Gillian Bronte Adams

YA Epic Fantasy Author

Explore Leira Blog Tour: Y is for You

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Welcome to stop number twenty five in the #exploreleira blog tour where we’re celebrating the (almost) one year book birthday for Songkeeper! It is the second book in the Songkeeper Chronicles, which tells the story of a girl who can hear the song that created the world.

If this is your first encounter with the blog tour, we are continuing a series of alphabet posts looking at the world and characters and magical creatures of the Songkeeper Chronicles … and we have an awesome giveaway that you can enter below! You can find a list of the stops and dates here: #exploreleira tour. (Links will be updated once each post becomes live.)

Today, we’re looking at the letter …

Y is for You

Apparently, nothing in the Songkeeper Chronicles begins with the letter “Y,” so I decided to do something a little bit different for this post. All this time, you guys have been listening to me talk about the characters, places, and creatures in the books. But this time, I thought it would be fun to hear from you.

So I got in touch with a few Songkeeper Chronicles fans and asked them to share something about the story, whether it was a funny story about reading the books or an insight on their favorite character. Here’s what came in!

From Deborah O’Carroll, of The Road of a Writer blog:

Once upon a time, I went on a roadtrip, from Texas to New York state. I brought two copies of Orphan’s Song by Gillian Bronte Adams with me, and returned with one.

I found it somehow appropriate that this fantasy novel, a book with an exciting journey and beloved characters (Amos, Birdie, Ky, Cade, and all), should go on an exciting journey with me to a far-away place, while I met and re-met many wonderful people. And always, like the Song in the book always goes with Birdie, I had a copy of Orphan’s Song as a companion. In fact, two copies: I took an extra to give to a friend on the way. The other copy journeyed with me all the way to far-away New York state, and I took advantage of some exotic (to this Texas-dweller) pine trees and moss to do a photo-shoot for the book, resulting in great forest-y fun. I felt like I was in a fantasy world myself, under those tall green trees with the moss at my feet and the whispering wind of adventure though the boughs. One should always have a book on a journey, if possible, and this book in particular made an excellent and loyal companion.

From Jane Maree, of the Misty Maiden Blog

From the very first moment when Ky Huntyr came onto the page of Orphan’s Song I fell in love with his character. He was such a unique character with his unending spunk and that stubborn ring that I very much related to. He had a hugely brilliant character arc, and the way he faced all his problems was just so real. Every time his point of view chapters came along, I was completely sucked in. And, particularly in Songkeeper, there were several times when I was so enthused in the book and his character that I was shivering with excitement. Ky’s personality really stuck with me, and he was one of the most memorable characters in my mind. The sort of kiddo who makes me want to read the books over again several times more.

And from fellow fantasy author, Hope Ann, of the Writing in the Light blog:

I have so many favorite characters in this series that favorite starts losing its meaning. They’re all so wonderful in so many different ways. But one of my favorite relationships is the disdain, mixed with grudging respect, between Amos and Gundhrold. It is pretty much summed up in two quotes:
“Gundhrold’s head lowered until his massive beak was only inches away from Amos’s nose. ‘I am a son of the desert. This was once my home – the home of all my kind. I know every crag, every slope, ever crick and hollow-‘
Amos rolled his eyes. ‘Every blatherin’ speck o’ sand?'”
And then, later:
“Why did the sand-blasted catbird have to be so seaswoggling logical? It was downright infuriating.”
I love gruff and sarcastic characters, and one gets plenty of both when dealing with these two.
And from Elizabeth Russell, with a slight SPOILER ALERT:
My absolute favorite character in the Songkeeper Chronicles is Amos/Hawkness (slight spoilers there!). He takes well to the role of protector, but more than that, his shadowed past, sometimes rough exterior, and hidden softness were just perfect. His relationship with Birdie throughout the books is one of my favorites throughout the series, and his dynamics with the other characters are amazing as well. Amos’ conversations with Gunthrold the griffin made me laugh out loud at times (to paraphrase: “I know this desert much better than you do.” “…Every blatherin’ speck of sand?”). Most of all, his bravery and commitment to protect Birdie are inspiring. Though he may have given up on his mission for a time, his courage shines through at the most desperate of moments.

Aw, thanks guys! I’ve also received a few fan art drawings and videos over the years! Seriously, few things make an author more excited than seeing the way other people visualize their world and characters. In fact, I keep a Pinterest board for fan art, so if you have read and enjoy the series and ever feeling an inkling to try your hand at imagining something from the books, I would love to see it!

Love the sense of action in this image of Birdie at the Westmark Bridge from Orphan’s Song, by Andrew Miller.

And here we have Ky Huntyr on the streets of Kerby – love the detail – from Orphan’s Song, by Clare Farrelly.

Here’s a glimpse of Birdie overlooking the battle of Bryllhyn from Orphan’s Song also by Clare Farrelly.

And then there’s this lovely rendition of the Songkeeper’s sword from Orphan’s Song, by Jane Maree.

And look at this beauty of Amos and Gundhrold from Songkeeper, by Clare Farrelly.

And this incredible video put together for the final scene from Songkeeper by Andrew Miller! SPOILER ALERT! It is from the final scene of Songkeeper so you may not want to watch it if you haven’t read the book. But if you have read the book, I think it’s a beautiful imagining of the scene.

Thanks to all of you who contributed fan art or sent in a story! I loved the chance to hear from you guys about the Songkeeper Chronicles. Be sure to stop back in tomorrow for the last day of the tour and a final chance to enter the giveaway.

Check out the links below to purchase the books:

Amazon: Orphan’s Song, Songkeeper

Barnes and Nobles: Orphan’s Song, Songkeeper

And before you leave, don’t forget to enter the giveaway! One lucky winner will take home a copy of Orphan’s Song, Songkeeper, and a gorgeous handmade mug. Two lucky winners will take home copies of Songkeeper! Open to international entries. Enter through the Rafflecopter below and be sure to continue following the blog tour. You can earn new entries for each post that you visit along the way. Winners will be announced after April 15th.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Explore Leira Blog Tour: X is for Commander Thallus Liturgis Xyamphene Noonan

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Welcome to stop number twenty four in the #exploreleira blog tour where we’re celebrating the (almost) one year book birthday for Songkeeper! It is the second book in the Songkeeper Chronicles, which tells the story of a girl who can hear the song that created the world.

If this is your first encounter with the blog tour, we are continuing a series of alphabet posts looking at the world and characters and magical creatures of the Songkeeper Chronicles.

Today, we’re looking at the letter …

X is for Commander Thallus Liturgis Xyamphene Noonan

Okay … I am totally stretching this one. It’s just that there really aren’t any other names of peoples or places or things in the Songkeeper Chronicles that start with the letter X. So, I’m afraid we are stuck with Commander Thallus, whose full name just so happens to include one that starts with the letter X.

Lucky coincidence.

(Don’t you just love the dwarves’ crazy long names?)

We get to meet Thallus when (SPOILER ALERT) Ky and his friends arrive at the fortress of Siranos in the Whyndburg Mountains. When it came to writing the dwarves in the Songkeeper Chronicles, I didn’t want to simply go with the stereotypical fantasy dwarves who can come across as rough, hard-boiled, and generally uncouth, so I tried to make the dwarves of the Whyndburg Mountains a little more varied. Theirs is a multi-layered, cultured society. You can read more about it here.

But out of all of the dwarves in the Songkeeper Chronicles, Thallus is probably the most similar to your typical fantasy dwarf … which made him pretty fun to write. He is gruff, blunt, and snores like an earthquake. He wields a mace in battle and sleeps in his armor, because—as he jokes—it’s too much trouble to put it on and take off at his age.

A sputtering fire provided just enough light to see by. One a straw pallet beside the heart, an old dwarf sprawled beneath a mound of blankets, snoring loud enough that Ky could have slammed the door without being heard.

He tapped the dwarf’s shoulder and jumped back as he roared awake, reaching for the mace propped beside his pallet. Curly gray hair and a beard the color and texture of an unshorn sheep stuck out in all directions around a face that most closely resembled a battering ram.

– Songkeeper

Hair like an unshorn sheep and a face like a battering ram. Yep. Commander Thallus is undoubtedly a favorite with the ladies. And if his looks weren’t enough to clinch it, his personality certainly would. He is a real charmer.

Paddy met Ky’s glance. “Wasn’t that a mite risky? Firing under a flag of truce?

Thallus just chuckled and clapped him on the back, hard enough to make Paddy stumble. “Negotiations, beardling, aren’t so much of a delicate art as those stuck up Xanthen chancellors would have you believe. It’s more a matter of figuring out who’s got the bigger sword and the guts to use it.”

– Songkeeper

Man, I’d love to meet this guy! But only if I’m guaranteed to stay on his good side. Because, I get the feeling that getting on his bad side is not a great idea …

“Cursed Khelari dog!” Thallus roared, and his voice cracked. “I don’t need two minutes to decide, let alone two hours! Send your worst. We’ll not surrender.”

– Songkeeper

Thallus is another character who I would have loved to give more page time! But he doesn’t show up on scene until late in Songkeeper when the pace is already ramping up at break neck speed toward the climax, so we don’t really get to enjoy his antics for long.

But hopefully he’s memorable enough to still make you grin through the scenes where he is on the page. Even if we only get to be around him for a short while.

Want to find out more about the Commander Thallus and the rest of the crew? Check out the links below to purchase the books:

Amazon: Orphan’s Song, Songkeeper, Song of Leira

Barnes and Nobles: Orphan’s Song, Songkeeper, Song of Leira

Explore Leira Blog Tour Round Up #2

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Welcome to our second #exploreleira tour blog tour round up! We are celebrating the (almost) one year book birthday for  Songkeeper! It is the second book in the Songkeeper Chronicles, which tells the story of a girl who can hear the song that created the world. If this is your first encounter with the blog tour, we are continuing a series of alphabet posts looking at the world and characters and magical creatures of the Songkeeper Chronicles … and we have an awesome giveaway that you can enter below!

Now, the #exploreleira tour tour has been gallivanting all over the blogosphere lately, so I thought it might be handy to come back here and share some of the more recent posts, in case you might have missed one or two! (Note: If you’re confused by the fact that the links skip over a few letters of the alphabet – because I probably would be – the posts between were either posted directly to my blog or were shared in another post on my blog. You can find a complete list of posts here.)

Scroll through the list below to find out a bit about each post and then pop over to say hello to the host bloggers and enter the giveaway on their site!

N is for Nisus!

For this post, we visited the site of blogger Marrock MacIntyre. He’s a writer, artist, self-proclaimed comic geek and fellow fan of action movies! (I do love me some action movies!) He also runs a movie review site.

POST SNEAK PEEK: “Nisus is a tapestry of contradictions. He is a dwarf of the Whyndburg Mountains and has a twin brother named Jirkar. In matters of etiquette, his manners are impeccable.

In fact, if he were here right now, he would be getting on my case for not properly introducing him. (His full name is Nisus Plexipus Molineous Creegnan, Xanthen Chancellor to the Caran, just in case you were wondering …)

READ MORE …

P is for Paddy

The incomparable Hannah Williams hosted the blog tour for a look at Paddy, Ky’s best friend from the Underground. Hannah is an incredible artist and a fellow writer, Tolkien geek, and fan of the fantasy genre. You can find out more about her work in progress here!

POST SNEAK PEEK: “Everybody needs a friend, right? And of course, every hero needs a sidekick. When I first wrote Paddy into the story, it was as a comedic friend and sidekick pal for Ky. Someone to cast a bit of humor and light into the otherwise grim situation ruling the cobblestoned streets of Kerby: abandoned kids left to fend for themselves while the Khelari soldiers wreak havoc on their town…”

READ MORE …

R is for Renegade

For this post, we swung over to the blog of fellow writer and speculative fiction fan, Josh Hardt. I first met Josh in person at the Realm Makers conference in 2015, which (by the way) is one of the coolest conferences in the world!

POST SNEAK PEEK: “Recently, I have been suffering BIG TIME from puppy fever. I consider myself both a dog and cat person. After growing up around both, and having many canine and feline “friends,” I would be hard pressed to choose between the two. At this point, I have a cat—Finn—but am not able to keep a dog for a variety of reasons. Still, that doesn’t stop me from shamelessly borrowing my friends’ dogs or drooling over pictures of adorable puppies. (Please tell me I’m not the only one!)…”

READ MORE …

S is for Songkeepers and Songlings

Fellow fantasy author Jennette L. Mbewe hosted this post on her blog! Like me, she hails from Texas, so she’s familiar with braving the heat, which makes her doubly cool in my book! (Terrible play on words, I know.) You can find out more about her books and read about the world of Nalu here.

POST SNEAK PEEK: “I am feverishly excited about this post because I get to tell you all a little more about the “magical” system in the world of the Songkeeper Chronicles. Whether it was reading the creation of the worlds in Tolkien’s Silmarillion and Lewis’s Magician’s Nephew, or reading spellbound about the contest between Felagund and Sauron, or listening to epic soundtracks from my favorite movies, the idea of powerful music has always intrigued me …”

READ MORE …

U is for the Underground

We visited with the lovely Hope Ann for this post. She is a reader and fantasy writer and loves history, particularly the Greek Roman period and WWII! (Some of my favorites! I’m sensing that we have a lot of things in common.) Any other history lovers here?

POST SNEAK PEEK: “Five years before Orphan’s Song began, the Khelari occupied the city of Kerby as a part of the Takhran’s mission to conquer the Nordlands. Not long after the Khelari arrived, people started disappearing. Taken by the dark soldiers. Those left behind assumed them dead. Far too often, only the children were left abandoned, forced to the streets to fend for themselves. When the Khelari came for his father, Cade Peregrine fought his way through a burning building to get his sister Aliyah to safety …”

READ MORE …

V is for the Vituain Desert

Fellow Enclave author Steve Rzasa hosted this post on his new website! Steve is the author of several great science fiction, steampunk – super cool! – and fantasy novels. (I’m feverishly reading one of his sci fi novels right now, so I can say that you guys should totally check out his books!)

POST SNEAK PEEK: “One of my favorite settings to write about in the Songkeeper Chronicles was the Vituain Desert. Leira is a large land with a wide variety of landscapes, including the carpeted hills of the Midlands, grass-swept dunes of the Nordlands, and the high moorland and peat bogs of the Westmark. But in the south, the hills of the Midlands give way to a more arid region, known as the Soudlands, and beyond that, all that is green and growing is swallowed by the ever-hungry maw of the desert…”

READ MORE …

W is for Waveryders

For today’s post, we are visiting Writeratops, the super cool blog of author and filmmaker Mollie E. Reeder. I first met Mollie several years ago when she helped with filming for the book trailer for my novella, Out of Darkness Rising. We are now writer pals and chat about books, brainstorming, story ideas, and ways to stay encouraged when our creative lives get crazy! (Which is, you know, most of the time.)

POST SNEAK PEEK: “I have always been a dreamer. One of my biggest childhood dreams was learning to sail. Growing up far inland, as I did, made the likelihood of learning to sail slim, but that didn’t stop me from dreaming. Though, honestly, I would probably become woefully seasick if I ever set foot on a sailboat or a ship. I am a daughter of the earth, accustomed to spending my time with both feet firmly planted on the ground …”

READ MORE …

Hope you enjoyed the blog tour round up! We’re coming up to the end of the tour and the announcement for the giveaway winners! In the meantime, if you’re enjoying the tour, why not share a post with a friend and invite them to #exploreleira and the Songkeeper Chronicles with you!

Explore Leira Blog Tour: T is for the Takhran

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Welcome to stop number twenty in the #exploreleira blog tour where we’re celebrating the (almost) one year book birthday for Songkeeper! It is the second book in the Songkeeper Chronicles, which tells the story of a girl who can hear the song that created the world.

If this is your first encounter with the blog tour, we are continuing a series of alphabet posts looking at the world and characters and magical creatures of the Songkeeper Chronicles.

Today, we’re looking at the letter …

T is for the Takhran

Who is the Takhran? That’s a question that Birdie asks in Orphan’s Song and one I found myself asking again when I sat down to write this post. In fact, I put off writing this post for as long as I dared because I knew it would not be a simple one.

Or a pleasant subject.

Jirkar fiddled with a dry twig for several seconds before snapping it between his fingers. “What do you want to know? He’s a murderer. A tyrant. Look as far back in history as the records go, and you’ll find his black name marring the pages. He seems to have just always been in his fortress in Serrin Vroi.”

– Orphan’s Song

The Takhran is a warlord and tyrant who rules in the north of Leira from the city of Serrin Vroi. His fortress is built into the base of Mount Eiphyr and is considered nigh impregnable. Massive stone walls segmented with battlemented towers broken by a single gateway guarded by a four-towered gatehouse and a double portcullis. And yet, so great is the Takhran’s strength and power, he will not allow the gate to his fortress to be closed or the portcullis lowered.

A closed gate, in his eyes, is a sign of weakness.

The gaping hole, rather than appearing to be a chink in the impregnable defenses of the wall, seemed a warning that here was strength too great to fear attack. Arrogance, perhaps, but the Takhran’s armies stood unopposed.

– Orphan’s Song

Even if an army managed to breach the wall or an enemy dared brave the open gateway, rumor has it that a network of tunnels and caverns lay beneath the fortress, and there the Takhran houses his army. He commands a vast horde of Khelari soldiers, and their ranks are swelled by the Shantren—an order gifted with abilities to withstand the Songkeepers—and his raven spies and hounds. And other fouler creatures.

Although Leira has historically been people by distinct tribes each ruled by their own leaders, the Takhran desires to bring all under his rule. From Serrin Vroi, his armies swallowed the Nordlands to the foothills of the Whyndburg Mountains, and then continued to push farther westward and southward. Five years before Orphan’s Song begins, the Khelari reached and occupied Kerby on the border of the Westmark.

Slaves toil to clothe, feed, army, and equip the Khelari. From each occupied city, the soldiers take what they will. The conquered lands lie broken and bleeding beneath their feet. And ever the Takhran’s word drives them onward. Ever hungry. Never satisfied. For he will brook no limitation.

He will be content with nothing less than complete dominion.

“Don’t be blind, man! There’s bigger game involved. The Takhran has already taken the northern tribes. Up there, just beyond Dunfaen Forest, his soldiers patrol the streets, his hounds haunt the woods, his dark spies cover the skies. He’s goin’ t’ come south soon. We’ve always known that. It’s only a matter o’ time before all of Leira is in his grasp.”

– Orphan’s Song

When we first catch a glimpse of the Takhran in Orphan’s Song—SPOILER ALERT—he is only a shadowy figure that speaks to Carhartan from the depths of the Pit. We do not see his face. We are left only with a sort of delightful shiver skating down our spine as we anxiously await our first chance to bolt from the scene with Carhartan.

“I have already been apprised of your failure.” The Takhran’s voice hissed beside his ear, and it was all Carhartan could do to avoid starting. The torch sputtered, and the flames fizzled out until only a tiny spark remained. Wings fluttered overhead. The croaking cry of a raven tumbled down.

– Orphan’s Song

Creepy, right?

In a vague sort of way. And yet, I knew that I couldn’t get away with the same thing in Songkeeper. (Minor spoiler alert?) The Takhran eventually assumes center stage as the antagonist, and I knew a disembodied voice floating out of the darkness of the Pit wasn’t going to cut it.

So in Songkeeper, we get to see the Takhran in flesh and blood, and can I just say that I wish we could see his steed on the big screen. As odd as it may sound, I think I’m most excited about the addition of that creature! Yes, I promise, I am trying to avoid spoilers. So for now, all I will say is that you should read Songkeeper if only to find out what I’m talking about.

And I will leave you with a final quote from Amos on how the Takhran assumed power. It reminds me of Edmund Burke’s statement, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” I don’t know about you, but it’s something that I think about a lot in the midst of the world that we live in today.

It was because of men like Dalton that the Takhran’s power had grown so much in recent memory. Because of men who sat idle, refusing to act, while the Takhran ventured forth from his city-kingdom in Serrin Vroi where he had ruled for ages past, and the northern tribes fell.

It was because of men like Dalton …

Men like Amos …

Men who had fought and failed and forgotten that the Takhran marched across a land of ashes—a broken people at his feet, the united banners of Serrin Vroi and the northlands at his back.

– Orphan’s Song

Want to find out more about the Takhran? Check out the links below to purchase the books:

Amazon: Orphan’s Song, Songkeeper, Song of Leira

Barnes and Nobles: Orphan’s Song, Songkeeper, Song of Leira

Explore Leira Blog Tour: Q is for Matlal Quahtli

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Welcome to the seventeenth stop in the #exploreleira blog tour where we’re celebrating the (almost) one year book birthday for Songkeeper! It is the second book in the Songkeeper Chronicles, which tells the story of a girl who can hear the song that created the world.

If this is your first encounter with the blog tour, we are continuing a series of alphabet posts looking at the world and characters and magical creatures of the Songkeeper Chronicles.

Today, we’re looking at the letter …


Q is for Quahtli, Matlal of the Saari

Matlal Quahtli is the ruler of the Saari nation of the Vituain Desert. He is married to Sa Itera and father to two young boys. In battle, he carries a broad-headed spear and rides upon the back of a massive male lion. As Matlal, he sits enthroned beneath the Star of the Desert. There he leads and judges his people from the city of Nar-Kog.

The two halves of the city, Nar and Kog, climb up twin cliff faces overlooking a valley. Narrow bridges span the gap, connecting the two. Nar-Kog is the largest Saari dwelling in the desert, although there are many other smaller towns and villages scattered throughout the vast sea of sand dunes ringed about by jagged mountains. The Vituain Desert is a wild land, inhabited by a fierce and free people.

The Saari are divided into tribes, each ruled by mahtems (chieftains), and led collectively by the Matlal. While the mahtems of the individual tribes typically inherit their positions, the title of Matlal is not hereditary. Deserving warriors among the mahtems compete in trial by combat to determine the next Matlal. Quahtli battled seven warriors for his seat beneath the Star of the Desert, and there are none among the mahtems or all the Saari who doubt his worthiness.

None save perhaps his brother in law, Inali. In Songkeeper, we learn that Inali was next in line to lead the Sigzal tribe as mahtem, but the title was passed to his sister Itera as her bride-price when she wedded Matlal Quahtli. So Itera became mahtem, and Inali was left only with the title of Dah, a son of high birth but little standing.

It is a loss that Inali bears bitterly, though he would not dare say it to Quahtli’s face, for the Matlal is a warrior through and through. A tall man, Quahtli presents an imposing figure, with the breadth of his shoulders made wider still by the ruff of lion’s mane that lines the neck of his lion-skin cloak. As Matlal, he wears no crown, but the gold beads knotted into his dark braids and the gold cuffs on his wrists proclaim his rank among the Saari. And yet, as a warrior, he is seldom found without a spear in hand, ready to plunge into battle at a moment’s need for the people he calls his own.

Quahtli is a strong, proud man. He prepares his people to fight a battle that he does not believe he can win …

“Daily my warriors skirmish with the Takhran’s soldiers on our northern borders. It is only a matter of time before his army marches into this valley. And what then? I must either surrender my people and our freedom to his rule, or see their corpses like cold and prey to carrion fowl in the sand.” Quahtli fingered the tip of his spear. “We are too few to fight him.”

– Songkeeper

And yet he will not yield.

For if there is one trait all Saari have in common, it is their ability to stand firm before the shifting winds of change and circumstance, buffeted by the gales of disaster and dismay, and like the mountains of their homeland, simply to stand.

In the words of Amos McElhenny,

“These sun-addled people are as inflexible as steel an’ unbending as their sand-blasted cliffs. It’s getting’ right tiresome.”

– Songkeeper

After Matlal Quahtli—and really, the whole fascinating Saari culture with their lion steeds, spears, and warrior’s code—appeared on the page, I hoped to spend some time with them in the Vituain Desert. I wanted to wander through the narrow roads and earth-carved houses of Nar-Kog, venture into the sandswept expanses of the desert, and stand beside Matlal Quahtli at the edge of the Council Hall overlooking the valley below.

But the story set a relentless pace, drawing Birdie, Ky, and Amos away from the desert … and I had no choice but to follow …

Want to find out more about Matlal Quahtli? Check out the links below to purchase the books:

Amazon: Orphan’s Song, Songkeeper, Song of Leira

Barnes and Nobles: Orphan’s Song, Songkeeper, Song of Leira

Explore Leira Blog Tour: O is for Outlaws

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Welcome to the fifteenth stop in the #exploreleira blog tour where we’re celebrating the (almost) one year book birthday for Songkeeper! It is the second book in the Songkeeper Chronicles, which tells the story of a girl who can hear the song that created the world.

If this is your first encounter with the blog tour, we are continuing a series of alphabet posts looking at the world and characters and magical creatures of the Songkeeper Chronicles.

Today, we’re looking at the letter …

 

O is for Outlaws

“This cavern used to the hideout of a band of outlaws led by Hawkness. Did you know that? My father told me about them, about him. Back then, Hawkness was the only one strong enough to stand against the Takhran and his soldiers. They were brave men, those outlaws, all of them heroes, who fought against tyranny and died because of it.”

– Orphan’s Song

Long before Orphan’s Song began, a band of outlaws roamed the wild places of Leira at the heels of a mighty Songkeeper named Artair. They were the dregs of society. The weak. The outcast. The bristly. The unwanted.

Many left no homes behind, and yet where Artair was, they were at home, because home and hearth meant nothing save in his presence.

It is hard to describe the Songkeeper Artair to one who has not met him. He did not have the charismatic allure of the Takhran. He was neither kingly, nor princely, and would have looked out of place in a grand palace or great hall.

He was a man of the earth.

In his eyes, one saw the richness of freshly tilled soil and the peeled bark of a zoar tree. His hands bore the ridges and callouses of hard labor. Weathered lines splayed from his eyes like the rays of the sun glancing off a pool. In his laugh, the voice of a thousand rivers rolled into one.

At first glance, he did not command attention. At second glance, one could not look away. He had a sort of presence about him. Something that hummed with power and being, so much so that those who walked at his side for any length of time, even if they did not bear the blood of Songlings and Songkeepers, could almost hear the Song.

Those who joined the outlaw band came for many different reasons, but they all stayed for the same one. They stayed for Artair. They braved the Takhran’s wrath, evaded his raven spies, dodged his hounds, and led the Khelari off the scent, all that they might spend one more day at Artair’s side. Watching as he sang to heal the sick and injured, listening to the vast beauty of the Song that spilled from his lips, and waiting for evening to fall that they might sit around the fireside and listen to his tales. And such tales they were. The sort of tales that seep into your bones and remake you from the inside out. The sort that scrape you raw, even as they fill you with a courage and a purpose you never before knew. The sort that ring with the echo of something you thought you once knew, but you can’t quite place your finger upon …

With Artair at their head, the outlaws were a fearsome and free band. Fearsome in their freedom. For they dared to live and to love and to laugh in a world that was broken beneath the horrors unleashed by the Takhran. Numbered among the outlaws were Nisus and Jirkar, the dwarf twins from the Whyndburg Mountains, a swordsmith by trade named Lucas Peregrine from Kerby, Dalton who later owned the Sylvan Swan, a young farm boy named Oran Hamner, and the one known as Hawkness.

Hawkness wasn’t his true name, of course. The title was given to him for his notorious skill with ranged weapons, such as throwing knives, daggers, bows and arrows, etc., when Artair made him second in command.

Over time, the fame of the outlaw band and of Artair the Songkeeper spread, and the Takhran’s hatred grew, and he bided his time, waiting for the Khelari to succeed in capturing one of the outlaws. Until at last, the farm boy, Oran, strayed heedless into their net. It was a midsummer’s days when the soldiers dragged their struggling prisoner down the lightless tunnels beneath Mount Eiphyr and into the bowels of the Pit.

Who knows what lies the Takhran whispered to him in the dark, or with what twisted words the heart of Oran was lost and his melody ever corrupted. But when he emerged at last into the lurid light of day, it was to lead a contingent of Khelari along secret paths through the mountains to the outlaw camp at Drengreth.

They struck in the hazy stillness of night.

No songs are sung of the battle at Drengreth. No tales are told of valor or heroic deeds. It remembered only in silence. Recalled in horror and swiftly banished from thought.

For when the bows ceased singing and the flames dwindled and the last echoes of the crash of sword on sword vanished in the hills, only the bodies of the slain remained. Hawkness stood alone in the midst of a massacre. The survivors—what few remained—had fled. And the Songkeeper Artair was lost, taken by the Khelari into the depths of the earth.

I can tell you little of Hawkness’s pursuit, for little is known. He alone trailed the Khelari into the Takhran’s fortress. He alone wandered the deep dark in pursuit of the Songkeeper Artair. But beyond that, the truth of what transpired in the Pit, none save the Takhran’s servants and Hawkness himself know.

And when Hawkness reappeared in Kerby some months later, to rendezvous with the remnants of the outlaw band, he would not say. But he vowed vengeance against the Takhran, and in the strength of his oath, he bound the outlaws into a brotherhood sworn to fight until their dying breath. Beneath the cobbled streets of Kerby, in a network of caverns and tunnels, they made their home. And the light and life and hope that the outlaw band had known when they followed Artair along song-strewn paths in the mountains and woodlands were soon lost in the grime and squalor and hopelessness of the city where their vengeance had driven them.

Ky’s eyes gleamed in the moonlight. “You’re a legend. A hero.”

The lad’s words pierced his conscience like a poisoned shaft. “Never a hero, lad. For twelve years, we warred, fought, lied, stole, cheated, ’til our cause was lost in the horror o’ who we’d become an’ our own people grew t’ hate us.”

– Orphan’s Song

Until the outlaws too were lost and had become only a matter of legend and myth and fireside tales.

Outlaw tales are fascinating, aren’t they? I grew up on tales of Robin Hood and his merry men, William Wallace, and Alan Breck Stewart. Do you have a favorite outlaw tale?

Want to find out more about the outlaws? Check out the links below to purchase the books:

Amazon: Orphan’s Song, Songkeeper, Song of Leira

Barnes and Nobles: Orphan’s Song, Songkeeper, Song of Leira

free short story: Of Shadow and Rust

New Release: Of Sea and Smoke

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