Prophecy by Stephen H. King

Prophecy by Stephen H. King

Imagine growing in one world with friends, going to school, and finally graduating.

Your hopes and dreams have been set, and with your best friend, you discuss your future only to learn that everything you believed in as a child and your destiny was already mapped and planned out but not by you.

What if it was decided or prophesied that your human mother, who was married to an elf king, had no choice but to return you to your father.

Never meeting him before and finally coming face to face, the meeting was tense and life-changing. Some things were now out of this young girl’s control as her father, the Elf King, came to bring her back to the land of his birth so that Alyssa Serena Miller would take her place as the new rightful Queen.

Growing up in Mississippi would not prepare her for what she was about to learn. Lessons in Elf, learning to understand their customs, ways, and facing the fact that some might not want her to survive.

Alyssa is about to learn more than just the lessons needed to understand the land where she is going to live, the language gaps but the history of a people, and the reasons why she must learn and study each step of the way slowly before she can rightfully take her place and sit on the throne.

Enter the Elf King and the history of his relationship with the Elf Queen. Note that they are just two people who rule the Kingdom and are not married in this type of society.

The Elf King is allowed to enter the human realm or world and choose his own mate, the Elf Queen. But, this Elf Queen’s name, as all of the Queens, is always Talaith. The truth is that a young girl who never set foot in the Kingdom before her 18th birthday gets to be queen because her father is the King.

But, there is more as you meet the Queen’s three children who give Alyssa anything but warm reception.

The author explains how the queen is chosen on page 59 in detail, the committee and the High Priestess play a role in deciding who the most effective candidate is for the crown, and the outgoing Queen gets to select the new king. There is a definite process.

Introducing Sephaline, her ranger cousin who can sense danger anywhere and whose job it is to protect Alyssa. But, they bond real fast, and instead of wanting her just as a ranger to guard her, they become friends. Learning more about her job and the Wolverine that follows her around BooBoo, you enter a quite different world from ours yet in some ways the same.

The priests are trying to be polite, leading her to the dining room and Sephaline and Booboo; she is informed that her lessons will take place in the history, protocol, and etiquette of this new land. Magic is not allowed, and we meet High Priestess that she nicknames Sternyface, who sends her off for her first lesson with five-year-olds, learning the ropes from the beginning.

Before she can advance, she needs to get to know her father more intimately and understand the rules and protocols of this kingdom called: Kiirajanna. A father who can feel danger, sense someone that might teleport into their kingdom or out and teaches her from the start that they have different rules for working and, believe it or not, everyone gets one day off to relax and have fun.

Dydd Sadwrn or Saturday backward is their day of rest. Their week is 6 days and one day for resting. They work five. How this correlates to ours, you will have to read for yourself and learn the alphabet with the use of trees. Learning what is expected of her and having to deal with Sternyface takes its toll on her. Slugging the High Priestess bad move. Why? You had to be there when it happened.

The royal family of the Queen consists of two daughters and Prince Charming or Keion. The two sisters are perfect, plastic and snobby. One had a glare that would take melted ices, refreeze them, and the other a cobra’s personality with tons of venom. The first princess of Kiirajanna is Princess Seren, the oldest and the younger is Princess Meriel.

Unfortunately, for Alyssa, they would be in charge of many of her lessons, and the torture would give them pleasure. Keion is an outstanding marksman and is assigned to teach her to shoot arrows. Resentments run high as neither sister can ascend to the throne but hope that she will fail. However, Alyssa is smart, and they banter, argue, and use a strong touch of sarcasm, adding some humor to the story.

Things heat up, as Alyssa is the target of three attacks. Someone wants her eliminated and will stop at nothing to make it happen.

Alyssa had one goal: to read and learn about the Prophesy, and if getting to the library where the scrolls and books were housed meant leaving the safety of the castle, she would figure out a way to do that even if she had to go alone. But, smart she might be but outsmart her father never.

Sephaline and Prince Keion were her allies, even if she thought he did not want to be in her presence. Protecting her was his job, and Sephaline too off they went on their journey, but there would be many obstacles along the way before they even enter the doors of this great structure.

The Library of Alecsanddrha was impressive, and the three young people had to think of a reason and a ruse as to why they were there. Pretending to be seekers or seekers of knowledge, they nodded to the librarians, introduced themselves but were they fooled?

This library is not like those on Earth, and once you are there, you are put up as if you were in a hotel. Meals served, rooms provided, and what happens will alert readers about just how dangerous things are getting and why someone is still out to make sure that Alyssa does not become the next Queen.

Meeting Gethin and Lefan reveal that they know why she is there and their reason for coming was false. Stating that the prophecies related to the Dragon Queen. Alyssa has a dragon tattoo and a special pendant given to her by her mother, which is hidden, making them more suspicious that the words on the prophecy will come true.

Will she be responsible for destroying and burning it down, as it says in the prophecy? How far will anyone go to stop her?

Scrolls and books at hand, refusing to stop for meals, she loses track of time, and when she finally finds her two friends, she makes one decision that might cost her more than just their lives. Magic is outlawed, and to save Sephaline and Prince Charming, she has to use the pendant, or else they might die. Faced with this decision, she makes her choice, but either way, what will her father and the high priestess decide at the end.

Four epochs, one library would be destroyed by the Dragon Queen. Would it be the one with the prophecy? Learn more when you read A Sickness Over Takes followed by The Power to Heal.

Author Stephen H. King brings to light many issues: Loyalty, trust, deceit, lies, betrayals, friendship, and one young girl that is determined to become Queen but at what cost? Meeting the elves, learning the language and the customs, we see many parallels and differences in our customs and theirs.

But, one thing that rings true is Alyssa’s spirit, persistence, and tenacious personality, striving to understand why a young girl still a teen was given no choice but to become a Queen.

Holding the Draignerthol pendant close to her heart, reading the words of her mother and best friend when letters arrived, would she decide to leave and go back to living as a human, or would she honor her destiny?

With guards all around her and one assigned to make sure that she is always safe, Aerona might not be someone to befriend her, but will she make sure she will not get hurt? Tossed between her father’s request and wants for her and wanting to see and live with her mother, Alyssa has to make some hard and fast choices but not before she finally meets the Queen.

Things change between her and one of the Queen’s children, but rules are in place, customs cannot be changed, and the ending will make you wonder just what is in store for Alyssa. Her Majesty Queen Talaith of Kiirajanna is quite impressive, and their meeting I cannot reveal is something you have to read for yourself and decide whether Alyssa should stay or leave.

Can she adhere to the ways of her new Kingdom? Will do be able to endure the vision quest yet to come? Will she be able to rule and command respect? What will happen to the prophecy? Is it gone, or does someone have it?

Prophecy: the story has just begun, and the author is writing the next chapter in the lives of all of these characters hoping that readers will want to know their final fates. A great book for both adults and YA’s teaching respect, responsibility, love, understanding, differences in people, embracing learning, and my favorite, of course, the love of books.