Bynum Westmoreland

The Orb & Prince Asper (2nd book of series) continues the delightful fantasy of adolescent exploration begun in The Orb & Ward Asper. It furthers the tale of a boy made parentless by the cruel action of a prison wagon’s guard who is annoyed by the child’s crying. Happily, the infant lives, and grows up as ward of Priest King Trapunto and Nunsin. Grasping the potential of Asper’s unique talent of face changing, Queen Nunsin formally adopts him. The years roll by. Spiritual wisdom from The Orb, genuine nurturing from Lady Gadabout, and sound guidance from the Blind Organ Grinder help protect young Asper from the dysfunctional Abbey life. Lucid dreams tell of his ‘real parents’ confined to slavery in a penal colony since shortly after his birth. The Abbey’s ward child, anointed Prince Asper, lurches forward on his ‘teen venture,’ as prescribed by custom, with his fervent goal: locate his long-interred parents. Barely fourteen years old, a year younger than other boys beginning their teen venture, Asper insists on traveling alone. However, Prince Dullard, now sixteen and a year late in starting and afraid to go alone, begs Asper to mimic his face and travel in disguise, giving Dullard full credit for the venture. Priest King Trapunto overrules and the two depart, having decided to walk through the East Brutal Gorge and into the dreaded Penal Valley. Since those living in the penal colony despise Priest King Trapunto, Asper concocts a cover story that he and Dullard represent a wealthy merchant who buys crops grown in the Penal Valley. Kingsman, a fourth-generation Freeman of the Penal Valley and Priest King Trapunto’s emissary to the valley’s High Mogul, encounters the boys when they arrive, and assists them during their visit. After working for a local weaver for a month, the boys are wandering across the valley when a horned bull attacks Dullard. Asper drives the bull away and carries Dullard to a distant farmhouse. Unknown to the boys or the adults, the residents are Asper’s biological parents. The Falconers treat Dullard’s wounds and put Asper to work as their servant. Asper discovers a mystical cavern beneath their barn, haunted by supernatural spirits. Eventually, the High Mogul visits the Falconers’ farm. He proclaims the cave as ‘a holy vault’ and rightful property of the Vigilante High Council. At a special service, he acclaims Asper and rewards him for restoring the long-missing property to the Elders. While at the service, Dullard steals the sacred jewels. To avoid capture, he is loaded face down on a manure cart, covered with straw, and hustled away to the Abbey. To obscure Dullard’s act, Asper contours his face appearing as Dullard. As he prepares to leave, Mrs. Falconer, with tears of joy flooding her face, discovers a tattoo on his arm, matching one on her husband’s arm. Unable to revel in this amazing discovery, Asper flees, crosses the valley to the mountains, climbs to the crest, intent on traversing the cruel peaks and returning to the Abbey. The late autumn and winter spent alone in the mountains bring Asper to near-manhood. The reader shares his adventures, some real and some illusions, with supernatural creatures and bizarre settings. A mermaid in an alpine lake lures him to swim endlessly underwater. An elf-like creature trains Asper to endure seemingly intolerable weather and challenges. The final days, in an alpine cave flowing with hot springs, reinstate Asper once again with The Orb of Rondure. The fanciful saga continues. Princess Giddy joins Prince Asper to cross the mountains and visit the Penal Valley this time in summer. Giddy’s relentless effort to snare Asper as ‘her man’ highlights the book’s surprising conclusion.