This is a sample of my first novel which has just been published by lulu.com! |
Introduction Every adventure has a destination, a climax at which one must reach. Yet ones who are much wiser then I have stated that it’s not the destination of an adventure that is important, but the journey and quests along the way. After pondering this proverb for many days, I came to the conclusion that my friends and I should document the journeys in our adventures, not only for future generations, but my friends and I have a following you see, I do believe in less academic terms it is referred to as a ‘fan base’. Together my friends and I form the twelve Knights of the Code and the six Rookies of the Code. We twelve Knights have bound ourselves to the Code, through both magic and sacred oaths, and stand for the injustices of the 43 universes. As such, we are forever being requested to tell of our exploits. I have thought it best to perhaps write them down as a series of volumes which I refer to as ‘The Chronicles of the Knights of the Code’. The first volume shall recount in as much detail as possible, the biggest, strangest and perhaps wildest adventure yet. I should look to begin at the beginning. I mean that it would be of great benefit to all if I were to introduce the Knights and Rookies. We all reside in the 10th universe on a small cluster of seven neighboring planets, known as the Planet Alliance. The Planet Alliance is a place where several different kinds of beings live together in a common attempt to harvest the economical benefits, the technological benefits, the security benefits, the educational benefits, and the health benefits to all who reside in this cluster of planets. These planets include: Nomastros; a planet of dwarves, Bakkaju`n; a planet of humans which are broken into two territories, Wizard Lands to the North of the Planet and Cupf Lands to the South. The Havens; which is home to humanoid beings with wings, Larxsum; a planet of both large and small giants, Kirandi; a planet that is home to the likes of dragons, griffins, unicorns and other magical beings, and finally the most beautiful of these planets (and I am being biased) is Jarnina; home to the elves of the region. Each of the leaders of these planets come together on one of the two neighboring moons, where chambers have been constructed for the leaders to meet and discuss the politics, economics and needs of the Alliance. The Knights and Rookies of the Code are the sons and daughters of the current leaders of the Planet Alliance. My name is Tiarhin Flairwood, I am the crown prince of Jarnina, an elf of obvious stature. Abinus Lightningstruck is widely regarded as the youngest sorcerer in the 43 universes. He is also both leader of the Knights of the Code and crown prince of Wizard lands, his father being the high King of the Planet Alliance, as well as King of Wizard Lands. His cousin is Sehom Rendar, the crown prince of Cupf Lands. He doesn’t have a strong grasp on magic, he is more a warrior. This is unlike Roger Nabbaran, he is a wizard, one of the strongest in the 43 universes. He is Abinus’s deputy and the son of the Duke of Wizard City. There are another four human Knights (may the gods help us). Damien Jerna, who appears quite reserved, but is most chivalrous in his approach to being a Knight. Damien is the son of the Earl of Cupf Lands. His best friend is regarded as Keindorm Gre`mal, son of the Baron of Wizard Lands. Keindorm is quite…I believe the appropriate term is unique, but I maybe mistaken. He always wears his wide-brimmed hat, carries a crossbow (I admit to him being a good shot), always has to have the last laugh and is always ready to play a game of poker. The remaining two human Knights are twin brothers, Blake and Connor Geldrick. They are the sons of the Lord of Bakkaju`n. The remaining Knights are from the remaining planets. Olaitus Angaleous is crown prince of the Havens. He looks every bit human, except for the fact that he has these beautiful, long white and silver tipped wings. Olaitus stands out in a crowd, mainly because he has these wings that contrast his darker toned skin. Tilmarx Flamogin is the Knights dwarf. He is the crown prince of Nomastros. He was never intending to be, however his older brother abdicated his birthright to the position, and the title went to the dwarf as a result. What can I say except that from an elf’s point of view Tilmarx is a typical dwarf. Short, gruff and rough would most adequately describe the dwarf, I believe. Dobin Silverclub is the crown prince of Larxsum. He is a small giant. The difference between a large giant and a small giant is that the small giants are only eight-feet tall. The large ones are sixteen-feet tall at least. Dobin is…how to put it delicately, quite simple minded. What he lacks in brains and common sense he makes up for with heart. Dobin is the mechanic of the group, he loves tinkering with engines, (I can rightly say that mechanics was one of the only classes he passed at school). There are also six Rookies to the Code. They have yet to take the oaths that bind them to the Code, however they are nevertheless important to the Knights and our adventures. Norbenton Flamogin is the youngest brother of Tilmarx. He is not a typical dwarf by elf standards. Norbenton is quite reserved, level-headed and unless provoked, he is quite placid in comparison to his older kin. Abinus gave Norbenton the honor of being head Rookie. I have two relatives whom are Rookies. The first is my younger sister, Luranna Flairwood. She prefers diplomacy to fighting, but when there is no other choice, my sister is most apt with a bow and arrow. The second is my younger cousin, Francine Flairwood, the daughter of my Uncle, the Baron of Jarnina. Francine is extremely smart, she has a high intellect- even by elvish standards. The fourth Rookie is Mazanina Ulvarenstar, the daughter of the Lord of Jarnina. She is Francine’s best friend. Maz is able to disguise herself easily. I believe this is attributed to her obsession with fashion and make-up… at least it is what I am led to believe. Involum Angaleous is completely different to Olaitus. He is lighter in complexion, and is the opposite end of the scale in terms of character and personality to Olaitus. Involum has this annoying ability to talk, non-stop, about nothing overly useful. Involum also has pure white wings, which causes him to be incredibly vain about them. The last Rookie is a human, Maxwell Hallowday. Maxwell comes from Earth, or so he states quite regularly. Whilst I do not doubt my young friend, Earth is considered to be located in a universe that does not exist, the 44th universe. With the extremely long and painful introduction completed, I feel should also introduce you to the Knight’s of the Code’s most darkest rival. He calls himself Lord Hersopeg, Master if the Herndoneous Order. In reality, he is a traitor to the Planet Alliance, after it was discovered he plotted to murder Sehom when he was only 3 months old via means that are considered the dark arts. He managed to escape the Planet Alliance and went into exile. He gathered his own forces, training his own warriors (known as the Herndonei Warriors) and formulating a following. Now, he has returned from exile, seeking nothing but the ultimate destruction of the Planet Alliance and political domination of a 43 universal scale. We, the Knights of the Code are the force that stops his plans. In order to gain vengeance for his exile against the current leaders of the Planet Alliance for his exile, he is forever trying to kill us, and wipe out the next generation of leaders. My fellow Knights have been quick to point out that I may write a rather subjective chronicle. After a great deal of arguing, we came to the conclusion that the chronicle must be recounted objectively. As such, I shall narrate this piece of work as if I were a mere observer to the events of this chronicle. Our setting begins with the Knights creation of a space craft, known as the ‘Equariarn’. This ship is about 30 storeys high, 60 storeys long and about 18 storeys wide. The ship has five large engines, plus two reserves. It has living quarters for the crew (the Knights and Rookies), stables for our horses (what else is a Knight to ride?), the ship also has the ability to carry a maximum four million passengers, a large medical unit and a small blacksmithery (for Tilmarx), and a large assortment of weapons artillery. To date, it is the fastest ship in the 43 universes. In order to properly test it, the Knights decided to take the ship on the maiden flight. We took 500 citizens of the Planet Alliance with us, along with Tilveioplem Flamogin (Tilmarx’s grandfather), Astrajam (Tilmarx’s dwarf dog), and Master Cyan Tai-li (the Knight’s mentor). Olaitus remained on the Planet Alliance due to the ill health of a cold, his brother Involum had yet to be made a Rookie, and Max had yet to vanish from Earth. The flight was going quite well, until Hersopeg’s personal destroyer craft, known as the ‘Obscu`rus E`versor’, began chasing us down. It was twice the size of the Equariarn and had a more deadly arraignment of weapons. To try and outrun Hersopeg, Abinus had us turn down the Time Warp Tunnel. This is a tunnel that has exits to different universes. It also has the ability to warp the timeframe of the evolution of a planet throughout these linked universes. As our ship was faster, we managed to escape Hersopeg. However our ship was severely damaged from the encounter. It was decided that Tilveioplem and Master Tai-li, accompanied by Astrajam would take a three-man fighter craft and return to the Planet Alliance for the help of Olaitus. The Knights decided to orbit the planet the ship was set to emergency land on in status pods to provide a marker for the eventual rescue by Olaitus. With the ship on autopilot, the 500 citizens were instructed to hide the ship once it landed, to build shelters, find food and survive until their rescue. At about this time, on Earth, a young man by the name of Maxwell was celebrating the coming of New Year by heading to Sydney to view the fireworks, by himself. Max’s family had all passed away, he had no siblings and had inherited the family farm. As the fireworks heralded in the New Year, Maxwell noticed a strange purple light. He found himself encompassed by it and flying through this purple swirl, he finally landed with a dizzy thud. “Hmph. This is Earth’s only hope?...Oh well, you’ll have to do I suppose. Now off you go to the Planet Alliance.” A voice grunted from the shadows. Maxwell felt himself ‘fly’ off again into the purple swirls… Due to the nature of the Time Warp Tunnel, 2000 years had passed on the planet where the Equariarn had crashed. The status pods had fallen from the orbit and landed on the planet, now known as Equariarn. The Knights and Rookies remembered who they were- Knights and Rookies of the Code- but had no recollection of the Planet Alliance, the 43 universes and most importantly, they had forgotten all about Hersopeg, who had taken to searching universe by universe for any trace of the ship. Back at the Planet Alliance, six months have passed since the disappearance of the Knights and Rookies. Our chronicle begins with Olaitus finally finishing off the rescue craft, the Stealth Glider, and is about to leave in search of his missing friends… (Please note this is just an excerpt from the Introduction- to read more visit lulu.com and find the book!) |