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And Dreamspinner took it!!!
Desert World Allegiances
A young man named Temar Gazer is condemned to slavery, a common enough occurrence on the desert planet of Livre. However, this time a priest named Shan Polli is determined to prevent one more life to be lost to a system that destroys human souls. When it turns out that the danger reaches far beyond Temar and his criminal prank, Shan finds himself choosing between his vows and his heart. Caught between guilt and hope, he must find his true path. Can the two men unravel a plot that threatens the entire world, and can they do it before Temar is broken by a system of slavery that has twisted out of control?
Randomly Chosen and Annoyingly Out of Context excerpt:
The desert lied. The dunes looked like gentle slopes, and the sand gave a golden haze to the world that made Livre look like an inviting jewel. In reality, the dunes were mountains of sand that would slip under your feet, and the shimmering sands offered very little in the way of food and water. Pipe traps settled wherever the barcan dunes didn’t follow their migrations. They preferred stable sand. Chokeweed moved with the sand dunes, their long roots and stems getting pushed around like seaweed in the oceans of Earth. One offered poisonous water and food. The other offered very little at all except for long lines of sand burrs that would cripple a man. Shan needed the cycle, or even the parts he could scavenge from the cycle, or he’d die out here as surely as if the attackers had shot him.
He dropped down, and his injured leg gave way, sending Shan crashing to the ground. By the time he got himself out of this, he was going to be one giant bruise. He was going to be one giant thirsty bruise, and the way his leg kept leaking clear fluids wasn't making him feel better about his situation. A burn might not kill him, but losing body fluids sure as hell could.
He tried to stand, and the pain in his leg made him curse colorfully. "I'll make that up to you later," he promised God as he walked to the edge of this new ledge and searched for a path down. He was so close to the bottom that he could see the twisted remains of his cycle, so he knew the cycle itself was a lost cause, but he might be able to activate the emergency beacon and the emergency kit on the back held water.
A sharp wind raced down the center of the narrow valley, and Shan turned to the side to shield the burned leg. It stung like battery acid anyway. When the wind died down, he considered his choices and picked the next drop. Unfortunately, the physical demands of the climb weren't enough to keep his mind out of trouble. Thoughts crashed through his brain. Who would want him dead?
Desert World Allegiances
A young man named Temar Gazer is condemned to slavery, a common enough occurrence on the desert planet of Livre. However, this time a priest named Shan Polli is determined to prevent one more life to be lost to a system that destroys human souls. When it turns out that the danger reaches far beyond Temar and his criminal prank, Shan finds himself choosing between his vows and his heart. Caught between guilt and hope, he must find his true path. Can the two men unravel a plot that threatens the entire world, and can they do it before Temar is broken by a system of slavery that has twisted out of control?
Randomly Chosen and Annoyingly Out of Context excerpt:
The desert lied. The dunes looked like gentle slopes, and the sand gave a golden haze to the world that made Livre look like an inviting jewel. In reality, the dunes were mountains of sand that would slip under your feet, and the shimmering sands offered very little in the way of food and water. Pipe traps settled wherever the barcan dunes didn’t follow their migrations. They preferred stable sand. Chokeweed moved with the sand dunes, their long roots and stems getting pushed around like seaweed in the oceans of Earth. One offered poisonous water and food. The other offered very little at all except for long lines of sand burrs that would cripple a man. Shan needed the cycle, or even the parts he could scavenge from the cycle, or he’d die out here as surely as if the attackers had shot him.
He dropped down, and his injured leg gave way, sending Shan crashing to the ground. By the time he got himself out of this, he was going to be one giant bruise. He was going to be one giant thirsty bruise, and the way his leg kept leaking clear fluids wasn't making him feel better about his situation. A burn might not kill him, but losing body fluids sure as hell could.
He tried to stand, and the pain in his leg made him curse colorfully. "I'll make that up to you later," he promised God as he walked to the edge of this new ledge and searched for a path down. He was so close to the bottom that he could see the twisted remains of his cycle, so he knew the cycle itself was a lost cause, but he might be able to activate the emergency beacon and the emergency kit on the back held water.
A sharp wind raced down the center of the narrow valley, and Shan turned to the side to shield the burned leg. It stung like battery acid anyway. When the wind died down, he considered his choices and picked the next drop. Unfortunately, the physical demands of the climb weren't enough to keep his mind out of trouble. Thoughts crashed through his brain. Who would want him dead?