The Aeithar Series


So, what exactly does this represent? Well, this is my attempt to explain the entire concept of all three series in a single image. Not an easy prospect! The central column represents a cenotaph. That is, a monument on which the names of those fallen in war are recorded. This is because War is the central theme of the History series. The icons on the central column represent the chief weapon of the war of that era. The timeline starts at the bottom with primitive weapons, and works upwards. Click the icon to continue.


So, what exactly does this represent? Well, this is my attempt to explain the entire concept of all three series in a single image. Not an easy prospect! The central column represents a cenotaph. That is, a monument on which the names of those fallen in war are recorded. This is because War is the central theme of the History series. The icons on the central column represent the chief weapon of the war of that era. The timeline starts at the bottom with primitive weapons, and works upwards.


Finally, the spiral thing... The History series forms the centre of the whole Aeithar series... Each book in the Expansion series follows on where the previous History book left off... And each book in the Zeal series leads into the next History book... Thus if you were to arrange all the books in chronological order, the Expansion and Zeal series spiral around the central core of the History series. The image as a whole represents the fact that The History of the Aeithar is cyclic. They regularly have wholescale wars. Each war is followed by expansion. Then the zeal builds back up. This leads to another war.

Yup, that's right, you can try the first five chapters completely free!

Why?

Well, as a discerning customer, you're not just going to fork over money for something you haven't given a test run first. You can't know if it's any good unless you try it out!

And as an eternal optimist, I'm confident that having read the first five chapters you'll be so engrossed in the story that you'll just have to read more!

So, to satisfy us both, here they are:-

ZIP file, containing MOBI, EPUB and two sizes of PDF :

The History of the Aeithar - Book 01 - The Internal Wars - Chapters 01 to 05.zip

These chapters total 52,000 words, novel length in their own right, but are still just a taster of the quarter of a million words the full book runs to!

Please note that I am not placing these chapters in the public domain, I retain the copyright to them. However, I am permitting these files to be shared freely, on the condition that they are not altered in any way.

In fact, I WANT you to share them! Please, pass these files onto everyone you know. Post links to this site on your blog. Tweet about them. Discuss them on Facebook.

And ideally, say nice things about them!


The Aeithar Series is actually a collection of three series of books, charting the rise and fall of the Aeithar race, from their humble beginnings as an iron-age civilisation through their colonisation of their planet, their solar system, the galaxy, and to their final destruction in the Interdimensional Wars. As the Aeithar advance, so does the genre of the books. The early books are fantasy in style and content, the middle books contemporary, and the later books science fiction.
	The first series, The History of the Aeithar, documents the advances and changes the Aeithar undergo during their many wars. Each book covers a pivotal moment in their history, when the Aeithar overcome the constraints of their current boundaries and open up a whole new arena. There are six books in total.

	The second series, The Expansion of the Aeithar, documents how the Aeithar adapt to and overcome the challenges of those new arenas. Each book in The Expansion of the Aeithar continues the events from the corresponding book in The History of the Aeithar, and could therefore be considered sequels to the first five of the History books. As the sixth and final book of the History charts the destruction of the Aeithar, there is obviously no sequel to that book.

	The third series, The Zeal of the Aeithar, documents the events leading up to the major wars, documented in the History series. The events in the Zeal books lead directly into the events in the subsequent History books, and so could be considered prequels to the second to sixth History books. As the first History book details the very start of the chain of events, there is obviously no prequel to that book.

I am writing the books series by series, that is all six of the History series first, then the five Expansion series, and then the five Zeal series, and it is intended that the books shall be released in the same order. When they are all complete, however, they will mesh together in chronological order Zeal, History, Expansion.

The previous paragraph is probably hard to make sense of without a handy diagram, so here's one that should help.

Storyline	Genre	Zeal	History	Expansion	Era
1	Fantasy		The Internal Wars	Across The Mountains	Iron Age
2	Fantasy	For The Glory	The International Wars	Across The Sea	Middle Ages
3	Contemporary	For The World	The Intercontinental Wars	Across The Horizon	Contemporary
4	Science Fiction	For The Cause	The Interplanetary Wars	Across The Genus	Near Future
5	Science Fiction	For The Answers	The Interspecies Wars	Across The Divide	Distant Future
6	Science Fiction	For The Gods	The Interdimensional Wars		End of Time

Thus, when complete, a reader could start with The Internal Wars, then move on to Across The Sea, then For The Glory etc, all the way up to For The Gods and finally The Interdimensional Wars, and cover the complete story in order.

As you can see from the above, while the other two series spiral around it, the History series marks both the beginning and end of the series as a whole.

There are many reasons for the series being arranged as it is, but chief amongst them is the fact that most Fantasy books have a very similar setting: Middle Ages, organised Warfare, and Magic already well established. This always left me pondering two questions:-

	How did they get to this point? How was Magic discovered, and when did all the wars start?

	What happens as their race advances? Eventually someone is bound to put two cogs together and the society will become industrial, how will Magic fit into a modern society?

It was my desire to explore these questions that led to The Aeithar Series.

The first and central series, The History of the Aeithar explores the concepts directly, the first three books in particular.
The Internal Wars is the very beginning, 'How did they get to this point?', with the discovery of Magic and the beginnings of Warfare. The International Wars is the traditional Fantasy book, various factions on a single continent with well established Magic and Warfare. The Intercontinental Wars then addresses the second question, 'What happens as their race advances?', by moving into a contempory setting and exploring how Magic fits into a modern, industrial society.
After that, it seemed only natural to continue the exploration, and so the second three books do just that. The Interplanetary Wars takes the series into Science Fiction, but retains the idea of them fighting amongst themselves. The Interspecies Wars sees them battling against alien races, and The Interdimensional Wars sees them dealing with the unknown, and unknowable.

The second series, The Expansion of the Aeithar, is born from the original questions again, in this case 'What happens next?' The ending of each History book sees the Aeithar break through their current constraints and enter a new arena, the setting of the next History book. The Expansion series covers their first steps into that arena.

The third series, The Zeal of the Aeithar, naturally deals again with the other question, 'How did they get to this point?' Wars have causes, even for a perpetually warlike race, and the Zeal series charts them.

The first series, The History of the Aeithar, comprises the six books which form the central core to the story.

The Aeithar are at war. Always at war. From the very beginnings of their race to the very end, they have fought, amongst themselves and against others. Their wars have shaped the race, moulded it, and driven their development. What progress they have undergone, what advances they have made, have all come at the height of conflict.

Some wars, however, and some advances, were more important than others.

The Aeithar have always found themselves constrained. Limited, trapped, by external circumstance. They fight in an arena imposed upon them. But, occasionally, the technology of war will throw up something new, something powerful, that will enable the Aeithar to break those constraints, and to expand their arena.

The History of the Aeithar series covers those wars.

There are six books in the History series	The Internal Wars	Fantasy	Iron Age
	The International Wars	Fantasy	Middle Ages
	The Intercontinental Wars	Contemporary	Contemporary
	The Interplanetary Wars	Science Fiction	Near Future
	The Interspecies Wars	Science Fiction	Distant Future
	The Interdimensional Wars	Science Fiction	End of Time

The main drive for me writing The History of the Aeithar is the fact that most Fantasy books have a very similar setting: Middle Ages, organised Warfare, and Magic already well established. This left me pondering two important questions:-

	How did they get to this point? How was Magic discovered, and when did all the wars start?

	What happens as their race advances? Eventually someone is bound to put two cogs together and the society will become industrial, how will Magic fit into a modern society?

The first three books of the series explore these questions directly:-

The Internal Wars is the very beginning, 'How did they get to this point?' The beginnings of Magic and Warfare.

The International Wars is the traditional Fantasy book: various factions, a single continent, established Magic and Warfare.

The Intercontinental Wars then addresses the second question, 'What happens as their race advances?', by moving into a contempory setting and exploring how Magic fits into a modern, industrial society.

After that, it seemed only natural to continue the exploration, and so the second three books do just that:-

The Interplanetary Wars takes the series into Science Fiction, but retains the idea of them fighting amongst themselves.

The Interspecies Wars sees them battling against alien races.

The Interdimensional Wars sees them dealing with the unknown, and unknowable.

Again, the Science Fiction books follow the same path as the Fantasy books, with the first being set earlier than is usual, and covering how they end up with their technology, then the second being the traditional point, and the third being set much later.

As well as the questions I wanted to answer, there were lots of concepts I wanted to explore with The History of the Aeithar.

Firstly, I wanted to look into a cyclic timeline, that is one where key events are repeated. War is traditionally a time of great technological advances, and probably the greatest of these is the ability to overcome your current boundaries and expand the arena for that warfare. Thus at the beginning of each History book the Aeithar are limited by a constraint, which they overcome at the end. The new arena they find themselves in forms the area for the start of the next History book, which again they overcome at the end:-

In The Internal Wars the Aeithar are trapped in a very small area, hemmed in by impassable mountains, which they eventually overcome to gain access to the rest of the continent.

In The International Wars they are limited to a single continent, unable to cross the dangerous seas, but once they overcome that they have access to the whole planet.

In The Intercontinentnal Wars they have filled the planet, with apparently nowhere left to go, until the technology of war is adapted to space travel.

In The Interplanetary Wars the Aeithar have colonised their solar system, and used up all its resources, but discover how to travel beyond it.

In The Interspecies Wars they now colonise the entire galaxy, and are at war with most of its other inhabitants, until they manage to bridge the divide between dimensions.

In The Interdimensional Wars they are at war with the other dimensions, but their final great advance turns out to be their last...

Another concept I wanted to explore was that old adage, 'History is written by the winners.' For this reason, the books are all done from the point of view of the winning side, with little mention of their opponents except in the most general terms. Also, subsequent books make references back to characters and events from earlier books, as they have been passed down, not how they truly happened. This concept is used a great deal in the intros and outros of each chapter. These are all done from the point of view of the central character of the sixth book, who becomes the sole survivor of the Aeithar race, trapped forever in the interdimensional limbo, able to see all of history but affect none of it.

The other big concept I was interested in was controlling the populace. There are many ways to do that, and I wanted to explore several of them. The first was obvious enough: survival. People would, given the choice, rather be healthy and well fed than sick and starving, and so in The Internal Wars the leader uses that to motivate his people. Then there's jingoism, always a good motivator, and so in The International Wars that is one of the main controlling factors. And of course, who could forget good old greed! The leadership of The Intercontinental Wars both use and are used by this simple tool.

After that, it gets a little more complex, and interesting. I wanted a new way to explore Magic in advanced societies. It had already been rationalised into a science by The Intercontinental Wars, and I wanted to take that further, so in The Interplanetary Wars we see the beginnings of a new religion formed around the science of Magic. It is not a direct controlling factor at this point, but it is an influence. For the main controlling factor, I returned to the first book, cyclic history again I'm afraid, and used survival.

By the time of The Interspecies Wars the religion, Erudition, has taken a firm hold, and much of the population is under it's sway. Many of its tenets are direct factors for control, and for the warfare that ensues. And because I am, as you have no doubt noticed, somewhat obsessed with the whole cyclic history thing, the other big controlling factor is again jingoism.

Finally, for The Interdimensional Wars, the leaders of Erudition, the Prelates, have utter control over the populace, and the final war is a Great Holy War. And, again, the other main factor is one that has been previously explored, greed. This time, however, is it the greed of the Prelates that determines most of their course, and they use Erudition as their ship to sail it.

As well as questions and concepts, I really wanted to explore themes.

One of the central themes of the History series is advancement.

The most obvious form of advancement is technological. They are a resourceful, inventive people, often given to flashes of inspiration. However, this creativity is usually driven by the needs of war, which can result in a rather skewed level of technology. Backwards in some areas, forwards in others.

There is also their social advancement. Their society undergoes many changes, as numbers and population density fluctuate, the tide of battle ebbs and flows, technology enriches or impoverishes their lives, and the style and methods of leadership change. As they spread out, many different societies exist simultaneously.

Then there is their mystical advancement. In the early books, those of a fantasy genre, they discover and use magic. By the contemporary books, this has been rationalised into science. Then, in the science fiction books, the science of magic gets converted into a religion, Erudition. It gains more acceptance and becomes more widespread as the series continues, until the Prelates, the high priests of Erudition, ultimately control the Aeithar race completely.

It's not just broad themes covering the whole series I wanted to work with though, I wanted to weave 'mini-themes' into parts of the story.

Chapter Two of The Internal Wars features the theme of 'the life cycle', for example, and the idea is woven into many aspects of that chapter.

Some of these themes are 'hidden', and some are hinted at in the chapter introductions. For example, in one introduction the Watcher ends by saying 'I cannot know why they did these things', and much of that chapter then deals with the theme of each character's reasoning, as well as their actions.

So, as you can see, there were a great many factors I wanted to work into the series as a whole, on top of all the individual themes that take place within a book, or even a chapter.

This obviously took quite a lot of planning, and indeed I had the majority of the series plotted out before I even started writing the first chapter of the first book. My notes make the most obsessive compulsive person look disorganised! For example, under the general series notes, I have the notes for The Internal Wars book as a whole, under which I have a breakdown of each chapter with an overview of what needs to happen, and under that I have a breakdown of each scene within the chapter, detailing all the main points, and even the target wordcount (which I invariably exceed).

Anyway, here's a nice table detailing all the key points, ideas and themes, just to round everything up into one place.

Book	Genre	Era	Constraint	Control
The Internal Wars	Fantasy	Iron Age	Mountains	Survival
The International Wars	Fantasy	Middle Ages	Sea	Jingoism
The Intercontinental Wars	Contemporary	Contemporary	Planet	Greed
The Interplanetary Wars	Science Fiction	Near Future	Solar System	Religion / Survival
The Interspecies Wars	Science Fiction	Distant Future	Galaxy	Religion / Jingoism
The Interdimensional Wars	Science Fiction	End of Time	Reality	Religion / Greed

As I said, there are a great many other factors, ideas and themes involved and explored in The Aeithar Series, but those above are the central ones to each book. I shall leave the others for you to explore and uncover yourself, it's more fun that way!

The first series, The History of the Aeithar, tells of how the Aeithar overcome their boundaries, and open up new arenas.

The second series, The Expansion of the Aeithar, tells how the Aeithar adapt to and overcome the challenges of those new arenas.

The Aeithar have always found themselves constrained. Limited, trapped, by external circumstance. They fight in an arena imposed upon them. But, occasionally, the technology of war will throw up something new, something powerful, that will enable the Aeithar to break those constraints, and to expand their arena.

Now is just such a time.

They flood eagerly outwards, determined to make the most of their new-found freedom, but their new arena has boundaries of its own, and comes with new challenges and dangers.

While the History series is centred around warfare, the Expansion series deals with exploration.

Each Expansion book picks up the story shortly after the corresponding History book, and could be thought of as a sequel. Just enough time has elapsed to allow the Aeithar to begin expanding into their new arena.

It is a time of great change, and great danger. Although they dominated their previous arena, they now find themselves at a disadvantage. They are encountering new problems and situations they had never even imagined previously.

Some characters from the preceding History book will be carried across into these books, depending on the elapsed time between the two books, and some new characters will be introduced. Some of the minor History characters are in fact there specifically to become a major Expansion character.

There are five books in the Expansion series

Across The Mountains Era: Iron Age Genre: Fantasy	Sequel to The Internal Wars The Aeithar have defeated their first constraint, and crossed the mountains, but found that they are not alone. Exposure to disease is but the first hurdle they must overcome.
Across The Sea Era: Middle Ages Genre: Fantasy	Sequel to The International Wars Crossing the seas has released the Aeithar. Now they have a whole planet to colonise. But with new lands comes new realisation: it's not just people that can be hostile.
Across The Horizon Era: Present Day Genre: Contemporary	Sequel to The Intercontinental Wars The planets and moons of the solar system are as diverse as they are plentiful, and the Aeithar race to colonise them all. But some planets are better than others.
Across The Genus Era: Near Future Genre: Science Fiction	Sequel to The Interplanetary Wars A whole galaxy to explore, and the possibilities seem endless, but once again the Aeithar find out that someone, or something, else has been there before them.
Across The Divide Era: Distant Future Genre: Science Fiction	Sequel to The Interspecies Wars When the universe itself has become too small to contain the Aeithar, there's only one place left to go, but across the dimensional divide nothing is as it seems.

There are only five books in the Expansion series, because the final book of the History series, The Interdimensional Wars, sees the destruction of the Aeithar race, and therefore has no sequel.

The first series, The History of the Aeithar, tells of the constant and seemingly unending wars of the Aeithar.

But even the Aeithar are at peace sometimes, if only to plan the next war. The third series, The Zeal of the Aeithar, documents the events leading up to the war described in the following History book.

The Aeithar are at war. Always at war. From the very beginnings of their race to the very end, they have fought, amongst themselves and against others. Their wars have shaped the race, moulded it, and driven their development. What progress they have undergone, what advances they have made, have all come at the height of conflict.

But no-one, not even the Aeithar, can fight continuously.

There are, by necessity, moments if not of peace then at least of wary truce. Times when the Aeithar must work together with their enemies, for whatever reason. But this pseudo-peace is fragile, and these truces easily broken. Plot and double-cross are commonplace, when an ally is nothing more than a future enemy.

While the History series is centred around warfare, and the Expansion series exploration, the Zeal series deals mainly with reasons.

  Personal and political relationships, and their outcomes.
  Diplomacy and deceit. Espionage and entrapment.
  Swelling pressure from below, increasing oppression from above.

All the multitude of influences and reasons that combine and grow until war is inevitable.

Each Zeal book leads directly into the following History book, and so provides background on many of the characters and events.

There are five books in the Zeal series.

For The Glory Era: Middle Ages Genre: Fantasy	Prequel to The International Wars Rebuilding an army, especially one so decimated, takes time. Time that needs to be bought, by confronting your enemy with diplomacy instead of swords. But who will rebuild first.
For The World Era: Present Day Genre: Contemporary	Prequel to The Intercontinental Wars Industry requires resources. Resources on a grand scale. But while heads of state wade through trade negotiations, others have more direct means of ensuring their supplies.
For The Cause Era: Near Future Genre: Science Fiction	Prequel to The Interplanetary Wars First came the idea. Then the whispering, the meetings, the book. Planet by planet, Erudition is spreading. And the less the people have, the stronger it takes hold.
For The Answers Era: Distant Future Genre: Science Fiction	Prequel to The Interspecies Wars That aliens are different is not the issue. The real problem is that they aren't different enough. They want what we want, and many are married to Aeithar. Is it love, or heresy?
For The Gods Era: End of Time Genre: Science Fiction	Prequel to The Interdimensional Wars Can Purity be measured by degrees, or is it an absolute? Can higher understanding succeed where base language has failed? Will taking Erudition into the Divide bridge the gap?

There are only five books in the Zeal series, because the first book of the History series, The Internal Wars, sees the beginnings of the Aeithar race, and therefore has no prequel.

	You were releasing this chapter by chapter, why have you stopped? Two reasons:- Firstly, I am now able to work on the series a lot more than I was, so can get complete books out much faster than before. Secondly, due to the minimum pricing that Amazon allowed, releasing complete books works out a lot cheaper for you, the reader. It was a worthwhile experiment, and I might well return to it with other projects, but as far as the Aeithar Series is concerned, it's complete books from here on out!

Want to ask me something?

	What's in it for you, the reader? Well, it's good for you for many reasons, including:- Faster access to content. Don't you just hate having to wait two years for the next book in a series to come out? Less risk to try it out. We've all bought books that sounded good, but didn't live up to expectations. With this series, you can try the first two chapters for free, and if you like them, buy the next ones as cheaply as I can make them ($.99c / £.75p / €.86c as of Feb 2012). If at any point you stop enjoying them, you simply stop buying more chapters. So what's in it for me, the author? With a deadline of one chapter per month, I can focus entirely on the quality of that specific part, and polish it until it gleams. And I have to, because one bad chapter could kill off the series. I have to be at the top of my game this way! I can gather chapter-by-chapter feedback from you, the reader, through my website. If something I'm doing isn't working for most of you, I get the chance to try to correct it. How many chapters will there be per book? There will be twenty chapters per book.

Want to ask me something?

	Ok, so it sounds good, but really, just one chapter a month? Well, this is where my propensity for verbiage comes in handy… my chapters are rather long! In fact, they are all between 10,000 and 15,000 words, which is novelette length and heading for novella. However, unlike many authors of long works, I absolutely don't believe in padding. There are no long, rambling descriptions of trivial details, no unnecessary scenes just to fill the pages. I stick to the story! Each of those 10k to 15k words is carefully chosen to give a lean, mean, well-paced reading experience. I have to work that way, trimming the fat as I go, because otherwise every chapter would end up 20k to 40k long, and that's into novel lengths. How much is already written? At the start of the serialisation project, the first fifteen chapters have already been completed. In fact, as noted on the copyright page, the first ten chapters have already been published in paperback. I will be releasing those same ten chapters straight away, to give the readers something to get started with, and then one chapter per month after that. This will give me a five-chapter buffer between what I've written and what you're reading, in case I need to go back and tweak anything.

Want to ask me something?

	Are you making it up as you go along? Yes, and no. Or perhaps more accurately, no and yes. The story arc is already written. Given the series will comprise sixteen interlocking books, I had to have it fairly well planned out before I even wrote the opening to the first chapter. Within that story arc, I then have each book broken down into the individual arc for each chapter. And within each chapter, I have it broken down to the individual scenes (usually ten scenes per chapter). So as far as the story goes, it's pretty much all in place already. However, the actual composition of each scene and chapter is still somewhat open. There is leeway for me to tweak things as needed. And it is needed. Odd as it might sound, characters often do things I wasn't expecting, and approach their roles in ways quite differently to how I first planned. A character that was down to be quite vicious ended up being highly moral, for example, without affecting the story arc at all. I simply realised early on, as I came to understand him better, that this was how he would approach his role in events. And yes, I know how weird that sounds. Writers are like that. Sorry!

Want to ask me something?

How are Aeithar, Maendar, Baeinar etc pronounced? And why the odd names in the first place?

Aeithar wasn't actually my first choice for the race name, I had something else in mind originally. However, when I googled it to make sure noone else was using it, of course it turned out that they were.

And the second idea I had.

So for the third, I came up with a combo that was unlikely to have been used by anyone!

SPOILER: Personally, I prefer to use my own pronunciations for people, places etc when I read books, as I feel it flows better in my head using what first sprang to mind.

However, if you really want to know how I pronounce them, which in this case I guess is the 'proper' pronunciation after all, then click this gold text.

Want to ask me something?

	The Internal Wars - Chapter One Why is this chapter shorter than all the others? This first chapter is designed to set up the background to the book, while introducing the antagonist and his viewpoint. It's basically an introduction, with little storyline content as such, and so I deliberately kept it to half length to avoid throwing too much background at the reader at once. What are those bits in italics at the start and end about? Each chapter has an introduction and conclusion from the point of view of a character currently known only as The Watcher. The Watcher is the last surviving member of the Aeithar race, far, far in the future, and one of the men responsible for their destruction. He is looking back through the History of the Aeithar, and seeing how he was lied to and manipulated all his life. The final book in the series, The Interdimensional Wars, will feature The Watcher as the protagonist, and tell his story.

Want to ask me something?

	The Internal Wars - Chapter Two How does this chapter relate to Chapter One? This chapter starts the day after the events of Chapter One, in the same town (Maendar), and introduces the protagonist. What is the significance of the Hunters that Cailin sees leaving and returning? And the fish? They're Baeinar's decision in action, and the results. Cailin sees them leaving to the north, towards Cirraen who have netted the river mouth, instead of to the east and the forest of Shalin as they usually would. Despite his standing in the town, the Keeper being an important figure, Cailin is unaware of their purpose, thus showing that Baeinar and the Council kept the decision from the rest of the town. Seeing fish returning to the river shows that the Hunters were successful in destroying the nets.

Want to ask me something?

	The Internal Wars - Chapter Two What is the 'Lifecycle' theme embedded in this chapter? The chapter starts with Cailin observing some birds building nests, preparing for mating season. Later, he sees a vole bringing food to its completed home. These two events represent a beginning, and the work needed to maintain something once it has been started. Then, while touring the town, he discusses three events with people he meets:- A birth; a marriage; and a death. This ties in with the Maidens part of The Maidens and the Hunters being the lifecycle of a woman. Which in turn is matched to the various stages of a Hunt, also a cycle, something dieing so that something else might live. Combined, these elements signify Cailin beginning his journey to undertanding Magic, the work he will need to put in to continue it, and the vicious cycle of life and death that it will lead to.

Want to ask me something?

	The Internal Wars - Chapter Three What did Cirraen use to pollute the river? Whatever they had to hand, basically. Animal carcasses, spoiled food, human waste. Anything that could be thrown into a sack or carried in a bucket. Why didn't we see any of this happen? Because the only records are those left by the Maendaran, so we can only see events from their point of view. All we can infer about the other towns is what is said, any direct contact, and the results of their actions. Why does Cailin distort the story? Isn't he supposed to tell the truth? Cailin can only tell stories as they have been told to him, so when Baeinar tells him the false story of events, Cailin assumes it to be true and repeats it.

Want to ask me something?

	The Internal Wars - Chapter Four How does this chapter relate to Chapter Three? Events in this chapter take place concurrently with those in Chapter Three, but this time they're told from Cailin's point of view. Why doesn't Cailin tell anyone that he's helping clean the river? Because he's still unsure what potential Magic has, and wants to keep it a secret until he knows more. How come Cait knows a trick that Cailin doesn't? Because different people approach problems in different ways, and find different solutions. Cait works out how to handle multiple objects. Cailin works out how to handle all of an object. Both solutions allowed them to progress far, but it was combining them that released the potential.

Want to ask me something?

	The Internal Wars - Chapter Five Why did the Shalinar attack? Naik was mistaken when he thought the Shalinar didn't see them, and the Shalinar are retaliating for the Maendaran raid on their woods. Why doesn't Cailin dominate the battle more efficiently with Magic? Cailin has only just started experimenting with Magic, and still has very little idea what it can do. He's never tried to apply it in such circumstances before, and is worried he'll do the wrong thing, as in fact he does a couple of times. Why did Baeinar send half his men away when he was winning? Just as Cailin was still unfamiliar with Magic, Baeinar has little idea about large scale combat. He's also quite arrogant, so the concept of his side losing, even against the odds, doesn't really occur to him. How come Leen can fight so well? That's explained in Chapter Six...

Want to ask me something?

	The Internal Wars - Chapter Six Was Leen's brother one of the men Baeinar sent to try to cross the mountains? Yes, although it's possible he would have volunteered anyway. However, he told Leen it was his own idea. Are Cailin and Tera considered married, now that they're living together? It is common amongst the Aeithar for a woman to choose a man, and move into his hut to see if they are compatible. Tera was perhaps a little hastened to act on her decision by the Shalinar attack, but she had already made it. Isn't it a bit much to have Cailin now invent writing, as well as Magic? Technically, Tera invented it when she combined their symbols to have a new meaning. However, Cailin was the one to see the potential of it. That is his greatest strength. He invents little himself, instead taking existing ideas and improving upon them. Also, he's just been removed as Keeper, and so had the need to preserve his stories prominently in his thoughts, which made the link much easier to make.

Want to ask me something?

	The Internal Wars - Chapter Seven Is Leen having his best men pick teams another reference to childhood games? Yes, it is. The Aeithar are still quite childlike at this early stage of their development, still do most things as a child would. Why do some people have the ability to perform magic, while others don't? As Cailin previously surmised, performing magic is about thinking and perceiving the world in a certain way, and just like anything else that is a skill which some will be better at than others. Some people have a talent for languages, and speak several. Others excellent hand-eye coordination, and excel at tennis. In Aeithan, some people can just see the world the right way to perform magic. What did Tera mean when she said she could feel the potential in Kirt? Performing magic alters the physical world. Even though Kirt only caused a small effect, Tera could feel a large change.

Want to ask me something?

	The Internal Wars - Chapter Eight Why is the writing style of this battle so different from the one in Chapter Five? That first battle, in Chapter Five, was a frantic, chaotic affair, and so the writing was fast, and changed constantly. This time, however, the Maendaran are feeling confident, cocky even, and are happy to take their time. Thus, the writing style is also slower, even tinged with humour, to reflect their mood. What did Cailin and Leen silently agree upon? That they could work together to subvert Baeinar's orders as much as possible, to lessen any bloodshed. Why is Cailin so excited about building a wall when they already have a fence? Because he can stretch it out to take as long as he wants, using all of the Mages, and so prevent Baeinar from using magic offensively for a while. Plus a thick stone wall is clearly superior to a wooden fence, proving again that magic is most effective when applied defensively.

Want to ask me something?

	The Internal Wars - Chapter Nine Why did Cailin talk to Baeinar about privately? Cailin suggested the raising of the cenotaph, in order to commemorate those who had died in the two Shalinar raids. Why did Baeinar agree to Cailin's suggestion for the cenotaph? Baeinar saw it as a chance to impress upon the people that the town, and by extension himself, was worth dying for. His thinking was simple: it would make it easier to convince them to do it again. What was it that Kirt felt in the soil? Nutrients. Nitrogen, potassium, calcium etc. The basic minerals that plants need to grow. Areas where the plants grew well contained high levels of nutrients, and areas where they failed had little to none. With no other name for them, she refers to the nutrients collectively as 'life', which is certainly true as far as the crops are concerned.

Want to ask me something?

	The Internal Wars - Chapter Ten What did Cailin draw on Tera's stomach, and what did it signify? He drew their combined duck symbols: her crossed circle, and his four dots. By drawing it on her stomach, he showed he was thinking of them one day having a child, hence Tera's delighted reaction. Why had Kirt become so exhausted? Magic is like any other exertion, the more you do the more tired you get, and Kirt was working herself to her very limit. How long has Baeinar been planning the attack on Cirraen? Since before the wall was built. Although he gave Cailin the appearance of simply basking in trivial glories, he has been shrewedly planning all along. Knowing of Kirt's discovery for some time, it allowed him to have a fully formed plan ready to present the moment Cailin made his announcement.

Want to ask me something?

	The Internal Wars - Chapter Eleven Why does the start seem so familiar? It's the start of Chapter One reworked, only now Baeinar is happy about the situation instead of bored by it. Why does Leen change the Defenders' training? He was trying to prove to Baeinar that they were unready for battle, to put off the attack on Cirraen. Why does Cailin stop the Mages when they're winning? Because they're killing their foes when containing them or driving them off would be sufficient. Wouldn't it be better if Cailin and Leen helped Baeinar conquer Aeithan quickly? Yes. Used to its full might, their combined forces could easily take Aeithan with little trouble, and end the fighting once and for all. However, both men are too worried about the potential casualties on either side to see that their reluctance is only making things worse.

Want to ask me something?

	Why aren't you enabling DRM (Digital Rights Management) on the books? Contrary to what all the doomsayers would have us believe, most people are still honest and law abiding, and will pay for something they use. As such, I don't wish to make it less convenient for them to enjoy my books. Without DRM, they can back up the files, and view them on any eBook reader they wish. And anyone following the series will end up with a lot of files, so backing them up somewhere will become important. Yes, it makes it marginally easier for someone to pirate my books, but that's going to happen anyway. I'm just relying on the honour system, and choosing to believe that asking 'please don't pirate my books!' will stop most people.

Want to ask me something?

	Who designed this website, it's ~~awful~~ awesome! I designed and built this website myself... ... by hand ... in Notepad ... all 11803 lines (and counting) of it! This should tell you three things:- 1) When I commit to doing something, I go all out (which is probably good news for the book series!) 2) I like to have total control of the final product quality (which is probably good news for you, the reader!) 3) I might well be clinically insane (which, uh..., you should probably forget!) So the print and e-Books...? Yup, those too. I did all the formatting, created the print layout, created the e-Book layout and .mobi files, the lot.

Want to ask me something?

The History of the Aeithar - Book 01 - The Internal Wars now on sale!
It seems that my doubts about my cover art were somewhat unjustified, as most people were happy with either the Icon or Map version (and some even liked both!), and so I've stuck with them for now. If I get something better later, I can always make it available as an additional version.

To buy a copy, in either Paperback or eBook, please go to the links below, the Buy button on the main page, or search your favourite book site. www.Amazon.com/author/lesliestyles, Amazon.co.uk and many others.

First Book Complete
The first book of the series, The History of the Aeithar - Book 01 - The Internal Wars is finished!

At quarter of a million words it's a fairly hefty tome, 740 pages worth in fact. It was a lot of work, and even more fun!

It's been formatted, editted, and polished, and the test print looks fantastic, so it's basically ready to go, except for one thing...

I'd really like it to have a proper cover, instead of the rather lacklustre design I've been using so far. So, with that in mind...

Cover Art Review
I'm currently looking for feedback and ideas on the cover art for the books, as most of the temporary stuff I've got is pretty terrible. If you'd like to join in, click the Art button on the front page.

The introduction and conclusion to each chapter are taken from the point of view of the final survivor of the Aeithar race, in the far future. This theme will continue through the rest of the History series, and his story will be told in full in the final book. This final survivor, known so far only as The Watcher, was a Priest of Erudition, the religion based around the science of Magic, and part of the team responsible for the design and construction of the ultimate weapon, which was meant to win the final Great Holy War against their enemies across the dimensional divide, but instead destroyed the Aeithar. As a result of the accident, he is trapped in the dimensional flux, able to see all of history, but not to affect it. As he says in his opening monologue, all he can do is watch. It is from this unique vantage point that he is able to compare what he was taught all of his life to reality, and to unravel the lies that Erudition has come to embrace. In his introductions, The Watcher generally sets the scene for the coming chapter, often quoting from the Book of Erudition or citing what had been accepted historical fact by his time, then for the conclusion he will usually consider the differences, or the significance of the events, and sometimes comment on them directly. In both cases, he alone knows what is to happen next, and will often mourn for events yet to come. As well as helping to set the scene, and form a link through all the books of the History of the Aeithar series, The Watcher's introductions, and in particular his conclusions, are often used to make the reader re-consider what they've just read.

At the beginning of the book, the people of Maendar have just reached the first stages of a truly organised society. They have begun to function as a town, rather than as a collection of family units, and the benefits have rapidly becoming apparent. The town is clean, people know and care for each other, and tasks are being divided according to skill, rather than people having to tend to all of their own needs. They are still relatively primitive though, both in their abilities and their outlook, and most still look at the world around them with a child-like wonder, and follow the leadership of Baeinar with a child-like naivete. It is appropriate, then, that most of their new discoveries come from childhood games, and it is Baeinar's particularly adult application of them that forces the Aeithar to begin to grow up. As mentioned on the previous page, The Internal Wars is the only book of the History series that combines both the lead up to the war and the war itself. This is so as to provide a proper introduction to the series in a single book, and I also wanted the Aeithar Series as a whole to both start and end with a History book, as it is the central spine of the three series. Doing it this way also gave me one other advantage: as the book was naturally split into two halves, I could release it that way. I released the first half of the book as The Internal Wars - Part One, to give people the chance to try out the series cheaply, although since then eBooks have rendered the point moot. Part Two is available, for those that bought Part One and would like to complete the set.

The main driving reason for me writing The History of the Aeithar is the fact that most Fantasy books have a very similar setting: Middle Ages, organised Warfare, and Magic already well established. This always left me pondering two important questions:- How did they get to this point? How was Magic discovered, and when did all the wars start? What happens as their race advances? Eventually someone is bound to put two cogs together and the society will become industrial, how will Magic fit into a modern society? The Internal Wars is the first book of the History of the Aeithar series, and deals with the first question. It is set much earlier than the traditional Fantasy book, while the people are still an Iron Age civilisation, and covers the original discovery of Magic, and the beginnings of organised Warfare. As the first book of the History series, this marks the very beginning of the storyline. It combines both the lead up to the war and the war itself, whereas for the rest of the series the History books concentrate just on the war, and leave the lead up to be covered in the Zeal series. This book is also deliberately simple in scope. The people are relatively few, and at a very early stage in their development. This book therefore concentrates on only a few major characters, explores only a few relationships, and deals with fairly simplistic battles. As the series progresses, and the Aeithar become more numerous and more advanced, the books will also become more advanced, dealing with many more characters and plotlines.

Thinking that Baeineth is now secure behind its walls, Baeinar turns all of his attention outwards, to conquest, and to the prize he holds most dear: Power! Power comes at a price, however, and while Baeinar is more than willing to pay it, others need persuading. Cailin holds the key to victory, but it is Baeinar's hand upon the door. Unlocking it will reveal the secrets of life, but also the power of death. His own internal battle is every bit as fierce as the fighting all around him, and defeat would be far more costly. Leen too has his battles to fight, and while the lives of his men mean nothing to Baeinar, they are everything to him. Every attempt to reduce the losses of the enemy threatens to increase his own, and the line he walks grows finer with every step. Every victory serves to make Baeinar yet more hungry for the next, and every setback to make him more determined, and more wasteful of his people. Victory, or death! Only by continuing their unspoken alliance can Cailin and Leen hope to retain any control over their own lives and the lives of those they hold dear, and beat Baeinar at his own game. Baeinar is far from easy to play, though, using guile and cunning as well as threats to get his own way, and despite disastrous early setbacks, soon all of Aeithan is poised to fall before him. But it turns out that Aeithan holds a surprise of its own...

Life in Aeithan had been good. The Aeithar had been few, and the resources plentiful. Now, however, the ratio is starting to swing in the other direction. As their numbers grew, so to did the size of their settlements. Now they are split into four large towns, each nestled in its own corner of their mountain-locked land. At first, one location had seemed much like any other, and life had carried on as usual. But soon enough the people of Maendar realised that they had chosen poorly. Their soil was weak, and grew sparse crops. What cattle they had grew thinner, not fatter, and little game now passed their way. This situation suits Baeinar, leader of the Maendaren. He is not content simply to rule one town, he wants to rule all of Aeithan, and the other towns having what his town does not is the perfect excuse for war. For conquest. But just as his plans start to bear fruit, Baeinar finds out that his rule is not the only power in Maendar. Cailin, the amiable Keeper of the town's oral history, has discovered that a childhood game holds the key to a much greater power: Magic. When Cailin's secret is exposed in a very public manner, both men are forced to deal with the consequences. For the good of the town, they must appear to work together, but each has a very different view of how magic should be used. The odds are stacked in Baeinar's favour, however, and as the small defensive force is grown and moulded into a standing army, the shadow of war looms ever darker. When that war breaks out, Baeinar cares only for winning. Any losses he incurs will be recouped when he rules the other towns. Others, though, seek to limit the bloodshed. But in war there is a fine line between saving lives and risking them.

The Aeithar are at war. Always at war. From the very beginnings of their race to the very end, they have fought, amongst themselves and against others. Their wars have shaped the race, moulded it, and driven their development. Some wars, however, and some advances, were more important than others. Life in Aeithan had been good. The Aeithar had been few, and the resources plentiful. Now, however, the ratio has swung the other way. What began as minor skirmishes over food or wood soon escalates into battles, and before long the spectre of full-blown warfare looms. And when a childhood game turns out to hold the key to untold power, the battle for minds becomes as important as that for land. Part One now in print! ISBN-10: 1492794643 ISBN-13: 978-1492794646
The Internal Wars is the first book of the epic History of the Aeithar series, which charts the rise and fall of the Aeithar race, from their beginnings as an Iron Age civilisation to their end in the far future. This book covers the earliest period, the beginnings of warfare, and the discovery of Magic. Turn the page for a more detailed overview!

Whereas The Internal Wars is set earlier than the traditional Fantasy book, to explore my question of ‘How did they get to this point?', and The Intercontinental Wars is set later, to explore ‘What happens as their race advances?', this book, The International Wars, is set smack bang in the middle of the traditional Fantasy genre. The people live in a Middle Ages setting, and both Magic and Warfare are well established. The action takes place on a single continent, where the various factions are at war. In fact, they are currently trapped on that single continent, as that is one of the central themes of the History of the Aeithar series. Each book takes place during the war where they finally overcome the constraint stopping them expanding. This book is set a considerable time after the first book, The Internal Wars, and so none of the characters from that book appear directly in this one, however many of them are referenced. Their names and deeds have become legendary, and some are even revered as Heroes. However, as History is written by the winners, what they believe is not always what happened, and much of their past has been twisted and re-written. Some of it is still being re-written now. Likewise, events from this book form part of the legend in the later books, and again not necessarily how they happened. As with all the History series, each chapter has an introduction and conclusion from The Watcher, the last surviving member of the Aeithar race, trapped in the Interdimensional flux in the far future.

The Aeithar are at war. Always at war. From the very beginnings of their race to the very end, they have fought, amongst themselves and against others. Their wars have shaped the race, moulded it, and driven their development. Some wars, however, and some advances, were more important than others. Hemmed in by the sea, the once-vast continent of Aeithan is now beginning to seem very small, for the land has been good to the Aeithar, and their numbers have grown, faster and faster each year. The borders of the three countries, once arbitrary, now mean everything, as the people struggle for room. Room to farm. Room to mine. Room to live. With the methods of warfare and the art of magic now well established, and well known, it is in the minds of a few special men that the deadlock will be broken.
The International Wars is the second book of the epic History of the Aeithar series, which charts the rise and fall of the Aeithar race, from their beginnings as an Iron Age civilisation to their end in the far future. This book covers the traditional Fantasy period, with a Medieval setting, and well established rules of warfare and Magic. Turn the page for a more detailed overview!

The Intercontinental Wars is the third and final book of the Fantasy section of the History of the Aeithar series, and is designed to explore the question of ‘What happens as their race advances?' It is set in a contemporary setting, with an industrialised civilisation, and modern warfare. Most importantly, Magic has now been rationalised into Science. All the familiar aspects of the History series are still here, including the chapter introductions and conclusions from The Watcher, but the story has moved on considerably. The war covered in this book is a war of attrition. The planet has been exhausted, there are virtually no resources left, and the various nations are using up what little they have stockpiled at a reckless pace in the hopes of conquering the others, and capturing theirs. And it's not only materials that are being spent heedlessly, the lives of the people are just as much a currency in the price of victory. As the resources dwindle further and further, and the prospect of defeat seems ever more likely, the pressure to develop and use more and more terrible weapons increases, until even the use of the ultimate deterrent, the weapon deemed too terrible to ever unleash, seems reasonable. One Leader, however, is looking beyond mere victory, and finds the prospect of being sole ruler of a decimated world less appealing. Working in secret, he is developing an alternative plan, one that will guarantee not only his survival, and his wealth, but that which he holds most important: Power!

The Aeithar are at war. Always at war. From the very beginnings of their race to the very end, they have fought, amongst themselves and against others. Their wars have shaped the race, moulded it, and driven their development. Some wars, however, and some advances, were more important than others. The planet Aeithan is exhausted. It has nothing left to give. And yet, its inhabitants still want more. There is only one way to get more. To take it from others. The weapons of war, backed by the science of magic, were thought too terrible to use, but now there is no choice. The ultimate deterrent will become the final solution. They will have the world, or destroy it.
The Intercontinental Wars is the third book of the epic History of the Aeithar series, which charts the rise and fall of the Aeithar race, from their beginnings as an Iron Age civilisation to their end in the far future. This book covers the end of the Fantasy section of the series, and is set in a contemporary period, with a fully industrialised civilisation, modern warfare, and Magic rationalised into Science. Turn the page for a more detailed overview!

The Interplanetary Wars is the fourth book of the History of the Aeithar series, and the first one to move from the Fantasy genre into Science Fiction. It is set in the near-future, at a point where the Aeithar have now colonised their solar system. As with the three Fantasy books of the series, the three Science Fiction books consider the two questions ‘How did they get to this point?', and ‘What happens as their race advances?'. This book deals with the first question, and so is set earlier than most Science Fiction. The traditional Science Fiction book has a lot of accepted technology, and things like Space Battle Cruisers with shields and beam weapons are taken for granted, but there is rarely any explanation or thought given to how they got to that point, how they developed them, and what else was tried and rejected. These concepts are fully explored in The Interplanetary Wars. Much of the basis for this war harks back to the original causes in the first book, The Internal Wars. The Aeithar spread out into their solar system quickly, eagerly grabbing planets and moons as their own, and some have found that they chose poorly. Now they want the better worlds of their neighbours. Also, this book explores the beginnings of that part of the History that has so far been known only to The Watcher: Erudition. It forms an important and integral part of the Science Fiction books. Having begun with the underclasses, the word of Erudition has now spread far enough to reach the ears of some of the more privileged. Some take it to heart, while others see it as the surest route to Power.

The Aeithar are at war. Always at war. From the very beginnings of their race to the very end, they have fought, amongst themselves and against others. Their wars have shaped the race, moulded it, and driven their development. Some wars, however, and some advances, were more important than others. They had thought separate worlds would be enough. A planet of their own, away from all the others. But even the vastness of space isn't enough to keep the Aeithar from each other's throats. And from down in the deepest, darkest parts of society, a whisper is growing in volume. Erudition is spreading.
The Interplanetary Wars is the fourth book of the epic History of the Aeithar series, which charts the rise and fall of the Aeithar race, from their beginnings as an Iron Age civilisation to their end in the far future. This book covers the start of the Science Fiction section of the series, with the beginnings of space combat and the founding of Erudition. Turn the page for a more detailed overview!

The Interspecies Wars is the fifth book of the History of the Aeithar series, and the middle book of the Science Fiction section of the series. As with the Fantasy section, the middle book is the one set in the ‘traditional' area of the genre. In this case, the Aeithar have now colonised their galaxy, and have well-established levels of space-faring, and space-warfare, technology. They have also by this point encountered other races. Being the Aeithar, they are of course at war with many of these alien races, but also at war with themselves, for in many parts of the galaxy interbreeding has begun, and now the Aeithar are no longer a single race, but many races. Some of the Aeithar are allied with their co-species race, others are at war with them, but in all cases they are at war with the rest of the Aeithar, through choice or by force. By this time Erudition has also gained a strong foothold, particularly in the Galactic Core, the central area free of alien influences, where the Aeithar are still ‘pure.' The Prelates, the High Priests of Erudition, see the thinning of the Aeithar bloodline as a mortal sin, and so for them it's not only a matter of territory, or resources, but a Holy War. Many of the Core Worlds are directly under control of the Prelates, and their influence is so great that even the rulers of Sovereign Worlds have a Prelate Advisor, to whisper in their ear. Thus their influence continues to grow, and the agenda of Erudition more and more often takes precedence over local concerns. And that agenda is simple: total control of a pure Aeithar race.

The Aeithar are at war. Always at war. From the very beginnings of their race to the very end, they have fought, amongst themselves and against others. Their wars have shaped the race, moulded it, and driven their development. Some wars, however, and some advances, were more important than others. 'They are not us, they are not like us, and so we cannot trust them. They mean us only harm, and so we have the right to harm them first.' Words that have echoed down the ages, the eternal justification, but now spoken with a new vehemence, louder than ever before. For not only have the Aeithar met new species, they have become new species.
The Interspecies Wars is the fifth book of the epic History of the Aeithar series, which charts the rise and fall of the Aeithar race, from their beginnings as an Iron Age civilisation to their end in the far future. This book covers the traditional Science Fiction period, with a far future setting, well established space combat, and Erudition firmly taking hold. Turn the page for a more detailed overview!

The Interdimensional Wars is the sixth and final book of the History of the Aeithar series, and is the book that sees their final destruction in the Great Holy War. It is also the book that tells the story of The Watcher, the character telling the story of the Aeithar through the introductions and conclusions of each chapter. These are continued in this book, as his view point is still from after these events, and so he is telling his own story, analysing his mistakes, and mourning what could have been. By this point Erudition holds full sway over the galaxy, and all of the Aeithar are under the thumbs of the Prelates, the High Priests of Erudition. Every aspect of their lives are planned out and controlled for them, and when they are told something is for their own good, they are happy to believe it. But still the Prelates weren't satisfied. Knowing that there was a whole other reality out there, across the dimensional divide, a reality untouched by Erudition, was too big a lure for them, and despite the dangers that had caused the rift to be closed centuries before, they have re-opened it. Much progress has been made since those dark days, after all, and Erudition is by definition proof against any threat. But progress isn't just a local phenomenon, and across the divide the mysterious and unknowable inhabitants have not squandered their time. This time they were ready, and now the Aeithar find themselves locked into a war they cannot win. For the final time in their History, the Aeithar unleash the ultimate weapon!

The Aeithar are at war. Always at war. From the very beginnings of their race to the very end, they have fought, amongst themselves and against others. Their wars have shaped the race, moulded it, and driven their development. Some wars, however, and some advances, were more important than others. Long closed due to the threat it represented, the dimensional divide has once again been opened. Erudition requires it, requires more converts. Old enmities are forgotten as the true danger is realised, and former adversaries now stand shoulder to shoulder, comrades clinging on for bare survival. For the Prelates, however, there is only one acceptable outcome. Victory, at any price!
The Interdimensional Wars is the sixth book of the epic History of the Aeithar series, which charts the rise and fall of the Aeithar race, from their beginnings as an Iron Age civilisation to their end in the far future. This book covers the final period, set at the end of time, and sees the final destruction of the Aeithar race in the Great Holy War. Turn the page for a more detailed overview!

Across the Mountains is the first book of the Expansion of the Aeithar series, and follows on from the events in The History of the Aeithar - The Internal Wars. At the end of each History book, the Aeithar overcome their current boundary, and gain access to a new, wider world. At the end of The Internal Wars they finally managed to overcome the mountains that had hemmed them in for generations, and now they have access to the lands beyond. Across the Mountains details how the Aeithar adapt to and over come the challenges of these new lands. The first thing the Aeithar discover is that they are not alone. Other peoples inhabit these lands, and claim them. The second thing they discover is an enemy they never even considered could exist: disease. As more and more of their people fall prey to illness, the Aeithar's headlong rush for conquest falters, and an area of Magic barely touched on so far becomes the key to their immediate survival. It is only a stop-gap measure, however, and it is not until a whole new skill comes to the fore that the Aeithar are once again able to advance. This time, they do so much more cautiously.

The Aeithar have always found themselves constrained. Limited, trapped, by external circumstance. They fight in an arena imposed upon them. But, occasionally, the technology of war will throw up something new, something powerful, that will enable the Aeithar to break those constraints, and to expand their arena. Now is just such a time. They flood eagerly outwards, determined to make the most of their new-found freedom, but their new arena has boundaries of its own, and comes with new challenges and dangers. The Aeithar have defeated their first constraint, and crossed the mountains, but found that they are not alone. For the first time in their recorded history, the Aeithar are facing the unknown, and finding that it comes in all shapes and sizes, some too small to see, some too vast to comprehend. Exposure to disease is but the first hurdle they must overcome.
Across The Mountains is the first book of the epic Expansion of the Aeithar series, which covers how the Aeithar adapt to and overcome the challenges of the new arena they accessed in the previous History book. This book covers their first expansion, when they manage to pass the mountain boundary and gain access to the rest of the continent. It follows on from The Internal Wars. Turn the page for a more detailed overview!

Across The Sea is the second book of the Expansion of the Aeithar series, and follows on from The History of the Aeithar - The International Wars. Having built ships capable of surviving the treacherous seas that border their lands, and devised a method of propelling them, the Aeithar are once again spreading outwards, into lands where no person has previously set foot. Lands as diverse as the Aeithar themselves. Cold, frozen lands, where secrets lie in icy graves. Hot, baked lands, where respite is scarce, and ancient giants roam. Dense, overgrown lands, where danger stalks danger. And verdant, inviting lands, where beauty is a prelude to death. Each land holds its own challenges, its own dangers, and each comes with great advantage, if only they can master it.

The Aeithar have always found themselves constrained. Limited, trapped, by external circumstance. They fight in an arena imposed upon them. But, occasionally, the technology of war will throw up something new, something powerful, that will enable the Aeithar to break those constraints, and to expand their arena. Now is just such a time. They flood eagerly outwards, determined to make the most of their new-found freedom, but their new arena has boundaries of its own, and comes with new challenges and dangers. Crossing the seas has released the Aeithar. Now they have a whole planet to colonise. Eagerly they flood outwards, not knowing what awaits them, or if they'll ever be able to return to the lands they know. But with new lands comes new realisation: it's not just people that can be hostile.
Across The Sea is the second book of the epic Expansion of the Aeithar series, which covers how the Aeithar adapt to and overcome the challenges of the new arena they accessed in the previous History book. This book covers their second expansion, when they manage to cross the sea and gain access to the rest of their world. It follows on from The International Wars. Turn the page for a more detailed overview!

Across The Horizon is the third book of the Expansion of the Aeithar series, and follows on from The History of the Aeithar - The Intercontinental Wars. Outwards they flood, leaving behind the ruined cinder of their old planet, in craft barely sufficient for the journey. Wasted, diseased, their bodies ravaged by radiation, most won't survive the journey, but for those that do, a whole new world awaits. But what future does that world hold? With no way of knowing the conditions in advance, beyond the most basic details, each craft has been assigned a destination more or less at random. A planet, or a moon, that looks to have an atmosphere, that might contain water. A world that might, just might, be capable of supporting life. For the lucky ones, years of hardship and toil lie before them, for the unlucky, an end to their cares. But for the truly blessed, it seems, the future holds only perfection. Can one small group of ships truly have been assigned to paradise?

The Aeithar have always found themselves constrained. Limited, trapped, by external circumstance. They fight in an arena imposed upon them. But, occasionally, the technology of war will throw up something new, something powerful, that will enable the Aeithar to break those constraints, and to expand their arena. Now is just such a time. They flood eagerly outwards, determined to make the most of their new-found freedom, but their new arena has boundaries of its own, and comes with new challenges and dangers. The planets and moons of the solar system are as diverse as they are plentiful, and the Aeithar race to colonise them all. The draw of a new life, and new resources, leads to an exodus the like of which they have never before experienced. But some worlds are better than others.
Across The Horizon is the third book of the epic Expansion of the Aeithar series, which covers how the Aeithar adapt to and overcome the challenges of the new arena they accessed in the previous History book. This book covers their third expansion, when they manage to escape from their world and into the rest of their solar system. It follows on from The Intercontinental Wars. Turn the page for a more detailed overview!

With the discovery of extra-solar travel, the Aeithar are once again unleashed, and spreading out through the galaxy. Some seek relief, some seek independence, some seek wealth, and some seek the unknown. All are to be found, across the myriad new worlds they now have access to, along with something else. A mystery. The Aeithar discover first dozens, then hundreds of habitable planets, all devoid of intelligent life, but was it always so? At first they are mere curiosities, a pile of stones that seems out of place, a water channel unnaturally long and straight, but with each step outwards the evidence mounts. Artefacts that were clearly created, metal that seems to have been worked, and eventually the remnants of technology. Someone had been here first, but where were they now? As they progress beyond the galactic core and into the spiral arms, the Aeithar receive their answer, but it's not the one they expected. And there are plenty of people to ask. For beyond the core, the worlds are no longer empty. The Aeithar have finally met their neighbours, and now have the chance to expand their knowledge as well as their territory. Cultural and scientific teams are exchanged, and begin to learn about each other. Friendships form, then something more, until one Aeithar scientist finds herself crossing a boundary that no-one had ever expected. Across The Genus is unique in the series, in that its title references events at the end of the book, rather than at the beginning.

The Aeithar have always found themselves constrained. Limited, trapped, by external circumstance. They fight in an arena imposed upon them. But, occasionally, the technology of war will throw up something new, something powerful, that will enable the Aeithar to break those constraints, and to expand their arena. Now is just such a time. They flood eagerly outwards, determined to make the most of their new-found freedom, but their new arena has boundaries of its own, and comes with new challenges and dangers. A whole galaxy to explore, and the possibilities seem endless. Some journey near, eager to start their new life quickly, while others journey far, seeking separation, and others still roam from place to place, seeking perfection. But once again the Aeithar find out that someone, or something, else has been there before them.
Across The Genus is the fourth book of the epic Expansion of the Aeithar series, which covers how the Aeithar adapt to and overcome the challenges of the new arena they accessed in the previous History book. This book covers their fourth expansion, when they cross the boundary of their solar system and out into the galaxy. It follows on from The Interplanetary Wars. Turn the page for a more detailed overview!

Across The Divide is the fifth book of the Expansion of the Aeithar series, and follows on from The History of the Aeithar - The Interspecies Wars. What do you do when reality is no longer what it was? How do you cope when the rules no longer apply? How do you settle amidst the inherently unsettling? The Aeithar have breached the dimensional divide, and entered a universe unlike anything they could have imagined. Throughout their history, the Aeithar have expanded. Discovered new territory, and claimed it. Overcome its challenges, and tamed it. Benefited from its potential. But none of those lands, or their challenges, prepared them for what lies before them this time. Worlds where time and space have different meanings. Worlds that change around them. Worlds that change them around itself. And, behind it all, a presence...

The Aeithar have always found themselves constrained. Limited, trapped, by external circumstance. They fight in an arena imposed upon them. But, occasionally, the technology of war will throw up something new, something powerful, that will enable the Aeithar to break those constraints, and to expand their arena. Now is just such a time. They flood eagerly outwards, determined to make the most of their new-found freedom, but their new arena has boundaries of its own, and comes with new challenges and dangers. When the universe itself has become too small to contain the Aeithar, there's only one place left to go. A new reality beckons, and the Aeithar see endless possibility. But across the dimensional divide nothing is as it seems.
Across The Divide is the fifth book of the epic Expansion of the Aeithar series, which covers how the Aeithar adapt to and overcome the challenges of the new arena they accessed in the previous History book. This book covers their fifth expansion, when they breach the Dimensional Divide and gain access to a whole new reality. It follows on from The Interspecies Wars. Turn the page for a more detailed overview!

The Aeithar are at war. Always at war. From the very beginnings of their race to the very end, they have fought, amongst themselves and against others. Their wars have shaped the race, moulded it, and driven their development. What progress they have undergone, what advances they have made, have all come at the height of conflict. But no-one, not even the Aeithar, can fight continuously. There are, by necessity, moments if not of peace then at least of wary truce. Times when the Aeithar must work together with their enemies, for whatever reason. But this pseudo-peace is fragile, and these truces easily broken. Plot and double-cross are commonplace, when an ally is nothing more than a future enemy. Rebuilding an army, especially one so decimated, takes time. Time that needs to be bought, by confronting your enemy with diplomacy instead of swords. But who will rebuild first? With no urgent needs to drive them, warfare must be its own reward. Enticements must be devised, to tempt the farmers from their fields, the merchants from their shops, to swell the greatly depleted ranks. For it is only through war that the powerful maintain their power.
For The Glory is the first book of the epic Zeal of the Aeithar series, which details the events leading up to the war covered in the following History book. This book leads into The International Wars. Turn the page for a more detailed overview!

The Aeithar are at war. Always at war. From the very beginnings of their race to the very end, they have fought, amongst themselves and against others. Their wars have shaped the race, moulded it, and driven their development. What progress they have undergone, what advances they have made, have all come at the height of conflict. But no-one, not even the Aeithar, can fight continuously. There are, by necessity, moments if not of peace then at least of wary truce. Times when the Aeithar must work together with their enemies, for whatever reason. But this pseudo-peace is fragile, and these truces easily broken. Plot and double-cross are commonplace, when an ally is nothing more than a future enemy. Industry requires resources. Resources on a grand scale. But while heads of state wade through trade negotiations, others have more direct means of ensuring their supplies. The planet is almost exhausted. What little it has left to give is being greedily reaped, and stockpiled. But it is not being rationed. The people demand their luxuries, with no thought for tomorrow. If there can be no more resources, then there must be less people.
For The World is the second book of the epic Zeal of the Aeithar series, which details the events leading up to the war covered in the following History book. This book leads into The Intercontinental Wars. Turn the page for a more detailed overview!

The Aeithar are at war. Always at war. From the very beginnings of their race to the very end, they have fought, amongst themselves and against others. Their wars have shaped the race, moulded it, and driven their development. What progress they have undergone, what advances they have made, have all come at the height of conflict. But no-one, not even the Aeithar, can fight continuously. There are, by necessity, moments if not of peace then at least of wary truce. Times when the Aeithar must work together with their enemies, for whatever reason. But this pseudo-peace is fragile, and these truces easily broken. Plot and double-cross are commonplace, when an ally is nothing more than a future enemy. First came the idea. Then the whispering, the meetings, the book. Planet by planet, Erudition is spreading. And the less the people have, the stronger it takes hold. The divide between those that have everything and those that have nothing has never been greater, but that alone is too small a spark to light the fires of change. The rich are too complacent, and the poor too scared. Only an ideal can hope to blaze.
For The Cause is the third book of the epic Zeal of the Aeithar series, which details the events leading up to the war covered in the following History book. This book leads into The Interplanetary Wars. Turn the page for a more detailed overview!

The Aeithar are at war. Always at war. From the very beginnings of their race to the very end, they have fought, amongst themselves and against others. Their wars have shaped the race, moulded it, and driven their development. What progress they have undergone, what advances they have made, have all come at the height of conflict. But no-one, not even the Aeithar, can fight continuously. There are, by necessity, moments if not of peace then at least of wary truce. Times when the Aeithar must work together with their enemies, for whatever reason. But this pseudo-peace is fragile, and these truces easily broken. Plot and double-cross are commonplace, when an ally is nothing more than a future enemy. That aliens are different is not the issue. The real problem is that they aren't different enough. They want what we want, and many are married to Aeithar. Is it love, or heresy? The very definition of who is Aeithar is becoming blurred. The divisions between them grow ever more pronounced. And what was originally conceived as an ideal for all might be the greatest division.
For The Answers is the fourth book of the epic Zeal of the Aeithar series, which details the events leading up to the war covered in the following History book. This book leads into The Interspecies Wars. Turn the page for a more detailed overview!

The Aeithar are at war. Always at war. From the very beginnings of their race to the very end, they have fought, amongst themselves and against others. Their wars have shaped the race, moulded it, and driven their development. What progress they have undergone, what advances they have made, have all come at the height of conflict. But no-one, not even the Aeithar, can fight continuously. There are, by necessity, moments if not of peace then at least of wary truce. Times when the Aeithar must work together with their enemies, for whatever reason. But this pseudo-peace is fragile, and these truces easily broken. Plot and double-cross are commonplace, when an ally is nothing more than a future enemy. Can Purity be measured by degrees, or is it an absolute? Can higher understanding succeed where base language has failed? Will taking Erudition into the Divide bridge the gap? All earlier attempts failed, and the Divide has long been sealed. But now Erudition holds full sway, and it is by definition proof against any challenge.
For The Gods is the fifth book of the epic Zeal of the Aeithar series, which details the events leading up to the war covered in the following History book. This book leads into The Interdimensional Wars. Turn the page for a more detailed overview!

This being the Internet, 99% of all the feedback I receive will be 'u suk n ur bookz r gay!', and bless their little hearts for caring enough to let me know, but sadly as feedback goes it's not terribly helpful.

What I really need are the details. Why do I suck, and what makes the books gay?

Likewise, some highly intelligent and discerning readers will no doubt tell me 'You're the greatest writer of all time, and I love you!' Completely true, and I love hearing it, but also sadly not terribly useful to me.

Beyond the obvious lingual dexterity and keen observation of the human spirit, which bits are especially great?

Really useful feedback contains specifics: I [ hated / disliked / liked / loved ] ( person / event / section / detail ) because ...

Feedback can be completely anonymous if you prefer, simply leave the Name and E-Mail sections blank, however it is more useful to me to be able to see all of your feedbacks as being from the same person. So if you either use your name or the same pseudonym each time, that would be great, thanks!

To send a useful feedback, first select the Book and Chapter you are referring to, and give it a Rating out of five stars.

Then choose the closest option from the dropdown selection for the Pacing, Length, Content, Characters and Style sections. These will always be the same for every chapter.

And finally, please add specific details in the Message box, particularly if one of the selections above ask for it.

Due to continued abuse, messages containing website addresses are automatically rejected.

The History of the Aeithar - Book 01 - The Internal Wars is now available as Paperback and eBook from:-

www.Amazon.com/author/lesliestyles, as well as Amazon.co.uk and others.

The retail paperback is as cheap as I can possibly make it (I make 21p per sale), but I've also made a few other versions available (I make about 20p again) in the thicker (pricier) formats that I prefer. Think of them as 'Collector's Editions'!

The Pocket size are 4.25" x 6.88" in 9pt font, and the US Trade are 6" x 9" in 12pt font. Both are 740 pages, and lovely!

As the voting on the Icon or Map cover was pretty much 50/50, I've made both available.

Pocket size, Icon cover

Pocket size, Map cover

US Trade size, Icon cover

US Trade size, Map cover

As I personally hate buying half a series and then having the covers change, I shall always release Icon and Map Cover editions, regardless of any other versions that might come about.


Want to know more about me?	LeslieStylesAuthor.info
Want to buy my books?	http://www.amazon.com/author/lesliestyles
	http://www.amazon.co.uk/Leslie-Styles/e/B007ASON44
	http://www.amazon.de/Leslie-Styles/e/B007ASON44
	http://www.amazon.fr/Leslie-Styles/e/B007ASON44
	http://www.amazon.es
	http://www.amazon.it
Need e-Book reader software?	Free Kindle apps from Amazon, available for PC, Mac, iPad and smartphones!

Due to abuse, messages containing website addresses are automatically rejected.
Name
E-Mail
Message	Please fill in all the fields Please enter a valid email address The above message contains potential spam, and was not sent!

Due to abuse, messages containing website addresses are automatically rejected.
Name	(Optional)
E-Mail	(Optional)
Book		Chapter	Rating
Pacing
Length
Content
Characters
Style
Comments