Christopher Shirk

Fantasy Writer

The Aos Si’s Gift

The Aos Si’s Gift is my debut fantasy novel, and the first installment in a series. It is long form high fantasy. I’ve tried to avoid things like medieval stasis. Despite being in a medieval(ish) setting, I’ve tried to arrange the history of the world in such a manner that it makes sense. I also built both a mythology for the world and a system of magic. I would like to take the time to say more, but this isn’t the best place for that. Let’s get to the plot.

The Crown Princess of Tyrsiln is terminally ill, and the Queen is old enough that further children are out of the question. If a cure isn’t found, then succession war is likely. Erik Vespin, a ranking knight, is called on to provide the protective detail for a scholar who is researching a lead on a cure. The scholar is a childhood friend of Erik’s, Ileana Thallion. In the wake of an assassination attempt, they stumble on a scroll in one of the archives, claiming to be a powerful curative. This discovery leads them on a path around the kingdom, trying to decipher the contents.

There are ambushes, sword fights, charging of heavy horse, and magic.

If you’re already interested, then The Aos Si’s Gift can be purchased online at:

In case you’re curious, I’ve put two exerts and the cover-copy below. Neither should be much of a spoiler.

Exert 1:

Erik cast a glance at Alwin and stepped into the garden. The last pieces of the puzzle fell into place, confirming all of Erik’s suspicions as the old steward closed the door quietly, leaving him alone with the guest. He took a few steps into the garden and stopped.

A blonde, elven woman sat in a wicker chair with her back to Erik. She sat to the left of a small table, watching a bird perched on the oak tree which his mother had planted in the middle of the garden before he was born. His stomach lurched, and his throat caught. He stood watching her, and then took a few steps forward.

Neither of them spoke for a long moment. From where he stood, Erik could see that she was breathing deeply, as if she was afraid to turn around. Finally, she smoothed her skirts and spoke without turning. “Hello, Erik,” she said quietly, a voice that was richer than Erik remembered.

Erik remained silent for a short moment as the affection he had once felt for the woman before him fought with the pain her departure nearly six years before had caused. “Ileana,” he replied numbly.

Ileana stood and came around the chair toward Erik. Though she was older than him, he remembered her looking like a girl of sixteen when she left. He was immediately aware of how she’d grown, though she still looked to be ten years younger than him. She was tall for a woman, standing almost to his shoulders. She wore a simple green dress with a sweeping neckline, and she’d pinned the hem of the outer skirt to her hip with a brooch, revealing the lighter green chemise beneath. A trio of emeralds hung from an intricate necklace that fit closely around her slender neck, and a pair of small, cylindrical earrings hung from her delicately pointed ears. She walked with a carefully measured grace, and her slippered feet made no sound. Erik’s heart pounded in his chest as she crossed the distance between them. “It’s been a long time,” she said in a lilting accent, looking up at him.

Erik and Ileana considered each other. Her green eyes were as bright and curious as he remembered, but she carried herself more confidently. Ileana saw a quiet tension in Erik’s shoulders and a distant, haunted look in his eyes. His once serious face had turned grim, and there was a hardness to his features that she didn’t remember. Erik was left at a loss for words as he watched her, and he packed down the thoughts that came to him. Then, his jaw clenched, and he stepped past her to the table. He poured himself a glass of wine and stared quietly across the garden for a moment. “Why did you come back,” he asked her.

“I came because Anna is ill,” Ileana replied in a puzzled voice, and then sighed sadly. “And, I think it’s time that we made peace.”

Erik leaned his palms on the table. “You have the worst timing,” he said. Then he shook his head and turned to face Ileana. “Anna is dying.”

Ileana looked away. “I’m sorry, Erik,” she replied quietly. “I know how grave Anna’s condition is, and I know how all of this must seem to you. But, please, believe me when I tell you that not all hope is lost.”

Erik shook his head firmly.

“Erik, just give me a moment.”

Erik fixed Ileana in his steely gaze for a long moment, leaning against the table. He was glad that it was bolted to the flagstone patio surrounding the oak tree, since it was the only thing keeping him on his feet at the time.

“The university.”

“They’re refusing to help us.”

“Not quite,” Ileana corrected in a matter-of-fact tone that grated on Erik’s nerves. “They’re refusing to aid the Hunters. I have access that neither the Hunters nor even Patryk enjoy, though.”

Erik sighed, set his wineglass down, and set his palms at the edge of the table. “All right, I’ll bite,” he said. “What did you find?”

Ileana sighed. “Something like this has happened before,” she replied excitedly. “Shortly before your kingdom broke away from the old Heranian Empire, their emperor fell deathly ill. A cure was affected at the time. I think that there might be something in the old records at the university here that will lead to it.”

“That’s pretty thin,” Erik pointed out.

“I know, but a lot of research starts that way,” Ileana objected. “Besides, these aren’t exactly ordinary circumstances.”

Erik tilted his head to the side. “This is an act of desperation,” he observed. “You’re making sure that you’ve tried everything.”

Ileana shrugged. “That would be a roughly accurate assessment, yes,” she admitted.

Exert 2:

Erik shook his head as he helped Ileana into her saddle. “This time, it’ll be easier to,” he cut off abruptly when Anfa nudged his shoulder and snorted.

Erik stood for a moment listening intently.

“What,” Ileana began.

Erik cut her off with a sharp hiss. He moved his eyes across where Anfa was looking and spotted a slight glint from something in the opposing woodline. He swung quickly into his saddle and took up his lance. “We’re not alone,” he told Ileana quietly as he adjusted the straps on his shield.

Ileana’s eyes searched the woods on the far side of the clearing. “Could one of your men have followed,” she asked.

Erik shook his head. “One of mine would’ve announced himself by now,” he replied.

Ileana nodded and Erik once again felt the familiar warm rush and smelled roses. He set himself to receive an attack. His eyes had always been good in the dark, and he could see much of the woodline clearly. Erik’s trained eye picked out the men trying to move up in concealment, but he wasn’t sure Ileana had spotted them yet. Then, he saw several horsemen moving toward the edge of the clearing. He drew Anfa further back into the woodline. “Ileana,” he said. “Run.”

Ileana’s face took on a look of shock. “Erik, I,” she began.

“Don’t question it. Run. I’ll hold them for as long as I can.”

Ileana’s face was a mix of confused emotions as she nudged her horse into a canter and plunged into the woods.

Three men on horseback broke the woodline. Erik was fairly sure that they could see Ileana’s gray courser, but their actions showed that they didn’t seem to see him. Erik waited until they were committed, and then nudged Anfa into a charge. The three horsemen were clearly not expecting the reception they got. A moment’s hesitation was all Erik needed to angle his shield and direct his lance.

The lance was a weapon with which Erik was intimately familiar, and it outreached the nearest mercenary’s spear by several feet. The lance head passed over the rider’s shield, plunged into the man’s neck, and broke off in a spray of blood, nearly tearing the mercenary’s head off as his spear glanced off Erik’s shield.

Erik discarded the remainder of his lance, drew his sword, and leapt on the other two horsemen. He allowed Anfa to shoulder the second rider’s mount aside as he swung deliberately at the angle of the third man’s neck. The man pulled his horse back and tried to raise his shield to defend himself, but Erik turned and tucked his elbow to turn the cut into a thrust. The point of his sword drove up under the man’s arm and came out in a spray as the mercenary doubled over, coughing up blood.

The last rider was not highly skilled, and Erik was no pampered lordling. Erik launched a series of strokes intended to force the man to keep his defenses high before striking up under the man’s shield. The blow left a gaping wound in the man’s chest, and he toppled from his saddle.

Finally, the cover copy for The Aos Si’s Gift is here:

Erik Vespin has seen enough of war. After a vicious, year-long siege in the frigid mountains that form the eastern border of the Kingdom of Tyrsiln, he was supposed to be returning home. Queen Estrid, however, has called him to the city of Raine. Erik knew that the Queen was old, but the situation has grown only worse in his absence. The Crown Princess has contracted a wasting disease which affects the lungs, and her illness is growing worse. The royal physicians have given up. The university refuses to help the crown. There is nobody to take the throne, the Royal Council has become corrupt, and the Baronial Court has become a quagmire of politicians unable to come to an agreement. The Kingdom stands on the brink of civil war unless, by some miracle, the Crown Princess recovers. The worst for Erik, however, is that the only person left who seems either able or willing to help is Ileana Thallion, a former university student who is a close friend and confidant of the Crown Princess.

Ileana, for her own part, has already found a trail, albeit a faint one, which could lead to a cure for the Crown Princess. She cannot, however, simply pursue the lead on her own. She needs both official recognition, and someone who can watch her back while she works. So, Ileana turns to Erik, the only person whom she feels she is able to trust in the city of Raine. While at the university, the two find a scroll which doesn’t officially exist, and they are forced to take their work away from the city when people start dying over it. The scroll describes a powerful curative: the Aos Si’s Gift…

If this is interesting to you, please feel free to make use of the purchase links above. I will update this page–and other pages–as soon as I am able to approve the mass market paperback (the little pocket-sized ones), and will let everyone know when that comes available.

In the meantime, I hope you have a wonderful day, whoever you may be…