Deathsworn Arc: The Last Dragon Slayer

by Martyn Stanley

 

  Vashni Ulthi§ira is an elf who guards her history and her background carefully. Her prowess with a blade and her incredible natural ability in the art of ‘whispering’ both prove invaluable to the party. However, her quirky ways and frivolous nature are often a source of frustration, particularly to Korhan, who finds himself intrigued by this peculiar individual and keen to get to know her better.

  Glossary

  Acknowledgements:-

  Thanks to everyone at the https://www.sw-e.com writing forum, for inspiring me to write and providing a place to practise.

  Special thanks to Jack Pedley for his input, constructive criticism and valuable suggestions.

   

  Thanks to artist Isis Sousa, for her incredible cover illustration. See more of her work on her website:- https://www.isissousadesigner.com

  Extra special thanks to my wife Rachael…

  For putting up with me.

  A note on the pronunciation of ‘§’

  § is a sound used in elvish and gravian tongues. Whenever one of the human or dwarf characters say this sound, they are trying to emulate it, but probably not getting it exactly right. § is an alien sound, it rolls quickly off the tongue and changes depending on the context in which it’s used. For simplicity think of the sound as a fast, ‘shzchl’ which sort of rolls into one sound and slides off the tongue. If you feel it should sound different on a particular word, then it probably does-please use your own interpretation.

  The Deathsworn Arc

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  Early concept sketch for cover art

 

  Second draft concept for cover art

 

  Colour draft concept for cover art

 

 

  The final cover before the change to Isis Sousa.

  Notes from the author.

  Since its release in 2012 ‘Deathsworn Arc : The Last Dragon Slayer’ has undergone some minor changes. Some of these changes went beyond simple polishing and editing. In the earliest draft Vashni used ‘whispering’ more often. I reduced this in later versions to make it a less frivolous ability to use. In this, the latest and hopefully definitive version, I made one more change. That was, the fate of Gedric. Prior to this version Gedric got beheaded, his condition having been permanent. After reader feedback, careful consideration and some soul-searching, I came to the conclusion that it didn’t really fit the morality of the characters very well and seemed needlessly cold-hearted.

  The final round of editing and improving which I went through with Mike Rose-Steel in March and April of 2015 was in response to a harsh criticism by website owner whom I was considering advertising with. Because I’d decided to commission Kat Rose-Martin to narrate the audiobook version, I decided I had to get it 100% right before production began.

  Finally in this version I removed the free sample of book 2. Reading it could have spoiled the reader’s enjoyment of ‘The Verkreath Horror’.

  Final Notes on Covers

  I loved the original art for ‘The Last Dragon Slayer’. Changing to Isis Sousa was not an easy decision. In the end the things which swayed me to make the change was the focus on characters, which I think suits the novel better and the fact that Isis can deliver art in a better timescale.

  The old art may be used for the trilogy edition which contains, ‘The Last Dragon Slayer’, ‘The Verkreath Horror’ and ‘The Blood Queen’. As it is, I really love Isis’s image for book one. I think it much more accurately portrays what the book is about, because book 1 is rather focused on Korhan and Vashni.

  Martyn Stanley