“Dave, you’re our mayor now,” Al went on. “I hope you’ll make Eleytheria a place of true freedom, where we’re allowed to express our beliefs publicly as well as privately, but where we maintain the deepest respect for those with whom we disagree. A place where we resist using any manipulation to make others believe as we do. Let’s hold our convictions firmly. Let’s talk about them openly. But in the end, let’s allow everyone to choose according to what his conscience dictates. Let’s show compassion and caring, regardless of what others believe.”
“I’ll say ‘amen’ to that!” said Dave.
They saluted their mugs in agreement.
And as the moon slowly edged above the horizon, the two friends lapsed into a comfortable silence, safe and content in their freedom.
The End
Glossary
Abaddon (A-bah-don): A continent to the east of Halcyon, which consists of a continent-wide crater surrounded by a ring of tall mountains. The bottom of the crater is about 16 kilometers below sea level. The high air pressure at this depth and the warm temperatures sustain many large and unusual life forms, which cannot survive at one atmosphere of pressure. This is the home continent of the Bent-Ones.
Ancients: A race of beings that inhabit the continent of Feiramar. These people were separated by the Great Plague unleashed by Meglir. The guardians or Gurundar (the contaminated ones) live east of the Lake Tolbar and are not permitted to cross over to the western shores. West of the Lake Tolbar live the Naromundar (the pure ones). The two sundered peoples only meet on the Callabar Islands in the middle of the Lake Tolbar. After one of these infrequent meetings the Narmundarians who met the Gurundarians must stay in quarantine on the islands for 3 months before they can return home.
Bent-Ones: Bent-Ones come from the continent of Abaddon off the east coast of Feiramar. The Bent-Ones only come infrequently to Feiramar. They are ancients who have given themselves over to evil. They bend and shape living things through their arts in support of evil.
Feiramar (FAIR-a-mar): The name of the continent that contains the Hansa and the Ancients. The island of Halcyon is off the east coast of this continent.
Granomer (GRAN-oh-mur): Chief Loremaster of the Hansa. Loremasters store up knowledge for the Hansa since they keep few written records.
Halcyon (HELL-sigh-un): An elite island university off the coast of North Carolina. A misguided physics experiment transported the university to a parallel world.
Hansa (HAN-suh): Hansa are furry bipeds that have a prehensile tail that ends in a hand. Although not overly intelligent, they are given to music and poetry and have a highly developed sense of honor, justice, and are self-sacrificing in their service to others. There are left-handed and right-handed Hansa depending on the handedness of their prehensile tail.
Hanomer (HAN-oh-mur): Is a Hansa chief and friend of Dave Schuster.
Kilk: The Hansa name for ape-men.
Meglir (MEG-leer): Meglir, a great king of the ancients grew corrupt and became a tyrant re-opening ties with the Bent-Ones who live on another continent called Abaddon.
Pishon (PEESH-hawn): The Hansa name for the Halcyon River.
Rokash (ROW-cash): A large bipedal reptilian carnivore about 10 feet tall.
Rokomer (ROW-coe-mur): Dave Schuster’s Hansa name bestowed on him after he killed the Rokash.
Siph (SIFF): A golden colored drink made by the Hansa that can be drunk cold or hot.
Tar-en-Nar (TAR-en-nahr): City of Light. The ancient name for the dead city before Meglir corrupted it.
Tar-en-Gorg: (TAR-en-ghorg): City of Death. The name for the Meglir’s city once the great plague was unleashed killing most men east of Lake Tolbar. Meglir and his lieutenants ruled through the ape-men.
About the Author
THE Halcyon Dislocation is Peter Kazmaier's first novel. In writing this work he pursued a life-long dream of writing fast-paced novels that explore the intersection between adventure, science, faith and philosophy.
J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings , C. S. Lewis' The Chronicles of the Narnia , Stephen R. Lawhead's trilogy, Song of Albion and Robert Jordan’s Wheel of TimeTM are among his best-loved books. He also enjoys science fiction classics such as Robert Heinlein's Tunnel in the Sky.
Dr. Kazmaier has spent most of his scientific career as a research scientist in industry. He has been an Adjunct Professor of Chemistry at Queen's University since 1999. He has published more than sixty scientific articles in refereed journals and was awarded the Arthur K. Doolittle award for Best Paper by the American Chemical Society in 1993. Cited as the inventor or co-inventor on more than 150 patents, his strong background in science enables him to bring authentic scientific insight to The Halcyon Dislocation.
Dr. Kazmaier joined the American Chemical Society in 1976, the Chemical Institute of Canada in 1980, and The Word Guild in 2004.
He married Kathryn in 1976. Together, they make their home in Mississauga near Toronto. They enjoy spending time at their cottage near Seeley’s Bay, Ontario on the Rideau Canal.
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