yalu | Lita Burke

It’s Kiss an Enchanter Day

Let’s observe Valentine’s Day today and talk about one of Lita’s favorite subjects–Enchanter magical essence kisses.

It’s been some time since Lita has talked about the Enchanters in the Sye world. Here’s a quick recap, then we will get back to magical hanky-panky.

Sye is a world where the Enchanters, Church magicians, and others (called “non-Maji’kers”) live. The humans, and some sentient magical creatures, use magic (called “essence”) as an energy source for mechanisms that would otherwise use physics or natural laws in other worlds.

The living world of Sye is a separate place from the afterlife, called the Fields of Yalu (or the “city of the dead”). Ghosts from the Fields of Yalu are regular visitors to Sye. Powerful magicians keep dragonettes as pets. Everyone has a secret name given to them clandestinely by their mothers, which is the source of a person’s magical ability.

Enter the Sye Fantasy World

Lita has visited Sye before, and wrote about her visits with the Enchanters, dragonettes, and ghosts. Here are her Enchanter stories if Gentle Reader has not had time to investigate:

Wrath, Prequel to Tredan’s Bane is a short story that starts things off at a run. In Wrath, a retired Enchanter (Tredan) battles a powerful magician to keep a dangerous spell book from falling in to the wrong hands. Read the back cover blurb, watch the short Wrath book trailer, or read Chapter 1.
Masked Ghosts Threaten the Enchanters in “Ghost Orchid”

Tredan’s Bane plunges in to the thick of things with Tredan’s wife Lanith, a magical oddities dealer, getting a ghost’s warning, then returning home to find her home on fire and Tredan missing. After enlisting the help of the Enchanters, Lanith finds and hides her kidnapped husband’s dangerous spell book. Read the back cover blurb, watch the Tredan’s Bane book trailer, or read Chapter 1.
Ghost Orchid continues Lanith’s adventures, where she investigates crypt murders that release masked ghosts in to the living world who threaten the Enchanters. Read the back cover blurb. Release date for Ghost Orchid is summer of 2014.

Magic Must Make Sense

One of Lita’s pet peeves with some fantasy fiction, especially epic or high fantasy, is how the powerful magicians just wave their hand and bolts of magical energy shoot from their fingertips. Or sometimes it’s the end of the hero’s journey, and he/she has the magic wand/orb/book, and this magical lightweight (at best) use this thingummy to produce the bolts of magical energy.

Balderdash! Be gone, silly images. Magical energy isn’t that way at all. Here’s the truth–you get magical energy from kissing an Enchanter.

Just like the taste of Enchanter kisses–chocolate, cinnamon & peppery spice

What does magical essence taste like? Chocolate. Cinnamon. Hint of peppery spice.

Only Enchanters can produce the magical power that fuels the Sye world. What would be the life of an Enchanter man (or woman) if some magicians will stop at nothing to control the source of magical power? It’s not all smooches. Some of it is big trouble.

Find out for yourself. Lita suggests that you fix a cup of hot chocolate in a favorite mug, add a dash of cinnamon, and curl up with Wrath and Tredan’s Bane. Oh, and keep your Valentine darling nearby if you want to practice your own magical essence kisses.

With the release of my epic fantasy novel Tredan’s Bane scheduled for the end of this month, I’m beginning a series of blog posts about the fantasy world in Tredan’s Bane and Wrath, Prequel to Tredan’s Bane. I wanted to introduce you to this rich fantasy world and its inhabitants.

Sye is the land where the Enchanters, Church magicians, and others (called ‘non-Maji’kers’) live. The humans, and some sentient fantasy creatures, use magic (also called ‘essence’) as a commodity for personal and practical use to power mechanisms that would otherwise use physics or natural laws. For example, Magic Guild workers keep up spells for the street fountains and waste disposal. Many of Sye’s humans have some magical ability, and can master basic skills such as slight-of-hand, use charms, or levitate small objects.

The landscape of Sye consists of pre-industrial towns and cities, farms, fishing villages, and mountain communities. Travel is by carriage or horseback. Enchanters can travel great distances using essence-powered Transport Charms.

Sye is a separate place from the afterlife, called the Fields of Yalu (or the ‘city of the dead’). Ghosts are regular visitors to Sye, and certain Church magicians (called Sciomancers) are experts in ghost-related spells and customs. Enchanter GrandMasters control enough magical power to make travel to and from Sye and the Fields of Yalu possible, although the journey holds dangers for the living.