First part of Raven-Speaker

For those of you that don't know Raven-Speaker is my favorite thing I'm writing.

This is the prologue.

Grim, that was the only word that could describe the scene before me.

I threw the piece of parchment I had been writing on letting it drift in the cool fall gale drifting among the red, brown, and orange leaves. Floating away from the burial ground of the kings of Avon Arret toward the black shape of Lake Sanguis.

The priest was reading from the book of our ancestors the ancient kings of Xenophilia but I was not listening to him, the fool believing in an almighty force a god, Ha. My father was not destined to be killed by a assassin from Al- Habar in the far east of the land. The far-east warriors have a god but did that stop them from killing my father in cold blood? No!

Manservant came up to me offering me a piece of licorice that I took because mother was watching and then threw into the Forest of Diti where the earth goddess dwells. Finally as if after many years the Raven-Speaker priest recited the last rites and laid my father into the dark mouth of the grave… Forever,

Gone!