Synopsis
Erthea has lost its supreme being and the four Elder gods now see that the only way forward is for Erthea to be ruled by one god only.
Eha is a youngling Carrier of dead souls. She does her job with no mind of what goes on around her. Then after refusing to take the soul of a marked baby, she is told that she has passed a test and is to become the next Higher.
With her new god name, Yawhea finds herself thrown into a world of power and deceit, her only friend is a Deliverer named Lucian, but when he betrays, she finds herself at the centre of a great war that could destroy Erthea forever.
THE HIGHER
The horse and its rider pounded the hard snow covered ground as they raced towards Donel. The rider’s hood and mask hid his face from the winter’s brutal attack. His chest ached from the cold and his arse even more from days of urgent riding. The small hamlet of Donel as he approached was now more then a blemish on the landscape, however he was more grateful to be on the flat; neither he nor the horse had relished the mountainous roads. In his cloak, close to his chest he had something that was going to change everything in Erthea forever. Three had fallen before him and he was determined not to make it a fourth. The enormity of what he carried had frightened him to the point where he had considered disappearing forever. Nevertheless, the fear of repercussions had caused him to push on and now with the end in sight all he wanted was to rid himself of his burden.
Four men crowded in a small room around a four-poster bed. Worry and anxiety was written on their faces. A fifth man lay on the bed. His white beard twitched with every strained breath he took and around him was the pulsating dark blue glow of the dying. All the men knew what would happen when he eventually died; Erthea would remain in its winter state, dormant, almost dead. One of the men wandered to the window and scanned the streets below and he watched two lovers taking warmth from each other in a side street.
“Where is he?” the man asked
“Malwei told us he would send it and he will. Be patient,” another of the men answered.
The man rested his head against the cold glass. His breath clouding his vision
“How can we be patient?” he whispered.
Donel's gates were in sight and the rider slowed his horse into a steady run. He pulled down his mask and sighed with relief at having his face free. He checked his breast pocket, the object was still there. Suddenly he was blinded by pain. He felt as though his insides were ice-cold, yet his body burned. He struggled to remain upon his horse and being so close he needed to hold on. He managed to kick the horse into a gallop, however this meant he had to hold on tighter and his strength was slowly disappearing. The gatekeeper could be now be seen asleep in his little shack. He was nearly there. All he needed was to get to the gate at least. There he could maybe entrust the keeper to take what he carried into the Inn. Now, his body felt like it was on fire. He realised with sicken dread he had been cursed and that realisation was the last thing that went through his mind.
A dark figure looked down at the fallen rider. He saw he was only young and there was fear in his eyes just before they emptied. The figure knelt at his side and searched the dead man. Something caught his fingers and a smile emerged on his face. This was the final one of the four chosen. All that was left was his own and with all over competitors gone, there was no longer anyone to stand in his way.
The four men sat in the room bewildered. The old man had now breathed his last and their hope for a successor had gone.
Four had been chosen and four had failed. Now they could do nothing but return to the Oracle.
ONE, excerpt
Linc lay upon the straw bed, his breathing had become more laboured and the sound of rats scratching in the corner seemed to grow louder with every minute that passed. Outside the window, the storm was blowing a ferocious gale, so much so he could feel it shaking the walls around him. His family had been at his side all day, talking to and around him. Now, his granddaughter was the only one left, faithfully remaining at his side, asleep at his door. His heart went out to her, she was so young, and her whole life was still mapped out. Yet, out of all of them, she had nursed him and kept him company. She was the only one that had loved him unconditionally regardless of what land he owned, that was the real reason for all their concerns.
The pain in his legs made him wince as he tried to move, cursing himself, if he had not been so careless during the harvest and not pushed himself so hard then he would not be here being a burden. The room suddenly became quiet and he realised the wind outside had ceased; even the rats had stilled themselves. This was it. He knew what was coming.
“You took your time,” he wheezed. He heard it shuffle closer to where he lay.
“So much to do and so little time,” it said.
He could just make out its cloaked form in the darkness and was glad that a hood covered its face. There were many tales about The Carriers and some were known to be fearsome, especially the Takers, in their looks and manner, he just wanted this one to do its job and leave.
“Are you ready?” it asked.
The old man nodded weakly and soon the room began to fade into darkness. His last thoughts were of his granddaughter and how he hoped she would be strong enough to deal with them all.
TWO, excerpt
Erthea was still a young and chaotic world that was seperated into four main realms: North, South, East and West. Each realm was ruled over by a god, who ruled as they saw fit, only joining together as a whole when the moon shone its brightest. However, there was no stability now that there was no longer a higher being and that was a worry for them all.
Malwei looked out at the dark stormy skies with an uneasy trepidation. The signs had been around for nearly twelve moons, and as the thirteenth moon was fast approaching, the fierce storms meant the time was near. Beneath him, his horse jittered nervously and he could feel the tension in its muscles. Reaching out a gloved hand, he patted its neck gently and that seemed to do the trick. Humans could not see The Carriers unless they wanted it, but he was a highly trained Guardian and he had no problem at all seeing the dark blue soul of the old man being escorted by the shadowy cloaked figure.
The Carriers had once been human, but had been chosen at birth to do certain jobs for the gods. Gods could be self-obsessed creatures, and needed them to make their kingdoms go round. Some were Deliverers; others were Takers. This one was a Taker, a youngling at that. Takers had the roughest deal, as carrying souls of the dead would take its toll, and they would become less and less human, merely a shadow of bone and flesh.
This Carrier was different. It had been watched for some time there was something different about this one and this youngling was the one who would stabilise the jealous rumblings that were starting to emerge from the four gods.
Eha turned her back on the old man. He had safely crossed the boundary, his dark blue glow turning white as he prepared to be processed for whatever life was chosen for him next. It was a sight that usually filled her with satisfaction; however today she felt restless and uneasy. Something did not feel right. Concluding it was the storm that was causing the feeling she prepared to move on. She had been a Taker for so long she knew nothing else. Her life had been filled with darkness and little of anything else, sometimes she yearned for something different, but then reality would set in and she would realise that she would never be any more then the gods’ dog’body. Her long cloak billowed around her in the rising wind as she moved, but then something made her stop. Someone was watching her, more to the point someone could see her. A sharp tingle in her arm broke the moment, sighing she pulled back her cloak; she looked down at the brand on her skin. It had been given to her when she had been chosen, and consisted of three swirls of birth, life and death; it was time for another soul. She pulled out her compass and saw with relief she was not that far, however judging by the pain it was going to be soon. She would have to call on the Cleota, the horses of death.
THREE, excerpt
A young mother lay exhausted upon the fur and leather skins. The candles flickered restlessly beside her. The smell of wax could not mask the smell of blood, sweat and tears that was filling the room. The nurse had taken the newborn from her, concern written on the old woman’s face, though no words left her lips. The mother’s body felt numb after the earlier pain, giving her time to reflect on her situation. If it had not been for the kindness of the innkeeper she may have given birth in the squalor of the streets, and now, at that moment, she realised how alone and abandoned she had become, desolate and frightened. She buried her tear-stained face into the skins just as the nurse re-entered, the newborn babe squirming in her arms.
Eha dismounted the Cleota at the ramshackle Kinshead in the town of Yvorkia. The town was a typical town, overcrowded and undisciplined, and sat on the outskirts of the main city Sayl. The huts, built from the mud and straw of the land. These huts and streets were decorated in the colours of Eha’s god, although she had to admit never knew who ruled what nowadays. Erthea had turned from a place that could be filled with such beauty to one of confusion and chaos, all in the space of twelve moons. A movement from the inn caught her eye and she saw another Carrier, known as Deliverers leave the inn. These radiated light and were everything she was not; their jobs were to deliver the humans their newborn souls. A small nod of acknowledgement passed between them.
“The mother?” Eha asked. As they crossed paths
“The child,” The Deliverer answered.
Eha stopped for a moment as she watched him leave. It was something she could never understand. Why deliver when they were to be taken? The gods had so much to answer for, but then she was not in any position to question she was just the dogs body. She calmly made her way through the crowded inn, confident that she was unseen, trusting her instincts she made her way to the back where she spotted a rundown shed that was barely standing. This was the place. The woman looked exhausted on the makeshift bed; the young babe lay at her side awake but silent.
Eha crouched close at her side. The mother was not ready. Weak, but her life force was still strong. She moved to the other side of the bed to where the baby lay. Something was not right. She straightened confused. This baby was not ready either. For a moment, she wondered if she had made a mistake and the baby was somewhere else in the inn. This one still held the white residue of the gods on its skin; it had just been delivered. She pulled back the swaddling and saw it was a girl. Gently she touched its smooth skin on its arms. Then she saw it, and its sight confused her. The babe was marked, marked by a god. This child had been handpicked for some purpose. This begged the question why had she been sent to take her. Everyone knew the god who gave it to her wanted her for some purpose and so was protected. This meant someone out there had wanted this one dead, but for what reason she had no idea. Eha wrapped her back up and stepped outside into the cold air.
“Why have you not taken her?”
Eha swung round at the voice. She wondered if this was the same human who had watched her earlier.
“My name is Malwei.”
He held out a gloved hand to her. Under his hood, she could just make out the lined face of an old man. Around his neck a pewter five-pointed star hung.
“You re a Guardian,” she stated rather then asked.
He nodded and took a step forward, “And back to my original question. What about the girl?”
“I can’t take one that is chosen,” Eha replied. “That job belongs to the gods.”
“Aah,” Malwei nodded with a small smile.
He pulled back his hood causing his grey hair to fall onto his shoulders. His eyes seemed to be warm; however, there was something deeper behind them.
“What has this do with you?” she asked.
“Have you come by Cleota?” she nodded, “Well we will have to share a horse, the Cleota cannot go where we are going.”
“And where is that?”
“You will soon see.”
“And the child?”
“She is not your worry any longer.”
Eha looked around nervously, her basic instincts were telling her to leave, but curiosity was getting the better of her. There was something about that child and the link she felt with it. She needed to know more. It seemed going with the Guardian was the only way she was going to satisfy that curiosity.
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