First there’s Prospero.
He’s about 6ft 2in tall with short black hair and deep blue eyes, so dark they are almost navy in colour. He’s been a monk for some years now and he finds that both satisfying and fulfilling. He comes across as confident, sure of himself and strong in his faith. He works as a doctor and enjoys everyday clinic work best, just making other people’s lives that little bit better. Like all the doctors where he works he has a specialism. In this environment about a quarter of the population have some degree of mental ability such as telepathy or telekinesis. Prospero’s specialism is dealing with what happens when something goes wrong with that ability.
Prospero himself is very Gifted with such mental abilities. He’s strongest at telekinesis – moving things with his mind – but he’s also skilled in telepathy and teleportation. He doesn’t have any real ability with pyrokinesis (setting fire to things) and just a very little skill in precognition.
He doesn’t think he has a favourite colour, but if he had to pick, he’d say green. He sees food as fuel and will eat whatever is on offer although he’d definitely miss bacon if it wasn’t available. As well as being a doctor, Prospero works in the gardens at the monastery, mainly with the flowers and foliage used for decorating the monastery, hospital and Abbey. As a result he’d say that one of his hobbies is flower arranging. He’s also interested in social and cultural history – where various customs and traditions come from and what they mean.
Prospero’s closest friend is Andrew.
Andrew is also a monk. In fact, they’ve been monks for almost exactly the same length of time, although they were already close friends before that. Andrew is slightly shorter than Prospero and fair where Prospero is dark. He’s quiet and thoughtful, which makes many people think that Prospero is the leader and Andrew just follows him around. Actually, their relationship is much more complex than that.
Andrew is also a doctor and he specialises in the development of the mental gifts, which makes the two of them a very useful team. Andrew is also very Gifted himself. He’s not as good at telekinesis or telepathy as Prospero but much better at pyrokinesis.
Andrew helps out in the stables and he’s good with horses – he’s been looking after them all his life. He’s also skilled with languages, being fluent in most of the common ones in use in the world.
Their world is going to be disrupted by Leonie.
Leonie is a lot of trouble wrapped up in one small package. She’s about 5ft 4in tall, with flaming red hair which curls and tangles at the slightest opportunity. She has honey coloured skin and dark grey eyes which flash with green when she’s excited, angry or simply using her Gifts. Although she doesn’t realise it, she’s more Gifted than either of the other two.
She’s a very private person and life has taught her that it’s best to keep out of the way and try not to be noticed. The problem is that she’s inherently noticeable. She hasn’t yet learnt to manage her Gifts under all circumstances and the thought that she might hurt someone by accident really worries her.
Her favourite colour is yellow and she can’t stand scarlet. She has a very sweet tooth and a particular liking for chocolate chip cookies. Her favourite breakfast is pancakes and bacon with lots of maple syrup. Leonie loves baking, particularly bread, and experimenting with different recipes. She’s also skilled in the use of herbs for medicinal purposes. She enjoys swimming but her favourite hobby is reading. Given the opportunity she’ll curl up somewhere comfortable with a good book.
Today, I thought I’d introduce you to a few of the other characters.
Lord Gabriel is both the High Lord of House St Peter and the Abbot of the monastery there. Fortunately he’s very good at delegation. Brother Benjamin runs the hospital, Lady Sarah manages the college, Sister Elizabeth is in charge of the convent and Lady Eleanor handles anything to do with the part of the Great House that isn’t a monastery.
Gabriel is in his late fifties and has been a monk for about thirty years. In his teens he spent some time living and travelling with Traders. He is very Gifted, having all the major Gifts – telepathy, telekinesis, pyrokinesis and precognition – and extremely powerful, but he uses his Gifts as little as possible. His strongest Gift is precognition and he sees visions of possible alternative futures, along with the knowledge that his actions will determine which future actually takes place. This terrifies him.
Lady Eleanor is the same age as Lord Gabriel and also spent time with the Traders in her teens. She married young, to Harry, and went away to live with him in a different Great House. Harry died when their daughter, Melanie, was very young, and Eleanor and Melanie then came to live at House St Peter to be near Eleanor’s brother. Eleanor is very capable, very organised and many people at House St Peter (and elsewhere) find her slightly scary.
She’s an avid reader and has a (secret) addiction to romantic fiction, but it has to have a happy ending. She’s also very Gifted, with one of her key skills being telepathy, although again she doesn’t use it much. I think there is some history between her and Brother Benjamin, but I haven’t found out what – yet.
Sister Chloe is one of the nuns. She’s in her early twenties, with deep brown eyes and mousy brown hair. Like Eleanor, she’s very organised and so, despite her youth, she runs Lord Gabriel’s office, schedule and communications. From her teens, her only ambition was to become an nun, and she’s one of those people who is always happy, always content, always sees the positives in everything. Chloe is definitely telepathic, but she can also see what’s happening in other people’s dreams if she is near them when they are asleep.
Turns out, she’s also a really skilled manicurist. And she likes chocolate chip cookies – the ones with gooey middles.
The Them. Every Gifted adept has nightmares as their Gifts develop, based on their worst fears and experiences. The nightmares are different for each adept, and the stronger their Gifts are, the worse and more terrifying the nightmares. Leonie’s nightmares are peopled by the Them, always dressed in black, hooded and cloaked, always reaching for her. If she runs from Them, they chase her; if she attacks, they fade away and reform elsewhere. If there are real people around when she’s having a nightmare, she’ll see them as the Them. You’ll have to read book 4, Cloth of Grace to find out the full story behind the Them, but here’s an early appearance from Strand of Faith.
The Them were coming for me and the only thing I could think of was that I needed to get back to the campus. The Them swirled around me, cloaks and hoods billowing in the breeze. I had no weapons, nothing I could use and they were coming towards me, getting closer and closer, surrounding me. I took my courage in both hands and charged into the Them who were directly in my path. They melted away like mist as I reached them, but now they were behind me and chasing me. I ran and ran but somehow they appeared
Much of Weave of Love takes place at Deep River Farm, which is the home of Prospero aka Perry’s – family. So I thought I’d introduce you to them.
A girl. A monk. An unthinkable sacrifice.
When the choice is between love and life, how can anyone decide?
What if your secrets are so dangerous they could destroy the one you love?
Is honesty always the best policy?
What if the choice you have to make has devastating consequences for others?
How can anyone know the right thing to do?
When the fate of the world rests on your shoulders, how do you choose between what you ought to do and the only thing you really want?
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