How Black the Sky

How Black the Sky
Hero's Metal - Book I
T. J. Marquis
 


Copyright © 2020 T. J. Marquis
All rights reserved
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
See the World Stats page for acceptable usage in roleplay and gaming.
Made in the United States of America


Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Foreword
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
About The Author


Foreword
I debated whether to include this foreword and decided yes, because since when is a debut novel not a momentous occasion?
How Black the Sky arose from the premise, 'Heavy Metal Fantasy Novel'. However, I didn't want to just rehash existing metal fiction and games such as Metalocalypse or Brutal Legend, so I let it become its own thing, and boy did it ever.
It truly is the product of a gen Y mind, with notes of  general Sword and Sorcery, Masters of the Universe, Conan the Barbarian, Castlevania, and every weird and crazy 80s cartoon world swirling into a delicious and brutal brain matter tea.
I had the secondary goal of actually personifying the instruments of a metal band without actually naming them - my silliness enters in other ways. Everyone's there, from the hotshot lead shredder to the sexy female bassist, stalwart rhythm guitar, face-blasting drummer and esoteric synth wizard.
When I added my tertiary goal, to let some humor shine, the magic really started happening. How Black the Sky truly became its own thing - the prose for a concept album I'd never be talented enough to record properly. It pulled at me relentlessly, driving like a blast beat, and who was I to rein it in?
Letting the madness come out to play was one of the most enjoyable things I've ever done, and I dearly - *cough* I mean, brutally - hope that it comes across on the page.
So that's all, and I just want  to thank --
Psych! You want to know about the soundtrack, don't you?
A number of extremely talented artists sauced my brain noodles on this one. I'll just list them for your enjoyment:
Chorder, Silent Planet, 7Horns7Eyes, Rhapsody of Fire, Intervals, Anup Sastry, Devin Townsend, Demon Hunter, and many, many more.
My predilection for progressive metal in particular really influenced the novel's themes of transcendence and grandiosity. You may once have sensed there was a very large bit of the universe hiding just beyond some ethereal corner. If only you could peel it back and peer out, there is no telling the sights you might see...
That's part of what I wanted to get at with this piece. Above all, though, I wanted it to be fun! Let's see if I succeeded.


CHAPTER ONE
Pierce
His sabatons kept slipping in the thin layer of muck that covered the stony ground, and every time he stumbled, the Monstrosity began to close the distance between them. His footfalls clanked and splashed dully, beating out a rhythm of haste that matched the pounding of his heart. He could hear the creature's breath, even at a distance - a struggling sound, as if the huge thing could hardly bear its own weight.
That didn't stop it from crashing forward, driving fists into the slimy ground when it gauged itself close enough to try and crush Pierce to a pulp. Every time it missed, it roared and uttered a booming curse in its unfathomable language. Every time it missed, Pierce gave a prayer of thanks that he would not walk the Glorious Paths this day.
Not that it would be so bad, of course, when it was time to die.
"I'm just too young," he gasped as he ran. He choked on the foul stench of the Monstrosity. It smelled much like the rest of the Underlands - musty, half-rotted - only much stronger. Probably because it was so close...
Pierce slipped again and heard the rush of air as the Monstrosity's foot came falling toward the earth. He caught a glimpse of the horrid thing as he righted himself. It towered overhead, easily seventy feet tall, and though most of its features were obscured in the darkness, he could see its long beard wagging back and forth, soggy and dripping with an oily substance.
"Yuck," Pierce muttered and bounded away.
He'd already been running for days. His training really had paid off. More than that, as bad as his luck could get, he was swaddled in physical boons. The Blacksmith had given him many gifts.
Silver moonlight glistened on the slick ground, revealing just enough of what was ahead for him to avoid the odd stalagmite sticking up to bar his way. Occasionally the Monstrosity would rip one from the ground and throw it at Pierce, a stone missile exploding into thousands of fragments that bounced off his bright armor. Only a holy blessing kept him from being crushed.
A shadowy structure appeared up ahead, an old castle left to rot in the endless mire of the Underlands. It had a modest outer wall that had been breached in several places, with tall, spindly parapets, dozens of narrow walkways spanning the gaps between them. Were any of them tall enough for what he had in mind?
Pierce sprinted along the south side of the ruined castle, making as if to continue past it. Nimbly he dodged into a shadowy forest of columns that no longer had a roof to support. He