A Curve Beyond the Breadth of Time
As October leans against the open doors of winter, the world seems to exhale. The light fades earlier, sounds soften, and geese cross darkening skies in search of warmer lands. It is a season of reflection—and of mystery.
Our ancestors believed that, as autumn deepened, the veil between worlds grew thin. At Samhain—the Celtic festival that helped shape many of our Halloween traditions—the living might glimpse what ordinarily remained hidden.
That same idea runs through the world of Ansu.
What if time is not an unbroken road, but merely a boundary built to hold chaos at bay? What might wait in those ancient places where the boundary has begun to fracture?
The Faen dwell beyond time’s familiar confines. So does Undeyna, born of neglect, resentment and gathering night, and the sinister power haunting Graywash Hall, pictured above. Their echoes linger in the oldest corners of Ansu—places where forgotten paths still cross and the Otherworld presses close.
One such place is Torres Vosysfaddan, the lost cavern from which emerged the mysterious Fingoyle. Wearing the Eye of the Barola upon her brow, she is neither wholly good nor wholly evil, but a compelling child of twilight—born beyond the breadth of time.
This month, I invite you to step through the thinning veil and read the scene from The Panther Queen in which Fingoyle first appears.
Read Fingoyle Awakens
Fingoyle had never truly known who she was. She was not a god, nor even a demigod. She was spirit—and sometimes flesh. Was she evil like her father? Proud and vain like Elanion? Such words meant little to her. She had known only the sentient darkness and warm confinement of her egg.
Until now.
A voice had reached her from beyond. Not his. Never his. Its vibrations had soothed her pain and awakened her curiosity.
Fingoyle knew she was taboo—the creeping spider at the edge of their vision, the poison in their blood, the guilt and folly that brought dreams to ruin. Her parents’ terrible secret.
Yet flawed, forgotten, Fingoyle knew she must have a purpose. Her grandfather, the World Weaver, would have sown meaning into her being. Why else bother weaving her thread?
Someone had sought her. Someone had called her name with vibrations powerful enough to fracture the prison of her egg. She could still feel that voice throbbing beneath the restless water and hear its echoes among the brooding clouds.
No. Their thought. Two entities fused into one.
Fingoyle pressed her oily fingers against the red stone embedded in her forehead. The angry spirit trapped within tingled its answer.
Yes. There is purpose here.
She reached inside herself and drew out a vision. A tall, wretched figure strode across a high ridge, with others following behind. A man—and yet also Faen. Something else dwelled within him.
Meilgwn the Seeker. Your mother sent him here, Tertzei whispered from inside the ruby.
But another presence hid within the Seeker. A jarring distortion of raw power reached toward her with probing thoughts. Its golden shimmer struck like a wall, blocking her advance.
An Aralais, Tertzei warned. One of the golden impostors.
Fingoyle saw her name framed within their minds: the Faen, the human and the Aralais.
Her curiosity sharpened.
They seek me, she thought. So I shall come.
This early scene from The Panther Queen—along with the complete Dawn of Legends sub-series—is now available in the one-volume omnibus, Dawn of Legends: The Complete Tetralogy. Find out more here.
To discover Fingoyle’s folio card and meet many more characters from the world of Ansu, explore the Character Folio here.
Each month, I’ll be sharing a seasonal reflection here, together with extracts and images from my Legends of Ansu series. I’d love for you to join me whenever you can—and if you enjoy these wanderings through Ansu, please leave a comment. It’s always wonderful to hear from you.
Best wishes,
J.W.W.
P.S. Has anything strange, spooky or seemingly supernatural ever happened to you? If so, I’d love to hear your story. 🙂
