Storm and Fire
However, he was here to fight a war of his own, and the sides were neither this army nor the city it besieged, nor any of their friends. The sides were him, and the Living Prophet. Wherever led towards his victory in that war was his path. Whoever intentionally hindered him were his foes, and whoever could help him along the way were his allies. He drew his blades, threw back his cloak, and walked down the road toward the army below with a swift, easy stride.
The Storm's Own Son
By Anthony Gillis
First Edition 2014
Copyright © 2014 Anthony Gillis
Published by Sol Invictus Publishing Inc
Cover design and interior artwork by Anthony Gillis
ISBN 9781310145735
Kindle Edition, License Notes
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Preface
This work is dedicated to all who live by their own free minds, hearts, and conscience.
Writing it was an intensely personal creative process, with a great many of my ideas, feelings and reflections on life woven into it, underneath the surface of the story. That said, it is not an allegory or a commentary on modern politics, religion, or events. I've tried to create a world with its own history, cultures, beliefs and ideas. I hope it is one you enjoy exploring.
It is also a story written by and for adults with an adult view of life. It contains explicit violence and sex. If these are not to your taste, feel free to pass it by. The Storm's Own Son is the first volume in the Storm and Fire trilogy, which itself is written as a single whole. For that reason, though this volume tells a complete story arc, it does not tell the complete story.
The best to you,
Anthony Gillis
June 9, 2014
The complete Storm and Fire series comprises the following:
Volume I
The Storm's Own Son - Book One
The Storm's Own Son - Book Two
The Storm's Own Son - Book Three
Volume II
Mercy of the Prophet - Book One
Mercy of the Prophet - Book Two
Mercy of the Prophet - Book Three
Volume III
Master of Worlds - Book One
Master of Worlds - Book Two
Master of Worlds - Book Three
Other Books by Anthony Gillis
Blood on Bronze
Alien Empire
Jamaica Rum
Barrett's Bar Stories
The Storm's Own Son
Book One
Table of Contents
Prologue
Map of the World
Map of Hunyos
1. The Easy Life
2. The Jewel of the Republic
3. Downsides
4. A Better World
5. A Change in the Weather
6. Endings and Beginnings
7. Birth
8. Passage
9. The Winds of War
10. Possibilities
11. Madmen
12. Thunderbolt
13. The Line
Preview of The Storm's Own Son, Book Two
About the Author
Other Books by the Author
Acknowledgements
Prologue
25 Years Ago
A ship sailed fast on an azure sea. It had a sharp prow, painted and gilt in angular geometric patterns, a long low stern castle, and painted lateen sails full with the wind. White clouds dotted the sky overhead, but darker ones could be seen, far to the northeast.
At a low bench along the forward rails sat a slender young woman alone. Her long, shining black hair blew in the wind. Her bronze face was downcast and her large, dark, long-lashed eyes were lowered. Full lips were set in a look of sadness. She wore a clean dress of unbleached white linen, decorated with curling beaded embroidery around the hem and collar, and a thin cloak of the same material pulled close about her.
Sailors, men with light olive complexions, dark hair, and sleeveless tunics in various geometric patterns of red, black, and brown, watched the woman as they worked. Their expressions showed more than just appreciation of her beauty; they showed hints of curiosity, apprehension, or protective concern; for her cloak could not hide that she was full with child.
Here and there on the ship were other passengers. They had the looks and clothing of lands near and far. Two women with bronze skin and black hair, dressed much like the cloaked woman, stood near the steps of the stern castle. They were joined by a man of similar look whose black beard was streaked with gray, and whose face showed weary lines. They made polite gestures of greeting, introductions, and small talk in a language very different from the sailors. Then the man steadied himself and spoke in a more solemn voice.
"I had no idea others from the homeland had come aboard. While the fever had me I saw only my own bad dreams. I dread to hear what I have missed. You're from Ishuk, yes? What news from the south?"
The younger of the two women spoke. She was thin, with a nervous cast to her face.
"The enemy, I mean the Prophet's forces, have crushed many of the southern princes, but some still hold out in Ishuk and a few other walled cities."
"And the north?" interrupted the older woman, whose hard eyes, tight-bound hair, and severe expression were matched by a strong jaw set in earnest intensity.
The man replied, in tones of grim resignation, "The northern princes have sworn allegiance to the faith of the Prophet... and I think will soon ride to war."
"They say," said the older women, her voice rising and a kind of passion flickering briefly in her eyes, "that across the north rides one of the Twelve Hands, one of the very harbingers of the Living Prophet himself. Is that true?"
"It is, and I have seen that messenger, briefly," added the man, "though I was glad to see no more. He was a very tall man in hooded robes of white and green, and wore a golden mask in the form of a handsome bearded face, but the mask had no eyes."
The thin woman reacted with a nervous gasp, and turned to the older, "See? You see? My father said those easterners and their Prophet are sorcerer devils! Years ago, he said that no good could come of dealing with them!"
The older woman's lips formed a thin smile. She spoke softly, "It is a pity we did not do so sooner. When the righteous have their victory, and the Houses of the Prophet overlook the land, they will know how to deal with evildoers of all kinds - with the selfish and the proud, the gamblers and the drunks, the thieves and adulterers, and with whores like her..."
With that, the older woman gestured in the direction of the cloaked young woman at the railing. The thin woman glanced briefly the same way, then turned her nervous eyes studiously elsewhere. The man, however, reacted in some surprise.
"What do you mean?"
The older woman eyed the sailors around them, and lowered her voice in a conspiratorial tone. "She, that one, was a kind of witch in Ishuk. Her family dealt in medicines, oils, books, and they say, many other things. Near the harbor."
The man watched her and listened, his face guarded.
"One day," continued the older woman, "this tall, proud young fellow came in on some ship or other, with the light face of a savage from the far north and these devil's blue eyes..."
"He was
the best looking man I'd ever seen!" interrupted the thin woman, her eyes suddenly brightening, "and walked like nothing in the world could harm him, I..."
"Foolish child." corrected the older, "He would have just gotten between your legs like he did that slut's... In any case, no man should hold himself that high. We are all equal, all unworthy, all worms twisting miserably in the dirt."
"I've had enough of twisting in the dirt, and of war," said the man, "which is why I'm leaving for good. The princes and the Prophet can tear our poor country apart all they like. But, why are you two here?"
"My father paid my way, to wait out the war," replied the thin woman.
"I go to trade, raising gold for a worthy cause," said the older, with smiling surety.
~
Another day. The ship sailed in rising wind, with masses of dark clouds gathering in the northeastern sky. The captain, a powerfully built, gray-haired man in a black cloak bordered with checkered red, stood on the stern castle tensely watching the approaching storm. He turned to his helmsman.
"Bring us about a bit more due west, lad. The wind is starting to work against us, and we've got to use what we can if we're going to make port before that storm catches up!"
The helmsman nodded and set to work at the tiller. The clouds, in ever growing, towering black masses, continued to gain on them.
As the storm gathered, the day faded, and the remaining patches of blue sky turned dark. To the northwest, a black shoreline of rocky hills rose above the horizon, and beyond, the twinkling lights of a vast port city. The crew cheered and the captain shouted back to them.
"There it is, Carai! Now, put your backs into it! Trim those sails for rough weather, and let's take her in!"
He surveyed the ship. The passengers were all below decks, all but one. The young woman still sat at the railing where she spent every day. As the sky overhead turned to pitch black and the first drops of rain fell, it was suddenly brightened by a flash of lightning. The woman threw back her cloak, and lifted her face to the sky. She smiled with an air of wild joy. Then the smile vanished, as she arched her body with a pained grimace.
"That damned woman is going into labor!" roared the captain, "Keridas, Turion, you two get her below decks and see if one of the passengers will midwife... Go now!"
Two strong young sailors walked with steady feet on the now rolling deck, as the wind howled and rain began to pour. Lightning flashed again as they offered their hands to help the young woman to her feet. She suddenly recoiled and gave them a ferocious glare. One of the young men shook his head in skeptical surprise while the other looked over his shoulder at the captain.
"Lads, get that girl to safety!" bellowed the captain back at them.
The sailors moved swift and sure. The young woman tried to throw herself sideways to escape their grip, but they were too fast. Powerful arms gripped hers. She flailed and kicked, then screamed in what looked like a mix of rage and pain as another contraction contorted her body. Overhead, sheets of rain began to pour from the shadowed sky. Lightning strikes cracked all around the ship, and a wave rolled over the deck in a wash of ankle-deep water.
The two sailors hauled the young woman across the slippery deck toward the sealed, watertight door under the stern castle. She shrieked and strained. As they reached the door, a powerful thunderclap boomed almost directly overhead. All stopped for a moment. One of the young sailors briefly slackened his grip and the young woman twisted away. Then she wrenched her other sopping wet arm loose from the second sailor. She tried to run for the open deck, but slipped in the rain as the sailors caught her again. She shrieked howling screams, and kicked with flailing feet against the doorway.
"She's gone crazy!" yelled one of the sailors. "She won't go!"
Another wave, a bigger one, hit the ship, and swept the main deck almost knee-deep in sea water.
"Damn it!" roared the captain. "Try up here, out of the waves!"
They did, and as soon as it became clear where they were going, she stopped struggling and let herself be half-carried up the steps of the stern castle. All across the ship, sailors without immediate duties were either heading below, or following them up the rain-washed steps to the castle. Lightning struck all round them and the ship shook in the waves and wind.
The sailors set her down next to the captain, and she looked up at him with a strange expression. There was fear in her eyes, but also something else, something almost like a wild hope. Waves crashed below and the wind howled. The captain shook his head, and gestured to his men to hold her safe. He leaned close to her ear to be heard over the howling waves.
"All right girl, I'm no midwife, but I've seen a lot of things, and at sea you have to make do with what you have. I'll try to help you through this..."
She smiled fiercely, then winced as the next contraction hit her.
Overhead, a thunderbolt struck the topmost mast.
~
The dawn air was cool. Tattered clouds fled away on the southern horizon and a fresh wind blew from the north. On a rocky shore dotted with small sand beaches, waves lapped and wreckage drifted ashore. Here and there, furtive figures in bedraggled clothes moved with caution. Every now and then, one of them would stoop down to gather some item and stuff it into a sack or pouch. More frequently, one of them would glance over their shoulder toward the immense city to the west. Two were walking together; a small, thin, balding man of middle years, and an old but hale looking woman with gray hair in braids down her back.
"Any sign of a patrol from the city?" asked the woman.
"None yet, but it can't be long now," replied the man. "We'll need to leave soon."
"Yes. It'd be such a shame to have to report these, see if they were judged legal salvage, and then have them either seized or taxed, such a shame indeed..." said the old woman wistfully.
"They won't be legal," said the man firmly. "This was one of ours, not foreign... Captain Danrion's ship. See the mark on this broken drawer?"
"Oh... that is an even bigger shame," added the woman. "He was a good sort, and he'll be missed. Still, we've got work to do..."
"Right."
They moved onward, around an outcropping of boulders to a small hidden cove.
"Well, look at that!" whispered the old woman.
Before them in the sand was the broken body of a young woman with bronze skin and black hair strewn wildly about. They walked closer.
"From the Eastlands, I'd guess," added the man. "She must have been a beauty, before..."
"Before that storm got her. Poor dearie," muttered the woman.
They reached the body, and saw something else.
"A baby! That is a newborn baby tucked in her arm!" exclaimed the old woman.
"How could she have kept a grip on it in those waves?" wondered the man. "Poor little beggar, never had a chance at life."
The woman suddenly darted forward, as fast as old legs would allow.
"It is alive, no he is alive, a baby boy!" shouted the woman, "I'm going to help him."
"Have you gone daft? Nothing and no one could have lived through that - least of all a baby!" snorted the man, then looked down and stopped in his tracks.
The old woman gently moved aside the arms of the slain mother.
"What..." the man trailed off.
The old woman picked up the infant and cradled him in her arms. There he was, a newborn baby boy, well formed and glowing with health. His eyes opened briefly, sparkling a brilliant sapphire blue, then closed again.
There was not a scratch on him.
The World of Storm and Fire
Partial Map Excerpt
The World of Storm and Fire
Map of Hunyos
THE STORM'S OWN SON
BOOK ONE
1. The Easy Life
It was a clear moonlit night in the great city of Carai. A laughing young man strode down a narrow back street with a woman on each arm. He was tall and athletic, in his mid twenties, with short, tousled black hair and a fair
, olive-complexioned face set against improbably bright blue eyes. He was dressed in black, with a sleeveless knee-length tunic over a closely fitted long-sleeved under-tunic and pants, and a lightweight cloak thrown loosely back over his shoulders. His belt, crossing baldrics, and high boots were black leather fitted with silver, and carried many weapons. His movements had the predatory ease of a hunting beast.
The women were a few years younger, and quite different from each other.
One of the them had long, dark brown hair tied back, large flashing eyes over a small mouth, arched eyebrows, and a hint of wickedness in her smile. Her dark clothes were trimmed in red. She wore a knee-length, concealing, short-sleeved dress, slit on both sides and tight over her slender frame. Under the dress were form-fitting pants and boots. A light wind blew her cloak back for a moment, revealing a pair of daggers at the back of the belt on her tiny waist.
The other woman was tall, with blonde hair in two long braids. She wore a loose, revealingly cut pale dress that flowed over her buxom, yet taut, hourglass form, and sandals with laces that wrapped up her calves. She had gray eyes and full lips in a calm expression, but there was a graceful strength and suppressed purposefulness to the movements of her body.
The three of them talked as if without a care in the world. By the hint of stumble in their steps and slur in their voices, they seemed to have taken more than their share of wine. The man's hands moved carelessly over the women's hips, and they pressed themselves close.
At last, they came to a secluded place. There, a little courtyard surrounded a fountain of plain design, where fresh water for drinking and washing came through pipes from the city's aqueducts. He and the young women sat on the low wall around the fountain and began to kiss. Hands roamed bodies, heated and oblivious to the world. Time passed.
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