Release date: September 4, 2019
Subgenre: Epic fantasy, Historical fantasy
About The School for Humans:
Our epic journey begins in Bronze Age Ireland.
Ellene is a servant to one of the great Calean leaders.
The Caleans are opening a school for the young from Ellene's village, but not all of the Caleans want to teach the humans.
Some have much darker plans, and the school may be the last chance for peace between the two peoples.
Excerpt:
Ellene didn't feel very special. She wasn't as fair as the other
young women in her village, so she often wondered why Janneah had
chosen her and her father. It was an incredible honor to serve
Janneah, and to live with her under the same roof. The house had
three levels overlooking Lake Amarh, and it contained so many
rooms, with tall ceilings, and floors made of a curious smooth
stone you could slide across like ice. It had three different
hearths for building fires, a kitchen larger than the chieftain's
entire dwelling, and beds softer than the thickest grasses of
summertime. Ellene remembered the little round hut she had grown up
in with her father. It was made of tree branches and clay. There
was barely room enough for the two of them. Her mother had died in
childbirth. The ceiling was low and the floor was just made of
packed dirt that froze in the winter and turned to mud in the
spring and summer. Compared to her new home she thought the old was
better suited for chickens or pigs.
Janneah was a Calean. The people from Ellene's village all thought
that the Caleans were Aos sí: the faerie folk, but Janneah
explained to her that this was not accurate. Janneah said that she
was mortal just like Ellene's people - only slightly different.
Even Ellene's father thought the Caleans were Aos sí, and it was
easy to see why. Their features were so fine and their hair so long
and fair. And their eyes! Their eyes were so bright and green they
seemed to glow with a light from the otherworld. They also had a
peculiar angle upwards at the outer edges. Calean ears also were
unusual. They were very small and round - barely ears at all. Of
course the most remarkable thing about the Caleans was their wisdom
and intelligence, not to mention their great height! Most Caleans
were well over six feet tall.
The Caleans were living by the lake when Ellene's people arrived.
Her father figured that they had always been there since the
beginning of the world, and Ellene had to admit that it did seem
possible. The Caleans were so calm and so wise. Most of them seemed
always like the waters of the lake when there was no wind. There
were a few who were... more turbulent. Ellene tried to stay away
from those Caleans as much as possible. Janneah, however, was the
kindest and most thoughtful of them all. She even bore their title
of honor 'Laernh.' It meant lady, but in a strange way. To the
Caleans the word lady meant that you studied always and were very
wise.
In any event, Ellene was certainly not afraid of Janneah, nor of
most of the Caleans, regardless of whether they were Aos sí or not.
She was a quiet and thoughtful young woman. Had she not come to
serve Janneah she would have undoubtedly been married off to one of
the loud clumsy oafs from the village years ago. Perhaps it was her
quiet nature that caused Janneah to select her. Janneah was always
reading and studying, and would obviously not be able to stand a
noisy and bothersome servant.
Ellene had been dispatched that afternoon on an errand to her old
village. Janneah sent her with seeds for the winter barley crop:
another of the Caleans gifts to her people. The sack had been
terribly heavy, but Ellene chose to go alone rather than trouble
her father with the long walk. His work at the house was already
becoming too much for his aging bones. Visiting the village was
always an unpleasant task for Ellene. She had been with Janneah for
nearly five years. It was so strange how easy it was to forget what
life in the village was truly like, and how poor, tiny, and just
dirty the place looked. She was glad to turn her back to it and
follow the sun west to her real home.
The path leading out from the village was narrow - just a dirt
track beat through the brush and high grass. Ellene walked it
carefully so as not to ruin her lovely tunic or get too much mud
all over her new shoes. She paused for a second. It sounded as if
she heard footsteps behind her, but when she looked back she saw
only the empty path. Then, when she turned round again, she found
that her way forward was now blocked. A horse had come out of
nowhere and was standing on the path only twenty paces from her.
She looked at it and it looked back at her. The horse's face gave
the impression of intelligence, and its boldness marked it as one
of the beasts from the village, who were accustomed to being around
people. She started to walk towards it with her hands open and
outstretched to show she meant it no harm. But then the horse
suddenly charged her. She dove into the brush and just barely
missed being trampled. When she got up she saw that it was heading
back to make another run at her, almost as if some invisible rider
was guiding it. She dove aside again. This time, when she got up,
she saw that a boy from the village, Ruarc, had come swiftly up the
path. He was waving his arms at the horse and shouting loudly. The
beast ran off across the field and Ruarc approached her timidly.
Instead of thanking him right away, Ellene first asked, "Were you
following me?" Ruarc had always been a shy boy. Now he seemed to be
an even more awkward and overly gentle young man. He gazed firmly
at his feet and did not reply. She said, "It does not matter. Thank
you for driving it off. Have you ever seen a horse behave that
way?"
Ruarc spoke softly, "Your arms."
She looked down and saw that she had scratched herself badly in the
brambles. Some of the many scrapes on her arms were bleeding. She
held her arms out carefully so that she wouldn't get any blood on
her tunic. She said, "Thank you again, Ruarc. I must get back and
wash these." She turned without waiting for his reply, and walked
as quickly as she ever had, west down the path.
About Vanessa Kittle:
Vanessa Kittle is a former chef, soldier, and lawyer
who now teaches English. Her fantasy and science fiction stories
have been featured by Akashic Books. Vanessa has also recently
appeared in magazines such as the Rhysling Anthology, Contemporary
American Voices, Dreams and Nightmares, Abyss and Apex, Star*Line,
and Silver Blade.
Her books have received hundreds of thousands of downloads on
Amazon in the genres of fantasy, science fiction, paranormal
romance, and cooking.
Vanessa edits the Abramelin Poetry Journal. She enjoys watching
cheesy movies, cooking, gardening, and Star Trek!
