Shimmy Lindow ~ January 2011


 

January 2011 Featured Author

Shimmy Lindow

 


Shimmy Lindow

in his own words:

 

     Shimmy enjoys reading and writing. Ever since he learned to read, he has been fascinated by it, and always dreamed of writing his own stories. Also, Christopher Paolini, author of the Eragon series, inspired him to write, especially because his work was published despite his young age.
     In his spare time, Shimmy draws, mostly scenes from his book. He draws scenes he has already written, and just as often, scenes which he has not yet written about. Shimmy gets many of his ideas twenty-five feet off the ground in the trees in his back yard.


 

The Defiers” Excerpt from Novel in Progress

by Shimmy Lindow

 

     Ding, ding, dong, boom, boom. Two high notes, one low note, and finally two bangs on the massive brass drums set on the highest of the battlements of Defiers, an organization created to defy the Empire of Tronia for their cruelty to slaves. This was the battle alarm.

     Tom Enroub groaned as he awoke from the comfort of sleep, for the battle cue had rung. To most of Defiers’ warriors this alarm meant a journey to meet death, but to Tom, the leader and master swordsman of Defiers, this meant another chance to avenge the misery the Empire permitted him to undergo when he was a slave so many years ago. Tom thought precisely this as he slipped out of bed and hurried to retrieve his armor and the more valued his ebony-black sword he had retrieved from the legendary Black Dragon so many years previously. A few minutes later, fully dressed and ready for battle, he walked out of his cabin and to the outside world illuminated by a million stars. He could only hope his allies would join him in the battle.

     Tom smiled as he saw his young apprentice, Henry, leading his jet-black stallion, Thunder, towards him. Although he was pleased to see them, his horse readied for the campaign that lay ahead, Tom called, “Faster,” and obediently the boy listened.

     When the apprentice reached him, Tom leapt onto Thunder and turned to the small boy before him. “Go alert Albert, the General of Defiers’ Army, that he may take two hundred men for himself, two hundred men for Selena, the warrior trainer, and he should prepare two hundred men for me. In addition, you can tell them they may do whatever they wish with their men. When you’re finished with that, please alert Cornelius and Helen the Healer of my plans.” Tom turned and left abruptly.

“Onward,” Tom urged his strong battle horse and it galloped forward towards the advancing army. On Tom’s way to the battlements he passed many foot soldiers, all, like Tom, fully equipped for combat and ready to take down the Empire. A few men saluted to him, but most did not identify him in the dark and therefore thought of him merely a solitary horseman, who, like them, was going to confront the enemy.

     On Tom’s way to the opposing army he glanced up at the sky and saw nothing but the constellations above. His allies, the dragons, had not yet arrived. He knew and feared that without the help of the dragons, the enemy would be deadly, perhaps even destroy Defiers, murdering all in their path. He glanced at the dark sky once more, hopefully. He still saw nothing. Suddenly, a fleet of glowing dragon appeared at the horizon. As they approached their sleek, gigantic wings could be seen flapping, while their legs were kept tightly folded against their undersides. Tom’s heart lifted; there must be fifty dragons in that fleet, he observed. The fifty dragons were easily enough to destroy five hundred soldiers, leaving the other opposing troops to Tom’s, Albert’s, and Selena’s men to eliminate. Reassured, Tom continued forward with new determination.

     When Tom reached the battlements, a high ranking officer strode up to him and said, “I’m sorry sir, we have not yet prepared your troops, but they should be organized in a few moments.”

Tom watched for advancing soldiers, weighing the tactics, anticipating techniques and the possibilities to defeat the Empire. Soon enough, his two hundred men stood before him arranged to fight.

     Before the officer left Tom, the latter asked him, “The opposing army is about”

     “About one thousand men, I fear. We must pray that we can be victorious in this battle, even with the dragons on our side.”

     Then turning to his men, Tom called, “I think our best technique to triumph is to ambush. So while Selena and Albert attack the front, we will attack rear.”

     There was a moment of silence broken by a man’s voice. “How will we go around our enemies without being seen?”

     Tom thought for a moment then answered, “We’ll hug the side of the forest that begins at the endof the city and ends far beyond the last ranks of the army. The forest will conceal us. And when we are beyond their field of vision, we will advance perpendicular to the forest until we are directly behind the enemy. Then we will wait.” When Tom finished his order, he called, “Forward” and his men followed in straight orderly lines behind him out of the city, until they reached the trees, and the silhouettes of the enemy unaware lay out of sight. Then they turned and walked some hundred meters, until they stood directly behind the enemy. There they waited.

     Several minutes later Tom saw a foe, who could not have been more than sixteen or seventeen years old, run forth and cry without fear, “Surrender Defiers. You are weak and we are strong. Our numbers are great! This choice is yours, defeat and death or victory with us. Now, I repeat, will you or will you not surrender?”

     “Never!” Tom cried from behind the enemy, his voice reverberating around the Empire’s soldiers, so all could hear. He led his two hundred men forward so all could see. Then heads turned and confusion flooded through the opposing army. They had been unaware of Tom’s company. “Charge!” he yelled; and charge they did.

     Defiers men quickly enclosed around the Empire’s soldiers. Tom’s men attacked the rear of the Empire’s arrays and Selena’s and Albert’s men on the other three sides. The battle had begun.

     Tom led his men to the enemy, and, as leader of Defiers, Tom gave the first blow. His opponent then parried and attacked. Finally, after Tom easily deflected his opponent’s blow, he struck with all his might and the man, despite his attempts, fell to the ground, already crimson with blood.

     His next opponent seemed to be a much more practiced swordsman. Tom and his enemy fought, each deflecting his opponent’s blows, seemingly with equal ease. But Tom knew he would and must defeat this enemy, even if it was the last act he ever did. Suddenly a plan entered Tom’s mind and desperately he put it into action. He swung his sword as if he would stab his opponent; instinctively the other man raised his shield over his head to cover his head and torso. Tom wanted this to happen, that his opponent would cover his eyes and field of vision enabling Tom to stop his stab in mid-blow and direct it at the man’s side without him noticing. Luck once again was on the side of Tom, the redirected blow fell heavily upon his attacker. He too, fell to the ground.

     Tom’s next opponent, a young man, probably fifteen years old and a very unpracticed, swung his sword menacingly, though fear was etched in every corner of his face. Tom quickly decided not to kill the youngster but only to force him out of the battle. Tom swung his sword, purposely hitting the boy’s shield with a loud clunk; out of sheer force the young man fell to the ground stunned.

Tom leaned over the boy. Suddenly the slender and strong figure on the ground spoke, no pleaded, “Please, don’t kill me, my father is dead, I must support my family or they’ll starve. . .” Tears rolled down the young man’s cheeks, he was truly scared and Tom acknowledged this.

Tom looked at him with pity, “I never was going to kill you.” He turned leaving him alive, hoping that the boy would have a chance at survival. There were no guarantees, perhaps the dragon’s fury would be spared on him.

     Tom moved on from opponent to opponent. Every one he either killed or injured beyond the point of ever healing. Fighting was a complicated art, especially for one as talented as Tom. Tom chose who would live or die under his feared black sword. Sometimes an over thrown swing of his sword gave Tom the disadvantage; so too, a well-thrown hit would lend Tom the upper hand.

Throughout all this, the dragons circled over the humans, sometimes diving to pounce upon an oblivious (or fleeing) soldier, yet other times simply sending a glowing ball of fire to give a man an instantaneous death.

The battle lasted only four more hours, Tom never rested, never even paused during the fight. He knew, as leader, it was his duty to illuminate the proper path for the Defiers. And that he would do.

     The battle had ended. He was thankful towards the dragons, the non-human heroes. Tom knew the dragons had already made a hasty retreat. The strange alliance lasted through the battle, but they wished to return to their kin. Tom was also grateful towards his men who sacrificed themselves for others’ eternal freedom. He knew he had lost many.

     Tom slumped on his stallion. He was tired, any battle, even if it were as short as this one, exhausted him. The battle would bring up matters with which he never wanted to cope: funerals, the mass burying of enemy bodies, splitting the loot they took from the defeated enemy and so many more disturbing jobs that were passed up to him as no one else wished to manage them. Even as these discomforting thoughts crept into his mind he felt warm inside for he was alive, his closest friend, Albert was alive, and, greatest of all, the Defiers had been victorious once more.