Malliath returned their barrage with fireball after fireball, each large enough to consume ten men. Atilan kept them all at bay, while Krayt landed a successful blow against Malliath’s underbelly with a lightning spell. The dragon roared and flew higher into the air, giving Garganafan the space to swoop in.
“Naius!” Atilan shouted.
“It needs more time!” the wizard bellowed.
The king lifted his staff high into the air and called on nature to bow before the self-proclaimed ruler of all. Atilan stirred the clouds and changed the atmosphere, altering the pressure in the air. Grey clouds became black clouds, and thunder rolled across the heavens as lightning streaked within. Amid the pouring rain, Garganafan’s breath of ice was met with a combined spell of fire from the group and a shielding spell from Paldora. By the time the standoff was over, the storm above was ready to be unleashed.
Malliath’s next run was interrupted by the staccato of lightning. The dragon weaved between the bolts, but was unable to evade them all. His cries of pain brought a smile to Atilan’s face. Garganafan took several bolts to the back, but the golden dragon was indomitable. The king could feel his gaze directly over him.
“Your Grace!” Naius gestured to The Veil, which had expanded now into a portal of pure white. “We must go now!”
“Go!” Atilan ordered.
Those few who had kept their faith in him ran for the portal. Naius and Krayt were the last to pass through, with Atilan pausing only to stare at Garganafan, who was still hurtling towards him. One last look of defiance was the impression Atilan wished to leave the dragon with.
“I WILL RETURN!” The king walked through the gateway and the portal collapsed… leaving The Veil behind.
Author Notes
If you’re reading this then you’ve enjoyed Rise of the Ranger enough to buy and read Empire of Dirt. Thank you! I was overjoyed with the response to this series, with Rise of the Ranger going into the top 1,000 best sellers in three continents in its first two months of life.
I hope you enjoyed this book as much as the first one, if not more so. I’m having so much fun writing the series and I can assure you I am already making a dent into the final chapter in the trilogy. While I’ve been discovering more of Verda and fleshing out the characters I so love, I realised that this world and these people have so much more to tell, so alongside writing Empire of Dirt I have also been penning the details of the next chapter in the Echoes saga. Of course, Echoes of Fate will have a conclusion and tie itself up as a trilogy with a beginning and an end, but I hope, like me, that you want more epic fantasy set in this world.
I envision ‘The Echoes’ to comprise of three sagas, with Echoes of Fate making up the first third. The next event will be tied to this trilogy, and some of you may find the clues here and there, but it will take some of the characters you’ve come to love in this trilogy, and a few new ones, into a world of new adventures.
Anyway… there will be more details on that to come, but I just had to put it out there because the things to come are very exciting and I can’t wait for you all to read it. I just wish I could write as fast as I can think!
This is my fifth book now and I feel like I’m starting to get the swing of it; I certainly don’t think I’m at the top of my game yet. I read a lot and am always comparing the writing style of the great authors with my own, but I’m enjoying the learning curve and can’t wait to see how and what I’m writing in another 5 years from now.
As I write this I’m aware that Rise of the Ranger is being produced by Podium Publishings into audio books with Empire of Dirt soon to follow. I’m very excited to hear my work read out loud by Steven Brand, and if you’re more of an audio kind of person, keep an eye on my Facebook page for updates on release.
So, Empire of Dirt… I loved diving into this story and I find it very hard to come out; my wife always says I’m a little detached for half an hour when I come back to reality (sorry Emma!). Sometimes when I get into the characters’ head for a while, I can adopt their mood for a short time too. This is a process I probably need to work on! Like with all of my books, or my writing style in general, the characters make a lot of the decisions based upon their personality and circumstances. I obviously have particular scenes and set pieces that I know will be in the books, but getting there is a journey for the characters and I’ve found it’s the most organic way of creating a story with believable characters. That might sound a little weird and out of control, but trust me; it’s worked so far… I think.
Valanis has returned! I always enjoy fleshing out a villain and making them in some way relatable and flawed. I get bored of bad guys who have unlimited power and dastardly plans that always go their way. I prefer it when things don’t go to plan for either side and improvisation is required. It just makes it more real to me and somehow less scripted. I did for a short while consider writing a prequel with Valanis, going through his life and what led to him starting the Dark War etc, but I’m not really a prequel kind of guy, at least not right now. I have enough ideas to keep this ship moving forward, but who knows, maybe I’ll write a story about him or some other time in Verda’s history - that timeline’s pretty big. I guess that’s what I love about having this whole world at my fingertips; anything can happen!
So you can probably tell by now, having read the first two books, that the Echoes of Fate isn’t a one man show. I did start with the intention of Asher being ‘the guy’, and yes his role is integral to the story and he’s certainly a main character, but the story demands more than just one person’s role.
From some of the reviews and the feedback I’ve had, it’s clear that some people actually prefer Gideon Thorn (one of my favourites) and I hope after reading Empire of Dirt you like him even more. In terms of character growth and development, Gideon has definitely come along way. I added a couple of new characters, chiefly Tauren son-of-none and Tai’garn of the elven council. Obviously some have bigger roles than others at different times of the story, but all are integral to getting us to that final epilogue. Tauren had a big impact on book 2, whereas Tai’garn’s actions will have consequences in book 3 – it’s all connected!
And of course, I couldn’t not mention the rangers. You haven’t seen the last of them, those that survived that is, so I hope you enjoyed Doran Heavybelly et al. I really like the idea that despite Asher’s 14 years of solitude on the road, there was some evidence that he’s had an impact and hasn’t been the ghost he wanted to be. Some back stories have been explained and some haven’t, but like I said, there’s more to come from the rangers.
I found that writing the first book was easy in terms of planning. I just sat down with a few characters in my head, a rough map and I let the story out. After all, nothing can go wrong, because it’s the first book and nobody has read it yet. It’s always a little different when it comes to the second book… For starters, you’ve already begun the journey, introduced the characters and now have a readership you’re keen to keep involved.
The second book requires more planning, foresight and above all, it cannot simply serve as a bridge to get you from book 1 to book 3. This led to me acquiring a big white board and some coloured pens. Unlike my previous series, The Terran Cycle, Echoes of Fate has a big list of characters that are all doing different things in different places. The white board really helped me map out what everyone was doing and when, as I love working the story so that people eventually come together. With regards to it not being a bridge, I like to think that I would have got a feel for that if that’s all it was, and I didn’t find myself rushing through it to get to the next book. I can happily say that I enjoyed every chapter from prologue to epilogue; but I’m a tad biased.
One of the things I definitely loved about this book (apparently there’s a lot) was the twists and reveals that bring everyone’s role into play with regards to the prophesy. The actual Echoes of Fate was my starting point for the entire series and by the end of book 3 (cue dramatic voice) everything shall
come to pass!
As always, if you could find the time to leave a review on Amazon I would be most appreciative – every one counts! The self-publishing business is a little different to traditional. I don’t have the marketing power of Random House or the editors of Penguin Books, so word of mouth and reviews online really help to give the book more reach.
Until the next time…
Empire of Dirt: (Echoes of Fate: Book 2) Page 46