By the time he finished, he looked like a beggar.
Arik turned toward Mogra, its outer rim visible on the horizon, just a few lanterns providing enough light to guide him back to the city. “We leave for Omoto tomorrow.”
“And Avarga from there?” Meosa asked.
Arik nodded, his fist tensing at his side as he relived the betrayal he experienced that day, aware that if he was going to save his sister, he would need to grow even stronger.
But at least he now knew where to start.
Warrior pilgrimages, deception and infiltration, the study of Chimaura, more about Yokaura—all were on the table once he found Hojo, including locating Combat Master Nankai and whatever that would entail. He would visit Yoshimura Books in search of the missing War Priest passages, Arik hoping to learn all he could about the Whispering Sword.
With what Arik Dacre planned to do next, he was going to need a legendary weapon.
The end.
.Back of the Book.
Reader,
Thank you for reading War Priest: Mask of the Fallen.
The success of this book is dependent on your reviews.
If you do review War Priest, send me an email (listed below) and I’ll fire off a limited postcard as thanks. Yes, I do send these worldwide, and these postcards are limited to exactly 100 and feature Arik unmasked! Thanks again for the support, I’m an independent author and my work lives and dies on your reviews. It’s an honor to be able to write books like this that readers like you enjoy.
Real history
First, War Priest isn’t the only book I use yokai in. My other series, Pilgrim, also has yokai, and as well as elements of Japanese Mythology. Check out a link in the next section.
I’ll detail it more later, but everything in War Priest regarding the shinobi and the various sword techniques, including their names, has been taken from 16th and 17th century translated Japanese combat/shinobi treaties, some of which have only been translated in the last twenty years.
While I have added a fantasy element to War Priest, all of the shinobi techniques and tools were ones taught and used by real ninjas. The cultivation system is one of my own devising, but the techniques are real, only enhanced here in the text.
Further, what we call a “ninja” isn’t the actual word associated with the people who hailed from the region around Iga (a city that I visited in 2014 – I lived in Japan for nearly a year). The word shinobi, used in this text and perhaps one you are less familiar with, is a shortened version of shinobi no mono, which means ‘one who infiltrates,’ or as we call them in English, ninja.
Anyway, I could go on and on about how fascinating I find this subject, and perhaps I will later in the back of the book section of War Priest 2.
I’m just glad you read it, truly, and I hope it was something you really enjoyed!
This book was such a pleasure to create and take part in, and I do hope I can continue in it for some time. Please take a moment to review War Priest,, and if you want to follow my process more closely, you can join my Patreon, where I post research and livestreams of my writing.
The next book, War Priest 2: The Whispering Sword is in the works. Thanks for reading, thanks for reviewing my work.
Yours in sanity,
Harmon Cooper
[email protected]
All my other links
Here is a list of great pages to follow as well (yes, a bit of homework):
My Facebook Group
Cultivation Novels Facebook Group
Western Wuxia
LitRPG Books
GameLit Society
Other notable works by Harmon Cooper
I’ve written over sixty fantasy and science fiction books. Here are some of the fan faves!
A former assassin tries to make a new life in a valley of yokai only to discover the true nature of his bloodline. John Wick meets Witcher meets Inuyasha, if you enjoyed War Priest, you’ll love Pilgrim. Add it to your Kindle here.
Don't miss this high-octane LitRPG thrill ride set in the post-apocalyptic Southwest.
Read Cowboy Necromancer here!
Sacred Cat Island is a slice of life LitRPG with island cultivation for all ages. The audiobook, narrated by Travis Baldree, won the 2020 Independent Audiobook Award in the LitRPG/GameLit category.
Get it here!
A man becomes the grim reaper and introduces game mechanics to the role. Think On A Pale Horse meets Spawn.
Start Death’s Mantle here.
What if Ready Player One was a multi-part epic? Gritty GameLit action, gamer humor, fantastic fantasy worlds, and a killer main character. Eight books long, this series put my stuff on the map!
Add the Feedback Loop series to your Kindle!
Mask of the Fallen: A Cultivation/Progression Fantasy Series: (War Priest Book One) Page 39