Sneak Peek at Secret Project (Patreon)

Everyone! I started working on a new project that is not going to be a traditional story but instead a visual novel! I am working with a talented friend of mine and I will be updating everyone on the progress as things move ahead!

Here is my first section that I pitched to my buddy.

Enjoy!

Chapter 1 - Ambushed and Forgotten

Narration: I knew that the crows nesting on the nearby trees were waiting to pick our eyes clean once the fighting was done. The sun was just about to rise on the hill behind us. We had picked our location well. We would advance on the army of Larian Knights with the sun at our backs and in their eyes. On top of a hill with the elements on our side… What could go wrong?

That was when their cavalry ran through us from our flank. Men were screaming and dying around me. What men survived tried to fight back against the torrent of Knights. It was no use, the battlefield had become a charnel house. A man beside me was stabbed by an arrow and I tried my best to pull him away from the fighting. We hide in some bushes nearby and I tore off my surcoat to bandage his wound. It left my chainmail exposed but it didn’t really matter.

He looked up into my eyes and I saw the life leave him. I didn’t even know his name, but I held his hand as he died. Scanning my surroundings, the battle had truly been lost. Larian Cavalry stabbed and finished the remaining Knights. I wondered if this was how the Drathounid Kingdom would fall. Gutted like pigs.

I did the only sensible thing I could do. I ran. I got up and ran as fast as I could through the thick green trees. Around me, I saw other men. Knights and Squires and Pages. We all fled the hopeless cause. What could we do? Were we cowards? Or was this just practical?

One day, I would rejoin the Kingdom and fight once again. Today was a different story. Today I needed to survive.

Suddenly, the men around me were being cut down by arrows and bolts. Immediately, I turned and made my way in the opposite direction. I needed to get away from them. My legs were weak and I had no idea how long I had ran for. Everything was a blur of green and brown.

That was when something hit me in the face very hard. I hit the ground and all was black and red.

A Woman’s Voice: Oh dear! Not a dead body… I don’t have the time to… He’s breathing! Oh, thank goodness! Is he a Knight?

Narration: I wonder if I’m dead or just dreaming. A feminine voice the sound of sweet honey rings in my ears. I can’t open my eyes. My head is on fire. Sleep takes me…

…

I’ve spent my entire life in service to the king. Since I was a boy, I begged my father to have me sent to be trained as a squire. I would see the knights riding through town and I was struck with admiration. Their armor was so silver and shiny. Their helmets held colorful feathers. Their surcoats embolden with the emblem of our grand King: A lion eating a snake upon a blue diamond.

They rode atop battle-hardened destriers with flowing manes. Longswords clanked at their hips. Maidens swooned and tossed flowers to them. What man would not want to be a knight? To be strong and respected. To protect the Kingdom and bed beautiful women.

I hated farm work. I hated waking up with the roosters and mucking out the stables. I loathed the smell of shit and the screaming of my mother. As a child, I was often chided for dueling with a bale of hay and not helping milk the cows.

My Younger Self: Why would I bother learning all this when I could be a knight?

My Mother: Boy, do you know how much it would cost to set you up as a squire? And who would help around the farm? Your father’s back is not what it used to be. Besides, we aren’t a noble family. How am I to pay for all that and have no one here to help?

Narration: How indeed? So, I didn’t push the issue. I stayed on the farm, but I still practiced when I could. I knew that one day, I would have my chance. One day, I would be able to pay the price. Dear God, if I only knew the price.