by Linsey Hall
And last—you might have noticed my reference to House Elves and Diagon Alley. This is of course an homage to the inestimable J.K. Rowling.
GLOSSARY
Aether - The invisible substance that connects the afterworlds and earth. It is both nothing and everything.
Aetherwalking - A method of traveling through the aether to access the afterworlds or different places on earth. Some Mytheans have this power and can bring another person with them.
Afterworld - A heaven or hell created by mortal belief. Mortals can access them only through death. Some Mytheans can aetherwalk to them.
Bruxa - A Brazilian witch. They use wands to focus their magic and have familiars.
Immortal University - An organization created thousands of years ago to protect Mytheans and keep them secret from mortals. It was initially founded as a true university, hence the name, but over time it morphed into an institution with greater power and responsibility. The university’s primary goal is to maintain the secrecy of Mytheans and to keep the gods from warring to obtain more followers. They do this primarily through diplomacy. The university also provides services to Mytheans that they can’t get elsewhere, lest mortals figure out that their clients never die. Things like education, health services, and banking.
Mortals - Humans. They are unaware of the existence of Mytheans or that all heavens and hells truly exist. They are immortal in the sense that their soul will pass on to whatever afterworld in which they believe.
Mythean - Supernatural individuals created by mortal belief. They are gods and goddesses, demons and monsters, witches and other supernatural creatures. They are immortal in the sense that if they live on earth, only beheading or grievous injury from magic can kill them. If they are killed their soul will pass on to an afterworld. Secrecy from mortals is one of their highest priorities. Some Mytheans, particularly species of demons and some gods, are trapped in their afterworlds. Others have access to both earth and the afterworlds.
Mythean Guardians - Powerful mortals made immortal, or other supernatural beings who serve at the Praesidium. They protect those mortals and Mytheans who are important to the fate of humanity.
Sila Jinn - Derived from Arabian mythology, a Jinn is a supernatural spirit in a class below that of angels and devils. A Sila is a female Jinn who can shapeshift, aetherwalk between all afterworlds, and manifest some types of magic.
Soulceresses - Mytheans who fuel their power by draining the immortal power of other Mytheans’ souls. When fueled by the power of others, they can manifest their magic with a thought. They are hated by other Mytheans because of this. They also have the ability to see the evil in a person’s soul.
Vala - A Norse sorceress who uses Seidr magic. Vala use a staff to channel their magic and when they are threatened or fighting, an apparition of a blue cloak appears around their shoulders. The first Vala, Sylvi, was trained by the Norse goddess Freya. All other Vala were trained by Sylvi.
Warlock - Immensely powerful Mytheans, also known as Oath Breakers. They specialize in magic that is destructive and are capable of the greatest magic, but they pay a great price by becoming Oath Breakers (any oath or promise they make will be torn apart by fate). They can draw unlimited magical power from the aether. They are made, not born. To qualify for the apprenticeship, one must be a Mythean with enough magical ability to be accepted by a master warlock. If one passes the apprenticeship, they must break their greatest oath to transform into a warlock/Oath Breaker. They cannot love because they are Oath Breakers.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
It takes so many people to create awesome books, and mine are no exception.
Thank you, Ben, for everything you’ve done to support the creation of this book and all the others. Thank you, Emily Keane Smith, for reading every story I’ve written and for sharing your great ideas. As always, your comments have improved this story. Thank you to Carol Thomas for sharing your thoughts. The book is better because of you! And Doug and Veronica, for helping me with the historical details for Hatshepsut.
Thank you to Jena O’Connor for various forms of editing. Thank you to Emily Murphy for being an awesome beta reader.
ABOUT LINSEY
Before becoming a romance novelist, Linsey Hall was a nautical archaeologist who studied shipwrecks from Hawaii and the Yukon to the UK and the Mediterranean. She credits the historical romances of the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s with her love of history and her career as an archaeologist. After a decade of tromping around the globe in search of old bits of stuff that people left lying about, she settled down and started penning her own romance novels. Her debut series, the Mythean Arcana, draws upon her love of history and the paranormal elements that she can’t help but include. Several books may or may not feature her cats.
This is a work of fiction. All reference to events, persons, and locale are used fictitiously, except where documented in historical record. Names, characters, and places are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright 2015 by Linsey Hall
Published by Bonnie Doon Press LLC
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form, except in instances of quotation used in critical articles or book review. Where such permission is sufficient, the author grants the right to strip any DRM which may be applied to this work.
[email protected]
www.LinseyHall.com
https://twitter.com/HiLinseyHall
https://www.facebook.com/LinseyHallAuthor
ISBN 978-1-942085-60-7 (eBook)
ISBN 978-1-942085-61-4 (Paperback)
