Kinghood: Book One of The Fourpointe Chronicles

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Featured Review on this writing by Rob73

"An absorbing fantasy novel in the vein of Robin Hobb, Raymond E Feist, and George R R Martin. The prologue is well written."

Kinghood is about four identical male quadruplets who serve their kingdom under the guise of one prince. For years, they have lived a clandestine existence, with only one of them serving as the prince at any given time so as to secure the royal bloodline that only decades before was nearly extinguished. Their alliance is fragile and taut, with each brother different in personality and ambition. When their father the king is assassinated in the midst of treaty discussions, the four brothers find themselves challenged to hold the realm together all while maintaining their lifelong secret and their eternal bond to each other.

Fantasy fantasy medieval epic-fantasy high-fantasy medieval-fantasy

Prolog

Prologue

If only I could calm the sea. To stretch out my hand and command the waters to lay still. If they were to listen . . . what power would t... Read Chapter

Chapter 1

How can this be? Such beauty. Among such despair. Red, black, red. The fibers jutting out from its core rose and fell, rose and f... Read Chapter

Chapter 2

The uproar rose, exponentially. From the trees, birds shot into the air, startled by the growing clamor. The sun, as if in approval, ... Read Chapter

Chapter 3

“Then I told that rotten bastard, ‘You pick up that sword and you fight me like a man in battle.’ And you know what he said to me... Read Chapter

Chapter 4

The hour was late. The crowd had cleared. The air had chilled. Symon strolled the covered parapet, his head swimming from the night�... Read Chapter

Chapter 5

He moves . . . something about his motion is so familiar, Symon told himself. From a hillock, Symon watched Everitt weave through bru... Read Chapter

Chapter 6

The aroma of crisp bacon and eggs never made for something so foul. “Blah, get that wretched stuff away from me.” Symon leane... Read Chapter

Chapter 7

Four sons. Artus watched them from the perimeter of the room as he quietly took in the observations they shared and the opinions th... Read Chapter

Chapter 8

Why me? Why now? Gerry stared into his boots. Within, the lifts met his look, reminding him of the discrepancy he had to overcome h... Read Chapter

Chapter 9

“Gerry! Gerry!” Dawkin yelled. “Where is he going?” Symon asked. “Your hunch is as good as mine.” “The noise!�... Read Chapter

Chapter 10

The maidens danced in pairs, one Marlish to an Ibian, each facing the other. Music of flute and string guided their steps. They clasped... Read Chapter

Chapter 11

“How is he?” Dawkin asked. “Still asleep. But less restless now. Symon continues to watch over him.” Dawkin nodded, his g... Read Chapter

Chapter 12

Word reached Dawkin later that afternoon. After a considerable delay by the Grand Duke, Warlord Konradt had slammed his fists against t... Read Chapter

Chapter 13

The supper was modest. The conversation polite. The music soft. All in all the first hour stood as uneventful. Dishes were cleared ... Read Chapter

Chapter 14

“Bomp bomp bomp bomp. Bomp bomp. Bompity bomp!” Ely hummed a tune, not sure of whence it entered his memory. Perhaps it was from ... Read Chapter

Chapter 15

“He fights. As is his nature.” Dawkin slumped in his chair before the chevron engraved on the Fourpointe Table. With one hand, he... Read Chapter

Chapter 16

Creased. Folded. Wrinkled and aged. Such hands laid atop ones pale and faint, life barely coursing through their veins. Artus sat b... Read Chapter

Chapter 17

“Prince Jameson?” “One moment.” Gerry glanced at the door. From the other side came the shuffling and footfalls of guards... Read Chapter

Chapter 18

Mar. At birth, I was thrust into war. My entire reign consumed by it. Yet I trusted you. I prayed. I served. Then you allowed the f... Read Chapter

Chapter 19

“You aren’t going to like it above.” “When have we truly ever?” “I am serious, Symon.” “So am I.” Symon... Read Chapter

Chapter 20

“Are you ready, Prince Jameson?” No, Dawkin thought. “Yes,” he answered. The coachman gave the reins a quick snap, usheri... Read Chapter

Chapter 21

“I can dress as a Voiceless, if need be,” Symon offered. “It won’t be any trouble.” “The Voiceless have as much chance of... Read Chapter

Chapter 22

“You royal bastard! You wicked fox!” “Don’t you call me a fox!” “I’ll call you whatever I bloody want to!” Ge... Read Chapter

Chapter 23

“You look as though you’ve seen a ghost.” “You’re back sooner than we expected.” “Are you complaining?” Ely asked... Read Chapter

Chapter 24

He had never been a pious man. In view of the Court, he was considered godly, yes. Deep within, though, he harbored doubt. Questions fr... Read Chapter

Chapter 25

What the bloody hell is he doing here? Ely flexed his hand. His grip around the halberd stiffen, much as a noose does around a man’... Read Chapter

Chapter 26

I know now what it is, that which seems so familiar. He moves like a Saliswater. He could be my brother. More than the ones I have. ... Read Chapter

Chapter 27

A pebble clanked into a clay pitcher. Is it white? Or is it red? The wrinkled hand that dropped it withdrew. Another baron, his f... Read Chapter

Chapter 28

Gerry struck the blunt edge of his sparring sword against the floor. The sandstone, though brittle in some small parts, did little to giv... Read Chapter

Chapter 29

They are there. I know it. They keep hiding. What are they waiting for? “Sire.” Symon did not bother to look at E... Read Chapter

Chapter 30

Bloody, bloody hell. Ely leaned in between the crenellations, watching the horror below unfold. Indeed, blood spilled forth. First ... Read Chapter

Chapter 31

They have gone pale. The life having been stolen from them. They bleed no more. Symon scanned the length of the river. Several corpse... Read Chapter

Chapter 32

“It doesn’t seem right.” Ely shook his head. “Justice must be had,” Symon insisted. “I’m not saying we spare him. F... Read Chapter

Chapter 33

“Your Royal Highness, the audience awaits.” Dawkin stared into the mirror. An immaculately-groomed royal gazed back, with every s... Read Chapter

Chapter 34

“Saliswater! Saliswater! Saliswater!” The uproars assaulted his ears once more though this time he did not pivot. The cry had bec... Read Chapter

Chapter 35

Afterword

“You didn’t think that was the end of it, did you?” Taresa sighed. This was the fifth coronation she could recall attending, th... Read Chapter

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Check out Joshua Rutherford's Book

Kinghood: Book One of The Fourpointe Chronicles

Kinghood is a fantasy tale about four identical male quadruplets - Symon, Dawkin, Ely and Gerry - who serve their kingdom under the guise of one royal, Prince Jameson.

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