Amazon Category:  Fantasy Publisher: PublishAmerica ISBN-10:  1413728553 Type: Fiction Pages: 113 Copyright: Feb 20, 2004 One soul devided among two beings, a human boy and a centaur. The pair are sent upon a mission into the badlands of Atlantis, where they meet a sorceror who has slept 10,000 years, and others who aid them in their quest to break the hold of the Darklord upon this region Excerpt Greetings, I am the one called the Librarian. I am an eternal being tasked with the efforts of maintaining a complete record of all races, and of all living creatures individually within all of the known planes of existence, and others my friends who are not quite so known. The greatest portion of my task is in maintaining the accuracy of those races who, like those before them have been made guardians by winning the combat that made their predecessors guardians over other species on their worlds. I am going to be your guide on this journey of magic and friendship, the likes of which you may have yet never encountered, as well as introduce you to an array of special individuals, and creatures along the way. My library is housed in a special dimension all of its own, created and designed especially for my purposes alone, and cannot be interrupted, located or mapped. This allows me some of the privacy needed to perform my duties faithfully. I am, however able to travel myself through all the other dimensional cells at will. At any time, enough for now though about myself, as it is time now that I should introduce you to the principal characters of our tale. First, as must all great adventures begin, young Alan. Alan is a boy of about fifteen years age, five foot ten inches tall and about one hundred of the unit commonly referred to you as pounds, using your familiar units of measure. He is lean of build, and muscular, with dark wavy hair covering his young shoulders. He is a mortal, as is properly known in my records, and as so in possession of average physical strength for a youth of his years, well perhaps just, a bit more, and yet owns powers of the mind that far exceed those of any other in the village and so are quietly made comparable to the powers of the gods themselves. Alan himself was unaware, the extent of his powers. Only that they tended to be even greater than those of the elders of the village, whose wisdom and abilities are held up, and envied by all. This council of elders who, with the unquestioning support of the populace, had gone to the great lengths of the testing of Alan… in the vain attempt at discovering any possible limit to the boys capacity. This succeeded only in showing the young man just how limitless his mental capacity had the potential to be. With their continued failure grew a fear. A fear so great within the council that they were paralyzed, and this fear was based upon the knowledge of the potential that this boy represented to them, he could soon easily override their control and power over the village. It is with this in mind that the elders have spent a great deal of effort in trying to find a convenient reason to forever banish Alan from the village. Our next character is Troy. A centaur in genre is a creature with the upper torso of a human protruding from the body of a horse, at the neck. Troy and Alan are at about similar in same age, and have been close companions for most of their lives. The two have more in common, in fact than either of them realizes, but that is getting ahead of myself, and so I shall not elaborate here. The village that Troy comes from had been disbanded for many years, when Troy was very young. And the largest portion of his people had gone to live in a secret walled city, the origin of which is unknown, and only a rumored theory to myself the secret so well kept. We will visit this city later in our travels. Troy however had set out on his own after a time for reasons that even he himself did not understand. It was shortly after this that he met Alan, and the pair became from that time, the best of friends, and the most trusted of companions. On his own, Troy possessed some impressive mental powers. These were, however impressive, still limited in extent and seemed directly connected to Alan. Compared to those of his own kind, to which I also include halflings of all breed. Troy was also in possession of greater intelligence as well as superior strength and agility. For these reasons the youth never quite felt a sense of belonging among his peers. Nor did they display any level of comfort while around him. Therefore, his decision to leave their village was met with no real complaint among his family and neighbors. …Had they been inclined to inquire. It is with this information laid before us, and your gracious permission on the matter, we shall now begin our journey and see what shall transpire. The tale begins in Alan's village. As with most of the young men in the village, Alan had tasks that include overseeing the village flocks, when not so occupied, he would spend a great deal of his time in hunting and other adventuring. Quite skillful on his own as a hunter, Alan was generally able to provide sufficient meat for the entire village, sometimes for days at a time. Unknown however to the village elders, so the youth thought, on nearly all of these excursions he would meet with Troy once away from the village and the pair would go out together on the trip. It was on these trips that what was to be a three-day hunt would usually turn into two days of adventuring followed on the third day by a competition between the two of hunting expertise. This would usually result in a tie, as both were skilled at the craft of the hunt, and consequently enough meat to go around the village for a few days. This could usually be counted on to silence any complaints about his associations for a short while at least. It was the elders though who were the least appeased, and therefore most troublesome on the case of Alan and Troy's association, and had begun to call the youth forward to express there displeasure with his continued so called unnatural relationship with what they would call a freak, or abomination of nature. Alan would be told that if his companionship were to continue that they would be forced to proceed with socially appropriate repercussions against him. Alan would withhold from Troy the nature, even the very existence of these meetings to avoid the possibility of hurting his friend as the cause of being a source of trouble to him. There were several occasions that the elders would appoint someone to follow Alan on his hunting trips, to report back to them on the details of the boys' activities. On most of these occasions, Alan would detect the person following him through the powers of his mind, and would evade the unwelcome presence every time. It was on the most recent of these journeys however, that followed another meeting with the elders that had gotten particularly heated, and Alan was especially frustrated and disturbed so that he was not able to concentrate as well as he needed to on his surroundings. And so did not notice that he was once again being followed until he neared the secret place where he and Troy would meet and felt a still quiet uneasiness in the back of his mind, and yet gave it no present thought. The place where they would always get together was a well hidden cave some distance from the village, it was a place of peace, where they could go to be alone, to meet for their hunting trips or just to spend time talking and enjoying each others companionship, or only each others presence since there were times when not a word would pass between them. This cave was not generally known about, as the entrance was well hidden thickly with brush and vines, Alan had happened upon it accidentally one day when tracking down a lost goat. The one path leading to it they kept well camouflaged, and was always swept clean of animal tracks. If a passerby did not know what to look for, he would certainly miss it being none the wiser. The inside of the cave itself was one large chamber, with a couple of small caverns leading off the rear, one leading to a small opening that too was well hidden and just small enough for Alan to get through some short distance from the main opening, and invisible to the inexperienced eye. Once Alan arrived at the cave, he reached into a pouch that he wore from a belt on his side for a crystal of light so that he could see once inside, as he expected, Troy had not yet arrived. Concentrating on the surrounding area, the youth was able to see his companion approaching; it was only now that he discovered the presence of an intruder. With Troy too near to mentally warn away, Alan instead moved toward and through the smaller opening. Once outside, he quickly moved through the forest underbrush and made his way to a short distance from his quarry, close enough to see the look of gloating on the invaders face as he watched Troy approach and enter the cave at the same place Alan had disappeared only moments before. The unknown youth was not allowed to enjoy his victory for long however, when just as his smile seemed as wide as it could get, he suddenly felt his head pushed into the trunk of the tree behind which he was hiding, and with a sudden jarring of his skull, following a bright flash in the back of his eyes, all went black. Having heard the brief encounter in the trees so near their secret place, Troy instantly turned and leapt toward the place where the noise came from, halting his great equestrian form near where he saw Alan leaning over to see that the stranger was still alive and only unconscious. "What happened?" The centaur asked, his eyes trying to conceal a look of fear. "I was followed," Alan informed his comrade, "but this one is not from my village. Help me to get him bound; I guess it's time that I let you in on some problems that I have been having." Gathering up vines from the surrounding area, making certain that the look of neglect is maintained; the two hurriedly tied their unwanted guest and secured him inside of their cave. As they were depositing him on the floor in the corner of the inner chamber, the intruder began to stir. "Now what do you intend to do with me?" The young man asked groggily. "The privilege of asking questions is not for you today," Alan insisted, "Who are you, and as if I couldn't guess, what are you doing following me." "I am called Jolan," the visitor started, "I am from a village some distance from here. A messenger arrived from your elders stating that there was a problem with the lack of discipline involving one certain young man who would continually disrespect and circumvent the authority of their council and refuse their orders of segregation. The elders chose me for my tracking capabilities as well as other gifts granted me by the Gods and sent me to follow you. They wanted to know for certain if you were obeying their orders as you have led them falsely to believe, or if you were continuing to associate with 'Him'." He said with a sneer indicating Troy. "And it is your intent to witness for them." Alan summarized, finishing for Jolan, "That will remain to be seen later," he said, "guess it depends on my mood. The entire village knows that the elders are all but terrified of me and what the Gods have given me to be capable of, this is why they do not follow me themselves but must find a poor soul to perform the tasks in their stead. How do you feel being a lackey for those who are so messing themselves afraid of just one boy?" With this, Alan motioned to Troy and the pair left the chamber. Once outside the cave, as the friends reclined beneath a tree, Troy broke his silence. "What is going on, Why have you been followed and why have you not spoken of this before." The centaur demanded. Alan then related the entire situation to his companion, the meetings with the elders, the threats, accusations and all, including their orders for Alan to never associate with Troy or his kind. Ending with their prejudiced personal excuses that so conveniently for them justified their fears. With a tear rolling down his face, Troy asked, "Why have you kept this from me? If I am the cause of so much trouble for you, why did you say nothing?" "You would have left if I had, wouldn't you." Alan stated, his eyes toward the ground, fearing to look into the face of his closest friend. "I may have," Troy, replied, "I would never wish to be the cause of difficulty in your life." "That is why I never told you," Alan finally looked into his companions face, "They call you a freak, and because I am different, because of what I can do with my mind that is what they call me too, behind my back. I have no friends back there, no family of whom I would confess. I am no more than a diversion for their social target practice. You truly are the only one I have and I'd not wish to bear existence without you next to me, I will not lose you because of, or to satisfy them!" Concluding this, Alan began to sob without control, Troy reached out and pulled the boy to his chest and embraced him, trying hard to let his friend know through his touch how much he understood. It was for very similar reasons that Troy had removed himself from his own people. None of them seemed too fearful of his departure, either. "So, what do we do now, we aren't likely to be taking Jolan with us," Troy quipped, "and I don't believe that it would be good to just release him since we know that he would just go running directly to your elders like the loyal lap-dog that he apparently is, then you'd have even more trouble. Also we can't keep him here, his kind are just another stench that you can't get used to." Thinking a moment, Alan continued, "We can however take him to a safe place that I know of and leave him there, after all, we don't want him to get lost in the darkness of the forest at night, the Gods only know what could happen out here. We'll take him after the sun is gone that should give him time to consider better occupations for his extra time." Then with a wicked grin splitting Alan's face, "I have a little something in mind that should ensure their response."

Duality: Travels of a Twin Soul,
In the world of magic, mystery, and mystics, the storyteller of the fantasy into which we are taken is sometimes more important than the story. “Delightful” was my first thought in reading the Prologue and then throughout Duality: Travels of a Twin Soul, The Atlantean Adventure. David Cupples is a storyteller who has carved his niche into fantasy fiction with his first book!

My trips in fantasy preferably have been futuristic—I’ve been a long-time Trekkie who enjoyed the thought of “beaming down” to a distant planet somewhere in the galaxy. Perhaps it was because I understood who Captain Kirk, Spock and other characters were by what jobs they portrayed, as opposed to what species they were. Cupples has solved my trepidation into the land of fantasy by providing the character, The Librarian. For those of us who like to know the “who, what, when and where’s” of the story, The Librarian speaks to us from time to time to ensure we know the answers to our questions. I really loved this and did not find it the least bit intrusive to the tale.

Needless to say, I was totally prepared to understand that one of the main characters, Troy, was a centaur. Wisely, I had already checked the internet before starting to read, but was pleased to have The Librarian explain not only what a centaur was but then I learned that the centaur had been created through the merging of a horse and his rider through magic and sorcery! Thus, I felt totally free to travel to Atlantis, knowing that I wouldn’t get lost in a strange new world. Now, that is why I call David Cupples a talented storyteller! Duality is an adventure story for the young and old. I was pleasantly surprised that nobody was murdered—even the Darklord! David Cupples has given us an exciting story without the violence seen so much today!

What happens when the world is threatened by the supernatural power that comes through magic and sorcery? When those who have such powers constantly choose and strive to expand the limits of those powers? Do those who use their power for good always win? Or will the Darklord and his followers actually do everything in their power to destroy the world?

Anyone who loves fantasies knows about Atlantis, a wonderful place of fantasy and mystery. The Darklord, however, has done his usual and has turned a vast part of Atlantis into a desert, badlands where nothing can grow and no bird or beast can live. This place can no longer be called wondrous and no people can survive there anymore. Additionally, a sorcerer, in testing his own power has succeeded in leaving his human form and travels as energy wherever he wants, creating breaches into many other dimensions. It is into this unstable world that the gods have sent one of their own—child of Apollo.

Alan and Troy is the main character. Yes, Alan and Troy have one soul with two bodies.
Each provided with special powers and strength, which together, will provide what was needed to save Atlantis.

Early in their life Alan and Troy had found each other and grew up being best of friends, with no inkling that their birth had been foretold, that they were truly one person, and that they were destined for a great quest. They knew they had special gifts from the gods, but Alan’s gift for hunting became most important as, by the age of 15, he was providing much of the meat killed for the village. It had been through the wandering and hunting that Alan first met Troy who lived in a secret place that was filled with creatures such as him. But the elders of Alan’s village did not condone this relationship and began to have Alan followed to see what mischief he and his friend got into.

And, as a normal young boy, Alan did get in trouble. His decision to place one of his followers, naked and shackled, in front of the temple of Zeus, was mischievous and his intent was not to dishonor the god. However, the village elders use the desecration to banish him permanently. Ah, but, Apollo had already come to Alan and told him his punishment from the gods was to go on a great quest into the badlands, thus reducing the impact of the elders judgment.

Alan and Troy knew one thing and one thing only—they were embarking on a great adventure!

Troy makes the decision where to go on the first day as they enter the secret homelands where he was from. There they meet the leader of the group—only to learn how he himself had opposed the Darklord and had been the first centaur created, when the Darklord punished him by merging him with his horse. The gods had saved his life, but had added great wings to his form, by which he could not fly, but by which he was to learn. Making gifts of weaponry to Alan and Troy, he sent them on to the badlands.

I recommend that you travel on into the badlands—and into other dimensions—with our two heroes and those they meet along the way. I promise you’ll enjoy sharing in their quest!



G. A. Bixler
IP Book Reviewer
bookreviewers@comcast.net