Now releasing The Empress Sword by Paulette Jaxton
Fantasy has a new voice, and that voice is Paulette Jaxton. Today we begin the release of the serialized audiboook version of her novel, The Empress Sword:
A prince, a dragon & a magic sword – all the elements of a classic adventure story.
Unfortunately for Prince Aster the dragon in question may not be the evil beast he thinks it is, and the magic sword might not even let the adventurous young prince touch it. When Aster discovers the price he must pay to save his kingdom, he’ll have to make a choice no self-respecting adventure book hero would even consider.
For most of his life, Aster has known he would one day face the fearsome dragon known as Mandrake. For the past ten years this beast has burned crops, destroyed villages, killed countless worthy knights and generally made life in the Kingdom of Caledon a royal pain. Now the young prince has learned of a magic sword powerful enough to defeat the dragon.
The history books say it can be found in the ruins of a once great empire hidden somewhere beyond the Misty Mountain. If Aster can find the lost Empire, if he can brave the perilous journey through the mountains alone, if he can convince the ghost of the long dead Empress that he is worthy, then the only thing standing between him and the Empress Sword might just be a skirt.
The first six episodes are currently available. More will be added quickly. Subscribe — for free — to a custom feed and we’ll send them to you one at a time. Those more experienced in the ways of RSS media file distribution — podcasting — may opt for a default feed as well. Both will have the same content ultimately.
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March 16th, 2010 at 10:47 am
Greetings,
I’m really enjoying “The Empress Sword”. I love this new art form that I’ve only just discovered. Paulette’s voice actors deliver the story just like the old time radio plays that I remember crackling thru the AM air waves in the night as I listened huddled under the covers of my bed when I was supposed to be sleeping. Paulette’s story recreates the wonder and awe that I experienced back then and sets my imagination free to fill in the images.
I know that I’m really getting into the journey that the story is taking me on when I start speculating on the journey ahead and I care about the people in the story and what happens to them.
I’ve just listened to Episode 8 – The Dinner Guest and if you haven’t listened that far yet and don’t like spoilers, you might want to stop here in reading this comment
~~~~~~~~~~~~Spoilers beyond this point~~~~~~~~
You just can’t speculate without giving spoilers to those who haven’t started listening yet. This is for those who either love spoilers or have already caught up with me in their listening.
I’m going to follow the same convention in the story in refering to the boy Astor, who at this point in the story thinks that the female appearance that he and everyone else sees is an illusion, while everyone else just sees the girl Astrid.
While a lot of the story is from Astor’s point of view, we know more from the portions of it we have witnessed from Mandrake the dragon’s point of view. We also have what others, especially, Empress Afanasia, have said which Astor has taken one way which we very well may take another.
Constructing a timeline of events of Astor’s past from what we are able to determine so far is interesting. We know from both the history that Astor read and Empress Afanasia’s own account once Astor encounters her, and Mandrake the Dragon’s account of the past.
Over 1000 years ago the eastern kingdom where 13 year old Afanasia lived was already under attack from all the dragons who inhabited the land instead of a single pathfinder, Mandrake, which Astor now faces. Empress Afanasia lived in a time where the Magic practiced was much stronger than in the time of Astor. The Magical enchantment of the Empress Sword itself, The preservation of Empress Afanasia’s seat of power and the great Misty Mountain itself, are things that the wizards of Astor’s day could never accomplish.
There are things we don’t know yet about the two months that Empress Afanasia journeyed and at the end of that time the sword that was made for her was enchanted to be the sword of power that it has remained ever since. One must presume that she encountered a great magic user who enchanted the sword and may have been the one who preserved Empress Afanasia herself and all of her kingdom and created the Misty Mountain.
Perhaps the answer to the who and how might be answered by tracing those lay lines to the magical source that powers the Misty Mountain. Perhaps the only one to know is Empress Afanasia herself.
Astor is judging the transformation by what is possible with magic in his day and time. Empress Afanasia was very clear that The Empress Sword could not tolerate the touch of a male hand. Astor may be wrong that the transformation is an illusion and that he is in fact a real female now. If that is the case, Astor should be able to go on inertia for a while. However, with an actual female body and brain, Astor will eventually have to surrender to the new reality.
The outward appearance to others of Astor that they recognize as Astrid is a striking contrast to the crown prince that Astor used to be known. It is clear that the image of Astrid is that of Empress Afanasia’s daughter so that makes Astrid a princess of the old eastern empire.
It is clear that if even Maggie doesn’t have a clue that Astor and the person that she now knows as Astrid are one in the same that being accepted as being the transformed Crown Prince is going to be difficult. Astor’s teacher and court sorcerer Mandoline may the only one who can make the association due to detecting the magic used upon Astor if he can. If they can not recognize him as Astor, he may have to deal with the loss of his parents. Will that be hard to endure being a celebrity at Castle Keep who is not recognized as Astor but instead as the person who dealt with the dragon?
When he goes back to the Empress, will she still be there or will she have passed on since she has passed the sword to her successor? Will Astor make an end to the treat by dealing with Mandrake or will the rest of the dragons wake on their own eventually and Astor need to keep being Astrid to be prepared for this new threat? Once the sword has chosen Astor, is the bond that they have for life?
Oh and has Astor become unwittingly engaged to the merchant who gave the circlet to him as the means for the merchant to get the sword and a young wife? Will Astor still be in town when Mandrake comes to attack it? Will Eric the aspiring Huntmaster be in town for the dragon attack? Will Eric rescue the maiden that he will know as Princess Astrid? Will the kissing parts promised involve Eric and Astrid? How will Lady Penelope Winthrop react when Astor is missing and presumed dead by the hands of the dragon and instead has competition from the new princess Astrid (wheather recognized as being crown princess or as Empress Afanasia’s sucessor)?
I look forward to finding the answers to this and other questions as I go along on the journey that Paulette is taking us along. Thanks Paulette for everything. Please keep the episodes coming!
All my hopes,
Starry-eyed
March 21st, 2010 at 8:58 am
This podiobook is brilliant. Normally podiobooks have at least one element I don’t like, but so far The Empress Sword hasn’t put a foot wrong. Please release the next episode soon, I don’t think I can wait much longer!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Spoilers~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Brilliant points by starry-eyed, and I’d like to add one of my own. Afanasia said that Aster was everything she wanted in a successor, except for one thing (he was a boy). Now that that obstacle has been removed, he is the perfect inheiritor of the eastern empire, and I doubt Afanasia will allow him to become Aster again.
March 21st, 2010 at 12:47 pm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~More Spoilers~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I’ve just thought of something else. There’s no way that Aster looking like a girl is an illusion. We’re told that you can pass through illusions, and Aster walks through the illusion of the Misty Mountain. That means that a) when Maggie braids Aster’s hair in episode 9 her hand should just pass through it, and that b) it shouldn’t have any weight, but when Aster goes swimming after obtaining the sword it does. Ergo, it’s not an illusion, he’s really a girl, which explains why he blushes in episode 9 after Eric compliments Aster.
March 21st, 2010 at 1:40 pm
Greetings,
I’ve just listened to Episode 9 and I am blown away by where the journey just twisted. I thank the commenter to be named later for her kind words concerning my earlier comment.
Paulette’s skill at leading us on this journey is more and more apparent. Even when I am totally wrong on where I anticipate where the journey is leading next, I am totally thrilled when I find where it actually leads. I find the real journey a lot more interesting and full of possibilities. I still enjoy looking ahead and trying to guess what is around the next corner as we go.
~~~~~~~~~~Spoilers begin here~~~~~~~~~
My question was answered about the Merchant’s intentions about giving the supposed Lady Astrid the circlet. Instead of my guess that Aster would be entrapped with a betrothal as a result of the gift (I’m really glad I was wrong about that) It turns out that instead the sword was able to demonstrate what happens when a man touches it. Even though I have done a little RPG in my day, somehow I missed that sometimes masquerading as a Merchant is an MO for a thief. The foreshadowing was there but I missed it. Kudos to you, Paulette.
I loved the description of Aster’s Dream and loved how it incorporated the lightning flash which occurred when the Empress Sword struck down the Merchant. Poor Aster! His assumption that the transformation is only an illusion which may disappear revealing him to really be a boy if he gets far enough away from the sword is making it difficult for him to live as though he were Astrid. One hopes that if he does find out that the transformation is real and not just an illusion that recognizing the powerful magic that could do that to him could be equally powerful to transform him back into a real boy. At least he would not have to fear an inadvertent revelation as a boy knowing that it would take another act of great Magic to turn him back.
I’m glad that I was right about a kiss between now Sir Eric and the supposed Lady Astrid of the Eastern Empire, even though it was a kiss on the hand instead of on the lips. I look forward to consequences of Eric getting his wish entering the supposed Lady Astrid’s service. (Be careful what you wish for, you may get it!) And Eric did rescue the supposed Lady Astrid of the Eastern Empire by standing in for Aster watching Maggie’s store while Aster hid.
Timing is everything and it seems likely to me that Mandrake’s appearance at Traders Run could be soon. Events in Episode Nine indicate that with Mandoline being in Traders Run that instead of after defeating the dragon, that the encounter with Mandoline to see if Lady Astrid is recognized as Prince Aster may well come before it.
In any case, even if Mandoline does not connect the two, he should join Aster’s assembling group of adventurers which include Maggie and her father and Sir Eric. If not connecting the two then the story of Aster as captured by the Dragon and recognizing the Empress Sword will reveal the supposed Lady Astrid as the best chance at rescuing the prince. I like the way that things are coming together. I along with Prince Aster thought that he would have to face the dragon alone. It’s clear now that both Maggie and her father will be in his party, while Sir Eric will be there at his side now as well.
Even if Mandoline recognizes Aster, it’s likely that the ruse will be continued to the extent that Lady Penelope may well encounter Lady Astrid of the Eastern Empire with a missing and presumed dead Prince Aster. The story that Aster constructed should hold up well as it explains the appearance of Astrid and the disappearance of Aster. In the ruse it also explains that Aster did indeed find the maiden who carried the Empress Sword and recruited her to help his kingdom by dealing with the Dragon.
I’m holding my breath for Aster because an encounter of great consequence may happen soon. Fleeing Traders run will only delay the showdowns with Mandoline and Mandrake. If Mandoline can’t connect Prince Astor with the supposed Lady Astrid then he loses his birth family but now has a new family of choice with a sister in Maggie and sharing her father and a brother (at least initially) in Eric. Whether or not that loss is permanent depends on if Aster’s appearance returns to what it was as a boy. The consequences of that encounter may be more life changing than dealing with Mandrake.
I anticipate with great intersest the next episode which will take us all further along this wonderful journey. Even though it’s fun to try to decipher what might be ahead, it’s much more enjoyable and satisfying to find what is really there for us on the journey. Thank you again, Paulette for bringing us more of “The Empress Sword.”.
All my hopes,
Starry-eyed
April 22nd, 2010 at 11:35 am
This is an excellent book so far! Looking forward to the next release!
May 12th, 2010 at 3:18 pm
I eagerly await every episode, this podiobook has me hooked. The writing is excellent, and the story moves along at a somehow perfect pace. I love the characters, and the voices behind them are great! Paulette’s narration is superb as well. Overall, I must say this is one of the best on this site, and it’s not even finished!
August 5th, 2010 at 11:43 am
This may be the best podiobook that I have ever listened to!
The naration is superb, the characters extremely engaging, and the story is just delightful!
I have never been so heartsick to see an empty queue as I was for this book. I just don’t know what I’ll do when the story is over.
Thank you so much for sharing such a treasure with us!
October 8th, 2010 at 5:24 am
I am sorry that this book is on hiatus. I hope the author is all right. If it is ever completed I will definitely donate.