About the Book
Title: Path of a Novice: The Silvan Book 1
Author: R.K. Lander
Genre: Fantasy
A land at war, a failing king, a light in the forest …
Bel’arán, land of mortals, immortals, and those that dwell in between. The elven forest realm of Ea Uaré is threatened by ruthless Sand Lords seeking water, and the undead Deviants who crave the mindless destruction of elves.
The powerful Alpine lords strive to dominate the leaderless native Silvans through power games, leaving in their wake a bereft king, assailed by grief and a family unable to forgive him.
As the king drifts in endless sorrow, the forest people are loosing their identity. Discriminated and belittled, they are the warriors but the Alpine lords are their commanders – until a child is born to the Deep Woods – an elf with the face of an Alpine and the heart of a Silvan, an orphan whose only dream is to dare become a Silvan captain in a world dominated by Alpines – Fel’annár, Green Sun.
A born warrior, to his friends, Fel’annár becomes Hwind’atór, the Whirling Warrior, and together, they will step upon the path of a novice.
Adventure, hardship and self-discovery will mould the warrior he will become. But destiny will not be ignored, and Fel’annár is confronted with the truth of his own abilities and the mystery of his past, one shrouded in sorrow and intrigue – one that may change the course of history.
From child to novice warrior and beyond, Fel’annár is, The Silvan.
Excerpt
“Fel’annár! Fer’dán!” bellowed Turion through the chaos.
This was it, and with a sideways glance and a determined nod at his fellow archer, they both shouldered their bows and jumped to the forest floor, swords already drawn.
Fel’annár faced a one-eyed Deviant with a hideous slit down the centre of its head, and had just enough time to wonder if that was its brain he could see oozing out of one side. It smiled, showing its yellow, decaying teeth and black tongue. Fel’annár screwed his face up in queasy disgust for its breath smelt of all things putrid, and as its slithery tongue came out to lick its cracked lips, it was all Fel’annár could do to stop the rising bile at the back of his throat from spewing out of his slack mouth.
With a dodge to the right, he brought his sword around and found the liver, lunging into it as he had been taught. The Deviant squealed like a spring pig, before pitching forward, dead.
Swivelling on his heels he faced his next opponent, a Deviant that was so tall it looked down on him with a vicious smile, its gloved hand shooting out to grab at his throat, a strange clicking sound coming from its mouth. Not fast enough though, for Fel’annár had drawn his sabre in his left hand and sliced at the black limb, severing it completely and then following it with his eyes as it flew to one side.
He almost panicked when the Deviant made no noise at all, as if the loss of its hand meant nothing – and it did not. He needed to distance himself from it and the only way was to flip backwards. When he landed, he took advantage of the surprised beast and sliced through its stubbed forearm, the second chunk of foetid limb falling to the ground with a thud. Fel’annár whipped his head from the useless flesh, back to the Deviant and still, it bore down on him and the novice’s eyes bulged in disbelief.
Bringing his sword up to protect himself from the black scimitar, his arms shuddered painfully under the sheer power behind the blow – he had to gain more distance. Swivelling on his heels, he side-twisted, and then turned once more, his sword gaining impetus until it found its mark and cut across the beast’s neck, watching in morbid fascination as the sharp edge opened skin and muscle, and then grated over the bone at the back. Its hideous head tipped backwards and dangled for a moment on leathery skin, before toppling to the floor with a ripping sound, closely followed by the frozen body that crashed to the ground in a cloud of dirt.
Author Bio
R.K. Lander was born in the UK. Fantasy was always a central part of her life and soon began reading authors such as Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Azimov, Ray Bradbury and J.R.R. Tolkien. Now living and working in Spain, Ruth runs her own business and writes as an independent author.
The Silvan is her first work, a YA epic fantasy trilogy revolving around the figure of a Silvan elf, Fel’annar. The first in the series, Path of a Novice is available for pre-order, and the second, Road of a Warrior, is approaching the editing stage.
Links
Blog: www.rklander.com
FB: https://www.facebook.com/rklwrites/?qsefr=1
Twitter: @rklwrites
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS7AdASfaNwWsuLQossCVbA