She dreamt along with her beloved Deuneroi, that the fallen, diseased, beastmen of Cent Regus could be turned away from their madness and lifted from their pit of destruction. But when a beastman kills Deuneroi, her dream is shattered, at least for a time.
The Bel Amican people are determined to subdue the beastmen once and for all, to avenge their people and rid the world of such enemies. House Abascar’s survivors, too, distrusts the beings and are in mortal danger from them.
Jordam, a beastman who has been dazzled by Auralia’s colors, fights a war within himself. Will he band together with his brothers in an effort to destroy the remnant of House Abascar? Or can Auralia’s colors and the work of Cyndere change his loyalties and break his dependence on Cent Regus’ power-infused Essence?
Though Overstreet doesn’t care for allegory, his stories do contain characters that are symbolic. Cyndere and Deuneroi embody the love and compassion of Christians who long to see people freed from their slavery to sin. Jordam is the object of Cyndere’s altruism-he responds in deeply emotional ways to the things that happen in his life. The Beastmen could parallel the world in its ignorant wickedness. Ryllion is comparable to a believer who refuses to reach out to those different from himself, who is unforgiving and self-absorbed. Whether Overstreet means these things, I don’t know, but I believe the discerning reader will see these things and a myriad of other correlations.
Story, however, remains king, not servant to lessons about life or faith. Overstreet’s writing style alone merits readers’ admiration. His way of immersing us into the workings of the Expanse and its inhabitants is a wonder and a joy.
I eagerly await the Gold Strand (third installment) of the Auralia Thread series, Cal-raven’s Ladder.
