Caroline d'Allégresse: A Valiant's Tale

By Michael Brock

Bear witness to the valor of eight-year-old Caroline d’Allégresse as she leads a small militia of townsmen against an overwhelming army of satyr monsters.

Caroline d’Allégresse dreams of becoming a Valiant class mage like her father. Under his watchful eye, she has trained diligently in swordsmanship and military strategy since the age of five. Yet in three short years could she have possibly learned enough to defend her town against a ruthless onslaught of satyr monsters while her father is away on business in Magali?

Caroline d’Allégresse is a staple character of the Souladonis world. She appears in multiple novels and short stories. Known for her courage, acrobatic swordsmanship, and leadership on the battlefield, she is one of the most thrilling and charismatic characters of the Souladonis world. This eleven-chapter novella offers an insightful look into her early childhood and is a fitting introduction to this captivating character. This story takes place seven years before the first Souladonis novel and contains no spoilers. Nevertheless, the author recommends reading the novel Souladonis prior to reading Caroline d’Allégresse.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Michael Brock
• Release date: Oct 2, 2014
• ISBN: 9780990821229

Michael Brock

My name is Michael Brock. I'm an American LitRPG author who writes action adventures that are inspired by video game and anime culture.LitRPG is a fast-growing sub-genre of fantasy fiction. Oftentimes authors set the genre's stories in virtual reality game worlds. I, however, do not. That's because my approach to the genre is different. I simply define LitRPG as the fusion of traditional literature with video game and anime culture. This broad definition allows me to create stories that are true to the heart of the genre without being cliché or replicating what's already been done.My primary series is called Souladonis. This series is divided into short stories, novellas, and novels that all take place in a single MMORPG-styled world. The core branch of novels follows the story of the namesake character, Souladonis. It contains seven volumes and currently the first two are published.On my blog, I release a free new short story each week as well as write about relevant and interesting topics.For a limited time, readers who visit my website and join my e-mail list will receive a free copy of Souladonis: Ouroboros (volume 2). If you're interested in LitRPG or the Souladonis series, then please visit my website at www.souladonis.com.

Book preview

Caroline d’Allégresse: A Valiant’s Tale

Michael Brock

Cover Art by Angela Brock

Author Website: www.souladonis.com

E-mail: [e-mail]

Caroline d’Allégresse: A Valiant’s Tale

Part of the Souladonis LitRPG Universe

Copyright © 2014 by Michael Brock

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Caroline d’Allégresse

A Valiant’s Tale

Chapter 1

The first light of dawn peers through my window. Without hesitation I kick off my bed covers and spring out of bed. Pa are you home? I shout towards the plastic room divider that splits what had once been a single room while Ma was alive. There’s no reply. Either he’s still not back or he's sound asleep. Quickly, I throw on my tattered gray dress, splash some water on my face, grab the bucket of pig feed, and tiptoe from my door to Pa’s door. I gently turn his doorknob and push it forward just enough to peek inside. Immediately, my eyes draw towards the empty bed. It now makes four days since my father left on his mission. I don’t know if I’m more worried or lonely at this point. Either way, farm life goes on and it’s time for the morning chores.

I go out to our log cabin’s front porch. The fresh morning air blends warmly with the smell of the pig hut that lies just to the left of our house. I don’t know why, but I really like pigs. Maybe it’s because the pigs make me feel a little less alone when Pa isn’t here. Whatever the reason I always begin my chores with the pigs. As I approach the hut, an explosion of excited oinks and little piggy squeals fills the air. Smiling, I dump the pigs’ slop into their feed trough. Enjoy your breakfast. I’ll be back at lunch, I assure them.

Moving along I dig my toes into the slightly damp morning soil as I make my way to the chicken coop. First I change the water and dish out more corn feed. Around noon I’ll come back to gather the eggs. Getting the eggs can be tricky if the chickens are in a feisty mood. Of course at this point, I’ve done the chores so many times that I’m an expert, so I never get pecked anymore.

I playfully flap my arms like a chicken as I make my way to the goat house. Inside the goat house there are two bucks and two does. I have to let them out into the fields so that they can eat their fill of hay or whatever other plants they find. The goats make nice pets, but sometimes they try to escape. For that reason I have to watch them carefully when I open their cages and lead them into our large field. Said field is very wide and fenced off at the borders to keep out monsters or any other undesirable animals. It also keeps the goats in. Most of the time.

Last I have to tend to the horses. We only have two horses: a white Clydesdale, which we use for farm work, and a brown Thoroughbred, which is Pa’s riding horse. I take the horses out one at a time to the same field as the goats. It has enough hay and space to roam without the animals fighting each other. Thus, with the horses out, the morning farm chores are done. Now I have to go inside and make breakfast.

While I walk to the house, I hear voices in the distance. These voices come from down the dirt road that leads into the main part of our town, Valeria. There’s not enough space in the town center for farms, so Pa and I live out here in the open. I stop and listen closely. Surely no visitors would come at this hour. Especially since Pa isn’t here. As I listen attentively, I hear voices again. There’s definitely more than one. Maybe I should get my swords. Maybe they’re robbers!

I hide myself behind the maple tree that’s just to the left of the pig hut. From there I