An Excerpt From The Nanowrimo Novel

The novel is still untitled, but here's something from the prologue.

Shayanna leaned against a tree in the courtyard of the royal keep and listened to King Crandel Redstar’s speech. She’d had to leave Silvermane outside the city after meeting Shou-Lung and now she stood in the courtyard, impatiently counting the minutes until she could return to her friends.

She had not realized when she accepted the king’s offer to train his would that it would mean she had to attend events as well. The two met when Crandel had gone hunting with his falcon, one of the few things the members of his court allowed him to do alone. They hunted together for the day, then he asked her to return with him and take over the duties of training his men in the ways of the forest. She agreed for reasons she still didn’t understand, but the offer sounded like it would give her and Silvermane a place to call home, if for a little while. They were not sure if they would stay for long, but the gold was plentiful and she was pretty much left alone when she was not training.

Crandel’s voice rang loudly in the area, probably magically enhanced by his mage, Mola. Shayanna’s attention began to wander as he continue to speak.

“As I was saying, this has been a most exciting month for my family and myself. Not only did I learn I had two children I did not know about, but my son and chosen heir to the throne has returned as well, Jarden Redstar.” Crandel turned and gestured toward someone standing where Shayanna could see them.

She waited, curious to see if this third child of the king’s looked like his father or even the other two that had been presented three weeks earlier. Crandel had not bestowed upon his first son the title of heir and she glanced over at the oldest son to gauge his reaction to the news. When a flash of red material moved through the edge of her vision, she turned her attention back to the king and his newly introduced son and felt her mouth fall open in surprise. The man she had met in the forest, while spending time with Silvermane was standing next to the king and had been named as the heir apparent to the Falconi throne.

Shou-Lung nodded stoically at the people who were clapping and cheering his arrival, then held his hand up to quiet everyone. “I no longer go by the name Jarden Redstar. While I was gone, I was given the name Shou-Lung, which means Receiver of the Dragon. I would prefer everyone call me by that name.”