Helga: Out of Hedgelands
By Rick Johnson
Since times long past, Wrackshee slavers stole beasts away into the High One’s slavery. Except for the one they missed. Beyond the Forever End, that five-year-old escapee—saved by her mother’s sacrifice—was rescued by Roundies and found a new home with them. In future centuries, the ancient story of her miraculous escape and early years in the Rounds would overshadow what came after. An accidental meeting at age twelve led her back to her original homeland in the Highlands and her long-lost father. At age fifteen, her exile from the Highlands launched her into a leading role in unravelling the age-old tyranny of the High Ones…
The Drownlands wharf, shrouded in one of its legendary fogs, swirled with activity in the first pale light of dawn. Fish oil lanterns cast a faint but serviceable glow through the fog. Swarms of boats and canoes rocked and swayed on mooring ropes along the docks. Odours of musty canvas and damp wood mingled with pungent smells of fish, crayfish, and frogs being unloaded from fishing boats. Traders haggled with peddlers or bet their luck against cardsharps. Coins rattled in the tin cups of vendors hawking frog fritters and hot Stinger Cider.
On the landside of the harbour, galley beasts in the station house scurried about making breakfast for dockworkers and wayfarers. The aroma of frying catfish, simmering beans and baking cornbread attracted sweaty dock labourers, whooping and hollering as they collapsed into chairs around tables to take a break. A crude Otter ferry pilot, little used to niceties and finery, lifted his bowl and dribbled the last of his corn mush into his mouth, licking the bowl out with a loud slurping. Wiping his mouth on his coat sleeve, the Otter looked wildly about for a galley beast to bring him more food. Banging his bowl on the table, he roared, “Yawp! Yo, Hollos! Where’s ma fish on a plank? Where’s ma muff and crusts? Raise me some Tabasco and galley cheer! Ha! The bell will be tollin’ for me afore I’m full, at this rate. Yo, Hollos! Jump it over here!”
The rowdy Otter, howling and hollering to be served, flicked out a sharp skinning knife and sent it flying across the room. THWANNG! The blade buried itself in the timber just above the galley door. “Yawp! Yo, Hollos! That’ll be a kindly request for ma galley cheer! Ho! Ho! Ho!” Galley beasts dashed under the quivering blade, rattling plates and bowls as they scrambled to bring him breakfast.
But the Drownlands wharf—the frontier gateway between the rough Drownlands wilderness and the tidy settlements of the Rounds—was a place of mixing and transitions of many kinds. Not all were rubes and roughnecks. At a quiet table in the corner of the room, a party of travellers calmly finished breakfast and left to catch the running wagon about to leave the station.
Genre: Fantasy
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Rick Johnson
Biography.
Rick founded Better Dads, a fathering skills program based on the urgent need to empower men to lead and serve in their families and communities. Rick’s books have expanded his work to include influencing the whole family with life-changing insights on parenting, marriage, and personal growth for men and women. Inspiring and equipping through innovative multimedia presentations and seminars, Rick’s resources, methods and individual approach have been transforming the lives of men, women, and their families for over ten years.
Rick speaks at many conferences across the US and Canada, including MOPS International conventions, Promise Keepers Canada events, Design 4 Living women’s conferences, and Iron Sharpens Iron men’s conferences. He is a popular keynote speaker at men’s and women’s retreats and seminars on parenting and marriage.
He is a nationally recognized expert in several areas, having been asked to deliver papers at venues such as the County of Los Angeles Child Abuse Prevention Conference and the State of New York Fatherhood Conference. Rick’s work with men and fathers was recognized when he was invited to the White House as part of the “Champions of Change” ceremony in 2012.
Before becoming a bestselling author and speaker, Rick was a small business owner for 16 years, owning and operating an environmental engineering firm. He attended George Fox University with a Bachelor of Arts in Management and Organizational Leadership and a Masters Degree in Education from Concordia University. He is a veteran of the United States Navy, has served on the Board of Directors for several community and business associations, and coaches high school basketball in his spare time. Rick has been featured in many national publications such as New Man Magazine, Crosswalk.com, Christianity.com, Christianity Today’s Men of Integrity, Relevant Magazine, Pentecostal Evangel, Thriving Family, and Proverbs 31 Ministries Magazine.
Rick has appeared on over 250 radio programs and television shows around the United States and Canada. He is the former co-host of a live, weekly radio show and a frequent guest host of other local programs. Rick is actively involved with the men’s and family ministries and speaks from the pulpit at various churches.
Rick and his wife Suzanne have two (nearly) adult children and live in Gresham, Oregon.
Rick Johnson
