Poisonwell (Whispers from Mirrowen Book 3)

by Jeff Wheeler

  I dedicated Poisonwell to Terry Brooks, the fantasy author who inspired me to become a writer. In October 2004, we had lunch together in Corte Madera, California, during a writing seminar that he taught. That experience was a major turning point in my life and in my writing. I appreciate the encouragement, wisdom, and motivation he gave me on that occasion to finish my first million words. With this book done, I’m well on my way to the second million. I have many more books still to write—brand-new worlds bubbling in my mind as well as revisiting familiar ones.

  Thank you all for joining me on this journey. And thanks for lunch, Mr. Brooks.

  GLOSSARY

  Aeduan: a race from the southern kingdoms of Wayland and Stonehollow. They are primarily fair-skinned with dominant and recessive traits for hair color, eye color, and complexion. Many consider the Aeduan as mongrels because of the variety of their physical characteristics (hair color, eye color, skin tone). However, they have proven to be very adaptable and most resilient to the Plague. The Aeduan were the principal founders of Kenatos.

  Boeotian: a race of tribes from the northern territories known as Boeotia. They have no central government, though purportedly revere an individual known as the Empress. They are nomads with no permanent cities and live off the land. They are strong and typically have brown or black hair and are prone to fight amongst themselves, pitting tribe against tribe. Their skin is heavily veined and tattooed, giving them an almost purple cast. They have sworn to destroy the city of Kenatos and occasionally unify for the purpose of attacking the island kingdom. Silvandom is the primary defense against Boeotia, for they have conflicting ideologies.

  Bhikhu: a class primarily found in Silvandom and Kenatos. These are highly trained warriors that specialize in all forms of armed and unarmed combat and are trusted to preserve the peace and dispense justice. They cannot own treasure or items of value and treat life with the greatest respect. They are often mistaken for being cruel for they will punish and deliberately injure as a way of teaching their morality of painful consequences. The Bhikhu are typically orphans and nobility who have abandoned worldly wealth.

  Canton Vaud: the seat of the Druidecht hierarchy, known as the Thirteen. These are the wisest of the Druidecht and they travel throughout the kingdoms to solve social and political problems and to represent nature in disputes over land. When one of the Thirteen dies, the remaining twelve vote to replace that person from a promising Druidecht who will join Canton Vaud and travel to kingdoms solving problems.

  Carnotha: a small marked coin denoting the rank of thief. Showing it to another ensures cooperation in an activity as well as access to information and illegal items. There are purportedly only five hundred such coins in existence and, in order to acquire a carnotha, one must steal it from another thief. They are carefully safeguarded and hidden from authorities. There is one carnotha that identifies the location of all the others and can determine whether one is a fake. The bearer of this one is known as the master thief.

  Chin-Na: a lesser-known class found in Silvandom and only taught amongst the Vaettir and usually only to nobility. In addition to the martial aspects of the Bhikhu, the Chin-Na train their bodies to exist on very little air and have learned to harden their bodies and focus their internal energy to the point where even weapons cannot pierce their skin. As such, they do not float but their attacks are so focused and powerful that they can strike down an enemy with a single blow that damages internal organs. Only the most trusted and dedicated to Vaettir ideals are allowed to learn the secrets of the Chin-Na.

  Cruithne: a race from the eastern mountains of Alkire. They have grayish-black skin, ranging in tone, with hair varying from pale blond to coarse gray. They are easily the largest of men, in terms of weight, not size, but not slow or ponderous. The Cruithne are known for their inquisitiveness and deep understanding of natural laws and spirit laws. They founded the Paracelsus order in their ancient homeland and transferred its knowledge to Kenatos.

  Druidecht: a class found in every kingdom except Kenatos. Those in Kenatos consider them superstitious pagans, though harmless. The knowledge of the Druidecht is only transmitted verbally from mentor to disciple. It teaches that the world coexists with a spirit realm known as Mirrowen and that the spirits of that realm can be communed with and enlisted for help. A Druidecht cannot heal innately, but it can enlist a spirit creature that can. When a disciple has memorized the unwritten lore and demonstrated sufficient harmony with nature and Mirrowen, he or she will be presented with a talisman that will enable him or her to hear the thoughts of spirit creatures and be able to communicate back. The variety of spirit creatures is diverse and so Druidecht often only stay in one place for a few years and then move to another place to learn about the denizens there. The Druidecht are the only outsiders trusted by the Boeotians to enter their lands unharmed.

  Fear Liath: a spirit creature of great power known to inhabit high mountain country. Their presence causes fog and fear to disorient and terrify their prey. There are no recorded descriptions of a Fear Liath. They cannot tolerate sunlight.

  Finder: a class found in nearly every kingdom, trained to search for lost items or people. They can track prints, discern clues, and are often hired as bounty hunters or guides. Finders trained in the city usually do not associate with those trained in the wild.

  Fireblood: an innate magical ability possessed by a lost race. The race purportedly are the predecessors of the inhabitants of Stonehollow and are much persecuted. They appear to be a mix of Aeduan with some physical resemblance to Preachán for most have red or copper-colored hair. Their race is impervious to the Plague and for this reason they are distrusted and hunted during outbreaks and their blood dabbed on door lintels, which is commonly believed to ward off infection to the household. The real name of the race is unknown, but it is said they can conjure fire with their hands and that overuse of such innate ability renders them permanently insane.

  Keramat: a Vaettir word for the innate ability to produce miracles, such as healing, raising the dead, traveling vast distances in moments, and calming storms. The secrets of the Keramat are zealously guarded by the Vaettir and have not been disclosed to the Archivists of Kenatos.

  Kishion: a class originating in the island kingdom of Kenatos. These are the Arch-Rike’s personal bodyguards and administer the city’s justice on those convicted of heinous crimes, such as murder, rape, and treason. Only Bhikhu and Finders are chosen to be Kishion and are given extensive training in survival, diplomacy, and poison. They are unswervingly loyal to the Arch-Rike and to the ideals of Kenatos.

  Mirrowen: a concept and possibly a location. The Druidecht teach that the world coexists with a spirit realm called Mirrowen and that the inhabitants of each can communicate with one another. The realm of Mirrowen is said to be inhabited by immortal spirits with vast powers. There is little belief in this dogma in the larger cities, where they consider the belief trite and superstitious, a way of coping with the regular horrors of the Plague by imagining a state of existence where there is no death. The Druidecht suggest there is ample evidence of Mirrowen’s existence and roam the lands teaching people to be harmonious with nature.

  Paracelsus: a class from Kenatos and Alkire. Enigmatic and reclusive, these practitioners of arcane arts study the records of the past to tame vast sources of power. Some Paracelses excel at forging weapons of power to sell for profit in Havenrook. Others experiment with new sources of energy, which they harness into powerful gems to be used by the ruling class. Most Paracelses specialize in specific forces and phenomena and document their findings in great tomes that they contribute to the Archive of Kenatos. The Paracelsus Towers in Kenatos is the hub of their order, though many travel to distant kingdoms to continue unraveling clues from the past.

  Plague: a terrible disease that strikes the kingdoms at least once every generation, destroying entire cities and dwindling the population. There is no documented record of the ori
gins of the Plague and over the millennia the kingdoms have drawn closer and closer together for the preservation of their races. Documents discovered in abandoned towns and fortresses reveal that there are complete civilizations that have been wiped out by the Plague and races that used to exist but no longer do. The island kingdom of Kenatos was founded to be a last bastion for civilization and to preserve all knowledge and a remnant of each surviving race.

  Preachán: a race from the trading city of Havenrook. They tend to be short, brown- or red-haired, and have an amazing capacity for deductive reasoning and complex arithmetic. They also have a deep-rooted desire for wealth and the thrill of gambling. They employ the Romani to execute their trading system and are generally devoid of morals. The Preachán take pride that there are no laws or rules in Havenrook. Those who rule are the ones who have accumulated the most wealth and prestige.

  Rike: a class who lead the island kingdom of Kenatos. They are often mistaken for a priesthood of Seithrall, but in reality they are more like academics, physicians, and lawyers. While many believe them to possess magical powers, their power comes from the artifacts created by the Paracelsus order. With such, they can heal injuries and cure Plague victims. They are frequently dressed in a black cassock, but the most telltale sign is the ring that they wear. It is a black stone that purportedly gives them the ability to detect a lie spoken in their presence as well as to compel a weak-willed person to speak the truth.

  Romani: a class that has no country or kingdom. Romani can be of any race. They control the caravan routes and deliver goods between kingdoms with the strongest allegiance to the Preachán city of Havenrook. They are forbidden to enter or to operate within Silvandom. Romani are known for kidnapping and organized crime. Starting at age eight, they are sold into service at ten-year increments. Their value increases in age and training and usually diminishes with age and disability. Each decade of servitude corresponds with an earring, which they cannot remove under pain of death. Their freedom may be purchased for a single, usually large, lump sum.

  Seithrall: a quasi-religion existing in the island kingdom of Kenatos. The term is a transliteration of the Vaettir words for “fate” or “faith,” as one being under the thrall of one or the other. While the Rikes of Kenatos do not suggest that the term connotes a specific religion, the populace of the city has given it a mystical quality as it is not possible to lie to a Rike who wears the black ring.

  Shaliah: a class of Silvandom known for the keramat of healing. This ability is innate and comes from their closeness to nature and the ability to share their life force with others.

  Sylph: a spirit creature of Mirrowen that is tiny and can travel great distances and provide warnings of danger and healing.

  Talisman: a Druidecht charm, fixed to a necklace, which is presented to the Druidecht by the spirits of Mirrowen upon achieving a sufficient level of respect, usually achieved by adulthood. The emblem is a woven-knot pattern, intricately done, and it purportedly allows a Druidecht to commune with unseen spirits.

  Tay al-Ard: spirit beings of great power that possess the gift of moving people and objects great distances in mere moments. It is considered a keramat to be able to induce such spirits to perform this feat.

  Uddhava: a Bhikhu philosophy and way of life that centers on the observation and discernment of the motives of others, and then acting in a way that validates or rejects the observation. Life is a series of intricate moves and countermoves between people, and a Bhikhu who can make the observations and reactions faster than an opponent will win a confrontation.

  Vaettir: a race from Silvandom that values life above all. They are generally tall and slender, dark-skinned, with black hair. They do not eat meat and seek to preserve life in all its various forms. Their magic is innate and the wise use and practice of it is known as keramat. When they inhale deeply, their bodies become buoyant and can float. When they exhale deeply, their bodies become more dense and solid and they sink.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Many thanks to all the staff at 47North for their hard work and expert advice. A special thank-you to David Pomerico who liked the synopsis of Mirrowen enough to sign me up. I was the first author he signed when he joined 47North, and he was my first real editor. Also thanks to my early readers (again) for their feedback and encouragement: Gina, Karen, Robin, and Emily. I also would like to thank the fabulous Chris Cerasi and Clarence Haynes, whose input and guidance improved the trilogy and helped me tug at your heartstrings. And finally, to all my wonderful readers who have waited patiently (and not so patiently) for this series to finish.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Photo © 2012 Kim Bills

  Author of the Legends of Muirwood trilogy, Landmoor, Silverkin, and numerous stories and articles for the fantasy e-zine Deep Magic, Jeff Wheeler has long been fascinated with medieval history and lore. His inspiration for the Whispers from Mirrowen trilogy stemmed from reading about the Black Death and its devastation in Europe and from his research into ancient Roman and Greek civilizations. Jeff took an early retirement from his career at Intel in 2014 to become a full-time author. He is, most importantly, a husband and father, a devout member of his church, and is occasionally spotted roaming hills with oak trees and granite boulders in California or in any number of the state’s majestic redwood groves.

  Visit the author’s website: www.jeff-wheeler.com