A dangerous quest risks the return of an ancient evil. Legacy of The Fallen is a thrilling fantasy adventure for fans of Empire of Sand, The City of Brass, and This Woven Kingdom.
Legacy of the Fallen
The Fallen Mages Book 1
by Jane Shand
Genre
YA Epic Fantasy Adventure
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**Coming Soon in August!**
Curse of the Fallen
The Fallen Mages Book 2
Excerpt
However impetuous her behaviour in the past, this trip to the mage ruins was the first time she had openly defied her mother. Afshaneh’s face flushed in shame at the way she had spoken to her mother. Ignoring her warnings, her threats, and her pleas, she had grabbed food, spare clothes, and a knife, and simply set off. She had even slammed the door behind her.
Afshaneh could still recall the defiant sense of freedom that had washed through her as she marched towards the city gates. She had possessed enough common sense to purchase more supplies on the way – she had not grabbed enough from home to last her the eight day round-trip – with coin she had saved over the last few weeks. However, once she stepped through the city exit she quailed. The land was wide and she was alone. It was almost four days of travel to reach the plateau. Afshaneh’s breath hitched and her heart beat loud in her ears. What did she think she was doing? She was no explorer!
She turned back to the gate. She would return home and apologise to her mother and forget this madness.
A tug at her core had her facing north once more. She frowned as she stared into the distance. She could not see the plateau upon which the ruins sat; yet it was as if they called to her…
Without conscious effort, she found her feet moving, leading her away from Mahariz and to whatever awaited her at Yehtkala, the ‘Castle of Sorcery’.
The trip had been gruelling and if it were not for that insistent tugging at her soul, she would have turned back. At night she huddled in her blankets, eyes flying open at every tiny sound. Luckily, nothing approached her.
Afshaneh did not let her mind linger on the hours she spent crying in the rocky maze that blocked her path after enduring more than two days of hiking. She had been certain she would die in there, lost forever. Would anyone ever find her bones?
But at last she had reached the cliff and refilled her sadly depleted water skin. Afshaneh stared upwards. She scrubbed her face and scowled. Why did everything on this journey have to be so difficult? The path switch backed up the steep cliffside and was overgrown and covered in loose soil and pebbles. Perhaps there was another way up.
Afshaneh searched for two hours before she gave up and returned to the base of the cliff, defeated. If there was another way, she could spend days looking for it.
Resolutely she pivoted so that her back was to the climb. She ate a meagre meal and sat with her arms tight around her knees. She could not do this. It was too much. She peered over her shoulder and let out a sighing breath. She had already come this far, she could not return to her mother now. She had caused her mother grief and she needed to have something to show for it. She firmed her lips, settled her pack more comfortably and started climbing.
Pebbles rolled out from beneath her feet, threatening to fling her to her death. Bushes snagged at her trousers and she had to carefully unhook them. They could not afford material to repair any tears.
By the time she struggled over the top she was crying with exhaustion and rested for a while, drinking in the sight of the once majestic fortress. Now it was rubble, partial walls, and the occasional dome or tower. Whatever catastrophe had befallen this place had been thorough.
The trip through the dark interior was not something Afshaneh wished to remember, either. The only thing that kept her moving, leading her onwards, was the sensation that something important awaited her here. The pull of it had only increased as she crept through a gap in the outer wall and stared at mosaics and friezes of fearsome mages.
It drew her down corridors and over rubble and then up a staircase she found in a corner. It led her up one of the remaining towers. The stairs wound up and up and her thigh muscles protested after her long journey.
At last she reached a tiny landing at the top with two doors. Both stood open, listing on their rusted hinges. But she had eyes for only one. She darted through the doorway and halted, scanning the room. Mouldy carpet, faded tapestries, remains of wooden furniture. A half-collapsed bed sagged against the far wall. Something was underneath it. Before she could think about what she was doing, she had thrown down her pack and was squeezing into the gap beneath the base. There! Something gleamed iridescent in the darkness and called to her. She reached out her hand and snatched it up. A sensation akin to satisfaction washed through her and she wriggled out again.
Ignoring the dust and cobwebs adorning her clothes and face, Afshaneh slowly opened her fist to inspect what she had discovered. In the centre of her palm lay a gem. It flashed in every colour of the rainbow, was egg shaped, and fit neatly into her hand. Afshaneh grinned gleefully. It was all hers! A precious jewel that she could sell for a fortune and she and her mother might finally be safe.
Jane Shand has always been an avid reader of fantasy and mystery and is an author of YA Fantasy.
She got hooked on fantasy after reading ‘Lord of the Rings’ at a young age and was determined to write books full of magic and adventure.
Her books always have magic, adventure, and some mystery. They are full of friendship and co-operation as well as danger and enemies. There will be a happy/satisfactory ending and some clean romance. Her books are all set in the same ‘world’ though on different continents and there is a thread/item that ties all the books together.
She lives in Hampshire, England with her family and two cheeky cats who would love to help her write.
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