Rift Weavers, A Novel in Parts, Part 1 - Finn Stockton

Finn rolled to his feet just as Joan entered the room. He turned to see the astonished look on Bar'aq's face. At once he recognized the man from his dreams and yelled, "You!" pointing a finger at Bar'aq. Bar'aq was most certainly taken unaware by Finn's attack. But the reflexes of the master mage were finely tuned and his surprise didn't last long. He turned and slammed Joan back with a flick of the wrist and then focused his attention on Finn. Seeing Joan crumpled enraged Finn. He growled an incantation instinctively and thrust his hands at Bar'aq. Finely tuned reflexes notwithstanding, a portion of Finn's attack hit and spun Bar'aq. Bar'aq regained his balance and countered with a strike of his own. Now it was Finn's turn to rely on reflexes. Strictly out of some unknown instinct, he made a warding gesture and blocked Bar'aq's attack. Still it pushed Finn back. For the next few seconds, the two combatants traded blows. Finn summoned more energy and responded with a renewed attack. He had been experimenting with various thrusts and jabs. For this attack he mentally envisioned a lance. Unfortunately, his attack concentrated his power into a single thrust, leaving him open. Bar'aq parried the thrust with ease and with his next attack blasted Finn to the edge of the rift. "Last chance," he said, "Join me or die in the rift." "Not on your life. Get him girls!" shouted Finn. Eilish and Ciara left their charges and made a leap for Bar'aq. With a flourish, he cast all three into the rift. ---------- Once cast into the rift, Finn begins a journey that will lead him to other worlds, to the discovery of his own powers and to friendships that will carry him forward. Throughout it all, Finn is accompanied by his Irish Wolfhounds. The story's premise centers on rifts that occur in the space / time continuum. Where these manifest themselves on a planet, the energies released into that world can lead to aberrant events and abilities. The energies can induce magic in heretofore non-magical beings and can influence historical events. A Weavers Guild has assumed the responsibility of sealing rifts, "weaving" or "sewing" them closed. They also have set themselves up to manage travel via rifts as some rifts are maintained for this purpose. They are a typical large bureaucracy with its intendant rigidity, slow pace and resistance to change. The Guild is located on Rift World. According to a description from the Guild, "Rifts were an interesting phenomenon by any measure. A rift occurred where the folds of time and space made actual contact. At the point of contact, the boundaries would instantly fuse. This created a recoil effect that tore the fabric in one or both sides. Single sided tears generally only allowed energy to pass resulting in weird phenomenon and enhanced powers for those living near them. People with a natural affinity for using these energies might become a shaman, seer, mage or such. Tears on both sides were much worse in that they allowed physical transit. Small rifts of either type were typically left alone as resources were still too few to handle them all. These might have a life of a day or centuries. Medium one-sided rifts might also be left alone. But any two-sided tear medium and larger was addressed as soon as possible. As John had noted and the mission briefing reinforced, the Earth seemed especially prone to rifts of all magnitudes." Follow Finn and his companions on an adventure full of magic, heroics and discovery.
About the Author: Tom Tate was born and raised in Virginia and attended college at Virginia Tech. He currently lives in the mountains of NE Pennsylvania with his wife, three dogs (one an Irish Wolfhound) and a large cat. An avid reader of science fiction, fantasy, military history, and nearly any other genre you can think of (except romance novels), this is his first attempt at a novel.