Release date: May 20, 2020
Subgenre: Epic Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery
About The Ninth Knight:
Prosperous and middle-aged, Sir Gaveran yearns for knightly
adventure and chivalrous deeds. He persuades seven other
knights to meet with him - rich and powerful Garrien, upcoming
knight-errant Perinell, poor but honest Calan, aesthetic Lyas,
foreigner Rykon, masked and enigmatic Yvon, and ill-omened
Alair. Gaveran persuades them all to join him in an oath, to
seek adventure in the coming year....
But, as the eight knights swear on their swords, a ninth blade is
laid across theirs - and the shadowy figure of the Ninth Knight
follows each knight as they quest, observing them and, perhaps,
judging them.
Excerpt:
“Oh,
well,” said Lyas, “it could certainly prove diverting.” And he rose from the table.
“This
is within my power and my honour,” said Garrien, and he too stood.
“There
is risk inherent in this,” said Yvon’s whispering voice, “but, sometimes, risks
must be taken.” And Yvon stood.
“I
–” Perinell found himself standing, almost without his own volition. “I am already seeking to prove myself, and
this will be a part of that.”
Calan
muttered something Perinell could not hear, but he, too, rose from the table.
“I
am already a wandering warrior in a far-off land,” said Rykon as he stood. “Adventure comes unbidden, sometimes.”
“This
is true.” And Alair was standing, too.
Gaveran’s
ruddy face broke into an exultant smile.
“Then come, my friends, follow me!”
And
he led them out of the dining chamber, and down stairs, and along corridors,
while the sound of the feasting in the great hall was a constant roaring in
their ears. Perinell felt his head
swimming, for all that he had tried to be sparing with the wine. He found himself unable to keep track of the
twistings and turnings of their route, but Gaveran plunged on, confident and
relentless, and Perinell tried to keep pace.
Eventually,
they found themselves in the echoing stone space of the old chapel, dimly lit
by fluttering flames in wall sconces. “The
font!” cried Gaveran, and led them to the stone basin that stood uncovered
before the simple altar. “Swords, all!” He drew his own sword and held it aloft. There was something almost unreal, Perinell
thought, about the scene – the press of knights, all in their different
armours, the naked blade shining in the ruddy torchlight – He drew his own
sword and raised it. All around him,
there was the whisper and rasp of metal on metal, blades sliding out of sheaths
–
“Down
on the font!” Gaveran cried. “We swear
on these blades to go forth, to quest for adventure, and to meet it as befits
valiant knights! So swear we all!”
And
they all echoed back, “So swear we all!”, as the blades crashed down flat on
the stone font.
“It
is done,” said Gaveran, and staggered.
“It
begins,” said Alair.
“Back,
my friends,” said Gaveran, “back to the dining chamber – we need not begin at
once, I think, not so soon after a heavy
meal –” Someone laughed; Perinell was
not sure who.
But
they trooped out of the chapel, and Gaveran led them back, somewhat
uncertainly, to the dining chamber and the last remains of the feast. Perinell found himself at the rear of the
company, looking at Yvon’s unrevealing back.
He shook his head. Sir Yvon was a
muffled enigma, but that was not what troubled him.
Gaveran
– Garrien – Yvon – Rykon – Lyas – Calan – Alair – and himself. Eight.
That was eight. No question of
it. So why was he convinced, when the
swords crashed down and the oath was sworn, that there were nine blades lying
across the old stone of the font?
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About Stephen James Wright:
Stephen James Wright uses his full name on his books, but has been
described as one of nature's Steves. He is obstinately opposed to
the whole "two cultures" thing, and, having an MA in linguistics
and an MSc in software engineering, he is (academically speaking)
neither fish, flesh, fowl nor good red herring. He has been a fan
of science fiction, fantasy and horror all his life, which is
probably why he has never amounted to anything. He lives in the
Home Counties of England, and blogs about SF and related matters
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