Perian’s Journey – the origin of Skorn.
Perian’s story is told in the form of the classic quest; the journey is his life.
He grows up in an idyllic and sequestered place, but when he encounters a wizard and a magical flower, he is impelled to leave his childhood behind and set out on adventures, facing perils in the forest, the desert and the lair of a sorceress before coming to the throne of Lavrum. On the way he meets his one true love, the Princess Alauda, and the young pair are married.
Here the story moves beyond the traditional happy ending, and in the second book Perian seems set to lose all he has gained. Alauda dies at the birth of their child, Magenta, from whom her father is then estranged. Obsessed with the building of Alauda’s tomb, Perian allows his realm to go to ruin. Only the arrival of a suitor for his daughter’s hand, who slays a marauding dragon, saves Lavrum from his neglect.
The ageing Perian sets out on adventures again, seeking a new meaning for the last days of his life. He meets the wizard once more, journeys south and east and then beyond the east, where he finds his old courage restored and overcomes a monstrous foe.
The journey ends with the close of Perian’s life, and with peace.
Praise for Perian’s Journey
This is a very enjoyable novella. As some of the other reviews have noted, it’s more in the style of a saga or fairy tale than the typical novelistic mode, and there are several particularly excellent episodes (my favourite is the tale of two brothers right at the start, but the story of Princess Sorrow comes a close second). This mode tends to be more concise, and there is a very great deal to find within these slim covers. The book does a particularly good job of painting mind-images, and encapsulated a theme or a moment in an image or event. – Nelson Goering, on Amazon
A therapeutic fairytale… I could not put this down, the writing is just beautiful, it is well thought out, well planned and full of magic. The character of Perian has flaws that are very human and extremely relatable, yet, ultimately, he is on his own hero’s journey, he returns to his call time and again, including the ultimate journey, meeting, confronting and coming to peace with his own fears.
Thank you for this writing, it moved me a great deal... thoroughly recommended. – Amazon Customer
Perian’s Journey fits neatly into a tradition of myth and fantasy, with echoes from Arthurian legend, fairy tale, and Tolkien-era fantasy that allude to its precursors without ever falling prey to cliché or outright imitation. Shiloh Carroll; in Mythprint.
Wizards and dragons be here but the Hero’s quest is ultimately one of heart and mind where Perian finds, forgets and remembers, through a process of inexorable change, both who he is and what matters most. stephenkingfan; on Amazon
Seasons of Skorn, shadows of the seas: in search of time 