Dream
Mental
Damnation Part 2
by
Konn Lavery
Genre:
Epic Dark Fantasy
Thought
to be banished to the underworld by the humans, Krista mysteriously
finds herself as the first of her kind to walk on the surface in
centuries. This was caused by one of the underworld’s corrupt
leaders, Danil, who uses her in an unholy ritual to set their people
free. Danil’s infectious touch gives Krista the nightmarish disease
known as Mental Damnation.
She
becomes the key interest of two men, Paladin and Dr. Alsroc, who
struggle to make sense of her sudden appearance and how it relates to
Mental Damnation. Her friend back in the underworld, Darkwing,
abandons his gang to begin his search for her.
Krista
finds herself torn between two worlds, gaining acceptance among the
humans while experiencing inner turmoil from hallucinations caused by
her disease. These visions paint a hellish dream world known as
Dreadweave Pass where the realm’s ruler, a corrupt god known as the
Weaver, is on the hunt for her. Krista’s blood is believed to be a
key component for the Weaver’s retribution against the Heavenly
Kingdoms that once banished him!
Repentance: a word that holds a heavy weight on one’s psyche—that is, if they understand the sensation of guilt from an action. Even if one isn’t the direct cause of the situation, one can still feel a sense of accountability for what occurred. They may feel they could have prevented the affair or felt powerless in its wake. How long does one hold onto these negative emotions until no longer haunted by them?
“Paladins have been known to act quickly before processing a scenario. What happened in the past is not your fault,” a high-pitched yet manly voice spoke while he stared at a bronze cup filled with water. The man brushed his black curly hair out of his face while keeping a cold gaze on the cup. His scarred lips were expressionless.
The cup rested on an oak table, gripped tightly by another man’s large hands. He stared at the liquid inside, seeing a faint reflection of the dirty-blonde hair that draped down past his face. The other details of his figure were shrouded in the darkness; only the silhouette of his face appeared.
I am simply a reflection of a time that has come and gone, the man thought.
“Paladin?” the curly-haired man asked.
“Yes, Smyth?” Paladin asked as he looked up to his companion, who sat on the opposite end of the table.
“I was saying you cannot hold yourself responsible for what happened on Mount Kuzuchi all those years ago. There were much larger events at play than what one man can control.”
“I disagree with that. The whole event was orchestrated and executed by Karazickle, one draconem. A man and a draconem are still each a single individual.” I could have prevented it, if I had known sooner.
Paladin looked out to the window behind Smyth where he could see the sun begin to set, projecting an orange hue onto the landscape. They sat on the second level of the keep, in one of the study rooms. The two of them had taken some books from the nearby shelves. The manuscripts were filled with information about rituals and tribal species in the Kingdom of Zingalg.
Paladin looked down to his open book where some illustrations of swirls and circles were accompanied by brief descriptions. “Nothing explains why the Drac Lord was disguised as Saule, or why he wanted to be rid of the vazelead people to begin with.”
Smyth closed his book. “Whatever the Drac Lord Karazickle wanted out of the vazelead people had little to do with us, therefore it has little to do with you.”
“That is why he slaughtered my comrades? That is why he destroyed the Paladins of Zeal and dissolved the Knight’s Union?”
Reality
Mental
Damnation Part 1
Having
her family murdered by the humans during her people’s banishment
from the surface world, Krista and her only friend, Darkwing,
struggle to remain alive. The pair of reptilian street scum live in
their newfound home, the City of Renasence, dictated by a fascist
military known as the Renasence Guard. The two find themselves at
odds when Krista puts her faith in the Five Guardians’ goal of
unification, while Darkwing chooses to stand with a notorious gang,
the Blood Hounds, who are known for their anarchist views
This
divide in their friendship forces Krista to persist on her own as the
Five Guardians become crazed from an unknown disease - Mental
Damnation. After their infection, the Guardians develop a bizarre
interest in her, claiming they must reap her innocence for their
newfound master, the Weaver.
With
a military dictatorship, politically-driven gangs and their guardians
infected and on a hunt for her, Krista has limited options for
survival: Does she fend for her life in the City of Renascence,
against menacing forces, or risk leaving everything behind and enter
the uncharted realm of the underworld?
Darkness and death…
Hills of bone,
Rivers of blood
Skies of the mourning dead
Death overruled
Judgment was taken.
Here I am,
In the land of the damned.
Just a few words of many used to describe my master’s realm – Dreadweave Pass, a temporary purgatory for souls to redeem themselves in the eyes of the gods in the Heavenly Kingdoms. I often chuckle to myself, wondering why the gods assumed I could be redeemed. They would have been better off sending me into one of the deeper hells of Dega’Mostikas’ Triangle. There is no redemption for the life I lived in the mortal realm – or the one I live now, serving my master, the Weaver.
I suppose I will have to remind the gods of this fact once my life here ends and I return to the gates of the Heavenly Kingdoms. Although that seems rather unlikely, considering that the Weaver’s necromantic arts have made me immortal. I can never again experience what I knew as death. I will simply have to tell the gods with my blade once we free my master and wage war on the Heavenly Kingdoms for banishing him to Dreadweave Pass.
"General Dievourse?" A voice rang out in the silence.
General Dievourse shot to life, his pure white eyes widening in surprise as he shook off his daydream. His pale, decaying face turned toward the humanoid silhouette that loomed ahead of him as his internal monologue dissolved.
Dievourse recognized the silhouette. It was his lieutenant, standing tall in his studded leather armour, wrapped in belts and buckles holding a range of assassination equipment – from knives to poison needles and even some weaponry Dievourse could not identify.
"The child." The lieutenant pointed down and the general's eyes followed, coming to rest on a small, pasty, pathetic-looking human boy, about twelve years old. The child's bright blue eyes shone with fear from under wisps of dark hair. His neck was wrapped in a rusty chain.
Dievourse, holding the other end of the chain, lifted his hand. Saying nothing, he examined the child.
"It is to be sent to the Weaver, correct?" the lieutenant asked.
"Correct, lieutenant," Dievourse replied, lowering the chain.
The lieutenant nodded. "With any hope, it will meet the Weaver's expectations. The Gatekeepers look long and hard for them in the mortal realm."
Dievourse nodded with a scowl. “One can only hope.”
Konn
Lavery is a Canadian horror and dark fantasy writer who is known for
his Mental Damnation series. The second book, Dream, reached the
Edmonton Journal’s top five selling fictional books list. He
started writing fantasy stories at a very young age while being home
schooled. It wasn’t until graduating college that he began
professionally pursuing his work with his first release, Reality.
Since then he has continued to write works of fiction ranging from
fantasy to horror.
His
literary work is done in the long hours of the night. By day, Konn
runs his own graphic design and website development business under
the title Reveal Design. These skills have been transcribed into the
formatting and artwork found within his publications supporting his
fascination of transmedia storytelling.
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