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Happy Mother's Day-Author's Note
2008-05-12 00:58:00
I would like to wish a Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers out there. I hope your day is special.On a side note, regular posts will be returning beginning this week. They will be different than you have seen before, but I think that they will be enjoyable nonetheless. Doug
More About: Note , Author

Blog Hiatus
2008-04-20 21:00:00
Gentle Readers,This blog is on hiatus as the final touches are being made to Omega Rising, the first book of the series. Once the book is complete and submitted to the publisher, the blog will return. I expect an estimated return date of June 1, 2008.During this hiatus, I will be doing some updating that will involve making corrections to some posts, eliminating extraneous posts, and perhaps updating the glossary links on the Resource Site. Thanks for your readership and your patience. I am very eager to make this furst book available and hope to get the series off to a strong start.Doug Pierce
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Just Call Me Ruxxxty Bones...Part 2
2008-04-06 20:00:00
Kenny was waiting for me just beyond the range of the obelisk. His Spirit was bright and strong, with the vibrancy of youth. I crashed through the forest to stand in front of him. ?Why didn?t you let me help you, Kenny? You didn?t have to die!?Kenny shook his head. ?You are the one in need of help, Father. Such help always comes with a price.??Why do you have to pay the price for helping me??His eyes bore into me. ?Because you are no longer capable of helping yourself.? He turned his back to me. ?We will be going to a place you were once quite familiar with. Meet me at Yggsdrasil.?I hadn?t been back to that place since I had parted ways with Drake and John Red Bear. It was in the forest near that clearing where John had shown me about the obelisks and their strange powers.?You know how to get there??Kenny glanced back at me before shimmering and slipping into the Shadowland. ?I do now.?I had little choice but to summon the Shadow myself and head towards the clearing where I usually ...
More About: Bones , Bane , Part , Call , Kenny

Just Call Me Ruxxxty Banes...Part 1
2008-03-23 22:20:00
Inside, I was roiling with emotions. I had just defeated and consumed three Bane s, some of the most powerful servants of the An?girasii almost single-handedly, but my friends were now looking up at me with a mixture of fear and awe that I found to be strangely pleasing. I felt a rush of power coursing through my body and my Spirit that made me feel almost invincible. I just knew that I could not be beaten, that there was no one who could destroy me. This was what it felt like to be a god!People were speaking and moving about, but I was too wrapped up in my own experiences to pay any attention to what these lesser creatures were talking about or doing. I was imagining how easy it was going to be to hunt down and destroy all of the remaining Banes so that I could become even stronger. As random memories from the conquered Banes came flooding up to my consciousness, I realized how easy it would be to take on the An?girasii themselves. Surely, I thought, no single An?girasii could be an...
More About: Part , Call , Kenny , Herne

A War of Shadows...Part 5
2008-03-10 04:26:00
Jim stumbled backwards from the explosion of energy and ichor caused by his fatal thrust of Excalibur into the Bane ?s back. I waited, watching for that special moment of vulnerability, knowing that it would come soon.Arixtocles struggled to stem the flow of blood and power. His hands clutched towards the edges of the blade as if he could push it back the way it had come, but Excalibur was simply too powerful, its magick prevented him from touching the edges.The Bane staggered, his feet now touching the ground for the first time I had seen, then fell to his knees. The link between his magickally enhanced body and his Spirit form was weakening. Still laid out on my back, I concentrated on being prepared as the moment inched closer. Two strong tentacles of Shadow extended from my core, poised to strike.Arixtocles? convulsed, spitting out a geyser of blood before he collapsed in a boneless heat. Just as his body slumped to the ground, his Spirit form coalesced at a point slightly in fro...
More About: Part , Kenny , Shadows

A War of Shadows...Part 4
2008-03-02 05:23:00
The Bane Arixtocles, still hovering about a foot off the ground, had turned his attention from the fallen Ravyn towards Jim and Alana Danae as they tried to come up behind him, each carrying strange looking firearms.I was running towards the Bane as fast as I could, but I knew I wouldn?t get there in time. I waved for Jim and Alana to get down and hurled Excalibur towards the Bane. The blade hurtled through air, twirling end over hilt in a blaze of magickal energies, scything towards the creature.I saw Jim?s eyes grow wide with confusion and shock even as he hit the dirt. Alana had beaten him to the ground. The Bane saw the hurtling sword in time to throw up one arm to deflect it with a blast of red energy, just as I had anticipated. The blade skittered off towards Jim, landing less than three feet to his left with the hilt vibrating as the blade stuck into the earth. As the Bane turned to face me, I sent a whispered message towards Jim. ?Don?t worry about me. Watch for your opportu...
More About: Part , Shadows

A War of Shadows...Part 3
2008-02-18 02:56:00
The last thing I did before making the jump myself was to re-activate the obelisk with a quick touch and a simple command. That sealed the trap, preventing any of my unwitting victims from escaping back through the Shadowland.There was a serene moment of silence as we all landed in the middle of the snow filled shallow clearing. That silence was shattered as a very surprised looking Dragon plummeted into the place where I had been standing. Without the weaker gravity and abundant magick of the Shadowland, the Dragon found that his bulk was too great to fly. He crashed snout first into the snow-covered ice of the small lake in the center of the depression with a thunderous roar. The Demon, who had been charging towards me in the Shadowland, gave out a snarling yelp and dove to the side to avoid being crushed by the Dragon?s bulk. Several wolves and three Reavers were not so lucky.Before the snow and ice thrown up by the Dragon?s impact could settle back to the ground, chaos erupted a...
More About: Excalibur , Part , Kenny , Shadows , Part 3

A War of Shadows...Part 2
2008-02-10 19:35:00
Calling upon the Shadow to speed my travel, I breezed through the last three hundred yards of my journey. I emerged in a large clearing that was more of a shallow depression. Near the center of the roughly circular depression stood the obelisk that I had known would be waiting.The obelisk rose from the center of the depression, its brooding dark presence dominating the space. A quick glance around the far perimeter of the clearing showed the brightly-hued Spirit forms of Herne?s assault team, over twenty strong in all. Herne was waiting in the center of the depression next to the obelisk. Next to him were Cerrydwen, Ravyn, Alana and Jim.I reached out to touch Herne?s Spirit form. He flinched before recognizing my touch. ?Damn, I?m glad that?s you Rusty. Our Spirit vision is blinded by this obelisk of yours.??Herne, there?s not much time to get ready, they will be here soon. I need your guys to get into place quickly. Did you bring the weapons we discussed??He nodded. ?Yes, Jasmine h...
More About: Shadowland , Excalibur , Part , Shadows

A War of Shadows...Part 1
2008-02-03 16:02:00
The Shadowland whizzed by in a blur of grey and black images as I slowed a move fast trot. It was proving difficult to move too quickly through this stretch of wilderness since thick, twisted and very substantial trees existed both in the Shadowland and in the real world. John had once told me that this only happed in the oldest of forests. ?As trees age, their spirits strengthen, expanding their presence beyond the world of light to the land of shadow. It is almost as if their essence transfers slowly from one world to the next once they reach the height of their majesty. In some places in the Shadowland there are majestic, towering trees where there is now nothing but fields or cement roads in the world of the living. But alas, over time, those forests fade away in the Shadowland as well once the living trees have been gone long enough.?My guess was that this stretch of Alaskan wilds hadn?t been significantly touched by Man for hundreds, if not thousands of years.The howling of my...
More About: Bane , Reavers , Frau , Excalibur

Forgiveness
2008-01-26 18:34:00
(The events of this post take place several weeks after the events of the previous post?sorry, but some events must remain hidden for reasons of operational security.)I stepped from Shadow into the quiet darkness of the pre-dawn wilderness just outside of our hidden haven. Inside my head, though, it was anything but quiet. Dark whispering voices cried out, expressing their hunger, their pain.After four weeks of constant forays to locate and retrieve stragglers the Bat Cave was bursting at the seams with people. There were very few areas where there weren?t any cots or sleeping mats laid out for ORC?s or their family members. The Frau had been working hard to find each and every person as much space and privacy as the cramped quarters could provide, but even she couldn?t cast a spell that would create enough space for the nearly four hundred survivors that had been assembled.I needed an opportunity to be alone with my thoughts and to deal with shattered remnants of those dark spirits...
More About: Drake , Forgiveness , Herne , Diablito

Deadline drift...
2008-01-21 19:41:00
OK...I missed this last deadline...so instead of putting together a lower quality post and slapping it up, I will make the next deadline back to this coming Friday, January 25. Meanwhile, this extra time will go into finishing the 2nd edit of the book.
More About: Note , Author , Deadline , Drift

New Post delayed
2008-01-18 21:58:00
The next post will be published in the evening on Sunday, January 20, 2008.
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"This...I say...This Means War!!!"
2008-01-12 22:51:00
Jim, Ravyn and I stepped from the Shadow into the shadow of the enormous oak tree in the southwestern corner of Jim?s backyard. The night was dark, since the sliver of the waning moon was obscured by thick, low hanging clouds. It was a quiet, quaint neighborhood of faculty and administrator?s homes for the nearby college. A dog barked in the distance, but not at us.Jim looked pensive as peered through the night towards his darkened home. ?I don?t see any damage.? He was whispering as he leaned forward.Ravyn nodded, her hands clenching the cuffs of her sweatshirt to keep herself from calling fire out of habit. ?I doubt they were worried about the outside of your house, Jim.? She kept her voice to a low whisper as well.I reached out and touched each of them on the shoulders as I leaned towards them. ?I?ll pop inside to get a quick look around. I want you guys to stay here.? I looked directly to Ravyn. ?Keep a sharp eye out, but try to burn the neighborhood down, will ya??She gave me a...
More About: Frau , Kenny , Doppelganger , Herne , Zenny

Starting over...
2008-01-05 05:29:00
?is never easy.The band of ORC?s that arrived in the Bat Cave was a tired, wounded, ragged bunch of shell-shocked survivors. The assault by El Diablito?s forces and An?girasii allies had come as a total surprise. Every ORC safe house, stronghold and academy across the United States had been hit in some way on the same night. All told, hundreds ORC members and students had been slain; dozens more were badly injured or missing. By the time the final tally of escapees and survivors was taken?several days later?fewer than three hundred full fledged members and associates of the ORC?s survived that deadly night. The last census prior to that deadly night had put the membership rolls at just over a thousand members and associates. Forty of those survivors came with me to the Bat Cave.After a close inspection by Cerrydwen, Ravyn or myself, I created a portal of Shadow that established a link between El Diablito?s dark tower in the Shadowland and another place of relative darkness?the entra...
More About: Drake , Frau , Doppelganger , Katherine , Jasmine

Confessions all around...
2007-12-29 04:39:00
(The events and conversations in this post took place in the Lower World immediately before and during Drake ?s final passing. These events can now be told in full. For a brief refresher on the context in which these events take place, readers are encouraged to re-read the posts from the following dates: March 18, 2007, A Visit from an Old Friend?Part 1; May 27, 2007, Drake?s Farewell Message; June 10, 2007, Meditation and June 14, 2007, Hell?s Bells?Part 1)When Drake revealed to me the location of his secret stash of artifacts, his voice was been dry and raspy in my head, like he was having difficulty with what he was saying. ?Rusty, I have been afraid to reveal this information to you, because it is perhaps the last and most dangerous truth that I have to tell you.??Drake, as much as you have lied, I can only imagine how painful it would be to have to tell the truth. Say what you have to say and be done with it.??It is not that simple, Rusty, because this truth goes to the very...
More About: Confessions , Fess

Progress Update #3--Rusty Reloaded
2007-12-24 06:04:00
Howdy all,Hoping everyone is having a great holiday season.Great News: New story posts begin on Friday, December 28, 2007 and will continue for the foreseeable future on every Friday thereafter...except for scheduled breaks that will be announced in advance. These weekly posts will be longer than most past posts. This once weekly publication schedule will allow me to finish the editing process on Omega Rising, and to begin the process for putting together book 2, Omega Hunted.Speaking of Omega Rising, I have nearly completed the edits suggested by the Professor, and will soon be collecting edits from my second source. It is anticipated that this book will be shipped off to the publisher sometime in February and will be available by the end of March 2008. I will announce the actual dates when they occur. The book include original art by my wife, Cerrydwen. She will also be doing the cover art as well. Previews of some this work will be posted closer to publication time.I hope to hav...
More About: Note , Author , Update , Progress

Progress Update #2
2007-11-21 17:49:00
The main text of: Omega Rising, Book 1 of the Chronicles of Agent Rusty Bones is now complete.It will be delivered to my three chosen editors over the next couple of days for their proofing. I am hopeful to have the entire book edited and ready for submission within 30 days or so. If all goes as planned, the book could be ready sometime in February.New blog posts will begin again in January.
More About: Note , Author , Update , Progress

Progress Update #1
2007-11-19 16:50:00
I am about 80% done with my own manuscript re-read and edit. I expect to have the manuscript into the hands of three independent editors by weeks end.My wife, Pat, is one of the editors and has agreed to begin working on the cover art for the book and on coming up with 10-12 black and white illustrations (under her art name-Cerrydwen) that I am hoping to include in the book.Things have gone very well to date!Doug
More About: Note , Author , Update , Progress

Blog Hiatus
2007-11-02 18:55:00
Author's Note :This blog is now officially on hiatus until the first book of the Agnet Rusty Bones Chronicles, 'Omega Rising' is finished with the editing process. I expect that new story posts will begin around the beginning of the year. Please check back weekly for announcements on the progress of the book. Thanks for your patience and your readership.
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Little Keep on the Borderlands... Epilogue
2007-11-02 18:51:00
Cerrydwen waved us forward. ?Come, let me take you to the others. I can explain things bit as we walk.?Despite the appearance that these two were who they seemed to be, I was more than a little nervous as we came up closer to them.Ravyn showed no such inhibitions and gave each of the women a big hug. She exchanged quiet, unheard words with each of them and seemed more than satisfied with the responses that each gave her.The Frau padded up and gave both Ravyn and Zenny a long sniff and single wet lick on the cheek. Jim took the more cautious approach of a small wave and a nod of acknowledgement to each.Cerrydwen turned and nodded back in the direction from which she had come. ?Well, let?s start our little tour of the mad man?s little tower of horrors.? The massive stone door grated open with a wave of her hand. ?This whole place is a tapestry of tightly wound spells that must have taken years to craft. This lower level is where he houses a small army of the trolls that you have seen ...
More About: Herne , Borderlands , Moira

Little Keep on the Borderlands...Part 4
2007-10-09 05:44:00
I was up and running towards the third troll before his spear stopped skidding behind us. I wasn?t sure what I was going to do when I got to him, since I didn?t have a weapon in hand. It had already turned its attention so fray between the Frau and his companion, so my leaping kick landed squarely on the side of his enormous kneecap. I felt and heard the crunching of the bone. His leg buckled and collapsed on itself.I tucked and rolled out of the way of a massive fist that sought to crush me as the thing lashed out n a blind rage at its sudden immobility.By the time I had tumbled to safety and regained my bearings, I saw that Jim had already found his own footing and was racing to help the Frau in her struggle. Ravyn was striding forward towards the troll that was now trying to hobble towards me. She smiled as she sent a lancing bolt of flame into the back of its skull, ending his miserable life before his smoldering corpse hit the floor.I turned to see how Jim and the Frau were far...
More About: Part , Herne , Borderlands , Diablito

Little Keep on the Borderlands...Part 3
2007-10-08 17:45:00
I gripped the batons in my hands and stepped forward onto the bridge that the Frau had created and led the way towards the shattered doorway of the tower.Jim followed close behind, muttering half heard imprecations under his breath. Ravyn swung back onto the Frau?s humped back, burying one hand into the thick black fur to maintain her balance. With Ravyn secure on her back, the Frau shambled behind Jim, bringing up the rear of our small party.Passing through the portal, I felt a wave of magickal energy pass over me that was similar to passing from one world to another. Inside, the dark grey monotony of the Shadowland was replaced by the vibrant colors and rich textures of the ?normal? world. I was standing in the brightly lit foyer of what could have easily passed for a modern office building. The walls and floors of the place were of highly polished red and white marble tiles while the abundant golden fixtures gleamed in the bright yellow light that they put out.I had stopped in th...
More About: Part , Part 3 , Borderlands

Little Keep on the Borderlands...Part 2
2007-10-02 04:12:00
The Frau ?s voice echoed in our minds. ?Once we get inside that thing, we can?t count on Rusty being able to get us back out of there with his power over the Shadow.?I glanced in her direction. ?Why do you say that??She returned the glance before swiveling her back towards the tower and grunting. ?I see El Diablito?s handiwork all over this thing. He has created this tower out of magick that hasn?t been used in centuries, if not millennia.?The Professor was curious now. ?You mean things like this tower have been created before? I don?t recall reading about any of these in my text books.?Ravyn chuckled and gave Jim?s cheek an affectionate pat. ?Of course not, silly! Things like this would only be found in your fairy tales and myths when you were growing up, although now you can find references in all sorts of modern fantasy. The Frau is right though, this more than just a traditional Mage?s Tower.?I looked the thing up and down again, trying to see what it was that made this place see...
More About: Shadowland , Excalibur , Part , Borderlands

OK...Back at it soon...
2007-10-01 04:26:00
Sorry for the delays again, but this was anniversary (15 years) and birthday week (39th) for the author here...so I've been a bit distracted.However, baseball season is now over (for my Tigers anyway) so I will have a little more time in the evenings...Promise...new post tomorrow and more regular installments than have appeared lately!Doug
More About: Note , Author , Back

Little Keep on the Borderlands...Part 1
2007-09-25 05:27:00
Visibility in this place is always limited, as Shadows flit about, drawn to light sources like moths in the mundane world. Here, our vision was further obscured by the thick, almost bubbling fog that rolled over us in successive waves from the direction where the troll had come from before pooling around our knees. It gathered around the now dissolving mass that was the troll.Undaunted by any unseen dangers that may have been lurking, I stepped into the mists towards where I had felt the location of El Diablito?s stronghold to be. I soon found myself on a rocky path between steeply rising walls of wet, black stone. The path would have been barely wide enough for that troll to walk through without brushing its shoulders against the sides.I heard others as they followed behind, Jim right behind me, with the Frau and Ravyn guarding our backs.The path continued at a slight up hill angle for a few hundred yards, twisting first right and then left. The fog was so thick and flowed so stron...
More About: Shadowland , Excalibur , Part , Borderlands

A brief interlude...
2007-09-19 03:28:00
Sorry for the delays in new posts...The storyline will continue with a new, extensive post on Sunday, September 23, 2007.Thanks for your patience.
More About: Note , Author , Brief

From the Frying Pan into the Fire...Part 5
2007-09-11 05:10:00
As I called the Shadow, I formed a heavy, protective bubble around the four of us. The only light in this bubble came from one Ravyn?s small red stones that she held forth in her left palm. The stone?s soft red glow gave the space the feel of a submarine. ?I?m going to take us to the place in the Shadowland where Nicholas was taken by Rose and then made the wrong choice by choosing Rose?s door?which led to a cell. We didn?t get to see all of the different doors in Nick ?s memory orb, so I think that is the place to start. I?m not sure if that corridor corresponds with a single actual location or serves as sort of Transit Station within the Shadowland linking multiple different locations. Hang on!?With the power of my Will, I sent our little capsule hurtling through the Shadowland towards a place we had seen only briefly through the memories of a man I had never met.The passage didn?t take all that long, but the tension inside the capsule grew thicker with each passing moment. Jim pas...
More About: Fire , Frau , Excalibur

From the Frying Pan into the Fire...Part 4
2007-09-07 05:16:00
After the initial surge of adrenaline passed, Jim looked back to me. ?Wait a minute, are you sure this is the best idea? Won?t you need this weapon if we face any powerful foes??I shook my head. ?If we were going in to make an all out attack and to cause damage, then yeah, I?d keep the blade with me and leave you somewhere safe. But right now we just need to get in, find as many of our people as we can, and get back out again. I also don?t know where we would be able to leave you where you would be safe right now. We don?t know who our mole is, other than it is likely not any of the four of us, and so I don?t think it is wise for us to split up in any way.?The Frau nodded. Her voice came through telepathically again. ?I agree with Rusty. Excalibur seems to be OK with you holding it, so let?s not argue about that. I also agree that splitting up is not a wise idea. We?re going to need to move fast and stay together so that Rusty or Ravyn can get us out of there in a hurry if things ge...
More About: Shadowland , Fire , Part

From the Frying Pan into the Fire...Part 3
2007-09-05 05:45:00
The transit through the Shadowland and into another world was brief and almost random in nature as I felt the need for us to land in a place that I had never before been and to which it could not be predicted that we would retire to. I had to reject two worlds because they presented survivability problems for my friends, and third world was rejected because the portal would have taken us to a strange looking city teeming with inhabitants of unknown dispositions. The fourth attempt finally resulted in place that was less than ideal but seemed to meet our immediate needs for safety and privacy.I closed the portal immediately.As soon as she regained her bearings, Ravyn knelt down next to Jim. ?Are you all right Jim??Jim groaned once and retched onto the ground away from her. His let go of the bat and grabbed his temples. ?Ugh. I don?t think trans-dimensional travel is going to help my concussion any, but it was probably better than another punch in head from Papa Locks.?The Frau gave t...
More About: Fire , Excalibur , Part

From the Frying Pan Into the Fire...Part 2
2007-08-31 03:51:00
I stepped forward as I tapped the end of my baton in my free hand. ?Klimm! Give me one reason that I shouldn?t just end your miserable existence right now??El Diablito looked down at the prone form of Jim at his feet before reaching down and picking up the black briefcase at his feet. He cackled before he spoke. ?I know how much you value your friends, Rusty. They are all you have after all, now that I have that little bastard daughter of yours safely tucked away.?His words stung me worse than anything physical that he could have done. I lunged forward, but drew myself short a couple of paces from them. ?What have you done with Alexa ??Diablito had flinched when I came forward, but found his courage again as Rose drew herself up beside him and Papa Locks inched forward as well. ?Oh, it wasn?t easy to get those arrogant fools to launch an all out attack on your organization. They didn?t think your ORC?s posed much of a threat just yet and weren?t too eager to expose themselves, so I h...
More About: Fire , Frau , Part