The Dread Legion Advances...(Updated 08/02/2005)

[Edward Kann@StoryART]

Back in the saddle...

Hi guys,

Sorry to vanish off the face of the earth for so damn long. Babys and everything.

Quick non-story update and then back to trying to get you some more story installments.

My two RPG book lines ROcketship Empires and Tale of Girl were floating around in "offer" from publishers land while I wrangled babys.

In the mean time I went ahead and kept forging ahead with novels for the setting along with working on some comic book ideas / graphic novel ideas and scripts with some of my art friends.

We packaged everything up and took it down to San Diego's comic's convention this year...sat through a hell of a lot of portfolio reviews and pitches and finally got some serious attention.

So the long and the short of it is that I've been picked up =) And you will see this story hour ultimately published in a more polished and finished fantasy novel format in the not so distant future.

Both game book lines, both comic book lines for Rocketship Empires and Tale of Girl, my novels etc...have been snapped up for publication. =) Which is exciting. Within the next twelve months they are cracking the whips on me to get screen play formats for both out there too as there seems to be some interest in pushing them into the hands of movie studios.

Anyway. All very exciting and nice pay off for more than a year of more than full time blood sweat and tears into creating the game books and the comic book scripts, etc...

Look for updates to this story hour soon!

Ten thousand thank you's to the people who bumped this along. I was frankly amazed to find it floating so close to the top after being gone so bloody long.

Ed

 

[Rackhir]

Great! Glad to see you around again. Even better that you've been having great success. Just remember, especially if you will be dealing with Hollywood, don't believe it until the check has cleared. I have a friend who's been trying to make his way in Hollywood for over 10 years and if I had a dime for everytime he's said "We're THIS close to signing a deal." I'd be a wealthy man.

Er, while this isn't exactly in our interest, but if this is going to be published as a novel, that might affect what you can post here. I'm not up on copyright law, but you probably should add some sort of basic copyright notice to your posts. Preferably along with some sort of humorous comment about why you are doing it.

 

[Edward Kann@StoryART]

Good point. However I won't be spinning the story in exactly this same fashion. Close but far enough off that i'm not really too concerned about plastering copyright all over everything.

 

[Edward Kann@StoryART]

Update 08/02/05

...the fight was on...

The Barghest's gaze swept over me as they boiled upwards out of the darkness of the ship's hold. In the baleful yellow glow of those eyes my determination began to wane. A wave of despair struck me like a physical blow and I felt the flickering candle flame of hope waver, suffocated down to a barely smoldering glow within my breast.

My guard dropped a fraction of an inch as the pair of demons leapt into the air, maws filled with rows of slavering, razor sharp teeth gaping impossibly wide.

KRRRZZZZAKKKATHOOOOM!!!!

Candle's lightning bolt flashed from his hands, burning a zig zagging line of flame up the wooden deck of the ship and caught the Barghest on my left squarely in the flank. The momentum of the hound's deadly leap at my throat was intercepted by the bolt and the Barghest abruptly changed course, flying end over end in a high arc through the air...

...and over the side of the ship...

At the same moment, Scout, with a furious insect buzz bowled into me squarely in the right side. Throwing me bodily onto the deck and out of harms way but vanishing under a furious ball of snarling, howling, slavering teeth and claws.

The pair slid over the bloody deck to impact against the wall of the cabins and aft castle behind us.

Incredibly, Scout still struggled under the weight of the demon. His insect body was bloody and seeping from a half dozen wounds but his tough carapace seemed to have saved him, at least momentarily, where I would have been finished by the jaws of the beast.

"ZZZzzzzz...Do..Zomething...Anyzing!"

Spiral, launched into action. Dancing up next to the slavering, biting Barghest and driving the point of her rapier deep into its shoulder. Incredibly the weapon bit into flesh instead of bouncing harmlessly off. The Barghest snarled at her and dropped Scout with a loud howl when she grasped the hilt of her rapier and gave the triangle shaped blade a vicious twist.

I staggered to my feet, covered in blood from the deck and rushed the demon with a bellow, hacking at the demon like a man possessed. The Barghast, although wounded remained lightning quick and only one of my many blows glanced against it, the enchanted edge of the Legion Gladius tearing a steaming gash through its muzzle.

"Grahhhh...Fools...I will call others of the host to my aid...you can not win...cough...cough...cough...weeeze..."

My eyes flew open in surprise as the beast spat gutteral speach at me despite his wounds. I had no idea that such creatures carried within them a wicked intelligence capable of speech as well as Sorcery...

The last threats and the spell the Barghest intended to unleash died on its last, gasping breathe.

There beneath the slumping form of the slain demon trembled Scout, both hands grasping one of his throwing blades, covered in his own blood and the black blood of the beast over him. The demon bled from a half dozen wounds where Scout had stabbed upwards again, and again and again into the underbelly and chest of the creature.

Scout offered us a feeble smile.

"At leazt it zmellz better dan Frozzt..."

With a groan Scout passed mercifully into unconsciousness. Spiral and I pulled the dead Barghast off of him and shoved it over the side of the ship.

There did not appear to be more of them on board, at least no more rose out of the hold to attack us...

 

[Rackhir]

Ah, at last one of my favorite story hours back. Twice as nice, since so few of my favorites have been updating.

 

[ledded]

Welcome back Ed!

Great update, and even better news about all your hard work apparently coming to fruition. Glad to see that it appears to possibly be paying off, you've got some real gold with that.

 

[Rackhir]

If the Edward had been here in the past 3 months I'd ask for an update, but we seem to be in the dark ages of story hours and I seem to have killed off the last two story hours I took an interest in. Oh well... time to change the sig I guess.

 

[Land Outcast]

This great SH deserves a bump even if it won't get any updates ever again, at least it ended in what could be the end of a chapter... *sigh*