Tartarus Beckons by Edmund Batara (reading an ebook .TXT) 📕

The ACCIDENTAL ARCHMAGE Series

Book Six

TARTARUS BECKONS

The Castration of the Titan Ouranus by his son Kronus

EDMUND A.M. BATARA

June 2019

ASIN: B07Q42NG2M

This book is a work of fiction.

Names, characters, places, interactions, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously unless otherwise indicated. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. All Rights Reserved. 2019.

To my family: My wife, Julette-Marie, and my daughters, Amina Francesca, Katrina Fae, and Ana Bettina –for all the support and joy you have given me.

To my sisters –For being so supportive.

To my readers: Kindle readers of the series and those at the website where the first drafts of this continuing story were posted– for the encouragement and constructive feedback.

CREDITS/ATTRIBUTIONS

Cover Image under license from https://thebookdesigner.com. All other design elements by the author.

Title Page image: Painting by Giorgio Vasari (1511-1578) and Cristofano Gherardi (1508-1556) – The Mutilation of Uranus by Saturn (Cronos). Public domain image.

End chapter image – Nordic magical compass. Licensed from Shutterstock.com

Paragraph break image – Public use. From Piaxabay.com, by clkerfreevectorimages.

Spider art design (The Ring) – Public domain. Pre-Columbian drawing of a spider from the Spiro Mound Archaeological Site by an unknown Caddoan artist.

Maps – created by the writer with the use of Inkarnate software under a commercial license. All rights reserved.

Copy Editor:   Annie Jenkinson at www.just-copyeditors.com

Contents

Introduction to the Series

Introduction to Book Six

Jorund's Map of Skaney

PROLOGUE: Prelude to War

Chapter One Maljen

Chapter Two Blue Mountain

Chapter Three Okeanos

Chapter Four Sasabonsams and Manticores

Chapter Five Demon Hunter

Chapter Six Finding the Dokkalfr

Map of the Dokkalfr Mage

Chapter Seven A Roll of the Dice

Chapter Eight Astrid

Chapter Nine Orange is the Color of Magic

Chapter Ten Tricked

Chapter Eleven YOLO

Chapter Twelve Ymir's Domain, Ymir's Rules

Habrok's Map of Solens Tårn

Chapter Thirteen Escaping Solens Tårn

Chapter Fourteen Spider Realm

Chapter Fifteen Asag

Chapter Sixteen Parole Officer

Chapter Seventeen A Hard Choice

Chapter Eighteen Introducing a Demon

Chapter Nineteen Great House Anari

Chapter Twenty The Judgment of a Lesser House

Chapter Twenty-One Disturbing an Old Man

Chapter Twenty-Two Transformations

Epilogue The Savior of the Mortal and the Divine

Glossary of Notes and Definitions by Chapter

About the Author

Published Books

Short Story: The Ring

Short Story: Mad Magus

A Writer's Request

Introduction to the Series

Incidents of people disappearing in plain sight are well-known in recorded history. One of the earliest known accounts was in the 1700’s. The most recent disappearance was in 2007. Various theories have been advanced to explain these phenomena; this story is not such a theory.

Lore notes and definitions appear at the end of the book, grouped by chapter. There are mythological terms and names used in the story as well as words which might not be familiar to most readers. Footnotes are not appropriate for eBook formatting and I believe footnotes are more distracting. Story immersion may also suffer if the reader is left to search by himself the meaning of the terms and names used. As some terms from the other books again appear, the definitions are repeated in the lore notes.

Please note that the present book is not a stand-alone tale; it is part of a continuing epic, with characters, events, and lore all related to each other in some way. A simple conversation in Book One will have consequences in Book Five, and so it goes. Events and entities mentioned in the companion book of the series, Stories of Adar: Tales from the Abyss, are incorporated in the main story. The reason why the companion book came out was to tell the stories of important characters as the main story focuses on the experiences and tribulations of one Tyler West. I might come out with another book dealing with the unique backgrounds of the Archmage companions.

A two-part Omnibus edition is planned, covering all seven books but with the stories arranged in a chronological manner for a comprehensive presentation of the epic. This arrangement will result in the stories of the companion book being separated and placed in the appropriate section of the epic. Additions to the Omnibus edition will be made as the epic continues.

The story is told from the main character’s perspective. His own thoughts are italicized. His conversations with Hal, an entity introduced in Book One, as well as telepathic discussions with other characters, are italicized but with quotation marks.

Enjoy the journey.

The Writer.

Introduction to Book Six

Hello.

Our tale now comes at a point where the plans of Loki come to light, emerging from the dark corners where he hatched such convoluted schemes, though many readers would by now be asking the question if the eponymous Master of Trickery is his own man in the scheme of things. In Book Six, our more enlightened and, hopefully, better-prepared protagonist finds himself doing the quest he promised the Vanir god Freyr. But as always, he finds that matters are not as simple as they seem.

As with any tale, or in real life for that matter, inconvenient twists abound and unfortunate surprises lay in wait for the unwary. Suffice it to say that our half-baked First Mage now finds himself more personally involved in the unfolding titanic struggle. Many of the events and conflicts developing in other parts of the world are indirectly referred to within the story itself. It is indeed a titanic struggle involving the old status quo, those who want to be rulers again, and other powerful figures of myth and legend. There are, of course, solitary entities with ambitions of their own.

I did hope to have some sort of closure in Book 6, but it appears it can’t be done.

There’s still the land of Kobu the exile, other empires, the remnants of the Romans,