A Great & Shifting Sea

By John Leahy

Lord Volgan Borinth is summoned to the court of Alwil Treggessun, the king of Monsiel.

 

It is a delicate time, with the continent of Monsiel being politically fragile after a very destructive war.

 

Volgan is assigned the task of setting up an elite force which will both protect the king and investigate crimes against the throne.

 

Volgan sets up this force, which is given the title of Throne Hammer. Not long after its formation, a savage attack is launched on Alwil's person, which he barely survives.

 

Volgan begins investigating the inception of the attack, and what he uncovers has the potential to plunge the continent once more into war.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Black Hare Press
• Release date: May 27, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223209867

Book preview

A Great and Shifting Sea

John Leahy

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Black Hare Press

A Great and Shifting Sea is Copyright © 2023 John Leahy

First published in Australia in May 2023 by Black Hare Press

The author retains the copyright of the works featured in this publication.

All characters and events in this publication, other than those clearly in the public domain, are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this production may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher and copyright owner.

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Edited by Jodi Christensen

Formatting by Ben Thomas

Cover design by Dawn Burdett

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Connect: linktr.ee/blackharepress

Contents

Also from Black Hare Press

Clavis

1.One

2.Two

3.Three

4.John Leahy

5.Black Hare Press

Coming Soon from Black Hare Press

Acknowledgements

BLACK HARE PRESS SHORT READS

WARDENCLYFFE by GREGG CUNNINGHAM

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THE RISE OF THE GREAT OLD ONE by JASMINE JARVIS

CHRYSALIS by KIMBERLY REI

MOUNT TERROR by E.L. GILES

THE RECKONING by STEPHANIE SCISSOM

THE SPIRIT OF RODEO by BETH W. PATTERSON

CARPE DETRITUS by TIM MENDEES

THE BOOKWORM by L.T. EMERY & ANDREAS HORT

THE SALAMANDRION by MIKE ADAMSON

THIS HIDEOUS JOY by JONATHAN INBODY

THE CORONER by J. MOTOKI

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THE PUB AT CROKERS CROSSING by KRIS ASHTON

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SANCTUARY by MICHAEL J. STIEHL

JUST DESSERTS by NJ GALLEGOS

SOMETHING IN MY EYE by TERRI HAMILL

CLOWN DIARY – APPENDIX 7 by JOE OPPENHEIMER

THE YELLOWS by TOM GAMMARINO

A GREAT AND SHIFTING SEA by JOHN LEAHY

SOUTHPAW by KYLE TOUCHER

INVITED by NICOLE LITTLE

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Clavis

Sedren: A province/region. There are eight sedrens in Monsiel—Kantuo, Quobia, Imgoll, Maxan, Chadriac, Zorran, Belchar, and Euramdian.

Sond: A geographical subdivision of a sedren. eg, there are three sonds in Belcar – Prackus, Manthean, and Bastoleg.

Strong: The strongs of Monsiel are the powerful families of the continent. The Borinth strong = the Borinth family.

Halisant: The ruling monarch of Belchar.

Seecher: The ruling monarch of Quobia.

Dullun: The ruling monarch of Euramdian.

Jakeram: The ruling monarch of Zorran.

By the broken: A mildly blasphemous exclamation. The broken are three gods of Monsiel - three siblings - two brothers and a sister. The brothers are Vanring and Sinlio while the sister is named Fronsas. The theory of the world among believers in these three gods is that Vanring, Sinlio and Fronsas got into a vicious fight that resulted in them breaking apart into tiny pieces. When the pieces re-assembled in the void of space, they formed into the stars and Domondais, the world on which the known continents of Monsiel, Amadast, Hondrint and the great isle of Madgans lie.

Thank the broken: An expression of gratitude to the broken gods for some good fortune.

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One

The traveler had explored almost every corner of Monsiel and had enjoyed the experience, but he absolutely hated wet-soil environments. Swamps, marshes, bogs…curse them all. His appetite for knowledge of the world’s various creatures and plants had pushed him all over the continent. He’d climbed to the top of treacherous, icy mountains and had dived to the beds of rivers and bays. Dangerous ventures all, but none as sapping, and spirit draining, as wading through miles of rushes, muck, and water-pools. Pools which were sometimes quite deceiving. What often looked like maybe a few inches of water could turn out to be a foot and a half deep. A foolishly trusting step into one of these beasts and one ended up moving forward in misery after water had flooded over the top of one’s boot and down inside.

He looked at the boy walking a little ahead of him. Of course, the boy never blundered into a deep pool. He seemed to have an almost supernatural sense regarding them and only stood in ones that were actually as shallow as they appeared.

It’s not much further now, the boy said.

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HE’D MET THE BOY IN a tiny village on the patch of land between the Toliad mountains and the bog itself. He’d been passing through the village when a gaggle of children, poorly attired barefoot urchins, had gathered around him, walking beside him as he made his way onward. To get rid of them, he threw some coins to his left and right and sped up his progress as they scattered to retrieve the money. He was almost clear of the village when he saw an older boy up ahead, standing outside a hut. The boy was watching him intently as he approached and fell in step with him as he walked by.

You’re a soldier, the boy said.

Amongst other things, the traveler responded.

What other things might these be?

The traveler had looked down at the boy upon hearing this. Usually when boys saw a sword at a man’s side, it was the only thing about that man they remained interested in. He’d decided to humor the boy.

I study things. Nature. The world around us. Animals and plants, mainly.

I can show you a very special plant. A tree. A tree the likes of which you’ve never seen.

I’ve been all over this continent, boy. I’ve seen every type of tree it has to offer.

Have you ever been to the heart of the Yexan bog?

No.

Then you haven’t seen this tree. And there’s four of them. In a little grove.

They were clear of the village now and the traveler stopped walking. He looked the boy in the eye, testing his mettle. The boy returned his gaze, unflinching. There was intelligence there, and strength. Not your average, timid village child.

Describe this tree.

Black. Leafless branches. Strange, gold-colored flowers sprouting from some of the branches. The boy paused. Over a hundred feet high. Thorns over a foot long.

The traveler remained silent as he tried to see such a tree in his mind. It sounded like a drunkard’s dream.

The thorns are alive, the boy continued.

What do you mean? the traveler asked, his brow furrowing in irritation. Was this boy perhaps some sort of mentally unwell fantasist? A foolish poetic dreamer of a sort?

I’ve seen them killing fairies.

"Killing fairies?"

Yes. By stabbing them and sucking their blood.

Really.

Yes. I swear it. I’ll take you to the grove for ten gold coins.

The traveler snorted. Ten gold coins?

The boy’s eyes dropped to the traveler’s sidearm. That’s not the sword of a poor man.

The traveler smiled humorlessly.

How far is this grove from here?

About a day and a half’s walk. If we leave now, we’d be there tomorrow evening.

Part of the traveler was frustrated that he was even entertaining this story, while another part was intrigued by it. He knew a little about small carnivorous plants that inhabited bogs.