“Adjusting to the limits of our peace accords has made my generals upset. They yearn for the days where we could battle freely with as much might as we could muster. I have reminded them that we need twelve person teams and they have delivered. I brought four teams with me. I will send two teams to these villages.” The King paused and glanced over his notes. “Xiq and Straddleback... No, new name. Xiq and Streb. Can we add a pride of griffins to each location? Help clear out the old structures so we can be ready to build the new? I will need help finding workers for those villages. I have all my construction workers underground of Tent Crossing.”
“A pride at each location works .”
Duke Riza and a few other nobles mentioned they could add support in the form of people to improve the villages. The conversation dragged on long into the day. Refreshments and snacks were brought which I demanded more off. Politely of course.
The topic turned to the ogre hearts and what was to be done about them. I mentioned that I only need one, maybe one and a half to finish building what was needed here. This got the lords and nobles salivating at the thought of upgrading their cities or adding new underground complexes. King Horus said he would auction the two and a half hearts. To keep infighting and favoritism down. Also because he could use the money to get any extra food the other kingdoms might have available to help feed the griffins. It was a smart and noble cause. One I felt Una and those we lost today would feel worthy of their sacrifices.
Then came the fated question of my disappearance.
“My lords and ladies. I admit I am not from Vin, and some things I am ignorant to. One such thing is that shamans can teleport through portals anywhere on Vin. I will take more precautions to not be alone again. A shaman appeared behind me while I gathered fish, he proclaimed to be the Shaman Master of Vin. Said his name was Virtue and offered me a white contract for peace talks. Why? My guess was curiosity as to who had unraveled his plans he had with the Emperor. Or because he knew King Horus would deny such a contract for discussion. He talked of possible retreat from Vin or adding more troops. I think he was used to talking to himself out loud. He then told me of things about my home world, things that do and do not affect Vin. I did not believe him until he proved it to me by taking me to see... How do I word this? My god... No, our goddess works best. I had so many questions for her. Like why did griffins hate men and how did I break the spell? Why can only I talk to them? Why was I inserted here of all places? Because Virtue was there, I got to ask very little, and learned almost nothing.”
I propped my elbows onto the table and ran my hands through my hair.
“I guess what I did learn is that Vin is vital in the expansive war against the Horde. There has to be a reason I am here. I admit I love my life here, it is one of adventure, love, and battle. The only question I should be asking you all and myself is… What is next on the endless to do list?”
THE END
AFTERWORD
Writing this book was a pleasure and a pain. I sat down to tell a story that danced around in my head. I kept things loose and let the story flow. As this is my first novel I ran into a lot of issues. Weak verbs, lack of consistency, and other problems. I hired an editor for a section of the book to help show me some ways to improve. I know the book is not perfect, but I have went over it a lot and still enjoy it. I hope it makes enough sales to professionally edit it. If that is the case next book will be edited right from the start. Editing is tedious and lots of work.
I understand some will say Gryff is too perfect. In the literary world a Marty Sue. I have two issues with this. He is handsome and charming, but he is still an idiot at the same time, too trusting, and impulsive. All real flaws real people have. I know some dashing men in real life who have no obvious flaws. Hint it is not me… The other complaint I have is I personally do not want to read or write about someone who has horrid problems they are working on like alcoholism, PTSD, or drug recovery. That seems to me to be a standard go to, in order to have a flawed main character.
My wife hates the idea of women instantly falling in lust with someone, and that someone having multiple dynamic relationships. It is a fantasy book in a fantasy world. I am looking into releasing a non-vulgar, no harem version of this book. Geared for the Young Adult crowd. The problem is I enjoy reading and writing about the hero’s sexual conquests. As long as it is not a four page event or repeated a few times every chapter I find it fits as do many other authors. Who knows though, it is one of those internal debates that rages within, to do or not to do.
It is common to get asked to write a review at the end of every book you read and this one… Even if you do not, thank you for finishing the book. I invested a lot of time and effort to getting it to this point.
If you want to reach me, I am on discord which is a chat, text, post images, and more app. I use it for gaming mostly but it will serve my purpose here. If you want to comment constructively, or ask a question come on over. Oh, and I am looking for alpha readers for the next books!!!
https://discord.gg/JKQcXdv
Gryff The Griffin Rider Page 41
