Ashael Rising
Ashael is a hunter-gatherer woman, apprenticed to Bhearra, the healer and spiritual leader of their tribe.
The Zanthar are invaders from another world who extend their own lives by stealing the life-force of everything around them. They were last seen on KalaDene 200 years ago. They have returned, looking for The Vessel, a being prophesied to hold the life-force of the land.
Iwan is a slave to the Zanthar, descendant of those taken as slaves the last time the Zanthar visited this world. He is sent out as a spy, while his mother is held hostage to ensure his compliance.
When Ashael meets Iwan in the forest, neither realise that she is the one the Zanthar are looking for. The fate of KalaDene and all of its people rests on her shoulders.
The Zanthar are invaders from another world who extend their own lives by stealing the life-force of everything around them. They were last seen on KalaDene 200 years ago. They have returned, looking for The Vessel, a being prophesied to hold the life-force of the land.
Iwan is a slave to the Zanthar, descendant of those taken as slaves the last time the Zanthar visited this world. He is sent out as a spy, while his mother is held hostage to ensure his compliance.
When Ashael meets Iwan in the forest, neither realise that she is the one the Zanthar are looking for. The fate of KalaDene and all of its people rests on her shoulders.
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Excerpt
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Excerpt
Iwan first arrives in Oak
Cam, Ashael’s home. He is filled with guilt over lying about his purpose here
but also concerned for his mother’s well-being, as the Zanthar hold her hostage
against his good behaviour.
What he
saw on the other side made him let his breath out in a low whistle. They stood
on the edge of a large clearing, with a huge fire burning at the centre. People
milled around, some hurrying, some strolling. Around the periphery of the
clearing, nestled amongst the trees, were grass-roofed wooden huts, woven
together in such a way that they almost looked alive. He heard sounds from
above and looked up. More huts were built on the sturdy branches of the massive
trees that surrounded the cam. Walkways made of wood and rope swung over their
heads from tree to tree.
Iwan had never seen
anything like this place and yet it immediately felt like home.
‘Come on,’ Ashael said,
taking his hand again. ‘I should take you to meet Joren and Bhearra.’
Ashael led him across the
cam, letting go of his hand when a heavily pregnant young woman approached
them. She was a full head and shoulders shorter than Ashael, though they looked
to be around the same age. Glancing around, Iwan realised that Ashael was
unusually tall. None of the women he saw even neared her height, and only a few
of the men did. Which meant that he, too, must look unusually tall because he
was able to look down on Ashael. Would that be a problem? Would it make them
question where he was from? But then, he realised, Ashael herself looked quite
different from most of the people he saw. Her hair was black, like theirs, but
it had red streaks through it which he didn’t see on anyone else. She was
taller, of course, and she was more lean; her skin was a deeper shade of
bronze; her eyes so dark as to be almost black, while most of those he could
see were lighter shades of brown or green.
Iwan snapped out of his
thoughts when he realised that Ashael was introducing her friend to him.
‘Alayne, this is Iwan,’
Ashael was saying. ‘He comes from far to the south. He’s been travelling. We
met in the forest so I offered him a hot meal and a place to spend the night.’
‘I would have done the
same,’ Alayne said, looking him up and down frankly. ‘It’s rare that we meet
someone from so far away. You must tell us all about your journey before you
move on.’
‘It has been uneventful.
It would make a boring tale. Until I met Ashael and the split-tail, that is,’
he answered.
‘Split-tail?’ Alayne
asked, furrowing her brow.
‘Arrowhead,’ Ashael said.
‘Split-tail makes sense too, with the odd colouring they have on their tails.’
Iwan grimaced as Ashael
told her friend the story of the snake. He had been here for less than a day
and had already drawn attention to his difference. Would they believe the snake
had a different name in the south or had he already condemned his mother with careless talk?
‘Brave as well as
handsome?’ Alayne said, grinning at Ashael. ‘Maybe I should go foraging more
often.’
Ashael laughed. ‘I don’t
think Gethyn would appreciate that.’
‘Probably not,’ Alayne
said, rubbing her swollen belly, a fond smile lighting up her face. ‘The fear
of competition might do him some good, though.’
‘I had best go and
introduce Iwan to Bhearra and Joren. Will you be at the gathering later?’
Ashael asked.
‘I will. It’s my turn to
tend the Heart-Fire tonight.’
‘We can speak more then.’
Ashael gestured to Iwan and he followed her as she set off towards two trees at
the far end of the cam.
Iwan had never seen trees
so large. They would have towered over the walls of the keep he grew up in. As
they drew closer, he realised both were hollow at the base, each with a door
and windows carved into them. As he watched, the hide curtain covering one of
the doorways moved aside, revealing a young man around Iwan’s own age, maybe a
few years older than Ashael. He was tall with broad shoulders, his long hair
pulled back from his face.
‘Well met, Joren,’ Ashael
said, raising her hand in greeting.
‘Ashael, good evening,’
the young man responded, then noticed Iwan. ‘Who is this?’
‘Joren, I would like you
to meet Iwan.’ Ashael nudged Iwan forward a step. ‘His cam is far to the south.
He has been travelling and we met in the forest. I thought we could offer him a
meal and a bed for the night.’
‘Of course.’ Joren made
the greeting gesture Ashael had made earlier. ‘Welcome to Oak Cam, Iwan.’
Author Bio
Shona Kinsella is the author of Ashael Rising, (Unbound, 2017) the first in her series, The Vessel of KalaDene. She is also one of the editors of the British Fantasy Society’s fiction publication, Horizons. When she is not writing or wrangling her three children, she can usually be found with her nose in a book.
Shona Kinsella is the author of Ashael Rising, (Unbound, 2017) the first in her series, The Vessel of KalaDene. She is also one of the editors of the British Fantasy Society’s fiction publication, Horizons. When she is not writing or wrangling her three children, she can usually be found with her nose in a book.
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