In the dim light of a storeroom, Vekaya wakes up, alone and with no memory of who she is, where she is, or how she got there. In an orphanage run by an arcane religious cabal, our first protagonist has no choice but to become an investigator, a rebel, and her very own hero. At nearly the same time and not far away, a mysterious and deadly force from an uncharted region causes the town of South Hall to destroy itself, leaving Gyrath and his little brother Caedrus equal parts baffled and horrified. Taken from a stable and easy life, they are now adrift in a world of wolf packs, shapeshifters, will-bending shamassons, and the death crawler: a worm made entirely of corpses, the size of a tower that breathes violent madness into those unlucky enough to be near it. The trio must learn to put aside their differences in the hopes that the three of them will survive their adventure and save Hammercleft - and possibly the world - from those who would dominate it. A Flash of Sparks is created by Emile Bienert, an eGlobal Creative Publishing Signed Author.

A Flash of Sparks

The next morning, my eyes fluttered open to Vekaya shaking my shoulder. I must have been deeply asleep because I felt heavy all over. Before I realized where I was, I understood that I was cold and hungry.


“Wake up Gyrath,” she said. “Sleep all right?”


“About as well as in the dormitory,” I mumbled.


“Look, in a minute, it’s going to be time for us to get out there into the bunch of kids who are going down to breakfast.”


I nearly complained about how hungry I was but thought better of it. Getting upset wasn’t going to do anything. But then, my stomach let out a burbling moan that was loud enough for, perhaps, someone to hear beyond the door. Vekaya snickered.


“But before that, I wanted to tell you… There’s something else,” she said.


“I know you’re going to laugh at me when I say this, but when we get out of here, I’m going to the Irongantz. I think you can come with me.”


I tried to see her in the darkness. I couldn’t. What in Caelum did she mean?


Chapter 29: Fragments and Pieces