The Ash Tree

By Tom Dillon

The world was once a place of plenty and wonders: famine and disease were largely unheard of, cities floated through the sky, everything appeared to be perfect. But it could not last. When the magic called Ve collapsed, society collapsed along with it: millions starved and the floating cities crashed to the ground. In the wreckage the byproducts of Ve use, magical beings called Amekt, went feral. This along with the ensuing wars rendered the mainland uninhabitable.

In the last days of the old empire, as things began to fall apart, a small group split off an island-sized piece of rock and seeded it with a plant that would allow it to float. For nearly 500 years, the island of Ansau has drifted in isolation on the ocean currents. Life is more difficult than it was, but the Island’s inhabitants have learned to use the trickle of Ve and stability has been the rule. But things are about to change again.

The Ash Tree is the first story in the Broken Shores series, in which events are set in motion that will change life on the Island forever. Beyond that, it is about the cost of those changes to those who bring them about.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tom Dillon
• Release date: Jun 13, 2012
• ISBN: 9781476086644

Tom Dillon

Tom Dillon lives in Olympia, Washington with his awesome wife and an assortment of cats, ducks, and dogs. When he isn’t busy writing or reading, you can find him riding his bike, working wood, or rock climbing.

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The Ash Tree

by Tom Dillon

A Broken Shores Story

Copyright 2012 Tom Dillon

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We are remembered for what we have built, not what we have torn down. -Ansauan Proverb

Kinav island

48th day of Leved, 471 AC

Dekkan sat on the stone bench outside the Council chambers, watching for the last time as the sun rose over the barrier island of Korsem. That he had been preparing for this moment for years was of little consolation, it still felt years too early, and he was reluctant to leave his seat underneath the ash tree that had given him shade every day of his tenure. He checked his polished wood and leather document case to make sure that his papers were still there, and made his way into the chambers, where the rest of the council was waiting for him.

He walked down the center aisle, between the rows