Engines of Creation: Children of the Halo

"[...] a good read and I look forward to more." - Sonja Nitschke, Web Fiction Guide

"I highly recommend Engines of Creation: Children of the Halo to anyone who is a fan of fantasy. If you’re a fan of alternate worlds/dimensions as well, all the more reason for you to read it!" - Trygve Thevik, Web Fiction Guide

"Definitely far above the average fantasy book." - Eldoran, Web Fiction Guide

"My advice? Don’t start reading unless you have a lot of time, because it’s hard to stop, and there’s lots of material already online." - Kiyara, Muse's Success

Welcome to the Pactlands

It’s been a thousand years since the Pact was forged with the blood of heroes, uniting the five tribes and pushing the shadows back into the darkness. Since that time, peace has reigned in former Eventide. But now, dark shadows working behind the scene for centuries have corrupted the once-pure High Magus Council, the overseers of the Pact and enforcers of its laws, twisting the justice it once stood for into a gross parody of greed and control.

But an ancient, secret prophecy speaks of a lost people. People ignorant to the ways of magick and steel, but masters of a new kind of magick. The magick of crafts and machines, of information and tecknowledge. It is said they will emerge from a halo of dark light and bring with them a city of wonders.

Life tends to slow to a crawl in Dunsmith, British Columbia. The small Vancouver Island town is nothing more than a crossroads. But when a strange event occurs and leaves the entire town stranded knee-deep in the Disputed Lands, they find they must band together as they face trials they were unprepared for. Invading armies, magick, elementals and even the local economy have to be taken into consideration.

But how well can a small town of eight thousand hold back the furies of the Pactlands?

Disclaimer

Engines of Creation: Children of the Halo is a fictitious work. While many of the characters are inspired by real-life people and places, credit has been given where it is due.

The story contains swearing, sexual references, scenes of drinking, several instances of recreational use of marijuana, graphic depictions of violence and some controversial ideas. If you are offended by such things, please continue no further.

All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

The following is an unrevised draft. You are encouraged to help out the author by offering criticism and proofreading. When books go to print, they are put through rigourous proofing, but one man cannot catch all the errors within. Feel free to comment on each chapter.

Dedications and Acknowledgements

For Celes.

I'd like to thank a number of people. Tomas Honz, for creating the wonderful painting of Stone's Mouth found in the art gallery and around the site. Trista Godfrey for keeping me motivated and meticulously pointing out my plot holes. Haley Harris for her paintings inspired by the Engines of Creation Universe. Trygve Thevik, James Jensen, Ren Boggio, Erika Holland, Jeannie and my readers at www.elyctricpress.com for poring over my revisions for typos and other errors I missed. The staff of webfictionguide.com for all their hard work in maintaining the best webfiction listing site on the net. I'd like to give great thanks to Roland and MJ, for putting up with me writing at work. I would like to give thanks to all those who offered me emotional and creative support. In no particular order, Shai, Dhani, Tim, Galen, Adam, Kascey, Dave, Nigel, Eddy, Duck Paterson, Const. R, Marie Wilby, Frieda and Lauren at Salamander Books, Mom and all the people who helped serve as inspiration for characters. Lastly, I'd like to give a special thanks to the town and people of Ladysmith, British Columbia, which served as the full inspiration for the town of Dunsmith. Many of the locations within Dunsmith are regular fixtures of Ladysmith, from the Amphitheater to “Crown Square.” Names of businesses and locations within the town were changed for obvious reasons.