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Literature Text
Knight's Honor is a sweeping tribute to stubborn girls with an even more stubborn notion of honor. Strength and purity have a champion in young Kree, as she faces down fears, weaknesses, temptations, and her own fate.
Dumped outside a tavern at birth, Kree starts life in the gutters, fated to die in them as well. A mercenary takes her in, but as soon as her color-shifting eyes are discovered, she quickly learns she is a Shadowdancer—one of the cursed descendants of an infamous thief. While this grants her uncanny abilities of thievery, it also earns her the hatred of everyone who finds out her bloodline.
By the age of seven, Kree has been orphaned, watched her foster father killed, lived on the streets by stealing, and lost her only friend. She has been placed on a path to a life of crime and misery, but events lead her to realize she wants no part of that life.
When she turns her back on her heritage and vows to become a great knight, she must eventually face a choice: live a lie, or die for honor.
In this courageous battle to remake herself, Kree struggles to attain an almost impossible dream without sacrificing her ideals. This tale of strength, guts, and unwavering determination is suitable for preteens and older.
She ran for her life, darting down one street and then another. Midday offered no shadow to hide in. People in the streets ignored her coldly, kicking her away from their doors if she dared approach. If they helped her, Duke Hagan would kill them, too.
Her breath came in panicked gasps. Her bare feet slapped down the dirt ally and into a main road. She couldn't keep ahead much longer, but if she stopped, he would catch her. He would hang her, regardless of her age.
There! There was a hiding place! A merchant's cart pulling out of the gates of Lerikreg. She punished her legs in one last burst and scrambled soundlessly into the cart. She wedge herself between two barrels and prayed the duke would not see her.
He did, and suddenly she was before him, hanging from the gallows. With a sneer of disgust, Duke Hagan walked away.
. . .
In the back of a merchant's cart, a small girl jerked free of the dream. Kree's heart pounded with all the alarm she had felt on that terrible day, but there was no Duke Hagan and no gallows. He had not seen her escaping in the cart. She still huddled between the same two barrels. She hadn't moved for three days, lest the merchant discover her.
Months of dirt and grime covered her torn clothes and ragged, black hair. Days of hunger gnawed at her stomach, but she was used to ignoring this familiar pang. She pulled a silver pendant from her shirt and examined her reflection. Her eyes were blue now, a royal blue to deep to be natural. The color came with pain, and she knew it well.
Yet beneath the hunger and her aches, a hope rose. She had escaped, and not just from the duke. She was free of people who knew who and what she was, and who hated her for it. She was tired of being forced to steal and lie, no matter how good she'd been at it. With that in mind, she threw away her old life and turned her back on the tarnished future her blood had fated her to have.
She was never going to steal or lie again, and she swore to herself that one day she would be spoken of with respect and admiration instead of being cursed at.
CHAPTER ONE:
• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4
• Part 5
CHAPTER TWO:
• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4
• Part 5
• Part 6
CHAPTER THREE:
• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4
CHAPTER FOUR:
• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4
CHAPTER FIVE:
• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4
CHAPTER SIX:
• Part 1
• Part 2
CHAPTER SEVEN:
• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4
• Part 5
• Part 6
• Part 7
• Part 8
CHAPTER EIGHT:
• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4
• Part 5
• Part 6
• Part 7
• Part 8
• Part 9
CHAPTER NINE:
• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4
• Part 5
CHAPTER TEN:
• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4
• Part 5
• Part 6
• Part 7
• Part 8
• Part 9
CHAPTER ELEVEN:
• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4
• Part 5
• Part 6
• Part 7
• Part 8
CHAPTER TWELVE:
• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4
• Part 5
• Part 6
• Part 7
• Part 8
CHAPTER THIRTEEN:
• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4
• Part 5
• Part 6
• Part 7
• Part 8
• Part 9
• Part 10
ART:
• Book Poster
Want to read more? Just ask. As I post excerpts, I'll link them here.
Dumped outside a tavern at birth, Kree starts life in the gutters, fated to die in them as well. A mercenary takes her in, but as soon as her color-shifting eyes are discovered, she quickly learns she is a Shadowdancer—one of the cursed descendants of an infamous thief. While this grants her uncanny abilities of thievery, it also earns her the hatred of everyone who finds out her bloodline.
By the age of seven, Kree has been orphaned, watched her foster father killed, lived on the streets by stealing, and lost her only friend. She has been placed on a path to a life of crime and misery, but events lead her to realize she wants no part of that life.
When she turns her back on her heritage and vows to become a great knight, she must eventually face a choice: live a lie, or die for honor.
In this courageous battle to remake herself, Kree struggles to attain an almost impossible dream without sacrificing her ideals. This tale of strength, guts, and unwavering determination is suitable for preteens and older.
Sample (First Page)
She ran for her life, darting down one street and then another. Midday offered no shadow to hide in. People in the streets ignored her coldly, kicking her away from their doors if she dared approach. If they helped her, Duke Hagan would kill them, too.
Her breath came in panicked gasps. Her bare feet slapped down the dirt ally and into a main road. She couldn't keep ahead much longer, but if she stopped, he would catch her. He would hang her, regardless of her age.
There! There was a hiding place! A merchant's cart pulling out of the gates of Lerikreg. She punished her legs in one last burst and scrambled soundlessly into the cart. She wedge herself between two barrels and prayed the duke would not see her.
He did, and suddenly she was before him, hanging from the gallows. With a sneer of disgust, Duke Hagan walked away.
. . .
In the back of a merchant's cart, a small girl jerked free of the dream. Kree's heart pounded with all the alarm she had felt on that terrible day, but there was no Duke Hagan and no gallows. He had not seen her escaping in the cart. She still huddled between the same two barrels. She hadn't moved for three days, lest the merchant discover her.
Months of dirt and grime covered her torn clothes and ragged, black hair. Days of hunger gnawed at her stomach, but she was used to ignoring this familiar pang. She pulled a silver pendant from her shirt and examined her reflection. Her eyes were blue now, a royal blue to deep to be natural. The color came with pain, and she knew it well.
Yet beneath the hunger and her aches, a hope rose. She had escaped, and not just from the duke. She was free of people who knew who and what she was, and who hated her for it. She was tired of being forced to steal and lie, no matter how good she'd been at it. With that in mind, she threw away her old life and turned her back on the tarnished future her blood had fated her to have.
She was never going to steal or lie again, and she swore to herself that one day she would be spoken of with respect and admiration instead of being cursed at.
Excerpts and Other Links
CHAPTER ONE:
• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4
• Part 5
CHAPTER TWO:
• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4
• Part 5
• Part 6
CHAPTER THREE:
• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4
CHAPTER FOUR:
• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4
CHAPTER FIVE:
• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4
CHAPTER SIX:
• Part 1
• Part 2
CHAPTER SEVEN:
• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4
• Part 5
• Part 6
• Part 7
• Part 8
CHAPTER EIGHT:
• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4
• Part 5
• Part 6
• Part 7
• Part 8
• Part 9
CHAPTER NINE:
• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4
• Part 5
CHAPTER TEN:
• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4
• Part 5
• Part 6
• Part 7
• Part 8
• Part 9
CHAPTER ELEVEN:
• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4
• Part 5
• Part 6
• Part 7
• Part 8
CHAPTER TWELVE:
• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4
• Part 5
• Part 6
• Part 7
• Part 8
CHAPTER THIRTEEN:
• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4
• Part 5
• Part 6
• Part 7
• Part 8
• Part 9
• Part 10
ART:
• Book Poster
Want to read more? Just ask. As I post excerpts, I'll link them here.
Return to Index
Knight's Honor
Status:
• Written - Yes
• Edited - Yes (No, scratch that. It is ancient and needs completely rewritten!)
• Formatted for electronic publishing - No
• Published - No
Genre:
• Historical fantasy—historically accurate in most details, but with fictitious lands and events, and a smidgen of magic
Readership:
• Preteen and up
Length:
• 78,000 words (long length for readership)
Other Stories in this Series:
• One sequel sketched out. No plans to finish at this time.
If you are interested in this novel, add me to your Watch list or ask to be on my mailing list. This is where I will post updates regarding the progress, addition of new material, etc.
UPDATES
May 3, 2013: The entire novel has been posted in its entirety! If you have read some or all of it, I encourage you to let me know what you thought of it, what your favorite and least favorite parts were, and why you like or dislike certain characters, questions you felt I never answered in the story, etc! This helps me write more things you'll enjoy in the future.
Thanks for reading and watching!
© 2012 - 2024 Roskvape
Comments5
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This is very cool, haven't read past the sample, and I'm already hooked. (As a note, is there a reason that 'Hagan' as name seems out of place? Is it because they changed their name to go with the foreign ruling party, or was it accidental?)
I really love how to mention the unnatural blue of her eyes, and the way that living like that has affected Kree.
I really love how to mention the unnatural blue of her eyes, and the way that living like that has affected Kree.