The Keeper's Shadow

THE KEEPER'S
SHADOW

DENNIS FOON

This book is dedicated to
A. Von Brutical a.k.a. Ken Foon

IN THE SHROUDED VALLEY, THE PEOPLE OF LONGLIGHT EVADED DESTRUCTION. FOR SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS THEY QUIETLY THRIVED, ISOLATED FROM THE WORLD, NURTURING A SMALL FLAME OF HOPE. IT TOOK LESS THAN ONE HOUR FOR THEM TO BE ANNIHILATED.

—THE BOOK OF LONGLIGHT

The Keeper's Shadow
is the third and final volume of
The Longlight Legacy.

The first volume,
The Dirt Eaters
, tells the story of Roan—who, after failing to stop a raider from capturing his younger sister, Stowe, wakes to find his village destroyed and its inhabitants slaughtered.

Roan is soon discovered by Saint, the leader of a sect of warrior-Brothers devoted to a god known as the Friend. Under Brother Wolf's tutelage, Roan begins training in the art of war, determined to wreak revenge on those who massacred his people. During this time, he has experiences on a separate plane of reality—the Dreamfield—where mysterious beings, Dirt Eaters, advise him and lead him to discover the dark truth Saint is concealing.

Roan flees into the uninhabitable lands of the Devastation, where he meets Lumpy, a young man disfigured by Mor-Tick scars. Attacked by the Brothers, the two escape to the subterranean community of Oasis, where they forge friendships with Kamyar the Storyteller, Orin the Librarian, and Lelbit. But stirred by a new vision, Roan and Lumpy leave Oasis and journey to the village of Fairview.

There a healer (and Dirt Eater) named Alandra enlists their help in saving fourteen special children from certain death. After a final battle that ends in Saint's demise, Roan, Lumpy, Alandra, and their precious cargo reach a safe haven, Newlight.

Freewalker
, volume two, begins in Newlight, where Alandra has fed Dirt to the children. But after she takes them into the Dreamfield, they mysteriously fall into a deep coma. Roan, angry with Alandra and the Dirt Eaters, departs with Lumpy for the City in search of a cure for their young charges…and to find his sister, Stowe.

Stowe has been adopted by the Keeper of the City, Darius, and made an icon, worshipped by the masses—a role invented for her by Master Querin, the City's propaganda minister. Although her beloved mentor, Willum, does his best to nurture and protect her, Stowe's consciousness is invaded by a Dirt Eater named Ferrell in a Dreamfield battle, and she becomes increasingly unstable.

Meanwhile Roan and Lumpy meet a young shaman, Mabatan. A fellow Dreamwalker who also does not eat Dirt, she shows Roan how the Masters and the Dirt Eaters have partitioned the Dreamfield and built structures that have caused a huge rift in the Dreamfield itself. The fissure is tenuously held together by none other than the fourteen children. And the only way to save them is to stop the Masters' and Dirt Eaters' manipulations.

Determined to contact his sister and enlist her help, Roan and his friends travel to the City. But the meeting between the siblings is a disaster—in an explosion of emotion, Stowe wreaks havoc and escapes from the City. Captured by a treacherous Brother named Raven, she is taken to Governor Brack in Fairview. But before Brack and Raven can exploit her, Stowe slays them both and collapses.

Since Roan must continue his quest to heal the rift, he entrusts Willum and Mabatan with finding his sister. Sailing off on wings manufactured by the Gunthers, the techno-slaves of the City, Roan and Lumpy reach the secret mountaintop home of the Apsara, where Saint's life partner, Kira, now lives. There, Roan journeys deep into the Dreamfield to a place where Saint himself is bound in torment. Revealing Darius's Throne, he urges Roan to accept his fate and lead the battle against the Masters of the City.

In
The Keeper's Shadow,
Roan struggles to unite disparate peoples against the City, and discovers that in the face of unimaginable evil, it's necessary to question everything you believe in order to hold out hope for a future.

C
HARACTERS OF THE
L
ONGLIGHT
L
EGACY

THE FARLANDS

Roan:
He and his little sister, Stowe, were the only survivors when raiders annihilated their peaceful village of Longlight. Befriended by Saint, leader of the Brothers, Roan violently broke with them when he found out that they were responsible for the destruction of Longlight. The mysterious Rat and the Dirt Eaters introduced him to the alternate reality called the Dreamfield, but after rescuing fourteen special children—the Novakin—Roan ceases to trust them also. He balks at prophecies that single him out as a leader, but now the war against the City approaches, and Roan has to choose.

Lumpy:
A survivor of the Mor-Ticks, voracious insects that left him hideously scarred and reviled by people who assume he is a carrier of this plague. Roan was close to death in the Devastation when Lumpy saved him, and they've been fast friends since.

The Novakin:
Fourteen children who were saved from Darius by Roan, Alandra, and Lumpy, only to fall into a deep coma. While their physical bodies are maintained in the settlement of Newlight, their Dreamforms of rusting iron are bridged across the abyss, holding the Dreamfield together.

THE WAZYA
Also known as Those Who Wander, the Wazya are keepers of the earth and the Dreamfield. A very ancient race, they mostly travel alone, are well hidden, and are believed to be mythical. Their special relationship with the white crickets is also the stuff of legend.

Khutumi
(
dreamform: Rat
): In his human form, he is rarely seen and lives in a very isolated spot only known to Mabatan. In his Dreamfield form, he is well known to Roan and the Dirt Eaters.

Mabatan
(
dreamform: blue rabbit
): Friend to Roan and Lumpy. She knows and speaks the language of the Hhroxhi, and has explored much of this world and the Dreamfield. Like all Wazya, she does not require Dirt to travel. And having seen what has been done to both worlds as a result of its use, she has learned to despise it.

THE BROTHERS
Saint:
Prophet of the Brothers and founder of the cult of the Friend. He hoped to join forces with Roan and topple the City, but he could never gain Roan's trust, and died in a last-ditch effort to win him as an ally.

Brother Wolf:
Acting chief of the Brothers since Saint's demise, he is their instructor of martial arts. It was Wolf who gave Roan his hook-sword; made by Wolf's father, it is a twin of his own.

Brother Asp:
The healer. During Roan's sojourn with the Brothers, Asp took him under his wing.

Brother Stinger:
Spiritual leader of the Brothers, he teaches sand-painting, a form of deep focus and meditation.

Brother Raven:
Sporting a bird mask and feathered cloak, he “negotiated” with towns for their children. Although he was in Saint's inner circle, Raven was Darius's spy, and ultimately betrayed the Brothers.

Feeder:
The Brothers' cook, a failed novitiate.

THE HHROXHI
(pronounced Ha-row-she)
Also known as the “Blood Drinkers,” the Hhroxhi dwell beneath the earth through a network of polished tunnels (thrusalls) that provide quick transport. They are blood-drinking albinos, who file their teeth into fangs and sever their ears in order to separate themselves from those they detest: surface-living humanity. They revere the white cricket and preserve the prophecies, although many have doubts.

Mhyzah
(
Ma-hi-zeh
): Friends with Lumpy, she taught him her language and enlisted him to be a Gyoxhip (
zho-ship
). Many Blood Drinkers are offended by her openness to humanity and violently resist her desire to assist Roan in the war against the City.

Xxisos
(
She-soss
): Leader of the Hhroxhi, he knows the myths about Roan and Stowe and the Novakin, and has lent his support to Roan's cause.

Qrixxis
(
Kree-shuss
): The most vehement of the human-haters, he spearheads the opposition to helping with the war against the City.

THE APSARA
Descendents of one of the original four rebel armies, the Apsara were believed to have been exterminated by Darius. In fact, only the men were killed. The surviving women went into hiding, creating a secret warrior army and infiltrating key political positions through strategic marriages. Their children, both male and female, are raised covertly in their true home, the Caldera.

Ende:
Leader of the Apsara, sworn enemy of the City, she is a highly skilled warrior and teacher of martial arts and meditation to not only the Apsara but any warrior committed to bringing down the City.

Kira:
Second-in-command of the Apsara, for years she lived in a Farlands village as the chosen mate of Saint, Prophet of the Brothers.

THE DIRT EATERS
One of the four original rebel armies, most Dirt Eaters dwell in Oasis, hidden caves that give them and the other residents perpetual youth.

Alandra
(
dreamform: goat-woman
): A young healer, raised by the Dirt Eaters and placed by them in the town of Fairview to await the coming of Roan and the Novakin, she was instrumental in their escape and helped establish their safe haven, Newlight. But following the instructions of the Dirt Eaters, she fed the Novakin dirt, and lost Roan's trust.

Sari
(
dreamform: mountain lion
): Spokesperson for the Dirt Eaters of Oasis.

Haron
(
dreamform: wolverine
): Leader of one rebel army that fought Darius, he brought his people to Oasis.

Ferrell
(
dreamform: lizard
): The Dirt Eaters' greatest architect, he is responsible for building both the Foresight Academy and Dreamfield construction known as the Wall. He invaded Stowe's Dreamfield form in an attempt to control her.

Orin:
Historian and librarian at Oasis.

THE STORYTELLERS
Although based in Oasis, they mainly travel the Farlands, undermining the authority of the Masters through their tales and plays. Book lovers, they adore the library of Oasis, but do not trust the Dirt Eaters.

Kamyar:
Leader of the Storytellers, he travels with a small group.
Talia:
The most hot-tempered of the band, she loves a fight.
Mejan:
The actress, spy, and diplomat.
Dobbs:
Gentle, large, and warm-hearted.

THE GOVERNORS
Governor Brack:
Ruler of the eastern Farlands. Lived in Fairview until he was killed by Stowe.

Governor Selig:
Ruler of the southern Farlands. Does not know his beloved wife is an Apsara.

THE PHYSICIANS
Othard
and
Imin:
Former Dirt Eaters, they now tend to the residents of the Farlands.

THE CITY

Stowe:
After the fall of Longlight, Stowe was taken to the City, where she became the adopted daughter of Darius, the Keeper of the City, and a beloved icon for all. Fed excessive amounts of Dirt, Stowe's powers—and instability—grew fast. In a Dreamfield encounter with the Dirt Eaters, she was possessed by the Dirt Eater Ferrell. Fighting for her sanity, Stowe escaped from the City only to be abducted by the insidious Brother Raven and Governor Brack.