Soyala's Saga
Volume 2 of 2
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
&& The Bone Church && “Bones - - - “Bones - - - “Porcelain Bones - - - Lamented the Porcelain Maker - - - “My Father - - - His Father - - - and - - - His Father - - - worshiped the bones of the brave - - - of - - - the noble - - - of the valiant - - - Worshiping the bones of the fallen - - - of - - - man and beast - - - of - - - lance bearer and sword wielder - - - but - - - most of all - - - they worshiped the heroical bones of the warrior maids - - - for - - - they were the bravest of all - - - “As - - - “They - - - My Father - - - His Father - - - My Father’s Father - - - gathered these bones from where they lay - - - the people complained - - - protested - - - rioted - - - stripping the bones of the bravest of the brave from this bone church - - - returning them to the earth upon which they had lain - - - burying them deep - - - beneath barrow and cairn - - - bedecking them with flowers - - - and - - - (he said sadly) - - - later weeds - - - then - - - nothing but dust and sand and memories - - - “This Once Proud Church which you see here standing before you - - - he said sadly - - - is nothing but the skeleton of a skeleton - - - stripped even of its own bones - - - I too tried to take the bones of the noble - - - following in my father’s noble footsteps - - - Taking the bones of - - - Man - - - Maid - - - and - - - Beast - - - even the most Bountiful Bones of the Fabled Lionkiller and Feared Troodon - - - with which to finish my father’s work - - - this - - - Church of Bones - - - but - - - the people forbade it. “So - - - “Even as they laughed - - - laughing because they were afraid - - - afraid of ghosts - - - and - - - ancient curses - - - even of - - - shadowy whispers - - - I decided to trick them - - - “For - - - “If they were not to enter my Father’s Church of Bones - - - I - - - would trick them into inviting my church of bones into their houses - - - into their neat and tidy homes - - - Hiding Bones in their cupboards - - - hiding bones in plain sight - - - to stare at them from their prissy dinner tables - - - “So - - - “I succeeded where my father - - - his father - - - and - - - his father’s father - - - had failed - - - I surrounded them with my bones - - - he said - - - proudly puffing out his chest - - - “For - - - He said whispering - - - “I - - - ground the bones - - - mixing them with rich white clays - - - noble clays - - - ground the bones of the noble - - - grinding and mixing and heating - - - to the most noble of porcelains - - - the - - - most noble of white bone porcelains which the world had ever seen - - - “But - - - He said hanging his head sadly - - - hanging his head - - - almost as if in shame - - - the most noble of porcelains still eludes me - - - for - - - the people - - - have hidden the bones of the warrior maids from me - - - buried them deep - - - beneath the ground - - - hidden by barrow and cairn - - - guarded by spell and incantation - - - “Now - - - he said whispering - - - these most noble of bones - - - rather than bedecking cupboard and pantry - - - lie silently moldering in their graves - - - not a one dancing in the sunlight - - - as - - - a chandelier in my bone church - - - not a one - - - as - - - a serving platter on a banquet table - - - he said sighing - - - “Barrow? Cairn?? Asked The Stranger - - - “Cairn? Barrow?? Echoed The Child - - - “Yes - - - said the porcelain maker sadly - - - Placed in buried barrows - - - Hidden in concealed cairns - - - buried below the dust and memories of the battles - - - buried high above the rain and the floods and the worms - - - but - - - now - - - only surviving as ghostly memories - - - As - - - He wiped a tear from his eye - - - he looked sideways to see whether his valiant speech had its desired effect - - - a - - - coin or two - - - or - - - even a scrap of bread - - - for - - - it would mean that he would not have to buy bread today - - - and - - - thereby - - - might even be able to divert his coin for a draught or two - - -
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About the Book
Author House Review: The Sixth Coming is set within an original mythology to fascinating results. It combines vividly realized characters with spiritual themes and elements of Aztec lore. There is an incredible array of exciting sequences that could provide great material for adapting this work into another medium. Due to the nontraditional structure and storytelling style, live theater could be an interesting option. Film is another option; perhaps animation could make the most of the impressive locations, creatures, and spectacles. There are several elements that are very well suited for a film or theater piece. Because both these mediums usually feature the interactions between characters, the strong personalities of The Sixth Coming are essential to capture. Soyala is a great heroine—from her borderline petulance over the Builder’s gift to her reluctant and confused acceptance of her destiny. She isn’t perfect, which makes her all the more compelling as she overcomes overwhelming odds. Kajika, Burilgi, and the Minstrel are wonderful supporting characters. Each of these brothers has his own distinct personality, and their squabbling provides comic relief. Burilgi and the Minstrel in particular provide humor. Kajika could bring in sex appeal for female audiences while Soyala and Xochiquetzal could do so for males. Xochiquetzal/Tona-teootl is a fascinating villain. Her sinister sexuality when welcoming Soyala and Kajika could play very well in a film. The later scenes on the Barge are thrilling due to Tona-teootl’s increasingly evident madness. These scenes would provide terrific moments for an actor to really chew up the scenery.
About the Author
Rich has been interested in reading and writing ever since the day he was born. Finally, after an intensive labor of fifteen years, he is now the proud author of a fantasy trilogy presented in two volumes. Having been born in a time when television sets were a novelty and neither the cell phone nor the Internet had yet been invented, he has seen a vast transformation in society moving all too hastily away from nature to embrace technology, losing a large part of our spirituality in the process. This is the overall message of his book: the loss of our bonds with nature and the loss of our bonds of friendship and kinsmanship. His childhood world of 2.5 billion persons has now exploded into a world with an unsustainable seven billion individuals. Being the only car on the road on Sunday afternoon drives has now become as extinct a species as our Passenger Pigeon. Rich currently lives in Whetstone, Arizona, far away from traffic jams and overcrowded malls, where he can enjoy the serenity of wildlife and starlit skies undimmed by light pollution. He would much rather share a quiet afternoon entertained with the daring-dos of a tree lizard or the springing antics of a spotted ground squirrel than being bruised by a crowd of rude and noisy shoppers at the local mall. Please take this simple work with you and, on some quiet Sunday afternoon when the rain is gently drizzling upon some tin roof or pattering upon some forgotten windowpane, open a bottle of your most gentle wine and reflect upon the most precious world in which we live. Thank you for having taken the time to join with us on this simple journey.