Dead Path Chronicles:
The Dark Magical World of Alamptria
By
Richard A. Valicek
Copyright © 2016 Richard A. Valicek
All rights reserved.
Ebook formatting by www.ebooklaunch.com
Contents
A Word from the Author
Chapter 1: Dead Path Chronicles
Chapter 2: The Vampire
Chapter 3: Alamptria: Red Moon Rising—Excerpt 1
Chapter 4: Alamptria: Red Moon Rising—Excerpt 2
Chapter 5: Alamptria: Red Moon Rising—Excerpt 3
Chapter 6: Alamptria: Red Moon Rising—Excerpt 4
Chapter 7: Quantum Heights—Excerpt 5
Chapter 8: Quantum Heights—Excerpt 6
Chapter 9: Quantum Heights—Excerpt 7
Chapter 10: Quantum Heights—Excerpt 8
Chapter 11: Serenity Incident—Crimson Peak
Chapter 12: Lantrinon - The Riddles of Anomptra
Chapter 13: Lantrinon - Rapture
Chapter 14: Deadfall - The Merchant
Chapter 15: Deadfall - House of Brandimoir
About the Author
A Word From the Author
The Dark Magical World of Alamptria is a book comprised of chapters and excerpts from both past and future books. It includes an in-depth look at the Dead Path Chronicles series and insight into the legendary vampire.
Chapter 1
Dead Path Chronicles
Any reader seeking thrilling sci-fi-adventure-action-fantasy stories, unique characters, and fantastical settings should know the Seaton name. This dark, twisted fantasy series is sure to make an impact. Quantum Heights is a high spectacle! One of the best vampire chronicle books in a series. This is a vampire series that’s bound to have people talking. Filled with excitement, this book spectacle showcases vampire knights taking action. Through ages, classic fantasy novels have inspired us. These are dark fantasy tales that will be remembered for decades to come. These are not aggressively violent vampire books that are gory; rather, they are a perfect blend of action, romance, suspense, and an intriguing plot that captures the imagination. What makes these books different is they are somewhat futuristic novels. Richard A. Valicek’s latest book is an unforgettable tale that will exceed everyone’s expectations. Quantum Heights, Valicek’s first installment of the Dead Path Chronicles series, is a delight. It makes you think, thrills, and excites. It’s also compact at under 350 pages, delivering all of the page-turning story in an economical format.
These dark novels strive to entertain. Vampire fiction is old literature that is gaining more popularity. When Valicek set out to write this vampire novel series, he wanted something different. This fantasy has it all. The dark lord has sent his vampire minions, releasing them from his dark dungeons. And the vampire hunter is eager to destroy the undead and the cult that is spreading throughout all of Alamptria.
If you want a quality vampire book series that is not aggressively gory, then this is the dark and stormy fantasy series you’d like to get your hands on. In Alamptria, good must temper the looming threat of evil for survival. The dark forces have awakened and returned to torment the people of Elysium, Koriston, and the other cities of Alamptria. Fortunately the vim of Petoshine and its great wizard Grongone stand strong against the rising evil. To help conquer the dark forces, Grongone bestows three claymores of astonishing power upon the Seaton brothers, who as knight masters and vampire hunters set about defending the people of Elysium and Alamptria’s other great cities. The knight masters are truly epic knights. Though the Seatons are only human, with each successive attack their power grows, feeding off the energy of the vim of Petoshine. The vampire lord trembles as more knights embrace the vim. But not all are chosen for the honor of claiming the sword of power.
Fantasy fiction is very popular. To write a vampire novel series that delivers, one must have knowledge of fantasy writing. This dark twisted fantasy is sure to entertain. For over a thousand years, Makoor and his undead minions have lain dormant, waiting for the opportunity to strike. They feared Grongone’s great power. Yet over time, the dark and stormy forces regrouped, gaining power exponentially as their forces grew. With every passing day, the dark lord Makoor and the undead plotted the day when they would unleash their torment and persecute the humans of Alamptria to take ultimate control over the land, feed on the blood of the people, and make them accept Makoor as their master. It is a bloodthirsty, dark, epic fantasy series you will remember.
When the innocent meet the brutality and horror of the dark forces, they find the heroism of the unstoppable Seatons—a beacon of light. Driven by strength, intelligence, and brotherhood, the Seaton brothers stand tall to fight against the undead to ensure peace and harmony remain in Alamptria.
Quantum Heights is a roller coaster ride. In his original book Alamptria: Red Moon Rising, Richard A. Valicek gave us an incredible story of love, lust, and an apt metaphor for the dangers modern society must face. When a fantasy author produces a series, a reader expects a quality-driven vampire book series. A writer must be creative and tell his tales simply and entertain the reader. Valicek does more than write fantasy books. He mixes in science to give that perfect blend of horror, science, and fantasy. Vampire books such as Twilight and Vampire Academy are very popular with readers. And the Dead Path Chronicles series just might join them in popularity in time. These are vampire books with just enough blood and gore to make you jump.
Valicek tells his story vividly. His wild imagination creates wonderfully crafted novels. Valicek has spent a decade molding and creating this epic to perfection. It’s not just any fantasy series; it is a magical story with unforgettable characters. Along the journey, we meet friends, foes, and a host of unusual creatures and characters. In the original story we meet the king of the woodland, Thius Thumpedor, who believes himself to be the greatest vampire slayer who ever lived. He saw his parents murdered when he was only a child, and from then on he has dedicated his life to rid the world of such a scourge. Mysterious Calista, who holds a dark secret, was thought to have needed rescuing from a band of rogue men, but she has turned out to be one of the fiercest warriors the Seatons have ever seen. The Muskata creatures and Felicia the Golden Fleece, among others, all possess unique powers and ultimately work to help good triumph.
Vampire fiction has been dominating the book stores. The market is heavily flooded with tales of the undead whispering in the dark night, creeping up on their victims and abducting them, and taking them to their underworld, where they participate in their rituals. The sole purpose of these classic vampire novels is for the night creatures to terrorize people, sucking their blood and watching them transform into that which they are.
After saving King Confidus’s life and being welcomed to live with the Seatons, Calista joins his majesty’s assault force and takes an oath to fight for Elysium. The king sends her and his son Caprius, his most experienced agent, on a perplexing mission to discover why two bodies were delivered to the castle in caskets filled with dirt. The most curious element of the quest is why the corpses are clutching pocket watches.
After Caprius and Calista question the owner of a clock shop, who guides them to another city, the two resolve their previously contentious relationship and grow close. But when she reveals intimate details about her past that Caprius can’t handle, he abandons her and tells her that her life with the Seatons is over. Also on the train is an old love of Calista’s, Nigel Goncool, who swoops in to comfort her. Nigel tries to convince her to join him and the dark forces of Makoor.
Calista is tormented by her past, but her love for Nigel quickly reignites, and so, s
hunned by Caprius, she steps forward to make the biggest mistake of her life.
The vampire twilight sizzles as it did years earlier when Calista and Nigel met in the city of Koriston. She befriended him and his Goncool brothers. Their band grew to twenty-five men, and they spent their time frequenting pubs and drinking ale. After some time, Calista and Nigel fell in love. But, unbeknownst to her, the Goncools weren’t only interested in merrymaking; they were in fact a notorious bunch who were plotting against Queen Amenova of Koriston to infect her and her people with the blood of Makoor. For months they planned and schemed. When Calista learned what the Goncools intended, she abandoned them, including Nigel, and went into hiding, wanting no part of such a diabolical scheme. When the Goncools’ plans were foiled, nine were set to be hanged, others were imprisoned, and two managed to escape. This incident became known in Koriston’s history as The Goncool Affair. But this was only a minor deterrent, for they would have their revenge.
Caprius had wanted to accompany his wife, Melina Hampshire, on the long and dangerous journey to Castle Petoshine, where the great wizard Grongone would care for their unborn son, the child of the prophecy. Yet because he is the king’s most trusted knight, he is chosen to accompany Calista on this mission of great importance. His devotion to his wife wanes when he and Calista develop feelings for one another. When Calista reveals her dark secret, initially Caprius is shaken and angry, which causes her to consider betraying him, but as the mission progresses, Calista reinvigorates her dedication to the kingdom and proves herself worthy. After a fierce battle against hundreds of vampires, in which she fights valiantly, Caprius forgives her and sees that Calista is indeed worthy of becoming a knight master.
The underworld is out for blood in book two of this classic fantasy series. As they traverse the forests on their way to Petoshine, Dragus Seaton, Caprius’s younger brother who was selected to deliver Melina and her unborn child, undergoes his own challenges. When baby Lantrinon is born on the way and a swarm of vampire creatures snatch him from Melina, Dragus’s blood boils. He springs into action and fans his army out into the forest of Subius to find the lost child. Driven with rage and guilt, Dragus meets foes along the way who are equally determined to take the child of prophecy to the dark lord. But his love for his brother, for his people, and for his tiny, new nephew spurs him to continue searching for the child who would one day grow up to slay the dark lord Makoor.
After the baby is fumbled by the vampire and dropped, Lantrinon is found by a couple of tiny creatures called Grumplets, who look after him. The dark lord is determined to find the child of the prophecy, so he sends his henchman Carcass Doom to retrieve the baby and bring him to Mount Drone for extermination.
Off fighting his own demons is Andromin Seaton, the most vulnerable of the Seaton brothers. His relationship with his girlfriend, Fetrona, is in a shambles. To think things over and contemplate his life, he takes a holiday at Hotel Quantum Heights. He hasn’t been a model boyfriend, knight, son, or brother, and to assuage his guilt, he finds comfort in drinking heavily in his hotel suite. But when he realizes he is being followed by the Taughtenslotte men of Koriston, Andromin’s rage flares. The Goncools, who were helped to escape from Zaderack prison, are also on the hotel premises. When Andromin learns of the Goncools’ attempts to rid Alamptria of its people by infecting everyone with the blood of Makoor—transforming everyone into vampires and having the undead take total control of Alamptria—his fury explodes.
The dark underworld is growing. The creatures are determined to destroy the Seaton brothers and slay the child of the prophecy, their greatest foe. But the great wizard Grongone, together with Felicia the Golden Fleece, uses his knowledge and powers to give strength to the knight masters so they can protect the child at all costs and, in doing so, protect the future of all humanity. Lantrinon’s next years must be carefully guided; Felicia foresees that he will be tempted by the dark side of immortality. But hope remains. Felicia will guide him to remain on the side of all that is good and right.
Will the knight masters prevail in this series? Will they succeed in stopping the Goncools and the vampires of Mount Drone? Lantrinon must be protected, as the undead will do whatever it takes to steal this child of the prophecy and exterminate him. The knight masters’ strength grows stronger day by day, but so does the dark lord’s wrath. This is a vampire book series that brings out the wolf in us. With every new sequel Valicek releases, these fantasy adventures woven with the undead of the underworld will strive to get better. The night of the living dead is coming to cause havoc for the Seatons and the knight masters of Petoshine. The creatures’ rage is growing, and they will stop at nothing to take control of this world of Alamptria and all its cities. The dark lord unleashes his powers in these fantasy adventures to seek and dominate a land he much desires, carrying a lust for living blood and wanting to dominate Alamptria and the rest of the world.
Richard A. Valicek is in the process of creating a vampire book series that will be talked about for decades. This series is uniquely written and finely crafted to please any one. The novels are iniquitous and chilling to the bone. Lust for eternal life makes us wonder about life after death. The books make your heart beat faster and fill you with fear. Top fantasy books stay on top for a reason. The best science fiction horror books are those that you’ll read over and over again. There are other books, many of them wonderful, and there are those that are not so great. But once you read Valicek’s fantasy book Quantum Heights, you’ll be wondering what’s next in this series.
Chapter 2
The Vampire
He is the hunter who preys upon humans in his lust for blood. He is the iniquitous beast with the strength of ten men. He is swift enough to dodge bullets; stealthy enough to fly into the night as a bat; capable of transformation into a wolf, into a heavy mist, or into nothing at all; and capable of suddenly vanishing in a moment. He is Dracula, the bloodsucking vampire.
These immortal creatures captivate audiences because they speak to the beast that lies inside us all. Our curiosity about these bloodsucking parasites is insatiable. Is it the horror and danger? The overwhelming desire for eternal life? A dark possibility for seduction? Or it is that they can assume human form yet possess superhuman dark powers?
It is certainly all of these. Vampires have captured the literary imagination now more than ever. Dracula is one of the most powerfully written fictional characters ever created, and the books and films in which he appears continue to intrigue audiences. No single character has managed to captivate us equally since Dracula was created over a hundred years ago. Count Dracula’s intention to survive the ages has manifested; he who hungers for eternal life and embraces the darkness by which to draw human blood shall indeed live forever.
This creature of the undead who survives on human blood pre-dates the character of Dracula and in fact stems from the Bible. The character is abandoned by his love to death, forcing him to live alone as a disciple of the devil. To exact revenge against God, he vows to turn against the church and do wrong by inflicting terror in the hearts and minds of all humans. He becomes the Antichrist, feared by all. Any who attempt to rid the earth of him or any other undead risk their lives.
The undead feast on human flesh to survive and multiply. To avoid a plague, the bravest of mortals become vampire hunters. Their quest is to rid the earth of the scourge of the undead to save humanity. Through many stories we see what the vampire hunters endure in their attempts to destroy these disciples of the devil.
The origin of the world’s most famous vampire comes from Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula. The book touched a nerve with readers, receiving international acclaim and becoming a classic. Today it continues to inspire readers and writers alike and, like its protagonist, will likely live for an eternity.
Count Dracula is one of a faction of creatures called “the undead.” They are neither living nor dead but exist somewhere between the two states. To survive, the undead feed on the living by extracting
their blood, leaving behind two puncture wounds on the neck where the blood is sucked away from the living human. In Stoker’s novel, a woman is hypnotized and taken with the count’s charm. The hunters attempt to protect her by giving her garlands of garlic to wear and place at her bedside, as the book of the undead suggests these vegetables are abhorrent to the undead. But Dracula uses his powers to persuade her; once the night is dark and she lies asleep, she senses him by the window. Willingly, she removes the garlic from around her neck. He appears in the room as mist. She opens the window and welcomes him into the room, where he reveals himself in human form. He gently caresses her, and she is overcome. When she is weakened and vulnerable, he gives in to his hunger for living blood and brings her through the transition of becoming a creature of the undead.
It is a tale like no other—a horror story of an infatuated young woman persuaded by what seems to be a fine gentleman but whose exterior houses a beast within. Any who stand in his way are doomed to a horrifying death and transition to the undead. Any human so in the thrall of an undead creature stands on the brink of his last sunset before forever being locked into a world of darkness, to roam in perpetuity through the darkness as a disciple of the devil, never to see the sun again.
Killing a vampire is difficult and has over the years been conceived of in numerous, elaborate ways. In books and films, the beast has been destroyed by fire and by the rays of the rising sun. Vampires fear the crucifix, and movies often show the vampire’s flesh burning at its touch. Holy water is known to be quite fatal to the creature, as is a wooden stake through the heart. And certainly the cleanest kill would be to decapitate the beast.
But now there is a new breed of vampire, as insidious and menacing as the darkest creature of the world of the undead. Richard A. Valicek has created a tale of twenty-third-century knights who must battle against the most dangerous vampires ever known. Alamptria: Red Moon Rising is an original, exciting tale that spans love and danger in a magical fantasy world interwoven with the horror of the undead. The story takes us into the world of the powerful Seaton brothers and their struggles to maintain peace in their kingdom.
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