by Matt Moss
Thirty-Three
Victor walked inside the prophet’s room. He failed to find The Path of Man. It wasn’t there. No stones either.
“He’s alive,” Karn said, entering the room. “Barely.”
“Let him live,” Victor said. “I want him to see this. To live this.”
“You risk too much,” Karn said. “He could rally the Order.”
Victor shot him a glance that made Karn look down in obedience.
“Torin is broken,” Victor stated. “If he lives, he will be no threat. The Grand Highlands is no more. The Order is no more.”
Karn bowed and left the room.
Victor looked around one last time. A broken staff on a shelf caught his eye.
He held the pieces in his hands, closing his eyes in remembrance. He took one for himself and placed the other on the desk.
“Goodbye, old friend.” he said and left the Prophet’s home with the smell of blood and bodies strewn along the floor.
Thirty-Four
Lucian’s eyes fluttered open.
Gathering his bearings, he found himself lying on a cot at Sanctum, though he couldn’t quite remember how he got there. Last he recalled, he blacked out miles from here on the road, welcoming death.
He moved, slowly, testing his body. He was beyond sore, but to his surprise, healed somehow.
Impossible, he thought. I should have been dead.
He placed his bare feet on the cold stone and slowly stood. He examined the tattered bed clothing he wore. His feet led him out of the tunnel and into the main room. Crates and straw bales were still scattered about, but the cave was void of people. The entire place felt odd without the sounds of cursing and men training.
He looked around the room, his eyes locking on a tunnel — the one with the gate. It was left open.
Limping, he made his way down the never before seen passageway.
He entered a room decorated with tapestries and fine furniture. A familiar scent tugged at his senses — one from years ago. A lifetime ago.
His gaze went to a bed. Silk enveloped the outside and fell gently to the floor. He ran a hand over the smooth cloth.
Fixed eyes landed on something resting in the center of the bed. He waved the silk aside and locked eyes on a ring.
With shaking hands, he gently picked it up. He recognized the craftsmanship; the boiled hemp that had been woven and intertwined.
He remembered placing the same ring on a finger with a promise eighteen years ago.
A ring. A promise.
He clenched his fist around the ring as his body shook. He closed his eyes.
THE END
About the editor –
Amy Willoughy-Burle is a freelance editor and writer. Her award-winning short fiction can be found in numerous literary journals and in her collection, Out Across the Nowhere. She edits, writes, and teaches in Asheville, NC where she lives with her husband and four children.
“I write about the mystery and wonder of everyday life. My inspirational, contemporary fiction aims to illuminate the universal and unique qualities that make us a mystery to each other as well as a comfort. There is more to every story, more to every character than what rests on the top of the water. I like to explore what lies beneath the surface of our actions and what rests deep within out hearts.”
Visit Amy online at www.amywilloughbyburle.com for more information about her upcoming releases and editorial services or to just hang out and enjoy the writing ride.
About the artist –
Marc is a 25 year old tattoo artist based in the Asheville, North Carolina area, and works at Invidia Tattoo. Discovering his adoration for art at a young age, he finds passion in creating and honing his craft.
“During my time on this project, I found heavy inspiration in the conversations I had with Matt, the amazing author and creator of this book’s world. His visions were clear and descriptions thorough, whilst still giving me creative freedom to do the tiniest of things to create something unique and practical.
In my time spent on the cover, I wanted to create an image of deep internal conflict; a young man torn between paths. In my color choices, I wanted more earthy tones to ground the focal image while the background colors paint an opposition which reflects the character’s internal struggle – the colors pushing into an abyss of endless possibility, all the while relaxing the viewers eye to the foreground.
In the maps featured within, I took Matt’s initial sketches and began building off of them, drawing inspirations of J.R.R. Tolkien and other hand drawn maps of old.
I immersed myself within Matt’s loose concepts and began attempting to bring real world elements to them, all while ensuring to maintain the same “feel” as the sister images that joined them. Overall I’m quite pleased with our outcome and hope that the readers, who find themselves gazing into these in-depth images, enjoy looking into them as much as I enjoyed bringing Matt’s vision to life.”
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