To the Lost Genre Guild — may this novel be one more signpost on the road to our genre being found by the masses. To all the ArthurNetters — I appreciate each and every discussion about Arthuriana, and I continue to be corrected and enriched by your scholarly points of view.
To all my reviewers at Authonomy.com, especially Nichole White — thanks for the great suggestions and encouragement.
To Nick Burns and everyone at Burns Family Studios — thank you for including Leighton and me as extras in Pendragon: Sword of His Father. To be the author of an Arthurian fantasy who has appeared, even if briefly, in an Arthurian film is a rare privilege.
To all my loyal blog followers (you know who you are) — thank you for believing in me and my writing during the long years that it has taken to get to this point. Your faith has finally been rewarded.
To Rebecca Luella Miller and the Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy Blog Tour participants — one more of us has now graduated from fan to author. I appreciate all that you do to promote Christian fantasy and sci-fi. May there be many more graduates, and may the tour increase in influence and strength!
To Les Stobbe, my agent beyond extraordinaire — you have accomplished a miracle and my thanks will always be with you. To Jacque Alberta, my editor at Zondervan — you fought hard for Merlin’s Blade, improved it greatly, and confirmed that King Arthur still lives on in the hearts of people everywhere. To all the other Zondervan staff, I am grateful to you for helping refine and promote Merlin’s Blade.
In memory of Phyllis Mary Angove, Studhyores Kernow — your bardic and scholarly legacy still lives as an inspiration to our family.
And finally, to Mrs. Sitts, wherever you are. You were the first to recognize my writing in the eighth grade when you requested a copy of my first book. It took nearly twenty-five years for me to start writing, but here it is. At long last.
About the Author
ROBERT TRESKILLARD has been crafting stories from his early youth, and is a software developer, graphic artist, and sometime bladesmith. He and his wife have three children and are still homeschooling their youngest. They live in the country near St. Louis, Missouri.
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ZONDERVAN
Merlin’s Blade
Copyright © 2013 by Robert Treskillard
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Zondervan e-books.
EPub Edition © MARCH 2013 ISBN: 978-0-310-73510-6
Requests for information should be addressed to:
Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530
ISBN 978-0-310-73507-6
All Scripture paraphrased by the author to approximate a fifth-century cultural context.
The characters and events depicted in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to actual persons real or imagined is coincidental.
Any Internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers in this book are offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life of this book.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.
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Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
PROLOGUE: THE DRAGON STAR
PART ONE: GUILE’S DUST CHAPTER 1: AN ERRAND GONE ASTRAY
CHAPTER 2: A PATH FOR WOLVES
CHAPTER 3: THE TRIAL
CHAPTER 4: THE JUDGMENT
CHAPTER 5: HUNTED
CHAPTER 6: FEVERED VISIONS
CHAPTER 7: THE STONE
CHAPTER 8: NOTHING TO HOLD ON TO
CHAPTER 9: THE NIGHT OF DECISIONS
PART TWO: SHACKLE’S POWER CHAPTER 10: STRANGE MEETINGS
CHAPTER 11: A GIFT AND A PROPHECY
CHAPTER 12: TOUCHING FIRE
CHAPTER 13: STANDING STRONG
CHAPTER 14: A CHANGE OF PLANS
CHAPTER 15: THE GALOW GOLM
CHAPTER 16: THINGS FORGOTTEN
CHAPTER 17: SHACKLED SECRETS
CHAPTER 18: HIDDEN PLANS
CHAPTER 19: REVELATIONS OF THE HEART
CHAPTER 20: THE ARCH DRUID
PART THREE: BLADE’S EDGE CHAPTER 21: THE HIGH KING
CHAPTER 22: THE MOST CHERISHED GIFT
CHAPTER 23: THE BLADE STRIKES
CHAPTER 24: OATHS UNTAKEN
CHAPTER 25: MYSTERIES UNBIDDEN
CHAPTER 26: ADVICE UNHEEDED
CHAPTER 27: CONSEQUENCES
CHAPTER 28: THE WORDS OF THE STONE
CHAPTER 29: THE SECRETS OF THE TOWER
CHAPTER 30: THE PLOTS OF MEN
CHAPTER 31: BELTAYNE
CHAPTER 32: A DANGER UNFORESEEN
CHAPTER 33: AN END UNIMAGINED
CHAPTER 34: A LAMENT UNSPOKEN
CHAPTER 35: HAMMER AND STONE
CHAPTER 36: THE FORGE OF SUFFERING
CHAPTER 37: THE SURRENDERED LIFE
EPILOGUE
PRONUNCIATION GUIDE
GLOSSARY
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
About the Author
Copyright
About the Publisher
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