Cynthia Rodiana

Sword and Sorcery, Fantasy and Historical Fiction

Freehold – Monroi Pass

Posted by Cynthia on August 12, 2009

Freehold is a fantasy world created by author/editor/publisher, Armand Rosamilia, formerly of Carnifex Press. The Freehold project was to be a shared world anthology series where Armand’s story line was the main tale and the rest of us contributed our characters to fill out of the landscape.

In the first series of books, all of the events and stories take place in Monroi Pass, a southern outpost town that made sure goblins and Viper people stayed in the hot, dry lands where they belonged and out of aristocratic Freehold proper.

Freehold is currently without magic, and has been for the last 300 years, and they do not have knowledge of any substance akin to gunpowder. A mad king currently rules Freehold and there are five other ruling families, who have control over various regions. Male heirs of the kingly bloodlines are born with a birthmark in the shape a lion rampant, the king’s heraldic symbol. Sometimes, you just never know where that mark is liable to show up!

All of the Freehold stories posted here were written to support this project. Only one, “Blue Pearls” was ever published (Freehold, The Protector, Monroi Pass Book 2) due to issues beyond the control of the participants, and to a point, beyond the control of Armand himself.

The stories and ideas were released back to us if we desired to try to publish them as Freehold stories, or to change their scope and publish them as part of another fantasy world. For me personally, I have chosen not to attempt to publish them outside of the Freehold realm as to me, the characters and their stories belong here.

All but one on the stories posted here features my main character, Brogan Laroult, privateer. The story “My Enemy, My Brother” features what would have been another main character, Turov Grigorovich Alenin, when the series of books moved north into Ghourlesh country.

The novella, “Rascal’s Edge” is a background tale telling how Brogan came to be who he is. The three parts show him as a boy, a teen and finally becoming the young man we meet on the dusty road heading into Monroi Pass. The tale, “Rose’s Champion” was never intended to be part of the series, but was a tale that begged to be told.

Brogan Laroult Chronology of Stories

  1. Rascal’s Edge, Part 1
  2. Rascal’s Edge, Part 2
  3. Rascal’s Edge, Part 3
  4. Rose’s Champion
  5. Blue Pearls
  6. Sea of Stars
  7. Bounty

Turov Grigorovich Alenin

  1. My Enemy, My Brother