A Guide to The Girl With The Bow
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 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.


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.



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 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.


(Story continues in Book 2: The Blue Woman and the High Wood)