Just A Few Excerpts
8-10-24
I’ve been updating this blog for some time now, and I’m just now realizing that I’ve yet to upload any lines from my books! How could I have done such a thing? So, I’ll pick a few from THE LIGHTLESS and VINE VEIN and give a little context for each below. Enjoy!
EXCERPT FROM VINE VEIN’S PROLOGUE
Redshift arrived back in the Pit of the Shade, and was swiftly informed by the guards she had left behind that Burners had let Greytrunks into the city. Any Leviathan or animal meant to be brought inside the walls had to have written consent, signed by someone in a position of authority—usually either the king or queen. This was another egregious violation of the law by the Burners, and Redshift stewed with rage over it.
There must not be any guards on the gates. Worthless, meaningless manure. Redshift thought. She had noticed during the past five ages, her thinking had darkened, mutated, and sometimes wouldn’t make any sense at all. Or the Burners took them out. Damn.
“Useless guards,” Lightless Smear scoffed, again inflating Redshift’s head. Unlike Burners and their stars, it could hear and respond to Redshift’s thoughts. “I would have all their skin collected, and their bare bodies whipped with chains! Blood and broken bodies, now!”
Animals and Leviathans were allowed as pets, food, or for work, though they must be chosen from a pre-approved list, and all other species were strictly prohibited. This was mostly for the safety of the Copperites, though some of it was yet another way Redshift was able to establish her control over the kingdom.
“Get these fires put out!” Redshift instructed the guards who had survived their encounter with Neb and her Greytrunk. She shook her head, clawing a patch of skin above her eye until it bled. “Keep those chains of buckets going from River Hazel, and do not let up! Leave the Burners to me.”
There are a couple of major points made just in this quick excerpt that will become present throughout the rest of the story. The first is that Queen Redshift’s mental state is not quite stable, something that readers will have to keep a careful eye on as they read. Next is that she heavily controls day to day aspects of her people’s lives, and there aren’t always clear reasons for her doing so. And lastly, this briefly mentions Redshift’s disdain for the ones she calls Burners, the Star-Shapers. All three of these points are integral to the main plot.
EXCERPT FROM THE LIGHTLESS
L.E. was in her late fifties, had bright-green eyes, and manageable auburn hair that scraped at the back of her neck. She wore an elaborate tunic and undershirt made from philodendron gloriosum and paper mulberry, and a grass skirt with a simple pair of buckskin leggings underneath. Keloid scars covered ninety-percent of her skin, though she wore these scars proudly, never attempting to hide them from view.
A bright flash of spherical, green light grew out from one of L.E.’s palms, glowing brighter than the streetlight beside her. The Fogform took a step backwards, its focus switching onto the Star-Shaper’s light instead of the lighted pole.
“Your sixty minutes just became fifty-five. Remember: the Shaper that reserves is the Shaper we deserve,” L.E.’s star Locus spoke inside of her head, its ethereal voice parental and rigid. Shapers were allotted sixty minutes every twenty-four hours to draw energy from the star they were partnered with: Low Draw spends a minute per second, Even spends three, and Full spends five. The higher the draw the bigger the output of light and plasma.
“Not now, Locus! Please, I’m trying to concentrate!” L.E. replied, rolling her eyes. Then she beckoned at the Leviathan. “That’s right, this way! Follow me!”
This excerpt is from the introduction of one of the main characters: L.E. She is the leader of a group of Star-Shapers called the Refulgency. After her intro, there is some vital information about how a Shaper’s abilities work, as well as that the star they are partnered with not only speaks to them inside their head, but can remind their Shaper of the remaining Draw they have left. This is a priceless perk to have, since spending even a second more than their allotted 60 minutes would have disastrous consequences. Every Shaper and their star had their own relationships, battle tactics, and some even had variations in their abilities.
