stomach for blood.
Rhyfelwyr’s squad had been broken apart, each man placed in command of their own, but only for the journey home. They would turn in their blades at Bhreac Veryan, and would never fight again so long as they lived.
Rhocas woke in the bed of a wagon, and sat up in great pain. Movement was difficult and breathing more so, and he would live the remaining few years of his life as a cripple, his magic gone forever.
The sun set that night as it had so many others, but this night it set on Hymerodraeth Heula and the dreams of men.
The End
We hope you’ve enjoyed this Deepwood Publishing story. As part of our mission to give readers the best of up and coming fantasy and science fiction, the following pages contain a glimpse into Tarranau , the first full length novel from James Tallett and Deepwood Publishing.
Tale of the Apprentice
Tarranau sat upon the cliffs, looking into the clear blue sky, matched at the edge of the horizon by a darker sea. Ocean and heavens blurred into one grey-blue mass as the ocean mist softened the view and removed all hard lines until it became one seamless whole, air and water together. Below him, the sound of waves crashing into and over the rocks of the seashore provided background music to his relaxations and contemplations. It was the end of the day and one of his favourite moments: waving goodbye to the departing sun as it slipped below the horizon, the glowing rays reaching out through the low lying mist. Molten gold running across the water to greet him, a last warm caress before the darkness of night fell over the island.
The apprentice lay there for an hour after the sun disappeared, enjoying the fading warmth of the day and idle contemplation of the clouds, sea, and sky. Finally, the light had sunk low enough that the young student knew he needed to go back to the dormitory and head to the dining hall, for idle contemplations and golden rays had stirred and filled his mind, but done little for his growling belly. Grinning at the idea of eating sunbeams for dinner, Tarranau moved on down the path, loose gravel and worn away earth marking a trail that had been used for a long time, so long that it overrode any right to close it.
Lazy strides took Tarranau down from the cliffs, towards Tregonethra where it sat in a depression between natural walls of stone, walls that sheltered a wide inlet in the western shore of Bohortha Eilan. The city wrapped around the inlet, a mass of tall wooden buildings and shore front warehouses, with wood and stone docks reaching out across the beach and into the water, fingers stretching towards the open ocean. It was the home of the largest fleet that sailed anywhere in the world, a fleet comprised of deep sea fishing boats and heavily laden traders, carrying goods up and down the coastline, to and from the outer islands, of which Bohortha Eilan was the largest and most populated. It was on one of these boats that Tarranau hoped to make his career as a marine mage, as one of the guild.
It was back to their school that he went now, a school of which he had been a part since his tenth birthday. The guild of mages that ran the school sent out small parties to the communities that were within their scope, including Tarranau’s. The marine mages examined all boys at the age of ten, testing them to see if they had magical talent. Those who did fell into two categories in the eyes of the mages: those with a simple affinity, and those with real potential. Having an affinity meant being tied closely to the water, often able to manipulate the element slightly. They were given a few years of training, until the age of fourteen, and then sent off, to become whatever caught their fancy. Usually, these boys worked as sailors or fishermen; knowing the waters as they did, they felt more at home there than upon dry land.
For the others, those with potential, they were trained for nine years, from ten to nineteen, and it was into this track that Tarranau
Rhyfelwyr’s squad had been broken apart, each man placed in command of their own, but only for the journey home. They would turn in their blades at Bhreac Veryan, and would never fight again so long as they lived.
Rhocas woke in the bed of a wagon, and sat up in great pain. Movement was difficult and breathing more so, and he would live the remaining few years of his life as a cripple, his magic gone forever.
The sun set that night as it had so many others, but this night it set on Hymerodraeth Heula and the dreams of men.
The End
We hope you’ve enjoyed this Deepwood Publishing story. As part of our mission to give readers the best of up and coming fantasy and science fiction, the following pages contain a glimpse into Tarranau , the first full length novel from James Tallett and Deepwood Publishing.
Tale of the Apprentice
Tarranau sat upon the cliffs, looking into the clear blue sky, matched at the edge of the horizon by a darker sea. Ocean and heavens blurred into one grey-blue mass as the ocean mist softened the view and removed all hard lines until it became one seamless whole, air and water together. Below him, the sound of waves crashing into and over the rocks of the seashore provided background music to his relaxations and contemplations. It was the end of the day and one of his favourite moments: waving goodbye to the departing sun as it slipped below the horizon, the glowing rays reaching out through the low lying mist. Molten gold running across the water to greet him, a last warm caress before the darkness of night fell over the island.
The apprentice lay there for an hour after the sun disappeared, enjoying the fading warmth of the day and idle contemplation of the clouds, sea, and sky. Finally, the light had sunk low enough that the young student knew he needed to go back to the dormitory and head to the dining hall, for idle contemplations and golden rays had stirred and filled his mind, but done little for his growling belly. Grinning at the idea of eating sunbeams for dinner, Tarranau moved on down the path, loose gravel and worn away earth marking a trail that had been used for a long time, so long that it overrode any right to close it.
Lazy strides took Tarranau down from the cliffs, towards Tregonethra where it sat in a depression between natural walls of stone, walls that sheltered a wide inlet in the western shore of Bohortha Eilan. The city wrapped around the inlet, a mass of tall wooden buildings and shore front warehouses, with wood and stone docks reaching out across the beach and into the water, fingers stretching towards the open ocean. It was the home of the largest fleet that sailed anywhere in the world, a fleet comprised of deep sea fishing boats and heavily laden traders, carrying goods up and down the coastline, to and from the outer islands, of which Bohortha Eilan was the largest and most populated. It was on one of these boats that Tarranau hoped to make his career as a marine mage, as one of the guild.
It was back to their school that he went now, a school of which he had been a part since his tenth birthday. The guild of mages that ran the school sent out small parties to the communities that were within their scope, including Tarranau’s. The marine mages examined all boys at the age of ten, testing them to see if they had magical talent. Those who did fell into two categories in the eyes of the mages: those with a simple affinity, and those with real potential. Having an affinity meant being tied closely to the water, often able to manipulate the element slightly. They were given a few years of training, until the age of fourteen, and then sent off, to become whatever caught their fancy. Usually, these boys worked as sailors or fishermen; knowing the waters as they did, they felt more at home there than upon dry land.
For the others, those with potential, they were trained for nine years, from ten to nineteen, and it was into this track that Tarranau
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