Prophecy Denied by M.L.Rigdon (Seasons of Time trilogy Book One) is today's featured book on One Thousand Worlds. What's more, you can get the book FREE from today until 13th November.
Prophecy Denied-
Prophecy Denied
The girl looked across the languid expanse of dark sea to the forbidden city for answers. Her slender body pressed into the shifting wind that lifted and tangled her hair. A relentless tide slid back out to sea, sucking grains of sand from beneath her feet, undermining her grip on the world.
The ocean’s tumbling withdrawal revealed a bed of sparkling gems-—the Sea Stones, living jewels. Some glowed incandescent black, reflecting a myriad of twinkling colors, but most were fluorescent blue-green. The gem-like marine creatures had proliferated over the last two seasons, and the girl sensed there was a menacing significance attached to this mysterious increase. Sea Stones glittered up at her, mocking and malicious, hiding a terrible secret. Every nerve and instinct in her slim body cried out a warning.
She felt the presence approaching long before the loving touch glided across the crest of her shoulder. It had always been this way; she didn’t have to feel her mother’s touch to know she was near.
Her mother’s voice, usually so deep and precise, sounded muffled in the twilight. “Daughter, why do you stare so at Chi?”
The girl hesitated, weighing her answer. “Perhaps because we aren’t allowed to go there.”
Darkness crawled up behind them and glided out over the now listless water. For a time, neither of them spoke, both thinking thoughts too painful to share.
“Daughter, when you look at it, what does Chi say to you?”
The girl reached up to curl her cold fingers around the hard curve of her mother’s enfolding arms, savoring the warmth and strength. She brushed her fingertips over knobby scars, and as always, a jumble of chaotic images rose up and scattered behind her eyes.
Her mother’s body was marked from the signs of her former profession, Cavalry warrior. Scores of puckered gouges refused to fade with time. The sinewy muscles of her arms still rippled with latent menace. Her mother exercised every morning, like a penance, even though there were no more battles left to fight.
“Daughter, you haven’t answered about Chi.”
“Oh, you know how it is with me. I can’t clearly see that which involves my own future. I know I must go there. Someday. But you’ve been there. What is the place with the blue courtyard? A white building with a big, round room inside. There are benches all around for people to sit and watch…. Watch, what? What happens there?”
“The white building is the Temple. The circular hall with marble benches is Judgment Court. Punishments for serious crimes are decided there.”
“And you’ve been there?”
“Oh, yes. Many times. I often had execution duty.”
“But you were Cavalry Leader!”
“Leadership doesn’t exclude one from unpleasant tasks. None of us liked it, but we were bound to serve in turns. I was judged there and sent here into exile. High Priestess doesn’t have your gifts. She couldn’t see I was carrying you, which was a crime in itself.”
“Having babies?”
“Warriors aren’t allowed to conceive while assigned to hazardous duty.”
“Have you forgiven her for sending you here?”
“There’s nothing to forgive, Mirra. She was only doing her duty. That was long ago. She must be quite old by now.”
“I’ve seen her. She’s old and lazy and not wise. She likes too much to have her own way. People will end up paying for her selfishness.”
“It is the way of governments, child.”
“It’s not fair that all of Omirr suffers just because she’s spoiled!”
“Mirra, if you are my daughter in all things, you will never speak against the Temple. What if someone listens?”
The girl closed her eyes and tilted her head. A moment later, her eyes popped open. “No one listens. High Priestess is thinking about the lovely food she’s eating. The cheese is a gift from Vos. The wine is Sha’s best. The novices are watching her and whispering naughty things.”
Concerned by her mother’s sudden withdrawal, Mirra clung to the ragged, Cavalry blue tunic. “Why are you afraid? She bears you no ill will.”
“I know she doesn’t.”
“But you’re shivering!”
“From the damp of the sea breeze.”
“Will you tell me more about Chi? But first, tell me about the other place. The one with the rolled up papers. It’s a sacred place of knowledge, hidden under black rocks. It sometimes calls to me even louder than the city. Is it part of the Temple?”
“I’ve never heard of a place like that.”
“Mother, can you make them stop calling me? Make them go away. Please?”
“I’m sorry, child. For you, there is no escape. It was seen at your birth that you’d belong to these places.”
“But what about you?”
Her mother looked up into the black dome of stars overhead. “All I’ve ever known is the warrior’s way. I had to be forced to accept how destiny can alter one’s idea of duty. I’ve fulfilled my obligations and destiny, as you will also.”
“But why talk of these things now? You’ve never liked talking about Chi and the past.”
A callused palm cupped Mirra’s upturned face. “Because a man will come for you this night. Long ago, I was told to watch for a configuration in the stars during Harvest Season that would tell me when you must leave.”
Mirra laughed. “We’re leaving?”
“Not we. I stay, and you’ll go with him.” She continued before Mirra could rebel, “Don’t fight this, child. You will go with this man and obey him in all things. Until the time comes when you can obey only your destiny.”
“Then I’ll ask One God for you to come with us.”
“No, daughter, you will not!”
Mirra’s half-spoken protest was forgotten when she sensed an alien presence. She whirled and looked down the shoreline, peering through the murky night.
Polished metal glimmered through the gloom. A man walked at the edge of lapping waves. As he neared, she identified the reflections from the circlet in his silver hair and gems studding the torque around his neck. The opulence of both pieces proclaimed his importance. She felt no fear as she faced this advancing stranger. With each step, she felt her destiny drawing near.
Prophecy Denied-
Lord Ladnor is not a Believer, nor does he have any interest in becoming a national hero. He wants only to stay at home and rule Sha, Omirr’s largest and richest province. When his uncle, Omirr’s Lord Protector, summons him to the corrupt and crumbling capital, what Ladnor learns forces him to abandoned his isolationist ideals. The assassination of the entire royal line has left Ladnor the remaining heir to the Protectorship, a position that obligates him to marry the reigning High Priestess, a woman of power and mystery, whose abilities have made her unpopular and feared. Together they must quickly discover the secrets of the past in order to save their country’s future.
"...epic high fantasy saga of a reluctant hero and the high priestess he is fated to marry...A high-spirited and thoroughly entertaining tale of two people's journey and a nation's quest to survive. Prophecy Denied is especially recommended for fantasy fans and genre enthusiasts who will look forward to the next volumes..."
--James A. Cox, Midwest Book Review
About M.L.Rigdon-
M.L.Rigdon grew up in historic Galena, IL and spent most of her time in the museum of her aunt, who encouraged her interest in history and understood the need to cherish a dream. She started writing in secret in her teens and never stopped, merging it with her mother's encouragement to study theater and music, which led to performing in the Midwest, California and as far away as Austria. Rigdon’s favorite genre is fantasy, but since she loves to read everything, she also writes contemporary, romance, and YA. (Yes, she knows you’re supposed to stick to one genre but can’t stop herself.) Rigdon has nine titles on Kindle, including the final book in the awarding winning SEASONS OF TIME trilogy, and writing as Julia Donner, THE TIGRESSE AND THE RAVEN, an RWA contest finalist.
She never forgot what it was like to write alone as a girl and is a happy member of Summit City Scribes. A concern for the failing educational system led her to develop Your Futures In Ink, a panel of local and regional authors, who go into schools to answer questions about writing. She also assisted poet Mia Elkovsky Phoebus in the compilation of AN I NOT LEFT BEHIND, available on Amazon.
The second book in the regency historical Friendship series, THE HEIRESS AND THE SPY, written as Donner, is slated for Winter 2013 release, followed by THE RAKE AND THE BISHOP’S DAUGHTER in Summer 2014. The next installment of the YA fantasy SONGS OF ATLANTIS, CANTICLE OF DESTRUCTION, is slated for Spring 2014.
"...epic high fantasy saga of a reluctant hero and the high priestess he is fated to marry...A high-spirited and thoroughly entertaining tale of two people's journey and a nation's quest to survive. Prophecy Denied is especially recommended for fantasy fans and genre enthusiasts who will look forward to the next volumes..."
--James A. Cox, Midwest Book Review
About M.L.Rigdon-
M.L.Rigdon grew up in historic Galena, IL and spent most of her time in the museum of her aunt, who encouraged her interest in history and understood the need to cherish a dream. She started writing in secret in her teens and never stopped, merging it with her mother's encouragement to study theater and music, which led to performing in the Midwest, California and as far away as Austria. Rigdon’s favorite genre is fantasy, but since she loves to read everything, she also writes contemporary, romance, and YA. (Yes, she knows you’re supposed to stick to one genre but can’t stop herself.) Rigdon has nine titles on Kindle, including the final book in the awarding winning SEASONS OF TIME trilogy, and writing as Julia Donner, THE TIGRESSE AND THE RAVEN, an RWA contest finalist.
She never forgot what it was like to write alone as a girl and is a happy member of Summit City Scribes. A concern for the failing educational system led her to develop Your Futures In Ink, a panel of local and regional authors, who go into schools to answer questions about writing. She also assisted poet Mia Elkovsky Phoebus in the compilation of AN I NOT LEFT BEHIND, available on Amazon.
The second book in the regency historical Friendship series, THE HEIRESS AND THE SPY, written as Donner, is slated for Winter 2013 release, followed by THE RAKE AND THE BISHOP’S DAUGHTER in Summer 2014. The next installment of the YA fantasy SONGS OF ATLANTIS, CANTICLE OF DESTRUCTION, is slated for Spring 2014.
Prologue
Harvest Season on the Isle of ExileThe girl looked across the languid expanse of dark sea to the forbidden city for answers. Her slender body pressed into the shifting wind that lifted and tangled her hair. A relentless tide slid back out to sea, sucking grains of sand from beneath her feet, undermining her grip on the world.
The ocean’s tumbling withdrawal revealed a bed of sparkling gems-—the Sea Stones, living jewels. Some glowed incandescent black, reflecting a myriad of twinkling colors, but most were fluorescent blue-green. The gem-like marine creatures had proliferated over the last two seasons, and the girl sensed there was a menacing significance attached to this mysterious increase. Sea Stones glittered up at her, mocking and malicious, hiding a terrible secret. Every nerve and instinct in her slim body cried out a warning.
She felt the presence approaching long before the loving touch glided across the crest of her shoulder. It had always been this way; she didn’t have to feel her mother’s touch to know she was near.
Her mother’s voice, usually so deep and precise, sounded muffled in the twilight. “Daughter, why do you stare so at Chi?”
The girl hesitated, weighing her answer. “Perhaps because we aren’t allowed to go there.”
Darkness crawled up behind them and glided out over the now listless water. For a time, neither of them spoke, both thinking thoughts too painful to share.
“Daughter, when you look at it, what does Chi say to you?”
The girl reached up to curl her cold fingers around the hard curve of her mother’s enfolding arms, savoring the warmth and strength. She brushed her fingertips over knobby scars, and as always, a jumble of chaotic images rose up and scattered behind her eyes.
Her mother’s body was marked from the signs of her former profession, Cavalry warrior. Scores of puckered gouges refused to fade with time. The sinewy muscles of her arms still rippled with latent menace. Her mother exercised every morning, like a penance, even though there were no more battles left to fight.
“Daughter, you haven’t answered about Chi.”
“Oh, you know how it is with me. I can’t clearly see that which involves my own future. I know I must go there. Someday. But you’ve been there. What is the place with the blue courtyard? A white building with a big, round room inside. There are benches all around for people to sit and watch…. Watch, what? What happens there?”
“The white building is the Temple. The circular hall with marble benches is Judgment Court. Punishments for serious crimes are decided there.”
“And you’ve been there?”
“Oh, yes. Many times. I often had execution duty.”
“But you were Cavalry Leader!”
“Leadership doesn’t exclude one from unpleasant tasks. None of us liked it, but we were bound to serve in turns. I was judged there and sent here into exile. High Priestess doesn’t have your gifts. She couldn’t see I was carrying you, which was a crime in itself.”
“Having babies?”
“Warriors aren’t allowed to conceive while assigned to hazardous duty.”
“Have you forgiven her for sending you here?”
“There’s nothing to forgive, Mirra. She was only doing her duty. That was long ago. She must be quite old by now.”
“I’ve seen her. She’s old and lazy and not wise. She likes too much to have her own way. People will end up paying for her selfishness.”
“It is the way of governments, child.”
“It’s not fair that all of Omirr suffers just because she’s spoiled!”
“Mirra, if you are my daughter in all things, you will never speak against the Temple. What if someone listens?”
The girl closed her eyes and tilted her head. A moment later, her eyes popped open. “No one listens. High Priestess is thinking about the lovely food she’s eating. The cheese is a gift from Vos. The wine is Sha’s best. The novices are watching her and whispering naughty things.”
Concerned by her mother’s sudden withdrawal, Mirra clung to the ragged, Cavalry blue tunic. “Why are you afraid? She bears you no ill will.”
“I know she doesn’t.”
“But you’re shivering!”
“From the damp of the sea breeze.”
“Will you tell me more about Chi? But first, tell me about the other place. The one with the rolled up papers. It’s a sacred place of knowledge, hidden under black rocks. It sometimes calls to me even louder than the city. Is it part of the Temple?”
“I’ve never heard of a place like that.”
“Mother, can you make them stop calling me? Make them go away. Please?”
“I’m sorry, child. For you, there is no escape. It was seen at your birth that you’d belong to these places.”
“But what about you?”
Her mother looked up into the black dome of stars overhead. “All I’ve ever known is the warrior’s way. I had to be forced to accept how destiny can alter one’s idea of duty. I’ve fulfilled my obligations and destiny, as you will also.”
“But why talk of these things now? You’ve never liked talking about Chi and the past.”
A callused palm cupped Mirra’s upturned face. “Because a man will come for you this night. Long ago, I was told to watch for a configuration in the stars during Harvest Season that would tell me when you must leave.”
Mirra laughed. “We’re leaving?”
“Not we. I stay, and you’ll go with him.” She continued before Mirra could rebel, “Don’t fight this, child. You will go with this man and obey him in all things. Until the time comes when you can obey only your destiny.”
“Then I’ll ask One God for you to come with us.”
“No, daughter, you will not!”
Mirra’s half-spoken protest was forgotten when she sensed an alien presence. She whirled and looked down the shoreline, peering through the murky night.
Polished metal glimmered through the gloom. A man walked at the edge of lapping waves. As he neared, she identified the reflections from the circlet in his silver hair and gems studding the torque around his neck. The opulence of both pieces proclaimed his importance. She felt no fear as she faced this advancing stranger. With each step, she felt her destiny drawing near.
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