Strengthening Spirit
The Ethra Born series started with Gathering Darkness and continues with Strengthening Spirit, followed by Risking Honesty and Drowning Deceit.
Strengthening Spirit is available in paperback and ebook from Amazon.
An unexpected visitor brings a desperate plea for help.
What would you do?
Would you leave your job and your home to answer that plea?
When an old friend is in need, what will Lowenna do?
In an ancient forest,
A sickness is spreading,
Ancient spirits weakening,
And old friends trapped.
A healer is summoned
But becomes entangled
In a past long lost
And a future out of reach.
In an ancient forest,
Tangled paths converge
On the journey to Strengthening Spirit…
Karnoss Forest is ancient, vast, a place in which few dare to tread. But a sickness is spreading through the Forest, weakening the ancient forest spirit. Karnoss calls for Lowenna. She is a healer. She is Ethra born. She must find the source of the sickness and heal the forest. She must leave behind her home, her family, her humanity. As tangled paths converge, she must risk everything to survive.
Excerpt from Chapter 1
“I am Haan, eldest son of Rajad Suhkbatar, first of the Lightning Foal herd,” he introduced himself formally and Lowenna remembered how important it was in their culture to exchange names and perform proper introductions. “It is many years since you spent the winter with our herd but we remember you, and our second, Baer, often speaks of how you healed his son, Petri.”
Memories flooded Lowenna. She recalled the winter that she, Theo and their friend, Kael, had spent with the Lightning Foal. She had been there when Haan had received his sacred tattoo to celebrate his first hunt as a man of the herd. She remembered that distant midwinter night of celebration in the hall of the Tatau Brotherhood, although more than ten years had passed since that time.
“The Black Stripecats did not agree with our decision to allow you to stay with us,” continued Haan. “The deaths of Dansk and Jaghatai caused dissent between the herds. Then we found out that the Temple of the Tatau Brotherhood had been destroyed.” Haan shook his head sadly. “No survivors, so much lost. If several young members of the brotherhood had not been spending time with the herds, we would have lost even more of our culture and I would not now be wearing these tattoos.” He touched his cheek with a proud tilt of his chin at the same time as sorrow marred his brow. “The Lightning Foal travelled into the south west of the Poacea and did not return to the horseshoe cliffs for many winters.”
Haan stopped speaking. He stared morosely into his tea cup, his head slumped and his face tense.
“Hope, will you get Haan something to eat, please?” asked Lowenna. “Bread, cheese, fruit.”
Hope jumped up and moved around the kitchen, putting a selection of food together on a plate.
When Hope left the table, Lowenna asked Haan, “What’s happened? What’s wrong? Why are you here?”
He looked up into her clear hazel eyes.
“It’s Rajad,” he said in a pained voice. “He’s gone missing.”
There was a moment of shocked silence. Lowenna’s world rocked. She fell down a rushing grey tunnel into the future. She saw trees and stars and a pair of luminous eyes, a strange mahogany brown swirled with holly green.
