Rodenhold, Volume 1: The Vanguard softcover from Lulu
Art by GENZOMAN (Note: The cross-shape on the red sword is not intended to be a Christian crucifix, I suppose I should have made that clear to the artist. The series is not meant to be religious or anti-religious.)
If you're not quite certain if you'd be interested in the book, please take a look at the following short excerpt below. You should also be able to read a free sample on Lulu. Hopefully the book will be available on Kindle and other mediums in the near future, since this is my first work I've had some formatting problems but it certainly looks good on the pages.
Please feel free to report any problems or concerns. This has been a long process, and took some very hard work.
All the best
-J.C.
EXCERPT FROM VOLUME 1: THE VANGUARD
(From Chapter 11: The Duel)
Orion had luckily made it in time to witness the spectacle as
he leaned forward in curiosity, the insect’s thousand tiny eyes focusing their
attention on the sight before him. “The sword that can cut through anything, against
the armor that can’t be pierced? This, I have to see...”
* * *
All stood frozen
in suspense for a moment, the three figures neglecting to make any sudden
movement. Sean fought to catch his breath, cursing the toll age was taking on
his body. On the other side of Ilyana at the exact same distance from her as
Sean, there stood a terrifying figure in pointy black armor from head to toe.
Its long, narrow helmet curved upward on the rear edges to form what looked
like the antlers of a deer as the figure remained still where it was. There were
no eyes, or at least if there had been, there was no slit in the helmet for the
creature to be able to see outward with them. All animal life seemed to have
abandoned the scene, silence the only sound in those few tense moments.
In
a flash the figure charged toward Ilyana, and Sean dashed forward at a matching
speed, drawing the red sword swiftly. After mere seconds their weapons met fully
drawn and clashed together not an inch above the top of the girl’s head.
She
stood paralyzed for a moment beneath the two swords, amazed that she was still
alive and well. It had all happened so blindingly fast. It seemed she was in a
rather precarious position, as neither blade budged above where she stood.
The
black knight’s sword consisted of a long, holographic neon glow laced with
various Zenith patterns. The sword drawn against it was the large Crimson blade
dubbed the Sword of Vermeer, holding it at an even strength. The edges of the
weapons caused a level of friction that sent sparks flying into the air around
them and a screeching noise like the brakes of a train.
It was difficult
to overcome the monster’s strength with Sean’s own. This was the beast he had
been warned of beforehand, a black Zenith knight with armor that could not be
chipped away by any force on the earth. Sean then focused all of the power left
within him, and soon his arms were jolted with incredible strength. A wave of
his power flowed around the blade’s edge as he gripped it, pressing it against the
knight’s holographic blade with newfound determination. Moments later, the
Sword of Vermeer inched forward through the translucent material of the enemy’s
weapon and began cutting its way slowly through the opposing sword.
The
second Sean’s adversary noticed it, the shadow jumped away a fair distance and
stood still with its sword flickering in hand behind its back. Several moments
passed as the masked figure contemplated the situation inwardly. Then, in the
silence of the forest, a low distorted voice crept out from underneath the black
knight’s helmet, bringing with it the chill one might experience when finding a
nest of spiders inside an abandoned basement.
<Many have
faced me with that sword…> The creature’s weapon raised into the air above
its head, then whirled around in a symmetrical pattern at a dizzying speed
before resting at its side several moments later. <All have fallen.>
The
Sword of Vermeer swung around as Sean pointed it at his enemy. “Ilyana, get
back!” The black knight’s sword slammed against the red blade as Sean was
nearly lifted from his feet by the force of the strike.
“Sean!”
screamed Ilyana as she backed away against the tree line nearby. The black
knight’s strength seemed to outclass Sean’s by twice over at that point. The
holographic blade glowed an intense and seething color, waves emanating from
the enchanted weapon that tore away nearby trees in their totality.
The
potency of the gusts threw Ilyana away from their proximity as the two
supernatural beings clashed to the death in a heated frenzy of cataclysmic
attacks. The two figures darted around the area, slashing at one another with
precision and power only to be outdone by one another at every turn.
“I
thought you were supposed to be more powerful than me!” shouted Sean to his
enemy. “Why can’t you hit me?”
<Powerful?>
the creature asked him, stopping suddenly. <Do you wish to know the meaning
of the word? Very well then, Vanguard...I will allow a demonstration, seeing as
how you are so unfamiliar with that which has granted me my infamy among your
ranks.> The black entity stood still with its sword hovering vertically between
its hands, the blade pointing at the ground as its heavy voice uttered an
incantation. <“Stars shimmer in the
fading light of dusk, and the bright orb in the sky sets slowly over the
western village. Nightfall; the death of the sun!”>
A low moaning
sound crept up from the ground, covering the dark figure in a shroud of
magnetic energy. With tremendous velocity, the Zenith blade swung at Sean’s
neck, narrowly giving the Vanguard just enough time to dodge the attack. Ilyana
screamed his name, but he could barely hear it above his adversary’s malicious
advances. The black knight’s armor had grown longer spikes, but the real
advance was in the creature’s speed. The thick forest blocking the sun did Sean
no favors.
The tip of the
black knight’s sword swung behind Sean’s knee and severed the tendons, bringing
the Vanguard to his knees. The sight caused Ilyana to gasp in shock, realizing
quickly that both of their lives were now on the line.
The
warrior collapsed out of breath yet again, battling with the inner pain
coursing upward through him. Golden blood flowed from the back of his leg as he
knelt there wounded. However it was not enough to stop him, nowhere near close.
He rose again and charged with all of his might toward the shadow before being knocked
down once more by a tremendous blow to the side of the head. The Vanguard
collapsed breathless before the figure, fighting over and over but failing to
land any successful attack on his enemy. Things had gone from bad to worse.
In
an instant, the knight’s sword sliced across Sean’s wrist, and the red sword
flew out of his grip before embedding itself hilt-up in the ground nearby. He
landed on the side of his face as he watched Ilyana stand there, her expression
stricken with a level of terror he hadn’t seen her succumb to since the moment
he first encountered her in that village. The black figure above him prepared
to execute him on the spot, leaving him no chance of survival. Its spiny
gauntlet grasped the back of Sean’s head and yanked him upward as the fiend
held the edge of the glowing Zenith blade inches from his throat.
<Does it pain
you?> asked his foe as the creature held him there, ready to slice through
his neck and end it all. <Is it painful to realize how close you had come to
victory before your defeat? You would have done well to heed the many warnings
of your comrades. Now, all that is left for you are the consequences for your
ignorance. She will die because of you, Vanguard, and you will die because of
her.>
At
that precise moment, the sun had shifted to a break in the trees above the
cliff nearby to illuminate the scene completely. Sunlight flooded across them
as the clouds began to clear, the brightness of daylight delivering its warmth
to the ground below. Before the blade had the chance to cut through the man’s
neck, a blinding flash knocked the dark figure backward several steps as the
warrior of light became engulfed in an explosion of solar energy that bore a
hole into the ground where he knelt.
The relentless
flow of light made the very earth vibrate as Sean’s overwhelming power transformed his body into a creature of a higher level of existence. Golden
plates of armor covered his figure from head to toe, completely protecting him
from all angles and a mask that seemed to be somewhat alive shielded his face,
his eyes glaring at his foe as waves of fire licked from them. Holographic wings
appeared on his back, projecting their stupendous aura as Sean spoke the words
he had been waiting to say from the moment their journey began.
“Ultimate...Maximum!”
