The Sword Defiant

The official Orbit announcement is here.

Many years ago, Sir Aelfric and his nine companions saved the world, seizing the Dark Lord’s cursed weapons, along with his dread city of Necrad. That was the easy part.

Now, when Aelfric – keeper of the cursed sword Spellbreaker – learns of a new and terrifying threat, he seeks the nine heroes once again. But they are wandering adventurers no longer. Yesterday’s eager heroes are today’s weary leaders – and some have turned to the darkness, becoming monsters themselves.

If there’s one thing Aelfric knows, it’s slaying monsters. Even if they used to be his friends.

It’s consciously a lot more traditional-fantasy than the Black Iron books – it’s a trilogy, it’s got Elves and Dwarves and Ogres and a Dark Lord and Prophecies and oops am I deconstructing things a bit? Maaaybe. It’s also about aging and finding that just because you found your place in the world once doesn’t mean everything’s fine forever.

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I’ll be at Octocon soon. Here’s my schedule:

Saturday, October 15, 2022

14:30 Writing for Roleplay Games

16:00 Movie Monster Mash

Sunday, October 16, 2022

10:00 Story, Some Assembly Required

13:00 Fandom: The Next Generation

14:30 Reading: Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan