Synopses & Reviews
Stolen away from their families, they are slaves, women with no names and no futures. Every moment of their days controlled by the avatars of the stone Eyes--Obsidian, Emerald, Raxinan, Ruby, Windcrystal, Sapphire, Sunspar, Tigereye...
And the most powerful of them all, Hawkspar, the eyes of time. Kings and despots come to her to know their futures, and she wades in the river of time, pulls apart its sticky threads, to arrange the world to her satisfaction. But she too was once a slave, plucked from her home, chosen by the Eyes to live in service to them, as much a slave now as she ever was. And with her sight into past and future, she can see the secrets of the Eyes--and the evil of the Eyes. Before the death of Hawkspar, another must be chosen by the Eyes--but the avatar has her own plans, and chooses a slave for her courage and rebelliousness, rather than her dedication to the goals of the Eyes. This slave is put to trial, but time after time, she is protected by forces unseen. Once she has swallowed the bitter liquid and has her eyes pulled from her head and replaced with the Eyes of Hawkspar stone, she can slip into the streams of time... and use time to her own ends -- to free the slaves once and for all, and destroy the Eyes, even if it means destroying herself in the process.
Review
"Anyone will likely be captivated by this stern and stirring treatise on the dangers of enforced peace and the virtues of paranoid preparation for the worst."--Publishers Weekly on Talyn "Fierce loyalties, foul magics and fresh plot twists abound in Holly Lisle's tale of love, war and possession."--Jacqueline Carey, bestselling author of Kushiel's Dart on Talyn
Synopsis
You have been chosen by the Hawkspar Eyes of War to become the new avatar, the new Goddess of War made flesh. From this day forward, you sacrifice all that you are to Vran Vrota and the good of the Order. Vran Vrota has chosen you; and we, vessels of the other aspects of the Sacred We, welcome you into our midst.
Stolen away from their families, they are slaves; women with no names and no futures. Every moment of their day is controlled by the avatars of the stone Eyes: Obsidian, Emerald, Raxinan, Ruby, Windcrystal, Sapphire, Sunspar, Tigereye…
Plucked from the ranks of slavery, protected by forces unseen, she is put to trial and found worthy. With her eyes replaced by eyes of Hawkspar stone, she can slip into the streams of time. Her vision—of the past, the present, and the future—lets her see the secret of the Eyes—and their evil.
Kings and despots come to her to know their futures. As she pulls apart the sticky threads of time to arrange the world to her satisfaction, the new avatar knows that she must find a way to use time to her own ends—to free the slaves once and for all, and to destroy the Eyes, even if it means destroying herself in the process.
About the Author
Holly Lisle is a professional writer. She lives in Georgia.