A Guide to the Nyla Series
By Adam Cole

Please Note:  Synopses of the books are intended to assist the reader.  If you haven’t read the books yet, you might want to avoid the sections marked “spoiler!”  As each book is published, the guide will grow.

Welcome to Noit-Celf.  Our world and Noit-Celf are reflections of one another and what happens in one can impact what happens in the other.  It’s said that these worlds, and others, are dim reflections of a greater world, but that is another story.

Noit-Celf extends from the Just who dwell in the Deserts to the north, all the way to the City of Zen in the south, west to the grassy farmlands, and as far east as Veer Isle.  It is a magical place full of wonders and mysteries, some of which have not been uncovered for centuries.  Nyla lives in this world, but does not know where she belongs.



Important Characters

May Contain Spoilers!


Heroes
Nyla - a girl with extraordinary musical abilities.  She either does not know, or will not say, where she comes from.
   
Vival - One of the Fittest, an orphaned boy who grew up with a talent for self-preservation.

Tom the Sword - a treasure found in the forgotten caves of the Kingdom Under the Mountain, this talking sword has an attitude, a twisted sense of humor, and is very fond of Nyla

Chere - an attractive and intelligent woman who has been living for some time on Veer Isle.  She transforms into Sherluck at will, but cannot return until Sherluck decides.

Sherluck - a greedy, self-serving man with a wealth of knowledge that makes him extremely useful.  He transforms into Chere at will, but cannot return until Chere decides.

Villains
The Overreacher - A powerful, egotistical man who has taken control of the Underground Kingdom with the aid of Tooth Skin

Raypanpil - a Lich king, ancient ruler of the Underground Kingdom.

Robin Goodfella, aka The Goon - A charismatic pirate who controls all traffic in and out of Veer Isle

The Just
The Just are a tribe of people living in the deserts to the north, the remnant of a great nation that once covered all of Noit-Celf.

Iss - The current leader of the Just.  She has aspirations to bring Noit-Celf back to its former glory under the rule of the Just.  She sees Highboy and Nyla as means to achieving this end.

Highboy / Abwah - A blind boy with extraordinary powers.  He lives in an oasis called the High Wood, a verdant hill in the middle of the desert, that he helped create with the aid of the instrument also called The High Wood. 

The Witches
The Sand Witch - A witch living near Zen whose specialty is time, both the flow of time and the art of knowing when things should happen or be undertaken.
Wei - A witch whose speciality is direction.  She has extraordinary insight into where people should go, and how they can arrive there.  She also has the power to travel great distances quickly.

The Fittest
The Fittest are a group of warriors, men and women, who have pledged their lives and talents in the furtherance of their goals.  Largely independent, they keep one another in check and sometimes find themselves alternately in conflict and allied with one another.
Vival - (see above) - A younger knight who’s skills of self-preservation protect him from moments of incompetence.

Render - A knight whose prowess in battle is unmatched.  He is skilled in many forms of armed and unarmed combat.

Prize - A master of strategy.  He loves games and contests and particularly loves to win.

Reptitious - the Rogue Knight.  He has distances himself from the others in his order and has a reputation for pursuing his own agenda at the expense of the greater good.

Other Characters

The Clef - Lore keeper for the Kingdom Under the Mountain

Antheppe - Mute servant woman to the Clef.

Aunt Serme - a vision who appears to Nyla periodically to offer her advice or wisdom, usually presented in a cryptic fashion

The Blue Woman - a huge apparition connected in some way to the storm-system known as Echawa. 

The Proverbial Horse - a mythical creature that is supposed to grant gifts to those who discover it, provided they do not look at him directly.

The Instruments of Veer Isle
Tooth Skin
The Vie’a’Lyn
The Vie’a’La
The Reign Bow
The High Wood
The Clary Net
The Trom
The Four Taypien
The Corps

Book One:  The Girl With the Bow

In this book, Nyla is living on Veer Isle in the Kingdom Under the Mountain.  Once a proud nation whose magic wrought wonderful musical instruments with mysterious powers, they are now in an endless trance brought about by an enchanted drum that has been co-opted by the Overreacher, a vicious ogre of a man.  Nyla is the only one under the mountain who is not in a trance, and her dark skin further separates her from the people who surround her.

One day she finds a hero in the dungeons.  Bored and curious, she befriends him.  His name is Vival and he is a Knight of the Fittest. 

Vival claims he was sent to Veer Isle by the Sand Witch.  She wants him to bring her the princess from Veer Isle.  Although he is under the spell of the drum, Vival swears he must somehow rescue Nyla and get her to the Sand Witch.

Spoiler!

Although Vival is numbed by the effects of Tooth Skin, he is able to distract the Overreacher long enough for Nyla to destroy the drum.  Vival summons the Lich, Reypanpil, to defeat the Overreacher.  He and Nyla make their escape during the terrible battle that follows.

They escape the Kingdom and find themselves in the lost caves under the mountain.  There they discover a talking sword named Tom who guides them to the light.  Once out, they make their way to Vival’s boat.

They attempt to sail away, but a storm arises and sends them back to the island, wrecking the craft.  They make their way around the island to a dingy seaport town called Folio.  There they attempt to find passage off the island, and are befriended by a man named Sherluck.

Sherluck takes them to his home, which he shares with a woman who is not present.  Later, when Sherluck has gone, the woman appears, demanding to know who they are.  Her name is Chere and she has little love for anyone that Sherluck has befriended.

When they explain that the Overreacher has been deposed, she gets excited and tells them that Sherluck brought her to the island to find a potion in the Kingdom Under the Mountain.  Now that the Overreacher is gone, she’ll be able to retrieve it.  She asks them to go to an abandoned fortress and wait for Sherluck.

Sherluck appears, but immediately they are ambushed by soldiers belonging to the Goon, a pirate who controls the island.  The three companions plus Tom the Sword, discover a secret door in the side of the mountain.  Nyla figures out the musical nature of the lock keeping it closed and they are able to re-enter the mountain.

A man named the Clef, lore keeper for the Kingdom, accompanied only by his servant, a mute old woman, demands to know how the lock was tripped.  When he discovers that Nyla unlocked it, he becomes very excited.  He takes them to his chambers and explains that Nyla has been befriended by the spirit of the Kindgom’s greatest instrument, the Vie’A’Lyn, which he hopes she will be able to recover somehow.

The Clef tells Nyla and her friends that once the Lich defeated the Overreacher, he proceeded to take over the Kingdom himself.  No one will be safe until he is sent back to his tomb.  The Clef brings Nyla to a much older instrument, the Vie’A’La, and teaches her how to use it to drive away the Lich King.

The companions attempt to get Nyla within reach of the Lich King, but he interrupts their attempts and takes Vival prisoner.  In order to help Nyla escape, Sherluck turns into Chere, revealing that he and she appear to be the same person.  Each has the power to turn into the other, but neither can return until the other wills it.

The Clef, Chere and Nyla attempt to use the Vie’A’La to defeat the Lich King and free Vival, but he takes the instrument instead.  Chere escapes and leaves Nyla and Vival to their fate.  When all hope seems lost, Sherluck returns with an army led by the Goon.

A terrible battle ensues between the people Under the Mountain entranced by the Lich King, and the soldiers of the Goon.  Finally, Nyla is able to play the Vie’a’La and banish the Lich King, freeing the Kingdom.

The Clef takes Nyla to the armory where she uses the last of the Vie’a’La’s power to find Tom among all the other weapons.  The Vie’a’La also summons a spirit who calls herself Aunt Serme.  She speaks to Nyla and tells her to come home.

Vival charges the Goon with the leadership of the Kingdom Under the Mountain, threatening to summon the Lich again if he does anything less than a wonderful job.  He then has no trouble convincing the Goon to offer them passage off Veer Isle.  Nyla, not knowing what else to do, agrees to go with him to meet the Sand Witch, but only if Chere will accompany them.


Book Two:  The Blue Woman and the High Wood

Nyla can't remember where she's from and she doesn't know where she belongs.  Vival has convinced Nyla that she must go with him because the Sand Witch has asked for her.  He is certain the Sand Witch will tell her where she belongs and help her get there. 

Vival, Nyla and Chere set sail on a ship bound for the city of Zen.  Almost immediately after embarking, a storm begins brewing.  Soon it threatens to overwhelm the ship.

Spoiler Alert!

During the storm, a huge woman with blue skin appears in the water and picks the ship.  When the Blue Woman sees Nyla, she appears to recognize her.  The Blue Woman moves the ship out of the storm’s path and sets it on its way.

After the episode, the sailors are suspicious of Vival and Nyla.  During the storm, Chere changed into Sherluck, but the sailors, who did not see it, assume he is a stowaway.  While Sherluck endears himself to the crew, Nyla and Vival begin feeling unwelcome.

Everything comes to a head as some members of the crew attempt to cast Nyla and Vival overboard.  With the help of Sherluck, who turns back into Chere, they leave Tom the Sword behind, escaping on a longboat.  However, it soon begins to rain, swamping the boat.

Nyla falls overboard and sinks. Devastated at her loss, Vival and Chere are themselves separated from the boat.  Luckily, they find a submerged ridge and follow it to shore.

They are rescued by a group of fisherfolk who are dark-skinned like Nyla and belong to a tribe called The Just.  Could this be Nyla's home?  Even though Nyla is gone, they may have the answer to the mystery.

The Just bring Vival and Chere, who has once again turned into Sherluck, back to the camp.  They make their guests welcome and explain their mission of restoring the world to the wonderful garden it once was.  While the Just tell their story in a nighttime ceremony, Vival suddenly sees Nyla as a vision in the bonfire. 

Nyla meanwhile has been miraculously rescued by a dolphin and has ridden it to shore.  Exhausted, she follows a bird across the desert to the feet of a young man who takes her to an oasis.  She awakes in the High Wood, a small wooded hill in the middle of the desert.

Her rescuer is Highboy, a blind young man with dark skin like Nyla’s, who insists that he summoned the dolphin and the bird, and that this is the place where she belongs.  He has created the oasis with a musical instrument which is also called The High Wood. 

Nyla is not convinced that she belongs with Highboy.  She has grown attached to her friends and wants to get back to them.  Highboy plays for Nyla and she sees a vision of Vival.

Vival has raced into the desert at night in search of Nyla, but instead finds a witch named Wei who gives him a warning that another of the Fittest, Render, is coming for Nyla and that a terrible storm called Echawa is also on its way.  Before the witch disappears, she also gives Vival a lantern that will guide him.  Sherluck catches up to Vival, and determines that the lantern glows brighter the closer they get to Nyla.

Nyla has convinced Highboy to leave the oasis with her so that she can look for Vival.  But a storm kicks up, and the farther they get from the oasis, the worse the storm gets.  When it seems they are about to be buried in the sand, Vival and Sherluck arrive with the lamp.

Stranded by the impassable storm, everyone takes shelter in a cave.  There Nyla has a dream that she is with Aunt Serme in a tower.  When she awakens, she tells Highboy that she had an instrument like his.

Highboy is very excited, and asks her to imagine it.  A ghost image of the Vie’A’Lyn appears, and Nyla is able to play it in harmony with Highboy.  Unexpectedly, Sherluck changes into Chere with no explanation.

Because Sherluck did not seem to choose to transform into Chere, Vival becomes suspicious, and Chere walks away rather than answer his questions.  Vival reminds Nyla that they don’t know anything about Chere and Sherluck and may not be able to trust them.  Nyla no longer knows what to think about either of her friends and is unhappy.

Nyla goes to talk with Chere, and they determine that this sand-storm may be like the one that kept Nyla on the island.  The companions brave the storm, looking for the direction which makes it subside.  They succeed in making it back to the High Wood, but are immediately captured by the Just and brought back to their camp.

The Just separate Nyla from Vival and Chere, and Iss forces Nyla to do musical battle with Highboy, which Nyla wins.  Impressed, Iss tells Nyla that, while she is not from this place, nevertheless Nyla belongs with the Just.  Nyla considers whether Vival and Chere are really her friends, and wonders whether this would be a good place for her to call home.

Nyla is taken to a ceremony which will make her part of the Just.  Before she can decide whether to join them, Render of the Fittest appears with a small squadron to take Nyla, and overpowers the Just.  But before he can take advantage of his win, the storm Echawa breaks upon the camp, sending everyone running.

In the storm, Nyla has a vision of the Blue Woman once more.  Nyla summons her ghost instrument and reluctantly gives it to the Blue Woman who happily takes it and wanders off.  Nyla falls unconscious.

When she wakes up, the storm has passed, and Nyla finds herself talking to Wei.  The witch offers to take Nyla to her true home, but also lets her know that Vival is in danger.  Nyla decides that her friendship is more important to her, and she chooses to go where Vival is.

The Witch transports Nyla to the High Wood, where Render has surrounded Vival and the Just. 

(Read the rest as it comes out!)