Blood of the Goddess Book I: The Locust King
Blood of the Goddess Book I: The Locust King
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The plateau of Adyll was born out of the sea, pushed up through tectonic pressures over a million years ago. To the east, beyond the cliffs where the capital city is located, lies a formidable desert which stretches for hundreds of miles, uninhabited except by tribal nomads who are Adyll's only contact with the outside world. To the west, the waves of the ocean crash violently into the steep rocks at its edge.
Adyll's people have lived in this land peacefully for over a thousand years, raising livestock in the craggy mountain landscape, and growing crops in the fertile mountain soil. Rains come every year at the right time, brought in by winds from the ocean. In winter, snow covers the tops of the mountains, but lower elevations still remain temperate. There is no need for outside contact for the nation of Adyll. And Adyll's people have no desire for outsiders.
The royal family of Adyll is believed to be descendants of the Goddess known as the Lady. All people of Adyll are descended from Her, but the Queens of Adyll come from one direct line of eldest daughters of eldest daughters, who can trace themselves back to the daughter of the Goddess Herself. The worship of the Goddess is tied into every custom and way of life upon the plateau, from the shepherds who worship at sacred springs and bring their sheep for sacrifice at the Temple, to the coins used in every marketplace, to the Oracles who channel the Goddess during times of need.
Adyllians believe that when she is needed the most, there will be a daughter born to the royal house who will lead them from the darkness the way that the Lady led Her own children from the desert, when She raised their land from the floor of the sea and set them upon it.
But what need could Adyll ever have upon their plateau, high above the troubles of the outside world?
There have been whispers that have made their way even into the Land of Adyll... whispers of a man who is not a man. A man who is God-Among-Men, called Mahleck. Mahleck the Locust King, and his vast army called The Swarm.
Emissaries from foreign lands have come to Adyll begging for help, and the Adyllians turned their back upon them. What did they have to fear upon their high mountains with the walls given to them by their Mother Goddess, The Lady? So the emissaries were turned away, and Adyll enjoyed their last peaceful years in the safety of their plateau. Until The Swarm came across the desert and destroyed the nomadic tribes at the base of the mountains, and by then it was too late.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Locusts at the Gate
Chapter 2: A New Name
Chapter 3: The Capital Prepares
Chapter 4: The Princess is Dead, Long Live the Princess
Chapter 5: Outside the Gates
Chapter 6: Inside the Black Tent
Chapter 7: Surrender at the Temple
Chapter 8: The Cult of the Locust
Chapter 9: The Locust's Tenets of Faith
Chapter 10: Mourners on the Cliff
Chapter 11: The Eye of Betrayal
Chapter 12: The Dead King's Bedchamber
Chapter 13: The Arms of the Goddess
Chapter 14: Zayaan of the Narim
Chapter 15: The Eyes of the Priestess
Chapter 16: A More Permanent Disguise
Chapter 17: Tribute
Chapter 18: Sacrifice of the New Moon
Chapter 19: The Lost Bird
Chapter 20: Manah and the Priestess
Chapter 21: Desert Creatures
Chapter 22: Become the Swarm
Chapter 23 The Price of Betrayal
Chapter 24: Life Under the Locust
Chapter 25: Wild Rose
Chapter 26: The Lady Wren
Chapter 27: Thought and Desire
Chapter 28: The Lady's Captivity
Chapter 29: The Wine Maiden
Chapter 30: End of Childhood
Chapter 31: The Children of Aisha
Chapter 32: The Forest Runner
Chapter 33: Three Sisters
Chapter 34: The Hunt
Chapter 35: Bones in the Forest
Chapter 36: Lullaby
Chapter 37: The Hunter's Horn
Chapter 38: Ways Between Ways
Chapter 39: Morning Star
Chapter 40: A Prophecy for Baraz
Chapter 41: Equinox Fires
Chapter 42: The Lord Prince Takri
Chapter 43: Evening Star Sets
Chapter 44: Chaos in the Courtyard
Chapter 45: Dasha
Chapter 46: Memories
Chapter 47: The Body Slave
Chapter 48: Caged Beasts
Chapter 49: Message from the Capital
Chapter 50: Heresiarch
Chapter 51: The Color of Blood
Chapter 52: Winter Winds
Chapter 53: The Bookmaker's Closet
Chapter 54: Wrapped in Dignity and Beauty
Chapter 55: Vessel of the Goddess
Chapter 56: Cracks in the Walls
Chapter 57: Two Brothers
Chapter 58: The Court of Women
Chapter 59: Favored of the King
Chapter 60: The Sweetest Fruit
Chapter 61: Daughter of the Temple
Chapter 62: A Nation of Bastards
Chapter 63: The Lute Player
Chapter 64: Aisha's Prayer
Chapter 65: Promises
Chapter 66: Lives Lost
Chapter 67: The Tea Maker
Chapter 68: Object of Desire
Chapter 69: Empty Shelves
Chapter 70: Darkness and Light
Chapter 71: The Love of Men
Chapter 72: The Cursed Ones
Chapter 73: Hiding Places
Chapter 74: Old Men's Tales
Chapter 75: False Prophecies
Chapter 76: The Lord Prince Radu
Chapter 77: Love Becomes Life
Chapter 78: Mistress and Mother
Chapter 79: A Test of Strength
Chapter 80: The Strigoi-Viu Cometh
Chapter 81: Scraps from the Table
Chapter 82: A Fool's Errand
Chapter 83: The Little Ghost
Chapter 84: Stolen Honeycakes
Chapter 85: Breathe
Chapter 86: Beneath the Palace
Chapter 87: Red Pebbles
Chapter 88: Common Men
Chapter 89: Love and Duty
Chapter 90: Nightmares
Chapter 91: Earth and Sun
Chapter 92: Love and Creation
Chapter 93: Until My Last Breath
Chapter 94: Fruit and Flower
Chapter 95: Two Days
Chapter 96: Small Comforts
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