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Sigil
by Tanna Borrell
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| Examples of proposed covers |
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In the family trading vessel Twilight Lamb, Den Protania is a failure. Not just any failure, although his father is the captain, Den was already kicked out of both command and astrogation, and now he isn’t doing too well in shuttle section. Den has no desire to work to achieve anything, yet he envies everyone who is more successful than he. He especially resents Natana Kern, the Twilight Lamb’s youngest master astrogator and a journeyman in psyonics. Natana succeeds in every area Den cannot, and he hates her because of it. When the Twilight Lamb detects a derelict courier vessel, Athelstan Cying along their flight path, Natana mans pilotage and Den is part of the salvage team. Both of their lives are about to change forever… Aboard the Athelstan Cying, a being has lingered a millennia—long dead, yet aware and extant. The Athelstan Cying houses the spirit of an Imperial commander, a psyonic master. When the Twilight Lamb comes within range of the Athelstan Cying, the Cying begins a preprogrammed attack plan. The spirit can barely stop the attack, and Twilight Lamb’s salvage crew boards her—including Den. Den, of course, doesn’t follow protocol. He explores the vessel without waiting for his partner, the shuttle master. The Athelstan Cying fought in a space battle long ago and one of the cabins was breached. Although the being tries to warn Den, Den opens the cabin door and is impaled on the structure of the ship. The spirit attempts to save Den, and when Den’s soul departs the body, it is locked inside. The being uses its knowledge to stabilize the body and saves it from certain death. Now, for better or worse, he has become Den Protania. The new Den Protania is very aware of his precarious position on the Twilight Lamb. His life depends on the truth of Den’s change remaining a secret. His problems are aggravated when the ship’s council rightly blames him for the accident, and charges him a debt that will take decades to reduce even for a master. Still worse, Natana Kern, as a psyionic journeyman, is assigned to help Den’s recovery. During Den’s first session with Natana, he experiences a flashback to his ancient life that she is drawn into. She realizes he is not the Den Protania she once knew, but what can she do? Would anyone believe her? Can such a thing really be true? When she was inside his mind, Natana realized the new Den’s power, compassion, and honor. They mutually call a truce and in exchange for training in psyonics, Natana agrees to help Den redeem his life in the eyes of the Twilight Lamb’s family. Den and Natana maintain an uncomfortable peace as he integrates into the ship’s family, works to reduce his enormous debt, and tries to determine who from the past he really was. Whatever the future brings the world for Den and Natana has radically changed. |
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Den and Natana Protania are installed as the
Captain and First Officer of the newest Family Trader Vessel, the Regia
Anglorum. The ship receives its official negotiated trading schedule that
takes them to planets Family Traders have not visited in years, including El
Rashad.
Nikita lives on garbage in the streets on El
Rashad and collects every piece of reading material she can. Her only
consolation is the church, her doll, Alice, and the minds of the spacers
Nikita reads when they land at the spaceport. Nikita, like Den and Natana is
a high level psyonic.
Nikita detects the most beautiful mind she has
ever seen. It is Natana’s, and Natana determines to find and bring the girl
back to the ship. It isn’t as easy as Natana thought. Nikita has issues: she
is distrustful of anyone, and she is malnourished and sick.
Nikita’s integration into the ship is not
easy, but she makes friends. Four girls invite her to be a member of their
“special” girl’s club. Nikita also makes some unintentional enemies. Alex
the class bully is just one. He taunts Nikita almost every day. Finally,
Alex gets his hands on Alice and tosses her over a fence in the ship’s
wilderness area. Nikita snaps. She attacks Alex and climbs the fence. When
she falls on the other side, she breaks her arm and sprains her leg. Natana
and Den recover Nikita, but life has changed for her.
Because of her injuries, Nikita can’t work,
train, or do her school work, and it is all Alex’s fault. Alex now tries to
make amends for his treatment to Nikita. Nikita has more problems: injured
crewmembers can’t make planetfall, and her parents, Den and Natana have
planed a trip to the surface of Acier. Plus, Nikita’s class is going on a
fieldtrip to Acier, and she can’t go.
Nikita discovered; Alex is a special because
he is an engineering design genius—he can invent and build almost anything.
When her class returns from Acier, Nikita has something she needs Alex to
build for her. Nichol, one of the members of her girl’s club is cutting—it
became worse when she returned to the ship. Nikita confronts her and
discovers the Family Traders don’t need writers, musicians, entertainers, or
inventors. Nichol is a singer, musician, and writer—that’s her special.
Since she can’t produce a skill the ship needs, she knows one day she will
be kicked off, and the thought terrifies her. Nikita knows how to help Nichol. She brings in her friends and Alex to solve the problem. In the process, they learn the Captain and First Officer, Den and Natana are missing on Acier. Nikita is devastated. She must go to the surface of Acier to help Nichol and rescue her parents, but the ship is on a lock down until security finds the Captain and First Officer. Nikita and her friends make a plan to do it all—the question is can they pull it off? |
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Shadowed Vale
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Work in progress: continues the adventures of Den, Natana, and Nikita. |
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