The Legends of A'sthy: Thairu

“Here is the tale told throughout the ages: In the beginning, there was nothing but chaos. If there has been land in that time, it was not visible or habitable. Nothing but an insufferable Darkness existed in those days. It covered the land and moved with a life of it’s own. From that Darkness, a single being of light appeared. Their skin was as white as freshly fallen snow, and their long robe shown with the light of a million stars. They lifted their eyes to the dark heavens and their name was Orassul.”

So, sound interesting? Are you already shouting “MORE!”? Or are you the cautious type asking “And so what?” Well, Thairu is the first planned book in my Legend’s of A’sthy series. This story follows the journey of Aailaine, as she travels across A’sthy to try and bring back the light of Orassul, the creator of the world. Along her travels, she meets the flirtatious werecat named Iasi, who is more than willing to help her with her travels. However, Iasi is hiding a dark secret and has his own interests in her success. Soo is there anything else? What are the stretch goals for a book? Better publishing options of course! Simply put, the more money I can raise, the more options I have for the book, including a professionally designed cover, line editing, format review, press release and project management. All based on what you guys (the readers) want.

Honestly, I write for people. I want to know that people want to read my books and enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy writing them. I’m doing this to see who wants this story, and trust me I’d be more than happy with a basic package. But if you guys want more then who am I to deny you? So let’s make Thairu happen together! Ti dire eld swani swok! (Be happy and live long!)

About the Author

Yasmina Burrows is a freelance artist and pastry cook. When not creating new and exciting worlds, she can be found in the kitchen, cooking up the next delicious meal or decorating a cake for her friends. She also enjoys exploring our world, travelling to learn all she can about other cultures. You can visit her at www.wonderlandsartist.com.

Excerpt

“Excuse miss, can I help you?” The merchant, done with his previous customer called her over and she moved to him nervously. He was short, thin man, and he held his hands in anticipation of making a sale. He didn’t seem like a swindler, so Aailaine ventured closer to his stall.

“Um, yes, I was looking for a slightly bigger pack than this, one that has pockets, so that I can consolidate all my bags.” She showed him the pack with food she had received from the trolls and the merchant seemed to think for a moment before looking through his wares.

“Well, dressed as you are, I would assume a brightly colored pack is out of the question. I thought I had a few dark ones, where are they…” Aailaine waited patiently as the man looked through his wares. Her mind began to wander to Sirix’s instructions on trying to find someone to travel with her. Based on what she had learned, mostly merchants and werecats travelled and the latter were shape-shifters, who rarely walked around in their original forms. Finding one in such a huge city would be a hard task, and she wasn’t sure how rude it would be to ask around.

“Hmm, this isn’t good.” Aailaine jumped to attention as the merchant murmured, pulling out a bright green pouch of the right size. “It seems I’m sold all the ones this size. However, I’m a local merchant who lives in the city, and my wife is the one who makes all these bags. If you like, I could have her make one for you tonight and give it to you tomorrow. It would be similar to this one, which has several pockets on the inside, so you can store money or other small valuables. All the pockets close, so you don’t have to worry about the contents spilling out if the bag is jostled.”

Aailaine inspected the pack as the merchant held it open for her and nodded as she stood back up. “How much would it be?”

“Well, I usually sell packs this size for eighty gold pieces, but I’ll give it to you for sixty. Thirty now, and thirty in the morning.” He smiled as Aailaine considered the price. It was more than she wanted spend, considering what she had, and she was about to walk away when she remember the jewels. She pulled out some of them and showed them to the merchant.

“Will any of these cover the full price?” The merchant’s face lit up as he examined the glittering gems. Carefully, he reached to take three of the larger ones from her hand when a voice from behind her spoke.

“C’mon now, don’t you think that’s a bit much?” A tanned hand reached around her, picking up the large sapphire and dropping it in the merchant’s hand. She turned to see a young man with tanned skin and raven hair standing behind her, his cat-like tail and ears twitching. “There, that should cover the original price and little extra. Fair enough if you ask me, especially since she’s not getting the bag right now.”

The merchant seemed ready to argue, but the werecat leaned closer to him. He spoke softly enough that Aailaine could not hear, but the merchant sighed with defeat and pocketed the gem. He turned and wrote down the order on a slip of paper before signing it and motioning for Aailaine to sign as well and giving her a copy of the slip. Her business concluded, she turned back to the stranger and bowed.

“Thank you very much.” He laughed as he stood her up and placed one hand on his hips.

“It’s no problem, miss. It seemed like you could use some help. He’s not a bad guy, but putting that many gems in front of anyone would be tempting.” He smiled, his red eyes flashing, as he extended his other hand. “I’m Iasi Tonath. And you are?”

“Aailaine, Aailaine Danend.” She took it and he gave it a hardy shake before releasing her and she took this as a chance to look him over. He was wearing a tight blue top that barely served to cover his well-defined chest and midsection. Across his shoulders was a low sitting shrug decorated with various gold symbols and around his waist was a gold chain with many golden charms dangling from it. He wore black shorts with a small pouch hanging off them and from there knee length boots served to cover the rest of his legs.

“Well, be careful doing that. You shouldn’t show all your cards.” With that he started to walk away. Quick to stop him, she grabbed his shrug and he stopped mid-step. He carefully turned to face her, lifting up an eyebrow in surprise. “Was, there something else you wanted?”

“Um, ” she looked away with a slight blush on her cheeks. She started to feel childish, so she released his shrug and he faced her properly. She started rubbing her forefinger with her thumb as she spoke. “I’ve never really been in this city before, so I don’t really know my way around well. Would you mind, helping me?”

Iasi smiled and folded his arms around his chest, looking her up and down. For a moment, she thought he might refuse, but then he locked her arm with his and started walking, almost dragging her along.

“I would love to, Aia.” As he led her back out onto the main streets of Lanol, she started to wonder whether or not she had made a wise choice. However, as he led her around and helped her buy various things and haggle with the merchants, she decided he wasn’t a bad person, even if he was a bit strange.