previously posted in conjuction with Prism Book Tours in 2014
In the course of edits, Secrets Kept lost the opening chapter where we catch a glimpse of the Sacred Pearl. Later in the story, we learn that the Sacred Pearl was kidnapped during the attack on Dagmar, the headquarters of the Guardians.
But what is so special about the Pearl?
Karasi. She lived and ruled with the Chai of Zohar thousands of years ago. Before Stygian’s tyranny, when the giants called the Prathae Plains their home, and Ruwachs walked freely among the inhabitants. Back before the world was called Nälu and was simply known as the aenlu. The Chai oversaw the development of the land, the creation of nations, and made sure everything was properly recorded, answering directly to Vituko, the Shadow God himself.
No one challenged the Shadow God and the Chai until a human caught the eye of a Ruwach. The spirit being known now as Taethza possessed the body of young woman and seduced him. Stygian. Together they plotted to overthrow the Shadow God and rule all of aenlu, but Karasi discovered them. A great battle broke out, and Vituko’s anger shook the land and split it, creating a great Abyss between aenlu and Zohar, and aenlu became known as Talesri among the Chai. The Broken Land.
Taethza was thrown into the Abyss, but Stygian escaped. He took Karasi and fled to Talesri. Under Taethza’s influence, Stygian built an altar and sealed Karasi within it. The blood of the innocent would bathe Karasi for the next thousand or so years. To survive, Karasi crafted a large pearl to withdraw into and shield herself from the torment, and in doing so, joined her spirit to the pearl. She would not be free of it until she returned to Zohar. When Stygian’s rule finally ended, Karasi was released from her prison, but instead of returning home, she chose to remain to help rebuild the land and the nations. With the help of the merfolk and the Naajiso, she established the Perimeter to keep the Tainted One, Stygian, and their evil from crossing over again. She appointed the first Guardians and determined to teach them and guide them until the end of Nälu.
But for the last three hundred years, Karasi has been silent. She no longer appears before the Guardians, and her words are fading from the minds of the people. Rumors say she is dead, but the light still pulses from her pearl. Does her silence mean the end is near? Can a spirit being grow old and die? But the Guardians know one thing for certain, Karasi is aware of the growing apathy among the nations, of the evil gathering within the shadows. Taethza is stirring, but who will be her puppet this time?