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Friday, April 5, 2013

Altors by Nastasia Peters

Yesterday, we learned more about Nastasia Peters, the writer. Today read an excerpt from her work.


Altors Blurb 



Following the murder of their legal guardian, two best friends suffer the thing they fear most, separation. Solenum and Calycanthus must take the adventurous paths of finding their way back to one another, and as they do so, they will uncover the secrets their land has been hiding beneath a carefully constructed facade for centuries.

An underground war is taking place, kept hidden from the public eye by those called the Altors and Regius. Although unaware at first of what their involvement brings to the people of Zinc, Calycanthus Esquivel’s close proximity to the Altors allows him to uncover parts of the truth, creating an important turning point that may just be the kick the Altors need to beat the Regius. But it is Solenum Everhart who will find the possible key that can lead to a peaceful future. Is Galax Kaminski an exception to the rule that says all Regius are cruel at the core? Will Solenum be able to show him that he may just be the example everyone needs in order to end the hidden turmoil?

While Solenum and Calycanthus change the lives of so many, their new environments forces them to grow, come face to face with danger, death, family connections and just a touch of magic. New friendships are made and love is found as the two best friends work hard on finding their way back to one another throughout a world they always lived in, but was a mystery up until now.

Excerpt


School was supposed to be a bore and it was hard to pretend not to be interested. Especially in history. I loved history. Well, when I’d had a good night of sleep that is. The history teacher’s voice was just so soothing. He kept on talking and talking, barely taking breaks, giving me the perfect lullaby. That, along with the warm sun streaming through the large classroom windows was enough for me to nod off.

I picked up random words on occasion. They weren’t new to my ears. Blue Bloods, Rebellion, Zinc Sea, Palliums. The Blue Bloods were an interesting topic. Those who had once ruled Zinc. They were still around, or so it was claimed. I had never seen them in LV and although my memories from when I was little were foggy or practically nonexistent, I was certain I hadn’t been confronted with them.

Acacia said that LV was lucky, the boarding house was a safe place, somewhere she felt she didn’t need to worry about those types of things. I’d tried talking to her and Lupinus about this, but they said that the Blue Bloods had died out and whatever was left of them was taken care of by the Rebellion. Which the history teacher contradicted as he claimed the Rebellion had gone extinct just as much as the Blue Bloods. It was all very confusing and I assumed nobody had any idea what they were talking about.

What was certain was that in the big cities such as Cobalt City or Iodin City, you could see those who descended from the Blue Bloods walking among all the others. They carried the physical traits resembling those who’d once ruled Zinc. There weren’t any in LV, never had been, and because all the teachers in this town had never stepped outside of this region, their description of the royal descendants wasn’t fact, but only based on rumors that may or may not have come from foreigners that had once passed through.

This topic held my curiosity as the Blue Bloods and Rebellion had once been at war, and it was almost unimaginable for me to picture the situation since peace was all I knew. The details of this war had become hazy, and because there was a lack of documentation, nobody knew what was legend or fact. What was said to be fact was that you could find more Blue Blood descendants in the eastern part of Zinc, like Iodin City and the Wastelands of Xenon, since that region had belonged to them when Zinc had been divided in two. Technically, it was still divided; not because of who ruled, but because of geography.

The only reason LV was so secluded was because it took too long to travel by boat, and those who had done it swore to never do it again. The only passage that allowed you to leave this town by land was so deadly, you didn’t even want think about it. While it wasn’t exactly far to the eastern part of Zinc, the same lack of accessibility blocked it off from the western part.

The Wastelands of Xenon was the overall name given to the eastern part Zinc. And wastelands was truly the right word as it was mostly covered by ‘Immortalis Silva’, The Immortal Forest. It surrounded Iodin City and a bay that was called ‘Sunus Ut Sono’, The Bay that Sings.

Immortalis Silva was said to be a place of mystery, ruled by the trees. If you were to try and reach Iodin City by foot, you were forced to travel through it, which was impossible, as everyone who stepped foot into it, was known never to have returned. The only way one could reach Iodin City from the western part of Zinc, was by ferry. The only ferry that went to that city was located on Iron Island. While the price of the tickets could make you think twice about wanting to go there, it was said that each city in Zinc acted as its own country, having their own rules and ways of living. People rarely traveled from one place to another, least of all Iodin City.

I could understand. Either there was a dangerous forest, a haunting bay, or a sea that was claimed to be endless.

I yawned, letting my eyes close, basking comfortably in the sunlight heating the classroom while the history teacher continued to mutter out his lesson of the day.
You can view a longer excerpt at Smashwords or on the author's website

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