Title: Evermist: Sheriff
Chapter: 7
Main Characters: Eli, Narut
Genre: Fantasy/Magic/SciFi
Legal Stuff: Copyright 2007 Patrick Hester
All works created by me for this site, including literary works, musical works - including any accompanying words, dramatic works - including any accompanying music, pictorial, graphic, motion pictures and other audiovisual works and or sound recordings are Copyright 2007 Patrick Hester. All rights reserved.

Chapter Seven


Narut met him for dinner that night, having heard that he would not be leaving until the morning. How he heard was somewhat of a mystery, yet Eli was glad for the extra time with his friend. He was surprised, though, that Narut traveled with an escort of four very large sailors, all armed and making no attempt to hide the fact.

"Expecting trouble?" he asked as he and Narut sat at one table and the four sailors at another, nearby yet out of earshot.

"No, but then I never expect trouble. It just happens."

Eli lowered his voice. "You afraid of bandits inside the city?"

Narut chuckled. "There's all sorts of people looking to profit from anothers misfortune. I've learned my lessons well and I prefer not to take chances. Now, what's on the board?"
( Read more )

Title: Evermist: Sheriff
Chapter: 6
Main Characters: Eli, Narut
Genre: Fantasy/Magic/SciFi
Legal Stuff: Copyright 2007 Patrick Hester
All works created by me for this site, including literary works, musical works - including any accompanying words, dramatic works - including any accompanying music, pictorial, graphic, motion pictures and other audiovisual works and or sound recordings are Copyright 2007 Patrick Hester. All rights reserved.

Chapter Six

"You have to come to Southport soon, have dinner with Adia - meet the kids."

"That, my friend, is something I think I can manage."

Eli and Narut grasped arms at the gangplank. "She's my wife, but she's also my boss and will skin me if I don't stay on schedule. Still, we're taking on cargo here and will be in port three days if you change your mind and want to sail with us."

"Thank you," Eli said with a smile. Shouldering one duffel and his rifle, and carrying the second duffle in his left hand, Eli made his way down the gangplank and onto the dock. He registered with the dockmaster, then made his way into town.

Hearing Narut tell him that the Engineers had built roads was one thing, but seeing one of those roads for himself was something altogether different. It felt like home again as his boots thudded on the white stone road in the town square, which was actually a roundabout with a fountain in the center.

He needed to ask for directions only one time as he made his way down the twisting dirt roads to find the hostler Narut had recommended.
( Read more )

Title: Evermist: Sheriff
Chapter: 5
Main Characters: Eli, Narut
Genre: Fantasy/Magic/SciFi
Legal Stuff: Copyright 2007 Patrick Hester
All works created by me for this site, including literary works, musical works - including any accompanying words, dramatic works - including any accompanying music, pictorial, graphic, motion pictures and other audiovisual works and or sound recordings are Copyright 2007 Patrick Hester. All rights reserved.

Chapter Five


"You can see here how the road cuts through the mountains East of Anloch, then sweeps South-East until it hits this little town, Crestlin, then it curves South around the island to this crossroads. East to Valles, South to Southport, West to Rotelle. Plus, there are dozens of clay or dirt roads intersecting it wherever possible, giving access to the little villages, towns and hamlets along the way. Where possible, it curves to meet such places, but it can't curve back and forth too much and remain useful."

Eli nodded as he followed Narut's finger across the map. He'd have a decent copy of his own by the time they ported at Anloch tomorrow.
( Read more )

So the concept behind Evermist is to write a novel in the style of one of my favorite authors - L.E. Modesitt Jr. Often, his books are made up of hundreds of chapters - short and sweet chapters that still feel like there's a lot to them and novels that are broken up into sections that move the characters stories along - so a novel might be broken up into three or four 'books' or sections, which is what I'm doing here. The First book was 'Memories'. I now offer you the second: 'Sherrif'

Evermist: Sherrif
Chapters 1 - 4
© 2007, Patrick Hester - All Rights Reserved.


~Evermist Book Two: Sheriff~

Chapter One

( Eli stumbled, reaching out to steady himself only to yank his hand back with a shout. A thorn on the bush had cut into his palm... )

Evermist
Chapters 33 - 37
© 2007, Patrick Hester - All Rights Reserved.


Chapter Thirty-Three

( Xanh made his way through the Forest, his gathering quite fruitful and his satchel of wood leavings... )

Evermist
Chapters 31 & 32 (Blame sun_huntress - another chapter will come tomorrow.)
© 2007, Patrick Hester - All Rights Reserved.


Chapter Thirty-One

( Xanh looked up from the wood he'd been sanding to see Ahleen standing in the doorway of his workshop... )

Evermist
Chapters 28 - 30
© 2007, Patrick Hester - All Rights Reserved.


Chapter Twenty-Eight

( Narut stretched, his chair creaking. His arm still felt... strange... )

(Blame sun_huntress for the delay - it's totally her fault)

Evermist
Chapters 26 & 27
© 2007, Patrick Hester - All Rights Reserved.

Chapter Twenty-Six


In the highest tower of Deisarch Dain, a suite of rooms are kept for the Magister, just above the Captain of the keep. They are bare in comparison to those in the Tower of Valles, but in the twilight hours of the morning, after nearly a full day of rebuilding the Wall in several spots, and healing hundreds of boys and men, the Magister is grateful for whatever comforts he can get.

The chair is cold stone, but there are a few cushions and a blanket so he quickly wraps up and closes his eyes. The view is of the bay and he could care less about seeing water right now.

No sooner is he 'comfortable' than Valenz steps from the shadows and offers a cup of mulled wine, which he takes gratefully.

"Is it done?" he asks, taking a long pull from the cup. The wine is warm enough and he can feel it flowing through him.

"Yes, my Lord. He is dead."

The Magister nods sadly. Never easy, that which must be done.

"One of their best Scouts, from what I understand. A pity he had to be eliminated, my Lord."

"I assume he 'fell' from the Wall or some nonsense?"

"That will be the story - fell or jumped. Either way, he is gone and no one will ever find his remains."

"Wonderful. We cannot have stories of a 'Rider' circulating among the men. His disappearance alone will make the superstitious among them avoid the subject altogether."

"Yes, my Lord. And what of the boy?"

The Magister sipped at his wine, inhaling the warmth for a time. Valenz would wait no matter how long he sat here, that he knew. What to do about the boy? He'd obviously seen the Rider, but could he be trusted to keep it a secret? Or better still, intimidated into keeping it secret? Keeping it safe?

There was the spark to consider. How long had he searched for that spark? And to find it here, at Evermist, so close to the Forest? Could it all just be a coincidence, or something far more sinister?

"Elias SanRian, my Lord," Valenz said quietly. "His name is on the rolls."

"What? That is not possible." He could not see someone, touch them, test them and have them walk away - there would have been a spark, a sign. This made him more uneasy than he had been for a very long time.

"We will wait, Valenz," he said softly. "We will wait, and we will watch. We have time, time while he sleeps and recuperates."

"As you wish," Valenz nodded.



Chapter Twenty-Seven


Elias slept and dreamed, of a golden wood where everything glowed inside and out. Above him, a canopy of unfamiliar leaves was the only sky he could see. Beneath his feet, the grass was soft and moist, coming just to the top of his ankles. He moved through the grass until his soft leather boots touched the ancient stone of a road, above him a blue sky replaced the canopy of leaves. Looking South, he saw that it stretched nearly to the mountains on the horizon, cutting a swatch through the Great Forest. To the North, it disappeared into that same Forest.

Since he saw nothing to the South, he chose the Northern route and began to walk.

The city was hidden in the Trees, or a part of the Trees, and yet was of the stone as well. His eyes tried to focus on details, but everything seemed to blur. Looking down, he held something in his hands, something made of wood. He tried to remember what he was supposed to do with it when someone touched his shoulder and there was a spark-

"Xanh! Xanh come quickly!"

Xanh smiled, placing the Bak'al'nos back in the cradle on his workbench. The neck was coming along nicely and he'd just completed the holes where the pegs would seat. Alia tugged at his sleeve again and he turned, smiling at her.

She was a head shorter than he, younger by nearly six cycles and somehow, he'd inherited her as a follower. His Father often warned that he had taken responsibility over her the first time he allowed her to trail behind him. Xahn didn't really mind though, as she always made him smile.

"What has gotten you so excitable?" he asked, fighting the urge to ruffle the tuft of hair between her horns.

"I overheard the An'lo'san talking - they say creatures have come over the Mountains of Kaskien."

"Creatures?" Xanh asked, his curiosity piqued. Pushing back his ears, he wondered what sort of 'creatures' the An'lo'san had found.

"The An'lo'san sounded worried."

'Worried'? Nothing worried the An'lo'san - they were the greatest warriors in all the Forest!

The Kan'zo was bustling as he and Alia navigated through the crowds of buyers and sellers. He saw three tables with interesting wares but Alia was insistent that they not stop, so he reluctantly let her lead him by the hand until they were walking up the Thien towards his Father's house.

The An'lo'san standing guard nodded as they passed through the entryway and into the courtyard. Xanh took a moment to make an offering to their house God, before walking around the pond and into the main house, Alia trailing behind him.

His Father stood with his back to the door, three An'lo'san standing on the points of the triad patterned in the tiles of the floor. Each looked grim.

"They walk on two legs like any good Eldar, but they look so different," one of the An'lo'san, Busuma if Xanh recognized the voice, was saying. "But their skin is pink and they have no horns."

Xanh looked down at his hands, at the grey skin there. 'Pink'?

"They are smaller as well, much smaller - almost like children," offered another.

"And they ride the Koshen," said the third.

"We ride the Saln," his Father said with a wave of his hand. A long pause, and then a sigh. "What do they do?"

"Nothing. Yet. The An'la'zia wait and watch."

"As is their purpose," his Father added. Then another sigh. "We will wait as well. Let me know what they do, then we will know how to act."

"Yes Paentar."

The An'lo'san stepped passed them and Xanh waited until they were gone before clearing his throat.

"You heard?"

"Yes, Father."

"We've no idea who or what they are. I want you and the other Ahn'sa to provide a score of the horned Ashe each end day for the next season."

"A score?! Father - it will take every waking moment to produce so many!"

"I am aware, son. But we do not know who or what they are, and we cannot take chances, not again. We will not have a repeat of the Shenz."

"Yes Father."

Xanh moved back into the courtyard, Alia in tow. Somehow, the water in the pond looked less clear than it had a moment ago.

"What will you do, Xanh?"

"What I am told, Alia. What I am told."

Evermist
Chapters 25
© 2007, Patrick Hester - All Rights Reserved.


Chapter Twenty-Five

( The Magister walked beside Shen, Captain of Deisarch Dain. Valenz trailed.. )

Evermist
Chapters 22 - 24
© 2007, Patrick Hester - All Rights Reserved.

Chapter Twenty-Two


( Seven weeks and four instances of saplings and cracks in the Wall of varying sizes and Elias was looking forward to his cot in Deisarch Dain )

Evermist
Chapters 19 - 21
© 2007, Patrick Hester - All Rights Reserved.


Chapter Nineteen

( Elias pulled his cloak tighter around himself as he huddled against the Wall. The rest of the squad was bunkered down in the way station, which... )

Evermist
Chapters 16 - 18
© 2007, Patrick Hester - All Rights Reserved.


( In the Tower of Valles, where the walls are covered in cream and gold and the floors are of the finest marble inlaid with silver patterns... )

Evermist
Chapters 13 - 15
© 2007, Patrick Hester - All Rights Reserved.


( Elias stood on the bow of The Seaspray, staring out into the fog along with several other Militia... )

Evermist
Chapters 10 - 12
© 2007, Patrick Hester - All Rights Reserved.


( Elias gripped the railing tightly. With every swell of The Seaspray, he felt his stomach churn... )

Evermist
Chapters 7 - 9
© 2007, Patrick Hester - All Rights Reserved.


( Elias stood before the mirror adjusting his shirt, hand straying to the freshly... )

Evermist
Chapters 4 - 6
© 2007, Patrick Hester - All Rights Reserved.


( Elias stepped into the commissary and looked around... )

Evermist
5,465 Words (and I'm only posting part of it for now)
© 2006, Patrick Hester - All Rights Reserved.


( Elias folded his good white shirt and placed it in the duffel atop his other worldly possessions... )