Memories as Long as Light

Some time ago I wrote a short story for a reddit thread. The writing prompt was for a friendship between a time traveler and an immortal, and I thought it was an interesting premise. Below is my attempt. I hope you enjoy.

—

Sometimes I wouldn’t see him for years. Once, I went an entire millenium – but in a lifetime that is measured by the dying of stars, even a day spent alone can seem like an eternity. But he always came back – and every time he did was special because I always worried that it would be his last.

His coming was heralded by a tingling sensation – a warm glow that worked its way out from the base of my neck – that signaled a shift in the temporal plane, and I knew he had returned to me once again. I opened my eyes as he materialized. 

There he was, just as I remembered him: hair the color of snow and eyes to match, with a bloodless complexion that reminded me of the moons. He looked up with his wide, white eyes and grinned.

“It’s good to see you again,” he said.

“Bastyon,” I said with a smile. “You’re late.”

“I’ve heard that joke a hundred times and it never gets old,” he answered with a laugh. “I’m glad that some things never change.”

Ever since the first time I’d felt him, Bastyon had been a curiosity to me. He told me of the race of people he descended from – “humans,” he called them – and the solar system that they once called home. Their time had long, long since passed and they had moved on to other planets, other suns, and other forms. The body that Bastyon inhabited now was one that he found comfortable, but was by no means one that he was bound to. It was what let him slip in and out of the time stream so easily, and was the one that he had first come to me in. It was the one that I knew him in, and it comforted me. But there was something about his smile this time that bid me look deeper – an emptiness behind his eyes that I could not quite place.

“It’s been four hundred years,” I said slowly. “You’ve missed a great deal.”

Bastyon looked up at the night sky, to the twin moons suspended overhead. “Well that’s what I have you for,” he replied. “Or are you too busy to catch me up?”

I chuckled as I looked down at his fragile frame – his thin, delicate limbs that moved so easily. I reached down and put my hand on the ground for him to step into.

“For you?” I said. “I can spare a few moments.” 

I picked him up and raised my hand up to my shoulder. He crawled onto its rocky, grey surface easily like he had done so many times before. I smiled at him and joined his gaze into the sky.

“The stars are dying,” I said.

“I know,” Bastyon whispered. His words were heavy, like they were filled up with water. “It’s why I came back.”
I smiled, but it was more out of reflex than happiness. Hearing his voice was comforting, and it had a soothing effect on me. 

“How many times have you come back?” I asked. I didn’t look down to see his reaction but I knew he was looking away.

“I stopped counting after a thousand.”

“And the universe after this one?”

“It’s big – bigger than this one,” he replied. “You …” he paused. “You would like it, I think.”

“Then tell me about it,” I said. My eyes were closed now. 

I felt him stand up and place his hand on the side of my face. His touch was tender, and I knew he was trying to comfort me. 

“I haven’t traveled too far past the beginning, but there are more stars than I’ve ever seen. I think it has the potential to give birth to something really special.”

The question lingered in the back of my mind – the one I had thought countless times to ask him before, yet lacked the courage to speak. I had seen the birth of the sun, lived through the formation of the cosmos, experienced the vast emptiness of space and time that only an immortal can even conceive of. Yet here I stood, faced with the end of all things, and could not even whisper. 

But Bastyon, like he had done countless times before, spoke the words for me.

“You told me that you don’t feel any pain when it happens. That it felt like being born, or like waking up from a dream.”

I felt the cold of the universe closing in as the stars winked out, one by one. I knew that it would not be long. I was just happy that my friend was here with me.

“Thank you, Bastyon,” I said to the darkness. “But you should go. When the last light goes out, it will be far too cold for you to survive. There will be nothing left but me.”

“I know,” he said. I felt his arms around my neck in a gentle embrace. It was gesture that I’d always told him was strange to me, but he never seemed to care. “I just wanted to see you one last time.”

So this truly was the end, I thought. Let it come.

“You’re sure I can’t talk you into coming with me?” He asked. There was warmth behind his words, and it almost made me reconsider.

“You know I can’t,” I finally replied. “This is my universe. My home. I gave birth to the life in it, and will be here when it ends.”

I felt the cosmos shutting down. Space and time had begun their slow and inevitable unraveling. 

“You say that every time I come back,” Bastyon said. “I keep thinking that one of these times I can change your mind.”

“I’m afraid not, little friend,” I said with a sigh. 

“I find you again, you know,” Bastyon said. The words were hopeful, but had a sadness to them that clouded his voice. “But you’re different. You’re not… you.”

“It’s the nature of what I am,” I replied. “It’s how things must be, and how the universe can keep living. These cycles come in waves, Small One, and this one is just a speck of dust in an ocean of stars.” 

I looked at the tiny being perched on my shoulder – the end result of billions of years of growth and change – and smiled. “And besides,” I said, “I have survived in you.”

I felt the tingling again, and knew that Bastyon was leaving. This universe would die out, fated to pull apart as the grip of gravity slowly gave way, with only blackness remaining. Blackness, cold, and me.

I shut my eyes for the last time, and waited for the end. This next universe would be different, and my death would be the catalyst to bring it about. I smiled, and waited, knowing that the next time I saw Bastyon would be through the eyes of the new seed of life – one that would spend another eternity waiting, watching, and hoping for him to appear once again.

So you wanna know what my book is about...

Hey guys!

I just finished writing the summary for Gift of the Shaper, and I figured I would share it with you since most of you don't really know what it's about. It's a quick little read, but I hope it gets you interested in reading the book beyond just because we're such good friends. (And we are such good friends).

And, by way of an update, the publishing process is rolling along smoothly. Indigo River just sent me the final manuscript for review (panicked screaming) before they send it to the layout team. This whole process has been exciting and new for me.

Anyways, without any further ado, here you go!

---

Armies will clash, and even gods will die…

For thousands of years, the Breaker of the Dawn has been locked away in the ethereal plane of the Otherworld. Now, a young blacksmith’s apprentice finds himself trapped in a war between the noble Athrani, a subset of humanity gifted with the ability to transmute matter, and the malevolent and powerful Khyth, who seek to free the ancient god from his prison.

When his father, Olson, is kidnapped, Thornton Woods and his childhood friend, Miera, must leave their small village of Highglade to find him. On their way they are joined by Ynara and Kethras, cat-like humanoids called Kienari, who use their skills as hunter/trackers to follow Olson’s trail. When it comes to light that one among them possesses the key to the Breaker’s release, Thornton and his friends must defy the might of the Khyth as armies on both sides collide in pursuit of the ultimate prize.

Gift of the Shaper chronicles the epic struggle between the existing forces of good and evil, with both sides vying for control of the key that unlocks the Otherworld. The very powers of creation and destruction hang in the balance, and only a heroic effort by Thornton and Miera, backed by the power of the Athrani, can possibly stop the Khyth from unleashing ruin — and the Breaker — upon their world.

Help me choose a prologue!

Hi friends,

I come to you as a humble, hopeful author-to-be. One of the missing pieces I have, before I can call the book "complete," is for me to make up my mind on what will be the first thing people read when they open the book. It has to grab attention (without giving too much away) and leave the reader wanting more.

So, with the help of my editor, Earl, I've narrowed the prologue down to two potential candidates, taken from the text of my book, and provided here for your enjoyment.

All I need from you is a vote on which one you'd rather see. Which one intrigues you more? Which one do you like better?

I have a lot of brilliant friends, and I trust your input implicitly. So, please, take about a minute (depending on how fast you read. If you have to read it out loud, chances are it will take longer) and let me know which one you prefer.

Without further ado, here are the two candidates!

1) In her two short years as an apprentice, she had only caught glimpses of the Otherworld. She had heard stories of its power, and of how it could be entered by using an artifact strong enough. But never in her life did Elyasha imagine that she would one day stand inside it. She felt the surging energy that had been there when she stepped on the Anvil of the Worldforge – energy that flowed through her when she trained in the art of Breaking. 
 Now, that energy was all around them, permeating the air and their bodies. It was almost to the point of discomfort. She found herself suddenly pushing it away – forcing it back, rejecting its allure. Something in the back of her mind told her that if she let it in, it might never stop.

Squinting, Yasha fixed her eyes on a dim point of light on the horizon. "He said to help you, whatever that means. Come on," she said as she waved him towards her. "I think I see where we need to go."


She couldn't quite tell, but it almost looked like the light was reaching up and clawing at the sky, waving around like the branches of a tree. "Maybe we can find some answers there."
 With Yasha in the lead, the two of them headed toward a speck in the distance, beckoned by an invisible force that seemed to pull them in – away from the Anvil and towards whatever it was that lay on the other end.

***
(Or, the second option)
***

2)  Mordha's hand trembled as she loosened her grip on the blade and looked at the Kienari before her. "I was so scared that day. Until then, death and cruelty had been strangers to me, yet suddenly they appeared before me in the flesh. Never before have I felt such relief and such terror at the same time." Her voice trembled with emotion. "I thought the creature that had appeared before me wanted nothing more than to slit my throat and the throat of my sister, as it had just done to our captors," she said. She closed her eyes in sorrow and turned her face to the ceiling. "It was a death I welcomed. I'd had enough of begging for my life."


***

The Road to Publication

I have some exciting news.

If you've been following my social media accounts you already know this, but as of December, 2016, I have signed a book deal with Indigo River Publishing and am gearing up to see GIFT OF THE SHAPER put into print!

In July, 2016, I took a deployment to West Africa. Since I had finished writing the book around May, I figured it was ready to be sent out to agents and publishing houses. After months of rejection letters (which I'd thoroughly braced myself for), the most exciting news of my life came in October when Indigo River reached out to me and said that they loved the idea of the book and wanted to see the manuscript. We traded emails back and forth -- which was tough sometimes as my own access was limited -- but after coming home from flying a combat support sortie, I got an email with a contract and some words of encouragement.

I couldn't believe it: I was about to become a published author.

The crazy part is, I had never imagined that I would get this far -- especially since this was my first book. It took a lot of time and solitude to write the book in the first place, and would take arguably just as much time and effort to comb through feedback from beta readers and test readers -- but as of today, we are rapidly approaching the finished product.

I'm working with a very good friend of mine, Mike Dains -- an Air Force vet as well -- who will be making the maps for me. I've also got an artist working on the cover, which I'm incredibly excited about. As time goes on and we approach the publication date, I hope to provide some updates here.

And, fittingly enough, I will most likely be deployed again by the time the book is ready to be published: I've recently been notified of an upcoming combat deployment (this will be number nine for me).

It hasn't been an easy road, but it's absolutely been worth it.

Thanks for stopping by, and I'll update when I can.

-Dave