A Guide to The Blue Woman and the High Wood
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

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.


Other Characters
.

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 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 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!)