Time of the Eagle

For Kael

May you grow to be a finished person,

knowing wholly who you are, having absolute peace,

totally embracing your path and your destiny,

and knowing the All-father as

your Friend.

Like
Secret Sacrament
(the story of Gabriel), this story about his daughter, Avala, arose out of a time of personal difficulty and pain. And again, as with Gabriel's story, many friends gave support and encouragement. My special thanks go to Caroline, who first persuaded me that
Time of the Eagle
must be written; and to Jean, whose friendship and encouragement keep alive the writer-spirit in me. Deepest thanks go, again, to my editor, Antonia Markiet, without whose wisdom and guidance Avala might have given up her battle, and I the struggle the write it down. But there was joy, too, in the writing of this novel—the pleasure of the company of old friends not visited for several years: Salverion, Sheel Chandra, Ashila, and the eternal spirit of Gabriel, the healer.

Sherryl Jordan

Tauranga, New Zealand

June 2006