On Friday, I published revised editions of the first three books in the
Awakened series. As I mentioned in that
post, Kindle owners can download the updated content for free. I don’t know if other e-reading devices and
companies have similar mechanisms for making new content available to customers,
so I thought it would be a good idea to just post the new content here.
So, here is a list of the changes to Book One in order of their appearance:
- New cover artwork by Mike
Heath at Magnus Creative
- Title changed to Awaken His Eyes: The Awakened Book One
- Reformatted the entire
manuscript for readability and consistency
- Added a hyperlinked table-of-contents
- Updated the Map of the Orudan Empire
- Slight changes to the diagrams
of the High Temple (profile and aerial views)
- Put “The Prophecy” on its own
page in order to highlight the context of The Awakened
- Slightly altered the chapter organization
- Added two new scenes in
Chapter 7
- Added one new scene in Chapter
23
- Pulled the first scene from
Book Two and placed it at the end of Book One
Here is the new cover artwork, the updated map, and the new
scenes. Enjoy!
From Awaken His Eyes, Chapter 7
Maeryn plucked the withered leaves from a flowering plant, trying her
best to keep busy and her mind engaged with some sort of distraction. But it didn’t seem to be helping much. Her stomach was still tied in knots and she
hadn’t been able to eat anything all day.
It was now the second day since Adair had disappeared and what she had
thought was just another routine absence was beginning to feel like something
more ominous.
Years ago, Adair had the garden built as a gift to Maeryn, following
the customs of her ancestors. Trimmed
trees and shrubs dotted the landscape, separated by rings of brightly colored
flowers. The north end of this secluded paradise
was open to the hilltop courtyard, containing stables, soldiers’ housing, and
various other structures, all surrounded by a pale stone wall.
As the orange rays of the setting sun made their way into the silent
garden, the peace was suddenly disturbed by a commotion from the
courtyard. Maeryn rose from her seat on
a low stone wall just as a group of soldiers ran past the gate to the
courtyard. The startling sight was
followed quickly by another figure standing at the base of the steps outside
the gate.
“Thaddius?” Maeryn called out.
The Commissioner turned suddenly.
“Governess,” he replied. The
usual kindness was gone from his eyes and he looked almost panicked.
“Thaddius, what’s happening?”
The Commissioner came quickly up the steps and into the garden. “Do you know where Adair has gone?”
Maeryn’s heart suddenly pounded violently inside her chest. “No.
He never tells me what he’s doing.
I thought you would—”
“No,” Thaddius answered quickly, glancing around the garden. “He left word for me yesterday morning that
he would gone for the day. But I haven’t
heard from him since.”
Maeryn suddenly felt dizzy and had to sit back down to keep from
falling over.
“Commissioner!” someone called from the courtyard.
Thaddius turned and walked a few steps away while Maeryn shielded her
eyes from the sunlight and breathed deeply.
The words of the soldier nearby seemed to drift to her ears as if from
long distance.
“The records at the docks indicate he took one of our smallest vessels
and sailed yesterday morning. He took a
minimal crew and only enough provisions for the day.”
Maeryn looked up suddenly.
Thaddius was staring at the ground with a hand on his bearded chin.
“Where did he go?” she called across the garden.
“Nucotu?” the soldier asked Thaddius in a hushed tone.
The Commissioner nodded. “It’s
two day’s journey. I can’t think of
anywhere else.”
“Where did he go?” Maeryn repeated, louder this time. Her anger at being left out of the
conversation was now beginning to show.
Thaddius turned slowly toward Maeryn, though his eyes were still fixed
on the ground. “Send a vessel to
Nucotu,” he said finally. Then he looked
up at the soldier. “Make sure they take
horses and supplies. If the Governor is
not found, they’ll need to continue north and send a messenger to Leoran to
notify the Council.”
The soldier nodded and walked briskly out of the garden.
“Thaddius?” Maeryn pleaded as she walked toward him.
The Commissioner now looked her in the eyes. “Let’s just see what they find in
Nucotu.” His voice was calm, but his
eyes betrayed the depth of his concern.
* * * *
Saba waded carefully through the knee-deep water of a stream that
wended through the mountains north of Bastul.
Somewhere to the south, it would converge with others to form the Nescus
river which ran through the middle of the city and emptied into the bay. With each burdened step, the school of trout
were driven further upstream toward a pool where Ajani crouched upon a rock, pointing.
Kael stood motionless in the water with a spear held ready over his
shoulder. His eyes were tracing their
prey beneath the gentle surface.
Suddenly, he loosed his spear into the water and brought it up again
with a wriggling fish impaled on its barbed tip. He looked over toward Saba with a smile on
his face. “…dinner?”
Saba nodded with a smile of his own.
“I’ll make the fire,” Kael said, wading back to the shore where a small
pile of fish had been gathered on the rocky bank.
“I’ll help,” Ajani said, rising to his feet and jumping gracefully
across the boulders that were scattered through the still water.
Minutes later, Saba warmed himself by the flames while Kael added dry
sticks to the fire. Ajani was stringing
the fish along a branch by their gills, readying them for cooking. So far the short excursion was keeping the
children busy and Kael’s thoughts seemed to be occupied by the tasks at hand.
As the crackling flames grew higher, Kael moved away from the heat and
sat on the ground. “Mother must be
worried,” he said quietly.
Saba looked to the child, but remained silent.
“Father has been gone a long time,” Kael continued.
More silence passed before Saba finally responded. “And what about you?”
Kael stared into the flames.
“I’m not worried.”
“Oh?” Saba replied.
Now Kael looked up. “Father is
brave. And he’s stronger than
anyone. Nothing can hurt him.”
Saba smiled at the boy’s optimism, while inwardly he frowned at the
conclusion that he’d already reached.
Adair was indeed brave and strong.
But even as he served the Empire with discipline and dedication, his
primary loyalty rested with his family.
Saba had come to know the man well over the years and his respect for
Adair had grown steadily with each interaction.
He already knew—without needing confirmation—that nothing short of death
would keep him away from Maeryn and Kael.
“You may have your mother’s appearance, but you certainly have your
father’s courage. You are just like
him,” Saba replied.
Kael’s face beamed as he looked back toward the fire.
“These are ready,” Ajani said, lifting up the row of fish.
“Good work,” Saba replied.
“Let’s take them down to the water and rinse off the dirt. Then we can start cooking them as soon the
coals are ready.”
From Awaken His Eyes, Chapter 23
As the last male servant came up the steps and out of the dry cellar,
he nodded to Zula, then brushed his hands together to clear the grain dust from
his palms.
Zula turned to Maeryn. “That’s
the last of it, Miss.”
Maeryn pretended to scan the preparations list in her hand while she
waited for the man to finish walking out of the kitchen. When he was gone, she looked up from the
parchment that she had memorized days ago.
“We’re alone now,” Zula assured her.
Maeryn nodded. “Alright. I’ve received confirmation that twenty three
of Bastul’s founding members will be attending the gala. I had hoped for better participation, but
this will do for now.”
“…and their servants?” Zula asked.
“I can’t know for sure, but it would be customary for some of their
servants to attend with them. After all,
they wouldn’t dare lift a finger for themselves.”
Zula smiled.
“While I’m entertaining them, you’ll need to make contact with the
servants and begin building relationships with them.”
Zula’s forehead creased slightly.
“This is going to be just as uncomfortable for me as it will be for
you,” Maeryn assured her. “I haven’t
exactly been the most sociable Governess over the years. But that will have to change. These founding members and their families are
the key to everything. The servants in
their charge account for the largest part of the slave population in this
city. And there’s no more practical way
for us to make contact with them, than to start participating in their social
circles. I can’t stand these parties,
but they’re the perfect masquerade for what we’re trying to do.”
“And what will it look like beyond the parties?” Zula asked. “You haven’t shared what the next step will
be.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Maeryn offered. “I’ve been thinking about so many things
lately.” She realized suddenly that she
been so consumed by strategizing that she had forgotten to inform her most
trusted friend.
“The parties will help build goodwill between the governorship and the
families directly affected by it. But I
expect that Lemus will quickly tire of the effort, even as he experiences the
benefits of it. Eventually he’ll begin
to decline participation, which will give me the opportunity to become more
involved—to be his representative at events he’d rather avoid. The goodwill will continue to be
nurtured. He’ll continue to reap the
benefits. And I’ll gain more opportunities
to move through the city without his suspicious eyes looking over my
shoulder. And then we’ll have plenty of
occasions to visit with the wives.
That’s where the real progress will be made. They like to share servants because it makes
them feel generous. That’s when I’ll be
able to meet one-on-one with them—”
Zula was squinting but she didn’t look angry.
“What?” Maeryn asked. “Did I say
something wrong?”
“I’m proud of you, Miss,” she clarified. “It takes courage to risk your life for the
benefit of others.”
Maeryn breathed a sigh. “Thank
you. But I don’t have to do this alone,
do I?”
“No, Miss,” Zula replied with a smile.
“I can talk with other slaves at the market every day. We’ll do this together.”
Maeryn stood a little straighter at the comforting words. “Good.
Now we only have two days to get ready for the gala. I’m going to see if I can get a few more
families to attend.”
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