Hardt’s breath remained slow and deep as she stepped inside and checked on him, grabbing a hoska from the breadcubby and spreading it with an illicit spoonful of honeycream. With brilliant timing the rain began falling again as she leaned in the doorway to watch the sun rise. Then with a rarely seen smile she stripped off her bloody clothes, dropped them outside in the rain, and cuddled back into bed in her underthings to sleep through the dreary morning.
To be continued. . .
I hope you enjoyed this little teaser for Hardt’s Tale. You can buy it at your favorite Ebook retailer. If it isn’t available at your favorite, please let me know. Contact me at gwendolyndruyor.com.
Thanks!
Gwendolyn
More books by Gwendolyn Druyor
Mobious' Quest fantasy series
Hardt's Tale
Geoffrey’s Queen
Callie’s Crown (coming soon)
Killer on Call thriller series
Ecstasy
Gin
Morphine
Valium
Pot
Absinthe
Killer on Call 6 book Bundle
Wyrdos urban fantasy series
WereHuman: The Witch’s Daughter
Dee
Laylea
Junior
Amal (coming soon)
This is a work of fiction. All concepts, characters and events portrayed in this book are fiction and any resemblance to real people or events is all in your imagination.
Copyright © 2015 by Gwendolyn Druyor
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except brief extracts for the purpose of review, without the permission of the publisher and copyright owner.
First Edition, November, 2015
Cover design by Logan Prather
Edited by My Two Cents editing
Published in the United States of America.
gwendolyndruyor.com
Glossary
America: Nanda Junior's land of origin
Ananda Junior: an Americer apprentice fight choreographer
Aneke: milkmother in Voferen, survival tutor to prince Geoffrey
Annie: The first dragon to reawaken, hatchling of Deg
Apprentice: one who studies under another, the lowest level of certification in the SFD
Arinaud: a commandt of the second wing of Stray Tor's civil guarde, secret liaison to Fierell
Arm: a group of three fronts, a secondary splitting of the guarde used only in Stray Tor
Assistant: a paid apprentice in the Society of Fight Directors
ATH: after the hike, a mark of time
Australia: a region in America
Baboon: a type of primate in America
Battlescar: the space touched by the shimmering in the Lost Battle of 169, located in the Hardt burntbos plaine
Bloodmage: one who has studied the magical arts of death and violence
Bloodprice: the amount of blood (or modernly, alternative reparation) owed a Lander by h’sr Lord Protector for any transgression against the Lander
Bobby McFarr: an Americer fight choreographer
Bond ring: a piece of jewelry representative of the life partner bond, often a chain that can be wrapped around both partner’s wrists
Bond: a formally declared life partner; the act of publically declaring a life partner
Boston: a village in America
Boush: an Elder of Tyurae
Bread Pudding: an American dessert
Browm: the second partner, 50 to 117ath
Bullet: the projectile thrown from a gun
Bullshit: events or words which have no worth
Caffeine: an American drug for temporarily increasing alertness
Caldonia: a popular song in America
California: a region in America
Caller: one who calls tales for h’sr keep
Cameraman: a kind of portraitist in America
Car: an American means of transportation
Chaon: an artist in Voferen Kahago, daughter to Shillar
Chelor: the sixth queen, 233 to 255ath
Chi: a life force
Chicago: a village in America
Christmas: an American festival
Chyell: the first queen, 2 to 50ath
Civil Guarde: the protective force assigned specifically to one of the four castleshales
Colorado: a regional territory in America containing the village of Denver
Commandt: the leader of a wing of guardes
Counselor: one who gives guidance and advice
CT: certified teacher, the first level of teaching certification in the Society of Fight Directors
Curshe: a Healer in Phelat
Cygnus: a star configuration in America
Dagger: a short, sharp, knife-type weapon.
Damn: an American expletive
Darth Vader: an evil character in an American tale
Darts: an American game of throwing skill
Deeva: a public house matron in Voferen Kahago
Deg: the eldest dragon in 169ath
Demo: a theorist in Voferen, tutor to prince Geoffrey
Denn: a woodscraftsman in Tyurae, bond to Kivern
Denver: a village in America
Dictionary: an Americer book that explains words
Distanceer: an expert in the natural art of seeing things that are not in visual range
Doctor: healer, in America
Dog: an American pet similar to our homewolves
Dolphins: an American fish that births like landers
Donja: daughter to Nanda
Dormounts: the range of sleeping dragons
Dragon: a winged creature of great size, one of the two species that make up the dTelfur
Dragonbed: a spot of land that has been carved down to the bedrock by a dragon
dTelfur: the original inhabitants of the land thought to be annihilated in the Lost Battle, the designation includes dragons and bipeds.
dTella: mother of the editor, youngest dTelfur survivor of the Lost Battle
dTserra: Mobious' dam
El: an American means of transport
Elder: the leading counselor of any village or community; also elder citizens respected for their counsel regardless of occupation
Elementary School: an American educational building for children
Elephant: a large American animal
Elitzabenn: an Elder of Sapproach
Emerson Court: the location of Nanda and Geoffrey’s home in Denver, America
Emjae: One time lord partner of Forte, father to Stedon, often referred to as Old Forte
En Guarde: to be in a fighting guarde preparatory to physical engagement
Eva Junior: Elder sister to Nanda Junior
Faite, Jim: Certified Teacher in the Society of Fight Directors, mentor to Nanda
Festival: a village-wide celebration held often and usually for no reason whatsoever
Feydeux: an American architect, fond of doors
Fiancée: one who has promised to bond with another, in America
Fierell: sister to queen Laurienel, foster-daughter of Turenel, usurping lord of Forte and Tyurae, a bloodmage
Forte: the third of the four castles, the only one with no village.
Frell: the third queen, 117 to 155ath
Freyel: the fourth queen, 155 to 169ath
Front: a group of seven guarde
Gaming Yard: a public area for recreation
Geoffrey I: the fourth child of queen Chelor, foster-son to Emjae
Geoffrey: the orphan prince of Kaveg, only child of Laurienel and Stedon
Geonn: the fourth partner, 155 to 169ath
Giraffe: an American animal
Girard: a one-time royal guardesman, later Elder of Sapproach.
Goat: a small four legged creature in America
Greg: a len
gth of approximately one running stride/ plural is singular
Guiert: a portable stringed instrument with specifically apportioned hollows for percussion
Guitar: a portable stringed instrument, ancestor of the guiert
Gun: an American projectile weapon
Halif: a village east of Voferen Kahago
Halloween: an American festival of costumes and candy focused on children
Hardt: a legendary man who disappeared from Stray Tor in its early moons
Hearing: a formal occasion when the kimoet hear from the people
Ierdon: second lord of Stray Tor, father of Tgeha
Jade: a sapet in Forte, named by Geoffrey and Nanda
Japan: a region in America with dragon lore
Jeans: a type of leg-wear in America
Jirak: a musician in Voferen, tutor to prince Geoffrey
Josie Wooley: bond of Peter Wooley in Chicago, friend to Nanda
Journeymanship: the second level of actor certification in the Society of Fight Directors
Eva Junior: Nanda's older sister, lives in Australia
Nanda Junior: an American woman, Faite's assistant
Sarah Junior: Nanda's mother, lives in Michigan
Kaaat: a throwing weapon, made of metal, wood, or stone that is formed in a variety of shapes with many sharp edges.
Kaveg: this kingdom
Kelly: Faite’s ward
Kemberling: a herder in Sapproach
Kierri: a counselor in Weary, daughter to Ko and Zera
Kimoet: the ruling pair, queen and partner
Kitje: a length of approximately one baby’s foot
Kivern: a washmistress in Tyurae, bond with Denn
Ko: a weaponsmaster, civil guardesman in Voferen, first child of queen Chelor
Konifer: a former Vize of the dTelfur, father to Mobious
Krt: a farmer in Torscreek, bond with Toss, son to Marcelendrew, with the Forte Front of the Kavegan defenders during the Second Violence
Kver: the third child of dTella and Rich
Lander: the second race to inhabit this land, founders of the kingdom
Landlady: a long term public house matron in Americer
Laurel: the second queen, 50 to 117ath
Laurienel: the sixth queen, 255 to 273 ath, mother to Geoffrey
Layman: one not trained in any weapon arts
Lord Protector: the full title of the leader of each shale
Lost Battle: the skirmish between Landers and dTelfur that ended in disaster in 169ath
Loyola Park: a gaming yard in America
Maestro: the highest level of achievement in the Society of Fight Directors
Mage: a master of natural arts
Magic: an old form of power which subverts the supernatural to one’s demands, almost universally abandoned after the Lost Battle
Marcelendrew: a brewmaster and lord gypsy, friend to prince Geoffrey
Marker: a personally marked stone held by each recognized Lander
Married: bonded, in America
Martz: a village east of Forte
Master: the second highest level of achievement in the Society of Fight Directors
Megg: the distance one healthy person can travel in a day
Melli: the name of a father and all four of his sons and his daughter in Sapproach
Michigan: a region in America
Milkmother: a woman who feeds babies in lieu of a mother’s availability to do so
Minnesota: a village in America
Minni: an extremely small, cone shaped, knife-type weapon
Mint: a touch with a minni which draws blood
Miss: an American title referring to an unbonded female
Mobious: Geoffrey’s regent, guardian, and teacher
Money: currency, similar in use to muntcoins
Monkey: a lively American primate
Mowden: First lord of Forte, second son of Browm
Mrs: an American title referring to a bonded female
Mrs Votha: the landlady of Emerson Court in Denver
Muntcoins: a currency used when bartering is unachievable
Murphy’s: a public house in Denver
New York: a region in America
Nrunel: the fifth queen, 169 to 233ath
Nuoiebos: a forest near Forte
Ohlin: a caller in Voferen, tutor to prince Geoffrey
Old Forte: see Emjae
Orion: a star configuration in America, can be identified in Kavegan stars
Partner: a lord of Kaveg in association with the queen
Peter Wooley: a Maestro in the Society of Fight Directors
Phelat: a village west of Forte
Phone: a communication device in America
Phrans: the Elder of Phelat
PMS: physical imbalances related to female reproductive abilities
Police Officer: an American guardesman
Ponytail: a descriptive reference to a queue
Prediction: the prophecy made by Mobious asserting that Laurienel’s yet-to-be-conceived son would find the woman who would rid Kaveg of the dragon’s tyranny
Prime: the first guarding position in SFD style swordplay
Psycho: a mentally imbalanced person in America
Puniary: a reinforced room or yard for the containment of people
Punto Reverso: a sword fighting technique in which the attacker attempts to stab h’sr opponent’s side by reaching around them
Purpelish: a sapet in Forte, named by Geoffrey and Nanda
Quarterstaff: a long, thin, wooden staff-type weapon
Queen: the lord of Kaveg in association with the partner
Rapier: a long, sharp, sword-type weapon
Raum: a farmer in Torscreek, bondbrother to Krt and Toss
Redwood: a kind of tree in America
Regent: Mobious, who acts as the Kavegan lord in place of Geoffrey
Rich: the father of the editor, bond with dTella
Roaming Guarde: the protective force assigned to travel through the villages of the kingdom
Robby McFarr: a master in the Society of Fight Directors
Royal Guarde: the protective force assigned to the kimoet of Kaveg
Rumbelung: a physical imbalance focused on breathing functions
Samurai: a regionally specific American weaponsmaster
Sapets: colorful winged animals with an unusual intelligence.
Sapproach: a village just east of the Dormounts
Scademann: a well known caller, settled in Sapproach
Scentrier: a village just southwest of Weary, known for its domesticated horses
Scottish: referring to a region in America
Sean Murphy: a public house owner in Denver, friend to Geoffrey and Nanda
Sensei: Nanda’s friend and stage combat instructor
SFD: Society of Fight Directors, an organization for training stage fight choreographers in America
Shale: a formal village
Sheddings: a length of dTelfurian time equal to about a frseason
Shelagh: a healer apprentice in Sapproach
Shend: an elder of Sapproach
Shillar: a baker in Voferen, father to Chaon
Spills: the amount of blood spilt, or degree of offense done to incur a bloodprice
Stage: an area cordoned off for the presentation of tales
Stedon: the sixth partner of Kaveg, 255 to 273ath, father to Geoffrey
Stiles: a southerner, runner in the Forte Front of the Kavegan defenders during the Second Violence
Stray Tor: the fourth castleshale of Kaveg, southern
Sword: a long, metal weapon, sharp on one or more sides
Tahnt: a healer in Voferen Kahago, tutor to prince Geoffrey.
tDavel: the editor of this tome, son to dTella and Rich
Tearslake: Annie’s bed in the Dormounts
Teddybear: a bear-shaped doll in America
Tenfingers: a prefix for the significantly larger version of certain Kavegan an
imals
Tevas: American footwear
Tgeha: the lord of Stray Tor, son of Zera and Ierdon
Theatre: an American building designed for the presentation of tales
Tira: the editor's favorite sister, daughter to dTella and Rich
Tirch: an apprentice silversmith in Phelat
Tor: the fourth partner of Kaveg, 169 to 233
Torscreek: a village northwest of Forte
Toss: a farmer in Torscreek, bond with Krt – former guardsman in Stray Tor, tall, red beard
Tren: a farmer in Torscreek, sister to Toss, bond to Raumperson
Trip: the water journey which brought the landers to the shores of Kaveg
Trist: a practical artist in Voferen, tutor to prince Geoffrey
Turenel: second child of queen Nrunel, foster-mother to Fierell
Tyurae: a shale east of Forte, usurped by Fierell before the Second Violence
Unicorn: a small, easily trained, fourlegged creature with a single horn
Vize: the leader of the dTelfur, hatches with special abilities which mature after 150 sheddings
Voferen Kahago: the first castleshale of Kaveg, home to the kimoet
Waindansyell: a village in the east
Weaponsmaster: an expert in the art of fighting
Weary: the second castleshale of Kaveg, far eastern
Geoffrey's Queen: A Mobious' Quest Novel Page 32