In the second book of the The Door Within Trilogy, The Rise of the Wyrm Lord, Aidan’s new friend Antoinette makes the journey into The Realm. Unlike Aidan, Antoinette is full of confidence. She has heard all of Aidan’s stories; she’s read the Book of Alleble and believed in The Realm most of her life. She believes she is prepared for her journey and her mission for King Eliam. But Aidan has asked her to watch out for the Glimpse of his best friend Robby. How can Antoinette choose when her two tasks come into conflict with one another?
One of the coolest ideas Wayne Batson came up with for this novel is the concept of reading tree rings. One of the knights explains (page 187):
“The rings of most trees tell only the most general tales: those of fires, floods, or extremely cold winters,” Nock explained. “But King Eliam gave the blackwood trees a different kind of awareness. They do not have eyes or ears, but through wind and soil, bark and leaf, they sense much more than ordinary trees. And for those who have the skill, their rings tell fantastic tales.”
“There is much here about his children,” Nock went on, skipping many rings and dwelling only on those that were broken or disturbed. “He is sad because one of his sons fell near the river. And here, he loses a limb to the wind. Let me see, no broken lines until…”
Nock slid around until he came to the last ring. Then he stared, and his face contorted with sadness. He began to read aloud. “This is just before the end. ‘The dark one has returned,’ he says. ‘He is not alone this time. There are many soldiers. They bring a burning blade…'”
While the first book, The Door Within, could arguably stand alone, the same can’t be said of The Rise of the Wyrm Lord. You will want to have the third book, The Final Storm on hand before you’re done book two.
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WayneThomasBatson says
Valerie,
That is so great of you to point out that section about the tree rings. You are the first to ever bring that up. And it’s always been one of my favorite cultural creations. The Glimpses of Yewland are woodland folk, and so, developed skills according to their setting. I’ve always been fascinated by tree rings and how they really can “tell” us much of what was going on–in the climate of their day. If only they could be more verbal, what stories they would tell…
Valerie Comer says
As you can tell, I thought it was cool. Maybe it rang home because my husband has worked in forestry so I’m familiar with the concept…and enjoyed seeing it pulled to another level.
pixydust says
I love the tree idea! Very cool!