Dreams Made Flesh

is also superb at depicting the essence of her characters through dialogue, which can often be quite witty or emotionally heartwarming or chilling at just the right moments. Then there's the author's overall sublime skill as a writer, blending the darkly macabre with spine-tingling emotional intensity, mesmerizing magic, lush sensuality, and exciting action, all set in a thoroughly detailed invented world of cultures in conflict, based on ingeniously reversed genre cliches. The Invisible Ring will serve as an enticement, whetting the appetite to explore more of the realms in the Black Jewels trilogy."                                           …SF Site
    "Anne Bishop has an awesome knack for characterization, used to great effect in this novel. It's a bittersweet story, and you'll love every word of it. Readers of fantasy and romance will love this book, and of course it's a must-have for Bishop fans. Most highly recommended."
    … Hypatia's Hoard

    ROC
    for Debra Dixon
    and Annemarie Jason
    ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
    My thanks to Blair Boone for continuing to be my first reader, to Debra Dixon for being second reader, to Laura Anne Gilman for giving me the go-ahead to do these stories and to Anne Sowards for seeing the book through to completion, to Kandra for her continued patience in keeping up the Web site, and to Pat and Bill Feidner for the dinners and laughter and all the other things that make them special.
    CONTENTS

 
Weaver of Dreams
The Prince of Ebon Rih
Zuulaman
Kaeleer's Heart
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    JEWELS
    White
    Yellow
    Tiger Eye
    Rose
    Summer-sky
    Purple Dusk
    Opal*
    Green
    Sapphire
    Red
    Gray
    Ebon-gray
    Black
    *Opal is the dividing line between lighter and darker Jewels because it can be either.
    When making the Offering to the Darkness, a person can descend a maximum of three ranks from his/her Birthright Jewel.
    Example: Birthright White could descend to Rose.
    BLOOD HIERARCHY/CASTES
    Males:
    landen…non-Blood of any race
    Blood male…a general term for all males of the Blood; also refers to any
    Blood male who doesn't wear Jewels Warlord…a Jeweled male equal in status to a witch Prince…a Jeweled male equal in status to a Priestess or a Healer Warlord Prince…a dangerous, extremely aggressive Jeweled male; in status, slightly lower than a Queen
    Females:
    landen…non-Blood of any race
    Blood female…a general term for all females of the Blood; mostly refers to any Blood female who doesn't wear Jewels
    witch…a Blood female who wears Jewels but isn't one of the other hierarchical levels; also refers to any Jeweled female
    Healer…a witch who heals physical wounds and illnesses; equal in status to a Priestess and a Prince
    Priestess…a witch who cares for altars, Sanctuaries and Dark Altars; witnesses handfasts and marriages; performs offerings; equal in status to a Healer and a Prince
    Black Widow…a witch who heals the mind; weaves the tangled webs of dreams and visions; is trained in illusions and poisons
    Queen…a witch who rules the Blood; is considered to be the land's heart and the Blood's moral center; as such, she is the focal point of their society
    Places in the Realms Mentioned in these Stories
    TERREILLE
    Askavi
    Black Valley…valley that is the Keep's territory
    Blood Run
    Ebon Askavi (aka the Black Mountain, the Keep)
    Khaldharon Run
    Dhemlan
    SaDiablo Hall
    Hayll
    Draega…capital city
    Zuulaman Islands
    KAELEER (the Shadow Realm)
    Arachna
    Arceria
    Askavi
    Agio…Blood village in Ebon Rih
    Blood Run
    Doun…Blood village in Ebon Rih
    Ebon Askavi (aka the Black Mountain, the Keep)
    Ebon Rih…valley that is the Keep's territory
    Khaldharon Run
    Riada…Blood village in Ebon Rih
    Dea al Mon
    Dharo
    Dhemlan
    Amdarh…capital city
    Halaway…village near SaDiablo Hall
    SaDiablo Hall (the HaU)
    Fyreborn Islands
    Gloria
    Nharkhava
    Scelt (shelt)
    Maghre (ma-gra)…village
    Sceval (she-VAL)
    HELL (the Dark Realm, the Realm of the dead)
    Ebon Askavi (aka the Black Mountain, the Keep) SaDiablo Hall
    AUTHOR'S NOTE The "Sc" in the names Scelt and Sceval is pronouced "Sh."
     
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    Weaver of Dreams
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    1
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    Her web shook with the violence of the storm. AboveWorld roared and flashed, turning dark-time to light-time. But there was something more, something different that trembled through the strands of silk. Something she'd never felt before.
    AboveWorld roared and flashed again. Then something screamed…a