David L. McDaniel

DAVID M. MCDA n IEL

David L. McDaniel is a native Californian living in the shadow of the Three Shasta’s. He spent a few years as a Cavalry Scout stationed in West Germany and did one tour on the West German / East German border. He has been married for thirty years as of September 2021 and all of his children are now adults.

allows, he even likes to be a Dungeon Master for his friends playing Dungeons and Dragons.

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Uncaged welcomes David M. McDaniel

Welcome to Uncaged! Your newest book, Fyaa’s Bane, will release October 7th and is part of the War of the Quarterstar Shards series. Can you tell readers more about this book and the series?

This series is about a swordsman trying to escape his identity as the target of an ancient elven prophecy where he is both the savior and the destroyer of the realm. Along the way, he will realize that he needs to tackle this head-on in an attempt to thwart the prophecy by securing all of the shards from the star that created the realm. He will also realize that he will need help from others as an aggressive kingdom wages war for the Quarterstar Shards that, in the process, could destroy the realm.

What is the most difficult scene for you to write? What is the easiest?

I struggle a bit with descriptive scenes, which I think is a good thing, that way, I tend not to go into too much detail. I also have to slow down my pace to get the description right, so I don’t give too little description. I don’t like reading books where the author describes every detail of a room.

The easiest for me is dialogue. I love writing dialogue.

Are you attending any in-person book signings or conventions this year? What behind-the-scenes tidbit in your life would probably surprise your readers the most?

That is a good question. I can’t really think of anything that would surprise anyone because I am a bit of a recluse and am pretty boring. I enjoy the outdoors and animals. I served in the Army for three years and used to race bicycles, but not professionally.

Which comes first, the plot or the characters in the planning stages?

The plot comes first and then the characters next. I do spend a lot of time with character development, but I need to have the end in mind before I even start writing. Besides, some of my characters write themselves once I get going.

What are some things you like to do to relax when you aren’t writing or working?

Working in my backyard on the weekends, reading whenever I can, and just chilling with my two cats and two dogs. There are also rare moments where I try to get together with my son and some friends to play Dungeons and Dragons. We usually get together once a month during the winter months since most of us have more demanding jobs in the summer.

If you could have one all-year season, which would it be and why?

Late spring, for sure. I don’t like early spring due to all the pollen, but once everything has settled, late spring is excellent just before the triple-digit heat kicks in here in Northern California.

How many hours a day do you write? On average, how long does it take to write a full novel?

any schedule for writing, so I write whenever I can and for as long as I can. I seem to be able to finish a rough draft in about a year once I really get going.

Do you prefer ebooks, audiobooks or physical books? Are you reading anything now?

I love physical books but don’t mind ebooks or audiobooks. They both have their times when they are better than physical books. It is great to have extra options as far as reading goes.

As far as what I am reading, well, that is a tricky topic because I have no less than five books that I am reading right now. I need to cut it down, but I can’t help myself when I see a good book. I end up picking it up to only read a page or two, but then I get hooked and, just like that, have added another book to my pile.

What would you like to say to fans, and where can they follow you?

I have two books to read first. The Warrior’s Bane and Quarterstars Awakening were written as one book, but they were split into two books upon publication. The reader can read either one first. Quarterstars Awakening is a story of elves, dragons, and a love story between a human princess and an elven prince. The story sets up the prophecy that plagues the main character, Alaezdar, throughout the series.

Enjoy an excerpt from Fyaa’s Bane

Fyaa’s Bane David L. McDaniel Fantasy Releases October 7

Alaezdar has been wounded and is suffering from the effects of Goblin-Touched Steel. His body’s transformation and death has been slowed, but he suffers. He must seek out his father’s council for answers to his role within the prophecy.

Meanwhile, Kunther and Aaelie find themselves without a home and family after the ransacking of Valewood by Trielian Warriors. They end up on separate journeys facing perilous danger as they struggle to find their paths.

Fyaa, with information given to her by Ra-Corsh, begins anew her search for her Birds of Fire. She also seeks out Crimson, her long lost lover, in order to restore their place in the cycle. She sets her gaze on Alaezdar as she seeks to bring the prophecy full circle.

Alaezdar’s only hope is to follow Fyaa in hopes of recovering memories long lost. The Center Stone, and therefore, the Triestones, have resurfaced. The full reality of the prophecies becoming all too real for the denizens of Wrae-Kronn.

Chapter 6

It had begun to rain again, and Alaezdar still wandered in the city near the docks. He needed to get to Triel, but his hip screamed at him with every

Excerpt

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step. The little girl said she had healed him, but he didn’t feel any better. He had heard about the effects of goblin-touched steel, but he had no idea just how painful it was. He did not know how anyone could tolerate the unstoppable ooze and the burning that went deep within the joints as the wound festered.

He could see the effect of using such a weapon in combat. Even though it did not kill the wounded immediately, it did cause excruciating agony for the rest of their much-shortened lives. It wasn’t contagious, but he understood morale could be destroyed from the mere mention of these devastating weapons.

Alaezdar walked a little farther along the docks, the rain was no more than a drizzle adding to the grayness of the ocean port. He stopped to gather his senses for a moment and ran his hand through his hair to move the wet hair off of his face, but when he did, a clump of hair stuck to his hands.

He wiped his hands on his chest to remove it. In disbelief, he ran both hands through his hair, and every time he came up with more clumps of hair.

Panic began to set in, and his hip again began to burn as if a large iron had been placed upon it. The burn propagated itself throughout his left leg, the acute pain increasing as it spread.

He had to cool it down. He could feel his body heat rising, so much so that he felt like he was going to catch on fire at any moment. He ran to the edge of the pier away from the ships and jumped down onto the beach. His leg seized up on him, causing him to fall just feet away from the bay’s slowly lapping waves. Using his fingertips, he crawled on his stomach to the water’s edge, turned over on his back, and put his legs into the water. As soon as his left leg touched the water, he heard a loud hissing noise come from his leg, followed by his leg exploding in excruciating pain. He clenched his teeth from the pain and leaned back on his elbows.

He tried to stifle his groans, but the hissing sound continued. Shocked by the sound, he stood up and stripped his pants off to look at what had made the hissing sound in the water.

The leg felt crusty as his pants came off and in doing so, he saw that his entire upper thigh and hip was one massive scab oozing an orange, burning pus between multiple cracks in the scab. He began to wipe it off of his leg, but the pus that stuck in between his fingers began to burn the skin off of his hands. He rubbed his hands in the sand to remove the pus and then rolled on his back and cursed at the top of his lungs. “What did that girl do to me?” he whispered as he rolled over on his stomach and passed out from the pain. *** “Wake up my love,” she said softly as she stroked his forehead with her long supple fingers. Alaezdar opened his eyes and saw a beautiful woman with long red hair hanging inches from his face. He sat up quickly, but immediately regretted doing so and fell back. He took a minute to reorient himself with his surroundings. The sun was high in the sky amongst a partly smoky haze that rested below a crisp blue sky. He lay next to a rocky ledge and the smell of pinesap mixed with musty earth told him he was no longer near the ocean. “Where am I?” he asked, running his hand over his head, feeling nothing but soft skin where a full head of hair used to be. “We are south of the Goblin Ridge Mountains, just north of Mervyyx.” Alaezdar sat up, and almost passed out again. He propped his hands behind him to keep him from falling on his back again. “Back at the Goblin Tribes Forest?” “No, we are south of that. We are safe from those vile creatures and safe from the smoldering fires. Unfortunately, the recent rains have nearly put out the blaze.” He shook his head at her choice of word: unfortunately. “Why am I here?” he asked, ignoring her comment. “You, my love, Crimson, are here to help me free my companions. The simpletons of this world call them the Birds of Fire.” “Why do you call me Crimson?” “Because that is who you are,” she answered, smiling like a young girl talking to her love interest. Alaezdar recognized the voice as the one he spoke to on the docks of Battleworth. “Oh no, this isn’t happening,” Alaezdar said as he leaned forward to stand up, but Fyaa put her hand to his chest. He looked down at her hand, shocked at how

strong the force was behind it that kept him from moving an inch further even if he wanted. “I don’t know what is going on, but I am not going anywhere with you,” he said laying back down with both hands covering his face. “Yes, you will go with me,” she said, standing up directly straddling each leg over his chest looking down upon him. “My companions are waiting for you to rescue them, not only from their imprisonment but to return them to their original forms.” “I don’t know what you are talking about, you might as well be speaking a different language.” “You will understand soon enough,” she said as her back exploded on fire, eventually taking the shape of wings. She lifted herself off of the ground about five feet to give Alaezdar the freedom to stand up. Seeing the opportunity, Alaezdar stood up, but immediately the pain reminded him of his plight and his sight became fuzzy and he fell to one knee. Not allowing this to slow him down, he stood up again, but this time not only was his vision blurred, but his head screamed in pain causing him to grab his head and he fell to both knees and landed on his elbows. As he lay there, he felt his bald and scaly head and was reminded of his condition at the docks of Battleworth. “What have you done to me?” he screamed in pain. “I have tried to heal you from your wounds. The poison of the goblin- touched steel has been neutralized, but it seems to be fighting back as if it is alive. However, if you still had your sword, you wouldn’t be going through this transformation because the sword would have healed you. This transformation you are experiencing is not of my doing. Crimson is trying to come back to his original form. You are Crimson, do not fight it.” “I will fight this!” he screamed, causing his head to hurt even more. He scooted backward away from her and forced himself to stand up and run away. Fyaa smiled and flew over his head and landed in front of him. “You don’t understand,” she said as the chain mail on her skin began to glow from the wisps of her hair and wings, warming up the tight ringlets. “You are mine until such time when I decide to release you. When I do release you, you and I will willingly destroy this realm and promptly find another realm to create and

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destroy just as you and I have done since the beginning of our time.” “I will not,” he said, not fearing her threats, and walked back away from her again. He did not care if she struck him down right there. If she did, at least it would end this torture of being the center of this ridiculous prophecy. He needed to find a way to wrest himself from her, though, and he knew he could not escape in the shape that he was in. He needed to find his father. As much as that even sickened his stomach, his father knew more about this prophecy than anyone he knew. Now, for the first time in his life, he wished he had listened. As predicted, the flaming witch landed in front of him again. This time, she no longer smiled at him and her face was covered in flame. The fire swirled around her so violently that he no longer saw any human-like features except for her red hair that even though it was in flame, still had the consistency of hair on her head. “You will come with me,” her voice crackled out of her flaming head. “You have no choice in the matter.” “If I go with you, can you heal me?” he asked, beginning to acquiesce, realizing if he could buy some time, maybe he could figure a way out of this mess that was only continuing to worsen. “I cannot do that, but I will ease the pain so that you can function. You must understand though, that your transformation has begun, and cannot be reversed. As I said before, you are now converting into your true form.” “What can you do? I feel like my body is turning inside out.” “That is exactly what is happening. Your inner self is trying to come out, but your wicked Kronn is fighting it, and prolonging your transformation, causing you more pain. You need to learn to subdue your Kronn and push it away from yourself. Kronn is the enemy. Come with me to help me release my companions. Do this and I will help you through your transformation. In the end, we will be unstoppable in this realm.” Alaezdar shook his head? How did it come to this? Why can’t he escape this insane and out of control

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demon woman? “Then let’s get this done,” Alaezdar said before he could overthink the situation. He had no idea what she was talking about but knew he had no other choice in the matter. Fyaa clued him in on one part of this nightmare that might offer him some understanding of how Kronn magic works within him—alluding that he could control it once he figured out how to unleash the Kronn. He had always fought against his Kronn, even though he never believed he had the ability to tap into the magic of Kronn, but his experience in the catacombs with the guardian proved otherwise. He now had the talisman with the Quarterstar Shard they called Val-Eahea’s Quarterstar, and he would have to secure all four shards in order to complete the prophecy. Though he did not trust the magic, nor how it worked, he knew he had something that ultimately contained an enormous amount of power, even though he did not know how to properly use it. “What we need to do first is release my companions. Then we must obtain the Center Stone before anyone else so that we can collect all of the Triestones and control the Aaestfallia Keep. In this, we will be able to open and close the portal at any moment of our choosing.” Fyaa continued rambling, pulling Alaezdar from his thoughts. “If this will help me move out of this prophecy dilemma, then I am ready whenever you are,” Alaezdar said, not really understanding what she was asking of him. “Then let’s go now,” Fyaa said as she grabbed him from behind and wrapped her arms underneath his armpits, picking him up off of the ground. They flew south for many hours. He was in abject pain, though Alaezdar was surprised that her touch did not burn him as it had before. He figured it had something to do with this new transformation within him. He felt his skin turning to scale. His legs were completely covered in a scab-like infection. It crept up above the wound on his hip to cover his lower back and stomach. His chest and neck were normal, for the moment, yet he could feel an intense throbbing working up his spine. This must have had something to do with the fact that she swore to take away the pain. If she hadn’t had done so, he figured the intensity of the pins and needles would have rendered him unable to function. As they flew, he continued to try to come up with an idea of how he was going to get out of this dilemma, but if he could buy some time, he might be able to figure out a way to find these Triestones and use their power to get away. His thoughts continued to come back to his Kronn. The last few Gartans of the Watcher’s Guild he had met told him he possessed Kronn, so much to the extent they all feared him, except for Gartan the Kronn Seeker, whose job it was to find the one the prophecy speaks of, which Alaezdar was reluctantly beginning to accept was him. He still wore the cloak that Gartan the Kronn Seeker wore and this reminded him of its aid in Aaelie’s rescue. So many pieces to this puzzle confounded him, but he knew there was an answer somewhere: the cloak, the wraeths, The Watcher’s Guild, even his sword, Bloodseeker. He realized that if he had not been so passive at the beginning of the troubles in Valewood, they might not have fallen so far behind Aaelie, and they might have caught up with Fyaa and Ra-Corsh long before the Death Pass. Alaezdar continued to stew on his thoughts for another six hours as they flew south. The sun was still in the sky, but it was beginning to make its descent into the Rae-Om Ocean as Fyaa began to descend. The abandoned village of Mervyyx came into view as they flew over the southern ridge of the Goblin Ridge Mountains. Within minutes, they had landed in the middle of an abandoned street where Dwarven shops had once thrived. Fyaa let Alaezdar free and backed away as he surveyed the situation. Not a sound could be heard in the city. The smell of rot and decay were the first senses he noticed as he looked around him. He had heard of this place, but there had never been any reason to come here when he was with Rager’s House of Renegades. It was nothing more than a dead city inhabited by evil creatures. Now he waited for those dead creatures to surface and show themselves. “Just wait,” Fyaa spoke as if she knew what he was

thinking, “they will arrive.” “I don’t intend on waiting.” Fyaa backed away, looking at him like he was crazy, but then smiled deviously as if she was anticipating the treat he was soon to be in for. Sick of her attitude, and ready to get on with this new venture and get it behind him, Alaezdar walked down the city street paying attention to every detail of the buildings, waiting for something to jump out at him, but nothing did. Even though the city was silent, it still seemed to speak the tales of greatness through the broken and crumbled walls of its once busy establishments. He walked on with Fyaa remaining a safe distance behind him. The farther they walked the more anxious he could feel Fyaa becoming. He could sense her nervousness as it grew, languishing in the air around them. “Where are they?” Fyaa asked out loud and then silenced herself, clearly wishing she had not spoken so loudly. They waited a few more moments, but her fear that over speaking might have awoken the wrath of the Darkshadows was unjustified, as nothing surfaced. After nearly an hour of wandering the streets, Fyaa took to the air and flew above the city to see if she could find something. Alaezdar found himself alone and pondering thoughts of hiding from her and escaping, but the more he thought about it forced him to change his mind. Right now, he sorely needed her for the possibility of keeping him healed and maybe alive. None of that mattered anyway, for within a few seconds he heard Fyaa, screaming in terror like a little girl, just a few crumbled buildings away. Alaezdar started to run but tripped as his legs did not move as they should. He fell to one knee and felt his scabs under his leggings stretch and tear. Pus and blood oozed down his leg as he stood up, and he continued to quickly limp over to where he heard Fyaa’s screams. Even at his slow pace, it did not take him very long to find her. She kneeled on the ground covering up her head and screaming in fear while six cloaked figures surrounded her, just watching her and swaying back and forth. They were not attacking but were just standing as if in some trance while blocking her from escaping. When he came around the corner, the Darkshadows saw him and stared at him from underneath their cloaks. All movement stopped for a few seconds, and then just like cockroaches being exposed to light, they scattered back into the shadows of the broken buildings. Fyaa stood up, looked embarrassingly at Alaezdar, and then composed herself. “Go after them!” she yelled. Alaezdar started to walk towards them when a man in a red cloak that looked to be stained by ash and fire and was torn in numerous places appeared from behind them. “I see you have found him,” the man said, startling them. Fyaa’s wings burst into fire and she took to the air, leaving them alone as she watched from thirty feet up. Just high enough to stay safe yet still hear their conversation. “Can you help me?” Alaezdar asked. “That depends on what you need, though there is very little I can do.” “I need my wounds healed so that I can escape this sorceress.” “I cannot help you in that endeavor,” he responded. “That is not why I brought you here!” Fyaa shouted from above. “Get my birds back!” “I know why you are here,” Gartan began. “She has already been here and seen me, she knows that her companions are here somewhere, but I could not help her unless she brings me the Kronn Man that the prophecy speaks of.” Alaezdar started to deny his role in this prophecy, but thought better of it and instead answered. “I may be that man.” “Yes, you may be, but I cannot tell if you are the one as you are in your current state,” he said looking at his bald head that was now scabbing over just above his forehead, “but I sense that you are the same man that met Gartan the Kronn seeker, and he believed you to be that man, so I will go on that supposition.” “She wants me to free the Birds of Fire,” he said pointing up at her. “Yes, she made that very clear

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to me the first time she was here.” “Then, how do I do this?” “I do not know, but if you are truly the one the prophecy speaks of, you will find a way. More importantly, if you are this person, you are inherent in both types of magic Wrae and Kronn. The remnants of the original star are in your bloodstream, meaning you also have the bloodline of Traelyn, daughter of Dar Drannon, the originator of Kronn.” “Find them, you idiot!” Fyaa shouted down. Gartan looked up at her and then backed away, bowing before Alaezdar with a long swoop of his arm as if to allow him access to any part of the city he wished to explore. Alaezdar stepped away. He walked down the nearest street, and for some unknown reason other than a sense of intuition, he stepped inside one of the buildings that weren’t as dilapidated as the others. Walking in, he realized that it was an old armory. Swords, shields, hammers, and axes lay scattered on the floor. He could tell that they were once attached to the wall behind the counter, but the shelves had long since rotted, causing them to fall from their placement on the wall. Grabbing a rusty sword, he quickly noticed that the wood covering the hilt had rotted away and rust had eaten through the entire blade, making it useless. Frustrated, he threw it to the ground. He picked up numerous weapons and found them all in the same condition. He had just picked up an old pickaxe when he heard something approach him from the door.

The six Darkshadows entered the room. Not wasting a second to attack, they pulled back the hoods of their cloaks, exposing their twisted and misshapen heads. Alaezdar looked at them in fear as they exposed their long and twisted fangs. An unknown sense of fear gripped his consciousness. His head ached as his body vibrated. His vision got blurry, and his arms and legs went numb. Before he lost consciousness, he heard the pickaxe fall to the ground.