As you may remember, I held a sale of the trilogy two weeks ago and I’m really happy with the result. Over 1700 people downloaded a free copy of book #1, resulting in Dawn of Purple and Grey reaching #1 in Sword and Sorcery and #1 in Epic Fantasy. It’s a great feeling knowing that the premise and the cover attracted so many new readers.
Now let’s talk about Fantasy Creatures…
Last week I uploaded on Instagram, Facebook or Tiktok the last creature with a name beginning with D – Demons. If you’d like to have a look at that, click here.
This week, the creature we’ll be tackling is one of my favourites:
Thanks mainly to Tolkien, our mental image of elves is of a pointed-eared race of long-lived or immortal beings.
Elves are often depicted as cold and remote but ethereally beautiful with sharp senses, superior metal and craft skills, and supernatural abilities often due to their affinity with nature.
When I first drafted Dawn of Purple and Grey, I sub-titled it The Elven Gifts, but I realised quite early on that the word Elven would carry all the associations that Tolkien has tied to the term. That was something I didn’t want as my race was not quite Tolkien-esque. This led to the enemy race becoming the Hyllethans, meaning Children of Etha (Earth) in the Hyllethan tongue. The Hyllethans still have some of the characteristics associated with Tolkien’s elves, such as the pointed ears and their affinity with nature which enables them to develop particular talents, such as keener senses and the ability to influence nature, but they are not remarkably long-lived or immortal.
Some self-promo!
In the Inner Lands, there are three ways sixteen-year-old Shael can get herself and her family killed—by looking like the enemy; by working with the enemy; by becoming the enemy.
When sixteen-year-old Shael unknowingly helps a mortally wounded thief, he entrusts her with delivering three figurines to the lord of her castle. Too late, Shael discovers that the figurines were stolen from the Hyllethans, her country’s feared enemies. And since she cut her fingers on the figurines while handling them, she is now linked to them. Any breakage or pressure on the clay is felt on her flesh.
Despite her reluctance to aid the enemy, Shael teams up with three Hyllethans to retrieve the figurines and break the connection. Shael is caught in the tussle for the thrones of the two lands. To avoid becoming a pawn—or dangle from a hangman’s noose—she has to regain possession of the figurines and face the unsuspected secrets of her lost past.
Three thrones. Two power-hungry mages. One girl standing in their way.
Exiled in Hylletha, sixteen-year-old Shael longs to return to the land of her birth but her brother Iysel, the new, terrifying mage-king of the Inner Lands, wants her dead. Shael’s very existence threatens Iysel’s right to the throne since she is the holder of the magical Gift of Touch, which is traditionally held by the monarch.
To ensure peace, Theis, the young man Shael loves, goes to Iysel’s court to negotiate the reunification of Hylletha and the Inner Lands under one ruler. But when Shael’s young foster brother is abducted and held prisoner in the Inner Lands, Shael has only her limited knowledge of spellcraft to help her stay out of Iysel’s reach, rescue her foster brother and make sure Theis doesn’t bear the brunt of Iysel’s rage.
Complicating matters further, Iysel has won the unexpected support of their wily cousin—the son of the king of a neighbouring land and an extraordinary mage—who has his own reasons for wanting to get hold of Shael.
The stability of the three realms lies in the balance. Faced by intrigue and betrayal from all sides, Shael must choose between protecting the lives of those she loves or taking up her role as princess and heir to the thrones to safeguard the welfare of the people.
She’ll be crowned queen—if she lives that long.
With her coronation fast approaching, Shael fears the debilitating effects of poisoning resulting from her stint in the dragons’ birthing grounds will make her unfit to rule. But this becomes the least of her worries when her brother Iysel turns up claiming he’s the true King of Hylletha as well as heir to Dragonia. Shael is determined to protect the realms from the merciless mage, but the documents that challenge Iysel’s right to the thrones have disappeared.
Protecting the realms isn’t the only reason for finding the missing documents. Proving Iysel’s duplicity is the surest way of saving Theis, the love of Shael’s live, whom Iysel has accused of desertion and treason.
With time running out, with assassins stalking her every move and her health failing, Shael sets out to unravel the tangled web of deceit and greed ensnaring her and the kingdoms. Unfortunately, the most obvious culprit isn’t always the only enemy.
Dawn of Purple and Grey, Days of Wind and Snow, and Night of Rites and Wraiths (The Hyllethan Gifts Trilogy) are available through Amazon either as individual books or as a Complete Series Box Set.
Till next time,
Caroline
Caroline Sciriha 
CONGRATULATIONS, CAROLINE!!!
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Thank you!
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