Multiverse Snippet 1

 Sitrep:

So, Carlos sent me the feedback this morning. I went through it and then shot the manuscript off to Rea for editing. We should see it back by the end of the week.

It is short, just 5 stories. (I guess I was in a mood?) Anyway, no Christmas stories. There are lead ins to possible future books though. Who knows what the future will bring?

I am trying something new with this book, I asked Goodlifeguide to help me embed pics and map(s?) into the manuscript. So, it should be something different. I've never tried it.

On to  the snippets!

 There is 1 Fantasy, 1 Scifi, 1 PRI story, and 2 Federation stories.  The PRI and Fed stories will have impacts in upcoming books.

Snippet 1 from the fantasy story:

The Collection

 

Note to the Reader: The following is my take on a Fantasy World War. It is grounded though, so unlike Paul Anderson I went demon, were, and magic free. What can I say? I've got to be me.

 

War had been something of a thing for ages as resources in some areas became scarce. All of the tribes of man were used to it. They had to constantly battle the environment, the beasts, and themselves to survive.

Each of the 3 major tribes of man had taken a different approach to survival. Man, the most prosperous had found that sheltering behind curtain walls of stone offered the best protection. Others in Man's tribe like the dwarves took a variation of that theme by building stone fortresses into their mines and cliff faces.

The tall and lean elves took a different approach. They were always quiet hunters and moved into the woods. They built their fortresses in the treetops.

The second tribe of man were based around the goblins. They were smaller than the dwarfs but lean and hairy. They had been broken into smaller groups that had interbred until there were tiny Gnomes, Leprechauns, and hateful Gremlins.

The third and last tribe of man were the giants. Ogres were the biggest of them, dull whited creatures that also lived in the mountains. They had the most branches to their family tree though, Orcs haunted the jungles, while Trolls were in the canyons, mountains, and highlands. White furred Yeti were in the mountains in the east, while big brown hairy things were in the forests of Mishiike Minisi.

All 3 tribes of man were said to hail from Afriuka. It was said that they had spread across the world by land bridges during the various ice ages that had come through the annals of time.

Of course, others insisted they had paid a high price to the Spinx in the desert to cross there and then head to the other continents.

Each of the sub tribes generally kept to itself. Only men tolerated the other species... so long as they were civil with men. Rarely did the third tribe interact peacefully with the others. They generally were brutal in protecting their home territories against any intruders.

The same could be said of the elves. They were always haughty and sometimes thought of as kind but cruel.

The goblins that had found a niche in with men eked out a living as tinkers, thieves, spies, and light workers. They tended to resent the larger tribes and were not above causing some havoc from time to time, especially if it was out of spite.

Dwarves were the master craftsman of the tribes of man. Their ability to work stone and metal were unparalleled. A dwarven smith or stonemason were central to any community. Some towns had fallen into disrepair or even been abandoned when the local dwarves had left.

During their time in the motherlands it must have been safe. But outside them, beasts were everywhere. Dapper stopped his quill and looked at what he'd written. His eyes strayed to the tombs nearby.

He was a student of history, though not for much longer. His money was nearly out, he couldn't find work and he was going to be drafted. He knew it, the warning letter had come in the night before. His eyes lit on the image of a beast, one of the three toes.

He'd wanted to study the history of the beasts but honestly, his talents were not with them. He grimaced as he checked the page.

He wished he could write the report with his typset, but he'd lost that job when he'd been caught 'wasting paper and ink'. Wasting! As if! Writing his reports and the treatment for his very own book was not a waste!

Master Pen hadn't seen it that way. The master printer had turfed him out without his backpay, the sod. The evil sod. He'd even thrown his work into the street where it had landed in a mud puddle.

His eyes went over to the papers by the window. They were crinkled and stained. He wasn't sure he could get much out of them. Not even a pence. They might be good for recycling, or for burning, but that was it, the ink had run.

Darn.

He heard the rising wail of the klaxon and winced. It sounded like a cockitrice, not brassy like the dragons, but high pitched and a long scream of warning. He went over and shut off the lights hastily, and then checked the curtains.

He peeked out the corner of one and noted the night watchman was pointing with his rod to people outside to move quickly. He made hustling motions just as the building shook. The night watchman's knees buckled.

Dapper twitched the curtain shut and then rushed to another window. He looked and saw the fireball rising in the night sky. A dragon circled it while loyal griffin riders rose to intercept it.

Dragons were the largest of the cryptids, the beasts that haunted the world. Man had managed to domesticate some of the beasts over the centuries. Not many, but some like certain breeds of dragon. That one had just dropped firebombs on the port docks and warehouses.

He heard yelling and winced again. Someone banged on the door and he went to it.

“They are looking for a bucket brigade. Get dressed,” the floor matron barked and then moved on.

He grimaced and put his oldest set of clothes on and then hid his meager belongings in the floorboard below his bed. He pushed the bed frame back over the hiding spot and then took off as feet pounded outside in the hallway.

~~~=^=~~~