Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Tales of the MERC Part One: The Trial
    Tales of the MERC Part One: The Trial
    Tales of the MERC Part One: The Trial
    Ebook89 pages1 hour

    Tales of the MERC Part One: The Trial

    By Mike Eschbach

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Despite being the youngest – and smallest – member of his class, Stout excelled in every facet of the Officer Training Program given by the Military Expeditionary and Reconnaissance Corps (MERC). Upon graduation, he and fellow lieutenant, Hound, left the city of New Apros and made the transcontinental trip from the southern coast of Flam’bhoreal to Base-Camp, Northern Command.

    Once there, both were given a choice: take immediate command of a platoon or face the perils of the mystical Trial upon the Isle of Cal Dakar. A challenge, the Trial offered each candidate an opportunity. Should they pass, their rune carved blades would quicken, offering a symbiotic relationship that bound blade and soldier together.

    Should they fail, they die.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMike Eschbach
    Release dateDec 7, 2018
    ISBN9780463165188
    Tales of the MERC Part One: The Trial
    Author

    Mike Eschbach

    I would describe myself as unassuming. I'm the 4th of 5 kids, a Penn State grad, a U.S. Navy vet and an entrepreneur. I've been married since 2002.I've been writing fiction informally since I was ten years old. I've outlined and written down ideas for stories in several different genres. It is only as I've gotten older that I've tried to take a stab at actually writing in effort to get published.I've written in a number of different fictional styles including retrospectives, faith based stories and humor. Right now my efforts are focused on world building in a military fantasy setting under the title 'Tales of the MERC.' Parts One and Two are currently priced at $0.00 - feel free to download them. Part Three is forthcoming.

    Read more from Mike Eschbach

    Related to Tales of the MERC Part One

    Related ebooks

    Fantasy For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Ode to Joy

      Mar 28, 2018

      Ode to Joy
      6 min read

    • Article

      Jack of Knives

      Jun 3, 2021

      WINNER £100 Jennifer is the author of four middle grade children’s novels published by Maverick (writing as Jenny Moore). Her latest book, The Misadventures of Nicholas Nabb, is set during the same period as her winning story and also includes a scen

      6 min read

    • Article

      Left To Lose

      Jul 10, 2022

      Around the time she gives up her name, it starts to feel like this entire revolution isn’t worth it anymore. The world is probably lucky that Kelian—she still remembers Kelian, in spite of everything—is there to pick up the pieces, the way he always

      11 min read

    • Article

      Cast Out

      Jul 10, 2021

      Verity pushed back the quilts, rolled off her straw mattress onto the floor, felt for the poker, and stirred the ashes. The embers glowed. She wouldn’t have to go fire-borrowing again. Her chilled hands were clumsy. One glowing bit of wood rolled fro

      21 min read

    • Article

      Healing

      Apr 8, 2020

      Healing
      9 min read

    • Article

      Love Your Brother

      Mar 23, 2022

      Love Your Brother
      9 min read

    • Article

      Honey & Spice

      Aug 8, 2022

      So, he was good with kids; had a softness to him. The most dangerous thing about that was clearly it wasn’t performed: there was no way he could fake the adoration with which he looked at that angel. With that obnoxious display of genuine cuteness, h

      5 min read

    • Article

      Present Tense

      Sep 4, 2018

      Present Tense
      10 min read

    • Article

      Australia Reads At Home

      May 18, 2020

      Australia Reads At Home
      7 min read

    • Article

      The Wisdom of Women Shines in Najla Jraissaty Khoury’s ‘Pearls on a Branch: Oral Tales’

      Oct 22, 2018

      Long, long ago These things happened or maybe no. Let’s start with the image on the cover. Three women sit in a courtyard. One holds a long-handled pan over a coal brazier; the other two, one of whom has her back to us, hold small cups. They wear ide

      7 min read

    • Article

      The Book of Loki

      Mar 12, 2018

      The Book of Loki
      20 min read

    • Article

      Excerpts From The Works Of The 2024 Whiting Award Winners

      Apr 10, 2024

      The 2024 Whiting Award winners were announced Wednesday night. Below are excerpts from their work.

      19 min read

    • Article

      The Silence of Witches

      Dec 10, 2019

      The Silence of Witches
      6 min read

    • Article

      Towns Like Ours

      May 3, 2018

      Towns Like Ours
      9 min read

    • Article

      100-WORD-STORY COMPETITION Winners

      Aug 16, 2022

      We’ve been delighted by the huge response to our 100-word-story competition. The entries have flooded in thick and fast during the past few months, but while we’ve enjoyed reading every story, only a few can come out on top! You, our readers, voted t

      5 min read

    • Article

      Running Away

      Feb 22, 2021

      Leaving London behind her, Millie drove faster, picturing thousands of crazed fans in pursuit, desperate for what – a lock of her hair? Or Julian; except after the last gig, somehow she knew he wouldn’t follow. She knew from bitter experience that di

      5 min read

    • Article

      Little CHARMS

      Oct 19, 2022

      Little CHARMS
      6 min read

    • Article

      The Scars We Bare

      Apr 13, 2020

      The Scars We Bare
      11 min read

    • Article

      The Bridle

      Oct 10, 2021

      Saliva pooled on her tongue beneath the rusty depressor. She endured a constant urge to swallow, afraid of choking on her own fluids. The taste of metal and blood are so akin, it is easy to mistake one for the other. This early in the day, blood was

      11 min read

    • Article

      Gabriel & Holly

      Feb 8, 2021

      The first day was the most daunting. It helped that she’d arrived last night to settle herself in the cottage annexe before first contact this morning. Still, nerves attacked her as she stood before the door of the imposing but charming ivy-covered 1

      6 min read

    • Article

      LOVE Is The Word

      Jan 3, 2023

      LOVE Is The Word
      6 min read

    • Article

      First Date

      Jul 9, 2020

      First Date
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Wrong Shampoo

      Apr 10, 2022

      Brandy scoured the rows of bubble gum bright shampoo bottles. How much time had passed already? She looked to the front of the store but couldn’t see the checkout lines. She had only been to Jeff’s apartment once so far and didn’t remember what brand

      16 min read

    • Article

      Planetesimal

      Aug 15, 2022

      Planetesimal
      3 min read

    • Article

      O Fortuna, Velut Luna

      Sep 15, 2018

      What is Miss Treece’s trouble, according to a popular notion? The man A has failed to show up. Arousing herself at the restaurant, she fixes her lipstick when her solo supper concludes and takes herself down the stairs situated behind the bar. There,

      3 min read

    • Article

      Caught Out

      Oct 2, 2022

      Caught Out
      9 min read

    • Article

      The Family Plot

      May 7, 2020

      The Family Plot
      10 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Tales of the MERC Part One

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Tales of the MERC Part One - Mike Eschbach

      Tales of the MERC

      Part One: The Trial

      A Novella

      by

      Mike Eschbach

      Dedicated to Harry E (1925-2016)

      Miss you, Dad

      Published by Mike Eschbach at Smashwords

      Copyright 2018

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and events are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

      Cover Art by Jessica Dueck at StarsColdNight. Please visit her at her website: http://www.jessicadueck.com

      Map Art by: Tom Ruple. Please visit him at http://www.tomruple.com

      Table of Contents

      Chapter I – The Opening

      Chapter II

      Chapter III

      Chapter IV

      Chapter V – Northward Bound

      Chapter VI

      Chapter VII

      Chapter VIII

      Chapter IX

      Chapter X – The Causeway

      Chapter XI

      Chapter XII

      Chapter XIII

      Chapter XIV

      Chapter XV – The Maw

      Chapter XVI

      Chapter XVII

      Chapter XVIII

      Chapter XIX

      Chapter XX

      About the Author

      Chapter I

      1415, Peaceday, 21st Inadrune, Autumn, 1032

      Stout stood alone, deep in thought. Worry lined his face as he waited on the veranda outside the small villa he shared with his wife. It was a steep drop from his vantage. He watched in casual regard as white-capped swells marched in careless succession across Emilee Bay. Flotsam and driftwood long borne upon the Tilarian Ocean’s southern tide gathered along the beach below, detritus long forgotten by an insouciant sea. A sudden gust blew from the south. His tunic flapped like a pennon as eyes hued an icy blue watered beneath the assault.

      His musing was dark, born of self-recrimination. A heroic past weighed heavily upon his conscience when counted against his son’s decision to follow in his footsteps. Frowning, he turned away from the bay and ran a hand over short, pale hair. Gazing skyward, he asked Fortune for aid, but She seemed disinclined to meddle. Instead, clouds gathered and the temperature fell.

      He was warm enough, though just barely, and gave some thought to retreating into the house to find a cloak when the door opened behind him. Turning, he found Malice gazing at him with a small smile despite her wan complexion and the dark circles beneath her eyes.

      You dreamed again last night, he said.

      Pulling her dark, woolen cloak more tightly about the shoulders, she shrugged in reply. With a glance toward the lowering gloom, she said, It is cold. The sky threatens rain, I think. Facing him, she asked, Are you warm enough?

      Stout nodded. I’ll be fine once we start walking.

      Do you think Hari will deploy soon?

      The question was sudden, yet expected, for she had asked it every day since their son’s graduation from the White Sands Training Center some two weeks prior. Nodding, he said, Yes, the MERC will need front line officers to further their plans.

      The Military Expeditionary and Reconnaissance Corps can keep their plans, Malice said, her voice couched low with a bitter tinge. I dread the day he leaves.

      I know, love, he replied.

      He will wish to go to Cal Dakar against our counsel.

      Probably. It doesn’t help that Northern Command is recommending that those who wish to face the Trial do so prior to taking charge of a platoon.

      Will you talk him out of it? she asked.

      I will try, but Hari is stubborn, he replied. He takes after you. If he decides for the Maw, nothing will sway him otherwise.

      Hari worships you, Malice said. It would have been better if you had never faced the Trial.

      Stout frowned and turned away. Sorrow filled his voice as he answered, You’re right. Even after all these years, my sword beckons like some bent mistress summoning her slave. It’s all I can do to withstand her pull. Now I fear for our son. After a brief pause, he added, It is a heavy regret.

      Malice relented with a sigh. Laying a hand upon his shoulder, she said, Come. Let us enjoy his company while we may.

      Descending together from the porch, they strolled along the narrow, stone path that led to the rear of their property. Upon reaching the postern, he held open the gate for her and then exited himself onto Drenel Lane. They made their way down the cobbled way into New Apros. Their pace was steady, the wind brisk at their back. As they drew near the heart of the city, the tumult of the Peaceday throng greeted them. This, the final day of the week, was reserved for celebrations and other small endeavors. The shops were busy.

      Ignoring the appeals of hawkers, they navigated through the crowd, making their way to meet their son and his bride to be. Of a similar height, they strode silently and in step, a striking couple in spite of creases surrounding their eyes that spoke of wisdom hard won. Both were veterans of the MERC, a legacy passed with pride onto their son. Yet it did not come without a price. As Stout weighed his guilt, Malice bore a grave unease for Hari. It was a prescient fear, alive, that often woke her from the depths of sleep. Stout was aware that she suffered and offered support such as he was able, yet her intuition offered insight that was real in a way he could not comprehend.

      With such thoughts dancing through her mind, she sighed. A brooding frown crossed her face. With a free hand, she tucked a wisp of raven hair behind her ear that had escaped from

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1