Heirs of Legacy, Book 1:
The Prince
Paul Lauritsen
Heirs of Legacy, Book 1: The Prince
Copyright © 2019 Paul Lauritsen
All rights reserved
Cover art by Jacquelyn Novelli
Maps by Glen Lauritsen
For my parents, Mark and Susan Lauritsen,
and for my brother, Glen Lauritsen:
Thank you for being my first readers,
editors, and biggest fans
Acknowledgements
The process of writing a whole book is a lot more involved than just coming up with a story, and it is by no means a smooth road. There are changes along the way, corrections and edits that need to be made, sometimes entire sections that need to be thrown out and redone. And then comes the nitpicking – lots of it – and the finishing details like the cover and other elements. This book had a great many helpers along the way to get to where it is now, and they need to be recognized for their endless patience with me and with the story.
First, my parents Mark and Susan Lauritsen, and my brother Glen. They were my very first test readers, the first to step into this world with me and take part in these adventures. They were also my primary editors (especially my father) and helped polish the rough manuscript I started with and make it something special. My mother was an endless well of support and enthusiasm, always encouraging me to keep working at this book and to follow my dream of being published. My brother Glen, who is a writer himself, was always available to bounce ideas off of and even helped fill in some gaps along the way. He also provided the maps that accompany this book. Between them, they made a formidable and meticulous team, and this could never have happened without them.
I had other readers along the way as well, including many in my support network of fellow writers, such as Kevin Quibodeaux and other members of the Creative Writers of Aggieland. They helped me develop as a writer and were a great source of critique and support. Another member of this group, Jackie Novelli, is the artist behind the fantastic cover art for this book.
Lastly, I need to recognize where my path to creative writing started. Mr. Jeffrey Murrin was my eighth grade language arts teacher, and about midway through the semester he gave us a short creative writing assignment. We were to describe a conflict between two characters, but could not describe the source of the conflict. The prompt was unique and challenging, and I threw myself into that short, two-page piece with the limited creative writing talent I had at the time.
That simple story fired my imagination, and over the next several years I expanded on it and wrote several other books as well. I worked on creative writing in my free time, all through high school and college, refining my skills and working towards becoming a published author. But, without Mr. Murrin’s eighth grade class, none of this would have happened. He opened the world of creative writing to me, and I will forever be thankful for that.
Thank you to everyone that helped along the way. It took a long time and a huge effort from every one of us, but here we are. This book would not be what it is without the contributions each and every one of you made.
The Prince
Chapter 1
“Go to!”
Tar Agath’s order rang around the field, echoing off the stone walls of the training center. Prince Relam began moving sideways slowly, his actions mirrored by his opponent two meters away. This was the third bout Relam had fought against Sebast Garenes that day. They had each won one, though Sebast had only managed to win his thanks to a dirty trick. Relam was determined to win this third bout, and so claim a victory in their ongoing personal war.
Sebast feinted a thrust at Relam’s shoulder, but the prince deflected it with a quick flick of his wrist. Their wooden training swords met with a loud THOCK! then all was silent again. Relam shook his brown-gold hair, dripping with sweat, out of his eyes and prepared for the lordling’s next move. Sebast feinted again, and this time Relam moved forward, stepping past his opponent’s questing blade and cutting at his sword arm. Sebast parried clumsily, retreating a pace.
Relam followed, pressing his advantage, flowing into one of the patterns Master Agath had drilled into the cadets for the last several years. Backhand, thrust, overhand, thrust, thrust. Always moving forward, never letting Sebast pause and recover.
Finally, Sebast was forced to retaliate or be driven against a wall. The lordling slashed wildly and lunged forward, trying to gain space to maneuver. Relam ducked the first two blows, then batted Sebast’s sword aside and flicked his own blade up so the tip rested on the shoulder of Sebast’s heavily padded jerkin.
“That’s it!” Master Agath shouted immediately, hazel eyes flashing warningly. “Bout goes to Relam.”
Relam saluted Garenes as protocol demanded, though he had little respect for the lordling. Sebast merely scowled and threw down his practice sword, stalking away to a row of low stone benches, where the other cadets in their year were waiting. Master Agath made no effort to call Sebast to order, but frowned slightly, clearly troubled. Relam picked up Sebast’s practice sword and handed it to Master Agath, along with his own.
“Thank you, Relam,” the angular sword master said, smiling. “Well fought, your highness.”
Relam saluted, clapping his right fist to his heart and bowing slightly. “Thanks to your training, sir,” he replied.
Agath nodded once. “You are ready for the trials,”
