In
Your Dreams
The
Aldaya SeriesBook One
John Swan
Genre:
Epic Fantasy
Date
of Publication: Sept. 14, 2014ISBN:978-0-9906555-0-3
ASIN:B00NI96DC4
Number of pages: Estimated 276
Cover Artist: Natalie Spasic
Book
Description:
On
an ancient planet within our galaxy, a dark and fearsome terror has
awoken from its long slumber. Its task is to work quietly from the
unseen, spreading dissent through the vulnerable territories of the
free races; weakening them for its master. By a chance meeting, it
comes across a young girl in the swampy and mist choked lands of
Endmoor.
Her
name is Mim, and the pairing of her platinum hair and violet eyes has
not been seen since the Great War 1,000 years earlier; and has
attracted unwanted attention. Knowing it hunts her, Mim flees and
starts on a journey that takes her far across the Great Isle of
Aldaya; the only landmass that now sits above the waves.
Unbeknownst
to her, she is the key to unraveling the darkness that is falling
over the Great Isle; an emptiness that threatens to swallow not only
Aldaya, but the Sphere as well, and all its futures to come.
Excerpt:
Her
words caught in her throat and she was unable to breathe. The woman
at the table was the strangest looking person she had ever seen. Her
body was thin and gangly, and her pale skin stuck out jaggedly in
places as if it were trying to cover too many bones. Even sitting
down Mim could tell she was tall, and her thin robes were midnight
black and hemmed in places with dark maroon embroidery.
Then
Mim took in her face, and it was paler and more terrifying than the
rest of her body.
Her
cheekbones were set a little too pointy and high. The mouth was
nothing more than a thin slit stretched too far across the length of
her face. The nose looked as if it had been removed, shrunk, and
poorly placed back on. And her eyes were ghastly and titled upwards
too far, and completely black with veins around the outer parts.
Their color matched the hair that came down from her dark hood, which
had jagged protrusions poking out at a few points near the back.
“Oh!
I didn’t smell a child,” the creature said. As her black eyes met
Mim’s purple ringed with blue, she stopped. “Well, what do we
have here? How strange...” She got up from the table and circled
her. At full height, the creature stood at least two feet taller than
Mim.“I can smell the sweet scent of youth a mile away, little
piglet, yet somehow I had no idea you were here.” A cold, pointy,
finger ran across Mim’s cheek and up to her temples. “And what
strange eyes you have.”
Mim
was rooted to the ground and dared not move. Whatever stood before
her seemed to be a demon that had jumped off the pages of one of
Ilanya’s stories, and as she glanced towards Miss Barley and Candy
for direction, the two were expressionless. They stared ahead in some
sort of trance. What was wrong with them?
A
lightning bolt cracked overhead and the woman let out a high-pitched
laugh. When her oversized mouth opened, Mim could see two rows of
sharpened teeth that filled the inside: one in the front like normal,
and another jagged row sitting just behind it. The two figures that
accompanied her said nothing, remaining still and hidden under their
cloaks.
As
she looked down at the blond girl, for the first time in over a
thousand years, curiosity crept into Morra’s mind. The girl had no
smell, and try as she might, Morra Losis couldn’t sense a trace of
her except with her vision. But even stranger were her eyes. Purple
eyes like those she had only seen many ages ago, and the bearers of
them had disappeared from the sphere before the Great War in the
north had begun.
But
yet here in front of her one remained, and she wondered to herself
whether her queen would find interest in this young human. Oh, most
certainly, she thought. This revelation was the only thing keeping
her from devouring the succulent girl on the spot. But if she lost
her now, she would have to hunt for her like mortals did, and that
was certainly not going to happen. Then the most wonderful idea came
to her mind.
With
the centaurs it had always been the hunt, the Dwarves their precious
jewels, and the Elves their knowledge. But with humans it had always
come down to their desire for freedom and independence. And although
she hadn’t been awake for long, she knew in this age that true
freedom could only be attained by one thing:wealth. She knew exactly
what this poor little mongrel desired most just by looking at her
torn outfit and dirty hands. “Well, it seems that one servant
around here knows how to appease a guest of status. And I have always
prided myself on paying the help.”
Morra
Losis snapped her fingers and one of the tall hooded figures glided
over, producing a large coin purse. She dipped her hand in and pulled
out a large handful of endins and sprinkled them into the pot of meat
with a smile. The taller creature then went back to standing by its
twin before she drew herself closer to the girl onceagain. “That is
for the meat, dear.” She then reached into a pocket from the inside
of her cloak and pulled out a very small black purse. It was made of
a shimmery fabric and all over it were dark maroon shapes. “And
this is for you.”
As
her hand placed the small pouch in the girl’s free hand, a tremor
went through her. She could barely contain her appetite. She grabbed
Mim’s jaw with one hand and effortlessly lifted her off of the
ground, running her forked purple tongue up Mim’s cheek. The pot
dropped to the ground, sending pieces of raw pork and coins spilling
onto the rough floors. Her grip was so tight that she felt the girl’s
jaws beginning to crack. She hadn’t had a meal this intriguing in
an age, and her resistance was crumbling to the need to satisfy her
hunger. What can one little bite hurt? she thought. But as she
thought of her master, she quickly let go, dropping the girl back to
the ground and turning back towards the table. As she bent down and
picked up a raw piece of intestine and dangled it in front of her
face, she said, “I just don’t think this will do. I certainly do
not eat off of the floor, and when I feed I have always desired
something with a little more...spunk.” She turned towards the dark
greasy haired girl and let out a low gurgle, briefly revealing her
jagged rows of teeth. Lifting her enchantment, the girl came out of
her stupor, and after a moment began shrieking and backing away.
John
Swan has been an independent fiction writer since 2003, with the
Aldaya Series being his first published work to date. During that
time, he attended Southern Illinois University and graduated with two
degrees, both with high honors. He has an Associates in the Sciences
and a Bachelors in Meteorology and Climate sciences, with emphasis on
research and written dictations.
He
spent several years during school helping to open and manage a French
Bistro before moving to Honolulu, HI, where he worked for the local
Parks and Wildlife service and was finally able to give his writing
career the full attention it needed.
His
love for writing began at an early age, never passing up chances to
submit his works to young writers’ forums through school and his
local community. He grew up on a small farm in southern Illinois, but
spent his summers in an enchanted little blue cottage on the banks of
the Mississippi River. In this valley is where he wandered beneath
the trees along the bluffs with his best friends, and where tales of
hobbits, mages, boy wizards, enchanted wardrobes and Native American
folk lore shaped his writing style and drove him to create an entire
universe all his own.
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