An Essence Of Time. (Book 1.)

Before I start, I want to let you know that Gifted Hands is the follow on story of this one.

All the main characters are wearing full-body steel armour hand-crafted by George, the Sterling settlements blacksmith. The rest of the folks that live in the Sterling settlement wear animal fur. Some protectors have hand-crafted swords tailored for the individual as their chosen weapons; others have bows with arrows. There are six settlements on the earth, and their names are the Sterling, Dollar, Euro, JapYen, Rupee, also Franc.

All the characters have a nose, a mouth, two ears, and eyebrows with all their body limbs.

Cambs: Twenty years old. A stockily built man with dusty blond hair. He has a big bushy beard with green eyes—medium height.

Lon: Twenty-five years old. Also, stockily built. Shiny black hair. Full-face beard with brown eyes. Tall but not lanky.

Lon's wife, Donna: Twenty-six years old. Petite lady. Shoulder-length black hair with blue eyes. Clean shaven. Medium height.

Manc: Twenty-two years old. Stocky build. Short brown hair with brown eyes, he has a bushy beard. He is pretty tall.

His brother is Hester: Twenty-one years old. Medium-built man with blond hair with green eyes. Medium height. Clean shaven.

Lee: Thirty years old, medium-built man. Brown hair with blue eyes. Clean shaven cheeks with a long brown beard on his chin. Medium height.

Lee's wife D: She is thirty years old—a petite woman with long blond hair and brown eyes. Yes, of course, she is clean-shaven—short in height.

Ports: He is Thirty-two years old, of standard build, with a patch over his left eye. Brown hair with brown eyes, well, the one eye. He has a mutton chop beard—medium height.

Leist: He is twenty years old. Blond hair with green eyes. Stocky build with no beard. He is a tall guy.

Coven: He is forty years old with brown hair turning grey and piercing blue eyes. He has a medium build, an ancient battle injury to one of his legs which means he walks with a cane. He is average height clean shaven.

Birms: He is nineteen, with light brown hair and dark green eyes. He has a stocky build, and he has a moustache—standard height.

Ips: Twenty-nine years old, black hair with blue eyes. Medium build with a black bushy beard. He is tall.

Liver: Twenty-three years old, blond hair with brown eyes. Stocky build, a clean-shaven face. Average height.

His Wife is Pauline: She is twenty-six years old, with long curly brown hair with sparkling green eyes. She is a curvy built lady but is short—the same beard type as her husband.

George: He is twenty-four years old. With light blond hair with watery green eyes, he’s a clean-shaven man. Medium height.

Gordon: He is twenty years old. Scruffy dusty blond hair with dark blue eyes. Average build with a full beard. He is of average height. He has a few scars on his hands from chopping the settlement's food.

Barry: He is thirty-five years old. Black hair with green eyes. Chin strap beard, tall height, also skinny build.

Phil: He is thirty-one years old. Strawberry blond hair with light blue eyes. Full bushy beard, medium height, also stocky build.

Archie: He is twenty-one years old. Black hair with blue eyes. Clean-shaven beard, short height, also stocky build.

Creatures:

Sky Gliders: A human-like creature with feet like a raptorial bird, they use their talons to pick prey up or perch in a tree. These creatures have enormous black wings; around the edge of the wings are razor-sharp, that can slice through all of its enemy's skins and takes a few swings to get through armour. It has a long, sharp tail that is pointy at the end. It is a land and a sky creature, flickering flames as their eyes, a fire-breather creature that can spit balls of fire from its mouth on the ground or airborne. Their wings have another mechanism, but you will learn more about that as you delve into this story.

Sea Dweller: A sea creature can also go on land. A gigantic fish-type creature with blue leathery skin that has gills with razor-sharp teeth that will chew its enemies to mush. It has two eyes, two slits underneath its eyes that are beside one another; they smell its prey when it is approaching. With four stumpy legs like crocodiles have when on land, they can move quickly. Glistening white teeth that are razor sharp can penetrate through anything, and with enough pressure, it will leave puncture wounds in the flesh that is armour protected. They have several single scales scattered around the Sea Dwellers' bodies. At the end of the body, it has a tail that splits into a V shape, so don’t approach from behind because you might get stabbed—a sharp retractable fin on top of the Sea Dwellers' back. There is also a mechanism on the Sea Dweller, but you will find that out soon enough.

Primate: A medium size monkey creature like a Mandrill; they are speedy creatures that hunt in four packs. Sharp teeth that can rip through flesh easily take a few snaps of their jaw to pierce through armour. It has a ball on the tail's end, opening in quarters. When all four quarters are open, they can latch onto an enemy’s limb; it will rip it off. Also, there is something else that the primate can do.