Adiana Confronts Mechnes

Our countdown is almost finished. This time next week, High Maga should be available in print and ebook format the world over.

I want to take a moment to thank ALL of my readers for your steady support during the long and sometimes difficult road between Eolyn and High Maga. I also want to thank the folks at Hadley Rille Books, most of all Terri-Lynne DeFino, Kim Vandervort, Heather McDougal, and Thomas Vandenberg, who really pulled together to help get this title out on time in the wake of Eric's illness.

Eric continues to make good progress in his recovery; some of you may have noticed he even visited my blog earlier this week! Hopefully he'll be back in full action soon. Until then, Hadley Rille Books continues to move forward.

Our final excerpt from High Maga is a "throwing down of the gauntlet" of sorts between two of our minor characters, Adiana and Prince Mechnes. You've met each of these characters in previous posts, so without further ado, here's a peak at the first of many scenes between them.

High Maga

Chapter 12 (excerpt)

 

“I don’t intend to find a place among the Syrnte.” Adiana's breath stalled under the look Prince Mechnes gave her, a strange mixture of amusement and menace. “What I mean is, my home is here, in Moisehén, not with the Syrnte.”

“It’s all one kingdom now. Or perhaps better stated, will be soon.” Mechnes nodded to the guards. “Unbind this woman.”

In an instant, the cords that secured her wrists were removed. Adiana cradled her hands against her breast, rubbing the places where the leather straps had left her skin raw.

Mechnes closed the distance between them in two strides.

“You will have to find a place among us, Adiana, or you will perish. That is the way of conquest.” He took her hands in his and studied them carefully, strong fingers tracing the fine delicate length of her own. “What do you play?”

Adiana’s skin crawled at the intimacy of his touch. His aroma was sharp, like coals on the hearth, and laced with the smell of blood. She wanted desperately to look elsewhere, but could not. Mechnes’s massive frame filled her vision; his presence, at once sinister and magnetic, demanded all her attention.

“The cornamuse.” Her voice had dropped to a nervous whisper. “The dulcimer, and the lute, the short wood, as well. Among others.”

He pressed her hands between his. Adiana was visited by the sudden image of him snapping her fingers one by one, as if they were nothing more than dry twigs.

“I see you are telling the truth, in this much at least,” Mechnes said. “You have beautiful hands, Adiana. We must be grateful they were not damaged during the attack on Maga Eolyn’s Aekelahr. And we must also hope they will come to no harm here, under my care.”

A heavy silence followed. Adiana understood the unspoken threat that hovered between them. Who else would he ask? The children, the survivors of the siege, the members of Lord Felton’s household, if any of them still lived. There were untold numbers of people in Moehn who might give him the information he sought. What would Adiana’s deception gain for Eolyn in the end—fifteen minutes? Half an hour? It did not matter. Every additional moment could mean the difference between Eolyn’s escape and her death. Adiana had already lost one friend tonight. She would not betray the other.

She lowered her eyes and held her tongue.

~*~

 

Next week: Purchase links for HIGH MAGA.  Woohoo!

Syrnte Magic

As promised, this week we have another preview from High Maga, this time a scene between everyone's soon-to-be-favorite villains, Prince Mechnes and Queen Rishona. 

I gave brief bios on both these characters in last week's post.  This scene is taken from early in the novel, when Rishona's plans for invading Moisehen and claiming its crown are just getting under way.  I hope you enjoy this sneak peek of the novel.  Next week, we'll continue our countdown to the release day with a look at Eolyn's friends and allies: Renate, Adiana, and Sir Borten. 

 

~*~

 

 

High Maga

Excerpt from Chapter 6

 

Once they were alone, Rishona unclasped her cloak and flung it to the floor at Mechnes’s feet. “You are not to question my wisdom or my will in public. Ever.”

Mechnes could not help but smile at the sight of his niece, now a grown woman pretending to give him orders. “With all due respect, San’iloman, I am your military advisor. It is my duty to speak my mind when the weight of my experience contradicts your rather naïve instincts.”

She moved to strike him, but he caught her wrist and forced her arm until she gasped. “It is a little early in the day to start with these games, my Queen. But if you desire a spark of conflict to brighten this weary morning, I am more than willing to please you.”

Rishona kept her eyes hard as stone and her voice taut  with menace. “Speak your mind, Mechnes, but do so with discretion. I will not have our disagreements heard by those who would use them to spread malicious rumors against me. Nor will I have our men, who have struggled long and hard up this wretched pass, fall victim to any suspicion that our unity of purpose is wavering.”

He brought her body tight against his, let his breath fall upon her silky skin until he felt a shiver pass through her, followed by the softening of her shoulders and the almost imperceptible tilt of her face that always preceded that ardent kiss.

Before their lips met, he released her. “We must open up this road if we hope to bring a proper army through it.”

“We cannot bring down any more trees,” she insisted. “We are undermining the power of this forest. We need its magic for everything that is to come.”

“This is a very big forest.” He drew out one of their maps, passing his hand over the moss green crescent of impenetrable woodland that swept north toward East Selen and south along the foothills of the Paramen Mountains. “And a very small pass.”

Rishona stared at the map, lips protruding in that familiar charming frown. She rubbed her arms to ward off the damp chill. Noting her discomfort, Mechnes retrieved a dry cloak and placed it about her shoulders.

“I hope you are right,” she said. “It is just that every time we bring down one of those trees, I feel strength torn out of the earth. I fear I went too far by clearing the valley where my parents died.”

“You are Syrnte, Rishona. Your magic derives from the air.”

“Yes, but these creatures were not banished to the Underworld by Syrnte magic. They were imprisoned by the mages and magas of Moisehén, and they must be summoned by the same powers. I will need the air to anchor my spirit when I summon them, but without the earth I cannot control them.”

Mechnes narrowed his eyes. “If you have doubts regarding your ability to manage these beasts, you should have mentioned them before now.”

“I have no doubts.” She looked up at him, defiant. “I know how to gratify the Naether Demons and bring them into our service. But there are many elements involved, and they must be integrated carefully. No one has attempted this before, uncle. Or if they have, they failed miserably, and hence we know nothing of their fate.”

“Are you ready to summon these beasts or not?” He did not bother to hide the threat in his tone. Already he had poured tremendous resources into this conquest. He would show no mercy if she had deceived him.

Rishona straightened her shoulders, expression resolute. “Yes, I am ready. For tonight, I am most ready. And for what is to come, I have time to prepare.”

 

~*~







The Villains of HIGH MAGA

As we approach the release date of Eolyn's next great adventure, I want to introduce you to the cast of characters that made this novel so fun and challenging to write.  Among these are Eolyn's antagonists: Rishona and Mechnes of the Syrnte, and their allies, the Naether Demons. 

In the early drafts of High Maga, I had some very interesting responses from my critique partners regarding the villains of the story.  Many of them found the dark witch Rishona unsympathetic, manipulative, and untrustworthy. Mechnes, on the other hand, was rather well-liked, and some readers nurtured a stubborn hope for his redemption, no matter how heinous the acts he committed.

As the author, my feelings toward these two were quite the opposite. Rishona was at once an admirable and tragic figure, and her uncle Mechnes the kind of villain I love to hate.  I am very curious to see how readers respond to both, once High Maga is released. I suspect that no matter what, these characters will ignite strong reactions, both positive and negative, among all of my readers. 

Rishona of the Syrnte

This illustration, artist unknown,
captures the essence of Rishona's
dark beauty and compelling
sensuality. But don't be fooled:
She is a warrior queen extraordinaire.

Rishona was born under tragic circumstances. Her parents, Prince Feroden and his Syrnte wife, the Princess Tamara, were slaughtered while attempting to return to Moisehén to claim the throne. 

Tamara was pregnant with Rishona when they were attacked, and gave birth as she died.  Gifted with the extraordinary power of Syrnte sight, Rishona remembers this moment in all its horror and bitter pain.  A forester rescued the baby Rishona and returned her to the Syrnte, where she was raised by her uncle Mechnes. She grew up determined to avenge the death of her parents and to claim the throne of Moisehén.

The Syrnte are a sophisticated and complex culture, ruled by an extended royal family whose wealth, hunger for power, and capacity for corruption know few bounds.  While Rishona learned to thrive as part of the royal family, she also in a very deep way despises them.  In this she takes after her mother Tamara, who also longed to escape the twisted ways of her family and to establish a new life on her own terms as Queen of Moisehén.

By the time we meet Rishona in High Maga, she has tried every avenue available to fulfill her ambitions. Every avenue, that is, save one: the path of dark magic.  It is out of desperation that she turns to the Naether Demons, and once the crown is rightfully hers, she intends to erase this stain upon the earth and in their wake, weave a world that is just and whole.

Will she succeed?  You'll have to read the novel to find out.

Prince Mechnes

Rodolfo Sancho, interpreting the role of
Ferdinand of Aragon for the TVE series Isabel,
is a close approximation to my mental image
of Mechnes.  Except, he's much younger, with
fewer scars, and altogether not nearly ruthless enough.

Mechnes is a force of nature.  Brilliant and ruthless, a conqueror of nations. A master of violence, manipulation, and sensual pleasures.  Like Rishona, he carries the gift of Syrnte sight; unlike her, he uses it without restraint. For Mechnes, people's hopes and dreams, their ambitions and fears, their strengths and weaknesses, are all meant to serve his own ambitions.

Mechnes has no doubt that privilege should accrue to the powerful, and as a powerful man, he believes he deserves every manner of privilege within his reach.  Life is a game Mechnes is fated to win, the people of this world his pawns to do with as he pleases. 

Does Mechnes have any redeeming qualities?  I'd probably be better off letting you, the reader, decide. As the author who "created" him, I appreciate Mechnes' fondness for music and his suck-the-marrow-dry approach to life.  He is, if nothing else, charismatic.  In another life, under different circumstances, he might have been a good man.  But in High Maga, he is simply the feared and respected Prince Mechnes. 

Naether Demons

How to make a Naether Demon (author version):  Take the predatory look of a praying mantis, mix in Edvard Munch's The Scream, stuff it all into the giant body of an angry skinned predator, and voila!  You've got terror in the countryside.

How to make a Naether Demon (mage and maga version): Banish a living creature to the Underworld, allow it to be twisted by darkness, fear, emptiness, and hunger for centuries, then summon it back to the earth through blood sacrifice and watch what happens.

Naether Demons are beasts of burden for Rishona and Mechnes; creatures summoned for the sole purpose of aiding in the conquest of Moisehén. But they have a story of their own: They thirst for vengeance against the people of Moisehén, who banished them to the most terrible of prisons.

Of course, it was not the intention of the mages and magas that the Naether Demons survive the Underworld.  It was hoped, when the curse was cast upon them, that the very essence of these monsters would fade into nothing, and that the threat they posed would disappear from all realms forevermore.

These predators, however, proved to be very hearty. Locked in the Underworld, they learned to prey on the Lost Souls.  They hunted spirits rich in magic and by feeding on them, became stronger. At the same time, the Naether Demons were driven mad by the very realm they came to master. After centuries of imprisonment, only rage and unbearable hunger remain. 

This what Rishona unleashes when she calls the Naether Demons to her aid.  Their alliance is fragile, and Rishona's hold over them not always certain. But the Naether Demons provide the key to certain victory against the Mage King and his High Maga. In this way they are an irresistible temptation for our warrior princess and her ruthless uncle.

~*~

 

Next week: Another preview from the novel, featuring a scene between Rishona and Mechnes.