THUNDER PEAK, page 20
She said to me, ‘I regret that like many before you, you are raised into a world of violence. However, your purpose is born of love. The purpose is everlasting. That purpose is to aid my lolien in raising and protecting our daughter Seyca from all dangers. And so your name shall be…Taliko, whose meaning is guardian. Rest now, my shell warrior, but just for a little while. Our time is short. The merciless one will strike soon, and you have much to learn if we are to succeed.’”
“Wait, wait.” Casey interrupted him, shaking her head from side to side. “Say-ka?”
“Seyca.” Jonas nodded. “The name your mother gave you. At least that’s what he said when we first met.” Jonas pointed at Taliko. “That part’s probably true though, since it’s also stitched into the gold blanket you came in.”
“Well, where did Casey come from then?”
“Never heard tell of anyone named Seyca.” Jonas shrugged. “So I shuffled the letters like cards until they turned into Casey. Made up the stagecoach story—instead of questions I got sympathy.”
Casey closed her eyes and shook her head, trying to reconcile this latest revelation with the rapidly changing world she had woke up in barely a week ago.
Her father added, “I wasn’t pulling the long bow when I said I knew a secret about your parents, was I?”
Casey looked at her father, and he flashed a winsome smile at her.
“A secret?” she said, shaking her head again. “Book of secrets more like. And the book of Jonas got more mysteries than Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John put together.”
Jonas absorbed that for a second, then burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter.
“Ah, Casey,” he wheezed after several knee slaps and belly aches. “I needed that. And if that’s the truth, I’m the gladder for it. Mysteries just might be the harvest of a life worth living.”
“If you say so.” Casey rolled her eyes.
“I do.” Jonas’s tone turned serious. “And now you’ve got some mysteries of your own to protect. Nash and Savannah came ’round today. You can’t go telling them or anyone else about StarFall or any of this.”
“I understand,” she said.
After exchanging nods with her father, Casey turned to Taliko and said, “On the subject of mysteries, how could you understand what Mom said the moment you were born?”
Taliko directed his gaze at Casey. “I was born from an egg, a common turtle—until the Maker, your mother, raised me into what I am now with jevaling magic. If the spell is powerful enough, the raised is granted what is called Maker’s speech. It is simply woven into the magic from the beginning. The lizardlings did not have Maker’s speech in their initial form, but then Nightblade jevaled some of them a second time, making them stronger, smarter, and imbuing them with Maker’s speech, and so I can communicate with them more easily now.
“While I rested, the Maker cast additional spells that imbued me with unique abilities, including the knowledge of your language. During my waking hours, education and combat training aided by spells cast with the assistance of frein stones, went on for several days before—”
StarFall whinnied, and Taliko looked toward the glistening ebony steed. “Indeed. There were five. Each as big as Casey’s fist.”
Jonas slapped his knees and strode around the barn.
Taliko swiveled his head in the homesteader’s direction and said, “And you wonder why the offspring is so impatient.”
“Offspring?” Casey grimaced. “Ick. Let’s not use that again if we don’t have to.”
“Red, gold, green, blue, and purple.” Taliko turned back to the unicorn. “I know this for certain because they remain in my possession. Even now they are in my nest, casting light, and in the case of the green, even heat.”
StarFall whinnied again and looked at Casey, who stepped over to stroke his neck.
Taliko nodded and said, “The day of reckoning broke while the Maker was meditating, and I practiced with my staff. Quite suddenly she opened her eyes and said, ‘The merciless one is here. Time now, Taliko; fate offers us two choices and two choices only. Victory or destruction. Seize your fate with bravery, whilst I face mine without remorse or regret.”
Jonas sighed quietly, looking at the floor and rubbing his eyes.
After a short pause, Taliko continued, “We raced through the woods and intercepted the enemy on his way—”
StarFall abruptly cantered forward, ears twitching.
Then Taliko stood, and seeing that both of their eyes were on the barn door, Jonas rose into a combat crouch and drew his pistol.
“What is it?” the rancher asked, as Casey came to her feet beside him, long knife in hand. “Nightblade?”
StarFall moved closer to the doors and whinnied loudly.
“He says they’re here,” Casey whispered.
“They?” Jonas echoed.
“The unicorns.” Casey lowered her blade.
Then a wide smile overtook her face and she turned toward her father. “Dad!” she gushed. “It’s the unicorns! They’re here! Once we tell them about Nightblade, I’m sure they’ll help us defeat him. Then they’ll bring StarFall home and everything will be all right!”
Emotions soaring on bright new wings of relief and delight, Casey stamped a foot into the ground and twirled on her toes with outstretched arms.
“I knew this was going to have a happy ending,” she exclaimed. “I just knew it!”
Jonas exhaled, straightened up and slid his pistol back in the holster.
He exhaled again, louder this time. Then, lips parting in a bright grin, the former soldier turned toward StarFall, ready to ask if he should open the doors.
Something about the steed’s bearing stopped him.
Three heartbeats came and went. Then his eyes were back on the barn door. His steady right hand back on the Colt’s grip.
If the unicorns had come to help him, why did StarFall look so nervous?
THE TAMM CHRONICLES
WILL CONTINUE
IN
BOOK II
The Galloping Ghost
Tamm Chronicles
Glossary
ALICE SHERWOOD: Storm Town’s schoolteacher.
ANCIENTS: Fabled race of builders who created the Tyndryn Trailway and explored the worlds they connected.
ARIL: Inhabits of Leutia. As a nation, known for selfishly monopolizing and monetizing their control over the Tyndryn Trailway, placing them at the heart of discord across the entire realm. Aril are recognizable by their slender builds, angular features and light colored hair.
BACKDOOR: Steep mountain defile through which one can enter Itza Chu Canyon from the southeast.
CASEY TAMM: Daughter of rancher Jonas Tamm.
CONNIE DORN: Owner of the Double D Ranch.
CREE: A superior wolf inhabitant of Leutia. As a nation, presided over by Nightblade and feared by all for their sudden raids and ruthlessness. Cree wolves are unmistakable for their size, saber teeth and great cunning.
EARTHER: Leutian translation for the human realm known as Earth.
FREIN: See Appendix A
GATEGROVE: Clearing deep inside Itza Chu Canyon where a Tyndryn Gate is hidden.
ITZA CHU CANYON: Secluded, temperate crevasse hidden in the shadow of Thunder Peak Mountain. Terrifying tales of strange creatures, ghosts and inexplicable weather patterns from inside the canyon have driven pioneers and travelers to shun the area, but rumors persist there exists a haven for outlaws and other fugitives deep in the valley for those brave enough to find it.
ITZA CHU STATION: Butterfield Mail post that has fallen into disuse except as an occasional stage stop for weary or lost travelers.
JACOB MILLER: Proprietor of Storm Town’s General Store
JEVALING: Magical process by which lower reptiles, insects, birds, fish, and animals can be enhanced into beings with greater intelligence, size and strength.
JONAS TAMM: Rancher. Civil War Veteran.
LEUTIA: Homerealm of the aril, unicorns and Cree.
NIGHTBLADE: Chieftain of the Cree Nation. Often referred to in poems and songs as the Merciless and/or the Wolf Lord.
POINT LOOKOUT: Mysterious lighthouse shaped tower deep inside Itza Chu Canyon that has fallen into ruin.
RED RIDGE RIDERS: Gang of rustlers and outlaws terrorizing the Arizona Territory.
RIELL: Aril Sentinel. Known on Earther as Mae.
SHAFT: Long winding trail that is the primary route between Storm Town and the desert outside Itza Chu Canyon.
STARFALL: Juvenile Unicorn. Scion of the Sapphire Woods.
STORM TOWN: Unruly epicenter of commerce and socializing tucked deep inside Itza Chu Canyon. Populated mostly by retired outlaws, gunslingers, grifters and con artists.
TALIKO: Casey Tamm’s woodland guardian.
THUNDER PEAK: Dark spire in the Arizona Territory perched at the southwestern edge of the Chiricahua Mountains. Widely regarded as haunted because of its unpredictable weather, strange wildlife, and long history of ghost sightings.
TYNDRYN TRAILWAY: Network of magical portals that can teleport individuals from one place to another over great distances and even between worlds.
UNICORN: Magical steeds recognizable from horses by the horns on their foreheads. The hoof folk are often denoted by their intelligence, isolationist tendencies and rigid aloofness.
WALT TANNER: Storm Town’s Sheriff. Friend of Jonas Tamm.
WINSTON, NASH and SAVANNAH: Brother and sister. Casey’s friends who live on a nearby farm.
Tamm Chronicles
Appendix
Frein
Frein is the measure of an individual’s intrinsic ability to summon and manipulate eldritch energy for use in spell casting. Among spell weavers this innate reserve is commonly referred to as the well. There are two types of frein: Golden and Shadow. In most cases golden frein is harnessed by beings of harmonious alignments and shadow frein by those with darker tendencies.
Personal Frein Capacity varies from race to race and individual to individual. Spell weavers enhance their powers by learning how to strengthen and maximize their abilities through training and research. It is generally believed to be impossible to increase one’s personal frein capacity by any noticeable degree because the time required to master the feat is typically beyond the lifespan of the known races. The possible exception to this rule, naturally, are dragons who are extremely long lived. However, dragon ecology is closely guarded by the species and no official studies have been made. There have been rare cases of individuals working together to temporarily increase their frein capacity as a group, but every recorded incident has resulted in the death of at least one of the spell weavers involved. Rarer still, is the use of powerful magic items to increase frein capacity. Beyond being highly dangerous and very time consuming to craft, said items are reportedly limited to one use, making them unique. Currently there are no known items with this power in existence.
Personal frein is recharged with physical rest, but each type also has its own way to speed recovery. Golden frein can be restored by eating or drinking from blessed sources including, but not limited to, water, fruits, berries, and herbs. Shadow frein predators can consume faerie beings (those that have at least trace amounts of frein) to reinvigorate themselves with blood magic. Rumors of viscous “blood pools” hidden around the realm and used by evil dragons, the Cree, crimson griffons and other “monsters” to restore their black wells have persisted since the beginning of time but have never been substantiated. It is widely documented that when journeying to magic dead realms the traveler must return home to recharge or bring appropriate sustenance on the journey to recover expended frein.
The seeding of magic dead realms with blessed orchards has met with very little success. The most promising of these was Earther, but travel to the volatile realm has been extremely limited since the Black Powder Massacre. As a result of that incident, the Tyndryn Trailway remains closed to any new seeding expeditions. The abrupt decision to close the Trailway to new expeditions instantly evolved into a political flashpoint between numerous nations that persists to this day, and many sages agree that it has but one inevitable outcome: War.
Acknowledgements
Writing and publishing a novel requires endless inspiration and support. For that, first and foremost I must thank my lovely wife, Macie. She keeps the gates of my imagination open. Just as important, the example she sets with her personal work ethic resolutely urges me through the difficult aspects of the publishing process.
And of course, you Mom. Your genuine enthusiasm for all my stories was always, and shall always be, my reserve tank. I was so lucky to have you when you were here, and I know the memories of your tireless support and confidence will ever propel me to each new horizon. I hope you are proud.
First Rounders are essential early readers that help pinpoint details that can go so very wrong. In that regard Thunder Peak was enhanced by two premium picks: Dawn Patane and John San Pietro.
Finding the right art is always tough. Thunder Peak was fortunate to find Abhimanyu Artbot to add finishing touches to the front cover.
I have since learned that acquiring cover art and uploading it for publication are totally different things. A great many thanks to Renaissance Man Rick Varone, for taming a host of unruly pixels and coaxing them to bookend a legible spine for Thunder Peak.
I have endeavored to be as accurate as possible regarding history, culture and the daily routines of the Old West. Any mistakes, oversights or unintended slights that may have slipped through are on me, and for them, I apologize.
Trae Stratton, THUNDER PEAK
