The smaller scale of day to day human lives is more malleable, but I do not wish to dictate how you live your life. I only ask that you ponder what you've read. I seek to pose questions. The most relevant question is this: What will you do with your turn of the wheel when it splashes through the filth?
Cheers!
Sincerely,
Jeffrey Bardwell
Twigboat Press
August 1, 2018
AUTHOR NOTES
Dear Reader,
The differences between men and women and how we see ourselves are at the core of this novel. Sexual divergence is at once simple and complex, compatible and estranged, utterly profound and yet so much empty dross. People are complicated. However, we are all human first and whatever else we may be second. We all see the world differently, and only part of that shift in perspective comes from the area between our legs. Actually, hormonal bias comes from an interconnected network of glands in our brains, a few major organs, and the area between our legs, but what does dry, dusty biology have to do with wet, pulsating sexuality and society's discomfort with comparative gender roles?
Certainly, women have as much to offer in many traditionally male roles, but often fail in such comparisons through no fault of their own. The issue fitting the round hole in a position crafted for a round peg is a matter of context, not skill. The problems that arise from this mismatch are 'solved' by attempting to make the holes more peg-like as if holiness was a detriment and peggishness the natural order of things. I have tried to highlight the idiocy of this false dichotomy by creating an institution in my fantasy universe that is strictly egalitarian for both genders while still acknowledging the differences as they arise in mixed company: the imperial army.
It's not so bizarre. The two flavors of soldier are fire-slinging mages and light armored cavalry. If anyone wants to defend the position that women are less able to throw fire than men or incapable of riding horses and fighting in leather and plate armor, please do. I love a good straw woman argument. I used to be a part of a lovely group of individuals called the Society for Creative Anachronism, fun-loving folks dedicated to reenacting history as it should have been, which included medieval gender equality. Both sexes were as enthusiastic as the other in learning the ancient methods of slashing and stabbing one another with all manner of blunted weaponry.
Of course, going too far in this direction is not an improvement over chauvinism. The danger of pure egalitarianism is the erasure of the differences between the sexes altogether in an attempt to force everyone to conform to a bland, neutered sameness. Such people tap dance around the topic of sexuality as if our bodies were better ignored. There is nothing inherently dirty about human sensuality. Unfortunately, the typical diametric response to sex is to either sensationalize it as something tawdry or dismiss it as something unwholesome.
My villain is a woman, perhaps demonstrating the worst side of that particular gender as my hero-in-training protagonist is meant to demonstrate the best. However, both are passionate individuals, skilled orators, appreciate good fashion, and are women and proud of it. However, context is everything. Seen through the fractured prism of male gaze, those same women are ruled by their emotions, a pair of pestiferous nags, horrible clotheshorses, and uppity stuck up whores pretending to be as good as a man. Of course, 'male gaze' typifies the worst, crudest outliers of that particular gender, but one cannot deny that men and women see things differently: our lives, our dreams, our bodies, and each other.
This novel celebrates the differences between the sexes, but does not use gender as the sole means to define someone or restrain their potential. People are not stereotypes. They should not be treated with the disdain that comes of judging someone using such narrow, skewed criteria. Half the fun I had writing this book was in exposing the little ways men and woman react to their own preconceptions of each other and push beyond them. It is my fervent wish that we can all learn to do the same for ourselves and make my fantasy a sensual reality.
Vive la différence!
Sincerely,
Jeffrey Bardwell
Twigboat Press
August 1, 2018
GLOSSARY OF ESOTERICA
Army : The military fist of the Iron Empire. Trained at the Imperial Academy. Responsible for quelling foreign enemies. Made up of a Mage Corps (who wear blue uniforms) and a Cavalry Corps (who wear red uniforms).
Black Guards : The new police force of the Iron Empire. Responsible for hunting rogue mages and quelling domestic enemies. The long arm of the empress.
Black Tower: The palace in the heavens that waits mortal men and women after they die.
Bleed the Dragon : To imbibe an entire bottle of alcohol in one sitting.
By the Gods' _____ : Misappropriating the gods' holy body parts and excretions to manufacture crude epithets is the delight of the uncouth and lower classes everywhere. The bodies and bodily functions of the five major deities are sacrosanct and should not be used for verbal profanity.
Dragons : Ferocious, wild beasts with furnace breath, diamond scales, and razor claws. Tend to see large, armored forces as a territorial threat. Juveniles and adults exhibit different preferences for both dietary and habitat selections. Currently going extinct within the confines of the empire with some assistance from the army.
Dragon Shit: A horrible, nasty epithet because anything that emerges from a dragon's sulfurous, puckering asshole is worse than any shit imaginable.
Great War : The conflict 200 years past between the barbarian tribes and the then newly formed Iron Empire, which either caused or was caused by said formation. Mages were used on both sides. The war ended due to mutual prolonged attrition, leading to the creation of the Northern Territories as an independent client state.
Iron Empire: The empire is a cosmopolitan polity forged by welding five kingdoms behind a single, enterprising nobleman. Technology is the power that greases the imperial machine and keeps society running. Magic is tolerated, but held in suspicion.
Mage : A wizard, a sorcerer, someone with the ability to manipulate and store ethereal energies.
Magic : Ethereal energies, mysterious and dangerous.
Northern Road: The major trade route connecting the central hub of the Iron Empire with the Northern Territories. Merchant caravans travel south to peddle wares while missionaries travel north to peddle religion.
Northern Territories: A loose confederation of barbarian tribes who united behind one goal: death to the invaders. After a brutal stalemate war, the tribes agreed to become a nominal protectorate on the fringes of the empire. Magic is considered a religious calling.
Sign of the White Tower : The act of clasping one's hands and raising the trigger fingers to form an approximation of the White Tower while praying to the five gods. Otherwise known as steepling.
Squashed Beneath the Dragon : What invariably happens the morning after you bleed the dragon. Symptoms include an aversion to light and a splitting headache.
The Five : An abbreviated appellation for the collective five major deities.
White Tower : The palace in the heavens where the five gods and host of demigods watch over the world.
CHARACTER COMPENDIUM
CITIZENS OF THE IRON EMPIRE
Bella Loral : (Mage Corps) A young ex-private of the 110 th regiment who was discharged due to injury.
Corbin Destrus : (Cavalry) An old, retired hero who liked to tell stories.
Cordelia I: (Empress) The new head of the Iron Empire. Her father's suspected murder at the hands of rogue mages causes her to form the Black Guards with the express goal of exterminating them all.
Corvid: (Cavalry) A young private of barbarian descent who keeps the mage in his family tree well hidden.
Drake : (Cavalry / Black Guard) A traitor to the regiment. Corbin's best friend.
Jordius: (Mage Corps) A retired captain who hopes for reconciliation between mages and cavalrymen.
Karl : (Cavalry) A retired officer in the 110 th reg
iment.
Kelsa: (Civilian) A young woman whose quest to save her mother while discovering herself keeps expanding. Miranda's daughter. Corbin's granddaughter.
Maven, The Blue Dragon Warrior : (Mage Corps) The head of the Mage Corps. A traitor to the empire. Minerva's twin. Corbin's lover.
Minerva, The Red Dragon Warrior : (Cavalry) A famed cavalrywoman. Maven's twin. Corbin's lover.
Miranda Destrus : (Civilian) A doctor and mage-in-hiding. Kelsa's mother. Corbin's daughter .
Nortus, The Mouse : (Cavalry / Black Guard) A spy with a penchant for choosing the winning side and learning secrets.
Sepharius : (Mage Corps) A retired officer in the 110 th regiment.
Tenyson: (Cavalry) A young corporal in the cavalry. Hates mages. Despises mage lovers.
THE AUTHOR
Jeffrey Bardwell writes epic fantasy with elements of darkness, steampunk, and romance set in the Metal vs. Magic Universe. His character-driven books are guaranteed to include gritty realism, political intrigue, lurid entanglements, dry wit, and dragons in differing proportions. He devours fantasy and science fiction novels and is most comfortable basking near a warm wood stove. When not writing, Jeffrey enjoys cooking, gardening, and shooing baby dragons from the compost bin.
The author lives on a farm and in a prior life worked as a community ecologist. He is overfond of puns and alliterations. He is also an unabashed history and mythology enthusiast and would love to hear from you.
Email: [email protected]
Bookbub Author Profile:
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jeffrey-bardwell
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Table of Content s
DEDICATION
1. KELSA, YEAR 198
2. KELSA, YEAR 198
3. KELSA, YEAR 198
4. CORBIN, YEAR 198
5. CORBIN, YEAR 198
6. CORBIN, YEAR 198
7. CORBIN, YEAR 198
8. CORBIN, YEAR 198
9. CORBIN, YEAR 198
10. CORBIN, YEAR 198
11. CORBIN, YEAR 198
12. CORBIN, YEAR 198
13. CORBIN, YEAR 198
14. CORBIN, YEAR 198
15. CORBIN, YEAR 198
16. CORBIN, YEAR 198
17. KELSA, YEAR 198
18. KELSA, YEAR 198
THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES . . .
FANTASY NEWSLETTER
SERIES NOTES
AUTHOR NOTES
GLOSSARY OF ESOTERICA
CHARACTER COMPENDIUM
THE AUTHOR
The Knight's Secret Page 22