Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of audiobooks, ebooks, and so much more with a free trial

    From $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Afua: Lost Tales Of Solace, #5
    Afua: Lost Tales Of Solace, #5
    Afua: Lost Tales Of Solace, #5
    Ebook89 pages1 hourLost Tales Of Solace

    Afua: Lost Tales Of Solace, #5

    By Karl Drinkwater and Christoffer Petersen

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Afua is a promising acolyte of the Shanta Order, on the densely forested planet of Nuafri.

    She volunteers to educate orphans – her lively ophanti – every ninth day. When one of her wards goes missing in a dangerous area full of sinkholes and deadly fauna, Afua knows the authorities won't do anything about a single lost child.

    Luckily for the orphan, Afua will.

    She is armed only with her knowledge of wildlife, and implanted augmentations that can sometimes deter attacks. But she is not alone. The sentient, insect-like Dooga she has bonded with, named Akalie, will follow her anywhere, despite being heavily pregnant.

    An unforgettable Amazofuturist adventure about compassion, courage, and finding your way in life.

    Lost Tales of Solace are short side-stories set in the Lost Solace universe.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOrganic Apocalypse
    Release dateAug 10, 2024
    ISBN9781911278467
    Afua: Lost Tales Of Solace, #5
    Read preview
    Author

    Karl Drinkwater

    Karl Drinkwater writes dystopian space opera, dark suspense and diverse social fiction. If you want compelling stories and characters worth caring about, then you're in the right place. Welcome! Karl lives in Scotland and owns two kilts. He has degrees in librarianship, literature and classics, but also studied astronomy and philosophy. Dolly the cat helps him finish books by sleeping on his lap so he can't leave the desk. When he isn't writing he loves music, nature, games and vegan cake. Don't miss out! Enter your email at karldrinkwater.substack.com to be notified about his new books. His website is karldrinkwater.uk

    Read more from Karl Drinkwater

    Related to Afua

    Titles in the series (6)

    View More
    View More

    Related ebooks

    Science Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related categories

    Reviews for Afua

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Afua - Karl Drinkwater

      Praise For Afua

      The world-building here is exceptional; the vivid descriptions of Nuafri are a delight throughout, particularly the richly imagined flora and fauna. Afua is a kind, thoughtful and resolute individual, guiding and supporting the orphans – ophanti – in her care. She also has a strong bond with a heavily pregnant flying insect-like Dooga. The joyful interactions between ophanti and Dooga makes what follows even more affecting.

      Hair Past A Freckle

      The world building was brilliant! I felt connected to Afua, and her determination shone right through. I fully enjoyed my time with her in this vividly detailed setting.

      Sharon Beyond The Books

      Afua is a fabulous sci-fi tale. The reader is treated to a strange new world in dazzling glory, and to a strong-willed and determined main character in Afua.

      MJ Porter

      A highly original and moving novella, set on a unique, jungle planet. Would recommend it to anyone who enjoys an unusual science fiction adventure with memorable characters. (5 stars).

      Hywela Lyn

      Afua

      Lost Tales Of Solace Book 5

      Karl Drinkwater, Christoffer Petersen
      image-placeholder

      Organic Apocalypse

      Afua

      Copyright © Karl Drinkwater & Christoffer Petersen 2024

      Cover design by Karl Drinkwater (paperback) / Christoffer Petersen (hardback)

      Published by Organic Apocalypse

      ISBN 978-1-911278-46-7 (Ebook)

      ISBN 978-1-911278-47-4 (Paperback)

      This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and events are a product of the authors’ imaginations or used in a fictitious manner.

      Organic Apocalypse Copyright Manifesto

      Organic Apocalypse believes culture should be shared. We support far more reuse than copyright law and licensing organisations currently allow. We respect our buyers, reviewers, libraries and educators.

      You can copy or quote up to 50% of our publications, for any non-commercial purpose, as long as the awesome source is acknowledged.

      You may sell our print books when you’ve finished with them. Or pass them on to other people and share the love. You buy a copy, you own it.

      We don’t add DRM to our e-books. Feel free to convert between formats (including scanning, e-formats, braille, audio) and store a backup for your own use.

      Contents

      1.The Ninth Day

      2.The Path To The Ruins

      3.Palm Pads: Primitive Mutilations

      4.The Cave

      5.The Discovery

      6.Native Fauna: A Lecture

      7.The Descent

      8.The Truth

      9.Dooga: Random Entries From Various Lost Chapter Discs

      10.The Ascent

      11.The Path To The Future

      12.Mysteries: The Cavanat Order

      About Karl Drinkwater

      About Christoffer Petersen

      Other Titles By Karl Drinkwater

      Authors’ Notes

      The Ninth Day

      The ophanti are my restless ones, and on the ninth day we gather to paint the Dooga.

      The day, like most mid-season days, starts with a heavy mist between the trees. The sun turns the mist a cream colour, and the blue spores of pollen that cling to the drops of water are the berries. Berries and cream are the finest way to start any day.

      I walk barefoot along the path to the clearing. Barefoot is best, despite what they say in the city. Walking barefoot, I can detect the ripple of ssanju worms in the soil and avoid their spiny tails. I have taught the ophanti this, and since they began leaving their sandals at the forest edge there have been no incidents, no spines to remove. The lighter the foot, the sharper the senses.

      And wings are lightest of all, yes, Akalie?

      I hold up my hand for the fat Dooga and she settles on my palm with a rasping down-draught. Like the ophanti, she belongs to me, but she is not restless. These days, the fatter she grows, the greater her urge to find a broad leaf to curl up inside. She is swollen with baby Dooga – six at last count, when the light caught her belly and I saw the heads through her translucent skin. Dooga, my favourite of all Nuafri fauna, have long abdomens, bobble heads, and right-angle wings. Akalie’s legs are hidden in the folds of her belly, but teeth are all the tools she needs to make a nest before pushing her babies out.

      Today I will paint her as I have every ninth day for the past season. But she will leave me soon, and my heart grows heavy as she grows fat.

      Will you miss me, I wonder?

      I choose to speak for her, interpreting the flutter of wings as a yes, and the dip of her head as no. The ripple of her belly in my palm is probably baby gas, but I like to imagine she is laughing.

      Afua! Afua!

      Xanta is the first to spot me, and he has been busy. He holds out his hands to reveal six heavy ovals: litrus nuts, the soft brown fruit, ripe and ready for topping. I check his hands and reward him with a smile.

      Only two blisters this time, I say. You’re improving.

      Xanta puts the nuts in the satchel slung across his chest, then mimes the cutting of the litrus nut from the spiny stem on which it grows.

      I curl the leaf around the prickles, he says, demonstrating with an imaginary leaf in his palm. Two leaves are best, but only when two grow together. Don’t cut a leaf to steal a nut.

      I still find it strange to hear my words in ophanti mouths. They are shunned by their siblings for selfishness, rejected by schools for their loud behaviour. And yet, here in the woods, they whisper apologies to the roots they crawl over, and take every fourth nut rather than the first they find. All the while they listen for the buzz of the Derago, feel for the wriggle of ssanju worms, and sniff for the Kchak.

      My ophanti, I say, as the rest of the group gather around Xanta.

      I count them all; greet them with soft words, the latest – often complex – handshake they invented eight days earlier, and a soft hum as we sing for the Dooga. Akalie flutters her wings, and we search the mist, pointing at the pockets of blue pollen that burst when a Dooga flies through it.

      But where is Tifundu? I ask, suddenly aware that I have only five ophanti, not six as I expected.

      Sick, Uunta says, giggling as a playful Dooga buzzes her hair.

      Grumpy, says a small boy I think might be Jatta. His twin brother Archa nods in agreement and I see the scar on Archa’s chin and can now tell them apart.

      He’s not grumpy, and he’s not sick.

      Trust Eleena to put them all right.

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 7