About the book
Take a Look into the Kensai's Quest:
The chime of metal on metal sounded, and Lanfilar opened his eyes to see a very encouraging sight. There was the black cloaked figure of Phasmatis, his silver long-sword pressed tight against her scimitar. Surprise turned to anger, and the rogue scowled at him.
“Wingless fool, I warn you, step away else I skewer you now and feed you to the river trout.”
“Nice to meet you too,” he said mildly, unfeeling eyes of stone watching her without emotion.
“Wretch,” she spat, then swung her free blade. Phasmatis pulled up on his sword handle, pushing the blade out of his way to stop the one firing for his midsection. He turned his blade to the side and caught her scimitar in his cross guard, then launched his body forward. The kensai’s elbow caught her just below the sternum, and she took a tentative step backwards, struggling to breathe. Narayon recovered quickly, though, and snapped out both swords, lunging for the kensai with furious abandon. Phasmatis turned to the side and gripped his blade by the hilt, easily avoiding both scimitars with his lithe, nimble frame, and then forcing his pommel into her belly, out away from her and then up and into her face. As she fell, he spun and reached out, catching her shoulder to pull her up. Blood ran profusely from her comely face, and her eyes were dazed from the kensai’s blows.
“The fight is done this day, Narayon,” he said quietly. “Tell your friends that you should be leaving now.”
He let go, and she worked to maintain balance. Walking away hazily, the rogue was not alone in her retreat. All of the raiders had been defeated, and were set to flee. Then, she stopped walking for a moment and her back straightened as sense returned. Spinning around, Narayon glared at Phasmatis.
"Who are you?" she demanded with an air of authority, despite her disheveled look.
"I am the dark kensai," he replied, "and you do not want to know me."
-Excerpted from "Chapter 3: A special Forging"
This article was written by my invaluable friend Jason Mollica, PR at NU, and appeared in the Niagara Gazette.
By Jason Mollica
Anthony Cirilla is a junior at Niagara University. A 19-year-old English and philosophy major in the College of Arts and Sciences, Cirilla is also the author of two novels, Origin of the Sword Saint and Quest of the Sword Saint. He lives in Niagara Falls.
Q & A
Q: Why did you choose Niagara University?
A: When I attended Niagara Catholic, they offered the NUSTEP courses (which offer students the opportunity to concurrently complete Niagara University college courses while attending Niagara Catholic). I also took a tour of the campus and loved it. I didn’t apply anywhere else.
Q: You are in the College of Arts and Sciences. What does it offer you?
A: I think the English program is great. It gives you a wide array of exposure to everything from medieval literature to contemporary American literature.
Q: Are there any professors that have made an impact on you?
A: Dr. William Martin is one. He edited the whole second manuscript of my book, which I dedicated to him. Dr. Paula Kot and Dr. Daniel Pinti have also been great. Their classes have helped to open up other venues that I am going to use in my writing.
Q: You have now written two books. How did you come to write them?
A: The first book originally was not meant to be a book at all. When I was 15, I started the “The Guardian’s Legacy.” It was a springboard to how everything would unfold in the first book, which was at first only an outline about Phasmatis’s childhood.
Q: Your first book, Origin of the Sword Saint, tells the story of Phasmatis Batara Kaerasti. Were you ultimately happy with the way it turned out?
A: I was pleased with the first one, but the second book, Quest for the Sword Saint, is more mature and, overall, better written. The story is also more compelling in the second book.
Q: What has the reaction been to your books?
A: People have been very positive. For the first book, some people at Niagara Catholic have read it and told me it is really great. For the second book, people here on campus have read it and enjoyed it.
Q: Will there be another book?
A: This will actually be a five-book series. I am writing the third book now. I’m averaging about a chapter every two days. If I keep that up, I’ll have it done pretty quickly!
Q: How has Niagara University helped shape you?
A: There is an exposure to a lot of literature that, on my own, I probably would not have looked at. Now I am glad that I did. Literature and philosophy are so connected that literature is a product of its philosophies. Being able to understand different philosophies has a lot to do with writing the story, but also creating characters, who themselves have different mindsets.
Q: What are your future plans?
A: I will probably go for a Ph.D., and then I’d like to teach at the college level. Right now, I am looking at Iowa State and New York University.
Jason Mollica is the assistant director of communications and public relations at Niagara University.