Originals vs Special Editions: 9 - 12

Elaina on Amazon

 

My favourite covers

These are the ones I like most (well, now - it may change as tastes change!). 

This ignores my Special Editions … I like all of those 😇

All links listed in their dedicated pages :)

Lore: What the Special Editions are based on!

Amazon Profile

 

Inviolate sacred space is revealed

 

From a sterile world reclaimed to a heartworld abandoned, from the purity of a unicorn to the hunt for the ultimate clock, the Sanctum series uncovers the accumulated traditions and beliefs of every sentient being in the multiverse. This visionary omnibus edition includes The Nemesis Blade, The Echolone Mine, The Nowhere Sphere and The Master Mechanism.

 With the energy that connects an ancient sword and throne, a man steps forth to entirely alter the future. Waiting for him is Torrullin Valla, but another is in the wings and wishes to negate the bliss of the Light, sinking into depravity and dragging all with him into a pit of psychic darkness.

 Wielding the Lumin Sword and a blade that is all about Catharsis, with Nemesis at his side, The Valla strides through Time itself, scattering behind him both the light and the dark. Only one factor can now save him; sacred space.

 In Lore of Sanctum the need for inviolate, sacred space is revealed; it about sanctuary and it also delves into the truth resident in souls.

Lore of Sanctum

A new Timekeeper steps forth

 

A new Timekeeper steps forth.

 

Wearing a familiar face, an aspirant Timekeeper seeks to destroy all who stand in his path, including Torrullin Valla and Elianas Danae. With the master clock under his aegis, he will control Time and all who move within its confines.

 The scramble commences to find the Master Mechanism first. From planets abandoned to worlds renewed, from ancient spaces to sterile realms, the chase is on.

 What does the device look like? Who created it? Where is it hiding?

 Weaving through all the chaos is the mighty Valla family, fractured and almost beyond repair. It is time to find unity once more. It is time to stand together or fall forever. It is time to be noble, even when such nobility requires sacrifice.

 Time itself demands redress.

 Join Torrullin and Elianas, support Tianoman and Tristan, and sympathise with Teroux, in this, the conclusion to the epic LORE series.

THE MASTER MECHANISM

In a nowhere place, everything is possible

Audio book coming soon!

In a nowhere place, everything is possible.

 

At the time of Tianoman Valla’s Naming, a blue sphere hovers in the scrying bowl, along with a silver cathron in an ebony floor. The time for that future is due, for beyond realms and the known universe, a mighty manipulation commences, and it assumes the form of blue spherical space.

 This is a Nowhere Sphere.

 Tianoman is kidnapped by an enemy believed dead, and taken to the place where a silver cathron knocker lurks in the darkness of a polished surface, where also a crucible swirls in vapour, creating within an entity that cannot be permitted life.

 An entire planet is vaporised, and souls scream for release in the aftermath. As Torrullin Valla’s memory returns after the event on Echolone, his ability to forgive is buried in the layers time has laid down, and now he needs to care, to feel again, to forgive. He must travel the void created by anti-matter to find not only Tianoman and the other Vallas, but also Elianas Danae, for he will suffer most.

 In Nowhere, everything that moves in hearts, minds and souls will become the answers Torrullin requires to again known himself. It will also unmask the Danae.

 

THE NOWHERE SPHERE

Step over the threshold at your peril

 

Step over the threshold at your peril!

 

The real truth about the Valleur through the ages is uncovered when exploiters delve the green hills of Echolone for gold. After an ancient door is discovered in the bowels of the earth, it serves to unmask the hidden power Elianas carries within, a power that places him on the same pedestal Torrullin, as Elixir, already inhabits.

 The two men swerve through different realms unravelling what now lies between them and every step reverberates in reality. As loved ones pay the ultimate price, old enemies again step forward to challenge their right to rule, particularly Nemisin, First Father of the Valleur.

 Nemisin desires above all else to be the One and will do everything in his power to wrest the title from Torrullin, even using his daughter against Elianas, thereby unsettling a powerful partnership. In this he is not alone, for Tymall, Warlock, seeks to sunder that connection as well.

 In a time when all seers’ visions and dreams cease, revelations are given to those who have never before experienced them at the site of a mysterious door in a mine. Here is a mystery and it requires solving, but the answers will change the future, in reality and realms.

 Greed is able to create massive chaos. It will unbalance everything. Delving deep is able to construct fissures in time. It will release hidden truth.

 It will also shatter sacred space.

THE ECHOLONE MINE

INFINITE

 

Cathron

Due to a decision to close down my Facebook Pages (for my series, not my author page), I'm also on a mission to file images uploaded there. Time to streamline! But before I abandon all albums et al, am making a few collages of the important stuff.

This is the cathron, a cat on Valaris that no one has seen and yet many swear to have heard it (yes, It looks like a panther):

His name is Elianas

 

His name is Elianas.

 Torrullin’s sanctuary is invaded by a desperate call through the spaces. Someone has stolen the Xenian seer Lowen Dalrish, and he suspects Agnimus, the draithen who nearly annihilated his world and then vanished without a trace.

 It is time for the Animated Spirit to stand forth.

 Meanwhile three Valla heirs await the rising of the Valleur Throne; only one will be chosen as Vallorin. When a prophecy is uncovered about Three Kingdoms and rumours of an army secretly building to prevent it, Torrullin realises the three heirs to the Throne are in danger, for the warmongers believe he will carve out three kingdoms, one for each heir.

 It is time to deploy Nemesis, the mighty blade forged of two, of both darak and lumin.

THE NEMESIS BLADE

As activity becomes frenetic in the spaces, the dark man of Torrullin’s visions and dreams stirs and becomes aware of the newness in the ether. He now seeks release from his long incarceration. He knows how to find the missing seer; more than that, he is the catalyst to releasing long-suppressed memory.

 It is time for Torrullin’s Nemesis to stand forth. His name is Elianas.

L O R E

 AMAZON

Torrullin and Saska

 

Thank you for choosing 12 of my books!

Thank you to the reader who not only snatched up the 3 free Lore books on Smashwords but decided to pay for the other nine as well! You now have the entire original series!! Enjoy :)

😍

L O R E

 

Excerpt: Lore of Sanctum: Fireball

 

Excelsior

General Rorkis’ Home

 

TRISTAN SNIFFED AT THE air like a bloodhound. He sensed something was off-kilter and could not quite place it. Then again, perhaps his imagination was out of control. Setting off explosions could damage brain cells.

Reading titles, he wandered along the shelves of the General’s library. Not bad; the man at least was not a moron, if he had read them, that is. Some philosophy, a lot of poetry - maybe those belonged to Mrs Rorkis - advanced calculus and geography.

A tread on the wooden floor spun him around. His senses screamed danger. Tristan froze in disbelief. “You!”

“Me,” came the soft reply.

A hand lifted and Tristan lost all sense of his surroundings, and then he lost all sense of self. Soft, satisfied laughter floated over the library.

  

Weapons Facility

 

QUILLA HAD INSERTED HIS tiny form between two crates in the loading bay. He watched as massive cranes lifted pallets of packed missiles. Then they were rolling the great shutter down on the gigantic flatbed truck. He whistled, throwing his voice to the front of the truck, and the two men ran towards the sound with their weapons drawn. Quilla, birdman and spy, hopped up and hid behind the nearest pallet.

A moment later he heard loud arguing and then the shutter came down. The sound of a lock being engaged, and the vehicle started to roll. He wondered where he would end up.

  

Warehouse

 

TEROUX LEANED AGAINST the dirty wall, eyes closed. He seemed asleep, but actually tracked Elianas’ movements. Teighlar paced with a low mutter. They heard him say ‘Alik’ and ‘Alexander’ but were too wrapped in their thoughts to question him. Elianas, for his part, barely moved. He listened to the sounds outside, those further afield and those in the spaces. Since Torrullin left he felt something build, a kind of layering of intention. Something evil was out there and evil would rear its head before Excelsior’s night was done with. If only he could place it.

Then it was too late.

Teighlar gurgled and fell senseless to the oil-spattered floor. Teroux’s golden head slumped sideways. Elianas had but a moment to know their attacker … and then he collapsed nerveless to the filthy floor. A loud chuckle sounded through the empty warehouse.

  

TWO TRAVELLERS LIFTED INTO orbit from Excelsior’s major landing site and one cargo ship lumbered up into the skies from a lesser and more protected one. They achieved the vacuum of space seconds before a massive fireball-mushroom engulfed the planet.

From a sterile world reclaimed to a heartworld abandoned, from the purity of a unicorn to the hunt for the ultimate clock, the Sanctum series uncovers the accumulated traditions and beliefs of every sentient being in the multiverse. This visionary omnibus edition includes The Nemesis Blade, The Echolone Mine, The Nowhere Sphere and The Master Mechanism.

 With the energy that connects an ancient sword and throne, a man steps forth to entirely alter the future. Waiting for him is Torrullin Valla, but another is in the wings and wishes to negate the bliss of the Light, sinking into depravity and dragging all with him into a pit of psychic darkness.

 Wielding the Lumin Sword and a blade that is all about Catharsis, with Nemesis at his side, The Valla strides through Time itself, scattering behind him both the light and the dark. Only one factor can now save him; sacred space.

 In Lore of Sanctum the need for inviolate, sacred space is revealed; it about sanctuary and it also delves into the truth resident in souls.

SANCTUM Omnibus

Excerpt: The Nowhere Sphere - Purity of the Unicorn

 

Frozen Forest

IT WAS EVEN COLDER when he headed out into the dark. Torrullin cursed as he stumbled over roots and branches, but dared not create light to ease his path. It took hours in the cold and dark to situate every trap in a wide perimeter and to draw the shield to encompass all, but eventually it was done, and he could head back. The lure of hot coffee was an all-consuming need.

As he approached the gate something new in the environment drew his attention. Until then the forest was filled with the usual night sounds - owls, scuttling creatures, a flap of wings, squeaks - and now everything was silent. That kind of quiet generally occurred when something new was in the region and the creatures waited to see whether it meant danger or something to be safely ignored. This silence went beyond what was there while he tramped around.

He could not see, but he could feel.

First came the silence, and he stood still.

Then came hot breath on his cheek.

He did not react, but his heart jerked wildly. He made no move.

Lorinin.

His heart thumped hard. Gods. “Who are you?”

What am I?

Fine. A game. What are you?

A slight glow appeared over his left shoulder. He turned with exaggerated care. The glow strengthened and took form. This time his heart threatened to burst from its confines.

You are surprised.

Torrullin placed a hand over his heart. More than words can describe.

It was a creature of myth and legend. The purity of goodness. The beauty of tireless strength. A unicorn. White, ethereal and incredibly beautiful. It made no sound as it moved to stand in his field of view, its hooves silvery and seeming to float above the forest floor. A horn of incredible simplicity glowed faintly blue from the centre of its forehead and long lashes swept over pale sad eyes as it studied Torrullin.

Many years ago, the little flower needed aid.

Rose. You created her citadel.

I could not feed her. I wish I could have fed her.

She survived. Today she is strong.

I am glad.

Is this your domain? Torrullin asked.

We do not claim domain, Lorinin. We are and we are not.

In a nowhere place, everything is possible.

 At the time of Tianoman Valla’s Naming, a blue sphere hovers in the scrying bowl, along with a silver cathron in an ebony floor. The time for that future is due, for beyond realms and the known universe, a mighty manipulation commences, and it assumes the form of blue spherical space.

 This is a Nowhere Sphere.

Tianoman is kidnapped by an enemy believed dead, and taken to the place where a silver cathron knocker lurks in the darkness of a polished surface, where also a crucible swirls in vapour, creating within an entity that cannot be permitted life.

An entire planet is vaporised, and souls scream for release in the aftermath. As Torrullin Valla’s memory returns after the event on Echolone, his ability to forgive is buried in the layers time has laid down, and now he needs to care, to feel again, to forgive. He must travel the void created by anti-matter to find not only Tianoman and the other Vallas, but also Elianas Danae, for he will suffer most.

In Nowhere, everything that moves in hearts, minds and souls will become the answers Torrullin requires to again known himself. It will also unmask the Danae.

THE NOWHERE SPHERE

Lore Excerpt: UNICORN

 

Frozen Forest

 

IT WAS EVEN COLDER when he headed out into the dark. Torrullin cursed as he stumbled over roots and branches, but dared not create light to ease his path. It took hours in the cold and dark to situate every trap in a wide perimeter and to draw the shield to encompass all, but eventually it was done, and he could head back. The lure of hot coffee was an all-consuming need.

As he approached the gate something new in the environment drew his attention. Until then the forest was filled with the usual night sounds - owls, scuttling creatures, a flap of wings, squeaks - and now everything was silent. That kind of quiet generally occurred when something new was in the region and the creatures waited to see whether it meant danger or something to be safely ignored. This silence went beyond what was there while he tramped around.

He could not see, but he could feel.

First came the silence, and he stood still.

Then came hot breath on his cheek.

He did not react, but his heart jerked wildly. He made no move.

Lorinin.

His heart thumped hard. Gods. “Who are you?”

What am I?

Fine. A game. What are you?

A slight glow appeared over his left shoulder. He turned with exaggerated care. The glow strengthened and took form. This time his heart threatened to burst from its confines.

You are surprised.

Torrullin placed a hand over his heart. More than words can describe.

It was a creature of myth and legend. The purity of goodness. The beauty of tireless strength. A unicorn. White, ethereal and incredibly beautiful. It made no sound as it moved to stand in his field of view, its hooves silvery and seeming to float above the forest floor. A horn of incredible simplicity glowed faintly blue from the centre of its forehead and long lashes swept over pale sad eyes as it studied Torrullin.

Many years ago, the little flower needed aid.

Rose. You created her citadel.

I could not feed her. I wish I could have fed her.

She survived. Today she is strong.

I am glad.

Is this your domain? Torrullin asked.

We do not claim domain, Lorinin. We are and we are not.

You call me Lorinin.

Your blood sings with song so glorious the multiverse awaits the next note with breathless anticipation.

He was out of his depth. This creature spoke of the multiverse; it thus transcended every barrier. My song must be filled with fury.

No.

I do not understand.

The time comes. Go forth now and find the Danae. I shall guard your charges. No harm shall befall them on my watch. I shall answer every question you may have, I promise, but you must ask it with the Danae at your side. He needs you more than you need clarity.

Where is he? Do you know?

The storm has gathered and must unleash. In havoc will new tools be forged. Enter the void of lifelessness, Torrullin Lorinin Valla.

Elianas is in the void?

He may be tracked from inside. Energy of that magnitude holds what he is together.

I must do this alone.

The magical head dipped. The seer would not survive it.

How much time do I have?

Never enough.

Torrullin moved closer.

The unicorn retreated. Stay in place. It is hard to maintain the light under your shield.

Torrullin halted.

Other spaces may be forced onto your plane of confrontation.

Why?

I am not a farseer, Lorinin, but I offer this advice. Bring what you need together and do so without hesitation. It places your song above all, and thus they must listen.

How do I do this?

The Danae knows.

He threaded a hand through his hair. He seemed to do that with regularity in this new present. Gods. Concentrate. Elianas possessed a greater answer. Was that what their games were about?

Elianas Danae is not aware that he knows.

How do I then ask the question?

You ask nothing. You touch.

A wry laugh erupted from his throat, loud in the silence. Please elaborate.

There was no sound and no movement for many minutes. The unicorn stood as if frozen, but its glow did not dissipate. Clearly it was thinking. Perhaps it, too, knew moments of self-doubt. I shall now do something I may not have the right to interfere with, and yet I trust this will aid you in forging the tools of the future. Please wait.

Torrullin waited, and wondered what that communication meant. The unicorn pulsed with shivering light, and it moved forward swiftly. It halted a breath away from him and transformed into a column of light. An instant after, Torrullin suffered a hard tug at the centre of his gut, and looked convulsively down.

A flowing river of gold translucence bridged the tiny space separating them, joining them. Then he was emptied, and flew back to land hard up against a tree. Snow shuddered on the branches overhead and tumbled over him. Shaking and spluttering, he straightened.

The unicorn had retaken form, but now a faint golden glow emanated from within the white silver. The Goddess of Souls is removed.

Motionless thought assailed him then. It meant absolute change.

Touch is safe, Lorinin.

No, it was not. Every temptation could now be bridged.

He is not your brother. He is your Eternal Companion, as you are his. Touch is safe. Touch, and your answer will be there.

This changes all.

The time for that is due.

Perhaps. Torrullin nearly hyperventilated in the onset of emotions, of questions … of need.

For years and ages, the battles have run and they were fought and there was result, and nothing altered. The same questions plague and the same answers disappoint. Personalities of the past have intertwined into this time and others, and it is time to be free of them and what remains stagnant. Unleash the storm, Lorinin, and allow the song freedom. It is the right moment to change the concept of time.

Time?

Yes.

I do not understand.

The Danae knows. Ask.

Touch?

No, ask this of him direct. He must then answer.

He was afraid to. Elianas was not easily confronted.

My time in light is at an end. The glow that was the unicorn began to fade. I have the watch, do not fear, and we shall again speak. Bring the Danae.

The forest was dark, a greater dark than before, and gradually the sounds of normality intruded to prove the state of otherness had passed. Torrullin stood in that dark and carefully examined every thought shared, and understood he had no choice.

In a nowhere place, everything is possible.

 At the time of Tianoman Valla’s Naming, a blue sphere hovers in the scrying bowl, along with a silver cathron in an ebony floor. The time for that future is due, for beyond realms and the known universe, a mighty manipulation commences, and it assumes the form of blue spherical space.

 This is a Nowhere Sphere.

 Tianoman is kidnapped by an enemy believed dead, and taken to the place where a silver cathron knocker lurks in the darkness of a polished surface, where also a crucible swirls in vapour, creating within an entity that cannot be permitted life.

 An entire planet is vaporised, and souls scream for release in the aftermath. As Torrullin Valla’s memory returns after the event on Echolone, his ability to forgive is buried in the layers time has laid down, and now he needs to care, to feel again, to forgive. He must travel the void created by anti-matter to find not only Tianoman and the other Vallas, but also Elianas Danae, for he will suffer most.

 In Nowhere, everything that moves in hearts, minds and souls will become the answers Torrullin requires to again known himself. It will also unmask the Danae.

 

THE NOWHERE SPHERE

The Echolone Mine: Standing Stones

 

Lethe

 

HOW LONG THE blackness lasted would never be known and never discussed. For a time, they were oblivious to time, space and each other. They were together somewhere and so apart the state of togetherness would eternally remain unmentioned. Only those able to see beyond the boundaries knew how proximity did not imply connection and they, naturally, never told. Still, let it be said the three men were beyond usual intelligence and thus not without suspicion of the state of separation.

When the alien dark receded like water pulling back from a beach, they were in a rough circle of standing stones. The stones and the configuration thereof were a protection mechanism, and they knew it, but as awareness returned, they looked at each other as if questioning the nature of life itself.

Elianas’ eyes hooded. He lay beside Torrullin. Those silvery eyes stared down at him from a seated position. Feeling vulnerable, he cleared his throat, pushed up to sit and look around. Tristan sat cross-legged nearby staring at the two of them as if attempting to determine a great secret. Beyond Tristan were the standing stones and beyond that was nothing. Nothing.

“Where are we?” Elianas asked. He deliberately did not move. Those silvery eyes had not left him and now filled with knowing amusement. Elianas frowned and surrendered. “You are frightening me, Torrullin. For pity’s sake, tell us what this is. What have you done and where are we?”

Tristan rose and stretched.

Torrullin’s glance flicked up at him, and returned to Elianas, who cursed. Torrullin leaned closer. “This is still Lethe, but now it is a different realm and I suspect it may be a different time also. But I did not bring us here. Something fools with us. I may enjoy a challenge and I am particularly enjoying how you squirm at the moment, but this is going too far.”

Tristan strode nearer. He stood arms akimbo over them. “This is precisely why we go nowhere - you two and your lack of conviction. Reaume is unprotected and you carry on as if we have all the time in the universe. I am well aware you were warned not to delve the issues in Lethe, yet I’m saying, unless you do, even if it is scratching at the surface, we are headed to nowhere for eternity. Look …” and he swung one arm in a wide arc, “… a stone henge, a place of safety. Either you brought us here, Torrullin, or we brought ourselves here by consensus, or we were bloody chucked in. Whatever and however, get to sorting enough out so we may actually aid Reaume and, yes, aid the Dryads also. Understood? This is why you wanted me to come, wasn’t it? To get your arses moving?”

Torrullin exhaled, a weary sound. “We are exactly one year back in time. Whatever is to happen to Reaume has not yet begun.”

Elianas glared at him. “What happened to ‘I suspect’?”

A shrug answered him, before he added, “To see you squirm.”

Tristan interrupted, “Good god, will you stop? Would you please do something more than taunt each other?” Both men looked up at him. Tristan cleared his throat. “What did I say to make you do that?”

Elianas clambered to his feet. “So,” he murmured, “a whole year back in time. How does not concern me, nor does why - the why I can figure out, I trust. What concerns me is the where of this place. A year ago - biological count - we were not returned. You had not remembered your past and I was in the Throne.” He swung around to stand with his hands on his knees, leaning so that Torrullin could not escape him. “Why choose a whole year?”

Torrullin did not attempt to escape that gaze. “I do not desire to change anything, if that is what you imply. We have been through trauma recently, but it revealed more about us than it hid, and I am not running away from it, and neither should you.”

“Agreed. Now answer the question.”

“A year? It was a round number.”

“Really?”

Torrullin gave a quick grin. “Yes, really.” He pointed a finger. “More than a year passed in reality than for us in realm travel. Whether I deliberately tweaked or not, does not influence either memory or return.”

“I’ll get out of your hair now,” Tristan said. “Before I do, I would like to hear the where of this place also. A year ago, I wondered who would become Vallorin, even if everyone else counts a few more years than we do. I don’t want to find myself revisiting that time.”

“This is Lethe. I do not know.”

“You are a Walker,” Elianas frowned.

“Not when another pulls the strings,” Torrullin said. “It does not matter what we do, what we say or how we feel or even where and when we are; we are not in control.”

Tristan licked dry lips. As Elianas stared at Torrullin, Tristan said, “The only way out is to start talking to each other, don’t you see?”

Torrullin frowned. “Maybe, but it does not return us control.”

“Which control do you seek?” Tristan demanded. “Which is more important, Torrullin? Elianas? The control over Lethe or the control over self? Is it that hard to imagine one may lead to the other?” Silence. “Well?”

Elianas shrugged. Torrullin threaded hands through his hair.

Tristan smirked. “I guess my point is made. I’ll be over there if you have need of me.” He walked away, leaving them alone. He did not go far, but was outside of hearing range. He knew words were telling between the two men.

Step over the threshold at your peril!

 The real truth about the Valleur through the ages is uncovered when exploiters delve the green hills of Echolone for gold. After an ancient door is discovered in the bowels of the earth, it serves to unmask the hidden power Elianas carries within, a power that places him on the same pedestal Torrullin, as Elixir, already inhabits.

The two men swerve through different realms unravelling what now lies between them and every step reverberates in reality. As loved ones pay the ultimate price, old enemies again step forward to challenge their right to rule, particularly Nemisin, First Father of the Valleur.

 Nemisin desires above all else to be the One and will do everything in his power to wrest the title from Torrullin, even using his daughter against Elianas, thereby unsettling a powerful partnership. In this he is not alone, for Tymall, Warlock, seeks to sunder that connection as well.

 In a time when all seers’ visions and dreams cease, revelations are given to those who have never before experienced them at the site of a mysterious door in a mine. Here is a mystery and it requires solving, but the answers will change the future, in reality and realms.

 Greed is able to create massive chaos. It will unbalance everything. Delving deep is able to construct fissures in time. It will release hidden truth.

It will also shatter sacred space.

THE ECHOLONE MINE