Cool Halthadius, The Last Checkmate Sneak Peek, and the First Week of Classes

HELLO ALL! This is the last post before Checkmate 1 is published as AN ACTUAL BOOK! So therefore seems only fitting that we should have our last sneak peek today to get people hyped up!

But first, a picture. I’ve been challenging myself with angles and positions lately (so this isn’t the bestest picture ever) and I thought Halthadius falling to the side while fighting might be cool. Sorry–he’s not holding his sword! I wanted to get it in the picture but remembered too late after I already liked my sketch.

Alright and the sneak peek for this week is our last one from Checkmate.

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But then, as they rounded the corner, the excitement returned in full.

The trees opened up and the view became clear, and the sun shone down upon the most glorious sight Sadha had ever seen.

Spires, pillars, and domes rose high into the sky, so high they might reach it–though that could not be true, for the mountains were higher. Beneath the white domes the palace was an array of shining white marble, artistically designed to architectural perfection. Every smooth buttress and elaborate balustrade was arranged so it sparkled and shone perfectly in the sunlight.

The beautiful sight dazzled Sadha and she blinked rapidly. Once she looked away from the city she feared she might go blind–but then she could see the large stone dam and the glistening river. Two waterfalls came down either side of the dam, and across the top of the wall there was an aqueduct, its white stone dull beside the gleaming marble of the palace.

“We’re going to ride down the northern side of the wall. It’s one of the entrances to the city. The southern entrance is on the other side of the city, where the port is,” Halthadius explained. “The second half of the wall is more of a tourist attraction than anything else,” he added.

Sadha could not see that it was any sort of tourist attraction from where she was, but she thought that perhaps if she made friends in the city…and got herself situated for a little while…she might just have a chance to see the view.

            “It is very pretty, isn’t it?” Halthadius asked calmly. There was a note of amusement in his voice, and Sadha knew that he was trying not to laugh at her dumbfounded reaction. It was clear from the tone of his voice that he could tell she had lived in the mountains all her life until now.

            Sadha nodded, feeling too overwhelmed to speak. It wasn’t just very pretty, it was beautiful. But as she couldn’t quite find the words to articulate her thoughts, she simply remained silent.

            Soon enough they were riding across the massive dam. Sadha leaned slightly to see over the edge of the dam–and looked down, down, down, all the way to the shimmering river below. It looked like a thin silver-and-blue line sparkling in the sunlight from here.

            She shivered, trying not to imagine what it would feel like to fall over the edge, and shifted back so she was perfectly stable on the horse.

            They rode into the mouth of a large tunnel. Halthadius was speaking to the guards, but Sadha didn’t care.

She was craning her head to see through the wall, looking towards the light at the end of the tunnel, curious as to what the capital would look like from the inside.

Soon enough the guards gave them leave to go and they began riding through the dark tunnel. It was only a few moments, and then the tunnel opened to the city beyond it and Sadha gasped and squinted as the light hit her face.

But once her eyes finally adjusted, she felt as though she could not see enough all at once–the sight before her was much too beautiful to possibly be real.

“Welcome, Sadha Verkinsen,” said Halthadius in a rather pompous manner, “to the capital city of Guyajndenma.”

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AND YES, I’ve been at college all week. I would tell you everything that happened but it would probably take me about four hours to write out in full. The real thing though is, I’ve gotten all of my homework done and am ready for a relaxing weekend at home. I get to publish my book tomorrow late at night and I cannot wait (technically it will be Sunday, but who the heck cares). I hope that y’all will be willing to pay 23$ for this thing XD it’s a lot less than I thought it would be to be honest–the thing is 750 pages! Anyway, goodbye for now! Can’t wait to publish Checkmate!!!

–TheNoelleBird

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“Everybody stand up!” *jumps on top of desk* –My A+P professor.

No joke, this happened. He stood up on his desk literally this morning.