Echo of the Ages

Book 1 – The Crown of Fire

Part 2 – Song of the Earth

Chapter 7 – Swords in the Moonlight

Amaran and Kathri rode slowly across the desert beneath the light of the moons. The red moon was growing both in size and luminous though remained far from completing its erratic course through the heavens, one that would culminate in it eclipsing the white moon in both size and brightness. For its part, the white moon still held dominance, even if it was beginning to wan.

Continue reading The Crown of Fire Part 2.8

Echo of the Ages

Book 1 – The Crown of Fire

Part 2 – Song of the Earth

Chapter 6 – Games, Songs and Tales

Kathri rose up out of her sleep, brought back by the soft surge of the song that pulsed through her, one in rhythm with the beat of her heart. She opened her eyes, looking up once more at the purple and white strips of the tent she had first woken up in. Nothing had changed since her previous time there. Her pack and the figurine still sat where they had previous, while the silver bowl had been refilled with water.

Continue reading The Crown of Fire Part 2.7

Echo of the Ages

Book 1 – The Crown of Fire

Part 2 – Song of the Earth

Chapter 5 – Dreams and Visions

A curious detachment settled upon Kathri, a haze that clouded her emotions, leaving her intellect alone behind. She looked down, to see her body laying upon the cushions, with Sudha and Amaran standing above her.

Continue reading The Crown of Fire Part 2.6

Echo of the Ages

Book 1 – The Crown of Fire

Part 2 – Song of the Earth

Chapter 4 – A Singing of the Blood

Amaran opened the flap of the tent and stepped inside, holding it open for Kathri. For a moment Kathri hesitated before following, uncertain as to what to expect but with no other choice but to do so.

Continue reading The Crown of Fire Part 2.5

Echo of the Ages

Book 1 – The Crown of Fire

Part 2 – Song of the Earth

Chapter 3 – The Hospitality of Strangers

Light greeted Kathri as she rose up out of her sleep, a shaded light. Her eyes flickered opened, seeing above her cloth woven into broad white and purple stripes, a cloth light enough to allow the breeze in and not trap the heat but still able to block the glare of the sun.

Continue reading The Crown of Fire Part 2.4

Echo of the Ages

Book 1 – The Crown of Fire

Part 2 – Song of the Earth

Chapter 2 – Fire in the Clouds

A pillar of flames erupted up out of the clouds, accompanied by a deep rumbling roar. It rose high into the sky before fountaining back down again as a spray of droplets of flame that fell into the clouds. An endless sea of grey spread out beneath Kathri, clouds that billowed and piled and roiled about though no winds disturbed them. Deep within the clouds at certain places there were ominous patches that gave off a baleful deep red glow, marking regions of hidden flame that threatened to burst forth at any moment with a rain of fire.

Continue reading The Crown of Fire Part 2.3

Echo of the Ages

Book 1 – The Crown of Fire

Part 2 – Song of the Earth

Chapter 1 – The Weight of the Earth

The glare of the sun beat down upon the barren wastes, near blinding in its intensity. Under its implacable gaze the air shimmered, with the horizon wavering and at times seeming to disappear into a pallid blue sky. Beyond the hills that snaked through the deserts, marking the course of an old, dried out river bed, the lands spread out flat and endless, a place of salt flats and rock strewn fields of earth bake as hard as stone. Red earth dominated the views, with patches where it blended in with purples and yellows, browns and greys. Only the occasional plant grew out there, stubborn things of grey leaves and thorns or stone edged grass.

Continue reading The Crown of Fire Part 2.2

Echo of the Ages

Book 1 – The Crown of Fire

Part 2 – Song of the Earth

Prologue – An Ancient Stone

The jangle of a horse’s harness rang through the airy woods, echoing among the tall silver barked trees and up to the broad canopy above. It mingled with the calls of many birds and the sigh of the branches as they swayed in a gentle breeze. A white horse, sleek and powerful, picked its way through the woods, the sound of its hooves mostly muffled by the lush green grass that grew beneath the trees. A tall, black skinned man rode the horse, one with silvered hair that hung long and free, metallic in nature and not the sign of age, for he appeared young despite it. Sharp eyes of iron looked out from a narrow face, taking in all around him with a piercing gaze.

Continue reading The Crown of Fire Part 2.1

Echo of the Ages

Book 1 – The Crown of Fire

Part 1 – Shadow of the Raven

Chapter 6 – Touch of a Shadow

Having to crawl through the restricted tunnel while holding the torch proved difficult going. It only lasted a short while though, no more than a couple of minutes, before she came to the end of the tunnel, where it sloped down to another drop, down into another tunnel below. Peering down through the hole, Kathri could see another light, one natural in origin. Relief swept over her at the sight of it.

Continue reading The Crown of Fire Part 1.7

Echo of the Ages

Book 1 – The Crown of Fire

Part 1 – Shadow of the Raven

Chapter 5 – Respite of the Ravens

Kathri’s head was throbbing when she woke, waves of pain pulsating through it like tides upon the shore. A light filtered down from above, mostly blocked by the slab of stone above her. It had been too large to fit fully in the chasm and had instead become lodged in it just above her. She reached up with a shaky hand and touched the surface of it, her fingertips just able to reach. A little smaller and it would have been the end of me.

Continue reading The Crown of Fire Part 1.6