Fifth Anemai

Rodin always knew within that there was more to his world's existence than what his people held to as truth. He knew there was more to what was only known as the Seen. There was a fire burning within him and he felt like he was able to move and bend the flames of his hearth by will.Later in his life he would take the risk to cross the border of his world into the forbidden western Frost, and there find the path to his destiny which will take him to the four corners of the earth and so find the origin of the mysterious powers of what is known as the Unseen. The idea of this story grew up with me, but first at the age of 18 in the year 2003 did I become aware of it. I always wanted something original and fresh, something pure in a world in which darkness and nihilism is popular and has become progressively so, a story that I always wanted to hear myself.It was only at the age of 22 in 2008 when I was studying abroad in Hawaii, away from my South African homeland, that I started putting pen to paper. I started off with drafting ideas and creating maps. I mostly wrote, only when the muse came to visit me, but sometimes by force of discipline. Four years later in 2012 the first draught was completed and I started the laborious and slow process of editing. I sent it for a proof read in 2014 and a year later continued reworking the book a few times and finally in 2018 I started to prepare it for digital publishing.My foundation of inspiration for this story was significantly influenced by the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, Robin Hobb, J.K. Rowling and Roald Dahl. Stories such as The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, The Farseer Trilogy, The Bible and Harry Potter were significant influences. Secondly I was also influenced by the world of RPG gaming and fantasy genre movies. But finally the greatest influence was my life experience and travels, from the pyramids in Egypt and Mexico, to the Amazon jungle, the castles and towns of Europe, the hot climates and nature of central Africa and to the world of my own imagination, internal revelations and dreams, but finally to create and be a voice in the world, telling a story that reveals a glimmer of light in a world that is ever narrowing on a path into darkness.This is 12 years of labour coming to fruition. I hope the reader will find joy in the tale that is about to be told. Vanmeijer