by CM Raymond
Most of the battle had been won by Adrien’s death. As the news spread throughout the city, most of those loyal to him fled in fear for their lives. A few, half-foolish and half-bold, tried to hold their ground, but the axes of the rearick and the weapons of the factory men made short work of them.
And once the city was secure, the eating, drinking, and dancing began.
Hannah, still worn from the fight, rested her head on Parker’s shoulder. “Going to take more than one wizard to keep me away from you, douche nugget.”
“Is that right?” He raised his brow and then laid a gentle kiss on her forehead as he smoothed her hair.
Sal thumped his big scaly tail on the ground, as he pressed in between them, pushing the boy aside. She laughed and gave the dragon a hug.
The three of them sat just like that in the corner of the room, watching the revelry going on around them.
Karl swaggered over, drink spilling over the edge of his over-sized goblet. “Scheisse! Get a room,” he slurred, dropping himself into a chair across from them.
Hannah smiled at her friend. “Sal is perfectly happy sleeping down here, you grumpy shit.”
He raised his glass to her and drank to his unspoken toast.
One by one, the rest of the team joined them, until, at last, Ezekiel hobbled over.
Laurel sat close to Gregory, both leaning back against the wall by the fire. Hannah snuck him a wink and a secret thumbs up. He smiled awkwardly and pushed back his kinky, black hair.
Ezekiel pulled out his pipe and began to smoke, his eyes watching the smoke. Finally, he raised his own glass. “To Arcadia and to the Matriarch!”
They all repeated after him and took generous drinks.
“Aye, and I’ll drink to the old Bastard as well,” Karl snorted as he finished his cup.
“And to Hannah,” Gregory said, and they all followed suit.
Amelia cleared her throat. “So, we’ve waited long enough. Who is going to tell us the full story?” Her eyes cut from Ezekiel to Hannah. “We’ve been waiting to hear it for days.”
Hannah pointed back to Ezekiel. “He is. I was a little incapacitated for most and lied to through the rest.”
Ezekiel tilted his head at her. “It would be an honor.”
He started his story, but Hadley interrupted. “No images, master wizard?”
“Not for this one. It is hard enough to relive with words.”
Ezekiel told the story slowly. Skipping a few pieces, but exaggerating all the parts that deserved embellishment. His audience sat rapt in the story and his ability to craft a tale.
“How much of that is shite?” Karl asked as he poured another round.
Shifting in his seat, Ezekiel answered the rearick. “Every story holds an ounce of truth.”
“And a ton of bullshit,” the rearick quipped. They all laughed along with him.
“There is another story,” Ezekiel continued. “One that has not yet been told in full.”
Hannah propped her feet up onto Sal’s back and eased deeper into the couch. She couldn’t imagine much that Ezekiel hadn’t told her in all their many hours together.
“I’ve never told any of you—” he pointed at Hannah “—even her, why I actually returned to Arcadia.”
Hannah raised her brows. She had always assumed that Ezekiel had returned to bring justice back to the streets, to build the city he had always dreamed of.
“In truth, I didn’t come back to save Arcadia. Hell, I hardly knew the shape it was in. In fact, I returned to ask Adrien for assistance in a mission more important than the one we have just completed.”
“The hell?” Hannah blurted out.
“It’s true. But thankfully, I have found companions who, all together at least, are far stronger than anything that Adrien may have offered—even if he hadn’t become a shitbrained madman.”
He paused for a drink and to build the tension in the room.
“The world currently faces its greatest threat. You have all heard the legends about Lilith—the Oracle. She was the one who taught me magic, and her wisdom makes even Gregory here look like a baby. She has the power to bring true peace and prosperity, not just to Arcadia, but throughout all of Irth. She can give us a world better than we’ve ever known.”
He took another drink, and Hannah thought she could see fear in his eyes. “But she is locked in battle against a darkness viler than any the world has ever known, a darkness that would destroy this world once and for all if it prevailed. I have spent most of my life helping her fight that darkness.”
He paused, letting the room consider his words.
“So, why did you leave her?” Hannah finally asked.
Ezekiel looked at his new student, tears welling up in his eyes. “Because she is dying.”
Someone audibly gasped, and the rest sat stunned.
“No, I didn’t return to save Arcadia. I came for help. I need a power greater than my own. I need a team strong enough to face the darkness and come out smiling on the other side.”
They all leaned in as he paused once more. He scanned the circle, looking with intention on every set of eyes.
Then, with a cunning grin, he asked, “Friends, will you help me save Lilith? Will you help me save the world?”
Arcadians
(Artwork by Eric Quigley)
Mystic
(Artwork by Eric Quigley)
Author Notes - Lee Barbant
Written 06/02/17
Hot damn! Was that ending as satisfying for you as it was for me? Maybe I’m a little biased.
Either way, thank you so much for sticking with this arc until the end, and thank you for reading these notes too.
I know that some of you felt like Adrien’s defeat was long overdo (I’m pretty sure Michael is included in that group), but we couldn’t kill off the Chancellor until Arcadia was ready, and by the way they all responded during the battle, I’d say the Arcadians were chomping at the bit to see that guy get blasted off the roof.
Now the real question is….what’s next? The answer to that question is a whopper. But more on that in a second.
As I’m writing these notes, I’m also trying to rock a baby to sleep. That’s right, Baby Barbant has now joined the world, and contrary to the sage counsel of one of my writing partners...the little guy has not helped my authorial productivity. Actually—sorry. I’ve got to go change a diaper.
I’m back. The diaper is clean, the baby is quiet, and Adrien is dead. The world’s in order.
My life has been a little hectic as of late, and fatherhood is only partially to blame. The rest of the chaos has to do with what we’re planning on doing now that the Chancellor has been dethroned. What do you do once you’ve defeated the villain?
The answer to that has several parts.
Hannah and some of her team are going on a quest. It’s a direction we’ve been planning for a while, but we, like Ezekiel, wanted to wait until Adrien was dead before we revealed it. That quest will take Hannah away from the city she loves. It will showcase new parts of the world, and it will hopefully shed some more light on what happened before the Age of Magic. Chris, Michael, and I are going to have a blast telling that story.
“But wait,” you might be saying. “Lee only said that some of Hannah’s team was questing. What’s happening to the others?” Glad you asked. After releasing Restriction, it became pretty clear that the Age of Magic had too much potential to leave in the hands of one series. So we’ve partnered with a number of talented authors to help us showcase other parts of the world. (As of me writing this, Justin Sloan’s Shades of Light is blowing up on Amazon. You should check it out if you haven’t gotten the chance). Two of those new authors are going to help take the places and characters we’ve established in the Rise of Magic and go deeper with those stories. Curious about the Druids? Interested in what dangers are going to effect Arcadia as it tries to rebuild? Me too. Luckily for me, and you, Candy Crum is on the case. Or, are you interested to know what impact
the Battle for Arcadia had on the Heights? Well our friend Amy Hopkins has a story for you. All of these books (and more) will be dropping in the next several months, so be sure to keep an eye on the Age of Magic Facebook page (or you can sign up for the Age of Magic email list). While I’m following Hannah’s journey, Candy and Amy will take some of our characters and run with them in way cooler directions than Chris or I could have.
Alright, I’ve got to wrap this up. Mrs. Barbant is giving me those, “I think we have another diaper to change” eyes. I’ve got to say, I’m getting pretty good at it.
Peace (for Arcadia and all of Irth),
Lee
Author Notes - Chris Raymond
Written 06/02/17
Scheisse! That was fun!
I’m sitting in an Air BnB in Calgary as I write these notes. My wife is sleeping, so I slipped away for some last-minute work to get the Arcadian adventure wrapped up and ready to ship!
Traveling is important for Mrs. Raymond and I. As often as possible, we pack a week’s worth of life into backpacks and hit the road (more often the air) to set off on adventures.
These new beautiful people and breathtaking places have shaped our lives and our imaginations.
A few days ago, we hiked the Canadian Rockies in Banff and then settled in on a patio at Nourish, a cool little vegan place where the pitchers of Sangria are bigger than Karl’s hammer and the people are kinder than Maddie.
As we hiked those big ass mountains, I imagine myself in the Heights… just waiting to turn a corner and find the temple sitting among the jutting rocks or to run into a load of rearick in Craigston.
I guess our travels don’t only shape our books, our books actually shape our travels!
Getting back to Arcadia…
Revolution was the hardest of the first arc to write. We were doing something new. It was a bit of a battle book all along—one seasoned with team building, character struggle, the demise of our biggest baddie, and, yes, more dick jokes.
Lee already mentioned this (as have some of our fans), but it was a relief, for me as a writer, to finally watch Adrien fall. The man was a real evil ass. And although he may have hung on longer than a few of you wanted, it made his death much sweeter!
Although the arc is finished, Hannah, Ezekiel, and their friends have A LOT of work to do… as do Lee, Michael, and I—but this work is so sweet!
Arc two of the Rise of Magic is already in the planning stages, and soon, I’ll start putting pen to paper (erm… fingers to keypad).
But our pre-Kurtherian fans also need a nip of love, so we’re going to finish up book three of the Jack Carson series (we think you’d like that too) before returning to the quest. I promise, it won’t be long!
Until then, there is PLENTY of other Kurtherian books to read, including many more on the horizon in the Age of Magic!
And now, it’s time for a slow, lazy breakfast and a long arduous hike.
We love you all and glad you’ve joined the journey!
Cheers,
Chris
Author Notes - Michael Anderle
Written June 2, 2017
As always, THANK YOU for not only reading this book but (all of these) author notes as well.
I’m not going to belabor the Adrien comment about his death (like Han Solo shot first, that chancellor bastard needed to go…just saying.)
Since I didn’t belabor the point (smirk) I want to admit a couple of things.
One - I’ve grown two sizes recently. (No, not my weight… Although to be fair, I have actually ‘grown’ and want to drop from a 38 back to at least a 34.)
Rather, I grew two sizes as an entrepreneur and a teacher. With the help of you, the fans, we are expanding the Kurtherian Gambit Universe (as one fan said) “into a real Universe.” I took their comment to mean it was being fleshed out in such a way that readers could truly see the parts coming together and that is a COOL feeling for me.
For one reason, it means we are successful tying shit together. The second is while most series (not all for all people, for sure) are starting to make sense.
TIMELINE : http://www.kurtherianbooks.com/timeline_jeff (check back, we are updating it as we realize we didn’t explain stuff well to our Artist or we figured out we explained incorrectly.)
Generally speaking, we have two ages (Magic and Expansion) that represent Earth and Outer Space in the future, past Bethany Anne’s first 21 books (of which I’m writing #17 right now.
So, some stories are written in the future of the stories for Bethany Anne who won’t be available to read for a few months as I finish them. Which means the past stories are to be finished in the future as I write this now.
Damn, that seems convoluted.
Either way, there are five more Bethany Anne books before we close out TKG, and when that happens, we are at the end of the stories planned for The Second Dark Ages (the time from WWDE to The Age of Madness on Earth.)
Right now, there are no less than twelve series being worked on in The Kurtherian Gambit Universe. We have five series inside The Age of Magic right now. As those bear fruit, we will see what we want to accomplish and you, as readers, want to read.
Send some feedback to us on the Facebook page(s) about what you would like to discover in the Age of Magic, and how it seems our future, became our past…
Thanks to technology.
We can’t be blessed to do what we do, without you enjoying and supporting the stories as you have so far, so from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU.
Without readers and fans, we have no future.
Ad Aeternitatem,
Michael
Also by CM Raymond and LE Barbant:
Steel City Heroes Saga
The Catalyst
https://www.amazon.com/Catalyst-Steel-City-Heroes-Book-ebook/dp/B01EQRDRTI/
The Crucible
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FX5RO5U/
The Casting
https://www.amazon.com/Casting-Steel-City-Heroes-Book-ebook/dp/B01I60N3AO/
Jack Carson Stories
The Devil’s Due
https://www.amazon.com/Devils-Jack-Carson-Story-Book-ebook/dp/B01MRR24I2/
The Devil’s Wager
https://www.amazon.com/Devils-Wager-Jack-Carson-Story-ebook/dp/B01MZJ0JIU/
The Devil You Know (Coming April 2017)
Don’t miss a single release by Barbant and Raymond. Sign up for news and giveaways:
http://www.subscribepage.com/smokeandsteelnews
Come hang out on the Rise of Magic Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/TheAgeofMagic
Website:
www.smokeandsteel.com
Michael Anderle
Kurtherian Gambit Series Titles Include:
First Arc
Death Becomes Her (01) - Queen Bitch (02) - Love Lost (03) - Bite This (04)
Never Forsaken (05) - Under My Heel (06) Kneel Or Die (07)
Second Arc
We Will Build (08) - It’s Hell To Choose (09) - Release The Dogs of War (10)
Sued For Peace (11) - We Have Contact (12) - My Ride is a Bitch (13)
Don’t Cross This Line (14)
Third Arc (Due 2017)
Never Submit (15) - Never Surrender (16) - Forever Defend (17)
Might Makes Right (18) - Ahead Full (19) - Capture Death (20)
Life Goes On (21)
**New Series**
The Second Dark Ages
The Dark Messiah (01)
The Dark Knight (02)
The Boris Chronicles
* With Paul C. Middleton *
Evacuation
Retaliation
Revelation
Restitution 2017
Reclaiming Honor
* With JUSTIN SLOAN *
Justice Is Calling (01)
Claimed By Honor (02)
Judgement Has Fallen (03)
Angel of Reckoning (04)
The Etheric Academy
* With TS PAUL *
<
br /> ALPHA CLASS (01)
ALPHA CLASS (02)
ALPHA CLASS (03) Coming soon
Terry Henry “TH” Walton Chronicles
* With CRAIG MARTELLE *
Nomad Found (01)
Nomad Redeemed (02)
Nomad Unleashed (03)
Nomad Supreme (04)
Nomad’s Fury (05)
Nomad’s Justice (06)
Nomad Avenged (07)
Trials and Tribulations
