Curseborn Saga - Fade to Black (21 page)

A Little Piece of Us

We are the Four Lords. Two brothers and two best mates who have learned that our minds will always and forever work at their best when you work with others. We are story tellers in trade, and we long to create something that has never been before. Something that will touch people’s hearts and leave them breathless. We are just like you. We work normal jobs every day, and try desperately to find our way in this labyrinth we have all come to know as life. But for us, even in the toughest of times, and we all have them, it was always stories that kept us going. It is our passion. It is how we can live life, yet still create. We believe that stories are the heart of everything.

That’s exactly why four years ago, we came together from the corners of this world and began working on our own story. “
One of the greatest stories ever told
.” This is what we told ourselves we would create. We devote our lives to this. To give something back to the world after the artists of the past have already given so much. We would not be who we are without them. And in turn, are willing to stake our futures on creating something for others. We are artists. We may be irrational, reckless, and stupid at times … but we know how to love.

Acknowledgements

Oh man, where to start? There have been so many people who have helped me through this spiritual adventure that I think I’d have to write another book just too properly thank everyone. First and foremost, I want to thank my mother for always believing in me, even when nearly everyone else had given up hope. To my dad for always being so tough on me, which gave me the strength I needed to persevere. To my stepfather Jonathan who taught me things about the world I could have learned no other place. To my brother, whom without, my dream wouldn’t be possible – you’re a legend, Shanks! To my beautiful little sister, for her stubbornness and pure heart – you keep our family strong and I love you. I also want to thank Guts and Squall, two of my greatest mates in the world, for always believing in our project and working so hard with me. It was always the thought of you two that kept me going in the darkest of times. And lastly, I want to thank my editor Catherine, you are truly my savior.

I also want to thank Matt and Jacquie Rimel, for giving me the best job I could have at their restaurant while I spent my first few years learning and writing. As for the artists, there have been so many who have supported and worked on this project so far. To all of you including Christian Boe, Jeff Brown, Jawanza Johnson, Dustin Provost, Andres S. Blanco, and Alex Seifert, thank you so much for everything. I want to give a special thank you to Kane Rogers, who has been with us since the beginning and believed in us every step along the way. Also, thank you to our amazingly talented Mangaka, Sean Lam Hayashi – you were a godsend mate! And last but not least, I want to thank one of my greatest friends whom I met while living in Japan, Ji Se, the perfectionist artist who one day, centuries from now, will be recognized for his amazing and true skill – you’ll always be a brother to me.

And thank you to everyone else who has supported us along the way, Mike Fury Reed, Franco Novarino, Shane Austin Campbell, Mamadou Mbaye, Nicolas Sage, Cyrielle Tauzin, Scott Welk, Andrei Armas, Marcus Giffin, Beth Barber, Faye Yousry, Grandma & Grandpa Thomas, Maria Sandoval, Ryan Bunting, Audrey Van Sant, Eric Ko, Fabrizio Cetto, Taylor Milam, The Koji Koyama, Brittany Scott, Alex Strife, Tuan Nguyen, Scot Schliesman, Mona Hamdy, Shintaro Sato, Zul Lkhagva, Sasha and Sutton, L.P. Parsons, Marco Braconi, Dane G. Harding, Chelsea Harding, Ben Frazer, Tin Bojanic, Kevin Bingham, Hailey Waitt, Brandon Brookes, Hailey Richardson, Alexa DeLao, Brent Foster, Tatsuya Kawauchi, Ted Kroeber, Isiah Adams, Alex McDowell, Rory Fellows, Sebastian and Aria Thomas, Nico Castillo, Sam and Evan Graye, Alexcis Ottinger, Bryan Meadows, Paul Howell, Blaino and Tyrall from EQ, Kyle Sekora, Javier Martinez, Abel Salazar, Jose “Citriks” Limon, Julian “Vega” Yarkony, Isabella Schloss, Evan Hurd, Kasey and Drake Sandoval, Karime Renee Silva Delgado, Thijs PJ Baars, Ashley Hamilton and Kenji Funahashi.

Lastly, I would like to thank the casts of Cass Street Bar and Grill, Red Velvet Hookah Lounge, and the few special coffee shops I frequented while living on Soria.

About the Author

Brothers Shanks (left) and Cloud (right)

Trowa D. Cloud
is an adventurer through and through. At 20 he moved to Japan and lived in a tiny village called Hirosaki for two years while studying and teaching English to middle school students. Shortly after he returned, he realized that Japan had its own way of storytelling and that it was beautiful beyond words. He picked up his pen at the age of 23 and began creating The Curseborn Saga with two of his best mates and his brother. He eventually dropped out of University, claiming that switching back and forth between fictional and academic writing was just too difficult. Sacrificing everything, he dedicated his heart and soul to writing. At 27, close to the end of finishing the first book, he went through a very hard time with the love of his life, and nearly abandoned the project. He left on a one way flight to Paris, where he ended up going on the adventure of his life, backpacking six countries including France, Italy, Croatia, the Netherlands. Upon taking the ferry from Italy to Spain, he decided to test the true limitations of himself and bicycled from coast to coast across the country. During his journey across Spain, he met his brother in Pamplona, and the two ran with the bulls on the final day of the festival. Finding what he was looking for in himself, Trowa D. Cloud returned to finish what he started, and this first novella is just the beginning of a story that he believes will one day save the world.

“People are like doors. When you open them, it leads to something beautiful.” – Trowa D. Cloud