Deathbringer: The Tale of Elric the Deathbringer

"Despite what you have heard, history is not always writ by the winner, it’s writ by whomever gets to the writing first and writes the strongest.” Elric the Deathbringer was once a boy and, like many boys growing up in the town of Darim, it was not a pleasant experience. Born of the union of his father and a whore nine years earlier, the only life Elric had ever known was at the hands of his abusive father who made sure that Elric knew he was an unpleasant reminder of that night’s grave mistake. All was not broken bones and blood however, for one day Elric chanced across a small relic hidden away in the thick cover of a book. With this relic, Elric managed to resurrect an ancient figure named Haresh whose power was both grueling and limitless. Under the tutelage of Haresh, Elric trained on man and beast alike. As the corpses piled up, whispers began to spread of a powerful sorcerer hiding out in Darim. Elric, too dangerous to have around and too dangerous to kill, was ostracized from Darim and assaulted by religious zealots on a near daily basis at his new base of operations in the Bloody Needle. It seemed as though things couldn’t get worse. They did... Deathbringer is an intelligently crafted dark fantasy novel of dangerous power, ancient philosophies, and unending betrayal taking place within the larger series dubbed The Alderian Chronicles.

From the Inside Flap

Elric looked down and away from the apparition, running over the course of things in his mind. This was not at all how he imagined facing it, he wasn't even sure that he could. His father had taught him how to read several languages in order to, as he put it, 'at least make a shitty tool some fuck semblance of useful,' and the book he happened upon that spoke of the disc spoke explicitly of the necessity of the incantation on the disc's face. Explicitly. Without it there was no way for this to be reality and, he decided, this was not reality. It was simply a scene playing out in the world after he died and he was once again the butt of another cruel act, put upon this time by a malicious spirit instead of his malicious father."Elric," the apparition said gently as if reading his thoughts, "I am Haresh. This is not some trick and you are not dead. The inscription that is on the disc in your hand was placed there shortly after my death by one of my coterie, as were tales of its necessity, in order that the disc with my spirit sealed to it would not be destroyed and me along with it. Despite what you have heard history is not always writ by the winner, it's writ by whomever gets to the writing first and writes the strongest.""Writes the strongest?" questioned Elric."Or burns the others' books, however the whole mess works out." The apparition waved a smoky, robed arm dismissively. "But the reality of history is not our concern tonight. Tonight our concern is how I might repay you for giving me back my life when no one else could. The gift you have given me is invaluable and while I can only begin to repay you I would very much like to try."

About the Author

J. A. Marian was weaned on Tolkien, reared on Final Fantasy, and escorted into adulthood by the likes of Warcraft and George R.R. Martin. As a result, he was pretty much doomed from the start, and hasn't been able to avoid digesting a single fantasy novel, table game, or video game that has crossed his path. That wild interest in fantastical things, coupled with a lengthy rearing on a modest-sized cattle farm in rural North Carolina, sparked an imagination so crazed, dark, and free, that it just can't help but conjure forth a decent writing or two from time to time. Marian writes novels in a broad range of genres, ranging from humor-laden zombie apocalypses to vigilante thrillers to dark fantasy and horror novels. You can find him on Twitter at @JAMarian_Author.

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