Turrim Archive Snippets

As promised, here are a few snippets from my current Work-in-Progress, book #2 of the Turrim Archive. In no particular order:

It was silent to all but one, the snapping of the bonds, the whirlwind of power, the sudden strength returned to its rightful place. Uun bolted upright in his bed as his full power flooded through him and awoke him from his slumber. Pain seared down into the very marrow of his bones, and strength roared to life within his veins. He stumbled out of his bed and out onto the balcony that overlooked the whole of the palace grounds as the overwhelming deluge of power coursed through his body. It was achingly familiar, and yet he had been without it for so long that its sudden presence burned like a terrible blaze as it had so long ago on that very first day. He doubled over in anguish, breathing heavily. He closed his eyes and let it wash over him. For so long, he had only grasped at the barest trickle of his power, his potential. He had been like a starving man subsisting only on a single bite of food each day, and suddenly an entire feast was laid before him. It was overwhelming and horribly painful, but it was also so very sweet.

After a few minutes, the pain subsided, fading to a tiny, lingering flicker. Uun straightened and stared at the western horizon. The mid-day sun beat down upon him and he imagined he could see it glinting off the very top of his tower, a point of solid blackness in an otherwise perfectly azure sky. A cruel smile adorned his lips, and there was a coldness in his eyes.

“I knew you could never abide what I had done, brother,” he whispered. “So, you have put the world in peril for the sake of a single soul that was already broken beyond repair.” He let out a loud, barking laugh that pierced the serenity of the day. “Dalmir, my brother, you have just made your first mistake.”

Hmm, intriguing. 

“Dalmir?” Marik’s voice cut through the memory.

“Forgive me,” Dalmir shook himself and took a deep breath. He rubbed a hand across his face and his shoulders slumped.

“Are you well?”

“Yes. Yes, I am. Come along.”

“Do you mind if I ask where we are going now?”

“We must return to the Academy.”

“The…” Marik pressed his lips into a hard line, his face growing dark with a mixture of frustration and anger. “May I ask why?”

Ah, poor Marik. His life and plans have been so interrupted by Dalmir and the events of the world colliding around him. But don't worry, I think he can take it.

“Hush now!” Nadia exclaimed. “He gets enough teasing about that from his brothers, thank you.”

Ioan just laughed.

“When do you leave to take your new post?”

“Tomorrow morning, I must meet my brigade early.”

“Perhaps I will see you before you leave,” Nadia smiled. “I plan to be up early myself.”

“That would be most agreeable. It’s hard to really have a quality conversation in scattered moments during a party one is hosting.”

“Well, congratulations, Ioan. We are all very proud of you.” She pulled a small box out of a deep pocket on the inside of her cloak. “This is from all of us, but mostly from Drengur.”

Ioan accepted the box and grinned. “Thank you, Aunt Nadia. And thank you for coming, it means the world to me.”

“You are welcome,” she tousled his dark hair playfully. “Now, go celebrate with your friends. No reason to stand around talking to your old aunt.”

“You’re hardly what I’d call old,” Ioan stuck his tongue between his teeth in a wide grin.

“That is the right answer,” Nadia raised her chin. “No wonder they let you graduate.” She turned to her friend. “Roshana, he’s a smart one, your boy.”

Roshana’s eyes twinkled and she gave slow, knowing nod. “Yes, he is.”

This one is a bit more random, but was so much fun to write. I think we'll have to see more of Ioan than I had first intended.

As they stood outside the ring, watching as Arven attacked their friend. Grayden whirled and parried, and the dance began in earnest.

“Think he’ll win?” Wynn asked.

“I do believe our friend will defend his record on the field today,” Beren replied formally.

“You know, I don’t think Gray even knows that he’s got the top score,” Wynn’s tone was offhand. “He never looks at the standings.”

“That is not why he is here,” Beren agreed. “But surely he knows he is undefeated.”

“For now. Ouch!” Wynn winced in sympathy as Arven landed a particularly painful sounding blow to Grayden’s shoulder.

Grayden allowed himself to drop beneath the blow and twist away. He lunged back in and delivered his own rap to Arven’s wrist, causing the other young man to momentarily lose his grip on his stave. Arven shook his hand and backed away warily, readjusting his hold on the weapon.

“I shall enjoy watching Grayden in the Trials,” Beren commented.

“The what?”

“The Trials,” Beren repeated. At Wynn’s blank look, he grimaced. “They are the exams that we take before moving on to the next class.”

“What kind of exams?”

“Ah,” Beren hesitated. “Perhaps I should not say."

I couldn't do a snippets post without including my main characters! I wonder what the rest of their time at the Academy holds?

Well, that's all I've got. I can't really do too many snippets from book #2 without giving away far too much about book #1, so this is what you get. Some of these I wrote during Camp this year, others I had written previously. Hope you enjoyed this little teaser-trailer of sorts. But now, I have to get back to writing!