woman with me. I wanted to turn to look at her, but I had to stay focused on the world before me. The scent of her filled my nostrils, floral, yet dark and musky. I wanted to turn. I wanted to turn. My vision became clouded with desire. I stopped noticing the details before me and as they lost my attention I forgot about them completely. All that was before me faded into blackness, but it no longer mattered. I didn't care about Erinea any more, I just wanted the woman who stood there beside me.
I could feel her warmth now, though at the same time I thought it was a chill. She was right beside me, whispering into my ear.
"My love," she said, "you have forgotten me," her voice was like silk, like soft silk between the dressmakers shears, "you have forgotten me, but you will remember."
I felt her hand on my cheek, turning my head towards her. I turned with it. I turned and turned and turned and turned until I realised that I was spinning around, making myself dizzy, alone atop an unfamiliar mountain, with Erinea spread out beneath me.
All the details had returned to her, my bride, for of course, I was the groom she was waiting for. Who else could it be in my dream? I skimmed over her sights, both strange and familiar and then, as my eyes dragged over that shadowy veil which covered Sereva I heard the woman's voice one more time.
"You will come to me," she said in a voice soft and slick like spider's silk, "you will come to me here, my love."
And then I woke up and, though it was dark, for the fire had burnt down to little more than a few feeble embers, I knew, immediately, that we were not alone in the cave. Something was approaching us, slowly from the mouth of the cave. I thought I could hear breathing.
I blinked away the after-images of my dream and stared into the darkness near the cave mouth. It was still night outside and I could hear rain dripping onto the rocky slope, but even overcast as it was, it was still lighter out there than inside and so I strained to see and caught the barest hint of a silhouette against the black. Low, hunched - no - poised, it crept up towards our little camp, one paw at a time, a low growl forming in its throat. I imagined I could see its eyes, hungry and malevolent.
I tried to remember how we had arranged ourselves on the cave floor, to call to mind which of us was closest to the cave mouth and, so, which of was at most risk from the hunting animal.
"Yena," I called in a shout which was little more than a terrified whisper, "Yena, wake up."
The wolf's growl grew louder in response to my words and I saw it tense, as if ready to leap. And then there was a feminine yell, a scraping of steel on stone, of fabric and boots and claws all scrabbling around, a vicious growl and then a sudden, very final yelp.
I leapt out of my bed roll and ran over to where I thought Yena must be.
"Yena," I called, "are you alright?"
"Shh," she whispered, reaching a hand out towards me to rest on my arm. It was warm and wet with wolf's blood, "there are probably more. Do you think you can light a fire whilst I stand guard here?"
I nodded before I remembered that she wouldn't see, said "of course," and then crawled back through the darkness towards where the embers still glimmered. I felt around for Yena's supply of wood and tinder and began to layer them over the hottest parts of the dying fire, letting it slowly rekindle until a strong flame burst forth from the tinder and began to lick the edges of the dry wood.
I glanced over to where Yena stood, her sword held at the ready, the dead wolf lying at her feet and then saw beyond her, to the mouth of the cave where three more wolves stood, watching. The fire flickered in their eyes like a gleam of intent and the lead wolf growled, but did not move, yet.
"What - what's happening?" Jruniro said suddenly, very loudly. I saw him sitting up and stretching out of the corner of my eye. "Why is everybody-?"
Something pounced. I heard the scrabbling paws, the guttural growl and then a cry of pain as Jruniro fell, hidden behind a mound of dark, matted fur. But the three wolves still stood in the cave mouth. Yena still stood ready to strike. Nothing made sense, nothing at all. Even as I turned to help my friend, even as Yena looked back over her shoulder, I still didn't know what was happening.
And then, as I ran towards the struggling mass of man and beast, I realised that there must have been a fifth wolf, one which had snuck past our sleeping forms before I woke and saw the first wolf, the one Yena had killed. It had been hiding in the dark of the cave, watching us and waiting patiently for a moment in which to strike, and now it had my friend.
I won't be posting any more excerpts than this, I think. The rest is for final publication in some other medium, if it gets that far. Wish me luck!
I won't be posting any more excerpts than this, I think. The rest is for final publication in some other medium, if it gets that far. Wish me luck!
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