Healing Terreille
Chapter 1, Final Revision
August 10th, 2004
No one saw it coming. Not Dorothea, the self-titled High Priestess of Hayll, her tame coven, or the rest of the Blood that lived in Terreille. In their hatred and fear of Saeton Daemon Sadiablo and his two sons, Lucivar and Daemon, the Blood of the Light Realm had failed to look beyond them to the real threat in Kaeleer. They forgot about Witch and what it meant to be dreams made flesh.
They forgot how to honour the Darkness and they forgot what they were meant to be. They forgot the title "caretakers of the land" was more than just empty words. They forgot that the Queens were the hearts of the lands they ruled and the courts that existed around them.
They forgot everything about what they were and let themselves be led by lies and half-truths spun by a Black Widow to ensnare their minds. They could see what was happening but were helpless to prevent the bedding of young witches only to see them rise, shattered and sealed away from themselves. By the time they were done forgetting, the way back had been lost and the few who yearned for a different life mourned the loss without knowing why.
When Witch spiralled down into the abyss and gathered her strength, she released it against the Blood and spared no one. The only hope and salvation seen that night was provided by the demon dead, blood singing to the blood, like to like. A remnant was saved but the cost was the entire population of the Dark Realm. The High Lord of Hell and sole survivor did not count himself lucky to have missed that final glorious battlefield.
When it was done, very few Blood were left alive and whole. The Dark Court was dissolved and Kaeleer's heart hung between life and death, with the kindred calling her desperately back to life. The Taint was finally gone and the Blood could start healing.
In Kaeleer, the Queens temporarily left their courts and travelled the land, aiding those areas devastated by the Purge and singing the land awake. Little Terreille was abandoned and the survivors found new homes in other courts and provinces. The kindred retreated to their territories but did not seal them. The portals were guarded and life continued.
What Jaenelle had failed to stop, however, was the further deterioration of Terreille. When she unleashed her dark strength, the ones who suffered the most were the Darker Jewelled Blood and the higher castes; the ones controlled by Dorothea. Without the strong Queens to tame the aggressive Warlord Princes and sing the land awake, the Blood society began to dissolve into anarchy. The rampaging males who craved service but didn't know how to without harming what they yearned to protect ended up destroying many of the remaining young Queens and witches brave enough to form courts.
Adrift in a world where they had no clue what they were supposed to be, the Blood longed for the days of Dorothea's rule because it was something they knew and understood. Years passed and the Terreille that Dorothea and Hekatah had created began to reemerge. Males were still controlled and dominated by females they didn't necessarily want to serve but were no longer ringed. Young females rose from their Virgin Nights able to wear their Jewels but lacked the confidence and knowledge to form a strong court when they came of age. Sealed away from Kaeleer by the guarded portals, no help was forthcoming and the realms remained oblivious to one another.
Through it all, the land howled in pain and rage, crying out for help. Lost amide the cacophony of the everyday struggle for life, its cries went unheeded and the land began to slip away.
A word from the author:
Okay, so I know I said I wasn't going to post anything until I had a ton of chapters done, but I can't do it. :$ -- me being embarrassed. I need people's opinions. Better? Worse? Should I bother continuing or do you guys prefer the old version?
Pretty much what I did was explain a few things better and start it a different way. As well as the notable inclusion of a new character who's going to be pretty important. You'll meet her next chapter. See if you can figure out who it is. ;)
So my problem last time, was that I couldn't really explain the "evil" characters without saying, whoops! Jaenelle screwed up and didn't REALLY remove the taint like we all thought. This new explanation is what I ALWAYS planned on writing, but couldn't figure out how to say it. So yah, hope that clears up the confusion on why I'm doing this. Oh yah, I also had a really neat idea for another DJT story but didn't have the time to write it, so now I'm just kinda including it in this one. :D they were the essential characters I needed but hadn't written in.
No guarantees on when the next chapter is coming out, but they normally come out in two chapters spate so look for that in about two weeks or so. At least, that's how long they take to be written and proof read adequately. Add another week for betaing and that puts it at about three weeks. Sorry. :(
On that note, a big shout out goes to my beta, Avery/Foxfire for being the bestest beta ever. ;) She's got several stories on this site, all of them fantastic. Her current one is about Wilhemina although my favorites are her short stories that are sort of a SLIGHT continuation of the novels without being fulfledge stories. Really neat.
Anywho, gotta run, hope you enjoyed and don't forget to review!!!
P.S. if any one wants to read or compare this story to the old version, just let me know and I'll email it to you. All 18 chapters as you request. This is for new readers who might be curious about how I'm trying to improve. All suggestions welcome and please review!!
Later
Bells/Robyn