{"id":7386,"date":"2011-10-27T16:17:24","date_gmt":"2011-10-27T20:17:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thegreathorse.com\/?p=7386"},"modified":"2017-06-01T12:59:43","modified_gmt":"2017-06-01T16:59:43","slug":"after-the-attack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thegreathorse.com\/book-blog\/2011\/10\/after-the-attack\/","title":{"rendered":"#83- After the Attack"},"content":{"rendered":"

After an attack by the hordes of Genghis Khan…<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"TheDinner in the castle that night was somber, and afterwards men retired to their beds in exhaustion. Meagan had seen Henryk only once. He had been in a company of guards, engrossed in the battle. She was not worried, for few in the castle were injured. Thousands of arrows had rained over the fortress without finding a mark. In contrast, horse and nomad corpses littered the rampart, and the village was a silent, smoking ruin.<\/p>\n

Meagan\u2019s thoughts returned to the Great Horse. Sleepless, she wandered the castle corridors. There must<\/em> be a way to summon Promise, she told herself. Some way to go home. The Great Hall was silent and few torches were lit. Dogs slunk along walls beneath dark gargoyles. Only the rats were emboldened, scurrying on tables, climbing tapestries and running across wooden rafter beams.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see one infidel survives.\u201d The dark form of Janek stepped out of a shadow and stood before her.<\/p>\n

Meagan jumped at the voice. \u201cYou frightened me, Janek! I didn\u2019t see you there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cReally, Maid Meagan, you must be more observant.\u201d He stepped closer. \u201cFor your own sake.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, Janek. I will remember that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pattering footsteps approached. A group of clergy entered the corridor, carrying candles close to their hooded faces. It was the Brotherhood on their way to the candlelit midnight Mass. This unsettling rite was feared: the service was also called the Dark Choir.<\/p>\n

\u201cHi Lorenzo, how are you?\u201d Meagan called, for once glad to see him. \u201cIs Brother Bartholomew with you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not so high a place. My Teacher is at counsel.\u201d The face of the apprentice was barely visible in the flickering light. \u201cYou are found in strange places, Daughter of Eve. You are ever a seeker in darkness.\u201d
\n\u201cI suppose you might think so. Well, I think I will call it a night.\u201d Meagan said it nervously, backing away from Janek. \u201cSleep well. God bless.\u201d<\/p>\n

She walked quickly to her room, stepping carefully over the sleeping forms of her roommates. The single window glowed with moonlight. Meagan lay on her straw mat and stared into the darkness, trying to calm herself and not listen to the castle\u2019s noises…<\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2008 John Royce<\/small><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00ab Previous excerpt: \u201cThe Reason for Castles<\/a>\u201d<\/div>\n
The above excerpt is from \u201cSee all Excerpts<\/strong><\/a>,\u201d the medieval-era section of Eclipsed by Shadow<\/em><\/strong>, and is set in 1240AD. (p. 246 Hbk)<\/em><\/p>\n

The Legend of the Great Horse<\/strong> trilogy is an adventure through history … each section is about a different time period.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Eclipsed by Shadow<\/strong><\/em> (Book #1 of the trilogy) won national awards<\/a> including the Eric Hoffer Award<\/em> for best Young Adult Fiction, and the Mom’s Choice Award<\/em> for best family-friendly Young Adult Fantasy.<\/p>\n

\n

__________<\/p>\n

Quick Links:<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u00bb See All Excerpts<\/strong><\/a> from The Legend of the Great Horse<\/strong> trilogy.<\/p>\n

\u00bb Read the 1st Chapter online<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00bb Check out Book #2 of the trilogy: The Golden Spark<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u00bb See the Media Kit<\/strong><\/a> for more information about the trilogy.<\/p>\n

\"\" Check out the trilogy’s page on Facebook!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Pattering footsteps approached … a group of clergy entered the corridor, carrying candles close to their hooded faces. It was the Brotherhood on their way to the candlelit midnight Mass. This unsettling rite was feared: the service was also called the Dark Choir.” —excerpted from Eclipsed by Shadow<\/b> (Book #1 of ‘The Legend of the Great Horse<\/em>’ trilogy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[118,306,242,70,165,227],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thegreathorse.com\/book-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7386"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thegreathorse.com\/book-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thegreathorse.com\/book-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thegreathorse.com\/book-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thegreathorse.com\/book-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7386"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thegreathorse.com\/book-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7386\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15127,"href":"https:\/\/thegreathorse.com\/book-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7386\/revisions\/15127"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thegreathorse.com\/book-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thegreathorse.com\/book-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thegreathorse.com\/book-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}