The Shape of Rain Read online

  praise for Michael B. Koep’s

  THE NEWIRTH MYTHOLOGY

  “This author has a gift.”

  —Books! Books! Books!

  “Must read for the summer! It’s part adventure, part fantasy, a bit of mystery, and all fun.”

  —Times Weekly

  “Sure to be on the shelves with Tolkien, Gaiman and others for a very long time.”

  —Paper Safari Reviews

  “It is nice to have an author come up with a new concept when it comes to fiction. And Koep has done just that.”

  —Reading Is A Way Of Life BLOG-USA

  “If The Stand and the DaVinci Code had a baby. Smart and the language is beautiful. 12 out of 10 stars!”

  “Not only does Koep have a beautiful writing style and a flare for language—the book resurrects the imponderables of youth, bringing them yet again into the forefront of thought. That is a very good thing, indeed.”

  —Netgalley Reviews

  “The most unique book I’ve read all year--wholly original.”

  “Full of tricks, turns and slight of hand. A roller coaster ride right from the beginning.”

  —Goodreads Reviews

  “Pulse quickening, blockbuster perfection. Masterfully creative!”

  —Nspire Magazine

  “Wow, just WOW!”

  “I can honestly say that the ending shocked me. I have not seen a twist like the one in this book since the movie The Sixth Sense. That alone makes this a 5 Star book for me.”

  “I highly recommend this book to lovers of suspense, thrillers, and paranormal!”

  “This book is totally WOW! A roller-coaster ride right from the beginning!”

  “It’s almost difficult to put into words how strongly this book affected me. It is filled with surprises, turns, twists and honestly, the end blew me away.”

  “If you enjoy a touch of the supernatural and art mysteries, then you will enjoy this. Great Read.”

  “A remarkably inventive story told in an imaginative way. A story within a story. Looking forward to reading more in this series.”

  —Netgalley Reviews

  “Highly addictive! You will LOVE this book.”

  —Roger Nichols, Cover to Cover

  “This author has a gift.”

  —Books! Books! Books!

  FIVE STAR REVIEWS

  from

  Readers’ Favorite

  “The writing is powerful, filled with descriptions that immerse the reader in the action, it offers clear and sweeping visuals, and allow the reader to easily get into the beautiful setting.”

  “You will want to get in on the ground floor of this series because people are going to be talking about it.”

  “This is the kind of book that one finishes and has to take a walk afterward, trying to feel the air, to touch things, to talk to the neighbor, just to ensure one isn’t still in a dream.”

  “The fruit of genius, of rich imagination, and sheer madness. Readers will love every page of this engaging story.”

  —Readers’ Favorite Reviews

  The Newirth Mythology, Part Three, The Shape of Rain is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either used fictitiously, are products of the author’s imagination, or are brought on by an ancient muse (or all three). Any resemblance to actual events, persons, living or dead, gods, idols, immortals or other is entirely coincidental.

  ~ Tunow plecom cer ~

  Copyright © 2018 by Michael B. Koep. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information contact:

  Will Dreamly Arts Publishing.

  [email protected]

  www.WillDreamlyArts.com

  www.MichaelBKoep.com

  FIRST EDITION

  Trade Paperback ISBN: 978-0-9976234-2-0

  Hardcover ISBN: 978-09976234-3-7

  Designed by Will Dreamly Arts Publishing.

  Cover art, maps and text illustrations by Michael B. Koep

  Author portraits by Brady Campbell

  The Newirth Mythology, Part Three, The Shape of Rain

  is also available in EBook formats.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for.

  For Dad

  Contents

  Synopsis

  Prologue

  Pocket Diary Entry # l

  The Hell Between

  Astrid

  The Water’s Eye #2

  An Apology

  Only Begotten Son

  Tea

  Eggs Benediction

  The Lie In Belief

  The Great Flood

  The Lie In Belief #2

  Pocket Diary Entry # 2

  In the Laps of the Gods

  Eyes and Ears

  Montanha Do Pico

  Validation

  Pocket Diary Entry # 3

  High Tea

  Pyramids and Prophecies

  Blindside

  Tiris Avu

  Pyramid G-1b

  Translation

  Menkaure

  The Immortal’s Deathbed

  Menkaure #2

  God Save the Queen

  Imaginings

  The Risen Past

  Pocket Diary Entry # 4

  A Far Country

  Assembly

  The Army of God

  The Shadows Between the Bookshelves

  The Sport of Angels

  Heart

  Insulting the Sun God

  Bird’s Eye

  Water Rights

  My Heart

  Moirai

  The Exchange

  The Garden of Evil

  Expressions

  Hold Your Breath

  When the Doors Shut

  The Old Law

  Doubling Back

  The Impossibility of William Greenhame

  Where It Leads

  Othayr

  A Dissertation: We Will Not Find Supernatural Trickery

  Your Plan, Your Gift (A Dream)

  Fireside Stories

  The Planter

  Ruler With the Spear

  The Mask Maker

  Fire Tending

  Across the Canal

  I Don’t Know

  Fausto’s Web

  The Shape of Rain

  Masks On the Counter

  The Mother of God

  Covenant

  The Trust of Helen Newirth

  The Big Deep Heavy

  Like the Book

  Newirtheism

  Pocket Diary Entry # 5

  Templar and the Queen

  Black Boat on the Water

  Into the Avu

  Can the Past Change?

  A Day In Wyn Avuqua

  The Message In The Stars

  Pocket Diary Entry # 6

  The Sun Room

  Words From the East

  The Artwork of Basil Fenn

  Locked

  A Bed and a Book

  Silence. Flash. Goodbye.

  The Art that Changes Us

  The Death Mask: Ithicsazj

  The Map To Heaven

  The Seige of Wyn Avuqua

  The Maze Of You and Me

  To Dellithion Omvide

  Don’t Die

  The Space Between

  Dedication

  The Planter #2

  The Walls We Place Behind Us

  The Next Sentence

  Champagne Breakfast

  Wine Before a Duel

  Sweet Sixteen

  What Is Written there?

  The Move on the Board

 
; Sigourney’s Line

  The Move on the Board #2

  The Stairs

  The Poet and His Immortals

  The Bane of Immortality

  The Battle of the Masques

  The Bridges

  The Planter #3

  The Shadows Between the Bookshelves #2

  Going In With Them

  The Hand of Yafarra

  Where the Ink Bled

  Epilogue

  Afterword

  Appendices

  Appendix I. Characters of the Newirth Mythology

  Appendix II. Itonalya Myth:

  Appendix III. The Game of Shtan

  Appendix IV. Miscellaneous Translations and Terms

  Appendix V. Of Loche Newirth”s Poetry

  Appendix VII. Elliqui

  English to Elliqui

  Elliqui to English

  Acknowledgments

  Synopsis

  This is the third part of THE NEWIRTH MYTHOLOGY.

  THE FIRST PART, of the Newirth Mythology, The Invasion of Heaven, tells of how Loche Newirth discovers that his mentor, criminal psychologist Marcus Rearden, is a murderer, and how Loche journals an imaginative and mythical story to capture him. It also tells of Loche’s terrifying and supernatural incident in writing the tale, and how his words have altered the very fabric of existence. Throughout his narrative, Loche raises the question, “This is really happening, isn’t it?”

  The journal, left by Loche for Rearden to read, portrays Loche, and painter Basil Fenn, as brothers and artists with the ability, through their art, to open pathways between this life and the Hereafter. Basil’s paintings and Loche’s writings are of great interest to an ancient society of immortals called the Orathom Wis, whose mission is to guard the doors between this life and the next and prevent the crossing of spirits into our world. One of that Order, William Greenhame, had been keeping a secret watch over the two and protecting them since they were children.

  Another immortal, Albion Ravistelle, succeeds in luring Loche, along with his wife Helen, and their young son, Edwin, and Basil to Italy and proposes that by sharing Basil’s paintings they could cure mental illness, and the darker elements of the human condition. The brothers discover that Albion’s intention is instead to contaminate the afterlife with human fallibility, sin and imperfection.

  At the intimation of Loche, Basil takes his own life to stop the invasion of Heaven and protect the natural order of existence. His death begins a war between the Orathom Wis and Albion Ravistelle. The journal ends with Loche’s life falling further into the surreal when he learns that the immortal William Greenhame is his father. He also discovers that his wife, Helen, has betrayed him for the love of Albion Ravistelle.

  Once Rearden completes reading the journal he tests the story’s validity by contacting a character within the narrative, the love of Loche Newirth, Julia Iris. When she joins Rearden on a journey to find Loche, she also reads the incredible events depicted in the journal. Convinced the afterlife exists, that an immortal order of men and women protect it, and that the fate of humankind hangs in the balance, both Rearden and Julia are enmeshed in Loche’s snare. During the final confrontation between Rearden and Loche, Julia is mortally wounded, Rearden’s crime is exposed and he is arrested. Soon after, Loche meets the real life characters from out of his imagination: William Greenhame, Samuel Lifeson and Corey Thomas, and he is forced to come to terms with the anomalous and supernatural quality of his writing. The Invasion of Heaven concludes with the discovery that Julia Iris is an immortal.

  THE SECOND PART of the Newirth Mythology, Leaves of Fire, is comprised of four interwoven tales that take place over three different time periods.

  THE FIRST TALE traces the early life of six year old William of Leaves (William Greenhame) in fourteenth century, England. After being mortally wounded while unsuccessfully trying to defend his mother from witch hunter, Stephen Gravesend, Bishop of London, and his group of Sentinel Monks, William and his father, Radulphus Grenehamer, escape into the English countryside with immortal, Albion Ravistelle. William miraculously recovers from his injury before his father’s eyes, and Albion promises Radulphus and the boy a chance at revenge.

  Before the journey north to Stephen Gravesend’s house in Strotford, William sneaks away to the site where his mother was burned with the vain hope that she is still alive. There, growing around her ashes, is a luminous wreath of green leaves and stems. Before Radulphus and Albion pull the crying boy away and back to the road, William takes three leaves and plants them in a leather pouch full of soil.

  On the journey north, Albion begins to instruct William in the ways of the Itonalya, the ancient Order of the Orathom Wis, and their solemn purpose to hunt and eliminate divine beings trespassing into the human, mortal world. According to the Order, all deities were to be dispatched; however, some would be allowed to live if their actions were deemed virtuous. William learns that his mother was indeed a god on earth, and Albion admits that he and the Order had been keeping an eye on her. Albion believes that the villainous Bishop Stephen Gravesend is indeed a bridging god and vows to both eliminate the crossing spirit and to provide William vengeance.

  The trio stops to resupply at Albion’s house in London. There they meet Albion’s steward, Alice of Bath. They also learn about one of Albion’s vocations as a known apothecary.

  As they set out to Strotford, both father and son struggle with the task before them, weighing vengeance against love. Through Albion’s influence, as well as accepting the supernatural reality of their plight, the killing of Gravesend proves to be a necessary choice, and it is decided that William will poison the Bishop.

  The attempt to poison Gravesend at his house fails and the assassins are revealed. A fight ensues. William learns, along with Albion, that the true bridging deity is not the bishop, but instead, one of the Sentinel Monks, Father Cyrus. It also comes to light that William’s father, Radulphus, is a god on earth. Bishop Gravesend claims that Cyrus is behind the killings and burnings, and names the monk as the Devil himself. The fray leaves Albion incapacitated, the other monks dead and Radulphus pitted against Satan. The dying bishop presses a dagger into the boy’s hand and opens a secret escape passage through the wall. Before William runs, his father is killed by Cyrus.

  The young boy is chased by Cyrus through a long, underground tunnel. In despair, William loses courage and decides there is no escape from the terror that pursues him. He lies down in the shadowed mouth of the tunnel. As a final, desperate gesture, William raises the dagger and directs its point back into the tunnel. The dagger slices into Cyrus’ abdomen as he rushes over the unseen boy. Filled with confusion, William plucks one of his mother’s leaves and presses it to the Devil’s mortal wound, and Cyrus revives. The Devil then rises up and stares into the eyes of the boy. Before Cyrus can reconcile the nature of William’s actions, Albion Ravistelle deals the monk a killing blow.

  From that day on, William’s leaves are of great interest to Albion Ravistelle.

  THE SECOND TALE examines the early life, training and development of the immortal, Helen Storm (later, the wife of Loche Newirth, Helen Newirth).

  Helen discovers her immortality in the early summer of 1972. While attempting to gain the favor of the rock star Jimmy Page, she accidentally falls from the fourteenth story of a Los Angeles hotel rooftop. She not only survives but emerges completely unscathed from the event. The serendipitous supernatural occurrence prompts Page to contact his friend (whom Page knows to have a keen interest in such matters), Albion Ravistelle.

  Helen’s love affair with Albion begins on the first day of their meeting. But Helen feels wholly inadequate to be the companion of the sophisticated and centuries old Ravistelle.

  Albion removes Helen from her abusive, alcoholic step father, her poverty and her hopeless future on the Sunset Strip. Before long, Helen is living in Venice, Italy, longing to become the object of Albion’s affection.

  To achieve his love, Helen determines that
she must learn the ways of her kind. She devours the opportunity. Albion provides education, experience and travel. Helen becomes the most dangerous and cold-hearted assassin the Orathom Wis has ever produced.

  Over two decades, Albion is purposefully absent in her life while Helen pines for him. It isn’t until Helen meets Nicolas Cythe (the resurrected Cyrus—the Devil, himself), that Albion reappears. He explains to Helen that before he will take her hand in marriage there is one final trial she must complete.

  Albion explains the importance of an ancient prophecy: the coming of two brothers, painter, Basil Fenn and poet, Loche Newirth. She must infiltrate their lives, become their muse and inspire the art that will open the door to the Hereafter.

  This account of Helen ends the day she meets Basil Fenn in 1988 in a high school class room.

  THE THIRD AND FOURTH TALES take place in present day after the events told in The Invasion of Heaven.

  In Padua, Italy, William Greenhame assists Loche Newirth and Julia Iris to realize how Loche’s journal has changed the course of history. Julia is violently kidnapped by Helen Newirth and taken to Albion Ravistelle. Helen contacts Loche and proposes a trade: Julia for their son, Edwin. William Greenhame suggests that he himself will confront Albion and return with both Julia and Helen. Greenhame then insists that Loche travel to the Orathom Wis stronghold, Mel Tiris, and enter into Basil Fenn’s paintings to learn how to stop what Albion has begun. With great hesitancy, Loche agrees.

  Leonaie Echelle is a 95 year-old resident at the Greenhaven’s Community Home in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. She suffers from Alzheimer’s. She and the immortal, Samuel Lifeson, have been lovers for well over half a century.

  When Samuel arrives to escort her to Europe for a new treatment that will reverse her aging process and infuse her blood with immortal qualities, a procedure that has been developed by Albion Ravistelle and secretly arranged through Corey Thomas who is still deep within Albion’s trust, the son of Emil Wishfeill attempts to assassinate the couple. He fails, but before he escapes he vows to kill Samuel.

  While a prisoner, Julia Iris is educated by Albion Ravistelle on her immortal condition. Albion shares his reasons for the war he’s started against the Orathom Wis as well as the Divinities. Through the art of Basil Fenn he plans to defeat the gods; through the experiments using William’s leaves he has discovered a way to give the gift of immortality to humankind. Albion intends to create a heaven on earth populated by immortals.