Alba Sulh
The Third Wraeththu Trilogy
published 2004, 2008 & 2014
The Alba Sulh Sequence
The Hienama
Book 1 of the Alba Sulh Sequence
When Jassenah har Sulh arrives in the Wraeththu town of Jesith to train magically with the famous hienama Ysobi, he’s unprepared for the effect this har will have on him. Ysobi opens Jassenah’s mind to the potential that hara can reach for and in doing so, also opens his heart.
Just as it seems Jassenah has achieved his heart’s desire, a new student arrives, in the form of Gesaril, a damaged young creature with mysteries lurking in his past. The magic of both the unseen world and that of harish emotions conspire to destroy Jassenah’s idyllic life, until he feels he’s forced to stoop to equally cruel methods to salvage his happiness. But at what cost?
The Hienama is a rich and deeply erotic tale of the Wraeththu, set in the magical land of Alba Sulh. This is not a story of great leaders who affect the destiny of all, but simply that of hara who live on the land and in the wake of human passing are trying to establish communities. They strive to cast off human limitations but sometimes this task proves difficult, especially when it involves matters of the heart, when all the dark anxieties and jealousy of their previous human condition can rise to torment them.
Cover by Ruby
2nd edition, Immanion Press, 2008
Student of Kyme
Book Two of The Alba Sulh Sequence
‘There is great store set upon the fact that Wraeththu are superior to humankind, but the truth of it is that we have the potential to be greater. We derive from humanity, and even those of us who proudly call ourselves ‘pure born’ still carry within us the material of our forebears. There have been great conflicts in our short history, and it is these that scholars use as illustrations in their discourses on how we can progress as a species. But to me, the smaller conflicts are just as important. While tribes might clash, and the lessons learned from these wars be world-changing, our personal battles are of equal value. These are the dramas we encounter in everyday life, in our small corners of the world; in work, in play, in love.’
The young Wraeththu har, Gesaril, has been shamed and cast out of Jesith, after an inappropriate affair with his hienama, Ysobi. Ysobi’s reputation was at stake, so Gesaril was made the scapegoat. Taken in by Huriel Har Kyme, a codexia of the famed Alba Sulh academy, Gesaril vows to begin his life anew in the Wraeththu city of learning. He is determined to put the past and its ghosts behind him, to restore his name and prove to hara he is not what Ysobi painted him to be.
But sometimes the past will not lie quietly in its grave, and Gesaril soon learns he must confront the restless ghosts and fight them. Ysobi is not done with him, but no har will believe him. If he is to retain his sanity and his hard won new life, Gesaril must win this bitter war alone, with magic dark and light. This is a powerful story of obsession, betrayal and doomed love, sure to be a hit with Wraeththu fans and followers of the dark and Gothic alike.
Cover by Ruby
Immanion Press, 2008
The Moonshawl
Book Three of The Alba Sulh Sequence
Ysbryd drwg… the bad ghost
Ysobi har Jesith embarks upon a job far from home, where his history isn’t known – a welcome freedom. Hired by Wyva, the phylarch of the Wyvachi tribe, Ysobi goes to Gwyllion to create a spiritual system based upon local folklore, but he soon discovers some of that folklore is out of bounds, taboo...
Secrets lurk in the soil of Gwyllion, and the old house Meadow Mynd, home of the Wyvachi leaders. The house and the land are haunted. The fields are soaked in blood and echo with the cries of those who were slaughtered there, almost a century ago. In Gwyllion, the past doesn’t go away, and the hara who live there cling to it, remembering still their human ancestors. Tribal families maintain ancient enmities, inspired by a horrific murder in the past.
Old hatreds and a thirst for vengeance have been awoken by the approaching feybraiha – coming of age – of Wvya’s son, Myvyen. If the harling is to survive, Ysobi must help him confront the past, lay the ghosts to rest and scour the tainted soil of malice. But the ysbryd drwg is strong, built of a century of resentment and evil thoughts. Is it too powerful, even for a scholarly hienama with Ysobi’s experience and skill?
The Moonshawl, an artefact of protection, was once fashioned to keep Wyvachi heirs from harm, but the threads are old and worn, the magic fading, and its sacred sites – which might empower it once more – are prohibited. Only by understanding what the shawl symbolises and how it once controlled the ysbryd drwg can Ysobi even attempt to prevent the terrible tragedy that looms to engulf the Wyvachi tribe.
Cover by Ruby
Immanion Press, 2014
