I will post pages from my latest book, The Lands of In-KO-8 Trilogy. If you like it click MORE.

Book One: The Now Time

CHAPTER 1 - RAGE OF THE LEGIONS OF MYRMIDON

Ah! There you are. I didn’t know when to expect you. My mind was staggering around its nest, restless as ever and none too tidy. As I recall, you wanted to hear about the strange occurrences during the Now Time on Inchoate. Where to begin is a problem similar to walking around a Möbius strip but oversimplifies everything. Therefore, I suggest we begin with a lay of the land as it existed during a propitious change in the moody tides of time. I realize you know that going either way on a Möbius strip brings you full circle to the beginning, except that what had been left is now right and everything that was right is left. You must pay close attention to details because the story does twist back upon itself as does that Möbius strip. I recommend we proceed in a traditional format of moving forward in time in a clockwise direction. The date is near the end of summer, 950 AST.

Oh, I must insist on a few ground rules. Please do not try to tell me your name, your age, or where you live. Nothing personal, but you must know by now that each of us is born with an empty pail. It is for storing memories. As we grow, the pail grows but also begins to fill up. My pail is fully grown and fully full. I know the facts of the history of Inchoate. If I was forced to remember your name or age, I would be forced to forget a fact. Don’t look at me that way! Tell you what —after I tell you the entire story, I promise to ask your name age and yes even where you live. Until then, we have a long journey and should start. Before we start I want you to carry this pail. We must return with everything we came with to keep the planet uncontaminated.

***

The Good King King Drosophila was good to his loving family, his efficient administrators, and his dedicated army; and most importantly, he was good to the fine people of West Centralia.

This small territory was all that remained of Centralia, which years ago separated Sudlandt and Nordlandt. At its zenith, Centralia had served as a buffer between the tyrannical kingdom to its south and the more benign democratic country to the north. Pierian Spring had been the capital of all of Centralia and was capital of all that remained of it.

The king’s father, Garrulous the Generous, had raised and trained a fine army and led it against intrusions on his lands. Most attacks were from the south. The southern king wanted what his country needed but did not have. In his pride, one of only a few of Garrulous’ character flaws, he never asked for help from other countries. That did not serve him well when things became dire.

The basis for the wealth of Centralia was the tin and zinc mined in the country’s western mountainous region. Farming was also very bountiful in the middle and eastern regions. Indeed, the farms with their fields splendid in abundance, the vast tracts of dark, wide forests, and the well-kept towns provided an ideal life for those who called them home. Sales of tin, zinc and grain brought sufficient wealth that the citizens of Centralia paid no taxes and enjoyed free schooling and health care.

All had been tranquil until 930 AST. Sudlandt’s King Fugal IV had died, leaving his throne to his son, Fugal V. Fugal IV had been hard and trouble enough, but his son took all of his father’s worst traits and polished them until they sparkled. Grasping, unflinching, cruel, he had a temperature so low that Celsius himself could not measure it. His greatest fault was greed. Dread of him came from the measured cadence of his loud voice. He bellowed even in polite conversation. People could not bear to look him in the eyes. The scleras of his eyes were, instead of white, the color of yellow phlegm.

Between 930 and 950 AST, Rumes Acetosa Raphanus Sativus Fugal V—King of Sudlandt, Sovereign of the Tectonics, Liege of the Acidtraine, the Maker of Signals, and Solemn Keeper of the Myrmidon—had led three attacks against Centralia.
His marshal of forces was Ciboulette Allium, a wily but secretive man. Allium was large and quick and enjoyed the onslaught of battle. He acquired his many promotions not so much by knowledge and diligence as by the strange deaths of those officers for whom he worked. He literally advanced over the dead bodies of his superiors.
His army consisted of the Legions of the Myrmidon. Career legionnaires were very tough and always obeyed their superior’s commands. Each legion could be self-sufficient having ground troops, cavalry, artillery, and support troops. Many able-bodied men of Sudlandt served in the reserves—mostly in the support activities such as supply, field labor, and cannon fodder.