Following
on directly from
AVAELYN:
THE ENSHROUDED WORLD:
The
Vallas go to war with each other.
Avaelyn
returns to Reaume, no longer enshrouded … but soon another world draws
attention, for it is there that the great battle will be fought.
By
myth.
By
destruction.
By
inverted sacred sites.
No matter what, Torrullin will not stand aside, not until every child is safe.
Following
on directly from
AVAELYN:
THE ENSHROUDED WORLD:
The
Vallas go to war with each other.
Avaelyn returns to Reaume, no longer enshrouded … but soon another world draws attention, for it is there that the great battle will be fought.
By myth.
By destruction.
By inverted
sacred sites.
The plight of Avior’s children is discovered, and all fight to save them from the monsters flourishing beneath the shroud created by myth. From dragons to darklings, the field is strewn with horror.
How to end their reign?
All are called into battle, from the Valleur, Kaval and Guardians to mysterious sorcerers gathered on the volcanic world of Danaan, but is Valla pitted against Valla that causes shudders in the ether.
CHAPTER
10
It’s
the little things. So precious.
~
Tattle’s scribe ~
Valaris
The Well of
Crystal Sound
TARLINN sat with his back to the Well wall, nibbling on the food Teighlar, as Enchanter, had created for them, and told the story of the light beings who had sung here, infusing the water with crystal song until it rose on gossamer wings to pierce the space warp that had surrounded Valaris, thereby finding their way to freedom. He revealed the light beings were what the Syllvan became when those great trees passed beyond death’s threshold, becoming thus one with the fabric of Reaume. They spread the seeds that led to the birth of the Dryads in Arianne, which in the fullness of years led to new Syllvan. A circle of life.
“Torrullin
fought hard to save the Syllvan, if you recall, but they are never truly gone.
They are all around us,” he finished off.
“This
is how they know so much,” Teighlar murmured. “They are everywhere.”
“Indeed.
The Thinnings, too, have a similar circle. From tadpoles, to shapeshifting
beings, to dragonflies, although not all dragonflies are Thinnings, the
dragonflies sowing the spores that lead to tadpoles, and of course, their
circle is on a far smaller scale.”
Teighlar
grunted. “Man, the Thinnings. Thundor in Grinwallin, a tiny man with a massive
heart. Have they been seen in recent years?”
“They
are with us still, but haven’t made themselves known.”
Dawn’s
light gradually infused the Great Forest with grey tinges, causing the birds to
start their daily songs. Listening, the Emperor murmured, “Little light
beings.”
“Oh,
yes,” Tarlinn smiled.
“Hopefully
someone will come soon to release us from here. Truthfully, though, the peace
here has soothed much of my inner knots.”
“Likewise,”
Tarlinn responded. He eyed the man with him. “I must tell you something, and I
must because I need to gauge your reaction now before setting certain theories
into practise.”
A
heavy-lidded blue stare settled on him. “Then speak.”
Tarlinn
grimaced, and said not a word.
“Ah,
hard, is it? Start with the simple stuff.”
“Simple?
There’s nothing simple about my life, Emperor. Fine, this then. Falling through
Grinwallin’s Abyss has gifted me wholeness. Let’s start with that. I am now, at
last, a true man, not merely an embodiment of the Throne. As the Throne’s
creation and indwelling brought my slivers into one, thus has that void gifted
a concept true form.”
“I
noticed, yes.”
“I
am no longer able to enter the Throne; I am separate, and that means a new life
awaits me, more than that of a brother-in-arms to Elixir. Choices lie before
me. Where to make my home, for instance, what to do with these hands and these
powers I command, and who to love.”
“Ah,
we’re reaching the crux.”
“Yes,
and her name is Alik.”
Teighlar
spat a grape out, and nearly choked. “My daughter? You have approached my daughter?”
Palms
up in a gesture of surrender, Tarlinn said, “I have not approached her, but I
dream about …”
“What?”
“Fuck,
this is why I’m gauging you now,” Tarlinn moaned. “Emperor, Alik tells me in a
dream that I am not alone, and asks me to follow, for where she is leading me
to is true home, the kind the heart rejoices in no matter where it is. She is
searching also and …”
Teighlar
stared at him, unmoving, unblinking.
“…
I think she is as lonely as I am. Not alone, for we have those we love around
us, but lonely as in a missing connection to the one that makes life worth
living.”
Teighlar
blinked, and reluctantly admitted, “True, yes, and I mentioned something along
these lines to her recently. But are you the one for her?”
“I
don’t yet know, but I am prompted to try, and I need you to know that before I
do approach her.”
Sucking
at his cheeks, Teighlar stared into the lightening trees. “Both have longevity,
and both are sort of … weird. It may be a disaster, the two of you together,
but it may also be a future that will gift happiness. I’m not saying I like it
and if you hurt her, I’ll unman you. Still, who am I to stand in the way of
happiness?” He then rested his gaze back on the man with him. “For fuck’s sake,
just don’t approach her where I can see it, alright?”
Fighting
a beaming smile about to erupt onto his face, Tarlinn nodded. “Thank you.”
“Can
you father children?” Teighlar demanded.
“After
the Void, yes.”
The
Emperor threw his hands up. “Lovely. Potentially we’ll end up with a
half-Valleur on the Senlu throne. Man, won’t that just tickle Torrullin - he’ll
tease me to kingdom come.”
The
threatening smile burst out, and Tarlinn laughed. “I can see that!”
“It’s
not funny …” but the Senlu chuckled long.
City
of Galilan
AIRELLE Praden woke to birdsong, and lay in her small bed listening to the glorious sounds. Every day she woke up and spent a few minutes just appreciating her freedom. Her mother told her about ‘appreciating’ and she liked the word. It said so much. She appreciated every day away from those horrible cells.
And
then she started repeating her list, softly so no one could hear. The names of
those who were taken from her care there, like Stuiee and Benjamin and Henry
and Dino and Rosy, and so many more. She would remember them, always, for only
memory remained. Timare, when she told him about her list, when he visited,
asked her to tell him so that he could write it down. She asked why, and he
told her about closure. The parents of those children needed the closure, and
he told her what that meant. Not a word she liked, but she understood it, and
told him every name she could remember, and not only from her cell, names of
others she had heard and knew were taken also.
Timare
came a lot, and she appreciated that. He was there; he knew. He often cried
with her. That’s why she told him about her list. He told her what they were
doing in the valley Torrke, and she liked that so many were now helping other
children and would go on helping them. When she was old enough, she would go to
the Keep and help them as well. She did not want to happen to other children as
had happened to her. No way.
“Airelle,
you up?” her mother called up from downstairs.
She
smelled oatmeal, and smiled. No hunger anymore, and no loneliness, no hopelessness.
Her mother and her father were with her, her grandfather came as often as
Timare did, and always they laughed. She got up and put her slippers on.
“Coming!”
One
day soon she would believe it was real.
Akhavar
City of Kalgaia
KARYDOR returned with Lunik, Sianora, Ashar and Zane to Kalgaia. While Ashar went ahead making lists in the space she and Sianora would share and Zane went traipsing for the perfect location for his library, and Lunik and Sianora walked to the terraces to investigate the living spaces there, Karydor entered the Danae Guild Hall, walking with due reverence upon the shining black tiles that led to the internal dome. Nostalgia bit at him, but so did anticipation.
He
stood at the podium upon the mirror circle and simply inhaled the atmosphere,
and then he began. Speaking aloud to the listening silence, he strategized how
to structure the classes, the intake of students, rosters for teaching
different subjects, how many teachers they would need, which events would suit
learning, how many they could accommodate, how to put the word out …
…
and loved every minute of it.
Yes,
he had come home. At last.
Sanctuary
Mariner Island
GABRYL strode across the bridge from the spaceport to the island that was about sanctuary. Healing for both the mind and the body, a place to start afresh. Graceful and now old buildings greeted him, all white with mullioned windows, terracotta tiled roofs, window boxes flowering profusely despite autumn’s chill, dainty wrought iron balconies, old fashioned lamps everywhere, the ways between cobbled and sporting glorious shrubbery, many trees throwing shade in the morning light, vivid in their autumn regalia, and he halted to simply look. It was pretty and welcoming, and wholesome. The first fear inside him dissipated.
It
wasn’t Grinwallin, but here he could function.
Entering
a sprawling building marked as ‘Reception’ via a carved wooden plaque over the
main door, he discovered an uncluttered space, more terracotta on the floor,
wicker baskets and healthy palm trees, colourful beanbags, a set of shelves
laden with reading material, and a counter behind which three women worked
industriously. Again, it felt old-fashioned, and that suited his temperament. A
second fear vanished.
No
airs here, and therefore no need for pretence.
He
approached, and a woman looked up. When she smiled, dimples appeared in her
cheeks. She was pretty, and he liked her freckles and curly fair hair. He liked
even more her friendly blue eyes.
“May
I help you?”
“I
am Gabryl Diluvan and …”
She
interrupted him by clapping her hands. “You’re here! We’ve been expecting you.
Oh, welcome, welcome! I’m Siobhan and that’s Fran and over there’s Almira. Ooo,
come, let me show you around!” She rounded the counter, and beckoned him to
follow her outside.
“You’ve
been expecting me. Who told you I was coming?” he asked.
“Why,
Torrullin Valla, of course. He sent a letter with the dragon seal on.” She put
a hand to her mouth. “We heard about the dragon mark, never expected to
actually see it! Oh my, I’m so excited. We definitely need someone to take care
of us here. Doctors and nurses are so busy, they can’t organise a thing.”
Smiling,
Gabryl followed the chatty young woman as she took him on a tour of the island
and the facilities. He soon saw what she meant; some disrepair, some
streamlining required. It needed a firm hand, someone able to achieve those
tasks health professionals had no time for, nor should they, for their talents
were needed elsewhere. His final fear evaporated into the ether. He felt
needed. He felt purposeful.
And
wasn’t Siobhan ever so pretty?
The Dome of the
Kaval
KILA was eyeing him, and Belun fumed. He and Prima has just returned from meeting Delilah Romaris on Lincoln, and here she was, eyeing him.
When
the woman abruptly stood up from where she sat at the marble slab, and came his
way, he almost chose to hightail it to his ogive. There was something new in
her tawny eyes. She marched right up to him - and suddenly Fuma, Prima and
Galarth, currently also present in the Dome, ceased talking - took his face
into her hands, and kissed him. About to jerk away with accusation on his lips,
he reconsidered, feeling the funny warmth that crept into his gut, the tingling
in his toes and fingers. When she kissed him again, he thought to hell with
what anyone thought, and hauled her in to deepen the connection.
Applause
and whistles erupted in the Dome.
Sheepishly,
Belun lifted his head.
“About
time, Centuar,” Kila murmured. “Do it again. I like it.”
He
liked it, too. He lowered his head and captured her lips with his own. Man, he
would never live this down, but so what?
Eurue
The Keeper’s
Palace
HAVING seen the villa on Sanctuary where he would live when away from duties on Mariner Island, Thibis and the settlements beyond the lake, Gabryl went to Eurue. The Syllvan had told him he needed to see this through, dealing with Eurue, before he could accept an unburdened future. This day, knowing that Sanctuary called to him, he chose to do exactly that. Time to lay old ghosts in their caskets.
He
walked over a different bridge now, one that led directly to the Keeper’s
Palace, and here the sun beat down. Summer reigned on Eurue. He heard cicadas,
he heard the rustle of leaves losing moisture, he heard the faraway calls of
folk at the market in the city behind him, and he heard Savier Algheri singing
off-key somewhere to the left, the man’s voice even now unforgotten. How many
times hadn’t Savier stood over his sarcophagus and spoken to him. Thank Aaru
that part of his long existence was now over, for both of them. Veering left,
he soon came upon the atrium, and entered, for the door was open to allow the
heat to somewhat deal with the humidity within.
“Savier!”
The
singing stopped, and a white head of hair peered from behind a vine twirling
around a dead tree trunk up ahead, no doubt rescued from the forest for the
vine to have something to grow upon. “Gabryl? Is that you?”
“Yes.
Am I disturbing you?”
“Not
at all.”
Gabryl
walked towards where the man had again vanished, and found him at a workbench
filled with pots, soil and various gardening implements. Alusin had mentioned
how much his brother enjoyed getting his hands dirty, and now Gabryl smiled.
The Keeper was a man who hankered after the simple things. Such a man he could
deal with.
“Cleaning
up,” Savier murmured. “I won’t be shaking hands.” He grinned and held aloft
dirt encrusted fingers. “How are you, Gabryl?”
“Finally
fine,” he responded.
“So,
I’m your final burden to set aside?”
“Something
like that.”
“Glad
to hear it. Let me wash my hands and then we can have tea in the palace. Much
cooler there. Drakan is phaffing around somewhere.”
“I’d
like that.” The way Savier hesitated over ‘Drakan’ revealed that something
brewed between the two men. Gabryl did not remark on it - early days for them,
after all - but he did smile inwardly. As he suspected when he heard Torrullin
told Drakan to pay a visit to Eurue, his ancient birth world - Torrullin had
seen this connection might end up as something. “Is Vian available?”
“Do
it all at once?” Savier asked, grinning. “Good idea. Less painful. I’ll ask him
to come.” He washed his hands, dried them, and preceded Gabryl to the open
door. Once he had carefully closed it, saying something about too much dry air
not being optimum, he ambled across the lawn, explaining how Eurue had grown
since the troubles, and about a haven here also, and when Gabryl revealed he
was taking up the reins on Sanctuary, Savier grew animated and bent his ear
with all sorts of ideas.
By
the time they entered the palace proper, Gabryl realised he had already laid
his ghosts to rest, and had no need of a tea with Drakan and Vian in attendance
to confirm it, but the ideas bouncing his way had him mightily intrigued. They
could work together, he mused, and create sanctuaries on opposite ends of the
universe, and said as much.
Savier
slapped his back. “Then let’s talk, my friend.”
Friend.
Indeed. Who would have expected that? “Will we lace the tea?”
Grinning,
Savier crowed, “Absolutely!”
“Then
let’s talk,” Gabryl laughed.
Akhavar
Linard
TEROUX wandered the halls of the abode, casually studying the frescoes, wall hangings, the flowing canals, the bright flowers in beautiful urns, and knew here he did not wish to remain. Roux Island now called to him. He’d transferred - along with Jonas - Skritt, Saxon and O’Leary - the bodyguard - into Delilah Romanis’ care on Lincoln, and now wished to go home. If they were about to enter a mighty field of battle, he needed to restore himself where he felt most at peace. And he wouldn’t mind seeing a certain someone known as Naemi.
Tianoman
waited where the corridor forked for the royal suite. “You want to go home,
don’t you?”
Teroux
nodded. “Come with me.”
“I
can’t, not after everything that transpired, but in a few days, when it’s
quieter?”
“Welcome
anytime, cousin.”
“Maybe
I’ll meet Naemi.”
Teroux
smiled. “Maybe.”
They
embraced briefly, and then Teroux was gone.
Luvanor
Tunin Continent
Bay of the Moon
ECHAYN squatted on the beach, sifting sand through his fingers and staring over the moonlit crescent of water before him. Waves lapped gently and the night was otherwise silent.
This
was a good place to begin his discovery of Luvanor. Senluar could wait until
the spaces were not as frenetic, but the rest of this glorious world begged for
his attention. He would now become a wanderer, sleep where he found a bed or a
cushion of leaves, eat when someone offered a meal or pick from a tree. Maybe
try his hand at fishing? How long since he had this kind of unencumbered
freedom?
Standing,
he walked inland, seeing the lights of a farmhouse. Perhaps there was a hay
loft …
Let's finish out 2022 with the final chapter 1 from the final Ancient Terra volume. Happy reading!
Following
on directly from
AVAELYN:
THE ENSHROUDED WORLD:
The Vallas go to war with each other.
Avaelyn returns to Reaume, no longer enshrouded … but soon another world draws attention, for it is there that the great battle will be fought.
Avior
is veiled.
By myth.
By destruction.
By inverted sacred sites.
On Valaris,
four strangers to the realm prepare to face Torrullin and Elianas, Tristan and
Alusin, and they have a tale that raises terrible alarm. On Akhavar, the
reality of the true enemy surfaces. The Path of Shades must be reopened … and
old foes therefore step into the arena. A vengeful Timekeeper, an ancient
Vallorin with a bone between his teeth, and a wife seeking to undo her husband.
The plight of Avior’s children is discovered, and all fight to save them from the monsters flourishing beneath the shroud created by myth. From dragons to darklings, the field is strewn with horror.
How to
end their reign?
All are called into battle, from the Valleur, Kaval and Guardians to mysterious sorcerers gathered on the volcanic world of Danaan, but is Valla pitted against Valla that causes shudders in the ether.
No matter what, Torrullin will not stand aside, not until every child is safe.
So
many! I am blessed.
~ H.
Waetherhar, novelist ~
The Dome of the Kaval
ELIANAS felt
Torrullin labour for breath, felt his dead weight on the other end of the
tether, and felt him plummet through moisture. He felt also the man’s elation
when he realised he was in the atmosphere of their world, and silently
celebrated with him.
He
heard every word of the interaction between Torrullin and Avaelyn’s sentience,
and tears flowed over his cheeks. How blessed they were. He jerked forward when
Torrullin slammed the grappling hook into bedrock, thanking his foresight for
handing the four men behind him extra tendrils to secure the hold, for they
instantly braced to hold him upright and inside.
The
link to his beloved vanished.
The
tether dematerialised.
All
gods, he whispered internally, closing his eyes, I pray it
worked.
The
loud exclamations around and behind him forced his eyes open, and Elianas
stepped to the edge of the Dragon ogive. And there she was. Avaelyn. Beautiful
Avaelyn. Back in Reaume.
He
fell to his knees, and wept.
Avaelyn
Teroux’s home
A GLOWING blue
coil of light appeared from the cloud cover and with it flames shaped like a
three-pronged hook. It swirled to the north of Roux Island, and thereafter the
flames raced for the ocean, only it didn’t reach the sea, it smashed into the
small outcrop Torrullin had once claimed was an ancient rock that was one giant
column from the ocean floor itself. A massive eruption of light ensued, and
then utter darkness descended.
“Bloody
hell,” Teroux whispered. “Is he … did he …?”
Silence
was next … until they heard a man laugh.
“Knew
it,” Tarlinn declared. “This is why we jumped into that void. Having accepted
himself, he discovered the belief he needed to unveil our world.”
“I
understand now,” Tristan murmured.
They
heard splashes as if someone swam towards Teroux’s island. Looking at each
other, the four men raced for Teroux’s jetty. Skidding to a halt on the slick
stone, they stood at the far end and cast gazes into the inky ocean.
Splash.
Splash.
“There!”
Teroux exclaimed, pointing frantically.
Yes,
there. Arm over arm, a man swan towards them, and then he was close, and they
knew it was Torrullin.
Tristan
hollered, “Wet enough, are you, for a swim this night?”
Treading
water, Torrullin shouted, “Tristan! You made it!”
“Seems
you did, too!”
The
splashes resumed and then they helped him from the water. Despite the fact that
he dripped salt water, the cousins enfolded him in their arms. Alusin smiled
like an idiot, watching everything.
Eventually
Tarlinn asked, “Is she back?”
Torrullin
grinned at him over the clasp. “Avaelyn has returned to Reaume, yes.”
The dwelling on the cliffs
ELIANAS alighted
on the grass where the bench perched near the edge, and simply stood there, his
dark eyes trawling from one end of their home to the other. It was still night,
but in the enveloping darkness he saw everything.
Kneeling,
he placed his palm upon the cold green stalks. Thank you, Avaelyn, from
my heart.
The
world sentience did not reply with words, but he felt a warm, ethereal hand
descend to his crown and briefly rest there. He had, however, heard her speak
to Torrullin via the connection they maintained - him in the Dome, Torrullin blindly
diving into Avaelyn’s atmosphere - and counted himself as eternally blessed.
When
he looked up, Torrullin was before him.
“That
was a fool thing to do,” Elianas grunted, before smiling and adding, “but I am
so glad you succeeded.”
“We
succeeded,” Torrullin murmured.
Rising,
he moved to the man and merely embraced him. Yes, for this, this, there
were no words.
Morning
HAVING asked
for the remaining hours of darkness to reconnect with their home, when the
first sunbeam fell upon the bench in the elements upon the cliff, both men,
sleepless, knew the time had arrived to resume the ever more complicated
mission of the present. Avaelyn had returned to Reaume, thus was that quest
done with, and now it was time to focus on the greater tapestry, as Tarlinn
would say. Sitting with cold mugs between them, watching the ocean light up as
it greeted the day, they wondered who would arrive first to prod them into
renewed action.
It was
Quilla.
The
birdman, though, did not come to prod, he came simply to greet. Appearing
before them, he placed a tiny hand upon a small breast, and bowed. “My lords,
you are returned.”
Simultaneously,
both men raised hands to their brows, touched.
Quilla
smiled. “Reverence, is it? It does fit, doesn’t it?”
“It
does,” Elianas agreed.
“Welcome
home,” Quilla murmured.
Rolling
his shoulders, Torrullin stood. “Thank you, Quilla, and thank you for watching
over everyone.” He snatched up the mugs and sent Elianas a questioning glance.
“You
go,” the dark man replied.
“Take
as long as you need,” Torrullin offered, and indicated for Quilla to follow
him.
Elianas
sat on.
TRISTAN and
Alusin were in the kitchen preparing the kind of breakfast fit for a host
eating in stages. Boiled eggs, sausages, salad, sliced bread, with a pile of
plates to hand. A ‘help yourself when you’re hungry’ meal. Coffee burbled
somewhere, and the orange juice was freshly squeezed.
“Thought
you’d be back on Akhavar already,” Torrullin teased as he entered with Quilla,
wiggling his eyebrows their way.
Alusin
grinned, but Tristan grunted, “Can’t, not until we’ve faced the Syllvan. A
promise we made.”
“Bugger,”
Torrullin stated.
“Pretty
much,” Tristan laughed.
Torrullin
grabbed a plate and loaded up. Already eating as he made his way to the table,
he said, “Thanks. Hungry.” Sitting, he tucked in.
Quilla
soon joined him, his plate as loaded.
“How
does a birdman eat so much?” Torrullin muttered.
“He
does when he’s hungry,” Quilla snapped back, and ignored everyone to eat with
relish.
Teroux
and Tarlinn appeared then, and simply fell in with the ‘help yourself’ meal. A
few minutes later, it was Karydor and Echayn, with Belun and Teighlar in tow.
Belun and Teroux went at each other, laughing and pumping hands, and then
Teroux and the Senlu Emperor sized each other up and, realising no animosity
held sway anymore, backslapped each other resoundingly. Somehow, they fit
around the table, including Tristan and Alusin.
“Any
moment now,” Torrullin said, winking at Teroux.
The
Kaval leader grinned. “I know. Tian won’t wait much longer.”
“Tian
brought everyone,” Tianoman said from the passage, and entered with his entire
family trailing him in.
“Cousin!”
Teroux hollered, scraping his chair back and racing at the man.
“Teroux!”
Torrullin,
leaning back, watched fondly as the cousins gripped each other, both laughing
and crying at the same time. Aislinn waited her turn with a silly grin on her
face, and around them milled Lunik holding Sianora’s hand - excellent,
Torrullin mused - as well as Timare and Zane, and Enlyl and Ashar leaned
against each other shoulder to shoulder watching everything and everyone with
big eyes. Tianoman gripped Alusin to him, happy to see him safe and sound, and
then suddenly demanded an explanation for Tristan’s blue eyes … tuning that
out, Torrullin swivelled his gaze to Karydor at the table, to find his father
waiting for his look. Ah, yes, family, and quite a large one now.
When
Elianas’ hand descended to rest on his shoulder from behind him, Torrullin
closed his eyes. Perfect. His loved ones were in the same space at the same
time.
“We
are blessed,” Elianas murmured in his ear.
Indeed,
oh, indeed.
Later
BELUN returned
to the Dome, which was now in orbit around Avaelyn as a precautionary measure,
and Enlyl and Timare reluctantly went back to Valaris, while Lunik took Sianora
and Zane to Kalgaia, explaining about their task underway there. Ashar went
with them.
That
left Torrullin and Elianas with the three cousins, who could not stop talking,
Karydor, Echayn and Tarlinn, who were wordless, simply listening to those three
try and outdo each other, as well as Alusin and Aislinn, who could not get a
word in, and Tarlinn, Quilla and Gabryl, the latter having joined them a while
ago, sitting now with his father, both quiet, but smiling as they watched
everyone.
In the
informal sitting area overlooking the bridge over the fishpond in the garden,
Torrullin and Elianas sat side by side near the ledge, backs against the stone,
legs stretched out, and merely listened also. This day they would allow the
chaos of many personalities, but tomorrow? Ha.
Teighlar
rose and came to hunker before them. “Knowing you, this isn’t normal for your
home,” he teased.
“Today
is different,” Torrullin murmured.
Sitting
cross-legged, Teighlar nodded. “Alik would love this. That girl is made for a
large family.”
“I’m
surprised she isn’t here,” Elianas put in.
“She’s
in surgery,” Teighlar shrugged. “No doubt she’ll visit soon enough.” He eyed
them. “Gabryl and I will return to Grinwallin to renew family bonds just now,
but before we do, what’s next?”
“We
don’t know yet,” Torrullin said. “Gabryl can’t leave, though, not until he’s
faced the Syllvan.”
Silence
arrived then, as those words penetrated.
Tristan
grunted, “Then let’s get it done, so that we can all go on. You, too,
Torrullin, and you, Elianas. Both of you have been avoiding the Syllvan, and
that’s downright stupid now. They have answers we all need.”
Elianas
grimaced, but didn’t otherwise respond.
“Perhaps
all here should face them,” Teighlar suggested.
“No
way,” Echayn muttered. “I’m going to bend Sabian’s ear for a while, find out
what he knows about shadowy influences.” Echayn summarily vanished before
anyone could stop him and force him into the Sentinel Chamber.
Karydor
stared at the space vacated, grinned, shrugged, and as swiftly disappeared.
“Clearly
not,” Teighlar sighed.
“Tian,”
Aislinn murmured, “let us leave them to it. Teroux can come to us on Akhavar when
done …”
“No
way; I’m coming right now,” that cousin stated. “No Syllvan for me.”
Tianoman
glanced at Torrullin, who laughed. “Go; we’ll join you soon enough.”
“All
right then,” Tianoman nodded. Taking Aislinn’s hand, he dematerialised with
her, and Teroux hastily followed suit, an expression of anticipation on his
face. He, no doubt, wished to wander Akhavar’s mountain halls and renew the
bonds there. Far better that facing a tree trunk able to unmask one’s secrets,
after all.
“Quilla?”
Teighlar prompted.
“I am
not afraid of questions,” the birdman said. “Count me in.”
“An
hour,” Elianas grunted, levering himself upward. “Need to refresh first.” He
strode away, heading for the sleeping area of the dwelling.
“An
hour,” Teighlar echoed, and shifted to the edge, jumped off and went
a-wandering around the garden. Gabryl joined him.
Tristan
and Alusin did the same, but went in a different direction. That left Torrullin
with Quilla and Tarlinn. Quilla ruffled his feathers, and said he would be
back, that the Lifesource would offer him the serenity needed for the Syllvan,
and absconded. Torrullin gazed at Tarlinn, and waited.
The
not so generic man soon kneeled before him. “I wish to assume a place as
family, Torrullin.”
“I
have noticed the differences,” Torrullin nodded. “You are now forever separated
from not only the Throne, but the man you were in the past. Are you whole?”
“I
believe so.”
Rising
then, Torrullin bid the man do the same. Gripping his shoulders, he said, “You
are Tarlinn Aleru, and I welcome you as family.”
When
the One spoke your true name, it set you free. Tarlinn’s knees nearly buckled
as the release overcame him. “Thank you.”
Letting
him go, Torrullin winked. “So. Here we have a full-blood Aleru able to restore
the bloodline … means you’ll have to make little Alerus, of course … and
there’s a full-blood Danae running around, too, able to do the same. Karydor
may need some convincing …” He doubled over in laughter when Tarlinn merely
gaped at him. “I’m just saying that the great lines can be rebuilt.”
“Yes,
well, give me a break, will you? I don’t even remember how to use that part of
me yet.”
“Ha,
trust me, that will not last much longer.”
Shaking
his head, Tarlinn gave him the finger, and jumped off the ledge. Laughing
still, Torrullin went to find Elianas.
At the end of the Lore Series, Torrullin
Valla and Elianas Danae vanish into the mists with their homeworld Avaelyn, but
the story doesn’t end there. What happens to Tristan Skyler Valla, for example,
about to embark on a Timekeeper journey with Alusin Algheri? Where is Karydor
Danae, the reincarnate father Torrullin has yet to meet?
In EURUE: The Forgotten World, a
century later, we find out about Tristan and Alusin’s future as they pit their
talents against a man half-dead, half-alive lying in a hidden casket somewhere
on Eurue. Gabryl embarks on a campaign to rouse the realms to Eurue’s forgotten
status, using the strange spinning orbs known as daetal to further his
ambitions.
In FAROCHIN: The Terraformed World,
we meet Karydor as he wakes up to memory loss on Farochin ages before Torrullin
has ever stepped forward as the power he will become. Karydor and Echayn Valla,
his brother-in-law, soon find themselves racing to save Farochin from Felix of
the Murs, who seeks to undo the terraform in order to become a god. Karydor
seeks to atone before he meets his son.
In LYKANDIR: The Measured World, two
kings look up to see a world on approach. King Androdin in the south and King
Drakan in the north understand that it will lead to chaos, utter change. As
clansmen, watchmakers and wer-men scramble for solutions, the kings find
themselves face to face with the men from that world, led by Torrullin Valla
and Elianas Danae. It seems Lykandir and Avaelyn seek to occupy the same space
in the realm Avaelyn vanished into.
In AVAELYN: The Enshrouded World,
the timelines align once more. A thousand years have passed, and Avaelyn
returns to her designated place. However, many wish to keep Torrullin and
Elianas at bay, and thus is their world wrapped in a shroud that blinds all to
their presence. Meanwhile, the children of Reaume suffer to keep it that way,
and that is simply unacceptable.
In AVIOR: The Mythical World, the
true enemy is revealed, an Ancient Valla who seems hellbent on creating a seat
of tyrannical power. To the world Avior, which most regard as a myth, all
forces are summoned. The entire Valla family strides into battle, for
only the Vallas can stop this Valla. What they discover below the surface is heart-breaking.
From the realms of time to the reality of lost
souls, through hope and cruelty, we reconnect with familiar characters, and
meet a host of new ones. An old sword with an agenda reappears, while a new
talisman is forged from desperation … and so much more. An epic adventure,
indeed!
After finishing the Ancient Terra series, I went back and reworked all five books. Fresh edits, streamlined formatting and cover tweaks. Essentially the same, but better, and only Lykandir needed a completely reworked cover (the others are simply updated).
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The
Vallas go to war with each other.
Avaelyn returns to Reaume, no longer enshrouded … but soon another world draws attention, for it is there that the great battle will be fought.
Avior is veiled.
By myth.
By destruction.
By inverted
sacred sites.
On Valaris, four strangers to the realm prepare to face Torrullin and Elianas, Tristan and Alusin, and they have a tale that raises terrible alarm. On Akhavar, the reality of the true enemy surfaces. The Path of Shades must be reopened … and old foes therefore step into the arena. A vengeful Timekeeper, an ancient Vallorin with a bone between his teeth, and a wife seeking to undo her husband.
The plight of Avior’s children is discovered, and all fight to save them from the monsters flourishing beneath the shroud created by myth. From dragons to darklings, the field is strewn with horror.
No matter what, Torrullin will not stand aside, not until every child is safe.
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