{"id":456,"date":"2024-09-06T12:30:52","date_gmt":"2024-09-06T16:30:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/?p=456"},"modified":"2024-09-06T14:37:04","modified_gmt":"2024-09-06T18:37:04","slug":"sample-paladin-of-a-dead-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/?p=456","title":{"rendered":"Sample: Paladin of a Dead God"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a world where the Shining God was defeated, a lone paladin seeks redemption for his part in her death. Wielding a divine sword, he battles the Enemy’s forces alongside a disillusioned priest and two gifted boys. As they confront slavers, corrupted soldiers, and new horrors, the paladin must resist temptation and guide his companions towards hope in a broken land. Read the first chapter below.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Paladin<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Chapter 1<\/h1>\n

The boys fled from the devils down the foggy railroad tracks and skidded to a stop before the paladin blocking their way. They looked up at him like he was some arrogant statue from the ruined churches of the Old Faith, holding back the Enemy all his own.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou boys are runnin\u2019 like you got all the hells on your heals,\u201d the paladin said. He eyed the fog behind them. Black forms darker than hate flitted in the mist.<\/p>\n

The paladin saw the confusion in the boys\u2019 faces and didn\u2019t need to be one of the Enemy\u2019s mind rapers to know their thoughts. Who\u2019s the bigger threat, their eyes said, the ravenous devil pack or the gaunt, bearded man with a ragged white cloak?<\/p>\n

\u201cMister,\u201d one boy croaked, \u201cthem\u2019s devils back there!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know what they are, boy. Get behind me now.\u201d<\/p>\n

They scrambled around the paladin, keeping as far from him as the tracks allowed, and resumed their flight. The paladin didn\u2019t turn to see where the boys ran, but he hoped they watched what he did. He was about to give them a tale to delight their folks later to their warm hearths.<\/p>\n

A score of devils hurtled from the mist. Glistening red and black skin pulled tight over lean muscles. Mouths with sharp yellow teeth wrapped halfway around their heads. Where there should have been eyes and ears were only smooth, mottled skulls. Some shrieked while others snapped their teeth like the clacking of dry bones. Some galloped on four limbs, while others loped on two legs.<\/p>\n

The paladin drew the God sword from the scabbard on his back and touched it to his forehead. Then he dropped to one knee, closed his eyes, and prayed.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Jacob and Adam hadn\u2019t run far before Jacob stopped and turned.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019re you doing?\u201d Adam screamed at him, slowing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s he doing?\u201d Jacob asked.<\/p>\n

The man kneeled with his head bowed against his fancy sword. He seemed to ignore the oncoming horde of gibbering teeth and claws. Jacob had seen the cold resolve in the man\u2019s eyes, heard the breezy courage in his deep voice. Pa had told him stories about brave men wielding beautiful swords, but he never thought those men or swords still existed.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s praying,\u201d Adam said breathlessly, tugging on Jacob\u2019s arm.<\/p>\n

\u201cPraying to what? Everyone knows God\u2019s dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re gonna be dead if we don\u2019t go!\u201d<\/p>\n

The devils were almost upon the man, yet he didn\u2019t move.<\/p>\n

\u201cJacob, please, let\u2019s\u2014!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to see,\u201d Jacob whispered, staring at the man.<\/p>\n

White light burst silently from the kneeling man, forcing Jacob to shut his eyes and turn away. Adam gasped beside him. When the light faded, Jacob slowly opened his eyes\u2026and felt his jaw slacken.<\/p>\n

The man stood facing the oncoming devils with blue-white flames encasing his body. He didn\u2019t seem to mind the flames, though, and strode toward the devil horde, his sword aimed at them. When four devils leaped at him, he cut them in half with a one-handed backswing, never missing a stride. The devils had time for a surprised scream before a blue-white flame turned their bodies to ash that floated to the ground.<\/p>\n

The devil horde stopped as one. They cocked their heads, unsure.<\/p>\n

But the man was not. He danced into their midst and hacked through the devils with inhuman speed. Each devil he cut down erupted in blue-white flames, their ashes drifting away. When some tried to flee, the man appeared before them with a grin and smote them down without a single wasted movement.<\/p>\n

The battle was over in moments.<\/p>\n

Jacob once saw two devils devour a ten-foot brown bear. This man had single-handedly destroyed twenty.<\/p>\n

The flaming man turned his head toward the boys and bowed as if they had applauded. He walked toward them, and as he did, the blue-white flames extinguished like a candle before bed. He gave the fancy sword an artistic twirl so that he held the hilt, but with the blade resting against the back of his right arm.<\/p>\n

Adam dropped to one knee. Jacob figured he\u2019d better show the same respect and imitated his friend.<\/p>\n

The man stopped. \u201cGet up, you fools. I\u2019m good, but I ain\u2019t God.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam looked up. \u201cThen what are you, sir?\u201d<\/p>\n

He stared at the walled town behind the boys a quarter mile down the tracks. \u201cJust a man,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd there\u2019s a deceiver in yonder village whose head needs separatin\u2019 from his neck.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

This was a sample chapter from my work-in-progress fantasy novel, <\/strong><\/em>Paladin of a Dead God<\/strong>. If you enjoyed it, please sign up for my newsletter to get updates on the novel’s release. Thank you!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a world where the Shining God was defeated, a lone paladin seeks redemption for his part in her death. Wielding a divine sword, he battles the Enemy’s forces alongside a disillusioned priest and two gifted boys. As they confront slavers, corrupted soldiers, and new horrors, the paladin must resist temptation and guide his companions […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-novels"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=456"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robsteinerauthor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}