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    Vain Glory
    Vain Glory
    Vain Glory
    Ebook87 pages1 hour

    Vain Glory

    By Shawn O'Toole

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Swords and guns, magic and technology, human and inhuman collide in a terrible Galactic War. The peace that follows proves an unsettling calm. The alien Ambiguous Clarity is an agent of his people's Ministry of Vigilance. He recruits the war heroine Vain Glory for a mission to thwart a sinister plot. Ironically, Ambiguous Clarity is answering an invitation to his own doom.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherShawn O'Toole
    Release dateSep 17, 2014
    ISBN9781310194962
    Vain Glory
    Author

    Shawn O'Toole

    Shawn O'Toole is an avid reader who expresses his love of literature by writing his own. Though his favorite works are classical fiction, most of his actual reading is historical or scientific non-fiction. He combines his inspirations to create yarns that are fantastic yet believable. He is restless and eager, so one need not wait to delve into his adventures.

    Read more from Shawn O'toole

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      Book preview

      Vain Glory - Shawn O'Toole

      VAIN GLORY

      by

      Shawn O’Toole

      SMASHWORDS EDITION

      *****

      PUBLISHED BY:

      Shawn O’Toole on Smashwords

      Cover Art Illustrated by:

      Shawn O’Toole

      Vain Glory

      Copyright © Shawn O’Toole 2014

      Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher of this story, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

      Your support and respect for the property of this author is much appreciated.

      This story is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are products of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.

      *****

      Vain Glory

      *****

      Chapter 1

      Call of Duty

      The Mystic Confederacy was the civilization of a united Great Race and the oldest of the six Galactic Powers. Its technology was medieval but its magic highly advanced. Its people were tall and slender with bluish beige skin and long, lustrous black hair. Their faces were long and their eyes either blue or gray.

      Vain Glory was a female of the Mystic race. As was typical of her kind, her large irises were deep blue and she was left-handed. Her long, narrow hands and feet had only four digits each. Miss Glory slipped on black, elastic trousers and black boots. She donned and fastened a snug, black blouse. She brushed her long, black hair and fastened it into a ponytail.

      Have you ever encountered Phantoms? asked the rich, melodious voice of a male of her kind.

      I have not, answered the mellifluous voice of Vain Glory.

      The male was the renowned swordsman Nefarious Good. As was typical of the males of the Mystic race, a long goatee hung from his chin. He advised Vain Glory, The Phantoms are only partially material, giving them an uncanny elasticity. Their swordsmen stretch ahead of themselves, so as to flank you and to harden their strike. Do not parry. Lung forward and cut the thin, stretched part of them.

      Mr. Good, though I have yet to encounter Phantom swordsmen, I am trained in how to deal with them.

      Good. Allow me to mention, or remind if you have been told, that Phantom swordsmen use illusions to distract you. Phantom warlocks may accompany the swordsmen and are themselves masters of sensory manipulation. A warlock is wary to draw near but should you assail one, it may lash out with tendrils to sting your nervous system.

      Vain Glory smirked, I myself have mastered the technique of inflicting neural shock by touch.

      Nefarious Good arched an eyebrow.

      The Galactic War was raging. Vain Glory and her new companions were on a quest to thwart the Phantoms, People of the Third Eye. The Phantom army was swift and terrible, massacring every village, town and city it passed through. Civilians fled, only to be chased and cut down. Soldiers and partisans were plagued by incessant illusions and harried by constant raids.

      The 27th Legion is beleaguered by thrice its number and soon to be overrun, Captain Reckless Wisdom told the three of his party. We must shatter the crystals of the enemy artifice. We must even if we are never to return.

      Nefarious Good, Vain Glory and the priestess Moody Serenity all nodded their acceptance of the danger.

      Numinous was a planet between its yellow sun of the day and its smaller and cooler red sun of the night. It was a desert world and the eleventh state of the Mystic Confederacy. The Phantoms hoped to take Numinous, to use it as a base to invade three other states and a colony world. The 27th Legion fought to stop them but was outnumbered, outflanked and now surrounded. A powerful, crystalline array broke spells and denied the Mystics the use of portals. The famed Heroic Tetrad of Reckless Wisdom had come to destroy the artifice.

      Each of the four heroes rode upon a bipedal steed. They kept to the hills and valleys, so as to conceal their movement. What became of my predecessor? Vain Glory asked Nefarious Good. Though she was the scout he was the lead rider.

      Mr. Good answered, He perished.

      He perished in battle?

      No. He did not see the Phantom. It beheaded him without a fight.

      The priestess Moody Serenity rode immediately behind Miss Glory. The cleric told the scout, Our beloved companion was avenged. Nefarious chased down and slew the offender.

      Mr. Good stated, as if dismissing the praise, The Phantom was a scout. I could not allow it to report to its fellows.

      Captain Reckless Wisdom was a bold soldier and a powerful wizard. He led his tetrad from the rear but not in cowardice. Though a swordsman and an archer he was better with magic than with weapons. His wit always found the better way. His magic proved of wondrous utility. As he rode at the rear of the procession, he muttered and waved his hands, concealing the tracks of them all. Miss Glory, he addressed his newest companion. We have come into the territory occupied by the enemy. You are our scout. Please venture ahead of us and happen upon whatever awaits.

      Yes, sir. Vain Glory spurred her mount past that of Nefarious Good and disappeared into the rocky hills.

      Moody Serenity asked, Nefarious, my friend, what do you think of our new scout?

      I shall think of her whatever she proves to me. Moody Serenity laughed.

      Vain Glory proved an excellent scout. She found the many hidden Phantom lookouts and led her companions away from their sight. Well done, Nefarious Good commended her, but be ready. Sneaking through pickets shall not be so easy.

      Mr. Good, I have oft done so before.

      The swordsman snickered. He remarked, "Your little clone women were weak, slow and their senses

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