Everknight

by Stefan Emunds

Genres: Fantasy; Fantasy action & adventure; Arthurian; Historical Fantasy; Sword & Sorcery; historical fantasy; historical fiction; Medieval fantasy; Heroic fantasy; Mens inspirational books; Fantasy novella; Visionary fiction; Adventure novella

Synopsis

If you lost your life in a bet, would you go to your execution of your own free will? Would you weather temptations of wealth, status, and romance on the way there? Would you be a knight?

Everknight recounts the heroic journey of a knight who seeks his execution of his own free so his people will remember him as a knight of uncompromising honor.

Will he meet his doom or will he find a way to survive the execution?

Read a story of temptation, karma, and honor that brings the legend of chivalry back to life as an epic adventure tale that will whisk you away to an era of honor and purpose.

Synopsis
Our protagonist serves as the most honorable knight at King Arthur’s Round Table. After an encounter with a mysterious shield maiden, his fate becomes intertwined with that of his own honorable death - a destiny he must fight for to the bitter end. Our purpose-driven knight strikes out across the land in search of the shield maiden and to meet his voluntary execution. Little does he know that he rides toward the dark night of his soul. His journey takes him all the way to the soul world. There, his strength, duty, and uncompromising honor will be tested as he fights through treacherous trials and carnal temptations. Trapped in a terminal karmic scenario, and honor-bound to seek out his own death, he leaps into the ethos of mythology as a hero of legend.

Genre Statement
Do you like cross-genre and innovative fantasy literature? Then, Everknight may be for you. The prime genre of Everknight is heroic fantasy. Most sword & sorcery books revolve around the fantasy world and the magic system. Everknight is a character-driven story with a touch of literary fiction that centers on the protagonist's heroic journey or honor road.
Everknight plays in two worlds. The story begins in the common world of the middle ages, at the time of Arthurian sagas. This puts Everknight in the historical fantasy, historical fiction, and medieval fantasy genre. To find his antagonist, our knight in shining armor has to cross over into the soul world and become a hero of two worlds. The events in the soul world add a visionary fiction element to Everknight. The story also touches on themes like karma and destiny, trial and triumph, and the destiny of souls.
Everknight is a crisp fantasy adventure novella with a touch of literary fiction that you can read in one sitting.

Release date: December 5, 2022

Publisher: Publeace

Print pages: 136

Sample

His mind is afire as if a blacksmith poured molten iron into his head, but his face is ice cold. 
He’s lying face down in a puddle. 
He lifts his head. A stone’s throw away, a river whirls water and rocks and fire into the air, raising an elemental wall he can’t see beyond. He sits and hears sounds of cranky chain mail and moaning leather straps. He’s clad in a knight’s armor. 
The edges of all things are blurry, like in a dream. He pinches his cheek. No pain. “Mother of God, stand by me.”
The sky is a sun-less stretch. It rains, but for some otherworldly reason, the rain doesn’t fall. It floats in the air and sways back and forth, brushed by a breeze. Something bitter and sticky coats his tongue. He rubs his tongue over his teeth and spits out green slime. 
A horse whinnies close by as if calling for help. It’s lying on its side, tongue out, foam frothing from its mouth, green like the slime on his tongue.
“Were we poisoned?” He worms his way to the stallion, leans against its belly, and pats its neck. “Or did we try to cross this wicked river?” 
The horse answers with a trailing snort. 
His memory doesn’t answer at all. It’s a mute mass. “Who am I? What happened? How can I not know who I am?”
He calls upon the Holy Spirit and stands. He swipes a hand through the hanging rain and wets his head. The fire inside his head persists.
He turns away from the river and beholds a vast, granitic plain. It bears stone pillars that branch out like leafless winter trees. A violet mountain on the horizon looks like a half-buried egg. 
A knightly errand must have brought him here. Who’s his king? He scratches the stubble on his head. “Where is his castle? “Damna memoria.” 
“I shall not lose heart.” He bangs his fist against his chest armor and pulls the horse to its feet. 
A shield hangs from the saddle and a helmet and a beheading ax, sharp like a Saracen blade. He searches the saddle pockets. A stony loaf of bread, a piece of bacon, a water gourd, a crucifix, and a sachet with a blood-encrusted handkerchief. No letter. Looks like he’s a poor knight. A lost knight.
“What now, horse? There’s no way we get across that river. Shall we head to the mountain?”
The horse nickers, which has a ring of consent to it, and he mounts. Up there, the task looks as uncertain as a battle. Traversing the plain may take days or months or a lifetime. He crosses himself and spurs the horse toward the mountain.