Lalyani, the Outcast. Her name would be whispered on the lips of griots, in poem, and song, and story—sometimes of her adventures with Dinga Cisse and that Greek dog he called a friend—not that she cared about such things. Most times, however, she preferred to go her own way, to wander The Path anyway it bent.
Lalyani features in Maurice Broaddus’ story, “Warrior of the Sunrise”, published in The New Hero Volume 1.
The woman warrior Lalyani wields an iron spear most men would struggle to heft. Hero of Maurice Broaddus’ spear and sorcery thriller “Warrior of the Sunrise”, she pits her powerfully muscled frame and unswerving determination against a tokoloshe-spawning sorcerer. Along the way, she must also confront memories of the events that made her Lalyani the Outcast.
Maurice’s piece addresses the genre’s Robert E. Howard roots with an eye that is at once classical and revisionist. He delivers the blood and thunder, with a desperately needed feminist, Afrocentric spin. His adept weaving of past and present brings nuance to his hero while keeping the action on a spear-thrusting boil.
Maurice Broaddus is the author of the novel series, The Knights of Breton Court (Angry Robot). His dark fiction has been published in numerous magazines, anthologies, and web sites, most recently including Dark Dreams II & III, Apex Magazine, Black Static, and Weird Tales Magazine. He is the co-editor of the Dark Faith anthology (Apex Books). Visit his site at www.mauricebroaddus.com.
All New Hero artwork by Gene Ha.
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When I was a kid I slept with a nightlight… Y’know, to keep away all of those monsters who are scared by small, low wattage light bulbs.