Authors: George Bryan Polivka
Blaggard's Moon (64 page)
And then he watched as Jenta and Autumn boarded the merchant vessel, bound for Mann. When Jenta turned back and waved, and he saw the sadness in her eyes, Delaney thought about Damrick. He even wished for a moment it was Damrick standing there, and not himself at all. He figured she probably wished the same. But he wasn't Damrick, and that was that. After a while, when Jenta and Autumn were long gone, he turned and walked away.
He had work to do.
Delaney was quickly happy to have signed on, and realized with a great thankfulness just how fortunate he was. He had much to think about, much to ponder. He had gotten down to the bottom of himself and found a darkness deeper than he knew could be. And yet he'd been raised up againâand not like Belisar was, but truly. All of that meant something, and he purposed in his heart to find out what.
But in the meantime his new duties would keep him busy. This ship was a dazzling thing, and he was thankful for that as well. Sleek and long, she looked like she was running at full speed even when standing still. Delaney's heart had pounded from the first moment she cleared the reefs and sandbars of Sule City and he felt her under his feet on the open ocean, running with the wind. He knew he would grow to love her dearly. She was built for a singular purpose, by a singular captain, and seemed destined for greatness.
Her name was
Trophy Chase
, and under Captain Scatter Wilkins she was headed out to the Vast Sea in a favorable wind, leaping like a cat over and through the billows, in headlong pursuit of the legendary Firefish.
The End.
What happens next to Smith Delaney? Find out by reading theâ¦
George Bryan Polivka
BOOK ONE:
THE LEGEND OF THE FIREFISH
Packer Throme longs to bring prosperity back to his fishing village by discovering the trade secrets of Scat Wilkins, a notorious pirate who now seeks to hunt the legendary Firefish and sell its rare meat.
Packer begins his quest by stowing away aboard Scat's ship, the
Trophy Chase,
bound for the open sea.
Will belief and vision be enough for Packer Throme to survive? And will Talon, the Drammune warrior woman who serves as Scat's security officer, be Packer's deliveranceâ¦or his death? And what of Panna Seline? In her determination not to lose Packer, she leaves home to follow the man she loves, but soon she is swept up in a perilous adventure of her own.
BOOK TWO:
THE HAND THAT BEARS THE SWORD
In the midst of their joyous “honey month,” newlyweds Packer and Panna Throme are once again thrust unwillingly into high adventure.
Pirate Scat Wilkins, no longer in command of his great ship, has returned with evil intentions for Packer as the
Trophy Chase
sets sail for deep waters once again.
While Packer is away, Panna, his bride, faces danger at the hands of the lecherous Prince Mather.
And a deadly peril has arisen across the sea. A new Hezzan in the Kingdom of Drammun now has diabolical designs on Packer and the Firefish trade, which catapults all of Nearing Vast into the horrors of war.
BOOK THREE:
THE BATTLE FOR VAST DOMINION
Packer Throme, determined to demonstrate that power comes only from above, leads his people in a war against the dreaded Drammune. The evil Hezzan of Drammun will kill without remorse for the secret of the Firefishâ¦and so will dark forces lurking within Nearing Vast.
As army faces army, and navy faces navy, all are drawn inexorably to the source of the epic struggleâ¦the feeding waters of the Firefish within the Achawuk Territory. One final surprise awaits Packer Throme there in the foreboding place where the struggle for the dominion of the world will be settled at last.
George Bryan Polivka was raised in the Chicago area, attended Bible college in Alabama, and ventured on to Europe, where he studied under Francis Schaeffer at L'Abri Fellowship in Switzerland. He then returned to Alabama, where he enrolled at Birmingham-Southern College as an English major.
While still in school, Bryan married Jeri, his only sweetheart since high school and now his wife of more than 25 years. He also was offered a highly coveted internship at a local television station, which led him to his first careerâas an award-winning television producer.
In 1986, Bryan won an Emmy for writing his documentary
A Hard Road to Glory,
which detailed the difficult path African-Americans traveled to achieve recognition through athletic success during times of racial prejudice and oppression.
Bryan and his family eventually moved to the Baltimore area, where he worked with Sylvan Learning Systems (now Laureate Education). In 2001 he was honored by the U.S. Distance Learning Association for the most significant achievement by an individual in corporate e-learning. He is currently responsible for developing and delivering new programs for Laureate's online higher education division.
Bryan and Jeri live near Baltimore with their two children, Jake and Aime, where Bryan continues to work and write.
Be sure to visit his website at
www.nearingvast.com
.
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