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Hanley,
Victoria.
THE LIGHT OF THE ORACLE New York : David Fickling, 2005 IL YA ISBN 0385750870 |
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In
this companion book to The Seer and the Sword and The Healer's
Keep, Bryn a 15 year old stonecutter's daughter is unexpectedly chosen
to become a student at the Temple of the Oracle. Before the visit of the
High Priest to her village, the village priest had taught her the essentials
of reading and writing, but any other talents she might have were unknown.
Bryn knows that this will be her only chance to escape the drab poverty of the village. On the desert crossing on the way to the Temple, Bryn gives her water bottle to a woman begging at the side of the road, a generous impulse that she does not regret even when she learns that this woman has been banished from the Temple and left to die. At the Temple, Bryn realizes immediately that not all the students are equals. The rich and the poor are different. But what they do have in common is that each has some unique power, powers that are revealed to them by being “called” by various god-linked birds. Bryn, however, learns that she is extraordinary: she is wind-called and her powerful gift is prophecy. Whispers stirred in Bryn's ears. One word was clear, spoken in a voice that rang through her mind like a bell. Prophecy. During
2 years at this training school for future priests and priestesses, Bryn
finds friends, and hopes for love. She becomes aware of the political treachery
around her, and is cursed by a jealous, rich , royal young woman named
Clea. She becomes discouraged when the wind no longer touches her with
prophecy. She has to develop the powers of her mind and allow the goodness
of her spirit to overpower the evil. Eventually, love and good prevail
and the new generation of spiritual leaders guide the Queen and her daughter.
Colorado Blue
Spruce Young Adult Book Award, 2006-2007
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SUBJECTS:
Priests -- Fiction.
Schools -- Fiction. Fantasy. |