This is a Young Adult fantasy novel aimed at middle school age or above. It is the story of a young girl in a tribal culture who unearths a terrible secret and is forced to flee into the forest to save her life.
Serollyn is a young person just coming of age in a small, isolated living on the tip of a long peninsula, the upper two-thirds of which is covered with a dense forest. As a loyal member of her tribe and devoted to the Life Lenders who watch over that tribe, Serollyn looks forward to receiving the life-guide who, unseen by all others, will protect and guide her for the rest of her life. She does not expect to uncover a monstrous deception and be driven from her people by those who fear the truth she can now reveal.
She, along with loyal friends, take refuge in the forest despite its dangers. But they will find that what lies beyond the forest holds even more danger, a danger they must face to prove worthy for the task the Life Lenders have set them.
Excerpt
Serollyn must have fainted or perhaps only fallen asleep. It was night when she awoke, roused by the snuffling of a large animal. She sat up and peered into the darkness. Krissa, the larger moon, had not yet risen, and Benat, the smaller moon, gave only enough light to show the vague outlines of shrubs and trees, too little to provide a clue to her location or the direction she should take to get back to the village.
And the sound was coming nearer.
This wood was not like the vast forests that lay farther to the east, away from the sea. It held no great�cats or orsas. The only dangerous creatures in the wood were wild boars, but those were fierce enough, and she had no desire to encounter one, alone and unarmed.
She rose quietly to her feet. The snuffling stopped with a suspicious suddenness. She moved slowly toward a large tree. A dark shape charged out of the bushes and rushed toward her.
She leaped for the tree and jumped behind it. The animal dashed past. It was the largest boar she’d ever seen. Moonlight gleamed on its fearsome tusks. It had to be a Sneak sent by the Death Stealers! Because she’d failed to receive a life-guide, the Death Stealers were claiming her.
The boar skidded to a halt, wheeled, and headed back toward her. This time it stopped before reaching the tree. It pawed the ground and stared at her, its beady eyes glowing red even in the dim moonlight.
That bloody gaze caught and held her. The boar blurred into motion. A red haze enveloped her. Her back thudded against the hard ground. Pain lanced her body.
Sorrow, loss, regret blasted into her with the boar’s steamy breath.
Then in a death dream, a yellow streak hurtled toward the boar.
When John Gideon is transported to the extraordinary world of Illúmaril, he’ll soon discover that his entire existence has been leading up to the shocking destiny he’ll soon fulfill.
Deemed One of the Top 10 indie Fantasy releases of 2010 by Fantasy Book Critic, and listed in the first ever Publishers Weekly Indie Select issue, the original 235k word epic title was written in longhand in a Texas prison cell by M. R. Mathias.
