As I am finishing up my (Christopher) final rewrite of our second short-story, Morrigan’s Brood: Reckoning, I thought I would share a taste of what Heather and I put together. Of course, this will be challenging, as I do not wish to spoil the outcome of Morrigan’s Brood: Crone of War for those who have not yet finished the book. Dare I walk the thin line between spoiling and enticing? Yes, I dare. Now, where to begin…
Historian’s Note
As an aside for the historians out there… we know lots of cool stuff in history happened within that 237 years between Crone of War and Dark Alliance that we could have written about. However, Heather and I found the backdrop of the period when Karl der Große / Carolus Magnus / Karolus Magnus / Charles I / Charlemagne was crowned Imperator Romanorum / Imperator Augustus by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800 CE to be excellent for our storytelling. Historically speaking, we have the re-emergence of Rome as a center of ecclesiastic power in defiance of the Byzantine Empire based in Constantinople, we have a Frankish King being given the mantle of Roman Emperor, and we have a new Emperor who doesn’t wish to be considered the Pope’s lackey. What a tumultuous period for storytelling!
Anyway, after finishing the trilogy of Dark Alliance, Curse of Venus, and Shards of Light, Heather and I thought it would be a hoot to write some short-stories which take place in this 237 year period. Madness and Reckoning are two of those stories. Both of these stories provide additional back-story for some of our main characters to help our readers get to know them better, as well as to explain how they might have changed between Crone of War and Dark Alliance. Let’s look at each story individually…
Morrigan’s Brood: Madness
“Madness” takes place about a year or so after the end of Crone of War, but some 236 years before the start of Dark Alliance. The main characters include Mandubratius, whose given name is Awvarwy (as many of you should know already), Tertia Amata Antonia (Amata), and Legate Patroclus Statilius Messalinus (the Legate or Patroclus). Mandubratius is insane (some of you are probably thinking “Duh”, but no really… in-sane), and no one knows how to cure him. Insanity is apparently not common amongst Lamia. In the power vacuum that ensues from his absence, Amata and Patroclus must try to keep the Lamia senate from erupting into outright civil war until somebody can find a cure for Mandubratius, or until Mandubratius himself can discover hidden truths from within his own, demented mind.
This short story is available on our blog today, and it will be released as a free eBook in a few weeks from now.
Morrigan’s Brood: Reckoning
After the events conclude in Crone of War, our intrepid heroes go their separate ways; some go to Bath in Briton, and some go back to the stronghold of the Deargh Du in Ard Macha. Sáerlaith, leader of the Deargh Du council, has a mission for Marcus Galerius Primus Helvetticus (Marcus) and Maél Muire Ní Conghal Uí Máine (now known as Máire, or sometimes jokingly as Maél Morrigan): kill those who wish to return to the old ways of bigotry and isolation. Easy, right? After all, it is Morrigan’s will. However, every action has an equal and opposite reaction, as our heroes will soon discover.
I am nearly finished with my rewrite pass of the manuscript. After I finish, Heather will give her final rewrite, and then I will send the manuscript off to our proofreader, Jill. So, hopefully within two weeks, we will be able to release both short-stories as an eBook.
Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed this little journey through the short stories. If you really like this kind of background information, I may do a little write up about Dark Alliance in a week or two, just to whet your appetites. Until then, help maintain the balance!