Nick_Alderson

One breath, one motion in the wind, and you could make empires fall.

Match your pulse with the rhythm of combat, and you'll dominate any fight.

#Silver Winner of Writing Prompt Contest #144! It strives to be a novel that can be enjoyed by anyone. Our main character is a loveable fool with a godly strength to his sword. Several years before the beginning of the story, Ermos Windbreaker finds himself to have a talent with the sword. With the arrival of a wandering warrior in his village, he decides that he will challenge him, though he had yet to own a sword of his own. There he racks up his first victory, wood against steel. Though, as it happens, no one saw that duel of his and they dismissed his claims as the rantings of a mad fool. A peculiar case of bad luck followed him around for a while. He would demonstrate his strength whenever he got the chance, but there was never anyone around to witness it. That was, until he met Pash. In a village southeast of the Untamed Forest, a grimy boy was wandering through houses abandoned by war, searching for food to fill his belly. It happens that was very same village the infamous Bored Bandits had set up camp in. They seize the boy with the intent of selling him as a slave. Ermos wanders by with much the same intent as Pash – that of searching the abandoned houses for food and wealth – and he too attracts the attention of the bandit crew. He manages to defeat them with the same accidental ease that he had won all his duels in. Seeing such strength, Pash begs that he take him on as his apprentice. Not entirely understanding the responsibility of a master’s position, Ermos agrees. The two of them spend three years questing for their fortunes, but cursed with Ermos’ notoriously bad luck, nothing ever comes of it. Ermos turns to gambling – being the fool that he is – to try and reverse his fortunes, only to land himself in a terrible amount of debt. The weight of that debt finally gets to him, and he loses the enthusiasm he once had, working himself into a rut. That is, until, he meets a drunk trader on the road who offers him ‘magic stones’ in return for his horse. Of course, Ermos accepts, not realizing that he is being fooled. But as fortune would have it, a scam points him in the right direction and he explores the ancient ruins of the Stone Tree.

Do people chase greatness, or does greatness chase us? A.I. genius, Gengyo, through the assistance of SAPPHIRE attains the means to time travel. He seeks a simpler life, and wishes to experience the warmth of a family. But often we do not get what we want, we get what we deserve. And his peaceful times soon end, as war storms Japan, and in order to protect his peace, he must conquer. Join Gengyo as he walks a blood-stained path toward absolute domination, seizing control of Japan. //Brief extract from one of the battle scenes. Written from the point of view of a samurai landowner, Niwa Nakatane. The hooves grew closer to Nakatane's position and their beating hearts grew faster. Perhaps they could simply remain like that, hiding behind the tree, and allow these barbarians to pass? That way could they not return home to their families? Could they not give their dear wives one final kiss, or share one final story with their enthusiastic youth? Nakatane knew exactly what they were thinking. And as the ground rumbled, and the mounted beasts howled, he was the first man to step out from the trees and make his stand. "OORAH!" Possessed by a furious energy, he thrust out with all the aggression of a war god, puncturing Ochi's stallion through the chest with the sharpened wooden point of his lengthy spear. The mammoth fell from his mount clumsily, his head colliding with a nearby tree root. He ceased to move, and a pool of blood began to form around him. "ARM THESE SPEARS MEN! VICTORY SHALL BE OURS!" He stood in front of the charge of over 150 horsemen, alone. But he did not give a single inch of ground. He met the charge of the next man in line, roaring vengefully, possessed by all the rage and power that had accumulated in his body over these past years. The horsemen shrieked like a pack of hyenas, fanning out, each eager for a piece of the man who had brought down their leader. //I did not create the book cover. All credits go to the original creator.