Sacrificial Offering

By Kevin L. O'Brien

Medb hErenn has witnessed many bizarre incidents in her life, but the sight of a wedding with no groom, and the villagers weeping and wailing like it was a funeral, was definitely a unique experience. Then she learned that the village was cursed, and the girl was intended for the Black Ram, the male counterpart of Shub-Niggurath. Without thinking, she volunteered to take her place, both to save her and to free her people.

And so she started down the path through the forest, heading for an unknown destination and an unknowable fate. But she will soon learn that she cannot prevail by force of arms alone, and that the situation is not as it appears.

This story contains blood, sex, and tentacles. Reader discretion is advised.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kevin L. O'Brien
• Release date: Jul 21, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301246212

Kevin L. O'Brien

Kevin L. O'Brien was born with a pen in his hand.Well, not quite, but he has been writing for as long as he can remember, at least since First Grade. Writing has always been his first, true love, but it hasn't always been his career. He worked for 15 years as a biomedical researcher, then for 3 years as a web designer. However, after 30 years of trying to be published in print with little success, he has decided to try his hand at self-publishing.He writes primarily speculative fiction -- fantasy, science fiction, horror, and their sub-genres -- but he also likes to try his hand at thrillers, suspense, mystery, and even westerns. However, his stories tend to have a fantasy element, no matter how subtle.Most of his stories involve the following three main characters:Medb hErenn (http://www.medbherenn.com/) -- One-time queen of Ireland, she is over 3500 years old. A warrior and a sorceress, she cannot be harmed by any weapon made by the hand of man.Eile and Sunny, Team Girl (http://www.teamgirlforever.com/) -- They are two adorable, vivacious, fun-loving young women whose motto is ONWARD TO ADVENTURE!!! Yet trouble follows them like a love-sick puppy wherever they go.Sir Differel Van Helsing (http://www.sir-differel.com/) -- The descendent of Abraham Van Helsing and King Arthur, she heads the Caerleon Order, the premier monster-hunting organization of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. She commands Dracula, the most powerful vampire extant, and the greatsword Caliburn, better known as Excalibur.He also writes a series of sword & sorcery stories set in an alternative universe known as the Lands of the Dreams of Men.Kevin lives in Denver with his family and 4 cats.For more information, see his website: http://www.kevinlobrien.com/

Book preview

Sacrificial Offering

Kevin L. O'Brien

Smashwords Edition

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Text Copyright 2013 by Kevin L. O'Brien

Cover design and typography copyright 2013 by Kevin L. O'Brien

Aon Cari font distributed under a free use license by Cari Buziak and Aon Celtic Art [http://www.aon-celtic.com/]

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License Notes

Thank you for downloading this ebook. It is licensed for your personal enjoyment and remains the copyrighted property of the author. This ebook may not be sold, reproduced, or copied, whether for commercial or non-commercial purposes, but it may be given away if no changes are made. If you enjoyed this book and would like to share it, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from Smashwords or their favorite online retailer, where they can also discover other works by this author. Thank you for your support, and for respecting the hard work of this author.

Please consider writing a review for this book on the retailer's website.

If you see any misspellings or typographical errors, please notify Kevin L. O'Brien using one of his online social networks. Thank you.

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents, including those based on the real world, are either products of the imagination of Kevin L. O'Brien or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Because some ebook platforms do not support special characters, certain words may appear misspelled, but this was done deliberately to avoid the problem of the platforms deleting the characters. Also, the LRF platform used by older models of the Sony Reader does not permit the use of links to external URLs, whereas the PDB platform used by Palm reading devices does not support any form of linking whatsoever.

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Table of Contents

Preface

Sacrificial Offering

About the Author

Other Books by Kevin L. O'Brien

Connect with Kevin L. O'Brien

Sample Excerpts

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Preface

Medb hErenn was directly inspired by Maeve, the legendary Irish queen of Connaught and the villain of the great Ulster epic, Tain Bo Cuailnge, or The Cattle Raid of Cooley. In numerous superficial ways, however, she can be thought of as a female Conan-clone. I mean 'superficial' in its secondary sense, as pertaining to the surface; a surface detail or being taken at face value. Another way to think of the relationship is stereotypical; though iconic might be the better term. The idea is that she shares certain features that have come to be associated with Conan but which, while reminiscent of Robert Howard's depiction, are not altogether faithful.

For example, Howard used adjectives like giant and massive to describe Conan, which can be equally applied to Medb, but his likening Conan's agility and movements to that of a panther rather than a bull suggests that Arnold Schwarzenegger wasn't the best choice to play the Cimmerian. Similarly, Medb's body actually more closely resembles that of Anna Nicole Smith when she posed for Playboy than it does someone like female bodybuilder, actress, and wrestler Nikki Fuller (though from the back Medb can look intimidating). Then too, Conan is often depicted in art and video as wearing minimalist garb--a loincloth or a short kilt--when in reality Howard usually described him as being more fully dressed, even wearing armor, especially after he became king. Medb does practice nudity, both heroic and otherwise, but she too tends to be fully dressed, though how that's defined varies from one culture to another, and Medb usually tries to blend in (as much as she can) wherever she currently resides. As well, she tends to wear the richest garments she can afford (when and where practical).

Outside of Howard's stories, Conan tends to be portrayed as grim and humorless, but in fact Howard gave him a gigantic sense of humor with a ready wit that could run the gamut from ironic to burlesque. In various stories Medb can be depicted as haughty, arrogant, prideful, vindictive, greedy, bloodthirsty, and grimly obsessed, but she is also a talented singer and storyteller, and possesses an irreverent, ribald, even bawdy sense of humor. She is a master of bardic satire. One constant of Howard's stories is Conan's straightforward manner and barbaric code of conduct that makes him more honorable than civilized people, but outside of them these traits tend to be glossed over, even ignored. Medb can be deceitful, treacherous, even merciless; she has slain helpless prisoners in cold blood, including her own father. However, her actions are guided by the ancient barbaric Irish warrior code: courage, loyalty, and generosity. And if at times she seems anything but, her personal honor is such that, once she gives her word she will die before she breaks it.

Even so, there are three important ways in which she differs from Conan. The first is intelligence. Conan is very smart; in fact, Howard depicts him as much smarter and cleverer than other authors and creators tend to portray. For example, he is a talented tactician and strategist, he speaks many languages, and he has advanced reading and writing skills. But for all that, Howard still depicted him as solving problems by