CONCOURSE

Book 1 of
The League of Knights-Errant

The Concourse…
Where the worlds of the multiverse are joined through transit points hidden in misty patches, which can take those who know how to journey the complex web of paths into times and places of histories unknown; subject to only one rule: a traveler cannot return to a point in the past of a world and history that lies before any previous visit. Only from one place—in the mythical Anchor World, which is also said to harbor a well with the elixir of life—is it possible to circumvent this restriction.

The League of Knights-Errant…
An ancient fraternity, established over a thousand Earth-years ago in Scotland. It’s aim: to stop those who search for a path to the entry point of the Anchor World and hunt for the two Bearers of a legendary Map to help them find the labyrinthian way through the Concourse’s maze of possible paths. In that way they could gain control of the Anchor World, the well of the elixir and every point in time on every Concourse world. But the Map can only be read and followed if both of its Bearers are physically together and can be coerced to cooperate with their captors. The League is devoted to prevent this from ever happening.

Declan…
A physicist living in Sydney, who became disillusioned with how his peers avoided asking the questions he thought they should be asking, finally abandoned his profession to focus on his other passion, traditional Japanese sword craft. It provided him with an outlet for his energy, as well as allowing him to spend time teaching it and rising in he ranks of his ryu. Still, here, too, he found himself ever more disenchanted with his sensei’s and peers’ aims and philosophy.

Aydee…
One of the Bearers of the mythical Map. Like Declan, her origins are shrouded in mystery. Both are orphans, left behind as infants in the care of foster parents; Aydee on a world named ‘Naseeth’, Declan on Earth. Like her parents, Aydee and the father of their child also had to leave it behind; on the world ‘Hangh’, in the care of someone they knew would allow it to be safe and grow into adulthood.

Sydney, Australia…
Nine years earlier—just over two years after Declan had changed his life and became established in his sensei’s ryu, Aydee entered the dojo and asked to be taught the art of the Japanese sword. Assigned to the now-senior sempai Declan as her mentor, the attraction between them soon led to the inevitable. She was Declan’s first and last love. When she suddenly disappeared with only a note—‘No choice. I love you. Please be safe. Aydee.’—leaving behind just one of the two rings she always wore on her left middle- and ring-fingers, it turned his life upside-down and inside-out.

Years later Erick, a man about Declan’s age, joined the dojo; also was assigned to be mentored by Declan. Two years after that everything in Declan’s life changed again; this time forever. Prompted by Erick and with the help of the League, Declan set out across the Concourse to find Aydee, who was hiding or maybe even lost in the labyrinth of the Concourse. Pursuing him are an unknown number of the near-superhuman and murderously focused sta’h’k’ee—agents of the unknown powers wanting control of the Map—hunting him and his companions on the quest.

NOTE 1: This is the first novel in the story of The League of Knights-Errant. It will continue in Sta’h’k’ee.

NOTE 2: This novel contains love scenes with mildly explicit sexual elements.

I’m a very visual person, so often design covers for books even when not a single word has been written of the actual tory. So, below, here are two possible designs for the two sequels to Concourse. They probably won’t be as long. Also, the while thing, unlike I did with the Tethys series, will definitely be a trilogy.