Feast of Chaos (Four Feasts Till Darkness Book 3)
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Authors: Christian A. Brown
FEAST OF CHAOS
A Novel of Geadhain
CHRISTIAN A. BROWN
Copyright © 2016 by Christian A. Brown
Feast of Chaos
is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted in writing from the author/ publisher.
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 0994014422
ISBN 13: 9780994014429
For the children, poets, and protectors of Geadhain
(For the readers)
CONTENTS
ON GEADHAIN (GLOSSARY)
I: Paragons, Wonders, and Horrors
Brutus
:
The Sun King. Brutus is the second of the Immortal Kings and ruler of the Summerlands in southern Geadhain. Zioch, the City of Gold, shines like a gold star on the southern horizon and is the seat of his power. Brutus is the master of the wilderness and the hunt. His magik has dominion over the physical world and self. He is victim to the Black Queen’s whispers and falls far from his nobility.
Lilehum (Lila)
:
Magnus’s bride. Magnus sought her when learning to live as a man independent of his ageless brother. Through the sharing of blood and ancient vows—the
Fuilimean
—she is drawn into the mystery of the immortal brothers and imbued with a sliver of their magik. She is a sorceress and possibly eternal in her years. She is wise, kind, and comely without compare. However, she is ruthless if her kingdom or bloodmate is threatened.
Magnus
:
The Immortal King of the North. Magnus is one of two guardians of the Waking World. The other is his brother, Brutus. The Everfair King—the colloquial name for Magnus—rules Eod, the City of Wonders. He is living magik itself; a sorcerer without compare; and the master of the forces of ice, thunder, Will, and intellect.
Morigan
:
A young woman living a rather unremarkable life as the handmaiden to an elderly sorcerer, Thackery Thule. A world of wonder and horror engulfs her after a chance, perhaps fated, meeting with the Wolf. She learns she is an axis of magik, mystery, and Fate to the proceedings of
Geadhain’s Great War. In the darkest days that she and her companions must face, her heroism and oft-tested virtue will determine much of the world’s salvation or ruin.
Thackery Hadrian Thule (Whitehawk)
:
An old sorcerer living in Eod. Thackery lives an unassuming life as a man of modest stature. However, he is a man with many skeletons in his closet. He has no known children or family, and he cares for Morigan as if she were his daughter. Morigan’s grace will touch him, too, and he is drawn into the web of Fate she weaves.
The Black Queen, Zionae
\
’
Zē-ō-’nā\: A shapeless, bodiless, monstrous entity without empathy who seeks to undo the Immortal Kings and the world’s order. Her actions—those who perceive these things sense she is a she—are horrific and inexplicable.
The Dreamstalker
:
A vile presence that haunts and travels the waters of Dream as Morigan does. She is the Herald of the Black Queen, Zionae’s voice in the physical world.
The Lady of Luck, Charazance
\’SHer-āh-zans\: The Dreamer of serendipity, gambles, and games. Alastair is her vessel.
The Sisters Three—Ealasyd
\
’
Ēl-ə-sid\,
Elemech
\
’
El-ə-mek\, and
Eean
\
’
Ē-en\: From youngest to eldest in appearance, they are Ealasyd, Elemech, and Eean. The Sisters Three are a trio of ageless witches who live in the woods of Alabion. They are known to hold sway over the destinies of men. They can be capricious, philanthropic, or woefully cruel. One must be careful when bartering with the Sisters Three for their wisdom. There is always a price.
The Wanderer, Feyhazir
\’Ph-āe-āh-ˈzi(ə)r\: The Dreamer of mystery, seduction and desire. He is Morigan’s father.
The Wolf, Caenith
\
’
Kā-nith\: A smith of Eod. His fearsome, raw exterior hides an animal and a dreadful wrath. Caenith is a conflicted creature—a beast, man, poet, lover, and killer. Caenith believes himself beyond salvation, and he passes the years making metal skins and claws for the slow-walkers of Geadhain while drowning himself in bitter remorse. He does not know it, but Morigan will pull him from his darkness and make him confront what is most black and wicked within him.
II: Eod’s Finest
Adhamh (Adam)
:
An exiled changeling of Briongrahd. Noble, loyal, and loving, his only hatred is for those like the White Wolf, who abuse and punish life. Humble Adam has a destiny beyond what he or others would ever expect.
Beauregard Fischer
:
A waifish, lyrical young man lost in the Summerlands with his father. In his past and soul lies a great mystery. His cheek is marked with the birthmark of the one true northern star.
Devlin Fischer
:
A seasoned hunter and Beauregard’s father. He is as gruff and hairy as a bear.
Dorvain
:
Master of the North Watch and Leonitis’s brother. He is a brutish, gruff warrior tempered by the winds of the Northlands. He is dependable and unflappable. He is an oak of a man who will not bend to the winds of change or war.
Erithitek
\
’
Ᾱr-ith-ə-’tek\: More commonly referred to as “Erik.” He is the king’s hammer. Erik was once an orphaned child of the Salt Forests and a member of the Kree tribe, but Magnus took him in. Erik now serves as his right hand.
Galivad
:
Master of the East Watch. The youngest of Eod’s watchmasters, he is seen by many as unfit for the post because of his pretty face, foppish manner, and cavalier airs. He laughs and sings to avoid the pain of remembering what he has lost.
Jebidiah Rotbottom
:
A flamboyant spice merchant from Sorsetta. He sails the breadth of Geadhain in a garish, crimson vessel—the
Red Mary
. Currently, he uses different aliases, for reasons no doubt unscrupulous and suspect.
Leonitis
:
The Lion. He is thusly named for his roar, grandeur, and courage. He is the Ninth Legion master of Eod (King Magnus’s personal legion). Once Geadhain’s Great War commences, he will play many roles from soldier to spy to hero. Leonitis’s thread of destiny is long and woven through many Fates.
Lowelia Larson (Lowe)
:
The queen knows her as the Lady of Whispers. Lowelia seems a simple, high-standing palace servant, yet her doughy, pleasant demeanor conceals a shrewd mind and a vengeful secret.
Maggie Halm
:
Maggie is the granddaughter of Cordenzia, an infamous whoremistress who traded her power for freedom from the Iron City. Maggie runs an establishment called the Silk Purse in Taroch’s Arm.
Rowena
:
She is Queen Lila’s sword and Her Majesty’s left hand. Rowena’s tale was destined for a swift, bleak end until the queen intervened and saved Rowena’s young life. Since that day, Rowena has revered Queen Lila as a mother and true savior.
Tabitha Fischer
:
The sole magistrate of Willowholme. She has assumed this role not by choice but through tragedy.
Talwyn Blackmore
:
The illegitimate son of Roland Blackmore (since deceased). Talwyn is a kind, brilliant scholar and inheritor of all the virtue that escaped his half brother, Augustus. Talwyn lives in Riverton. His thirst for knowledge often makes him cross boundaries of decorum.
III: Menos’s Darkest Souls
Aadore Brennoch
:
An Iron-born survivor. A woman whose strange lineage comes from the far, far East. Once a handmaiden to the Lady El, she will leave that meager station behind and rise into a woman of prominence and legend alongside her brother.