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Saturday, April 28, 2012

BY POPULAR DEMAND_VICTOR STANDISH LIVES

By the number of comments and the emails that I received,
Victor Standish cheated oblivion yet again!

Book IV of THE LEGEND OF VICTOR STANDISH :

THREE SPIRIT KNIGHT will be written. 

But first, I have to finish BEST OF ENEMIES. 

 THE LAST SHAMAN is one of my more popular novels.  Its hero, Wolf Howl, is in BEST OF ENEMIES.

In it, Wolf Howl teaches a class of Sidhe, revenants (vampires), and Ningyo's (dimensional visitors who loathe mankind.) 

Here is Wolf Howl teaching the arrogant supernaturals in an outdoor class they thought was in Faerie ... but they have just discovered it is on our plane of existence.

             Wolf Howl smiled grimly at the change in their expressions.  

        “We sit in the lap of our Mother.  Yes, even you who would destroy her.  From her, we, and all living things come.  We shall soon pass, each of us at our appointed time.”

        He breathed in deeply.  “But this place where now we sit will go on forever.”

He gestured all around us.  “”Everything is possessed of personality, only differing from us in form.”

        His eyes seemed to sink deep within his bronze face, a creased map of the hard seasons he had survived. 


“Knowledge is inherent in all things.  The world is a library.  Its books are the stones, leaves, grass, birds, and animals that share with us the storms and blessings of GrandMother.”

       He bent to peer at the base of the teaching boulder.   “From the ant we see that industry and teamwork accomplishes wonders.”

       Midir smirked. “It is appropriate you focus on the ant, shaman.  Humans are like ants to us.”

       Wolf Howl sighed as he rose.  “Anyone who has shared a bed with a mosquito knows better than to underestimate the power of small things.”

       He looked up to the branches above us.  I hushed in a breath like everyone else … but for a different reason.  It was the First Hawk, Little Brother, studying each and every one of us. 

       “From the hawk, we see how the wise hunter must ever be vigilant.”

        I started as Little Brother darted up from the branch to soar skillfully and effortlessly between the limbs to disappear into the azure skies above.


       Wolf Howl smiled, “My People also learned that beauty, grace, and death often walk the same path, fly the same sky.”

He sighed, "We learned to do what only the student of nature ever learns and that is to feel beauty.  We never railed at the storms, the furious winds, and the biting frost and snow.  What was simply was.  We adjusted to the changes.”

He closed those piercing eyes.   “Bright days.  Deadly dark nights.  Both are simply extensions of the Great Mystery.”

Those striking eyes opened, and the force of them hit me like a hard wind.  “We simply accepted both, reveling in the closeness of the Great Holiness.”

He swept his hand in a broad pass, taking in the entire glade.   “Every part of this soil is sacred to my people.”


His eyes narrowed, “This world you would invade is sacred.  Every hillside, every valley, every plain, and grove has been hallowed by some sad or happy event in days long vanished.”

He nodded downwards.  “The very grass you now stand on responds more willingly to our footsteps than to yours because it is rich with the blood of our ancestors.  The very soles of our feet tingle with their spirits.”

Wolf Howl’s eyes seemed to grow larger somehow.   “And when the last red man shall have perished, and the memory of my tribe shall have become a myth among your people, these shores will swarm with the invisible dead.”

His voice seemed to chill the marrow of my bones as it deepened.  


“At night, when the streets of your cities and villages are silent and you think them deserted, they will throng with the returning dead of my People that once lived and still love this beautiful land.  Those dead will come upon you as you lay tossing in your troubled sleep.”

Wolf Howl radiated such power that my skin felt raw with the static electricity.   “Then, you will learn the terrible meaning of … responsibility.”

He suddenly flashed a deadly, cold smile.  “Class dismissed.”

(Many thanks to the incomparable Leonora Roy for her evocative artwork.)

12 comments:

  1. Yay for Victor! I'm so excited to hear that. And Best Of Enemies sounds good. I'm looking forward to checking it out!

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  2. Heather:
    Yes, Victor escapes yet once again. He even appears off and on in a strange way throughout BEST OF ENEMIES.

    I think you and my other lady friends will enjoy it, too. I am currently writing the chapter, FEAR THE SISTERS!

    The Sisters are a group of five young females (Alice Wentworth being one of them), a female Hellhound, and the last Titan, Sister Magda.

    They are the linch pin in saving New Orleans from a threat older than the Earth itself.

    The narrative is through the eyes of Alice and is more reflective and girl-friendly in pacing and content. I am enjoying the challenge of writing through the eyes of a teen ghoul, ah, I meant girl!

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  3. Hi Roland, I'm pleased to see you buoyed up. So many people love your stories but they're pretty heavy and hard going at times. Victor's a great character and has a lot more adventures to tell.

    I responded at the end of your previous post. It was awesome to read the comments there and on my blog.

    Take Eric's advice. He's good. I wish someone of his caliber would offer to edit for me for free.

    Denise

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  4. Denise:
    Pretty heavy? Me? Naw!

    I truly cock my head when I hear that.

    I write of faes, vampires, star-crossed human and inhuman lovers. The stuff of legend. It doesn't seem heavy to me. I just try to write of the angst of the human condition to add a veneer of reality to my unreal stories!

    Is Stephen King heavy? He got into some heavy areas in DUMA KEY, the last King novel I truly enjoyed. Ah, I am in no way comparing myself to the King, mind you!!!!

    I would rather read of Victor's brash but reflective self than of the irritating Bella. But that is just me.

    Have a great new week, Roland

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  5. Glad to hear this news Roland :)

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  6. Thanks, Braine:
    But first I have to finish the Twilight of the Gods in BEST OF ENEMIES! Whew!

    Wendy:
    Thanks for having my back. Roland

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  7. I've been trying to turn my wife on to your stuff... it's just the kind she likes to read. I also think she could get a lot f inspiration from you as well for her current WIP that is similar but in the YA arena.

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  8. Micahel:
    The more the merrier. I write both adult and YA urban fantasy. I think she would like Victor's adventures. His ghoul friend, Alice Wentworth, is having her own adventure in New Orleans in my WIP, BEST OF ENEMIES. More teen girl oriented in subject matter and pacing. You know us, guys! We want the pace of the action to be like Indiana Jones! LOL.

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  9. Sounds like her style. Thank you very much by the way!

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  10. Michael:
    I hope you and your wife will enjoy it ... it has the merit of being short at least! LOL.

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  11. Hi Roland .. how wonderful Victor Standish is not going to the hole in the ground or the man in the sky .. that's great Roland - that you have so much support.

    I really need to immerse myself in your books sometime .. and I will in a while.

    Fantastic that you're already working on the new book - so much energy - must be the blood routes .. Cheers Hilary

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