The Ciphers of Muirwood (37 page)

EPILOGUE

S
abine Demont h
ad visited every kingdom and people, including the benighted realm of Naess. Her journeys on the
Holk
had led to the waterfalls of Avinion, the lush vineyards of Mon, and the snow-capped mountains of Hautland . . . to countless ports and shores where she had eaten dishes of melted cheese, meat of every kind, fruits and vegetables that always surprised and delighted her. She loved people. She loved learning about their habits and traits, not just individually, but collectively. She had seen some customs and traditions throughout the kingdoms that were pleasing and some that were offensive, and had quietly longed for the quiet glades and mountains of Pry-Ree, her homeland, her people.

Standing on a scrub-choked hill overlooking a vast lake, she saw the dazzling realm of Assinica and wept for its simple, elegant beauty and the knowledge that the Victus were about to demolish it.

From the crest of the hill, she could see the armada at anchor.

AUTHOR’S NOTE

There is something magical about a second book, at least for me. I am normally on a fast journey to bring my readers through the roller coaster of events, but I like to slow things down (just a little) in book two and delve more into the relationships between characters. That is why
Blight of Muirwood
is my favorite of the original trilogy and
Ciphers
will likely be my favorite in this one.

When my oldest child finished reading the original Muirwood series (after staying up nearly all night to finish it—as a parent I wasn’t happy with her sleepiness the next day, but as an author I was more than flattered!), she told me that Colvin and Lia had never had their maypole dance. She looked me in the eye and said that I
had
to make up for it in the next series. I looked at her, sighed, and then as usually happens, my imagination started to spark with some ideas. One of the guiding principles of the Medium is that it connects things, like a bridge between elements, a conduit between the living and the dead. But it has power over time as well. Astute readers from
Blight
remember that Garen Demont’s army evaded destruction from the Earl of Caspur by entering an abbey on one day and showing up in time to save Muirwood on another day. The jump was only a few days. But bridging centuries isn’t any more difficult. I have to admit that I enjoyed bringing Lia and Colvin back for a cameo as well. That was fun to write.

I will also admit that I loved bringing much of the action back to Lia’s childhood abbey. Muirwood itself is a character in the story with its own personality. There are certain places I know that feel like the abbey grounds to me.

I titled this book
Ciphers
because the word has many definitions. In modern times, it means a code to scramble letters to help conceal a message’s true meaning. Another definition is “one that has no weight, worth, or influence.” In Maia’s day, women were like ciphers. They were not permitted to read for fear of them becoming hetaera. To challenge this notion, and to help further the Covenant of Muirwood, the Aldermastons of Muirwood trained girls in secret. Even their title misconstrued their true purpose and identity. As a medieval history major in college, I discovered evidence of female spies at work in the political kingdoms. More on this in my
next
trilogy!

As Maia has proved, even someone completely shunned and forsaken is never powerless. It begins with a thought.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Many thanks to all the staff at 47North for bringing this book out on the heels of
Banished
. I love how Amazon Publishing partners with its authors to bend the rules and try new things. I would especially like to thank my wife, Gina, for her insights into Maia and Collier and their tangled relationship, which really added to the story. I’d also like to express appreciation to my small cohort of readers for their continued feedback, input, and encouragement: Gina, Emily, Karen, Robin, Shannon, and Rachelle. Once again, I would like to thank the fabulous Angela Polidoro, whose input and enthusiasm improved the book and made it better. Her ability to catch little mistakes spread hundreds of pages apart and fix them is truly astonishing. My apologies for killing Argus. I liked him too.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Photograph © Kim Bills

Jeff Wheeler 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, and a devout member of his church. He 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
.