Ethcara

By Ruby Steele

The land is under attack from snowstorms. Each flake is warm to the touch, and when it reaches the ground, it fizzles and sizzles, then soaks in, leaving a small heat haze over the area, and eventually this poisons the ground underneath.

Whonose, a Master Shipwright, is in contact with his sister, Whome, up at Ull, about this problem, where it is decided that the danger is coming from The Halh, as before.

Whonose is chosen to visit the sanctuary of Lancheal Uzban, to get some advice. With his companions, Maximum Benkys and Ethin Twentyfive, they set out on their eventful journey.

They meet Riffik Oozdal, Ma-cheng Pom and Odu Ishema, from whom Maximum learns all about Kolta, a mind and exercise regime; and a conclusive Mind-battle ensues.

To the friend’s dismay, they are then asked to continue on their ‘wending’ to find a legendary Mist-breather. On this leg of their journey, they spend a night on the Field of Smaryde Tor, which is not as comfortable as expected.

Finally, entering the Spur of Ethcara, it is here that the legend ends, and the fate of The Great Estate is determined.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Dec 16, 2022
• ISBN: 9781398484863

Ruby Steele

Ruby Steele began her working career as a secretary in industry, before changing direction into the management of large building complexes. She lives in the West Midlands with her partner, Ron, and has two grown-up children. Ruby’s eclectic range of interests includes photography, writing and worldwide travel. Now retired, she keeps active by practising yoga and has, in the past, trekked in the foothills of the Himalayas and Bhutan. To keep her mind sharp, she does cryptic crosswords and, of course, wrote this book. Ruby’s other works include Smeakmaster and Arenskav.

Book preview

Ethcara

Ruby Steele

Austin Macauley Publishers

Ethcara

About the Author

Copyright Information ©

Acknowledgement

Prologue

Chapter 1: An Odd Occurrence

Chapter 2: The Journey Begins

Chapter 3: Whonose

Chapter 4: A Gathering at Ull

Chapter 5: Conclusions and Decisions

Chapter 6: Choices

Chapter 7: Companions

Chapter 8: A Volen Joins the ‘Wending’

Chapter 9: The Way to Col Frith and Beyond

Chapter 10: The Boc Lumes

Chapter 11: Kolta

Chapter 12: Riffik Oozdal and the Seeking

Chapter 13: The Mind-Battle

Chapter 14: The After-Mind

Chapter 15: The Wending Continues

Chapter 16: Maxim Benkys

Chapter 17: To Daal

Chapter 18: Ethin Twentyfive

Chapter 19: The Field of Smaryde Tor

Chapter 20: Izabe and Hofgur the Mist-Breather

Chapter 21: Awakening and Salvation

Chapter 22: Coming Home

About the Author

Ruby Steele began her working career as a secretary in industry, before changing direction into the management of large building complexes.

She lives in the West Midlands with her partner, Ron, and has two grown-up children.

Ruby’s eclectic range of interests includes photography, writing and worldwide travel.

Now retired, she keeps active by practising yoga and has, in the past, trekked in the foothills of the Himalayas and Bhutan.

To keep her mind sharp, she does cryptic crosswords and, of course, wrote this book.

Ruby’s other works include Smeakmaster and Arenskav.

Copyright Information ©

Ruby Steele 2022

The right of Ruby Steele to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

ISBN 9781398484856 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781398484863 (ePub e-book)

www.austinmacauley.com

First Published 2022

Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd®

1 Canada Square

Canary Wharf

London

E14 5AA

Acknowledgement

My thanks go to Caroline Fereday for her valuable contribution to Kolta; Karen Savage, for her insight into mind battles; Katrina Roberts, again, for her magical illustrations; and to the Chatham Historic Dockyard in Kent for their help and information about the Dockyard itself, and the role and life of a master shipwright. Finally, to my family, for their continued support of my writing, especially my partner, Ron, for his computing skills; my son, Paul; and my daughter-in-law, Karen.

Disclaimer

The author does not accept responsibility if the reader chooses to practice the exercise regime written in the text. It should be undertaken under strict supervision and at the reader’s own risk.

Prologue

Far back in time, long, long before the Ith Wars, it was an age of dragons and demons strutting the land.

But amongst the fire and darkness, there were other creatures who brought cool and calm to the chaos. Mist-Breathers. Legend has it that one was left, who’s destiny it was to always keep the land safe in times of greatest danger. And so time passed, and he was never called.

Away up in The Halh, an Ulden called Armel Fylb smiles to himself and says out loud, I told you I wouldn’t forget!

Only he had forgotten one important lesson. For every action there is a consequence, and this time the outcome of his plotting will be vastly different. This time, nothing will ever be the same.

Chapter 1

An Odd Occurrence

Sometimes, it seems as though the world around us never alters; that no one really notices the little changes that occur. Other times, it’s a momentous event that shakes the foundations of what we see or believe.

And then there is the time in between; when a strange occurrence is noticed and dismissed as of no importance. But this event can lead to greater things, that can have far-reaching consequences.

And this was just one of those oddities, or was it?

It was just another day in the small dockyard on the outskirts of the Port of Hild, which lay in the far southwest corner of the Great Estate, on the shores of the small Bay of Hild. To the north was a forested area; to the south the Pla of Jell and the Quad Lumes; and with two roads leading out of the Port to the Mith of Jaden, and Frot Obin, and beyond.

At the edge of the bay lay some blackened rotting hulks, haphazardly beached on the mud flats, forgotten by all, and visited only by the tide, twice daily. Deep inside each one were memories of the men who had once sailed in them.

At night, the flickering lights of the Port looked like stars in a deep black sky, and at times of festivity, the streets were decorated with myriad-coloured lanterns, in various patterns, to reflect the Port’s seafaring heritage.

Houses were clustered around the harbour, and to the south of the town, was The Dockyard, consisting of some rather ramshackle buildings that had seen better times. Nowadays it was usually fairly quiet, with only maintenance work being done. The slipways were empty, whereas years ago, the dockyard was alive to the sounds of hammers, saws, clanking and men calling and chattering to each other. Times had changed, and it was a different matter now.

Once through the main gate of the dockyard, a small Mast House was situated on the left, where masts used to be made and stored; and above it, a Mould Loft where Shipwrights in the past had marked out the shape of a new ship’s hull.

Then came the Wheelwright’s Shop, which was largely constructed from re-used timbers; and in front of these, and facing the Bay, were two slipways and a dry dock. A small pumping station was to be found nearby, to enable the dock to be filled or drained with water, as necessary.

Beyond these, a rather large single storey building stretched across the end of the yard. Sub-divided into sections, these housed various pieces of equipment such as anchors; cables; rigging; ropes and sails; for the building and repair of ships.

Finally, on the right of the Main Gate, was the Dockyard Office, which was used by the Master Shipwright, Whonose, and two Principal Officers, Barton Forrest and Ethin Twentyfive.

When asked why he was called Twentyfive, Ethin always said he presumed it was because he was born on the twenty-fifth of the twenty-fifth! This didn’t make much sense to anyone except Ethin.

In a small hut in the dockyard, a group of men were discussing the day’s work. They were surrounded by shelves and cupboards filled with files, drawings, blueprints, bits of paraphernalia and tools. Cobwebs hung in the farthest reaches of the beams of the ceiling, and the panes of the glass window were dull with dust. A couple of chairs that had seen better times, stood idly in front of a small bookcase, that held a profusion of reference books all relating to maritime matters.