Want to know what Sand Dancer is all about? Well, here’s an in-depth look at the first few chapters of the story… IN GIF FORMAT!
May also contain poor British humour.
It all starts in the desert kingdom of Sandair. Hundreds of years ago, fire magic was once respected and revered.
The tales say that the sun god Rahn blessed Sandarians with the gift of fire. As opposed to the gift of money, or wisdom, or anything else which would have been more useful.
Those with fire in their blood can summon deadly flame and are known as Fire Walkers.
Fire Walkers lived in peace, until one day, an EVIL Fire Walker decided to overthrow the king and burn the capital city, killing hundreds and thousands.
The Fire Walkers responsible were killed, their home destroyed, and fire magic was banned ever since. Nowadays, anyone with fire in their blood are automatically branded as Fire Walkers and imprisoned.
Which brings us to the small Dusland town of Khalbad…
There lives a sixteen year old girl named Tamina “Mina” Hawker. She’s a poor street rat who dreams of becoming a legendary warrior like the men in her father’s tales, because what else is a poor girl to do except fantasize about hitting people with sticks? However, her dear old dad doesn’t think playing with swords is the best career choice for a young girl and refuses to train her.
Mina hears a rumour that the town butcher cooks meat with his own hands…
SHOCK! He must be a Fire Walker! And Fire Walkers are monsters! Perhaps defeating a monster would prove to her dad that girls could become warriors? Mina comes up with a cunning plan to expose the butcher as a Fire Walker by making him angry.
Because when a Fire Walker gets angry, well…
Mina, however, is just a small waif compared to the hulking size of the butcher. She manages to steal his key and lead him on a chase through Khalbad’s streets.
Things go wrong, as they inevitably do, as Mina runs into a runaway Fire Walker – and witnesses her death. Shaken by this, Mina skips merrily into the middle of town to discover that a mysterious sword dancing woman is, well, mysteriously sword dancing in the middle of town.
Mina is enthralled, and doesn’t notice the butcher sneak behind her. He’s an angry chap and demands Mina hand over his key, or else he’ll start chopping.
Scared, Mina struggles in his grip and her arm goes up in flames.
She’s got fire magic! She’s a Fire Walker too!
Mina burns the butcher and runs home to her dad. The Sandarian Police turn up to arrest her. Mina hides inside her wooden shack as another Fire Walker comes to collect her. In defiance, she burns down her pathetically flammable home and runs.
As Mina runs through Khalbad to escape, she’s stopped by a handsome young man with amber eyes who realises she’s a Fire Walker – and attempts to arrest her. He looks a bit like this, honestly:
He attacks her, but she’s saved by her dad who shoves her to safety and summons his own fire magic. Oh gosh!
Mina’s dad uses his fire magic to protect her and stand up to the Sandarian Police, but it’s not enough. He’s overwhelmed and captured. And I’ll let you figure out what happens next.
Distraught, our brave Mina is chased into the desert night, where she seeks comfort in the arms of an oasis.
She has just one thing on her mind…
Want to know what happens next? You’ll have to read the book!
Photo by Elijah O’Donnell on Unsplash
