War shook his head stubbornly. “You…you let them…”
“War. Open your eyes! If Angra himself brought me back to life, it means that he had understood what the intentions of the Agent Orange and Baomani were. He knew that only I could stop them.”
“Why only you?”
“Because beyond the cosmic wall I saw the true nature of the Beast, and I know how to stop it. Baomani is trying to bring it on this side of the All in the attempt to subjugate it. It was Korkore who instilled this desire in the malleable minds of my young children.”
“What can we do to stop him?”
Mumakil shrugged. “Hotankar, you must help your friend. He has only you, now.” He walked to the edge of the terrace, watching the huge nothingness in front of him. Out of the sandy emptiness rose the statues of the gods, communicating or cursing each other since always. “You’ll eat when I eat. You’ll sleep when I sleep.”
Warren walked to his right side. “What a couple we are.”
“I’ve seen worse.” The black man looked up. “Much worse.” Under the cloak of sunset, even from there he could see Skyrgal silhouetted against the orange disc of the sun. The Fortress was at his feet—a black, silent stain. Araya…what happened to you? Why don’t you answer my beetles? “Damn it,” Mumakil just said. “Things are going to get really busy for me.”
*
Note from the author and boring thanks page part three
A good part of the inspiration I got for Dagger rained down on me while I was strolling around North Africa, Egypt, and the Middle East between 2009 and 2011—probably the best years of my life. Some images and experiences filtered through what my hands decided to write, when I put them on the keyboard. Having grown up in Rome—these four stones I love so much, Exodus would say—somehow helped: apotheosis and destruction are two closely related concepts in all human matters.
I don’t usually do endless literature searches. I prefer to let the elements of real life seep into my narrative following their logic, which is unattainable to human consciousness. Inspiration is an underground river emerging from time to time; you can only let it flow without damming or blocking it, because you know that it will tear down every levee.
If it makes boom! it’s generally a good idea.
You may have noticed that behind Assado there’s the siege of Masada, a bit changed. My intent is to unite the pain of victims and perpetrators to point out that an individual, a people or a nation become one or the other depending on the historical events, context, or simply the beholder’s point of view, including that of the present here.
I don’t know the truth. You don’t know the truth. Perhaps the truth has never existed outside of the suffering of a person: that’s real for sure. The pain of a mother clutching her son’s corpse is always the same: that of loss, of distance, of death. It will never leave us indifferent if we assume that we’re all human beings.
Truth is in the doubt, of course, because every time the distinction between good and evil became clear, there was a war, and there was pain.
What has this to do with fantasy? Oh. I think everything, my friends. When I decided to go beyond good and evil I meant this: nothing is ever totally black, nothing is ever really white. What brings hate alive? What suffering brings someone to cause other suffering? It’s too hard a concept to face with fantasy books, maybe, but it’s worth trying or we’ll end up writing books about dragons and knights for another century. This is why I think you’re totally crazy to read Dagger and I must warn you: things may not get better from now on.
I wanted to write a novel about, among other things, the emptiness and the more or less metaphorical sacrifice of the new generations. I hope I succeeded in this. Talk with your children. We’d have saved Candehel-mas a lot of trouble with some more present parents.
I also hope you noticed how sometimes I represent evil with a person sitting at a desk in a commanding position, usually at the top of a tower. Those who have seriously tried to make my life a swampy marsh were like that, you know: behind a desk, with their beautiful smile and an idiot bowl of candies placed in front of them. Ktisis, always be on guard when you face a similar scene. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Now, the story of the Sanctuary and all the rest: I believe spirituality brings people together, because it pushes us to understand. Organized faiths, on the other hand, put us against each other; especially the monotheistic religions, which have been humiliating humanity for thousands of years, harnessing its potential. The truths revealed from above may even fall from the sky, but they’ve always come from the mouth of a man. Really funny, Ianka would say.
Thanks to all those who have indirectly contributed to the book, through the exchange of more or less post-alcoholic views: researchers, astrophysicists, mathematicians, guitarists, students, doctors, and fairies wearing boots.
The cover art is the work of the great Silvio ‘Simbio’ Costa.
Family and friends, you know you’re all there.
And thanks to all of you who decided to devote a little of your time to me. The lettersmailschatscarrier pigeons received during these years have fueled the engine. There’s nothing better than to know that all the hours spent working on every single comma had a meaning, because you enjoyed the book and maybe it had helped you getting through the day, like it did for me.
The novel contains some references to art history, if heavy metal albums were not enough. So if you noticed some references to Caravaggio and company, well…I couldn’t resist. I hope the artists won’t come to torment my already crowded dreams. With this episode I played a little bit with photography, more than in the precedent books. In fact, I’ve always envied a director the possibility to choose the lights and soundtrack of his movie, but I’m confident that your mind will compensate very well these defects of the form of art I’ve chosen.
Anyway, you know the address for your proposals of marriage and death threats: [email protected]. The author always writes back.
Amazon always needs new reviews to let you stay at the top, and they are never enough. You can feed the dragon and help me by writing even a short one at the following link: http://tinyurl.com/Dagger3Review.
The saga continues with Dagger IV – The Tankar Dawn, now available on Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/Dagger4TankarDawn.
That’s all folks. Good night.
Stay tuned and join Dagger’s newsletter: http://eepurl.com/bMjYC5
The author follows a strict no spam policy.
Prologue
1. The clansman
2. The Road to the Tower
3. Fortresses
4. Sahid’s Garden of Delights
5. The road to hell is paved with good intentions
6. Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath
7. The Candid Heart of Hell
8. The Sanctuary
9. The dissidents
10. The day the world came undone
Epilogue
Note from the author and boring thanks page part three
Table of Contents
Prologue
1. The clansman
2. The Road to the Tower
3. Fortresses
4. Sahid’s Garden of Delights
5. The road to hell is paved with good intentions
6. Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath
7. The Candid Heart of Hell
8. The Sanctuary
9. The dissidents
10. The day the world came undone
Epilogue
Note from the author and boring thanks page part three
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God of Emptiness Page 30