This is another portrait I made with Artbreeder. This one I photoshopped after taking it off of Artbreeder. Those eyes are my coloring, and the eyebrows have been changed, too. It’s not as perfect as some of my Artbreeder portraits, but it’s pretty good.

So, here is Lìrulin, mother of Tara-lin and friend of dryads, for the last Saturday before Sorceress of the Dryads comes out on the 22nd! I should also let you all know that a Paperback Edition will be available! I have uploaded and approved the files, so it should go live for orders at any time. When it does, I will provide another update.

Lìrulin is – of course – the mother of Tara-lin. She is an elf huntress, even though Tara-lin has no skill with the bow (and never displayed any). Like Tara-lin, the dryads speak to her and she to them and she learned a lot from them, but her relationship to the dryads and what she learned from them is very different from Tara-lin’s connection to them as a Singer. Her knowledge of herbs and the use of herbs is unique in the world, having been taught by those who know what they are talking about: the dryads. She is the love-chosen mate of Eldor, Tara-lin’s human father.

Here’s a scene showing a not-uncommon interaction between her and Tara-lin (they are friends, but there are things it’s hard for Tara-lin to understand).

The last time when she returned to Frèlin she looked in amazement at the tree. It grew as no tree had grown before. It was continuing to grow through the mild Elethrian winter. It was beautiful, but not quite like any other tree Tara-lin had seen before. She found her mother and said to her, “How did you get this tree?”

Lìrulin smiled. “Some instinct made me pick up a seed from the ground when your father and I were sneaking into Nightshade Castle. It quickened in Nightshade Castle, but I planted it in the forest of Elethri and watched over it. When you and Keller were talking about the problem with the palace, I thought of it, got it, and transplanted it. This is clearly where it wants to grow.”

“How come you never told me?” asked Tara-lin testily.

“You are still very young, Tara-lin,” said Lìrulin. “I haven’t told you most things, yet. It did not seem important for me to tell you. Why would I tell you about something the importance of which I don’t understand and which I don’t see as having any connection to you? I mean, I do tell you such things, but how would I ever tell you all of them?”

“Are there more things like this you haven’t told me?” asked Tara-lin. . . .

“Exactly like this? No, of course not. Are there things I know, but haven’t told you, that may sometime turn out to be far more than I currently know them to be? Probably, but I wouldn’t even know which ones they are.” Lìrulin raised her hands in a “What can I do?” gesture.

“Does Eldor know?” asked Tara-lin.

“Yes,” said Lìrulin.

“If he could know, why couldn’t I?” asked Tara-lin.

“I was with him when it happened, Tara-lin. You’re being silly right now. Why? There’s some importance or significance to this in your mind that I can’t see.”

Excerpt taken from Sorceress of the Dryads Copyright ©2022 Raina Nightingale

Cover Reveal for Sorceress of the Dryads (See here for the schedule of posts leading up to the release and more information.)

Legend of the Singer

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Buy Book One (Children of the Dryads) (On sale for 99cents or equivalent throughout the month of February)