Souls of Aredyrah 1 - The Fire and the Light (43 page)

Whyn and the Priestess stood in the dimness.
The only light to guide them now was an occasional torch bracketed
to the wall. Wynn struggled to focus on his surroundings, listening
to the sound of his own rapid breathing and the melancholy drip of
water somewhere in the distance.

The Priestess brushed past him. Clutching a
shoulder bag close to her body, she ducked into a passage that
branched from the main artery. She motioned Whyn in and led him in
the direction of what looked like a distant orifice, its circular
glow like that of a red eclipse on a starless night. As Whyn
followed at her back, it seemed to him that the Priestess was a
beautiful phantom lit from within, leading him to a mysterious
world to which he would soon be privy.

Moans and hushed whispers wafted from the
endless line of cells that they passed. How many people were
imprisoned in this place? Whyn wondered. Hundreds, it seemed. But
he knew there would soon be thousands…or perhaps there would be
none. After the Purge, there would no longer be any need to keep
prisoners, no longer any need to waste the food and manpower on
them. Now with Whyn’s father, the King of Tearia, dead, there was
nothing to stop the Priestess from her magnificent plan.

The air became steamy, the stench more
pungent. The orifice loomed larger now, but still seemed very
distant. No longer did it look like the glow of a moon, but more
like the mouth of a great furnace, its door rimmed by the flames
that burned behind it. Sweat dripped down Whyn’s neck and slid over
his chest, leaving the thin, gold-colored material of his tunic
plastered against his skin. A chill raced through him. Strange how
he could feel both hot and cold at the same time. It was as though
his flesh had been set afire while at the same time his insides had
been turned to ice.

“Here is where we will find answers to the
Prophecy,” the Priestess said, halting before a door much like any
other.

Whyn stopped, his eyes gazing toward the red
circle of light at the far end of the corridor. He felt an
overwhelming urge to continue toward it, as though it was somehow
beckoning him.

“You will not be going to that place today,”
the Priestess said, recognizing the longing in his eyes.

Whyn nodded and turned his attention to the
door before them. A flicker of candlelight could be seen beyond the
barred window, a luxury none of the other prisoners were
allowed.

“Who is kept in this place?” he asked.

“The last of the Memory Keepers,” the
Priestess said. She lifted a key from a peg on the wall, rattled it
in the lock, then pushed the door open and entered the cell.

Whyn followed and surveyed his surroundings.
The room was glittered with candles, revealing tomes and parchments
stacked against walls and littering the small wooden table at the
room’s center. In the far corner rested a pallet of straw covered
by a tattered blanket. An old woman lay upon it, her bony frame
pulled into the fetal position.

“Tenzy, raise yourself,” the Priestess
commanded. “I do not give you light to sleep by.”

The old woman stirred and blinked herself
awake, then raised her frail body from the floor. Pulling her ratty
shawl around her shoulders, she eyed Whyn with interest. For a
moment it seemed as though she recognized him, but there was no way
she could have. He had never been to this dismal place, and she had
surely never been within the sunlit walls of Tearia.

“The light,” Tenzy whispered, staring hard at
Whyn.

“Yes, fool woman,” the Priestess hissed. “I
give you light to find answers within these parchments, not to
sleep by.”

The woman’s eyes darted toward the Priestess,
then back at Whyn. Her face grew grim. “My error, Priestess. No
light here,” she said.

“That can be arranged,” the Priestess said.
“Let me catch you sleeping one more time when you should be working
and you will find yourself in the darkness like the rest.”

The old woman cackled. “Who would find your
precious answers then? You? Or perhaps this pretty boy-thing of
yours?” She moved toward the table and shuffled her hands through a
pile of parchments, stacking some into piles, rolling others into
scrolls.

“Watch your words,” the Priestess warned.

“Or what?” Tenzy retorted. “There is nothing
more you can do to me, and there is little more I can do for you.
You asked me to find evidence of the Prophecy, and I have found
none. As I told you before, there is no longer any trace of it.
Your Red King of old saw that no record survived, certainly none
written by the hand of those of us you call Jecta. What more would
you have me do?”

“I would have you look at this,” the
Priestess said, pulling a tome from the bag at her shoulder. She
tossed it onto the table.

A startled gasp escaped the old woman’s
throat. She ran her fingers over the cracked leather cover of the
book, her eyes drinking in the symbols tooled into the grain.

“So you recognize it,” the Priestess
said.

“Aye, that I do,” the old woman
whispered.

“Then you should have no trouble translating
it from its abominable language into one I can understand.”

“This is an ancient book…written in an
ancient language. My memory fails me these days. I may not be able
to—”

“Do not play games with me,” the Priestess
snapped. “You will interpret it, and you have three days time in
which to do it. If I do not have satisfaction from you by then, I
shall seal your books up and you with them.”

“Just as well,” Tenzy said. “I have grown
weary of this existence.”

“Perhaps you would feel differently if
another was sealed up with you. Test me one more time and the pages
of your precious books will forever bear the stench of you and your
kin’s rotting flesh.”

“My kin are all dead,” Tenzy said.

“So you say,” the Priestess replied. She
turned and walked toward the door. “Perhaps a crooked child would
sway you.”

Tenzy stiffened. “I will do what I can.”

“Three days, no more,” the Priestess said,
and with that she swept out, ordering Whyn to follow.

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Glossary

Aredyrah
(Air-uh-DEER-uh)—An ancient
island world divided by superstition, mysticism, and a forbidden
range of volcanic mountains.

Agneis
(AG-nee-us)—Goddess of Purity;
Supreme deity of Tearian culture.

Alicine
(AL-uh-seen)—Kiradyn; of the
Aerie clan; daughter of Gorman and Morna; sister of Dayn.

Brina
(BREE-nuh)—Tearian; sister of
Queen Isola; maternal aunt of Ruairi and Whyn; wife of Mahon, the
Commander of the Guard.

Cinnia
(SIN-ee-uh)—Tearian; daughter
of Labhras; betrothed to the Prince of Tearia.

Clans of Kirador
—Four clans inhabit
the wildlands outside of the city of Kiradyn. They are the Aerie to
the east, the Basyls to the northeast, the Sandrights to the west,
and the Crests to the northwest.

Crymm
(Krim)—Tearian; former bodyguard
to Prince Ruairi; a member of the Guard.

Daghadar
(DAG-huh-dar)—Also called the
Maker; the one true God of the people of Kirador.

Dayn
(Dane)—Kiradyn; of the Aerie
clan; son of Gorman and Morna; brother of Alicine.

Eben
(EH-ben)—Jecta potter; friend of
Jensa and Torin

Eileis
(I-luss)—Kiradyn; the Spirit
Keeper (healer and spiritual advisor) of Kirador.

Eyan
(EE-yun)—Kiradyn; of the Aerie
clan; son of Haskel and Vania.

Falyn
(FAL-un)—Kiradyn; daughter of
Lorcan; sister of Sheireadan.

Gair
(Gare)—Jecta; blacksmith of
Pobu

Gitta
(JIT-uh)—Reiv’s horse.

Gorman
(GOR-mun)—Kiradyn; of the Aerie
Clan; father of Dayn and Alicine; husband of Morna.

Guard
—The elite military unit of
Tearia

Haskel
(HASS-kuhl)—Kiradyn; of the
Aerie clan; brother of Gorman; husband of Vania; father of
Eyan.

Isola
(Iss-O-luh)—Tearian; Queen; wife
of King Sedric; mother of Ruairi and Whyn; sister of Brina.

Jecta
(JEK-tuh)—The name given by the
Tearians to anyone considered “impure.” The Jecta primarily live in
the city of Pobu, but many work within the walls of Tearia as
slaves or servants. Their impurities include (but are not limited
to) dark coloring, scars or other bodily imperfections, mixed
bloodlines, family ties, or criminal history.

Jensa
(JEN-suh)--Shell Seeker; sister
of Torin and Kerrik.

Jorge
(Jorge)—Kiradyn; former member
of the Aerie clan; blacksmith who befriends Dayn.

Kerrik
(KARE-ik)—Shell Seeker; younger
brother of Jensa and Torin.

Kirador
(KEER-uh-dore)—Region
northwest of the mountains on the island of Aredyrah. Home of four
clan lands and the city of Kiradyn.

Kiradyn
(KEER-uh-din)—Primary city in
the region of Kirador. Also refers to any person living in
Kirador.

Labhras
(LAB-russ)—Tearian; father of
Cinnia; best friend of King Sedric.

Lorcan
(LORE-kun)—Kiradyn; father of
Falyn and Sheireadan; high ranking member of the Vestry.

Mahon
(Man)—Tearian; husband of Brina;
uncle of Ruairi and Whyn; Commander of the Guard.

Meirla
(MEER-luh)—Shell Seeker village
on the southern coast of Aredyrah in the Tearian region.

Memory Keeper
—A historian. The term
generally refers to members of a covert group that came into being
after the Purge which banned all documents belonging to the Jecta.
The Memory Keepers are dedicated to preserving all forms of
writing.

Morna
(MORE-nuh)—Kiradyn; of the Aerie
clan; Dayn’s and Alicine’s mother; wife of Gorman.

Nannaven
(NAN-uh-vin)—Jecta; Spirit
Keeper (healer and spiritual advisor) of Pobu.

Pobu
(POBE-ew)—Jecta city south of the
city of Tearia.

Priestess
—Title of the supreme leader
of the Temple. The Priestess is the true power of Tearia.

Reiv
(Reev)—Ruairi’s Jecta name.

Ruairi
(Rue-AW-ree)—Prince of Tearia;
first in line to the throne; his name means “Red King”; believed to
be the second coming of a king of old who carried out the first
Purge.

Sedric
(SED-rik)—King of Tearia;
husband of Isola; father of Ruairi and Whyn.

Seek
—The term used for hunting shells
beneath the waters.

Seirgotha
(Seer-GOTH-uh)—Legendary sea
serpent. The Shell Seekers believe the slayer of Seirgotha will
gain great knowledge from the gods.

Sheireadan
(SHARE-uh-den)—Kiradyn;
brother of Falyn; son of Lorcan.

Shell Seekers
—A community of Jecta who
live in the coastal village of Meirla. The Shell Seekers are known
for their skills at diving and hunting the sea for food and shells.
They are also excellent craftsman, using shells to make jewelry,
assorted crafts, and decorative vessels.

Spirit Keeper
—Title given to a healer
and spiritual advisor. This title is consistently used by all the
residents of Aredyrah.

Tearia
(Tee-AIR-ee-uh)—Great
city-state to the south of the mountain range of Aredyrah. All
navigable land on this side of the island is known as Tearia. The
city itself is a walled metropolis of elegant architecture,
fountains, colorful gardens, and art. It is home to a race of
people who strive for purity, as dictated by their gods and defined
by Temple law.

Torin
(TORE-un)—Shell Seeker; older
brother of Jensa and Kerrik.

Unnamed One
—Person spoken of in the
Prophecy. Depending on the interpretation, he can be either savior
or threat.

Vania
(VAN-yuh)—Kiradyn; of the Aerie
clan; wife of Haskel; mother of Eyan.

Vestry
—The governing body of
Kiradyn.

Whyn
(Win)—A prince of Tearia;
fraternal twin brother of Ruairi; second in line to the throne; son
of King Sedric and Queen Isola.

Will of Agneis
—The Tearian term that
refers to the custom of killing infants who are not considered
pure.

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About the Author

Tracy A. Akers is both a teacher and an
author. She grew up in Arlington, Texas, but currently lives in the
rolling hills of Pasco County, Florida. She graduated with honors
from the University of South Florida with a degree in Education,
and has taught in both public and private schools. She currently
divides her time between teaching, writing, lecturing, and spending
time with her family.

Ms. Akers has won numerous awards for her
Souls of Aredyrah Series, and was acknowledged for her contribution
to young adult literature by the Governor of Florida during the
2008 Florida Heritage Month Awards Ceremony. Books One and Two of
the Aredyrah Series are included in the Florida Department of
Education’s 2008 Just Read Families Recommended Summer Reading
List. In addition, Ms. Akers has been an invited guest author at
major book events and writers’ conferences, a panelist at fantasy
and science fiction conventions, and was on the steering committee
for Celebration of the Story, a literary event held at Saint Leo
University.

As an active participant in the Florida
Writers Association, Ms. Akers helped develop and lead writers
groups for both adults and young writers. She is frequently invited
to speak at middle schools and high schools, and works every day to
incorporate her passion for story telling into the classroom
setting.

The Souls of Aredyrah Series is Ms. Akers’
first series of novels for young adults.