For centuries, no one had heard a peep out of Verusia, the dark stain at the heart of the Templum’s empire.
But when a messenger arrives in the Holy City of Aeterna, bearing news that the fortresses along the border have mysteriously been abandoned, and the three-hundred men of Trajinot’s garrison have been impaled outside the city walls, word is, the Lich Lord is on the move again.
As an army of the dead waits within the shadow-black trees of the Schwarzwald, the Templum gathers its troops for war.
Captain Deacon Shader leads the Seventh Horse, a heavy cavalry troop now deemed obsolete. One charge, one chance is their motto. Time it right, and the tide of any battle can be turned; get it wrong, and it could all be over.
When the two forces face off outside the walls of Trajinot, it is not just the hordes of undeath the Templum must fight. Intangible terror poisons the air, driving seasoned warriors to panic.
Only the Elect knights of the Seventh Horse have the discipline to stand their ground; yet facing a fear doesn’t mean it will do you no harm, and for Shader, there are worse things than wounds of the flesh.
The Seventh Horse is the second Shader Origins novella.
The Shader series has frequently been a bestseller on Amazon.
PROLOGUE
City of Aeterna, Latia, heart of the Nousian Theocracy
Year of the Reckoning: 908
The carved blackwood doors of the basilica opened before Ignatius Grymm like the veil between the world of mortals and the heavenly halls of Araboth.
“Grand Master.” One of the Elect knights on guard acknowledged him with a heart-thumping salute.
The other followed suit, but his tardiness was noted. Even for a new recruit, there was no excuse, not when you were supposed to be the best of the best.
Ignatius’ boots clacked and echoed on the polished marble floor of the narthex. Two more Elect brothers saluted, then opened the wrought iron grille to the nave.
The Grand Master straightened his surcoat, adjusted the greatsword on his back, and drew stiffness around him like a cloak.
Appearance was important. Impressions counted. That he’d been summoned at all meant there was trouble. That so many of the hierarchy had been called to Luminary Trajen’s Basilica ahead of him meant the Templum was facing a crisis. The clerics would be looking to him for reassurance. After all, the Elect knights he governed were the first and the last line of defense for the Holy City of Aeterna, and indeed for the entire Nousian Theocracy.
As soon as he crossed the threshold, the iron grille closed behind him.
The cloying aroma of incense lingered heavy in the air. The wall drapes were saturated with it, and a permanent pall of smoke hung beneath the vaulted ceiling.
A colonnade of fluted pillars ran the length of the nave. More were set in a grid pattern across the interior. They were interspersed with statues of the luminaries, some of recent renown, others lost to the prehistory before the Reckoning that had shattered the civilization of the Ancients.
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French
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Already translated.
Translated by Cécile Bénédic
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Author review: Very diligent and easy to work with. |
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Italian
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Translated by Mauro Piccillo and Elia Niccolini
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Author review: Accurate, thorough, and prompt. Great to work with. |
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Portuguese
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Already translated.
Translated by Bruno Santos
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Author review: Prompt, accurate, and a pleasure to work with. |
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Spanish
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Already translated.
Translated by Sl Sl
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Author review: Fast, accurate, and a pleasure to work with. |
