The Mark of the Unseen God
The Markulian Prophecies
Book Three
by Benjamin Patterson

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GENRE: Fantasy

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BOOK BLURB:

Look to the hills with dread: Salmmonaksa has arrived. His armies swarm like a plague of locusts. As the emperor prepares for his final assault, the Home City trembles. Overrun by desperate refugees, the monarchs have gathered to plot their defence. High King Eldilin is back at the helm, but there's no food and no answers.

Princess Kathryn has not given up hope. Lying on a cot in her room is the man destined to save the realm. They desperately need him, and for the prophecies to prove themselves true, but he will not wake no matter how much she prays. Even if he did, he cannot do it alone. Many more will die, that is certain.

The Mark of the Unseen God is the final instalment of the Markulian Prophecies, a refreshingly original tale set in a breathtaking medieval world. To rid realm of evil, everything will be required. There is no peace without sacrifice, and no love without loss. May who they are and what they have be enough.

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EXCERPT THREE:

The matching dark cloaks of these young risk-takers looked impressive but were a childish indulgence. They caught the eye, marked them as rebels. It would be better to dress plainly than to advertise how organised they were. If anyone saw them gathered so, they would know immediately they were more than a few disobedient scallywags out for a midnight adventure, but the ambassador kept his judgements to himself. Their fate was not his concern.

Instead, he turned, pretending he was hesitant to be split from his men. The truth was he was counting on it. After a pause, ensuring the youths noticed his reticence, he nodded. Taking their cue, his crew pushed the dandy back into the water and floated away. Six black-cloaked rebels led the ambassador up the beach, three in front, three behind. From there, a winding path appeared, cut into the mountainside. Stray fronds flicked against his ears. Loose rocks skittered over stone. As they ascended, the coastal air lost its heaviness, but the bugs became more relentless about his ears. The ambassador flicked them away. Such discomforts were familiar to Andreans, particularly those from Mourilyan.

At the top of the hill, he looked back. His boat was a darkened shadow amidst darker waters. If he did not know the boat was there, he would not have been able to make it out. All was quiet in the bay, for now.

‘Your dark clothing is a good choice. It will help conceal you as we traverse the ridges.’ The youth nearest him pointed to the ambassador’s cowl. ‘Is that how officials dress where you are from?’

The ambassador glanced his way to acknowledge the question but did not reply. Idle conversation would not benefit his cause. The less he said, the better.

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GUEST POST:

Making the Story Believable: How to Write Realistic Fantasy

Fantasy is fantastical, which means many of the story elements are far-fetched, but that does not mean the story should be unbelievable. The key to writing realistic fantasy does not lie in explaining all the mechanics of your complex magic system, or providing comprehensive histories for every race, place and creature. Believability is found in your characters. If they behave reasonably, then your story will be believable. Let me explain using an illustration from the Matix Trilogy.

The first Matrix movie is an all-time great. Many incredible and unbelievable things happen and so much of the science fiction world is unexplained, but it does not matter. Why only three agents? How is the ship Nebuchadnezzar powered? How do the sentinels work? We could ask questions all day. In the end, the answers are inconsequential. The reason the story is so compelling is because the character reactions and behaviours are reasonable, given the situation they’re in. When Neo is found by Morpheus, he’s skeptical. When a bug comes out of his stomach, he’s freaked out. When the entire crew is chased by agents, they are scared. It’s all reasonable. Their reactions draw us in and we forget that most of the world’s backstory and mechanics are unexplained. Sure, the writers give us a basic outline. Guess what? It turns out a basic outline is enough. Because the characters feel real, the fantasy feels real.

The second Matrix movie is the complete opposite. It is set in the same world as the first one, yet nothing feels authentic even though there are no obvious plot holes and nothing about the world’s mechanics or backstory has changed. So why the deterioration in believability? Answer: the characters stop behaving and reacting reasonably. When Morpheus and Niobe survive a crash, they’re not freaked out (heck, they’re not even breathing hard), they crack jokes instead. Neo loses his eyes of wonder and confusion. He becomes weirdly quiet and difficult to understand. The whole move feels more like a corny action flick with slick one-liners and cliché reactions. None of the characters are believable anymore, therefore the fantasy is not believable anymore.

So, when writing, make your world as imaginative and crazy as you want. If there’s flying giraffes, that’s cool. Time goes backwards? Sure, why not. The audience will go with it if your characters behave reasonably. Explain their motivations. Reveal their thought process. Characters are the heart of realistic fantasy.

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AUTHOR BIO:

Benjamin Patterson lives in North Queensland, Australia with his wife and four children. When not writing, arguing with pilots or volunteering, he's battling a life-controlling addiction to sport, an addiction his poor wife has discovered is easily passed from father to sons.

The Mark of the Unseen God completes his first fantasy trilogy. He hopes you enjoyed reading it as much as he enjoyed writing it. Writing is not easy. Without the encouragement of friends and family, the series would never have made it to print.

Though the series has sold well, Benjamin remains about one million book sales short of his goal. You can help him fulfill his goal, and encourage him to finish his next writing project, by writing rave reviews in every forum available and catching up with him at: http://www.facebook.com/theshadowofhishand

Stay tuned...

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