BLURB:
Two sets of halfling twins, Ashlea, Brandien, Jaydren and Kylandra sent away from their home by their parents to protect them from trouble, search for mentors to teach them how to use their affinities.
During the escape, they face many problems forcing them to use their affinities by trial and error. They also meet Alizand, the son of the ruling prince of Wesren. Zand has an affinity for Fire and this will keep him from gaining the rule.
Dom Senet, an advisor to his father, and once a friend of the quartet’s parents suspects Zand’s affinity. He wishes to corrupt the teen and use him to gain control of the four princedoms of the land and of the highlands. The evil dom has all four affinities. The four must reach a secret place and find teachers before the evil man discovers them
Excerpt:
Dom Jonden called fire to light the wax tapers set in sconces along the walls. He set the braziers burning. The aromas of herbs and spices filled the air. As though this were a lesson, Ash tried to isolate each scent to learn the blend and the purpose. Once the six had gathered around the table, the wall re-sealed. No thought or spoken word would be heard outside the room. Ash sat beside her twin. Ky and Jay were on the other side. Before her parents took their seats, they carried talismans from the shelves and placed two before each child. Ash saw a silver flute, not the wooden one she used in practice, but one whose notes would stir the air. Were the ones before her siblings gifts to activate their powers?
The Dom and Doma sat at either end of the oval table. Doma Calanda took Ash’s and Ky’s hands. Dom Jonden held Bran’s and Jay’s hands. Ash felt the energy pulse between them. “We have been betrayed and you, the hope of the future, must leave the henge,” the Doma said. “Remember the things we have taught you. Ashlea will lead you on a road she has traveled before. In Cedris, you will find a place of safety. There, you will wait until a person comes for each of you and takes you to where you can learn and master your elements.”
Ash swallowed against the lump in her throat. The idea of being separated from her siblings brought tears to her eyes. There’d been no other children in the henge. The four had become more than siblings. They were friends. She saw the tear-glistened eyes of the two across the table. Bran’s hold on her hand tightened.
“The separation will not be for all time,” Dom Jonden said. “You will find each other and others of your kind. For in you and the ones you discover is a uniting of high and low lands.”
“Once there was one land with high and low united,” Doma Calanda began. “Came those who now dwell in the low lands. Came they seeking refuge from disaster. Those who now dwell in the high lands were rovers and most called no place home. Gladly they ceded the plains to the newcomers. They built four henges, each a home for a Dom and Doma.”
Dom Jonden took up the tale. “Some of my people were discontented with a simple life. They formed Houses and battled for the land. The four Great Houses could not defeat each other, so Wesren, Soutren, Nortren and Easren divided the land into four quadrants and each named one of their own as prince. Years later, three of the houses sought to seize the henges within their borders. Those henges fell and there was disaster in those quadrants. Only House Wesren refused to take arms against their henge. Where the other quadrants suffered, Wesren prospered. Alas, they now seek to destroy. Thus you children must leave.”
Questions without number bombarded Ashlea.
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4 comments:
How sad but typical. One group grew prosperous and strong and the others decide to destroy it.
I've read a number of excerpts from your Affinities book, Janet. This one makes things much more clear.
Sounds like an interesting fantasy tale.
Good luck with your book!
I love the details in this excerpt!
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