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Do you know what your problem is?
Sulphur knows hers. This 13th-century woman has trained as a fighter all her life in hopes of joining the army. Then, within days, both of her older sisters announce plans and suddenly Sulphur is expected to find a man to marry instead.
Is it her good fortune her homeland is gripped by fear of a pending invasion and the army now goes door to door encouraging recruits? Sulphur thinks it is. But once she’s forced to kill in a small skirmish, she’s ready to rethink her career decision. Too bad it’s too late. The invasion is coming, and Ilari needs every good soldier it has.
Once Sulphur learns Ilari’s army has made the strategic decision to not defend certain parts of the realm, including the one where her family lives, she has to re-evaluate her loyalty. Is it with the military she’s always admired? Or is it with her sisters, who are hatching a plan to defend their homeland with magic?
The problem with being a woman who fights for what’s right is that now, she has to figure out what is.
(The War Stories of the Seven Troublesome Sisters consists of seven short companion novels. Each tells the personal story and perspective of one of seven radically different sisters in the 1200s as they prepare for an invasion of their realm. While these historical fantasy/alternate history books can be enjoyed as stand-alone novels, together they tell the full story of how Ilari survived.)
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First, though, I had to go fetch Ryalgar from her new home and bring her back to our farmhouse so she could attend Coral’s wedding. I thought of the Velka as a sad group of older women who hid from life and had little, huddling together in the trees as they made potions and lotions to sell at the many markets throughout Ilari.
So, I was surprised when the small donkey I’d been given to ride through the thick vegetation entered a large clearing. In the center sat a well-constructed and unusually attractive massive stone lodge. My sister lived here? Perhaps I’d underestimated her decision.
She greeted me with a happy glow. During a feast held in a huge room filled with candlelight, she brushed aside invitations for social gatherings later in the evening so she could spend time with me. We hadn’t hung around much growing up, so I was flattered.
After dinner, when we retired to Ryalgar’s room, I got to know her new best friend, Joli, a sturdy woman with dark hair cut above her shoulders. She came from the forests of Zur and had Ryalgar’s odd talent for moving objects without touching them. When my hair fell repeatedly in my face, I blamed Ryalgar and turned to her, annoyed, but Joli laughed and confessed she’d been joking around with me.
“I’m not nearly as good as Joli is. At least not yet,” Ryalgar said. I admit the “not yet” part got my attention. I’d seen Ryalgar deflect smoke away from her as we grew up and always thought of her skill as a barely useful quirk. At a more advanced level, though, this ability could be helpful in a fight. Did Ryalgar have any idea? She probably didn’t.
“Everyone here develops whatever talents they have,” she added and the Velka became more interesting than I’d once thought.
The next day, I had the rather odd experience of meeting my grandmother. Odd because I believed she died soon after I was born, but my parents had lied about her. She’d run away to the Velka instead, and I guess calling her dead was easier for them.
“You’ve got your own path,” she said as we shared lunch. “You’re a unique kind of human, Sulphur, and I’ve always cheered you on.” It felt strange knowing an unseen older relative had followed the ups and downs of my life, but the woman was so supportive of my goals it was hard to object. The one piece of grandmotherly advice she gave me was to stop hiding my ambitions to be a warrior.
“Your time has come. Ilari needs you. Don’t be shy.”
Funny, no one else had ever accused me of being shy. But I was, sometimes, inside. Perhaps this estranged grandmother understood me better than others.
About the Author
She’s made a lot of stops along the way to writing these novels. She’s lived in seven cities, visited forty-six countries, and worked as a waitress, technical writer, and geophysicist. Now she answers a hot-line. Along the way, she’s lost several cats but acquired a husband who still loves her and three kids who’ve grown up just fine, both despite how eccentric she is.
All her life she has wanted to either tell these kinds of stories or be Chief Science Officer on the Starship Enterprise. She now lives and writes in the mountains of Western North Carolina, where she admits to occasionally checking her phone for a message from Captain Picard, just in case.
Author Social Media Links:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cinnabar01
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/46Ascending
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/s.r.cronin/
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5805814.Sherrie_Cronin
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Sherrie-Cronin/e/B007FRMO9Q
Author Blog: https://sherriecronin.xyz/
Book Series Blog: https://troublesome7sisters.xyz/
Buy Links:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08TQKGCP4
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08TQKGCP4
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1068509
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