Windkeep

by Michael Simms

Overview

Long ago, Milon Redshield, the first warrior-king of Windkeep Castle, brought down a curse on the kingdom for his cruel treatment of dragons, the Goddess Nilene's chosen guardians of nature. Thousands of years later, Windkeep is still burdened with the curse, and Queen Tessia is having to defend her kingdom from repeated assaults by the weather witches and their allies. She turns to her friends and advisors Norbert the Green Mage and Tyrmiss the Last Dragon, to accompany her and a band of heroes in a quest to travel to the far land of Sheonad in order to parley with the witches, and if they refuse to negotiate, then to destroy their city. Tessia urges Norbert to use his powers to fight the witches and protect Windkeep, but Norbert is reluctant to do so because he understands that the world exists in delicate balance, and grave and unforeseen consequences result if the balance is disrupted. After fighting a number of battles and suffering bizarre magical transformations, Tessia and Norbert at last come to understand the kingdom of Windkeep can be saved only through the ancient wisdom of dragons.

Windkeep is book two in a YA fantasy series about Tessia the Dragon Queen and her loyal advisor and friend Norbert Oldfoot, a gentle mage who has no desire to wield the powerful magics he probably could use if he were not such a good person. Norbert is the self-deprecating narrator of the story, as he was for book 1, The Green Mage.

Windkeep opens with a bored Queen Tessia seven years after the events of book 1. The kingdom is suffering a devastating drought, and when a traveler comes to town, he tells tales of the kingdoms and peoples to the north, including weather witches, who could bring rain, Tessia and her ministers believe him.

Tessia, Tyrmiss the dragon, and Norbert set off with a few others to set the kingdom to rights through diplomacy, and it all goes terribly wrong when they run afoul of a magic that turns all but Norbert into magically mismatched creatures. Can Norbert return his friends to their own shapes? And beyond that, will he and his magically transformed friends be able to save the kingdom?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781956440720
Publisher:	Madville Publishing
Publication date:	02/01/2024
Series:	The Talon Trilogy
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	314
File size:	7 MB

About the Author

Born and raised in Texas, Michael Simms has worked as a squire and armorer to a Hungarian fencing master, stable hand, gardener, forager, estate agent, college teacher, editor, publisher, technical writer, lexicographer, political organizer, and literary impresario. He is the author of seven collections of poetry and a textbook about poetry. In 2011 Simms was recognized by the Pennsylvania State Legislature for his contribution to the arts. Simms and his wife Eva live in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Mount Washington overlooking the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers.

Read an Excerpt

by Tatatungia the witch, known as The Wanderer, visiting the court of Queen Oleanna Vth

~parchment, entered into the Chronicles in the Royal Library of Windkeep

 

The old songs and stories are wrong in so many ways. Milon Redshield was no hero, but a murderer who violated the will of the Goddess Nilene. It is true, as is sung, that he and his soldiers built a snare of heavy rope and suspended it across the River Iskar and waited in secret until Morf the dragon flew up the river listening for salmon dreaming under the water’s surface, and thus distracted, did not see the ropes hanging loosely across the river. At Milon’s signal, his men yanked the ropes taut, catching Morf by his talon, tangling him so he fell into the water. The soldiers pulled the dragon to shore half-drowned, wired his jaw shut so he could not breathe fire and tied his legs together, so he could not rip with his talons.

The men lifted Morf into a wide quarry wagon and carried him to Windkeep, the stone tower where Milon Redshield ruled the three valleys. And here is where the sagas depart from true history, for the dragon did not become Milon’s willing servant, but rather Milon kept the dragon chained beside his throne as a warning and augury to any who would oppose him. He saddled the dragon like a pony and rode the sentient beast through the kingdom, falsely exhibiting courage to his subjects.

Edwige the Princess was envious of her brother and wished for a dragon of her own. So Milon gifted her Tenwen, the gentle sister of Morf. And Edwige kept Tenwen beside her to impress suitors, but soon the Princess grew bored with her pet and had the unfortunate dragon removed to the dungeon. And there Tenwen, who was known by her kind as The Sweet One, died of hunger and despair.

Following Milon’s example, his vassals captured dragons, roasting their hearts and decorating walls with their heads. Wings were clipped to keep the beasts earth-bound, and young dragons were trained to fight each other with their talons while men wagered on the contests. Dragon eggs were sliced open and eaten. In the fashion of the day, women wore bracelets of baby dragon teeth. Thus, all manner of cruelties were done to the dragons who were once protectors of the earth.

At last, the race of dragons who had resided in these valleys since the Age of Ice, and who’d always lived in peace and harmony with other creatures, rose up against men. And Milon rode Morf into battle against the dragons, but Morf turned on his master, so Milon stabbed him through his right heart with a spear.

In his last moments, Morf turned his majestic head to the sky and asked Nilene, Mother Of Us All, to curse the kings and queens of Windkeep until the end of time.

And thus, it was done.