To Drown in Sand

To Drown In Sand, an independently published Ebook and POD novel was released on November 2013, is the first book in B.C. Laybolt's 10th Lunen Regiment Trilogy. Its sequels, To Drown In Ash and To Drown In Fire, are slated for release in 2014 and 2015.

Plot
No matter how far you run, your shadow follows.   

Centuries ago, they fled the doomed Earth. Their damaged flotilla stumbled on a new star system and colonized the worlds they found there. The ragged remnants of mankind fought the elements and each other to survive. Out of terror and darkness, the Nar Exus Triumvirate was created, enforcing a fragile peace between the three largest planets.

On the remote moon called Shastre, the people’s simple life along the rivers and in the mountains, unconcerned with the politics of the Triumvirate, has backslid into superstition and savagery under the sway of a murderous warlord known only as Ter Ense. The Triumvirate has responded to reports of genocide on Shastre by sending the 10th Lunen Regiment to restore order. But danger dwells deep in the jungles of Shastre. An ancient darkness that predates the flotilla is awake after a long slumber.

To escape his tragic past, a man named Kyris Issep arrives on Shastre as a fresh recruit. He has come to a warzone, seeking peace for his damaged soul. His commanders see him as a weapon they hope to wield against the enemy. His squadmates see him as a bad omen they fear will get them killed. Issep is not sure of the truth himself, only that something in the jungle is calling to him, and he will travel into the heart of darkness to confront it.