Swords with Souls: Two Days Late So Far… B33

Two Days Late So Far…

(Swords with Souls)

Fantasy Fiction

By Dan Watt

(Author of BARD: Bearer of the Gemstone)

Cover by Darren Joy

(Author of the Plagueborn series)

– Adult content –

The gardenery was always under construction. A main tower, five stories high, was nearly complete. This is where Lord Ysbail would live with his academics. Lord Idris’s indoor training grounds had been finished the year before. A great division was occurring between the two brothers. As the orphan girls became teenagers and some young women, they gave shy stares mostly in Lord Idris’s direction. It was obvious by the strain on his face he was forcing himself to be cold towards them. But one of the older girls was persistent. They could never be married, so everyone said she was his consort. Her name was Asghari. He remembers her thick brunette hair and light blue eyes. She had freckles around her nose and a small bosom but wide hips. Her laugh was joyous but her determination unwavering. And she was absolutely devoted to Lord Idris as he was to her. With time she became lead gardener. For a number of years after the first plague the gardens were bountiful. And although most of the local population were doing well, there were some still struggling. These families were given some of the extra crop. That did not fit into Lord Ysbail’s plans for the gardenery. He ordered the construction of a stone and clay wall to be built around the perimeter of the gardenery.

Every year there were games held for the orphans who were now children. Boys and girls competed against each other because at that age there was little difference in size and strength. A new boy, named Dodder, was allowed to compete. Everyone knew he was the bastard son of Lord Ysbail. There was something off about him and not just the peculiar ways his eyes seemed too close to his aquiline nose making his head seem too big. He was taller than everyone else and physically thicker than the other children, suggesting he was in his early teens. It was expected he would win the strength and running events.

One race consisted of running the perimeter of the gardenery. With a smirk on his face the boy seemed so confident that he boasted he wouldn’t even have to try. When GO was shouted out to start the race, he started off with more of a jog. But one of the girls burst past everyone else. The bastard started pumping his arms and legs to catch up to the girl but she was too fast. When the race was finished a wreath of holly was placed over her head. As the girl beamed and almost everyone applauded her, Lord Ysbail stood with his hands clenched and a face full of rage. The next day a missive was sent out that it was inappropriate for girls to practice or compete in sports, because it may cause harm to their fragile physiques.

After reading the missive, he heard Lord Idris say, under his breath, ‘But it’s okay for them to wash our clothes, sweep the floors, bake the food, and do most of the gardening.’ More missives would appear, each claiming females shouldn’t teach math or writing beyond young children because it was too stressful for their smaller minds. Females couldn’t possibly be as smart as men. Therefore, girls that showed a greater aptitude towards academics must be witches. Boys and girls must tell their male teachers if any girl demonstrated this trait.

Site to check out on Ancient Chinese methods of gardening

Rabias World

Two Days Late So Far… B32

Two Days Late So Far…

(Swords with Souls)

Fantasy Fiction

By Dan Watt

(Author of BARD: Bearer of the Gemstone)

Cover by Darren Joy

(Author of the Plagueborn series)

– Adult content –

As he got older and was able to handle a sword, he started to remember some of the lessons his father taught him about heat and different metals. The bronze swords they were given were heavy on the wrist and all exactly the same dimensions. So, he used two rocks, one as a chisel, and the other as a hammer to create a fuller in the blade. He also wrapped the grip with vine to make it a bit thicker and used sap to keep it from unraveling. The older orphan teaching him how to wield a sword, was furious and showed Lord Idris. What Lord Idris did in reply was the reason so many students adored him. ‘Why did you do this Egbert?’ he asked while inspecting the fuller of the sword.

‘It was too heavy, Lord,’ he replied, tensing his muscles to take the cuff or whatever punishment would be meted out.

‘And the grip?’

‘Too loose,’ he replied.

 ‘Let’s see you wield it.’

Egbert, as he was known then, did excellent thrusts, slashes, and parlays, just as he had been taught.

‘Let me have your sword. Now do the same with someone else’s.’ Lord Idris pointed to a student to give Egbert his sword.

Egbert hated the feel of the other sword but did his best but the movements were choppy.

‘I will see if I can get one of the armies weapon makers to come here for a time, and teach you how to make different sized swords.” Lord Idris said then handed him back his sword.

That was the day he became Lord Idris’s boy, as the others called him. But there snickering was misguided. They should have called him Lord Idris’s apprentice. He was no one’s boy and Lord Idris never tried to treat him as so.

Recommended listening

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BARD: A multi-decade journey

I’ve always been a poet. So it made sense when I decided to write a book, originally based on Dungeons and Dragons and nature, as suggested to to me by one of my brothers, that it be about a young man becoming a BARD.

When I asked if I could use D&D characters, I was told no. Undeterred, I reworked the story and removed anything that might be originally D&D. However, the main theme has always remained the same. A boy saves a girl who gives him a necklace with a gemstone that will lead him on a journey to find her when they are older. There’s much more to the story but that’s what the book is for.

Concept art for the original cover

We even tried to make a movie of the original version in the 80’s using a friend of the family, Dave Smith’s camcorder. Originally, George Lamprecht was to play the main character, we also had I believe, Graham Schneider, my grandfather, our neighbor then, Sam, and others play parts while my brother Andrew did the filming and directing. Unfortunately, we had a party and someone stole the large sheet of paper with everyone’s contact information. By the end of the summer, I realized, I had no idea how to make a movie. So at the beginning of the new school year I apologized to our very efficient and professional makeup artist, Rhonda Edgar.

As the years went by I kept expanding the story. Using my constantly upgraded knowledge to make a fantasy world seem more real.

The blacksmithing is as close as I can get it to being realistically medieval. And I have tried to stay true to the BARDs of yesterday and today. However, it is still a fiction book, and like historical fiction, liberties have been taken to keep the story flowing.

BARD started in high school, and I wanted to keep the main character’s perspective and attitude the same as one of that age. Bran is naive, hardworking, and observant. This is a coming of age story, a love story, a social commentary story, and a story about possible war.

The closest I’ve come to seeing someone who could pull off playing Bran is Brendan Fraser in School Ties.

Other characters were taken from real individuals as I wrote BARD. Master Kadar is based off of Mr. Brown (Gary) my high school gym teacher and junior football coach. I still haven’t figured out why he asked me to play considering he nicknamed me stone hands. R.I.P. Two people came to mind when I was writing Master Renell. The first was Robin Williams (see Dead Poets Society) R.I.P. or Bono of U2. When I saw the Australian cosplayer Nic the Pixie on FB, I immediately thought, that’s the Owner of the Gemstone. Without much hope, I contacted her. She agreed, and after a two year journey in which much of Australia burned, she got injured, and faced other obstacles, she sent wonderful pictures.

Original cover of BARD: Owner of the Gemstone portrayed by Nic the Pixie, background by Alex Watt, fonts and border by Ian Greener

Lyrics repeat and don’t always make sense until you hear them sung. I did my best to write lyrical poetry to represents songs. Poets will see them, others might skim over them.

As the book expanded it became impossible to write a realistic synopsis. Rowena Samuel, a friend, who read through the original said it needed to be split into two books. I followed her advice.

The first book is BARD: Bearer of the Gemstone. Fantasy_art_z.com, an artist I have been following for some time, created two covers. She is quite a remarkable talent, so with some alterations I may use the other cover for a different project. However, this is the cover have I decided to go with.

BARD: Bearer of the Gemstone is available on Amazon

Swords without Souls: Two Days Late So Far… B31

Two Days Late So Far…

(Swords with Souls)

Fantasy Fiction

By Dan Watt

Author of BARD: Bearer of the Gemstone

Cover by Darren Joy

(Adult content)

Naked, he enters his stone and mortar house with its sod roof and pulls a pewter mug off a bronze hook he made himself and a pinch of dried mint from a clay pot. The mint and other dried herbs he traded for with a farmer who wanted a small bronze shovel. He grabs a wool blanket and throws it around his shoulders before walking to the river and carefully filling up the cup in the tributary. He places the filled cup near the fire before sitting nearby, huddling inside the blanket.

He was orphaned as a young child when his father, a metallurgist, and mother, a weaver, died of the first plague. So many children were taken to the Buttigieg Gardenery that there was hardly food or space enough for all the newcomers. That’s when he came into contact with Lord Idris. Average height, with a stalky build, and sharp grey eyes, partially covered with a thick bang of dirty blond hair, Lord Idris looked like something chiseled out of granite. And his voice, soft and silky as a trader’s when he spoke alone, and as loud and powerful as the roar of a waterfall in spring when he commanded. No one but his brother and some of the other nobles disliked Lord Idris.

Back then he was called Egbert of Buttigieg Gardenery. The surname was given to all the orphans. His days started with a breakfast of oats and goat’s milk before dawn. He stretched and did warm-ups followed by wrestling and knife practice in a group until the sun was at its highest. Next, he learned letters and numbers until supper. Then he helped clean dishes, wash sheets, followed by a bitterly cold sponge bath in the river Massika. After that he slept in a cot with two other orphan children. At eleven he was given his own cot. Under the guidance of Lord Idris, older orphans taught the wrestling and fighting. And under the guidance of Lord Ysbail, older female orphans taught numbers and letters. He enjoyed and excelled at both.

Someone to follow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nht6LjdUnLk&list=RDnht6LjdUnLk&index=1

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Swords with Souls: Two Days Late So Far…B30

Two Days Late So Far…

(Swords with Souls)

By Dan Watt

Author of BARD: Bearer of the Gemstone

Cover by Darren Joy

Fantasy Fiction

(Adult content)

Liam Nestor was described as tall and lanky with broad shoulders and long wavy hair and thick eyebrows. His wife Cara was short, upright, and buxom. It was believed they came from an unfamiliar island in the west. Together they worked for a local farmer. They became so popular for their knowledge of crops, weaving, and for sharing their extra food with the less fortunate that they were given land to create what would be called a gardenery. King Durmad wanted the gardenery to include a section for orphans of the latest war and Idris to train them as warriors. The girls would be brought up by other nobility that couldn’t inherit their own land. Everyone knew that these nobles were also deviants. Especially the third oldest brother of the king, Lord Ysbail, who was sent to oversee his overly popular younger brother. Lord Ysbail would look after finances and the girls’ dorm. Rumors abounded of the gardenery becoming more about wealth than helping the less fortunate.

Whether Liam and Cara were sent away or left of their own choice was a point of contention. However, before he ever arrived, they had departed the gardenery, and no one seemed to know where they went.

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Swords with Souls: Two Days Late So Far… B29

Two Days Late So Far…

(Swords with Souls)

By Dan Watt

Author of BARD: Bearer of the Gemstone

Cover by Darren Joy

Fantasy Fiction

(Adult content)

In the twilight, the Sword Maker throws another log onto the fire he’s built on the stony shore of the tributary near his home. Occasionally, he glances across the water to the other shore. The eyes of a few wolves glow back at him. He strips off his apron and clothes and holds them in his lap as he sits near the fire. When he can’t stand the heat anymore, he steps into the frigid water. At first the cold water is a release as he washes his clothes but when his teeth start chattering, he hurries out. Standing near the fire again he droops his clothes over nearby rocks. He waits until his body is unbearably hot again and plunges back into the water. This time he uses a cloth to rub the grime from his body. He stays in longer this time, to cool off his anger. Lady Hekpomahcep and her entourage are two days late. He sits on a rock a little farther away from the fire and rinses out his hair. As water drains from his beard, he contemplates the latest king’s plan to divert the River Tyne. When he was a youth, another king did the same to the River Massika.

The grandfather of the current king, King Durmad had a very popular brother named Idris. Lord Idris was the fourth son of King David. Considered the runt of the family because he only grew to average height, he was none-the-less also the most athletic and wisest. King Durmad wanted his youngest brother out of the way so he sent him to oversee a strange man named Liam and his wife Cara, at the village Buttigieg.

Interview with blacksmith Sandra Dunn of Two Smiths

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Swords with Souls: Not Fair B28

Not Fair

(Swords with Souls)

By Dan Watt

Author of BARD: Bearer of the Gemstone

Cover by Darren Joy

Fantasy Fiction

(Adult content)

Taking her grandfather’s soul was so emotionally draining that Lara just wants to head out on her own. But the funeral arrangements need to be prepared and performed. She will ride out to give Haashir, Madame Swan, and Crimthann’s nephew, Sir Oliver, a message to pass onto his uncle. There were others as well. It would mean she would be at least two dates late in meeting the sword maker. In the meantime, her sister would help her grandmother wash their uncle.

“Lara, Lara,” she hears her grandmother’s gentle voice call.

She gazes at the shelves of books and trinkets that surround the fireplace but can’t bear to look at her grandfather’s corpse wrapped in blankets. His essence isn’t there anymore, he’s in a tiny bag she keeps separate from the baron’s.

“There is a concern we must think on, Lara,” her grandmother says touching her shoulder.

“I must ride and tell others about the funeral,” she replies absent mindedly.

“First, we must consider who will take over the house and land.”

“What do you mean?” she asks in an agitated voice. “You will.”

“Not now, with the new king,” her grandmother says seriously. “Only males can inherit a house and land. That is the current law of the land.”

“Madame Swan owns the brothel,” she argues.

“That’s a business transaction. And who know how long that will last.”

“What are our options?” she asks glancing at the front door.

“Your father is mad; it wouldn’t be long before he lost the rights to either the house or the land. You must marry.”

“I’ve not met a man worthy,” she scowls.

“It would be a marriage of convenience,” her grandmother says. “We should have discussed this before but so much else was happening.”

“What kind of man do you suggest?” She pulls her boots on.

“One you can control,” her grandmother says with no hint of humour.

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Swords with Souls: Unexpected B27

Unexpected

(Swords with Souls)

By Dan Watt

Author of BARD: Bearer of the Gemstone

Cover by Darren Joy

Fantasy Fiction

(Adult content)

“Legends passed down amongst my people say they came long ago across a vast ocean in long boats oared by slaves our size. They survived by catching fish with their bare hands and rain water captured in troughs along the centers of the boats.” Endellion moves the torch side to side so he has a better view. “The slaves were both for labour and food as these giants, who their slaves called moon people, enjoyed the taste of human flesh and bone.” She pauses and stares directly at him. “Eventually, some of the slaves escaped and were adopted into native tribes. The moon people were hunted down. But some are believed to have escaped into the mountains. To disguise their true identity, they wore the skins and heads of bears and wolves and only attacked at night. Your people, thinking they were giant wolves and bears, hunted down almost all these noble creatures in retaliation. My people wonder if the moon people did survive and now are mating with the current giants sent into the north by your kings.”

He gazes at the corpse again. “If the giants are breeding with these monsters, they will become emboldened. War might be coming,” he blurts out.

“You need to train us,” she says. “Not just because of your people.”

“I don’t have time to train all of you, and,” he touches his ear, “it would be too dangerous to train you outside the Dark Forest,” he continues with one more weary glance at the corpse of the moon giant.

“Then I’ll find someone else for you to train, who can then train the rest of us,” she says with a smile. “A woman without quarter moon ears.”

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Souls with Swords: Unexpected B26

Unexpected

(Swords with Souls)

By Dan Watt

Cover by Darren Joy

Fantasy Fiction

(Adult content)

As he watches her walk alongside the narrow river that flows down the centre of the valley, he feels hollow. For comfort he places his hand on Alberta’s chest. The mare’s heartbeat gives him strength.

“We travel deeper into the forest for foraging and to learn it’s secrets,” Endellion says from a short distance ahead. “Together we learn what animals are female and whether they are pregnant or not, including the water creatures. We have forbidden each other from hunting those.” She stops and whistles.

Alberta rears up as two young wolf pups, a black bear cub, and more slowly an old fox rush towards Endellion. He is shocked once again. These are horrible monsters who kill human babies and livestock. He begins to draw his sword.

Endellion starts scratching the back of one of the wolf cubs. The fox barks at the bear cub and one of the wolf pups as they begin to fight. The bear cub puts it mouth around the wolf pup’s neck but doesn’t bite down. It’s at that moment he realizes they are playing, much like he would play wrestle with his brothers when they were younger. The fox barks angrily and the bear cub and wolf pup abruptly sit.

“We consider the children of all creature’s sacred,” Endellion says. “Lemmitty was already living with us for a few years when the pups and cub were brought home. She’s mothered them along with one of the goats named Minna.”

“Never name something you plan to kill,” he warns her.

“Of course not. So far, amongst men, I have only named you and your uncle. There are at least ten soldiers I will never name.”

He lifts his face to the light drizzle and curses. Maybe those soldiers will die quickly in battle. It would be better for them than whatever fate she has planned for them. There is no doubt in her tone that vengeance will be hers.

One of the wolf cubs moves towards Alberta. At first the mare steps back. The pup barks up at her without a worry. He is finding his day full of shocks as Alberta tenderly lowers her nostril to the pup.

He is in a daze as he watches the two wolf pups, bear cub and old fox follow Endellion along the river bank past the mini orchards and garden patches. After a while they veer left towards one side of the valley. As they get closer to the hillside, he notices a curtain of ivy. Endellion pulls some of the vines to the side and gestures him to go inside. She follows him in. On a boulder near the entrance is a partially used torch. Beside the torch is a flint and a pyrite stone. She holds up the torch as he strikes the stones over it. Once the beeswax covered jute ignites, she starts to walk farther into the cave.

“As we were exploring one of the girls found this cavern,” she tells him.

The cave’s ceiling is quite high. He and two of his brothers would have to stand on each other’s shoulders to touch the top. The walls are moist and covered in moss and split into two tunnels.

“The left tunnel goes a long way in but we want to go into the right one,” he hears her voice echo.

What he sees at the far end of the right tunnel gives him the shivers. The skeletal figure of a giant lies against the back wall. This giant is close to twice his own height. The skull has a hole above the right eye socket. What is most terrifying is the open mouth. He steps closer. There’s two layers of teeth. He looks along the arms and notices the skeletal hands have six bony fingers.

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Swords with Souls: Unexpected B25

Unexpected

(Swords with Souls)

By Dan Watt

Cover by Darren Joy

Fantasy Fiction

(Adult content)

That the girl his uncle saved is now in charge disarms him. Some of the girls have been here much longer. And some of the faie are here hidden within trees, the swamp he sometimes smells but has never seen, and the deeper parts of the River Tyne.

The archer takes him to a hot spring surrounded by a naturally occurring ground elder hedge. The steam coming up from the pool reminds him that his uncle believes there is a volcano not far away but hidden within a circle of the distant mountains.

Aquamarine eyes peer at him through the steam. He watches, stunned as she rinses out her hair and steps fully nude onto the shore beside a pile of clothes. She stands there a moment so he can fully gaze upon her pale skin as water gradually runs down it. Her eyes are large and farther apart than he is accustomed to seeing. And her neck is longer as if she has more neck bones than most. But it only adds to her beauty. He doesn’t miss the double-edged stone knife in her left hand or the archers hidden in openings within in the hedge. His mind tries to justify why she would want to ambush him. But her nakedness suggests something else. A challenge to his manhood? Even when he visited Madame Swan’s brothel as a young man full of desire, he never forced himself on a girl. It was always reciprocity. And he was always tender. But he also listened, and instead of just seeing objects of desire, he started seeing daughters, sisters, and sometimes mothers. He started caring about the girls and occasionally protecting them even when they didn’t want it. So, he stopped going. Now, he wonders if his absence has Madame Swan intending to remove him as co-owner?

Endellion’s eyes are not full of lust but venom and distrust. Yet he doesn’t believe its directly towards him, but his entire gender. At first her expression says, you men are failures and we no longer want you. He watches without moving as Endellion slowly pulls on her clothing without ever setting down the knife. When she’s done, she steps up close to him. “You are the nephew of Crimthann and the Sword Master?” she asks with her chin up and eyelids narrowed.

“I am,” he says in a neutral tone. He never gloats about others calling him the Sword Master, but he is that good, and this will not go well for her or the archers she thinks are hidden, if they attack.

To his surprise he does nothing as she places an edge of her stone knife against his neck. She stays like that a moment then nicks his throat ever so slightly. He watches in complete confusion as she puts the trickle of his blood on her knife between her lips and licks the blood off. What she does next baffles him even more. He watches aghast as she nicks her own neck and places the edge with her own blood between his lips. He’s even more concerned that he willingly tastes her blood. He had heard her people were enchanters but never believed it.

“We are family now,” she tells him. “Not cousins, but sister and brother. Now come with me.”

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