Blood is thicker than water,
Remember the old saying,
Oftentimes we are guilty of forgetting.
The invisible ties that bind cannot be broken,
How hard we try, it matters not.
Eternity knows what only we can share,
Regardless of our differences, neither
Strife nor distance can break us apart.
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Cover Art by Jason Pedersen
What’s the Story?
After their battles in Gaia and surviving the Island of Pallice, the champions of Windemere are off on their next adventure.
In his quest to be a hero and help others, Luke Callindor has jumped into danger countless times and would do so again without hesitation. So when he is infected by the toxic Dark Wind, it is up to his friends to find a cure and keep his courage alive. With time running out and their enemies in the shadows, one ally will make the decision to share in Luke’s suffering and forge a bond that runs thicker than blood. Such a sacrifice might not be enough when the truth behind this living curse comes to light.
Will Luke find the strength to defeat the Dark Wind? What ghosts from his past will appear during his weakest hour?
Art by Jason Pedersen
COVER ART BY JASON PEDERSEN (CLICK COVER FOR AMAZON SITE)
COVER ART BY JASON PEDERSEN (CLICK COVER FOR AMAZON SITE)
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
COVER ART BY JASON PEDERSEN (CLICK COVER FOR AMAZON SITE)
COVER ART BY JASON PEDERSEN (CLICK COVER FOR AMAZON SITE)
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Art by Jason Pedersen (CLICK COVER FOR AMAZON SITE)
AUTHOR BIO:
Charles E. Yallowitz was born, raised, and educated in New York. Then he spent a few years in Florida, realized his fear of alligators, and moved back to the Empire State. When he isn’t working hard on his epic fantasy stories, Charles can be found cooking or going on whatever adventure his son has planned for the day. ‘Legends of Windemere’ is his first series, but it certainly won’t be his last.
.
Republican, democrat,
Black, white,
Feminist, chauvinist,
Gay, straight,
Religious, atheist,
Liberal, conservative,
Pacifist, warmonger,
Proletariat, capitalist,
Pro-life, pro-choice,
Rich, poor,
Extremist, moderate,
Old, young,
Patriotic, unpatriotic,
Native, immigrant,
We spend so much time segregating ourselves into categories,
That we forget we are all the same.
We are born, we live and then we die,
This is non-negotiable.
Maybe if took the time to walk in our brother’s shoes
We would be less hurried to take vengeance
And this world would be a more peaceful and beautiful place.
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
O’ obelisk, granite, grey, etched in sorrow,
Not so aged standing firm amongst the tall grasses;
Ne’er swaying though battered by wind and storm and history of war.
Your fields and gently rolling hills show no remnants of ball and shot,
Rivers of blood flowing across riverless plain.
The living perished here as surely as the dead those days,
Pitting brother against brother, for many, the reason elusive,
For honor, family, country, their fellow man, it matters not
As corpses lay bloodied, broken,less than whole.
Fortifications of man were little match for hell’s fury,
Breaking limbs and spirit with each fiery volley.
Friends, who shared hot coffee and conversation over warming fire…gone,
Gazing into the heavens through milky eyes,
Awash in dirt and blood, they are in pain no more.
Thousands upon thousands scattered haphazard,
Turning once green fields scarred and crimson.
Claims that those that lived and died still walk with us persist,
Destined to relive, in clips repeating, horrors of life in death.
In the quiet, amongst the trees rustle,
Smell of smoke and sulfur, sound of shot, fatal yells may still be heard.
Yet with daylights glow the grasses wave in silent salute,
Alone, but ne’er lonesome,
Watched o’er by the towering granite sentry,
Etched with the names and dreams
…Of the fallen.
.
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
We
belong
as one with
our brothers and
sisters as we walk
this unkempt road of life
from beginning to it’s end.
Race, creed, color, orientation
do not define the person inside
they are but labels used to divide us.
………………………………………………………………..
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
How joyous the day equality overcame hatred,
Though with sadness I ask, “Why was it even necessary?”
We had not…no we have not moved beyond prejudice!
Replacing one group of brothers and sisters with another does not absolve us!
Oh yes! The faces are different, but the name is the same
And this–we call this progress?
Do not think me ungrateful…I am proud,
Though disheartened by so slim a margin,
Yet this is a triumphant day to be sure.
Still–there is so much softening to be done to the callous heart.
“All men are created equal” so proudly declared by so many
Is still, but a dream should you not fit their mould of convention.
Speaking as though preference of the heart is chosen
Shows their narrowness of mind.
It is not choice, it is ingrained by nature!
It is not a flaw nor is it an abomination,
It is who they are, just as you are how you were born.
That which you do not wish to understand should not draw ire,
But instead your silence…with our profound appreciation.
The time of state sanctioned intolerance is in it’s death throes
Though this alone will not change those ignorant of mind.
Yes, this battle will rage on,
For many, long after they are gone,
But know dear friends that bigotry and hate can not prevail
In the presence of humanity and love.
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Authors note: I had been debating whether to write this poem firstly, because I am not a member of the LGBT community and secondly, because I don’t pretend to speak for or have any first hand knowledge of what they have gone through, but then I thought why not, we are all human beings, we all came into this world in the same way and we will all leave it the same way. I have been an observer of this struggle for equality for a very long time and quite frankly found it disgusting that it ever existed in the first place. To add to the distastefulness is the fact that public polling, for the longest time, showed that more than 50% of those polled were in favor of continuing state sanctioned discrimination. In America, we struggled for our freedom from oppression and proudly proclaim in our Declaration of Independence that “All men are created equal” and yet this freedom from oppression and equality only held true if you were a God fearing heterosexual apparently. This ideal was an absolute disgrace. So long as the parties are adults, what right does any human being have to prevent another human being from marrying the one that they truly love? Religious institutions may choose not to marry same sex couples before their altars, but they surely have no standing to prevent them before the law. Of course this is simply one man’s opinion, but I stand behind it wholeheartedly. Congratulations to all of you, it has been a very long time coming and you justly deserve this landmark win.
North Korean fence line
Image Credit: nytimes.com
Shadows loom larger
As an unsteady peace wanes.
One side posturing,
Flexing behind high fences,
Extorting the world with fear.
Brothers and sisters,
Born of the same lineage
Cry from the sidelines
Over a 60 year old feud,
Asking…Will it ever end?
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Dom DiFrancesco 