William C. Tracy is a North Carolina native and a lifelong fan of science fiction and fantasy. He has a master’s in mechanical engineering, and has both designed and operated heavy construction machinery. He has also trained in Wado-Ryu karate since 2003, and runs his own dojo. He is an avid video and board gamer, a reader, and of course, a writer.
In his spare time, he wrangles three cats. He and his wife enjoy putting their pets in cute little costumes and making them cosplay for the annual Christmas card.
You can visit him at williamctracy.com.
On a bright August day, the sun disappears.
Sam van Oen barely escapes freezing to death in his house, as his watch stops and fire ceases to burn. He is pulled into the Nether—a nexus between ten diverse alien cultures—where he meets two maji who can control the musical foundation of the universe. While coping with anxiety attacks prompted by his new surroundings, Sam must learn to hear and change the Symphony, and thus reality, in order to discover what happened to his home.Sam is surrounded by aliens, both strange and familiar. Soon, he meets sister and brother twins, also new to the Nether, who support him during his anxiety attacks. Sam finds he is attracted to both of them, and does not want to choose.
But more freezing voids like the one that started his journey are appearing, and Sam’s chances of getting back are fading. The Assembly of Species is threatening to dissolve and the maji are being attacked by those they protect, while rumors grow of an ancient, shape-changing species of assassins, returning to wage war.
The Dissolution is coming.
Snippet:
A description of Sam learning about the magic
The tick of both clocks made a syncopated music in the silence, and denying it anything else, his mind fixated on it, hearing the two beats combine, separate, and combine. There was a pattern there, if he could only figure it out. Was his watch slower, or the majus’ clock? Did they even define a second the same way here?
A steady chord joined the two timepieces, weaving between the two. Sam almost opened his eyes to see if someone else was in the apartment, though he knew the majus was out. Breathing steady. Mind calm. He tried not to be aware of his body, even while bringing his focus to himself. The chord was still there, like the thrum of several deep reed instruments, just on the edge of hearing.
Then the reeds multiplied, chords overlapping each other. Sam inhaled at the complexity, the beauty. Don’t lose it.
The chords split again, competing harmonious Symphonies, all in the same low register. The clocks were lost in the background. Like a fractal spiral, the melodies split off until Sam thought the sounds would fill his entire head. His breathing came in short gasps, though he could somehow keep track of each thread of music. Slow, fast, loud and quiet, he could hear each Symphony, each one more complicated than the last. The pure sound was beautiful—it was primal and right.
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