Fractured Melody

By Christine Williamson

On the last day of the third world’s third age, a mountain appeared in the sky. The next morning, exactly a day after its arrival, the mountain disappeared, and not a single memory of its existence remained. Not even the Elden who braved the golden barrier surrounding it recalled its presence. This is a tale of that lost day, and of the beings involved with it.

'Fractured Melody' is a stand alone short story. Some day in the far future, it may become the prelude to a longer fantasy series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christine Williamson
• Release date: May 2, 2012
• ISBN: 9781476065212

Christine Williamson

Raised, though not born, in rural New Hampshire, Christine Williamson graduated from Carleton College in 2002 with a BA in biology and her eyes set on a career spent studying marine wildlife. This sunny future, however, was suddenly and irrevocably derailed when she acquired her first manga and embarked upon an abrupt, but serendipitously timed, quest to earn an MFA in Sequential Art from the Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, Vermont. Having succeeded in that quest, Christine now resides in the wilds of New England and spends her time playing RPGs with local kids while earning money to placate the demands of two moody cats. It is her fondest wish to one day be able to truthfully say, “I am able to placate those demands with income earned exclusively and entirely from my writing and drawing endeavors.”

Book preview

Fractured Melody

By

Christine Williamson

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Copyright 2012 Christine Williamson

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SMASHWORDS EDITION

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Smashwords Edition, License Notes

Thank you for downloading this free ebook. You are welcome to share it with your friends. This book may be reproduced, copied, and distributed for non-commercial purposes, provided the book remains in its complete original form. If you enjoyed this book, please return to Smashwords.com to discover other works by this author. Thank you for your support.

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Table of Contents

Fractured Melody

About the Author

Otherworks by Christine

Sample Chapters from Katlyn Zinger and the Hornless Unicorn

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Fractured Melody

On the last day of the third world’s third age, a mountain appeared in the sky. It happened suddenly. No fanfares or light shows. No earthquakes preceding its arrival. One moment it was simply there, as if it had always been there. And none of Larkton’s inhabitants could remember witnessing its arrival.

The morning preparations for the coming Midsummer’s feast slowly ground to a halt as the busy Elden looked up at the source of the shadow that’d fallen over their town. Children gasped in awe and dodged the worried arms of concerned parents as they raced to the docks for a better view. The shoreline was soon crowded with curious townsfolk.

There was much pointing and murmuring as the mountain’s origin and purpose were debated. No one had ever seen its like before, and the Elden were quick to reassure their numerous Midsummer guests that this sort of thing didn’t happen often. Or ever, for that matter. The captain of the guard was sent for, and he went quickly to wake the town elders. One glance over the messenger’s shoulder had been enough to convince him their counsel was needed.

Unseasonal silence fell over the crowded banks of Lake Rythimia. Closer inspection was revealing that the mass of earth and rock might not be a real mountain at all. Quick-thinking onlookers with the presence of mind to retrieve seeing glasses from their homes whispered stunned descriptions of intricate patterns and symbols carved into the exposed stone with astonishing craftsmanship. The seeing glasses circulated rapidly through the crowd, and when the first of the elders arrived at the docks, a collective consensus had been reached.

The mountain had been made by someone.

The elder accepted the seeing glass that was thrust into her hands and immediately affirmed the idea. The huge structure currently hovering a league or more above Rythimia’s glassy surface was obviously not natural, and was just as obviously magical in origin. It had to be. Nothing short of a powerful enchantment could wrest something that large from gravity’s influence, and no race that she knew currently possessed the advanced stone-shaping skills that were necessary to create the many twisting pillars and support arches that crisscrossed its massive underbelly.

Troubled, the elder returned the seeing glass to its owner and sent the eager man to fetch Larkton’s Birdmaster. The eyes of hawks would provide a closer look than the limited, metal cylinders could supply, and his other pets might prove useful too.

A few minutes later, all the elders were assembled and musing upon the structure’s identity with the captain of the guard. The last elder who’d arrived lived on top of a tall hill on the outskirts of town, and he claimed the mountain didn’t have a peak. From up high, he said, it resembled more of an upside down dome or pyramid. When pressed for further details, however, he admitted he was mostly guessing as to its true shape. A hazy, golden light had obscured most of its upper surface.

These observations resulted in a flurry of arguments and theories, all of them unsubstantiated, and many outright ridiculous. Nearby townsfolk, seeing that the elders were as baffled as they were, joined the debate, and when the Birdmaster finally finished the long trek from the aviary to the lake, the excited chaos that greeted him was enough to turn him around and send him right back the way he’d come.

He was not a social person.

Fortunately for the elders, though unfortunately for the Birdmaster, the captain of the guard had suspected this would happen and was keeping an eye out for him. The Birdmaster was skillfully cornered before he could leave the docks and escorted back to the eager crowd. After a short shout and brief introduction from the captain, he was welcomed enthusiastically and instructed to send his birds to investigate the mysterious phenomenon that was still hanging patiently in the mid-morning sky.

A hush fell quickly over the crowd as an open area was cleared around the uncomfortable Elden. He looked about at the retreating elders and expectant faces with trepidation, but the captain of the guard gave an