The Sceptre of Morgulan
by Matthew D. Ryan
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Fantasy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Coragan
of Esperia has another job to do. Can he and his companions capture the Sceptre
of Morgulan and prevent an apocalypse? Or will Korina outmaneuver them again
and escape with the prize? So much hinges on the efforts of so few—if they fail
in their quest, if the evil witch Korina the Black succeeds, she may gain an
unrivaled power over the forces of darkness; a power she will not hesitate to
use.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPTS
Silgaren had just set, leaving only Neerie and its cracked
surface to look over the land, shedding a pale yellow light that, at times, was
obscured by passing clouds. Nevertheless, Galladrin took no chances. He
approached the count’s castle from the east, where the shadows lay the
strongest. It was nearly midnight. Most of the castle’s inhabitants lay asleep
in bed. And Galladrin was alone.
Gaelan had protested vehemently. The young man wanted to help,
but Galladrin knew what he was capable of. This was not a night for
sword-fighting. Far from it. Only a thief, a well-trained thief, had any hope
of success.
He wore black clothing, of course, with charcoal on his
cheeks and forehead. He stood on the far side of the road that encircled the
fortress, hidden by the shadows of a nearby building. Watching, and counting
softly to himself as the guards atop the parapet did their rounds, he waited
for the opportune moment.
Like a wraith borne by the dark of night, he ran from cover,
across the road in a heartbeat, across the field on the other side. He drew to
a stop before the moat and looked up at the wall just as another guard came
around the bend. Quickly and quietly, he lowered himself into the moat water.
It was still early spring, so the moat water was cold.
Deadly cold. It numbed his hands, his feet; it made breathing difficult, like
he could not get enough air. Ignoring its gelid touch, he submerged himself
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Matthew D. Ryan
is a published author living in upstate New York on the shores of Lake
Champlain. His work has been featured on-line at Aphelion.com and
YesteryearFiction.com. He has been deeply involved in the fantasy genre for
most of his life as a reader, writer, and game designer. He is the operator of
the web-site matthewdryan.com which features his blog, “A Toast to Dragons,” a
blog dedicated to fantasy literature, and, to a lesser extent, sci-fi. Mr. Ryan
says he receives his inspiration from his many years as an avid role-player and
fantasy book reader. He has spent many long hours devising adventures and
story-lines as well as gaming systems for role-playing games, playing a motley
assortment of characters in RPG worlds, as well as digesting the writings of
J.R.R. Tolkien, Robert Jordan, and others. As a result, he has great depth of
experience in the fantasy genre and feels it was a natural shift for him to
move into fantasy writing.
Mr. Ryan is the
author of the exciting dark fantasy novel, Drasmyr, The Children of Lubrochius,
and The Sceptre of Morgulan, as well as a growing number of short stories. His
first novel, Drasmyr, won the book of the month award on Long and Short
Reviews: Young Adult for the month of September 2012. The story features a
traditional Dracula type vampire in a Middle-Earth type setting. It is a dark
fantasy geared toward teens and adults that has consistently earned reviews in
the four and five star range. Drasmyr serves as the prequel to his series: From
the Ashes of Ruin. In addition to Drasmyr, The Children of Lubrochius, and The
Sceptre of Morgulan, Mr. Ryan has published several short stories on-line,
including: “Haladryn and the Minotaur”(published at the now defunct Pegasus
On-line), “The River’s Eye”(published at YesteryearFiction.com) ,
“Escape”(published at Aphelion.com), and the three-story collection Of Dragons,
Love, and Poison.. He has also spoken on the topic of “World-Building”
utilizing his considerable experience as an author and game-designer. When not
engrossed in his fantasy worlds, Mr. Ryan can be found volunteering at the
local food shelf or playing with his cat, “Confucius,” who is as wise and wily
as his name suggests.
Author’s
Smashwords Page: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/matthewdryan
Author’s Blog:
http://www.atoasttodragons.com
Author’s Home
Page: http://www.matthewdryan.com
Author’s
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/MatthewDRyanAuthor
Author’s Amazon
Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/matthewdryan
Author’s
Goodreads Page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/579148.Matthew_D_Ryan
Author’s
Twitter Handle: @MatthewDRyan1
for specific
details on Mr. Ryan’s previous novels from this series, following the
corresponding links:
Drasmyr:
http://wp.me/P3Lbq0-gE
The Children of
Lubrochius: http://wp.me/P3Lbq0-gM
Buy Link: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/574196
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