How we got here. *spoilers*
How we got here…
As soon as I finish my current project, Ghost with Hope. I will start on Servant of the Sun for the NaNo Camps.
Prologue: HOW WE GOT HERE...
DO NOT read this if you have not read Servant of the Moon and Daughter of the Tides
CONTAINS SPOILERS.
How we got here...
Hundreds of years ago, explores came to the Americas. They were humans, wolves, and even a few vampires. To the north, they found vast land rich with resources, to the far south the same, but in the middle, they found a kingdom of stone cities built in the jungle. The first encounter was recorded by a vampire monk who was fortunate enough to escape the witches and warriors of the kingdom. He spent days observing the worship and practices of the cult before fleeing the empire that burned the hearts and blood of their victims. They believed the soul of their high priest was passed from one generation to the next. They worshiped a deity called Huitzilopochtli, the sun-war god who demanded blood sacrifices be burned daily. He escaped through the jungle to the coast and a ship took him across the sea where he recounted his horrible tale.
The choice of the church and the conclave of species was to end this empire as a threat to all that lived. But some one or something warned the priests and priestesses and they hid themselves when the invaders returned with an army of the strongest warriors, both human and nonhuman. The slaughter would have made Huitzilopochtli very happy. Then the history was rewritten, the temples and cities were left abandoned to be found by later generations and the colonizers moved north and south away from the cursed lands of the Sun-god witches.
The Des Rues wolves were the descendants of a treacherous prince who had been exiled rather than killed after he attempted to seize the Old World Throne of the Monarchs. Sent to the New World with his followers, the Des Rues were often called the Brown Furs because of their sable coloring. They tried time and again to establish the monarchy in this land but the Moon and Her Servants had stopped them each time. The monarchy was not to be established based on bloodlines but on the very nobility of the beating hearts of the worthy.
The future monarchs of the New world, honorable Warrior King and Queen with the pure heart, were born in a small pack of warriors with an ancient and honorable history, the Des Rues sought again to change their destiny twice by stealing young Moira Wemyss to be the mate for their own heir. The second time they failed again but they destroyed the Wemyss wolves through magic and treachery.
Only a few survived that night in the New Wemyss territory, and a few years later, Comhnyall MacGeal and the young oracle Ainsley Wemyss were the only ones left. He is a warrior who vowed to serve the Moon in exchange for his mate’s life, he did not know it would only be for a season. Now that Moira has died, he hates the Moon Goddess and her Delphi, but He is bound to his destiny and a promise to the Moon cannot be broken. He has been offered a Boon, he wishes to refuse. The Delphi gave up her mate on the Moon so Moire would not be alone and Nyall may choose another to be his queen. He has to choose; his faith and destiny or the end of the world… If he survives.
The current Alpha Charles Des Rues discovered he had not one, but two sons, Charlemagne from his true mate, an apostate Oracle, and Helios, a halfling, from a witch he had an affair with. The half-brothers are determined build the monarch in their family’s name, but Beta Lothaire, Charles’ older brother was not so sure. Too many times he had seen his brother’s plans go wrong, and he did not trust his nephew Helios or his witch mother Soleil.
The witch is descended from the Sunworshipers and they still believed in the old god and the way of blood-burning sect and so does her son. The Dephi of the Wolves and the Augur Seer of the Vampyr can see him for what he truly is, an old soul wearing a young wolf’s skin.
The Sun-worshipers were as patient as they were evil. So they waited as their newest Alpha came of age, the son their high priestess and of a powerful Alpha of Royal linage, indwelt but the servant of their dun god. Meanwhile they gathered power and more followers. Harvesting small covens and packs, burning the blood of vampires and wolves alike until the day they could wage war and hand this world over to their Sun God of Death and Chaos, but first they had to overcome the Servants of the Moon and their powerful Delphis.
Desiring to burn the world for the one he serves, Helios Des Rues is no longer content burning the blood of vampire and humans, he is harvesting small packs and slaughtering them from youngest to eldest while the deceives his followers with flowery words and smooth promises of their greatest desires… and all he asks in return in their soul under the claim that the Moon Goddess is dead and has abandoned them to struggle in this modern human world. The war of beliefs has begun in earnest with attacks on the Moon’s Temples. As the gods and goddess move their pieces, the mortals struggle with the weight of war.
None know who will win, or If any will survive the Servant of the Sun.
To change and control their fate, the Des Rues sought to steal the last Naphtal oracles on two occasions twelve years apart, both attempts failed.
The twin daughters of Delphi Tamaza grew to be the most powerful oracles in generations. At five, they could share visions. At twelve, they witnessed the murder of their pack before it happened, but the plan to get them to safety was revealed by a traitor. On the stormy night of their escape, the eldest twin was given a choice, lose her sister or sacrifice her future, but the sacrifice was not what she thought and instead of death, Esther Ayala faced a life without most of her gift. The loss reduced her, and she was no longer an oracle, so she hid her pain behind a callous and careless attitude, but in truth, she was terrified of meeting her mate, because he is the Sun Wolf of her nightmares and Delilah’s visions.
Delilah Ayala, a powerful oracle, was spared the night her pack fell by her sister’s sacrifice, and so years later she faced a sacrifice of her own, her mate Luca, who loved her as much as he could until his last breath. Gifted with her mother’s power over the Sacred Waters of the Tides, she performed many, almost miraculous tasked but she could not save her mate and her greatest fear was that she could not save her sister or anyone in the war to come. Especially after the fall of the Moon’s Temples and the slaughter of the Servants of the Moon.
If she survives, she can be a light in the dark times to come...
If she can convince the King-to-be to return to his destiny, all will be saved...
If...
INFO ABOUT SERVANTS
Who are the Servants of the Moon? The Servants of the Moon are a collection of oracles, wanderers, and teachers who’s duty it is to help wolves who are struggling and go where the Goddess sends them. Oracles have the ability to see beyond this world and receive messages from the Goddess. They are the Keepers of Faith in the Moon Goddess. They are peacemakers, peace seekers, and peace keepers. Those who leave the temples to work in the world are caller Wanderers, they are liaisons between the oracles and packs, there are several ranks of Wanderers. Warrior Wanderers called Protectors are those who go out to train and defend smaller packs or act as moderators during intra-pack conflicts. Seeker Wanderers are basically spies, usually trackers, it is the job of Seekers to discern intrigue and discover information to help clarify the visions of the oracles. Teachers instruct on the faith in the Goddess, traditions and history of the werewolf world, and the sovereignty of all wolves.
They are those Chosen by the Moon Herself and who have promised to serve Her. She marks them Herself. Sometimes their Mark is visible to all, sometimes it is only visible to other Servants. Male servants have dark swirling Moon Mark tattoos over the right shoulder and around the torso. Female servants are ‘moon painted’, their Moon Marks are only visible in moonlight or in daylight, to those Servants who are Moon blessed. Not all wolves can see the ‘moon painted’ marks of female servants, but pure blood vampires and some earth-witches can.
The Delphi is the highest ranked and most powerful oracle, she is the Moon’s highest representative. Often the she-wolf chosen has powers other oracles do not, They are responsible for training acolytes and discerning visions that other Oracles find confusing. She is chosen by a group of Elder Oracles, but the decision does not have to be unanimous. In recent years, a Delphi was chosen based on political reasons of some of the Elders, which resulted in disastrous consequences since she used her influence to increase to prestige of her pack and harmed other packs. The Goddess became angry, sending terrifying warning which were only heeded by some. She was stripped of her title as Delphi and sent back to her home pack. Sometimes the office of Delphi remains vacant until a worthy candidate is found or comes of age. The temples are associated with packs devoted to the Moon, not all are Servants but most are dedicated to their duty.
The Oracles have two main temples, both located in sacred lakes; in the west is the Eye of the Goddess, called Crater Lake by the humans, and in the east is the Moon’s Gate called Lake Manicouagan or the Manicouagan Reservoir by the humans.
The Tides of the Sacred Waters is the place between the worlds where the Oracles gain their visions. Some oracles only see into the Tides called shallow scrying or wading. Other Oracles, such as the Delphi, can actually travel across the strange spirit world, called Walking the Tides, witnessing things in the real world as the happen and seeing the possible futures of choices to come. When they are Walking the Tides, the oracles exist in what is called their Tidal form, like an astral projection in either skin or wolf. They can see into the Fields of the Moon (werewolf heaven) sometimes with tragic or painful results. Most Oracles use their tools to control their visions and keep themselves from becoming lost in the Tides. Some Oracles can be pulled into visions by refracted images, flickering light, or flashing lightning, or by the Goddess Herself. Oracles are not to scry for themselves, because doing so often results in the most painful or horrific of revelations, ie. the deaths of themselves or loved ones.
Tools of Oracles: Oracles use bowls of water made of different types of stone that call the a certain oracle or pools of water, natural or built. Rare oracles can use silver bowls or silver-backed mirrors. Some also use carved runes to seek guidance. Runes can be made of ivory, bone, stone, or wood, like the . Incense is burned in certain blends to help focus oracles. The Naphtal oracles have a Tide stone, a smooth piece of Labradorite, that helps them enter the Tides and in the case of the most powerful oracles, share visions.
