by
Two sisters born in the Red Desert, young Daughters of an ancient Queen. One seizes the delights of the present. The other sees and despairs for their future.
Innathi and Ishuna, the heirs of the Dark Elf Queen of V’Gedra, travel the sand dunes with their entourage. In need of water, the sisters enter the sacred canyons of Koorul, where they interrupt a mystic rite of passage for the Human son of a Sorcerer-King.
Negotiations fare well between the two desert peoples until powerful magic blends with the discoveries of youth which get quickly out of control. Incomprehensible joy crashes into a dark dread which cannot be named, and a schism begins between the sisters.
Diplomacy is critical to avoid unnecessary conflict, yet the Queen’s daughters do not agree on the goal. Each has her version of the events at Koorul, and each is certain of the outcome should Innathi pursue the wild magic of the Zauyrian son.
A close alliance with a Sorcerer-King could bring pleasure, prosperity, and new life thriving in the Desert, or it might corrupt a delicate balance to bring down the realms and all they had ever known.
This second volume of Tales of Miurag is a standalone novel which can be read on its own. Dramatic events and mature themes weave into broad history and lore headed toward a cataclysm which will change the entire world.
The Desert is also Etaski’s ultimate villains’ origin, featuring several antagonists introduced in the Sister Seekers series. This story takes place approximately 3500 years before No Demons But Us, where hints of these events past echo forward and impact future generations.
Cover Artists:
Genres:
Tropes: Becoming a Monster, Conspiracy, Crazy Clairvoyants, Cross-Species Friendships, Dark Enemy, Death by Sex, Demonic Possession, Enemy to Ally, Evolving Powers, Fetus of Doom, Found Family, I Am Your Father, Interspecies Adoption, Interspecies Romance, Library of Secrets, Magic Talisman, Magical Disaster, Mirror Shows True Self, Possession, Prophesy, Redemption Arc, Secret Royalty, Sex Magic, Waiting/Sleeping Evil
Word Count: 111,172
Setting: High Fantasy Desert, Royal Palace & Wilderness
Languages Available: English
Series Type: Same Universe / Various Characters
Tropes: Becoming a Monster, Conspiracy, Crazy Clairvoyants, Cross-Species Friendships, Dark Enemy, Death by Sex, Demonic Possession, Enemy to Ally, Evolving Powers, Fetus of Doom, Found Family, I Am Your Father, Interspecies Adoption, Interspecies Romance, Library of Secrets, Magic Talisman, Magical Disaster, Mirror Shows True Self, Possession, Prophesy, Redemption Arc, Secret Royalty, Sex Magic, Waiting/Sleeping Evil
Word Count: 111,172
Setting: High Fantasy Desert, Royal Palace & Wilderness
Languages Available: English
Series Type: Same Universe / Various Characters
“Should we turn around?” Innathi asked quietly after they’d left, leaning on her antsy stallion. “We might make the oasis by midnight.”
Xala had been observing Ishuna in the corner of her eye for the last league, watching how her light red eyes drifted in wonder. She weighed how to answer the Queen’s heir.
“This… may be the best course of action,” she began, watching Ishuna’s shoulders sag slightly. “But I want to try one thing, first.”
“What thing?”
“Will you remain with Lead Baetae while I go farther ahead with Ishuna?”
“What?” Innathi was confused and miffed. “Why her? Why not me?”
Xala exhaled softly. “A promise I made to your Queen-Mother, your grace. Please, trust me. It won’t take long. Then we’ll turn around and head home.”
READ MOREReluctantly, Innathi agreed to stay behind as the Captain led the younger royal daughter up the next gradual incline. Ishuna questioned with her face rather than her tongue but appeared less put out by the separation.
“Have you been… feeling odd, qu’essan?” the mature Davrin asked with care. “While we’ve been here?”
Ishuna swallowed. “You mean, unwell?”
“Not necessarily. Just anything different.”
The horses’ hooves clopped over the stone and sand. The royal daughter’s breath wavered as she pulled air in and let it out. She hesitated to answer, but the answer was yes.
“Nix it, I never asked,” Xala murmured, not for the first time. “Just walk with me.”
Perhaps it was only their history that this helped at all. Xala could not have said she felt any change, and perhaps the truth was that her long, sensitive ears had picked up the sound of water spattering over rock by chance, an echo like the already rare rainfall in the desert being sequestered to one small spot.
There. She breathed in, detecting the faintest hint of vapor across her tongue. Just around the bend.
She didn’t dare return to her company until she’d laid eyes upon it. For the sake of her charges, she must be certain they’d found the waterfall of Koorul.
“I hear voices,” Ishuna said, trying not to sound afraid.
The next moment, Xala heard them as well.
Men.
Beco’s Balls…
COLLAPSE
