This Emerald Crucible

"Nobody was prepared when the Dessication began. And as waterways failed and crops died, we gave up our pride and were made fools."

– Excerpt from ‘A Life of Thirst’
A creepy little black-stone statue kneels on a plinth, its head bent backwards, mouth wide, from which a sharp, spiked tongue protrudes upwards.

ENTER THE CRUCIBLE

REIUK IS USED TO THIRST. That's the reality of life in Tenolar — a city wrenched from the hands of oblivion after a great catyclism, long ago, now a stoic guardian of the sands.

It's a quiet life but that's how Reiuk likes it. The Path Gardens is the only patch of greenery for miles and working there allows him to focus on the soil beneath his feet, rather than the fact that his home is drying up, that the populace is beholden to foreign powers for water, or that the desert is creeping ever closer.

There's nothing he can do about that, after all.

That is until the day he's given a special task: to rescue the last remaining seeds of a rare flower from extinction.

It sounds simple enough. It just involves a quick trip to a mysterious island across the sea. A place rumoured to be a secret jungle paradise, where rain falls in abundance and the grand ruins of an ancient civilisation lie under blankets of moss.

Except that upon arriving, Reiuk is plunged into a new world of murder, mystery, and magick, and it's going to take all he has just to stay alive…

About The World

ALIRU IS A WORLD OF STRANGE PHENOMENA, in which misfortune and disaster court the unwary and foolish, while great power is granted to those who plumb the world's secrets with care. Indeed, Aliru's history is littered with civilisations that have bloomed and withered, many of whom found their way to the greatest of secrets – magick.

Teno culture is not one of these.

Two thousand cycles ago when a great catyclysm reduced the great cities of Kar Nethan to dust and sand, Tenolar's survivors knew a hard path lay ahead. Under the guidance of the Korravon, their home was rebuilt, and new code was written, and a purpose was claimed, but their eyes were turned forever from that most ancient of practises.

Any stretegist knows that blinding oneself to one's enemy is not a valid tactic in warfare, however, and magick, like a heartbeat, does not need spectators to pulse on. The question is, when will Tenolar have to face it again, and what form will it take?

A small translucent moth amulet lies half-buried in the sand.
A copy of the novel 'This Emerald Crucible' leans against a pile of ancient moss-covered stones.

About The Book

JAMES MCLEOD IS AN ADDICT OF ANCIENT HISTORY, whose explorations in the ancient places of the world, from Egypt to Greece, Mexico to Cambodia, Turkey to Hawaii, inspired this book.

In such places, the echoes of people from long ago seem to call to us through the monuments they left behind, and their mystique and vibrance was what McLeod set out to capture with This Emerald Crucible.

Neither sequel nor prequel, this ‘skewquel’ is set in a different time and place, providing an exciting entry-point for newcomers while adding new depth and discoveries for readers familiar with the world of Aliru from The Torril City Mysterion.

THIS EMERALD CRUCIBLE is PART ONE in a two-shot story.



COMING IN 2025