The ABC of Fantasy Creatures: D is for Dryads
Are you looking for a summer read? It’s e-book SALE TIME! On Sunday Dawn of Purple and Grey will be included in a virtual fair. I’ll be uploading the link as a comment tomorrow. But if that isn’t enough….
From yesterday till Monday, the e-book version of Dawn of Purple and Grey (book 1 of The Hyllethan Gifts Trilogy) is FREE; book #2 Days of Wind and Snow is reduced to 99c and, if you’ll like to have the whole set, The Hyllethan Gifts Trilogy is out on pre-order for the special price of $1.99.
Don’t miss out. The Hyllethan Gifts Trilogy has never been so low priced.
Now let’s talk about Fantasy Creatures…
In the last newsletter, I tackled D is for Dragons and in the intervening week I uploaded a post on Instagram, Facebook or Tiktok with a second creature starting with D—D is for Dwarves. If you’d like to have a look at that, click here.
Today’s creature also starts with D: D is for Dryads
Dryads derive from Greek mythology and are nature spirits / nymphs who live in trees. These creatures are often depicted as young, beautiful, shy women.
The word dryad used to refer to oak tree nymphs as the word drys (from where dryad originates) means oak in Greek. In fact, one can find various names for tree spirits that inhabit other types of trees, but nowadays the word dryad is used to refer to any tree spirit.
Dryads are long-lived creatures—they are sometimes depicted as immortal or as living as long as the tree they are connected to. Trees connected to tree spirits are often seen to be found in sacred groves.
Some self-promo!
In the Inner Lands, there are three ways sixteen-year-old Shael can get herself and her family killed—by looking like the enemy; by working with the enemy; by becoming the enemy.
When sixteen-year-old Shael unknowingly helps a mortally wounded thief, he entrusts her with delivering three figurines to the lord of her castle. Too late, Shael discovers that the figurines were stolen from the Hyllethans, her country’s feared enemies. And since she cut her fingers on the figurines while handling them, she is now linked to them. Any breakage or pressure on the clay is felt on her flesh.
Despite her reluctance to aid the enemy, Shael teams up with three Hyllethans to retrieve the figurines and break the connection. Shael is caught in the tussle for the thrones of the two lands. To avoid becoming a pawn—or dangle from a hangman’s noose—she has to regain possession of the figurines and face the unsuspected secrets of her lost past.
Three thrones. Two power-hungry mages. One girl standing in their way.
Exiled in Hylletha, sixteen-year-old Shael longs to return to the land of her birth but her brother Iysel, the new, terrifying mage-king of the Inner Lands, wants her dead. Shael’s very existence threatens Iysel’s right to the throne since she is the holder of the magical Gift of Touch, which is traditionally held by the monarch.
To ensure peace, Theis, the young man Shael loves, goes to Iysel’s court to negotiate the reunification of Hylletha and the Inner Lands under one ruler. But when Shael’s young foster brother is abducted and held prisoner in the Inner Lands, Shael has only her limited knowledge of spellcraft to help her stay out of Iysel’s reach, rescue her foster brother and make sure Theis doesn’t bear the brunt of Iysel’s rage.
Complicating matters further, Iysel has won the unexpected support of their wily cousin—the son of the king of a neighbouring land and an extraordinary mage—who has his own reasons for wanting to get hold of Shael.
The stability of the three realms lies in the balance. Faced by intrigue and betrayal from all sides, Shael must choose between protecting the lives of those she loves or taking up her role as princess and heir to the thrones to safeguard the welfare of the people.
She’ll be crowned queen—if she lives that long.
With her coronation fast approaching, Shael fears the debilitating effects of poisoning resulting from her stint in the dragons’ birthing grounds will make her unfit to rule. But this becomes the least of her worries when her brother Iysel turns up claiming he’s the true King of Hylletha as well as heir to Dragonia. Shael is determined to protect the realms from the merciless mage, but the documents that challenge Iysel’s right to the thrones have disappeared.
Protecting the realms isn’t the only reason for finding the missing documents. Proving Iysel’s duplicity is the surest way of saving Theis, the love of Shael’s live, whom Iysel has accused of desertion and treason.
With time running out, with assassins stalking her every move and her health failing, Shael sets out to unravel the tangled web of deceit and greed ensnaring her and the kingdoms. Unfortunately, the most obvious culprit isn’t always the only enemy.
Dawn of Purple and Grey, Days of Wind and Snow, and Night of Rites and Wraiths (The Hyllethan Gifts Trilogy) are available through Amazon either as individual books or as a Complete Series Box Set.
Till next time,
Caroline
