Secret Sacrament and Time of the Eagle

by Sherryl Jordan

Navoran-born Gabriel Eshban Vala has felt a connection to the gentle Shinali people since he was seven years old, when he witnessed soldiers conducting a horrible act on a Shinali woman. That event changed his life forever, giving him a longing to heal and help people.
His dreams come true when, at eighteen, he is asked to train as a healer at the Citadel, which means seven long years with little contact with the outside world. But Gabriel only wants to heal and shows an immense talent for it, including the rare ability to mind-heal. However, he is distracted by the peaceful harmony of the Shinali people, and their unjust treatment by the Novorans. Perhaps his destiny is to begin the Time of the Eagle and mend the conflicts between the Navorans and the Shinali.

In Time of the Eagle we meet Avala, a young Shinali woman and a “child of love out of nations that hate,” who will finish bringing the Time of the Eagle into its full being. The small Shinali tribe is looking for a leader with the strength of a warrior and the heart of a healer, and they think Avala will be the one to bring the three clans and revolting Navorans together. When she finds and helps a wounded Igaal warrior it seems her destiny might be beginning without her noticing, but not everyone appreciates Avala’s destiny, and challenges will block her way.

Secret Sacrament and Time of the Eagle are two beautiful, powerful stories of love and hate, fear and hope, war and peace, greed and sacrifice that leave strong impressions on the reader long after they are finished. I really am doing them no justice with my summaries. Sherryl Jordan is a creator of amazing stories and descriptions, and believable characters, and I have no idea why her books are not immensely popular.