Course of Mirrors , livre ebook

Troubador Publishing Ltd - Ashen Venema

Découvre YouScribe en t'inscrivant gratuitement

Je m'inscris

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

130 pages

English

Vous pourrez modifier la taille du texte de cet ouvrage

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

A propos
Informations
Extrait

Description

Set in a mythical time on earth, Course of Mirrors follows the story of a rebellious young woman, Ana, in search of her destiny. Ana spends years of her life in isolation and caught in a rift between the disparate realms of her parents. Her spirit is affirmed by Cara, her soul-sister living in the twentieth century, who beckons her across time. They have a task together, for which Ana much travel west. The night before her covert departure, Ana is given a confidential letter that burdens her adventure with secrecy. Ana travels between her parents' realms in disguise, crossing dangerous bridges and battling dark fears. She evades the ominous plans of a maverick preacher and shortly after meets her first love, Luke. He and the preacher are twins, though both are ignorant of this. As the two brothers fight to win Ana and betrayals begin to unravel, Ana attempts to bridge the gap between love and power.Course of Mirrors is a gripping and enchanting story of a young woman's odyssey. Its overriding theme of a quest for belonging has a universal recognisability and appeal, and will be continued in Ashen's sequel, Shapers, in which Ana's journey continues into future worlds. Inspired by 1001 Nights, and writers like Ursula Le Guin, Ashen Venema's debut novel will appeal to fans of fantasy novels and those who enjoy coming-of-age mysteries.

Sujets

Fantasy (canción de Mariah Carey)

Adventure (Guyana)

Adventure fiction

Adventure

Fantasy

Informations

Publié par	Troubador Publishing Ltd
Date de parution	28 avril 2017
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781788038386
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	2 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0200€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

Copyright © 2017 Ashen Venema
Cover photograph © Ashen Venema

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers.

Matador
9 Priory Business Park,
Wistow Road, Kibworth Beauchamp,
Leicestershire. LE8 0RX
Tel: 0116 279 2299
Email: books@troubador.co.uk
Web: www.troubador.co.uk/matador
Twitter: @matadorbooks

ISBN 9781788038386

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Matador® is an imprint of Troubador Publishing Ltd
I thank my heart family of friends and foes, who enriched my journey, my son, who taught me to have a fresh look at the world, my inspiring mentor, Fazal Inayat-Khan, Susan Harding for generously providing the map for this novel, and my editor, Evlynn Zohra Sharp, for her steady and generous support.
About the Author
Ashen Venema used to work as a photojournalist and stills-photographer for directors of The New German Cinema, based in Munich, until she moved to the UK during the1980s. Motherhood inspired her to pursue a career in transpersonal psychotherapy. She has published articles, short stories and poems. In 2011 she co-edited ‘ Heart of a Sufi ,’ a prism of reflections about a remarkable Sufi teacher. The book has been converted to an e-book by Troubador.
Special thanks to Ramsay Wood for permission to use the tale of ‘The Cormorant and the Star’ as it appears in his Kindle edition of KALILA AND DIMNA, VOL 1: Fables of Friendship and Betrayal .
https://www.amazon.co.uk/KALILA-DIMNA-Fables-Friendship-Betrayal-ebook/dp/B002AQTGM0
Contents
Prologue

CHAPTER 1
The bridge
The cave

CHAPTER 2
Elements speak
The fire

CHAPTER 3
Inti country
Across the river to Kars
Inti’s premonition

CHAPTER 4
Rheine becomes an ally
A sinister plot
Rescue mission

CHAPTER 5
Miracle
A confrontation on Inti’s bridge
The painter

CHAPTER 6
Poachers at the bridge
Meeting Luke

CHAPTER 7
Towards Nimra
Inti at Nimra Castle
The attack
Devastation at the oxbow
A connection is made
Meeting Tuck

CHAPTER 8
Festival preparations at Katun Court
A new identity

CHAPTER 9
Sir Lazlo’s estate

CHAPTER 10
Signs of a past conspiracy
Lazlo sleepwalks
CHAPTER 11
Performances at Katun Court
Midnight ride
On the road with Starbud and Wolf

CHAPTER 12
Disclosures at Rowan Hill

CHAPTER 13
The miracle performance is disrupted
Insights – Sandro and the kings

CHAPTER 14
Southern love
Suspect

CHAPTER 15
Magna Spring
The enigma of Sabur
Luke finds his father

CHAPTER 16
Ruskin’s lecture
The painter’s loss
Ana’s insight
Luke’s resolution

CHAPTER 17
Batin alias Atreus
Rufus crosses a line
Lydia’s lament

CHAPTER 18
Walk at the edge
Ana collides with Vita
A fateful gathering

CHAPTER 19
The island
Ana’s bluff
The deep well

CHAPTER 20
Vita’s dark night
Into unknowing
At the Mad Sea Fish
Rufus presents his trophy

CHAPTER 21
Boss and her passion
Luke and Kun find Ana
Batin encounters unexpected players

CHAPTER 22
Chaos in Rusk
Recruitment for the insurgence
Lorna’s belief in wings
Cockroaches in the hellhole

CHAPTER 23
Luke and Kun don’t smell good
River Dragon
Lorna’s flight
A message in the sky
Dragon’s Landing
Little Snake survives
Ana defies Rufus

CHAPTER 24
Batin’s tunnel escape
Interception
Ambivalences

CHAPTER 25
Heart-bridge
River Dragon arrives in Rusk
Things happen in Cassia’s kitchen

CHAPTER 26
Rufus is shadowed
Sword dance

CHAPTER 27
Court of splendour
Zara
A wind of light

CHAPTER 28
Words that fly and words that land

CHAPTER 29
Musical flight
Black coffee and missions
The sign

Epilogue (an excerpt from the sequel, Shapers )
Course of Mirrors – cast
Ana – Ananda of Inti and Katun, alias Mat , alias Tara
Cara – Ana’s invisible friend from the future
River-being – a spirit Ana meets on the bridge
Inti – Queen of Nimrich, mother to Ana
Katun – King of Katun Provinces, married to Inti.
Viola – Katun’s mother, alias Wanda
Sandro – Katun’s deputy commander
Baba – Katun’s mother and Ana’s mentor
Munro – Inti’s sister-in-law, governess of Inti’s realm, Nimrich
Morgan – elder son of Munro, Ana’s cousin
Dion – younger son of Munro, Ana’s cousin
Rufus – alias preacher , mysterious orphan, ward of Batin, Ana’s troubled love
Vassilo and Marco – the preacher’s cohorts, Vassilo paints Ana’s icons
Luke – alias Sirus , mysterious orphan, pupil of Ruskin, Ana’s first love
Rheine – healer who helps Ana escape the preacher in Kars, widow of Ruskin’s estranged brother
Vita – Rheine’s daughter who left for Itaka
Kun – Rheine’s son who left for Itaka
Ruskin – magus of Rusk, Itaka, Inti’s former lover
Little Snake – snake-charming youth and ward of Ruskin
Cassia – Ruskin’s housekeeper, also a prophetess and a Shaper
Aknar – King of Itaka, widowed by Portia, who died in childbirth
Zara – Aknar’s daughter
Batin – alias Atreus , estranged twin of Aknar
Dsing – Atreus’s housekeeper
Lydia – foster mother to Rufus, former maid at Rusk palace, former lover of Batin
Boss – fisherwoman, partner and lover of Lydia

Magic Theatre Troupe’s main characters

Tatum – leader of the troupe
Saki – Chinaman, clown and cook
Lorna – inventor of a flying device
Anke – mother of a young boy, Mushki
Elim – musician

Significant characters Ana meets on her journey

Tuck – Munro’s servant
Starbud – a horse rescued from poachers
Moody – a mule that carries Rheine and Ana’s merchandise
Wolf – Tuck’s faithful dog Ana can communicate with
Agnes – daughter of Sir Lazlo
Sir Lazlo – estate owner and horse breeder
Lionel – artist and lover of Ana
Merit – a smallholder and artist who encourages Ana’s art
Slink – a snitch to Atreus in Magna Spring, later named Shakur
Sabur – a musician and lover of Ana
Ma and Fa – the couple that offer lodgings to Ana
Kidd – a fellow student of Ana at Magna Spring
Count Nemo – director of Magna Spring University of Arts

Places
Katun Court – where Ana grows up and spends ten years in isolation due to the plague
Ana’s tree house – beyond Katun Court
River Gazal – runs from the Gazal Mountains to Itaka, divides Katun Provinces and Nimrich
Gazal mountains – behind Katun Court, and bordering the Eastern Provinces
Kars Sky Theatre – in Katun Provinces; place of Ana’s miracle
Stonba – capital of Kars
Nimra – river town in Nimrich, also the location of Inti’s family home, Nimra Castle
Lazlo estate – in Estan, where mercenaries hide the loot of gold and hold Inti hostage
Tivoli – town near where Lionel has his olive orchards
Magna Spring – university town at the Southern Sea
Castle Vineyard – home of Atreus, alias Batin, near Magna Spring
Coz – most western river town in Nimrich below Pellin Mountains
Urs – most western river town in Katun Provinces, opposite Coz
Urs Container offices – Batin’s undercover operation in Urs
Rusk – harbour town and capital of Itaka
Rusk Palace – court of splendour
Rowan Hill – residence of Ruskin the magus of Rusk
Western Ocean – calling Ana and Luke to different dimensions, the next journey (the sequal – Shapers)
Prologue
Our relationship is a riddle. Cara could be dreaming me as her mythical other – or I am dreaming her, existing in a future time. Whatever the truth, we have a joint task to accomplish, though for its nature to be revealed I must travel west. Often Cara’s voice arrives like a tide in my heart and we meet in spaces where time is malleable. As a token of our link, I record facets of her life in my diary, which contains pages I read so often they fall open by themselves – like this account of her childhood:
I am a love child, born in the wake of World War II, a welcome ray of hope in a barren landscape. My family’s possessions are destroyed by bombs – tools of technical warfare, dropped from flying machines high in the sky onto densely populated towns. Bombs kill unimaginable numbers of people from a distance.
My parents create a new life from the rubble. They rent the attic flat of an alpine house whose owners live within the floors below us. Their querulous voices in the hall are relieved by the aroma of cooking. Spices linger longest, like the cinnamon my mother adds to sweets.
In high summer the lake down the hill attracts storms like a magnet. I sense the drama while the sky is still blue. My skin prickles. I might be playing among the meadows. The bell-grass stops swaying and stands to attention. The horizon wobbles. I sniff the air