| Edition |
1 ed. |
| Description |
1 online resource (463 pages) |
|
data file rda |
| Summary |
A deadly blight. A crownless queen. A journey to the edge of the world. A mysterious blight devastates the world of Aeden. The Vehlek, dark, immortal guardians of Aeden, have used their power to combat it through a blood sacrifice, one given every season from each of the four peoples. For generations, this has diminished the Blight's destructive force. But unbeknownst to any, their power wanes and the sickness worsens. Their scripture speaks of Providence, of mortals whose blood, combined with their power, can end it. But as yet, there has been no sign of them. On the secluded islands of Malua, the Blight rots the land and destroys the harvests. The change of the tide marks the new season, and with it, the need for a blood sacrifice. For Maleia, daughter of a murdered king, wife to a usurper's son, her hopes to reclaim her father's throne are dashed when her child is stillborn. To her horror, the usurper king intends to use her daughter's remains as the blood offering, perhaps condemning her small spirit to wander lost and alone. As the Vehlek emerge from their fiery underground caverns to claim the sacrifice, she commits a desperate act to take her daughter's place, an act that unintentionally binds her to one of these strange, immortal men, and later reveals her to be an element to cure the Blight, as foretold by their scriptures. As the Vehlek seek out the others like her, two remain to guide her as she journeys to the mainland, there to take part in the Council of Peoples and find a way to end the Blight. The quest will take her over valleys roamed by marauders, across a mountain kingdom, and through the vast prairies of the Plains People. The road is perilous, not least because her father's murderer travels with her. The Blight haunts their steps at every turn. She witnesses it kill, as if possessing a malignant sentience all its own. Every day that passes it grows stronger, as does her strange connection to one of the Vehlek, a bond that is fast becoming something more than it should. With the lives of all hanging in the balance, and time running out, Maleia and the others like her strive to end the Blight. Through blood and flame they will either cure their failing world, or see it fall to ruin. |
| Subject |
Fiction.
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| Genre/Form |
Fiction.
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Electronic books.
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