In the Era Of Magic, humanity fights for its very existence. While endless wars are waged to control the magic, a young woman lives and works on a small farm on the edge of a seemingly endless desert. She grew up hearing stories and legends about magic, mages, dragons, and creatures that lived in the deserts called Sun Walkers.
Unknown to her, she's the key to the survival of the planet and its remaining human occupants. Her simple life is turned upside down suddenly, forced to flee into the desert when the forces of Leatus The Dark locate her.
She learns the legends are all true, her role as the last surviving family member of The Fallen King will be the key to it all.
Sigil: Spacejumper Bk 1
Here’s an excerpt from Sigil, the WIP I’ve been working on. I’ve got a great cast of characters, but this is a new series! It’s milSF/Space opera. I love it. Enjoy!
Laslo Gundrunsson was a man who people feared – not only because his stature demanded it, but also because the power he wielded was immense.
With a single communique, he could effectively cut off trade to a planetary body, cripple a station’s economy, or manufacture an enemy where there was none. Everyone, both Conglomerate and UCF alike, knew it was in their best interest to cultivate good relations with the balding bureaucrat.
Though his position was seemingly inconsequential, his ability to influence planetary states came as much from his intimate knowledge of the inner workings of each government as his nuanced approach toward each official in each respective government. Few had the ability to finesse a situation to the mutual satisfaction of both parties quite in the way Ambassador Gundrunsson could.
Disfavor with him typically meant not getting one’s problems solved without taking a loss of one sort or another.
Secure in the knowledge that he was nearly untouchable, owing to those who needed his regular intervention in their affairs, he moved and acted within a less confining set of boundaries – or rather, within boundaries that were of his own making, more than they were products of the planetary bodies he was accustomed to visiting.
Thus, as he opened a communication from Senator Haaka Orwallig, he had nothing to fear. The man was well known to him, being his counterpart at the UCF and known for ruthlessly protecting his own interests.
No, it wasn’t fear that had him opening the communication breathlessly, it was anticipation. If Senator Orwallig was reaching out to him, it was because he wanted something, and if he wanted something, it meant that Gundrunsson had leverage.
The screen held a staticky outline of a seated human for but a moment before it cleared, revealing the senator in full ceremonial garb, as if he’d only just returned from a session in congress.
“Senator. How are you? Nice of you to reach out.”
“Let’s cut to the chase, shall we, Gundrunsson?” The gravelly voice of the senator was made harsher by the terse wording.
“By all means,” Gundrunsson said smoothly, rolling his artificial hand.
“I have a task for you and it will need to be completed right away.”
“A task.” Gundrunsson smiled slightly and sat back in his office chair. “You must be mistaking me for someone else. I’m not in the position of taking work commissions.”
“This isn’t a commission. It’s blackmail.”
Gundrunsson frowned and he struggled to breathe with the effort to keep his temper under control. “Blackmail? That’s so tiresome and passe, Orwallig. Couldn’t you at least have come up with something original?”
“How about revealing the way the Silk Empire paid you to look the other way and then craft a treaty that would mutually disadvantage both the Conglomerate and the UCF?”
Gundrunsson’s cheeks turned a mottled red. “I never took a bribe and every treaty I’ve ever crafted was to the mutual satisfaction of both parties.”
“Of course they were,” Orwallig sneered. “In this instance, neither party were privy to the information they needed to make an informed decision. Imagine how angry they are going to be when they discover that you’ve screwed them both over so you could pad your investments, and all at the behest of their mutual enemy.”
Gundrunsson swallowed, a frisson of fear trickling down his spine with a bead of sweat. Was it true? Did Orwallig know the truth of it? But how?
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