The Lost Pilgrim (Excerpt)...

I have talked a little about my new work, The Lost Pilgrim. It's my first novel in the fantasy genre. Fantasy has always been a favorite genre for me, but for some reason, I have had no interest in writing fantasy. Maybe it's the thought of being side by side with some of the greats- Tolkien for instance. 

Usually, I post a sample of whatever I am working on. This time, I haven't given any samples here on the page. I thought I would take the time to post a short excerpt from The Lost Pilgrim, a taste of the work, a delicious little morsel.

I hope you enjoy it.

"...What the beast so great that silence is its call? The answer is more straightforward than he thought.

It’s time. Time is that beast, and when time ends, nothing will become the world; it has no cry and devours all things, and its master is that of Eyn'Uon'Haavah- The father of the machinations of the universe, the turning of the ages. And all those who play within his realm will die and know death, for death is his brother and entropy is his father. And all things that think when eaten will see the world no more, and then, it is truly nothing.

He remembers something Kahalis of Karn told him in the temple one day, and suddenly the old man's words have new meaning. Kahalis told him he would understand one day, and that a pilgrimage would help him, it would open his eyes to the world and nature of existence.

That day he complained about losing his kingdom, about losing his people. He was angry and drunk. Kahalis had spoken, and his words were harsh, but he was without comprehension that day, only in the map room did he grasp the meaning of what was said:

"All empires are empty; they are truly nothing. Especially when stacked next to the meaning of a single moment, for a moment is the only thing that's real. Most people fear that. It means they are insignificant. And if a man is insignificant, he can’t have power, can’t have control, and can’t own anything or possess anything. He must be humble, or he must lie to himself about it. No person likes to admit that history ends giving birth to a moment, and the moment will quickly starve than eat the future. They are sequential, and they end when we do. All that we experience is only ever experienced in one place. Only fools think otherwise, and only idiots follow them on such an endeavor as to capture eternity. Even if a person could steal something as bottomless as time, where would they put it? We are all trapped here, and we're all prisoners of this time- the now. There is nowhere, no place else we can be. We fight it in vain, but every movement we make only happens in one place. So, I say live in this moment, and no lies will speak to you, and no lies will come from your mouth. What you feel will be authentic and genuine, you will carry with you no illusions about the nature of who you are. You will be free. Free of regret, free of fear, and free of the anxieties of what is to come... Acknowledging the limited moments we have forces us to become truthful with ourselves."

Like the books in the great library, the map room is a legacy, something to let other people know of them, even if time has made it into half-truths. Its moments have faded with the time of Indelossi and the people who lived there.

The night is coming soon, and the light will fade. With it, the map will disappear, and something will replace it. Tellos looks up to the sky above the top of the columns. The sky is dimming, and the day has left its moments in the past..." 

Cheers!