Bear Heart: The Healers of Meligna: Klawdia Series, #1

By K. J. Colt

“Women serve men, and you must prove that you can be a man before you may lead.”

The Bear tribe have always ruled the Nation of Ruxdor, though with no male heirs to continue the line, Klawdia, the chieftain’s daughter and only child, must compete in a beastial rite of passage against four other tribal boys to retain her family’s sovereignty.

The competition is set amongst the perils of the Death Peak Mountains and pits representatives from Ruxdor's five strongest tribes—Bear, Lion, Wolf, Snake, and Hawgrald—against each other in a race to slaughter their tribe’s animal and return home. Each competitor is overseen by an opposing tribe’s elder to discourage dishonesty.

Klawdia is seriously injured by the bear she must slaughter, and a rival both saves her life and sabotages her chance of victory by cheating. When elders start disappearing from the competition, Klawdia must draw on the last of her strength to expose the truth and save her family’s lineage.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kylie Coulter
• Release date: May 23, 2013
• ISBN: 9781498996891

Book preview

From the Cover Artist

Lines and colors come to me much more naturally than words. Lines have a lot of power. They describe the form of a subject. A thick jagged stroke down a character's profile will produce an entirely different person than the graceful curves of a fine line. Colors are independent of form. They communicate to the psyche in much the same way as musical notes. With them I can influence a viewers mood and emotions. Together, lines and colors can seemingly bring fantasy to life in the minds of their audience. To achieve this is the great challenge and thrill I find as an artist and illustrator.

Like many contemporary illustrators, digital has become my medium of choice. It's a tool with amazing versatility and flexibility. However, it is still the traditional aesthetic of thick painterly strokes that I aim to achieve. Large paint strokes are characters in themselves, and like a personal signature, are completely unique to the artist. The brush strokes add another dimension to an image. Much as a musician may strike an instrument with a special amount of love, so are the strokes laid down by an artist.

I enjoy painting all sorts of subjects, from fanciful landscapes to mystical creatures, but it is the human characters that I find most compelling. We naturally associate with human figures, because we can read and interpret the slightest of gestures. Even just the angle of a brow or the pose of a hand can have very profound implications. Therefore the figure is a superior vehicle for communicating ideas and emotions to an audience. For these same reasons the human form poses the greatest challenge, which insures that it is always interesting for me!

When asked to portray a character. I must know their physical appearance, but just as important is to understand their emotions and situation within a story. Like a puppet without a master, a painting is lifeless without the direction which story and emotion provide. It's that sense of life that draws a reader's eye and compels them to explore the worlds hidden within the pages.

Lane Brown

www.LaneBrownArt.com

Dedication

To all women. You’re stronger than you think.

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Chapter One

The smell of burning flesh lingered in my nostrils and stuck to the back of my throat. My stomach churned, and I squeezed my eyes closed, focusing on breathing through my mouth. Father kept pushing the scorching steel against my arm. I growled like a bear to fight the pain, and onlookers returned my call. Beads of sweat trickled down my temples and cooled my skin. Father removed the glowing iron that bubbled with the remnants of my flesh. I braved a glance at my shoulder, eyeing the raw wound. Soon, it would scab and turn into a bear claw scar to match Father’s.

But before then, I would take part in the Bestial Passage tomorrow, competing against the firstborns of four other tribe leaders. The people of my tribe were called Bears, and the competition required that each contender kill their tribal animal under precise and dangerous conditions. I prayed to the Mother of Nature that I would be given a blade, or a spear.

Father hauled me to my feet. I met the eyes of warriors, mentors, counsellors; all Bears who served my father directly. Wolves howled a prideful song for their young champion, Skelkra, in the southernmost section of the city encampment of Vilseek. More cries germinated a seed of fear within me. I focused on the swirling flames of a bonfire licking at the first stars penetrating the afternoon sky.

‘They believe in you, Klawdia,’ Father said, then stroked my arm lovingly.

I stiffened. His nearness put me on my guard. Mother had died giving birth to me, and so had never borne sons. Behind closed doors, Father condemned me for her death through beatings and harsh words, but tonight, for the sake of presenting a united front to my people, he acted like a loving father.

The western Dividing Mountains that stood between my home and the ocean were silhouetted in the warm reds and oranges of the setting sun. To the south, the Death Peaks sat stark and breathtaking. Swollen clouds swallowed the tallest of the mountains. People often said that by climbing them you could pluck the stars from the sky. That was where I would be tomorrow.

A reveller jumped through the fire, and one of his feathers caught alight. He landed clumsily on the ground while his friends stomped at his pants, laughing and pointing. Father’s upper lip curled at the spectacle. The city overflowed with tribes from across Ruxdor. They had journeyed for weeks through the snow to witness this momentous event, but Father grew tired of the incessant merriment and scraps that lasted from dawn ’til dusk.

Though the city’s typically harmonious flow had been interrupted, the Bestial Passage was a vital part of the nation’s future. The Bear tribe had ruled all others for centuries, but Father’s silver hair, deeply lined face, and worsening skill with a blade provoked discussion about who would take his place upon his death. Traditionally, the role of Chieftain would pass to the firstborn son. Father had no sons, only me, and so the elders demanded that I compete for my right to rule and prove my worth.

‘You’re deep in thought, my daughter,’ said Father. ‘Even though you are the youngest of the challengers, you are the best with a dagger. Your tenacity and agility make you deadly, but still the Wolf will be crafty and the Lion silent and swift.’

Praise from Father was rare. Following my first steps as a child, Father put a dagger in my hand and had continued to scold and criticise me since. I’d learned from the best warriors, listened to the wisest men, and hunted many animals. I was strong now, determined, swift, and deadly. I couldn’t lose.

Daylight loitered while the slush on the ground froze in the icy winds. With added wood, the bonfire grew. Dancers jumped and kicked and twirled. The moon rose behind the Death Peaks, bathing them in a soft, white light. The greentimes were ending, the snowtimes would soon smother the land, and the people of Ruxdor would struggle and fight over the limited resources.

‘I do not fear the others,’ I said to Father. I knew these lands as well as I knew the swirls and lines etched into the hilt of my dagger. I’d spent years studying the snow bears. I knew how they fed, slept, and played. They were like us in many ways. They preferred to live peacefully, but under threat, would fight to the death. And soon, I would face and kill a bear.

Father moved away to greet the tribes gathering around the fire. They filled the gaps between the huts and tents. The other competitors stepped forward: Skelkra of the Wolves, Jeykal of the Hawgrald Birds, Ketnal of the Lions, and Lild of the Snakes. Skelkra was dressed in a cape with wolf headdress and tail. He wore a hardened expression. Tribal girls gathered about him, fetching him wine and feeding him meat. I watched them with envy until Father returned to my side.

‘Tell me your plan again.’ Father wanted me to reassure him I was truly ready. However, I was insulted that he would even ask. Fighting was as natural to me as breathing and blinking. From the age of two, I had spent thirteen years of my life mastering every skill. To say I was ready was an understatement.

I lifted my face to the sky. ‘I will follow the sun and moon until I find the bears’ feeding grounds in the valley of the Death Peaks. I will lure one into a trap, kill it, then return home.’

Father clasped his hands and looked down at the snow made yellow by firelight. I studied his worn features; the harsh weather of our lands had taken its toll on his once-smooth skin.

‘Find a sow without young. Her fight will be weaker.’

I took an arrow from a nearby quiver and twisted its wooden shaft in my hands, the hard lines of the steel head resembling mountain ridges. Both led to a deadly tip. ‘I could rule now. I would see us through the winter fed and safe. Why should I prove anything?’ I clenched my teeth. I rarely lost a fight, and I’d been with Father to every diplomatic meeting. I knew how to govern my people.

Father stared at me. His twilight eyes had paled with age, and his once-fiery hair had greyed to the colour of the moon. Tonight, he wore a cape made from the white pelt of a snow bear. A circlet of bear teeth decorated his forehead, and his hands were painted white, like bear paws. The leaders of each respective tribe also wore animal parts. A necklace of wolf teeth for Skelkra’s father, snake fangs for the snake leader, a white fur vest for the head Lion, and metre-long jade feathers for the Hawgrald tribe.

‘Women serve men, and you must prove that you can be a man before you may lead,’ said Father.

‘I know,’ I spat. Bitterness tightened my throat.

Near the bonfire, the four other challengers lined up in front of Gevilka, Ruxdor’s oldest medicine woman. She wore a tattered black dress. Her frizzy white hair whipped across her face in the strong breeze. Her hips had hardened with age, and she walked as though she were crossing a rocky stream. Thousands of onlookers fell silent.

With two slender arms, Gevilka raised her hands to the sky. ‘And so it begins! The challenge of the five strongest tribes: Snake, Lion, Hawgrald, Bear and Wolf. All come forth.’

Placing the arrow back in its container, I joined the others. Every eye fell on me. I squared my shoulders, took lengthy strides, and kept my chin high. It felt degrading to act like a strutting man, but there was no other way to win the respect of my people. We grasped each

Reviews for Bear Heart

[shemu-6 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I received a copy of this book as part of LibraryThing Member Giveaway program. Though the story line is similar to Hunger Games, the adventures of Klawdia makes it an enjoyable read. Hope to enjoy the next book of the series as well.

[bluelotus28 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I found the book to be a fairly quick and interesting read overall. I wanted to like the story with its presumably gutsy and strong-willed female lead. Instead I found her to be more of an insipid ingenue, too naive to recognize or anticipate the scheming nature of a boy she had grown up with that was a challenger to her potential rule. When it is pointed out to her that she is essentially a spoiled brat that gets everything she wants without having to work for it, I thought "Hooray! Finally! Maybe she will stop being emotionally so passive." While Klawdia does seem to have a certain amount of stubborn pride, I felt that her character needed a little more fleshing out to support the complex issues she was dealing with. All the other characters were in need of a little more character development as well, as they seemed very one-dimensional and there simply to provide background color and narrative. This novella seems to be geared towards a Young Adult audience, although I question the inclusion of the scenes dealing with sex and an unplanned pregnancy and discussions of abortion for some young readers. I would love to see this story re-written and the characters and story given more depth for a more adult audience - I would probably enjoy it more then. I also found the first half of the story to be lacking in a good frame of reference for how much time was passing during her challenge in the woods. I was under the impression that it was two or three days instead of the week and a half described upon the heroine's return to her tribe. This seemed to continue through the story, unfortunately. I would also have liked to see the background information on the realm and the political struggles with neighboring groups and the Queens earlier in the story, rather than at the end. Overall I was rather disappointed in the story. While it was pretty well written, it just did not give me (as an adult reader) enough character and story development to want to read more.

[heatherbennett32 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This story is suited for a older teenager and is well written. A adult would have a little trouble with some of the unrealistic events. I enjoyed the book.

[lubazuck · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Since Klawdia was a daughter of the tribal leader, she had to win a competition against 4 male participants. It was very important for her to be the winner because her family (The Bears) had ruled for many years. This fantasy e book was fast paced and quite a page turner. Once I started reading, there was no way I could stop plus wanting more! Looking forward to Book II. Thank you for introducing me to "Klawdia"!