Goose took a deep breath and stepped up to the podium. In the days since the battle, Crown Square had cleaned up nicely. Gone were the signs of battle and fire damage. Gone was the McDonald's. All that remained of the Starbucks was rubble. In its place, a large stone spire took residence, designed and inscribed by Geomagii. The new cenotaph marked the names of those who gave their lives, both Halish and Dunsmithian in the now-infamous Battle of Crown Square Mall. The committee had made the decision to have it erected the day after the battle, and it was meant to honor those dead.

In total, four-hundred and twelve dead Dunsmith men and women, four-hundred sixty Halish men, forty Freemen and one Featherclaw lost their lives in the battle, but it was won, and their names would be forever remembered, inscribed on the cenotaph.

Goose looked out over the crowd. It was a sight to behold. He could see men and women from all sorts of places present. Halish, Dunsmithian, Freeman. Even Silvereye and the rest of the Quicktooth had gathered. As he stood there, the crowd began to hush. Goose pulled his speech out of his pocket and skimmed through it.

A moment later, he tossed the flash cards away. Goose never liked speeches. He always had a better time winging it.

“Last month, we found ourselves faced with something new and unexpected,” he said. “An entirely new world, as foreign to us and our people as anything our imaginations could conceive. We've faced a long uphill battle since then, and lost many good people in the end, but we stood our ground. We told them we would not bend to their will, and we've held to that.”

“Four days ago, we found ourselves faced against something most of us thought we'd never have to face, and we pulled through. With the help of a foreign King, and many, many acts of bravery and selflessness, we pulled through. Some would say we pulled through because we needed to pull through, because we had to,” he said. “But I don't buy that. I think we pulled through because of our spirit. Because of our unwillingness to lay down in the face of adversity.” He gestured to the cenotaph. “We lost almost a thousand lives at the Battle of Crown Square, but they didn't die in vain. Their deaths opened the way for new life for us and for all of the Disputed Lands.”

With another sigh, he continued. “And so it is today, July the First, that we as Canadians celebrate the birth of our old nation, but today also hold another meaning, every bit of special. That's because today, Septra the Twenty-Fourth heralds a new beginning. A beginning of a new world, and new method of doing things. Today, we say goodbye to the world from which we came, and welcome the world of Eiden Myr with open arms.”

He turned around, then gave a nod to Carla Meriweather as she stood next to a flagpole. She started pulling the rope, and a flag started to rise in the air. On the flag, a single violet maple leaf could be seen within a circle against a purely white background. Goose turned back to the crowd.

“It's on this day that I'm proud to announce the birth of a new nation. Its borders stretch north, to the country of Halen, to whom we owe a great debt. It spreads south, to the borders of Vector, to whom we'll show no fear, and no remorse. And to the west, it spreads to the borders of Rasza, to whom we announce our presence. As far as we know, our home world is forever lost to us, but we are fortunate enough to have brought our homes with us, and with it, a source of new hope within these lands. Today, Septra the twenty-fourth, we celebrate a day we've long since celebrated. The day of the birth of Canada.” He paused for effect. “But from this day forward, we forge a new nation. A new nation born of blood and tears. A new nation born of the remnants of the old. Today I'm proud to announce the birth of our new land.”

Goose looked over the crowd and smiled. He loved this part. “Today, we announce our sovereignty over the nations of Eiden Myr. Let it be known that will bow to no King, save out of friendship and respect. Today, we celebrate the birth of the New Canadian Territories. May God watch over us all.”

A word from EJ...

I'd like to thank a number of people. Tomas Honz, for creating the wonderful painting of Stone's Mouth found on the prologue. Abigail Southworth for a wonderful job of visually designing my characters. Trista Godfrey for keeping me motivated and meticulously pointing out my plot holes. Trygve Thevik for meticulously poring over my revisions for typos and other errors I missed. The staff of webfictionguide.com for all their hard work in maintaining the best webfiction listing site on the net. I'd like to give great thanks to Roland and MJ, for putting up with me writing at work. Next, I would like to give thanks to all those who offered me emotional and creative support. In no particular order, Shai L, Dhani T, Tim T, Galen W, Adam B, Kascey P, Dave H, Erika H, Nigel B, Eddy G, Duck P, Cnst. Austin R, Marie W, Freida and Lauren at Salamander Books, Mom and all the people who helped serve as inspiration for characters. Lastly, I'd like to give a special thanks to the town and people of Ladysmith, British Columbia, which served as the full inspiration for the town of Dunsmith. Many of the locations within Dunsmith are regular fixtures of Ladysmith, from the Amphitheater to “Crown Square.” Names of businesses and locations within the town were changed for obvious reasons. At least, most of them.

Finally, I'd also like to state that Children of the Halo is dedicated in its entirety to Celes, the only girl I'll ever love unconditionally.

Now, on to the good stuff.

Tonight, I will start work on the beginning of book two. I will be taking a two-week break from posting in order to build up a buffer, and decide at which pace I'd like to move this at. (I was writing for between 12-18 hours a week during the writing of Children of the Halo, which I would have to continue in order to make regular posts the same size as those I've written thus far. I will spend the next couple of weeks evaluating how I posted Children of the Halo and may or may not move to posting smaller pieces more often, smaller pieces just as often, or pieces approximately the same length of time, only two days a week rather than three. I'd be interested to hear suggestions, as I don't want to burn out.

That being said, I'm also looking for a few good proofreaders. You should have a good grasp of written English, and be willing to tell me when I suck, and more specifically, how I suck. I'm looking for proofreaders who will be thorough with my chapters, and be able to get them back to me quickly. In return, you will receive credit both through the web site and in print, and have links to your homepage from the site for The Liar's Law. If you're interested, please leave a comment with your e-mail and I'll contact you at some point before the weekend.

So, I hope you've all enjoyed the story thus far, and I hope you all come back for The Liar's Law, starting November 2008...

In the meantime, I invite you all to check out The Last Luminii: Empire of Embers, starting October 23, 2008!

EJ...