A Sellsword's Hope
Page 40
Well, dear reader, we have come to the end of The Seven Virtues. The great evil has been met, has been conquered, and the threat Kevlane posed is finally defeated. So celebrate, if you wish. After all, it was a long road that brought us here, wasn’t it? A long, tiring path, full of twists and turns that sometimes carried us deep into places of shadow, where light is but a passing memory, quickly forgotten.
Yet, for all that, we have arrived, have come to a place where, finally, we might be allowed to catch our breath. So celebrate, and I will celebrate with you. And do not be ashamed, if the tears you shed are not wholly happy ones. After all, we made it, but not all those who set out on this adventure with us were so fortunate. Those, like Beth, like Raenclest, and Hale, and so many others, who were lost along the way who, as our road took us in to shadow, we found missing when once again we arrived into the light.
Still, we might be comforted in the knowledge that, without them, without their sacrifice, we would have never come to be here in this place of…I will not say peace, for such a state is all-too temporary in the living and only the fallen might truly claim it. Instead, I will say a place of rest, a place to reflect, to mourn and to grieve and, yes, to celebrate. For no matter how many were lost, it could have been so much worse, couldn’t it?
Aaron and Adina, Wendell and Gryle and all the others, they wait for us up ahead in the castle. Shield your eyes from the morning sun and peer into the distance—there, do you see it? The white walls of Perennia, shining in the morning sun despite the blood still staining them, and why not? Hope, after all, is never wholly clean, is it?
I know you must be eager to be off, but why don’t you sit with me here, on this fallen tree, and rest your weary feet for a time? We will visit Aaron and the others, of course, but I suspect we will not stay overly long. After all, there are other paths to explore for we, wanderers, and, as ever, one world, one story is not enough to sate the hunger we share.
We will need to gather our strength for a time, and I feel that we have earned that. But let us not tarry too long. After all, there are other stories, other dramas playing out in different places, different worlds. I have heard of one such, in my travelings, and a name, spoken in whispers, The Son of the Morning. Soon, I will go there and lend what help I can, and perhaps you should come as well. For though this part of the story might be finished, ours is not, and we have many adventures ahead of us. There is joy, somewhere down the road, awe and laughter and, yes, grief, but why not? It is all of a part, just one more step on the trail, one more leg of the journey.
So rest now, and when you are ready, we will leave this place and journey on to another. And do not worry about Aaron, about Adina and all the others. Kevlane might be defeated, his creations finally put to rest, but as for our sellsword? Our princess? Well…Even I don’t know where all of our paths might lead, but, if you ask me, their story might not yet be finished.
Thank you so much for going on this journey with me. I hope you enjoyed meeting Aaron, Adina, and all the others. They were a pleasure to write. As always, I want to give a special thanks to the beta readers and editors for all their input and efforts in helping me to make this series the best it could be. They are a wonderful group of people who I cannot thank enough.
It’s a funny thing, finishing such a long series. On the one hand, I find myself sad to be leaving the characters in The Seven Virtues behind (I confess that I have a particular fondness for Wendell). On the other hand, I’m excited for what’s to come, and I look forward to once more stepping into the world of The Nightfall Wars and catching up with Alesh, with Katherine and Rion, and their companions. I think their story has gone unspoken for too long, and it’s past time I told it.
So stick with me. True, this story might be done (only time will tell) but there are thousands of others out there waiting for us.
How about we find them together?
Jacob Peppers
About the Author
Jacob Peppers lives in Georgia with his wife, his son, Gabriel, and their three dogs. He is an avid reader and writer and when he’s not exploring the worlds of others, he’s creating his own. His short fiction has been published in various markets, and his short story, “The Lies of Autumn,” was a finalist for the 2013 Eric Hoffer Award for Short Prose. He is the author of the bestselling series, The Seven Virtues, as well as The Nightfall Wars, and The Essence Chronicles.