for
Debra Dixon
and
Annemarie Jason

Acknowledgements

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

My thanks to Blair Boone for continuing to be my first reader, to Debra Dixon for being second reader, to Laura Anne Gilman for giving me the go-ahead to do these stories and to Anne Sowards for seeing the book through to completion, to Kandra for her continued patience in keeping up the Web site, and to Pat and Bill Feidner for the dinners and laughter and all the other things that make them special.

JEWELS

WHITE
YELLOW
TIGER EYE
ROSE
SUMMER-SKY
PURPLE DUSK
OPAL*
GREEN
SAPPHIRE
RED
GRAY
EBON-GRAY
BLACK

*Opal is the dividing line between lighter and darker
Jewels because it can be either.

When making the Offering to the Darkness, a person can
descend a maximum of three ranks from his/her
Birthright Jewel.

Example: Birthright White could descend to Rose.

BLOOD HIERARCHY/CASTES

MALES:

landen—non-Blood of any race

Blood male—a general term for all males of the Blood; also refers to any Blood male who doesn’t wear Jewels

Warlord—a Jeweled male equal in status to a witch

Prince—a Jeweled male equal in status to a Priestess or a Healer

Warlord Prince—a dangerous, extremely aggressive Jeweled male; in status, slightly lower than a Queen

FEMALES:

landen—non-Blood of any race

Blood female—a general term for all females of the Blood; mostly refers to any Blood female who doesn’t wear Jewels

witch—a Blood female who wears Jewels but isn’t one of the other hierarchical levels; also refers to any Jeweled female

Healer—a witch who heals physical wounds and illnesses; equal in status to a Priestess and a Prince

Priestess—a witch who cares for altars, Sanctuaries and Dark Altars; witnesses handfasts and marriages; performs offerings; equal in status to a Healer and a Prince

Black Widow—a witch who heals the mind; weaves the tangled webs of dreams and visions; is trained in illusions and poisons

Queen—a witch who rules the Blood; is considered to be the land’s heart and the Blood’s moral center; as such, she is the focal point of their society

PLACES IN THE REALMS MENTIONED IN THESE STORIES

TERREILLE

Askavi
Black Valley—valley that is the Keep’s territory
Blood Run
Ebon Askavi (aka the Black Mountain, the Keep)
Khaldharon Run
Dhemlan
SaDiablo Hall
Hayll
Draega—capital city
Zuulaman Islands

KAELEER (THE SHADOW REALM)

Arachna
Arceria
Askavi
Agio—Blood village in Ebon Rih
Blood Run
Doun—Blood village in Ebon Rih
Ebon Askavi (aka the Black Mountain, the Keep)
Ebon Rih—valley that is the Keep’s territory
Khaldharon Run
Riada—Blood village in Ebon Rih

Dea al Mon
Dharo
Dhemlan
Amdarh—capital city
Halaway—village near SaDiablo Hall
SaDiablo Hall (the Hall)
Fyreborn Islands
Glacia
Nharkhava
Scelt (shelt)
Maghre (ma-gra)—village
Sceval (she-VAL)

HELL (THE DARK REALM, THE REALM OF THE DEAD)

Ebon Askavi (aka the Black Mountain, the Keep) SaDiablo Hall

AUTHOR’S NOTE
The “Sc” in the names Scelt and Sceval is pronouced “Sh.”

WEAVER OF DREAMS - Long, long ago . . .

WEAVER OF DREAMS

Long, long ago . . .

Chapter 1

1