The Black Phoenix Cycle
Book I: Artaria
by
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Anna was about to follow and return to her guestroom when she heard, “Mistress Anna.” She turned and swallowed nervously. “Good day, Chancellor Mortalus.” Anna slowly descended the few steps back down to the marbled front hall. Mortalus was silhouetted against the backdrop of the early evening sun streaming in from the arched glass wall. He wore heavy velvet robes of black and crimson. Mortalus slowly removed the unusual dark spectacles. His eyes narrowed until they were thin and black like a hawk’s. He took a couple of steps and looked up at Anna. He was shorter than Anna and was uncomfortably close to her. He said, “I saw you at the dinner a few evenings ago. I do not think you could have helped but to catch my eye.” His voice was like oil. Words oozed from his mouth. Anna felt nervous around this small man, but she remained polite. “And I saw you accompany the Prince. I am sorry we did not get an opportunity to meet then.” “No need to apologize. I…” Dorvane walked toward the Chancellor. “Mortalus, my father will be waiting for us. We should return to Knighthaven.” The smaller man pursed his lips in apparent annoyance. He turned toward the Prince. “Leave us.” His voice was a whisper, and louder than a scream. Dorvane quickly and obediently left without a word. Mortalus returned his gaze to Anna. Anna took a step back. “I should return to m-my room and get ready for this evening’s dinner.” “Wait.” The word echoed through her mind. She stayed. Mortalus’s eyes crawled up and down her body. The silence lasted a few moments before he said, “I do not think you come from anywhere around here, Mistress Anna.” “I don’t. I’m a guest of the Karkeith’s.” Mortalus smiled. “What I mean, Anna, is that I do not think you are from this world.” Anna took a step back. She laughed nervously. She was not prepared for this. “Now I don’t know what you mean.” The Chancellor matched Anna’s steps. He softly brushed her cheek with his hand. His voice echoed again. “Open your mind, Anna.”
Formats Book Details Artaria This is the story of Lars, the warrior and hero for throughout the ages. His story begins when he is still, admittedly, an unknown and unimportant boy. On a predestined night the very foundation of his life is broken when two armored warriors arrive on dark steeds to capture him. His home in the forest, the only one he has ever known, is burned to the ground and his grandfather, the only family he has ever known, is murdered. Thus Lars embarks on an adventure across a diverse and fantastical landscape of drakes and wyverns, and of warring nations and errant knights. He will cross from adolescence into manhood. He will meet a prince turned vagabond and the spoiled son of a tribal chief. In the midst of battle he will befriend a gruff swordsman and will be reunited with other friends thought long abandoned. Unfortunately for Lars and for those he will come to know, the adventure does not stop there. An ancient enemy From Beyond the Grave has crossed over to the reality of the living. A mysterious man of impossible years has come to fight on the side of light and life but his means to victory may be so dark and ruthless that Lars does not know if he too is an enemy. And a woman from another world and another era will cross the very stars to find him. Epic in its scope and spanning worlds and history, the Black Phoenix Cycle will take you to the nightfall of an interstellar civilization, and back through time to its pinnacle. And through all the millennia, two enemies will play out a game where the barrier between the living and the dead is ruptured and those closest to them…regardless of love, loyalty, or sacrifice…are merely pawns. The Cycle begins…on Artaria.
Neil Martin was born in 1973 and was raised in northern
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