of a child’s story or tale.
Lucky man’s supper —fish, leeks, potatoes. May refer to a “lucky man” bringing home both fish and leeks from the river, thus saving money that would have been spent at the market for food.
Making the wind —idle chatter, equivalent to Earth’s “shooting the breeze.”
Peace and harmony —a formal greeting. Through the early Age of Heroes, rivals or enemies used this greeting to offer a temporary truce. Later, it took on more common usage. The expected response is, And all peace unto you .
Spread —the length between outstretched arms, typically 6 feet or 1.8 meters (or three to four cubits).
Striker —the leader of a “strike,” 10–15 soldiers. Not always a formal rank.
The tide comes in, the tide goes out —acknowledging that events are beyond one’s control. Similar to Earth’s “roll with the changes.”
Wine fortifies the spine —a humorous description of drunken bravery.
Wolds —a nomadic people, living on the plains east of the Gulf of Camac.
Excerpt: Accidental Sorcerers
Eight hundred years after the events depicted in The Crossover…
Invaders just across the river. A powerful spell hidden in a child’s rhyme. When an untrained boy awakens an ice dragon to protect his village, and lives to tell the tale, not even the Conclave of Sorcerers can predict what happens next.
Accidental Sorcerers brings to life an unforgettable tale of love and loyalty in the world of Termag. Feel the magic!
Read on for a brief excerpt…
• • •
The wind carried loose snow and the thud of cannon fire. Two ghost-like figures followed the creek bank, stopping, moving on, stopping again.
“Where’d it go?”
“It’s around here somewhere. I saw it yesterday. It couldn’t have thawed already.”
“Why are we doing this?” The first speaker pulled back a white sheet, revealing a girl’s face. She looked over her shoulder.
“Keep covered!” her companion rasped. “My uncle said the soldiers are close. Some of them might even be around here.”
“Stay cool, Mik. We’d see them first.”
“I’m more than cool enough.”
“So why are we out here?”
“Duh, Robi. The grownups won’t try this. You have to be pure to make an ice dragon and not have it turn on you. Why do you think they let us come out here, instead of making us help pack up to evacuate?”
A string of cannon fire rumbled across the distance, and Robi flipped the sheet back over her hood. “ Pure is a pretty big word,” she said. “Is anyone pure? I bet the priest would say no.”
Mik stopped again, searching the bank. “I think it means virgin in this case. So we’re safe. At least I am.” He turned to Robi, grinning a question, then blushed and looked away. “Don’t answer that. I’m doing this anyway.”
“Mik, that’s…” Robi was both annoyed and relieved. She hadn’t done that , of course. But did Piet’s clumsy groping count? Just that once? It didn’t matter. She and Mik had been friends all of their thirteen years, and if he admitted to virginity, she believed him. He’d just started noticing girls anyway.
“There! I think.” Mik’s excited cry startled her out of her thoughts. She followed his finger to the stream’s edge and saw it etched in the ice: skull, part of a spine and tail, a leg, some of it covered by snow. More snow swirled around them, hiding the skeleton for a moment.
“Careful, Mik. Don’t step on it,” as Mik eased down the bank.
“Give me your hand in case I slip.” Hands in heavy gloves clasped, then Mik reached a flat spot and helped Robi down.
“You brought the spider, right?”
Mik gave her a horrified stare for a moment, then laughed. “Of course!” He took a stoppered bottle out of his coat pocket, the bottle he’d shown her yesterday. The frost spider webbed his window for a week of nights, until Mik managed to catch it in the first light of dawn—the only time it could be seen. A piece of paper blundered out at
Lucky man’s supper —fish, leeks, potatoes. May refer to a “lucky man” bringing home both fish and leeks from the river, thus saving money that would have been spent at the market for food.
Making the wind —idle chatter, equivalent to Earth’s “shooting the breeze.”
Peace and harmony —a formal greeting. Through the early Age of Heroes, rivals or enemies used this greeting to offer a temporary truce. Later, it took on more common usage. The expected response is, And all peace unto you .
Spread —the length between outstretched arms, typically 6 feet or 1.8 meters (or three to four cubits).
Striker —the leader of a “strike,” 10–15 soldiers. Not always a formal rank.
The tide comes in, the tide goes out —acknowledging that events are beyond one’s control. Similar to Earth’s “roll with the changes.”
Wine fortifies the spine —a humorous description of drunken bravery.
Wolds —a nomadic people, living on the plains east of the Gulf of Camac.
Excerpt: Accidental Sorcerers
Eight hundred years after the events depicted in The Crossover…
Invaders just across the river. A powerful spell hidden in a child’s rhyme. When an untrained boy awakens an ice dragon to protect his village, and lives to tell the tale, not even the Conclave of Sorcerers can predict what happens next.
Accidental Sorcerers brings to life an unforgettable tale of love and loyalty in the world of Termag. Feel the magic!
Read on for a brief excerpt…
• • •
The wind carried loose snow and the thud of cannon fire. Two ghost-like figures followed the creek bank, stopping, moving on, stopping again.
“Where’d it go?”
“It’s around here somewhere. I saw it yesterday. It couldn’t have thawed already.”
“Why are we doing this?” The first speaker pulled back a white sheet, revealing a girl’s face. She looked over her shoulder.
“Keep covered!” her companion rasped. “My uncle said the soldiers are close. Some of them might even be around here.”
“Stay cool, Mik. We’d see them first.”
“I’m more than cool enough.”
“So why are we out here?”
“Duh, Robi. The grownups won’t try this. You have to be pure to make an ice dragon and not have it turn on you. Why do you think they let us come out here, instead of making us help pack up to evacuate?”
A string of cannon fire rumbled across the distance, and Robi flipped the sheet back over her hood. “ Pure is a pretty big word,” she said. “Is anyone pure? I bet the priest would say no.”
Mik stopped again, searching the bank. “I think it means virgin in this case. So we’re safe. At least I am.” He turned to Robi, grinning a question, then blushed and looked away. “Don’t answer that. I’m doing this anyway.”
“Mik, that’s…” Robi was both annoyed and relieved. She hadn’t done that , of course. But did Piet’s clumsy groping count? Just that once? It didn’t matter. She and Mik had been friends all of their thirteen years, and if he admitted to virginity, she believed him. He’d just started noticing girls anyway.
“There! I think.” Mik’s excited cry startled her out of her thoughts. She followed his finger to the stream’s edge and saw it etched in the ice: skull, part of a spine and tail, a leg, some of it covered by snow. More snow swirled around them, hiding the skeleton for a moment.
“Careful, Mik. Don’t step on it,” as Mik eased down the bank.
“Give me your hand in case I slip.” Hands in heavy gloves clasped, then Mik reached a flat spot and helped Robi down.
“You brought the spider, right?”
Mik gave her a horrified stare for a moment, then laughed. “Of course!” He took a stoppered bottle out of his coat pocket, the bottle he’d shown her yesterday. The frost spider webbed his window for a week of nights, until Mik managed to catch it in the first light of dawn—the only time it could be seen. A piece of paper blundered out at
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