The people of Torak's world looked pretty much like you or me, but their way of life was very different. They didn't have writing, metals, or the wheel, but they didn't need them. They were superb survivors. They knew all about the animals, trees, plants, and rocks of the Forest. When they wanted something, they knew where to find it, or how to make it.
They lived in small clans, and many of them moved around a lot: some staying in camp for just a few days, like the Wolf Clan; others staying for a whole moon or a season, like the Raven and Willow Clans; while others stayed put all year round, like the Seal Clan. Thus some of the clans have moved since the events inOutcast,as
295 you'll see from the amended map.
When I was researching Oath Breaker,I visited a number of the ancient trees with which the United Kingdom is so richly endowed. I also spent time in the largest area of primeval lowland forest left in Europe, in the Bialowie|a National Park in eastern Poland. There I saw the|ubroD(a hybrid of cattle and European bison), boar, tarpan (a kind of wild horse), a number of lightning-struck trees, and more species of woodpecker than I'd ever seen. In Bialowie|a I gained inspiration for the various parts of the Deep Forest and its inhabitants, particularly during my long hikes into the Strictly Protected Area of the Forest. I also got the chance to study two magnificent beaver dams and lodges, which gave me the inspiration for Torak's hiding place.
Needless to say, I have also kept up my friendship with the wolves of the UK Wolf Conservation Trust. Watching the cubs grow to young adulthood and talking to their devoted volunteer caregivers has been a constant source of inspiration and encouragement.
I want to thank everyone at the UK Wolf Conservation Trust for letting me get close to their wonderful wolves; the Woodland Trust for helping me gain access to some of the ancient trees featured in my research; Mr. Derrick Coyle, the Yeoman Ravenmaster of the Tower of London, whose extensive knowledge and experience of the ravens
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there has been a continual inspiration; the friendly and helpful people of the Authority of the Bialowie|a National Park and the Natural History and Forestry Museum at Bialowie|a; the guides of the Biuro Ustug Przewodnickich Puszcza Bialowie|a and the PTTK Biuro Turistyczne, particularly the Rev. Mieczyslaw Piotrowski, Chief Guide of the PTTK, who--with the gracious permission of the Chief Forester of the Druszki district of the Bialowie|a National Forest--made it possible for me to see those beaver lodges.
Finally, and as always, I want to thank my agent, Peter Cox, for his tireless enthusiasm and support; and my truly gifted and altogether wonderful editor and publisher, Fiona Kennedy, for her imagination, commitment, and understanding.
Michelle Paver
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MICHELLE PAVER
was born in central Africa but went to England as a child. After earning a degree in biochemistry from Oxford University, she became a partner in a London law firm but eventually gave that up to write full-time.
The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series came from Michelle's lifelong passion for animals, anthropology, and the distant past--as well as an encounter with a large bear in a remote valley in Southern California. To research the books, Michelle has traveled to Finland, Greenland, Sweden, Norway, Arctic Canada, Poland, and the Carpathian Mountains. She has slept on reindeer skins, swum with wild killer whales, and gotten nose to nose with polar bears--and, of course, wolves. The books have
been made into widely acclaimed audiobooks, read by Ian McKellen.
been made into widely acclaimed audiobooks, read by Ian McKellen. 298 Find out more about CHRONICLES OF ANCIENT DARKNESS at www.chroniclesofancientdarkness.com.
Explore Torak's world, read and listen to excerpts from the book, find your clan, download maps of the Forest and the Seal Islands, and read more about the author. Visit Michelle Paver's website at www.michellepaver.com and meet other readers ofOath Breaker'at the official worldwide fan site, www.torak.info.
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