Souls of Aredyrah 2 - The Search for the Unnamed One
Page 24
“I miss him,” Alicine said.
“We’ll see him again.”
“No we won’t.”
Dayn stiffened his spine. “Yes we will. I will anyway.”
Alicine flashed her eyes at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Listen, I don’t want to argue anymore, but you know full well I’ll be going back to Tearia eventually.”
“If you hate it so much in Kirador, then you shouldn’t have come,” Alicine snapped. “You’ve done nothing but complain ever since we left Tearia. Why didn’t you just stay there?” She turned her eyes back to the fire and wrapped her arms around her bent knees.
“Because I promised to get you back home, that’s why. And because—”
“And because you want to make a play for Falyn. What do you think is going to happen when you do, Dayn? Do you think she’ll leave Kirador for you? I wouldn’t put my hopes there if I were you.”
Dayn felt the heat rise to his cheeks. She’s baiting you for another fight. Don’t fall for it. He forced a look of indifference and shrugged his shoulders. “Well, if she doesn’t want to go back with me, then I’ll go without her.”
Alicine snorted. “You mean to say that even if Falyn said she loved you, you’d go back to Tearia without her? Ha! That I’d like to see.”
Dayn glowered in Alicine’s direction. She knew as well as he did that he would never leave Falyn behind, certainly not if the girl told him she loved him and wanted him in her life. He would suffer in Kirador for the rest of his days if Falyn would only say the words. But he also knew that wasn’t likely to happen. Her father would never allow it. Lorcan, as well as all the other Kiradyn fathers, had already decided no daughter of theirs would ever court him. Dayn was strange, they said, too different, too dangerous, too demon-like in his appearance. His hair was pale and his eyes piercing blue; nothing like the swarthy Kiradyns; nothing like the girl Dayn called sister who sat beside him now, her brown eyes studying him, her thick, black hair plaited down her back.
“You heard me,” Dayn said in a lame attempt to convince his sister as well as himself. “I’ll go back without her if I have to.”
“I heard you, but did you hear yourself? You know what Falyn said, what she told me at the festival. You’ve only asked me to repeat it a hundred times. No, I don’t think you’ll be leaving Kirador—not with Falyn feeling the way she does about you.”
Dayn jumped up and kicked the fire with his foot, sending white-hot sticks and orange sparks flying. “It doesn’t matter what she thinks of me!” he shouted. “Her father won’t allow her to see me anyway, so there’s no sense in arguing about it!”
“Things could change,” Alicine said, rising to face him.
“Why do you keep saying that? They won’t change, so you’d best get used to the idea that I’ll be leaving one day—alone if I have to.” Dayn shot her a contemptuous look. “Why do you think it will be so hard for me to leave without Falyn? You left Reiv behind didn’t you? That didn’t seem so hard.”
Alicine threw her hand up to cover her mouth. But it didn’t stop the sob that escaped her throat. She wheeled around and stormed to her bedroll, then threw herself upon it, keeping her back to him. “It…it was hard,” she said between muffled sobs.
Dayn folded his arms and stared at the ground, then at Alicine’s back. He could see her shoulders rising and falling to the rhythm of her grief and regretted that he had been the cause of it. His sister knew how to manipulate him with her tears, but these, he knew, were sincere. When it came to the subject of Reiv, their conversations were always emotional ones. During their time in Tearia, they had both come to love Reiv. Once a prince, Reiv’s personal tragedies had thrust him into their lives in a most unexpected way. And while Dayn had come to embrace him as friend and cousin, Alicine had come to embrace him as so much more.
“I’m sorry, Alicine,” Dayn said softly. “I shouldn’t have talked about you and Reiv like that. I know it wasn’t easy leaving him.” He knelt beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. “But he said himself that we would see each other again. And you know Reiv has a way of knowing things.”
Alicine looked up at him. “He does, doesn’t he.”
“I don’t think he would lie about a thing like that would he? I mean, you did manage to straighten him out on that little issue of his lying, didn’t you?”
Alicine smiled. “That I did.”
“There, you see?”
She nodded. “I’ll see him again,” she said with a sniff.
“Get some sleep,” Dayn said, pulling the corner of the blanket over her.
He rose and made his way back to what was left of the campfire, pushing the wayward sticks and coals back onto the pile with his foot. With fresh kindling and a few gentle breaths, the fire billowed back to an orange glow that radiated a perimeter of warmth and sent a trail of smoke into Dayn’s face. He wiped the sting from his eyes with the back of his hand, then curled up on his bedroll. But he found he could not sleep, and he could not stop the tears from trailing down his cheeks.
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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; birth mother of Dayn; maternal aunt of Ruairi (Reiv) and Whyn; estranged wife of Mahon who is the Commander of the Guard.
Cinnia (SIN-ee-uh)—Tearian; daughter of Labhras; wife of Prince Whyn; future Queen.
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.
Crooked Child (The)—A child described in a second prophecy as one who attains purity and brings it to the world.
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, Tearian, and Jecta; adopted son of Gorman and Morna of the Aerie Clan of Kirador; adopted brother of Alicine; only child of Brina and Mahon of Tearia; cousin of Reiv and Whyn.
Eben (EH-ben)—Jecta; potter of Pobu; childhood friend of Jensa and Torin; husband of Mya; father of Farris, Nely, and Gem; executed by the Guard for possession of an illegal tome.
Eileis (I-luss)—Kiradyn; the Spirit Keeper (healer and spiritual guide) 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.
Farris (FARE-iss)—Jecta; son of Mya and Eben.
Gair (Gare)—Jecta; blacksmith of Pobu.
Gem (Jim)—Jecta; daughter of Mya and Eben; sister of Nely and Farris.
Gitta (JIT-uh)—Reiv’s horse.
Gorman (GOR-mun)—Kiradyn; of the Aerie Clan; adopted father of Dayn; father of Alicine; husband of Morna.
Haskel (HASS-kuhl)—Kiradyn; of the Aerie clan; brother of Mahon; husband of Vania; father of Eyan.
Isola (Iss-O-luh)—Queen of Tearia; 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.” Their impurities include (but are not limited to) dark coloring, scars or other bodily imperfections, tainted bloodlines, family ties, or criminal activity.
Jensa (JEN-suh)—Shell Seeker; sister of Torin and Kerrik.
Jorge (Jorge)—Kiradyn; former member of the Aerie clan; blacksmith of Kiradyn.
Keefe (Keef)—Dayn’s Tearian birth name.
Kerrik (KARE-ik)—Shell Seeker; adopted younger brother of Jensa and Torin.
Kirador (KEER-uh-dore)—Region northwest of the mountains
on the island of Aredyrah. Home of four clan regions 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; estranged husband of Brina; uncle of Ruairi and Whyn; birth father of Dayn (Keefe); Commander of the Guard.
Meirla (MEER-luh)—Shell Seeker village on the southern coast of Aredyrah (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 adopted mother; Alicine’s birth mother; wife of Gorman.
Mya (MY-uh)—Jecta; widow of Eben; friend of Jensa and Torin; mother of Farris, Gem, and Nely.
Nannaven (NAN-uh-vin)—Jecta; elderly Spirit Keeper of Pobu.
Nely (NELL-ee)—Jecta; youngest daughter of Mya and Eben; sister of Gem and Farris.
Pobu (POBE-ew)—Jecta city to the south of Tearia.
Priestess—Title of the supreme leader of the Temple. The Priestess is the true power of Tearia.
Reiv (Reev)—Jecta; Shell Seeker; Ruairi’s Jecta name.
Ruairi (Rue-AW-ree)—Former Prince of Tearia; Reiv’s birth name.
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; son of Lorcan; brother of Falyn.
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 waters for food and shells. They are also excellent craftsman, using shells to make jewelry 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.
Tenzy (TIN-zee)—Jecta; a Memory Keeper; imprisoned by the Priestess to interpret forbidden texts.
Torin (TORE-un)—Shell Seeker; older brother of Jensa and Kerrik.
Transcendor—One whose soul passes into the Beyond Realm, but is granted passage back by the gods. Transcendors are believed to return to their human form with great knowledge, including that of the past, present, and future.
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—Governing body of Kiradyn.
Whyn (Win)—Tearian; future King of Tearia; fraternal twin brother of Ruairi; son of King Sedric and Queen Isola; husband of Cinnia.
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 a member of 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.
For character illustrations and additional information about the series, please visit her website at www.soulsofaredyrah.com.
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