Rudy Saccomanno

Under Raven’s Wing is a reality-based mystical adventure set in the mist-shrouded rain forests of Southeastern Alaska. Kyle Thornton is a well-meaning, but lonely kid. He steals a wheelchair from the Pioneer’s Home to transport a keg to a beach party. He was just trying to fit in, but is now doing community work service at the old-folks home.

There he meets Jasper Callen, a gold miner facing early Alzheimer’s disease. Jasper cajoles Kyle into working with him at his remote mine site. But once there, Kyle discovers he has actually been kidnapped for companionship, and to fulfill Jasper’s bizarre end-of-life plans. What Kyle doesn’t know, is that Jasper is the prime suspect in the cold-case disappearance of his wife and her lover. Murder is suspected.

But that’s just the surface.

Throughout this saga, is the subtle, persistent guidance of ravens, first steering Kyle to Jasper, and thus to the secret valley where the claim is located. Irrational suspicion, a dominant trait of Alzheimer’s disease, soon progresses to the point where Jasper no longer trusts, or at times, even recognizes Kyle.

One evening, Kyle returns to the cabin, but Jasper doesn’t know him. The deranged old man fires several shots, chasing Kyle from the only habitation in the valley. Terrified and alone, Kyle spends a cold night on a rock ledge near a bear-infested salmon river.

The following day, Kyle’s life changes forever. Cold and exhausted, the ravens subtly guide him to a hidden cave. Within the cave resides the spirit of an ancient Shaman, the raven’s Master, who has waited centuries for the arrival of his chosen apprentice.