Book I: Mark of the Deathwalker
A sample of the prologue:
A steady beat of rain drummed the cascade of the night’s sheet of darkness. The towering structures that surrounded him were shadows in the void, in comparison to the destination ahead. Like sentinels, the spires watched from the cloud lines. Leaving no part of the city where one could escape their sight. Only a faint light shined upon his armor as he walked towards it; his preset destination taking precedence over the chaos that ensued the city.
His chest piece bound in an abundance of dark leathers glimmered sharply in the storm. The lightweight metal accents piercing the night’s façade. The only source of light beckoned from the Guilds Castle up ahead. The window panes on either side of him brought only creeping darkness.
The boots seemed to breathe, as the rain parted from their embrace with each step. While the cloak danced with the slow sway of the wind, its black cherry color nearly made the rain appear black tears as they fell off it. Even the debris off the gravel spiraled in an updraft, a near grasp at the cloak itself.
Lightning flashed violently in the distance, and for an instant the war that consumed the city’s soul, showed their scars. Vile gashes ran like veins through the transient buildings, and the terraces along the rooftops had shattered palisades. Within a moment they vanished to hide back in the darkness of the night. Walking opposite his path, a being shrouded head to boot in a grey ragged garb, slowly passed. A Deathwalker. His head kept low as he walked by, but elderly presence is not masked well by just a garb. His time has passed him by.
“You shall walk again.” Is what he was taught from the beginning. For him twenty-six cycles came and went before he found his identity. And today that identity would come to life. “Heed the call of the voice, the lifeless will never reap what we sow.” One is born a Deathwalker, and remains as such until one finds their path in life. Some found their calling as early as eighteen cycles, others as late as seventy-nine.
For an unfortunate few, some entered and exited life never finding their purpose or their true identity. They wandered the streets ‘lifeless.’ The ceremony of rebirth had been a tradition since the dawn of the first Andescions. The ‘omega apocalypse,’ some called it. For that creature maybe. However, on this day, it would be a new stage of alpha. Today would be the first day he would truly be himself. Today would bring about change long needed.
The lights of the scene around him blurred to the background, the war had taken its toll, but today it mattered for naught. His alpha stage about to begin, in rhythm with the cadence of the rain. With every part of the bitter past to erase, a worthy price to begin anew. Today ‘he’ would die, all he was, gone… to emerge reborn as what he chooses to be. For him, the decision was made long ago. For what becomes of this ultimatum however… was up for the winds to decide.
He pulled the cowl of his cloak tighter over his head, the dust mask styled after his cloak hid most his features, but to all, he was still marked ‘lifeless’. Branded at his first birth, the mark of the Deathwalker was tattooed into the dorsum of his left hand. A constant reminder of what you are. Deathwalkers were the ones that had yet to be born again under the name of their choosing, as is tradition in Andescion. Today would be the end of lifelessness, for today he would be born again anew. “For death is just the beginning.”
Title: The working title for this novel is Book I: Mark of the Deathwalker. I am in the midst of building the skeleton for a six book series. Writing and world-building simultaneously.
Genre: Pagan / Fantasy styled lore
Age Range: Young Adult - Adult
Word Count: 622 in the sample. My project so far is well over 50,000 words.
Author Name: My pen name is Steve Deltanis, but my real name is Steve Giordano.
Why a good fit?: I believe my writing style offers an emersive atmosphere for people to escape to. I spend an incredible amount of time building my world so others may be absorbed into it as well.
The hook: The first chapter sets the stage quite vividly for what is in store over the journey at hand. Told from the perspective of an unknown character, the reader will see into the eyes of the perspective chapters to follow.
Synopsis: The overall journey is about a father trying to cure his daughter's terminal illness. There is an intricate weave of story that evolves around this, and this book follows the lives of all involved. For all decisions have consequences.
Target Audience: Young adult, adult readers of grounded fantasy lore. Gamers of all kinds will find themselves identifying with these characters as well.
My Bio: I grew up on Long Island, New York. Spending many years of my life delving into various writing forms, from composing music, and symphonic scores, to experimenting with poetry and screenplay writing. It wasn't until two years ago that I discovered where my writing would come to full potential. Starting this book has been an incredible journey. Exhaustive, frustrating, filled with moments of despair - while so emotionally rewarding and immersive that it has been impossible to stop the project as it evolves around me.
Platform: TBD
Education: I am currently working on my MA in Industrial Organization Psychology.
Experience: I have a few poems published in a school magazine, and I wrote a full length screenplay that placed top 10 in the NYSC. Other than that, the past two years have been filled with working full time, school full time, and developing this series project.
Personality: INFJ, and extremely high in extraversion.
Hobbies: Rock climbing, writing, music.
Hometown: Long Island, New York.
Age: 30