EverKnight
Author
JL Louw
Author Bio
I’ve always been fascinated with science and fantasy, especially the blurry lines between the one and the other. Growing up on a healthy dose of fiction, my life steadily revolved around stories, especially those that gave my thoughts a mystical safe-haven. Over the greater part of my life the stories that occupied my mind slowly built into a huge fantastical universe. It forms a living, breathing part of me, and it’s something I wish to share with the world.
Description
Many ages have passed since the Era of Darkness, the turning point of human extinction. Memory barely recalls the time of power, an age when humans wielded spectacular abilities to fight back against the beasts, but that power has slowly faded with time.
Yet humanity struggles onward. Incandents–brilliant individuals without equal–started crafting magnificent devices fueled by the dwindling arcane energies inside every human being.
Young Leo Pryde stands on the edge of the coming conflict. Joining the Rangers, soldiers in The Sovereign’s service, will lead Leo beyond the walls of Sanctuary and into a deathly onslaught against forces far greater than his people ever knew existed. But he is intent on the fight. He needs to fight if he is to survive against a world that is ever changing. As the old forces stir.
Book excerpt
“Here is the important part. Inspect the design crafted into the back of the Gauntlet. See how it runs down to your fingers. Look at the openings across the knuckle area, below the slit where the blade extends from.”
Obeying every instruction, Leo inspected the Ex-Arm. The fine grooves seemed a relentless disorganization of chaos, but closer inspection revealed its inlaid structuring, the uniformed symmetry, and intended dissonance of a certain pattern. The formations distorted energy, disassemble it, and reconstruct it in fundamentally new ways.
“The intricate designs are imbued with a fine framework of Incandent mastery. The Ex-Arm may appear fragile to the untrained eye, however, it is sturdy and can survive damage. Now, Leo, I wish for you to look, not only focusing on the apparent, but you will need to look deeper, feel, explore…”
The Erudite’s words phased out of his mind. As Leo followed his initial instructions, the rest of Colton’s guidance ultimately became lost within his haze of focus. He had it. His fingers tingled and his energy soared. The etchings guided his energy. His core passed along his knuckles, there the flux of power came to a standstill, obeying him.
Abruptly the sway of his focus staggered. Wavered. Toppled. He fumbled to regain his hold on it. Like a culminated cascade, it reached its precipice and pushed on with a mind of its own.
Energy erupted from his fist in a bright blue burst that tore into the sky. People yelled and ducked. All eyes turned to Leo, wide-eyed and questioningly in much the same way as he looked back at them. The Erudite, however, remained unmoved. Only his left eyebrow raised ever so slightly.
“Leo Pryde—when have you used an Ex-Arm before?”
“I… uh—” Leo held out his hand, a plaintive look passed from him to the Gauntlet. The learners off to his right hand side, where he raised his hand skyward in a non-threatening way, scooted away. Just in case.
“Breathe true!” Colton snapped. He folded his arms “Where were you taught to use this weapon?”
“True word, Erudite, I have never held an Arm before this very moment. I apologize, sir. I focused too thoroughly and could not keep my hold. It slipped.”
“Never before?” Colton asked.
Leo nodded, unnerved by the uncertainty in the Erudite’s usual staunch demeanor. He had never seen him show any cracks before. No one had—at least not anyone who talked aloud about the stern, resilient Colton Brekker. Soft exchanges permeated the crowd, at which Colton darted a quick frown that promptly ended it.
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EverKnight
