Thanks for your interest in my novels. As you are aware, the first book, Ancient Things, is no longer available on Royal Road pending publication with Podium, to include audiobook, eBook, and paperback. Due to Amazon's rules, I have to take down the majority of the novel.

  But I don't want to leave you with nothing, since I'm hoping you'll pick up the story and keep reading, and perhaps become a customer. If not, then I'm still happy to have you as a reader of the ongoing series.

  To that end, I'm providing a short summary of the novel Ancient Things, which I hope is enough to get you to keep reading. There's a lot I'm leaving out, but I hope that by touching on the major points, it's not too confusing as you pick up the subsequent novels.

  I'll return and edit this post with links to purchase, once they're available.

  SPOILERS BELOW!

  Shortly after the events of the previous chapter, Dirt wanders out into the forest again, exploring largely out of boredom. After spotting a flock of birds descending from the canopy above, he follows to see where they might land. But as they get closer, he realizes that one was much, much larger than the others--a gryphon, although he doesn't recognize it at the time. Realizing the danger a bit too late, he tries to slink away to safety, but discovers that the goblins are back, and they're after the gryphon. He's caught in the middle.

  Dirt barely escapes, but suffers serious injuries. However, Socks returns and finds him weeping and miserable, and consoles him by licking his wounds (which causes them to heal at a miraculous rate) and then taking a well-deserved nap together. When Socks leaves again, they are closer friends than before. And indeed, Socks returns the next day, intending to explore something he found that is "too far for Mother to see." Socks carries Dirt on his back on a long run through the forest to some ruins.

  On the way, Socks helps Dirt open his own psychic ability, giving him the ability to speak out loud with his mind, rather than just think the words for Socks to hear. It opens a new world to Dirt, one in which each mind appears as a light floating in blackness, and he discovers he can see what every fern or tree or bug is thinking (but not understand their thoughts, since they're so foreign).

  Once they arrive at their destination, the building is interesting. Dirt thinks it might be a temple, but he isn't sure. Socks wants to go inside, but he was warned by his Mother not to. They debate going in anyway, and Dirt decides Socks should probably obey his mother, so they don't. As they leave, Mother's voice rings in their heads that she was indeed watching, and she is pleased that Dirt gave Socks the correct advice. She instructs Socks to bring him to her.

  Socks carries Dirt out of the forest entirely, and through very different scenery until they arrive at the den. There are dozens more pups just like Socks, and all of them are curious about the little creature that Socks brought home. But there's little time for play--Mother is waiting. She's absolutely enormous, big enough to eat Socks in one bite, and beckons Dirt forward. She lifts him with her mind, then pulls him apart--separating his spirit, his physical body, and other parts of himself that he can't name or recognize, to examine him fully.

  Mother tells Dirt that he lived a long time ago and failed at something monumental, and in doing so, broke the world. In the resultant backlash, he lost everything--his memories, his people, even his time (which is why he's become a child again.) Every part of him--his spirit, his dream self, and so on--is damaged, and Mother is surprised he's alive at all.

  After revealing all this to Dirt, she sends him back to the hole in the ground that Socks dug for him, under the giant tree he calls Home. Along the way, Socks reveals that it's not easy being a giant magical wolf pup--Mother sends her pups on errands to learn and grow, and eats any of them who fail to please her. If Socks had disobeyed Mother by entering those ruins, for example, she would have killed him. Socks doesn't find this unfair, however. He explains that he'd rather die than grow up to be a weak wolf, and he's hopeful that he'll be strong enough to keep winning her approval. Dirt says he'll help any way he can.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  Socks comes to find Dirt again the next morning, this time with a new task from Mother. He is to take Dirt to learn to swim. Socks knows right where to go, and they have a delightful time playing in the deep water until something slinks up from below--a predatory abomination. They fight, and in the desperation of combat, they discover they can meld their minds together, becoming one consciousness controlling two bodies. This is the only thing that allows them to win, since watching from two spots at once allows them to outwit and outmaneuver it.

  Despite their victory, Socks is severely injured, with a horrible gash on his face and several broken bones. Dirt is sure Socks is going to die, but Father, a wolf even more terrifying and predatory than Mother, arrives to retrieve his pup. Socks is taken to safety to recover, and Dirt is given a mental map to find his way to Home again.

  On his way back to Home, Dirt learns a lot about the trees from watching their minds. He discovers that they are immensely intelligent, but they are too different from him to communicate anything more complex than 'hello'. Even so, he creates a lot of interest among them as he makes his way back to Home.

  When Dirt sleeps under his favorite tree again, it pulls him into a shared dream and rebuilds his dream self, which had been torn apart as mentioned above. In the process of rebuilding it, Home starts to learn about Dirt and figure out what he is--a body, how it works, and so on. The next morning, after his dream self is completely healed, he wakes to discover that Home has crafted a wooden doll in roughly human shape, which acts as the tree's avatar in the world. It's rough, but it works, and they start to learn to communicate in a more meaningful way.

  But it doesn't last long--Dirt is so excited by Home's progress that he gives the doll a hug, and when it hugs him back, it breaks both his arms, since it doesn't know to control its strength.

  Dirt is in dire straits, with internal bleeding from multiple compound fractures. He manages to communicate that he is damaged, and the trees try to heal him. They repair another unseen part of himself, one which buzzes and sparks with energy, but it doesn't help. They seem to expect him to heal himself, but he doesn't know how. Just as he is losing hope, Mother sends another of her pups to come retrieve Dirt.

  He and Socks spend several days recovering from their injuries together in the den. To help pass the time, Socks tries teaching Dirt to use magic. Dirt learns to control any mana that he is given, using it to jump high or strengthen his skin against injury, but he can't figure out how to take in mana himself, and so magic remains mostly inaccessible to him.

  After they recover, they are allowed to go on another adventure, and leave to explore with no particular destination in mind. They come across a ruined city, and after finding their way into an old, underground burial complex, they accidently release something that had been trapped for millennia--a towering, deathly creature made of purple smoke. Father, who is watching, commands it to leave, and it does. They explore a bit more of the catacomb, and Dirt finds two things of note--a twisted statue of a dying, injured god, and a very cool knife. He keeps the knife.

  On their return, Dirt is sent back to the forest. He discovers that hundreds of the trees have made avatars for themselves, called Dryads, with which to interact with the world. He gives names to the three of them who interact with him the most often: Home, Dawn, and Callius. He spends several days with them, playing games and learning about the world. In an unexpected and dangerous way, they also teach him to take in mana. He survives, and is pleased that he can use magic any time he wants. They teach him a few things to do with it, such as shaping wood or summoning wind.

  Socks, meanwhile, is being pursued by something called the Devourer, an ancient enemy of the wolves that hunts the pups. Mother tells Dirt he's not allowed to learn about it and there's nothing he can do to help, but each day, Socks seems distant and sometimes injured.

  One day, while the dryads are showing Dirt some small, scattered ruins they found, the rediscover the building that Socks took Dirt to early on. Inside is a fearsome enemy--an undead sorceress from Dirt's original era, named Prisca. She intends to use him to return to life, and the trees are unable to defeat her magic to rescue him. But Dirt prevails and steals parts of her memory to regain some knowledge of his people. He recognizes that the building was not a temple, but a school, and it was a place he was familiar with in his old life. He learns his old name, too: Avitus.

  Hearing Dirt was in peril, Socks comes running and the two are reunited, each wiser and stronger and ready to face whatever might come their way. Soon it will be time to venture out into the world again, to travel farther and see more than they ever imagined.