Tower of Torment is live!

Tower of Torment, Book 1 in the Embers of War Saga is now live for consumption! It is the continuation of the Realm of Ashenclaw series that follows the Beginnings Trilogy. I hope you enjoy this one.

The following link will take you to the book on kindle in any country:
http://bookShow.me/B00GVLLHCM

Here is the final cover with text to enjoy in a large format! Have a great Thanksgiving everybody! Below is another short excerpt to  enjoy.

The trio of succubi continued to assail his mind with images of chaos and tempting sensual thoughts in an attempt to break his defenses. Within those visions—images of his greatest temptations—he saw the face of Rose Thorne. She was there in all her glory, calling him to her...beckoning him. Lust and yearning for her leaped to the forefront of his consciousness. He blinked and in a moment of clarity, realized the truth for what it was.

As he had done many times in the past, he asked the sun-god for aid in shielding his mind against the demonic abominations. Rose vanished from his thoughts and the demonic visage of a succubus took her place.
His prayers were answered.

An aura of holy warding encircled him, his body and mind suddenly impenetrable against any magical or non-magical source. The Shimmering One was protecting him, exorcising and casting out demonic influence, as he had so many times in the past when he served as a warpriest of the sun-god. He had learned almost everything there was to study about demons and their manipulative ways.

Garius also called to the dark powers of death, asking The Reaper for his gifts of necromantic origin in order to smite their common foes. As he spoke the prayers and uttered the words with clarity, the lingering visions in his mind’s eye all but disappeared completely. A surge of necromantic energy burst forth from him toward the trio of demonesses barring his way.

See you all in Wothlondia! Cheers!

All Artwork and covers of my works by William J. Kenney

Visit my AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE Here!

Also, Please join me and the other amazingly talented authors over @ Skulldust Circle where we have formed a Writer's Circle that must be seen--a collection of brilliant, up & coming independently published speculative fiction authors with much to give both now and in the future!

All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios 2013 unless otherwise noted.

New Look Covenant of the Faceless Knights!

I am here to share something with my blog followers--Covenant of the Faceless Knights is getting a makeover and a price reduction! I am in the process of re-releasing the book in its second edition. This one is edited by the incomparable Stephanie Dagg, whom I highly recommend! And the book will be shown with a brand new cover produced by the amazingly talented William Kenney! I will also be working on getting a paperback through CreateSpace shortly after the Kindle version goes live. I am not sure what that price will be yet, but news will follow here, so keep your Eye on Ashenclaw.

I am hoping to have the book available for release again in the coming week (and possibly this weekend--*crosses fingers*) I will probably do a Kindle for the KDP select program for people who may want to borrow it. The price point will be $4.99 (probably) I believe from the start and I plan to release Garius' short story in the Wothlondia Rising series: Strength of Faith, by the end of May as well. That will be followed by Reflections, the Orngoth short story to be released in June, which will wrap up the Wothlondia Rising series.

CotFK 2nd Edition Artwork only, provided by William Kenney

If all goes well and edits and cover are finished for book 2 in the Beginnings series, Secrets of the Ebonite Mines will also be available by Summer's end! I don't know about you guys, but I am pretty excited.

Please tell me what you guys think of the artwork for the cover and I hope to see some sales when it finally gets released. Make me proud, friends!

All of my work can be found on AMAZON -- Kindle versions here!

 See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!

Please visit MY HOME PAGE to enjoy an extended reading experience, see direct links to purchase my full length novel, Covenant of the Faceless Knights, the short stories: Wothlondia Rising, and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC has in store in the future!

Cover art on Distant Familiarity provided by William Kenney!

All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios 2012 unless otherwise noted.

Another Excerpt from Covenant of the Faceless Knights...

Another excerpt from Covenant of the Faceless Knights for my tweeps and Fans on Facebook for #SampleSunday! Enjoy, my friends and have an excellent weekend!

Garius Forge of the Order of the Faceless Knights as depicted by William J. Kenney

Blow after blow rang out—hammer hitting staff and vice-versa. Sparks flew from the impact, with neither of the two combatants gaining any ground. For several rounds of blows, they exchanged forceful strikes with their respective weapons, neither of them scoring a hit on anything but the other’s weapon. They finally backed away from one another, simultaneously realizing their futility.

The shaman charged Garius again, trying to find an opening in his defenses, but he was denied repeatedly by The Repentant. Garius realized that the brief gift offered from the war-god was fading. He needed to formulate a new strategy.

He allowed the shaman to get close, allowing him another wide swing. But, this time he offered what looked to be a blocking motion and instead, sidestepped it. He reversed his grip on the hammer and slammed its handle into his enemy’s exposed gut.

Garius realized immediately the folly of his strike. It was like hitting solid stone. A backhand from the powerfully altered orc sent him reeling and he barely managed to hold onto his weapon. His armor withstood the blow, but the sheer force of the strike sent him stumbling away.

A repetition of inhumanly strong blows rained down upon him now. Garius finally released the grip on his hammer, again changing tactics in an attempt to defeat this creature. He recoiled under the mighty assault of the mutated orc, who seemed even more animalistic, its bone-like staff continually crashing down upon him, over and over. His blood-red armor was beginning to conform to the power of this creature’s blows.

Once more, he found himself faced with an opportunity with which he needed to employ the necromantic power of The Reaper. He uttered a prayer to the god of death, asking him once again for access to the deadly degenerative plane. As the gift was granted, he channeled that energy into a discharge of force that sent the shaman hurling away, landing with a thud several paces from him. Garius felt the energy leech a bit of the orc’s soul into him. He also knew he could not reach his weapon and decided instead to use this brief respite to launch another necromantic assault.

Standing once more, he began an invocation, directing the dark energies toward the shaman, who was still getting to his feet. The power welled up inside him, holding it until he could no longer contain it. With that, a loud crackling sound, accompanied by a strange dark-purplish radiance, burst forth from him. It completely consumed the shaman, eating away at his flesh and soul as the shaman’s spirits fought hopelessly to aid him.

Please join me and the other amazingly talented authors over @ Skulldust Circle where we have formed a Writer's Circle that must be seen--a collection of brilliant, up & coming independently published speculative fiction authors with much to give both now and in the future!

All Artwork and covers by William J. Kenney

Visit my AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE

See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!

Also, please visit MY HOME PAGE to enjoy an extended reading experience and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC has in store in the future!

All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios 2012 unless otherwise noted.

FOR NOW

The Faceless Knights... Who Are They?

Several of my friends have asked me this question, so I thought I'd address it here for any and all that are interested! Hope you enjoy it! *

The Faceless Knights of Order are simply one of the many factions that the Inquisition uses in order to exact their own brand of justice and order on the face of Wothlondia. The Faceless Knights are a fairly well known and officially sanctioned branch of the Pantheon of Order, which originates from the city of Safehold, keeping the churches and temples of each of the gods safe under their watchful eye.

Garius Forge by Justine Babcock

The Inquisition is a broad term that encompasses many leaders and elders of the Pantheon of Order, who gather in secrecy to exchange information and maintain a firm grasp of what happens within their temples and places of worship. These men and women uncover heresy and the dealings of those who walk the dangerous line between the benevolent gifts of their own gods of Arcadia and the foul temptations of the demon lords of Pandemonium who entice them with dark powers beyond their imagination. Their sole purpose is to weed out the heretics and supplant them as quickly and as quietly as possible, restoring order to the Realm of Ashenclaw.

The Faceless Knights exist as both a source of intelligence gathering upon the surface of Wothlondia, and more so as a very real militant order of warpriests with exceptional skills and abilities. This branch is out in the open, remaining unhidden, and employs priests, warpriests, paladins, knights, warriors and full-fledged Inquisitors.

Inquisitors are the chosen few--the dominant persons amongst their organizations--knights, paladins or warpriests mostly, who can manipulate divine energies as well as having established a background that involves martial competence. Once attaining the esteemed status of Inquisitor, these few men and women have access to any and all divine realms or spheres of influence of all of the gods. They are able to use any power, ability or spell that they see fit and often use whatever means necessary in order to keep the demons of Pandemonium from spreading across the face of Wothlondia. They are typically well-tempered, charismatic and decisive individuals who show exceptional qualities that make them the masters of the pantheon that they are. 

Heretics beware the Order of the Faceless Knights!

"Heresy is what the minority believe, it is the real name given by the powerful to the doctrine of the weak" ~ Robert Ingersol

See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!

Please visit: www.ashenclaw.com to enjoy an extended reading experience, see direct links to purchase Covenant of the Faceless Knights and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC has in store in the future!


(*This one is for you, Lee...)

(PS. Faceless Knight is a conceptual term, not a literal one...FYI!)

Sketch of Inquisitor and Faceless Knight, Garius Forge, by Justine Babcock