| Summary |
Giselle had lived the first fourteen years of her life safe and happy in an abandoned monastery tower. Her mother had told her that, as a young Air Master, she needed to be kept isolated during her potentially tumultuous adolescent years for herself and others. Mother knew about those things, for she was a powerful Earth Master. When Mother was called away or had to go to town for supplies, Giseelle was locked in her tower for days. Her favourite spot was her bedroom because it had four large windows and was filled wiht breezes and views of the lush German countryside; heaven for a growing Air Master. Her sheltered life left her unprepared when a handsome young man appeared at the base of her tower. Giselle was instantly smitten. The only other men she'd seen were the magic-wielding Foresters of the Black Forest, who occassionally came to consult with Mother; men who were older and terribly serious. In two short days, the young stranger convinced Giselle to throw down a rope and help him climb up into her high bedchamber. But as soon as he entered her window, his demeanor changed. When the man tried to force himself upon her, Giselle was seized by terror and called the storm elementals: thunder and black clouds and lightning. SHe was saved by the appearance of Mother, who beat the man out the window he had climbed in - but this time without the rope. THe following day, Mother called to Foresters to visit Giselle. The Foresters were Earth Masters who job it was to cleanse the ancient forest of evil elementals. Over the next four years, they shared their fighting expertise to teach Giselle self-defense. Giselle became proficient with the knife, staff, club and other specialized weapons, but her greatest talent was with her rifle. By the age of twenty, Giselle was an expert markswoman, rivaling anyone in her country. And after Mother suddenly died, it was this skill she used to survive. Cutting her long hair, she masqueraded as a boy and entered shooting competitions, using th eprize money to support herself. Despite her care, her talent cuased a vicious guard captain to accuse her of avoiding military service. When she explained by admitting her true gender, she did not meet with sympathy, but a recurrence of the predatory bahavior she had encountered as a teenager in her tower. Terrified, she called to her night-sylphs: "Take his breath" But rather than the temporary unconsciousness Giselle intended, the captain died. Haunted by the murder she had inadvertently commiteed, she fled and joinged a traveling American Wild West Show touring the German countryside. She had read many Western novels, and she fit right in as the beautiful sharpshooter. Thus disguised, with the language help of her elementals, she traveled as an American. But she never forgot the first man who had assaulted her, and she could not find peace. When that stranger had fallen from her tower long ago, his body had never been found. In Giselle's heart, she was certain he was a magician and thus had survived the fall. Surely, it was only a matter of time before he found her and sought revenge. Would she be prepared to stand against his magic? |
