Here are some links to my recent posts with scene samples from Sanctum of the Archmage: Dawn of Chaos.
Dawn of Chaos
In Search of Accomplices
“So you want to play rebel against the Dark?” the voice asked. It took on an amused, almost condescending tone. “Why should the resistance want your help? It needs fighters and spies, not spoiled noble girls acting out an adolescent rebellion.”
Diana felt the heat rising in her face. She fought to control her anger, to keep her voice calm and reasoned. She didn’t fully succeed.
“I watched good people die when the Warlord came,” she whispered hotly. “And every day I tend others who were maimed in the massacre. I lost another a few minutes ago. You dare call me a spoiled girl for wanting to fight the monsters that did this?”
“You’re a pampered ambassador’s daughter,” the voice said. It was openly mocking now. “You’ve read too many adventure stories that romanticize fighting the Dark. The reality will be nothing like that. You’ll run home to your father’s protection at the first sign of real danger.”
Diana’s hands balled into fists as she spun, angrily seeking the source of the taunting voice. She knew in that moment that if she’d found the man, she would have hit him.
“You know nothing about me,” she said acidly. “Or what I’m prepared to do.”
The voice chuckled. “And what is that?”
“Whatever it takes.”
“Even kill?”
“Of course.”
The flat coldness of her response silenced him. Diana went on, practically spitting her words.
“I fought a demon in the city,” she said. “It attacked the group I was with. It slaughtered them with magic and claws. I put a knife in its eye. When it was over only two of us were left, and it was dead.”
“Talk,” the voice mocked.
“The only ‘talk’ here is from you,” she retorted. “I have the scars to prove it. And if this is all you have to say, then you’re wasting my time. Go away and don’t contact me again.”
She turned, groping for the handrail in the dark, stepping blindly to find the stairs.
To her surprise, her hand found not the banister, but another hand. The grip was strong and masculine, and it held hers firmly. She found herself suddenly aware of the man’s presence — the sound of his breathing, the shift of his feet on the stone floor, the faint scent of cologne. She stopped, uncertain, and they stood together for a long moment.
“You have an angry fire in you, Lady Dal Meara,” he said at last. “You will need to learn to control it better, and to be more careful, if you are to be of any use to us.”
Diana relaxed. She should have known the taunting was a test. She felt suddenly foolish.
From Sanctum of the Archmage: Dawn of Chaos – Aftermath, by Tony Andarian
Bureaucrats of the Dark
“I saw one of their ‘registrars’ down the hill,” he said at last. “A few people came out and approached him. They looked really scared. But they weren’t killed, and they weren’t taken.”
“What happened to them?”
“The registrar wrote some information in a ledger,” he explained. “Then he gave them some kind of yellow pin to wear and sent them on their way.”
“Then you think the truce is sincere?”
“I do. Or as sincere as bureaucrats of the Dark can be expected to be, at any rate.”
From Sanctum of the Archmage: Dawn of Chaos – The End of the Beginning, Chapter 20 – The New Order, by Tony Andarian, now available from Andarian Publishing.
The Queen glanced at Lindas. “The Horde will send a second wave,” she continued. “Eventually. That won’t be battle demons and dragons, though. It’ll be Hellman clerks and thugs. To establish and enforce a bureaucracy.” She sighed. “That’s the ancient pattern of conquest by the Dark.”
From Sanctum of the Archmage: Dawn of Chaos – Aftermath, Chapter 4 – The Muster of the Elves, by Tony Andarian, soon to be published by Andarian Publishing.
Sanctum on Kobo
If you’re looking to purchase Tony Andarian’s Sanctum of the Archmage books on Kobo, you can find them here:
Aftermath Release Delayed Until Further Notice
Unfortunately, and due to a need to deal with some unexpected and urgent life-events, the release of my next novella, Aftermath, will be delayed until further notice.
EDIT: Aftermath was published on December 24th, 2021.
Log-Line for Dawn of Chaos
I’ve been reading a bit about “log-lines” recently. A log-line is supposed to be a one sentence summary of your story, usually a novel or screenplay, for “pitching” purposes. I decided to take a few minutes to try to come up with one for the first volume in my Sanctum of the Archmage series, Dawn of Chaos. Here’s my first cut:
The people of Carlissa struggle for survival when a professor of magic summons an army of demons to enforce his elitist ideas on their society, and its maverick bard princess tries to reach the Archmage for the power to defeat them.
Here’s the longer description from the book’s page:
A new constitution prepares Carlissa for an era of enlightenment. The harsh traditions of the past fade, and a promise of freedom stirs the air.
In the space of one terrifying day, that promise is shattered in a bloodbath of fire and magic.
Thousands of years ago, an epic battle was fought between good and evil. The demon lords had opened a door to the realms of hell itself, and their horde threatened to overrun the earth. But the Kalarans, led by the hero Calindra, destroyed their hellgate and drove them from the world.
The Great War has long since been lost to myth and legend. The Church struggles for relevance as the people forget their covenant with the gods. A renaissance of freedom and learning stirs the air in the modern age of Carlissa, led by the royal family, and the wisdom of the Archmage.
All of that comes to an end when a dome of shimmering magic appears in the capital city.
The people fight desperately to survive the chaos that follows, and wonder bitterly why the gods seem to have abandoned them. Their only hope lies with the magic of the Archmage — and his, with a young princess who never wanted to rule. She must find the strength to set aside her bard’s calling and take up a battle against impossible odds, or surrender her land and people to the Black Magus and his demons.
Sanctum of the Archmage: Dawn of Chaos, by Tony Andarian