Among the Peaks

By Connor Earegood

A Riveting Tale of War and Friendship

In the merchant hub of Cludos, war is rumbling. Rising regional power Proximus has declared war because of Cludos' neutral trading with a rival power, Illyria. Caught up in geopolitical strife, a young boy named Suri faces another tragedy: his best friend, Kiril, goes missing. Suri must find him in the middle of conflict while also helping his community through crisis. Will he find Kiril? Or will Cludos fall before he can do so?

Meet the Characters

Suri

Suri is searching for his missing friend while trying to save his hometown. It's a lot of pressure, but is he up to the task?

Lio

Lio is Suri's long-time best friend and companion, who is also trying to find their missing friend while keeping the family business afloat.

Kiril

Kiril goes missing while he, Suri and Lio are outside the Cludan walls. Will he return home? Or will he be another forgotten in a time of war?

Explore the Cities

Learn about Proximus, Cludos and Illyria

Proximus

Cludos

Illyria

About the Author

My name is Connor Earegood

My name is Connor Earegood, and this is my first attempt at writing a fantasy novel. I am an experienced journalist who covers hockey and football, two worlds as whimsical as the world of fantasy yet with all the constraints of reality.

Growing up, I was an avid Dungeons & Dragons fan who spent hours reading fantasy novels and campaign stories. And after many years of contemplating what kind of fantasy story I would want to tell, I finally started with this Minor in Writing capstone project. This sample is the first, prologue chapter for Among the Peaks, a story I hope to complete in the future. Thank you for reading!

A Moment of Thanks

Thank you to my dad for fostering my love of the fantasy genre growing up. I still remember when we first talked about D&D, and it will always be one of my favorite things we do. Thank you for your continued support with this project, especially my half-hour ramblings about this project.

Thank you to my mom for teaching me how to be a storyteller. Your bedtime stories growing up made me want to be a writer, and I will always remember them. Thank you for also listening to my random epiphanies about this project.

Research and Development

This project could not have been possible without the guidance of N.K. Jemison's worldbuilding talks online, as well as the example set by Brandon Sanderson's Steelheart series which helped inform so much of my creative process here. Thank you to Dawn Treader Book Shop for letting me browse dozens of fantasy books to develop my writing tone, and a special shoutout goes to D&D's Dungeon Master's Guide for teaching me how to translate worldbuilding into a product for my audience to interact with.