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213 pages

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When a sorcerer's apprentice locks a powerful spirit in a tree, the nomadic tribes of the Arctic face a bleak future. Supplies of game and fish dwindle, and young men desert their families on a quest of illusory dreams. Included in the expedition to deal with the vengeful tree spirit are young Dorno and the woman he rescued, Sheena. He is seeking high adventure; she is in search of her foster parents. Neither of them is aware of the far more terrible foe that lurks in the shade of the tree. This first volume of a trilogy weaves together elements of science fiction and fantasy to produce an exploration of human needs and values.

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Science fiction

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Publié par	Austin Macauley Publishers
Date de parution	30 septembre 2019
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781645365150
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

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The Wishing Tree
Bevan Knight
Austin Macauley Publishers
2019-09-30
The Wishing Tree About the Author About the Book Dedication Copyright Information © Acknowledgements Prologue The Great Desert, Southern Arkland, Mid-Autumn, 478 Ornicon Valley, Central Ifflune, Spring Equinox, 487 Jahland Peninsula, Southern Ifflune, Late Autumn, 498 Chapter 1 The Beluga Auk Bay, Southern Ifflune, Sixteenth Day of Spring, 1037 Chapter 2 Celebration Chapter 3 The Bear Chapter 4 The Foundling Central Ifflune, Fourteenth Day of Autumn, 1024 (Thirteen Years Earlier) Chapter 5 Sheena Chapter 6 A Tunnel Through the Dark Central Ifflune, Winter Solstice, 1037 Chapter 7 The Visitors Chapter 8 Communion Chapter 9 The Cauldron Chapter 10 How Man Lost His Coat Chapter 11 Into the Storm Chapter 12 The Barricades Fail Chapter 13 Pickup Old Man Range, West Ifflune, Tenth Day of Summer, 1040 Chapter 14 The Gathering Chapter 15 Travelers’ Tales Sharcot, West Ifflune Chapter 16 Disappearing Acts Chapter 17 Spirited Away Chapter 18 Gateway to Hell Ashcon Fells, North Arkland, Fifty-Fourth Day of Summer, 484 Chapter 19 The Edge of Darkness Chapter 20 The Great Cold Sunshine Valley, North Arkland, Second Day of Autumn, 484 Chapter 21 Dreams and Illusions North Arkland, Near Sunshine Valley, Early Autumn, 492 Chapter 22 Tragic Journey Chapter 23 The Capture Hidden Valley, Central Ifflune, 1040, Thirteenth Day of Summer Chapter 24 I Will Be Your Eyes Ornicon Valley, Central Ifflune, First Day of Winter, 1038 Chapter 25 Council of War Sharcot, West Ifflune, Fifteenth Day of Summer, 1040 Chapter 26 The Oracle Chapter 27 Anywhere but Here Ornicon Valley, Central Ifflune, First Day of Summer, 1040 Chapter 28 Cat and Mouse Ornicon Valley, Central Ifflune, Fourteenth Day of Summer, 1040 Chapter 29 Monster in the Box Ornicon Valley, Central Ifflune, Twenty-Sixth Day of Summer, 1040 Chapter 30 The Legend of Thror Chapter 31 Silent Depths Ornicon Valley, Central Ifflune, Twenty-Seventh Day of Summer, 1040 Chapter 32 The Weakest Link Sharcot, West Ifflune, Thirtieth Day of Summer, 1040 Chapter 33 The Seal Hunter Central Ifflune, Thirty-Second Day of Summer, 1040 Chapter 34 Zac’s Big Idea High Plateau, Central Ifflune, Fortieth Day of Summer Chapter 35 The Little Girl Who Wanted the Moon Central Lowlands, Ifflune, Forty-Second Day of Summer Chapter 36 A Bleak North Wind Central Lowlands, Ifflune, Forty-Eighth Day of Summer Chapter 37 Seeing the Light High Plateau, Central Ifflune, Forty-Seventh Day of Summer Chapter 38 Keeper of the Fort Ornicon Valley, Central Ifflune Chapter 39 Advancing Shadows Ornicon Valley, Central Ifflune, Summer Solstice, 1040 Chapter 40 An Illusory Landscape Grand Plateau, Central Ifflune, Fifty-Second Day of Summer, 1040 Chapter 41 Human Resources Ornicon Valley, Central Ifflune Chapter 42 The Guardians Monks Range, Central Ifflune Chapter 43 A Riddle Chapter 44 Sweet Darkness Chapter 45 The Death Light Chapter 46 Into the Vortex Chapter 47 The Shortest Possible Route Chapter 48 Home Thoughts Ornicon Valley, Central Ifflune, First Day of Autumn, 1040 Chapter 49 Picking Up the Pieces Ornicon Valley, Central Ifflune, Thirteenth Day of Autumn, 1040 Chapter 50 Chamber of Secrets Chapter 51 Recovery and Loss Chapter 52 Paradise Lost Ornicon Valley, Central Ifflune, Autumn Equinox, 1040 Chapter 53 The Serpent and the Gnome Chapter 54 Some Nonsense About Swans Chapter 55 The Reckoning Chapter 56 Betrayal Chapter 57 Hominoids Don’t Do Sampling Chapter 58 Homecoming Chapter 59 Reconciliation Chapter 60 The Blessing Walrus Bay, Southern Ifflune, Tenth Day of Spring, 1041 Epilogue Nine Years Later Willow Valley, Ifflune, Fiftieth Day of Summer, 1049 Extracts from Euse’s Guide to Hominoids
About the Author
Bevan Knight is a retired librarian who lives in Wellington, New Zealand, with his wife, Naomi. The Wishing Tree is his first novel and the first volume of a planned trilogy.
About the Book
When a sorcerer’s apprentice locks a powerful spirit in a tree, the nomadic tribes of the Arctic face a bleak future. Supplies of game and fish dwindle, and young men desert their families on a quest of illusory dreams. Included in the expedition to deal with the vengeful tree spirit are young Dorno and the woman he rescued, Sheena. He is seeking high adventure; she is in search of her foster parents. Neither of them is aware of the far more terrible foe that lurks in the shade of the tree.
This first volume of a trilogy weaves together elements of science fiction and fantasy to produce an exploration of human needs and values.
Dedication
To Naomi, whose patient editing enabled this book to turn
from a dream into a reality.
Copyright Information ©
Bevan Knight (2019)
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher.
Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
Ordering Information:
Quantity sales: special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the publisher at the address below.
Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication data
Knight, Bevan
The Wishing Tree
ISBN 9781645365150 (ePub e-book)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2019910939
The main category of the book — FICTION / Science Fiction / Time Travel
www.austinmacauley.com/us
First Published (2019)
Austin Macauley Publishers LLC
40 Wall Street, 28th Floor
New York, NY 10005
USA
mail-usa@austinmacauley.com
+1 (646) 5125767
Acknowledgements
I am indebted to Fred Bruemmer, whose book, Arctic Memories: Living with the Inuit (Key Porter Books, 1993), inspired me to write The Wishing Tree .
In the little village of Lam Tsuen, in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong, there are two special trees, and people still come by the thousands to see them, and to make paper wishes. Once the joss paper was thrown high into the branches of the trees, and the higher the paper could go, the more effective the wish was believed to be. Now the trees are protected from so much paper, and wooden racks bear the burden of so many wishes.
On another planet, circling a remote star very much like our sun, there is a tree that needs no such protection. One cannot say the same about that planet’s inhabitants.
Prologue

The Great Desert, Southern Arkland, Mid-Autumn, 478
Roricon became aware of a slight scuffling noise. He opened one eye. In the darkness, he could just discern a pale light from the tent flap as a black shadow moved forward and nudged his shoulder. “Yes, master?”
“Shh. Come.”
He rolled over, his body sore from weeks of grueling training. Cursing under his breath, he groped about in the dark for hat, jacket, and boots. Away from the camp, he grumbled.
“It is very late, master.”
“Not at all. It is very early. Wait for it…” He held up his hand in a characteristic gesture. “The dawn wind.”
Now Roricon heard the soft, soughing rustle through sparse vegetation, and in a moment the breeze was upon them. He greeted the cooling air with relief, but the wizard pulled his hooded cloak more firmly around himself.
“Come, little one. We have a journey to make.”
“Felsing?” queried the dwarf.
“No, this is for your eyes only.”
The wizard chuckled. “And your ears only. Say nothing to your brother.”
“Yes, master.”
“What you are about to learn will complete your training. It will be your crowning moment.”
“But master, have I not finished my apprenticeship?”
“Yes, my dear Roricon—for an ordinary wizard, yes! For your brother, for example. But this…this will be our secret.”
Without further speech, they began their upward climb through a wilderness of barren rock. Dawn broke through a dark canopy of scudding clouds, and the rising wind tugged out the wizard’s gray locks from under his hood.
Roricon, who barely reached the wizard’s waist, scowled as he ran to stay abreast of his master. In spite of the endearments and special treatment, he was far from pleased. He had expected to relax that day, and so when they reached a high plateau at last, he threw himself down and lay stubbornly upon his back.
“Not far now,” the wizard called as he continued to march forward. Silently cursing, Roricon rose again and ran to catch up. The old man paused. Then he whispered, “Make no sound. Watch carefully now!” They moved cautiously onward for a time and then crouched low behind a concealing rock. Ahead lay a landscape of stones and windblown sand. Some thirty paces ahead, a slender shrub bobbed and swayed in the wind. Roricon looked quizzically at the wizard and was about to speak, but the old man raised a finger to his lips. “Keep watching!” he hissed. Something was happening. A dark amorphous shape, like a pall of black smoke, emerged from the plant. First came fine tendrils that waved in the wind, twisting and turning one way, and then another, as if to test its strength.
As Roricon watched, fascinated, the smoke thickened, flowed faster, and then formed into a compact little cloud. The wizard leaned across and whispered in Roricon’s ear, “The world’s most deadly spirit in cohabitation with the world’s most dangerous tree. We are fortunate indeed that these spirits are mostly interested in trees.”
“Master, what is so special about this little plant?”
“See how it grows, here in this arid place where little else can grow? When it needs to feed, it emits a scent that attracts insects and small animals. It feeds directly on the body fluids of its prey, or it lets them rot to fertilize the ground.”
Roricon studied the sapling with renewed interest. It was a pl