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The Kyprian Prophecy
Beginnings
“Only a fool can’t understand that there cannot be light without the darkness, and that power lies in harnessing the very thing people are scared of.”
As a silver-eyes Laha has an extraordinary ability to harness the power within nature. She is also a royal companion to the Kengian Princess Mary, and with all of Kypria finally at peace Laha should be content…but she is far from it.
Laha has lost her powers and a darkness claws away inside her. She doesn’t fit in at the Lamorian court, nor does she want to. She yearns for a life of excitement and adventure, but most of all she yearns to regain her powers and understand her dark urges.
The answer arrives in the form of a mysterious fortune teller whose prophecy and presence threaten to destroy everyone Laha cares about including the Lamorian Prince Emberto. Despite this she is drawn to the fortune teller and the woman’s offer to help her realise the full potential of her powers...if she’s willing to embrace her darkness.
Laha’s choices lead to discoveries about her own identity and her friends being caught up in a deadly showdown between the most powerful of all Kengians – the Firemasters.
Beginnings is a stand alone origins novella that will introduce you to the Kyprian Prophecy that is highlighted in a related series.
It is set two hundred years before the Kyprian Prophecy series and Book 1 – The Firemaster’s Legacy, but this novella can be read at any stage.
There are some prior events briefly mentioned in this book that don’t impact the storyline. Those events will be fully explored in an upcoming series featuring the characters from Beginnings.
As a silver-eyes Laha has an extraordinary ability to harness the power within nature. She is also a royal companion to the Kengian Princess Mary, and with all of Kypria finally at peace Laha should be content…but she is far from it.
Laha has lost her powers and a darkness claws away inside her. She doesn’t fit in at the Lamorian court, nor does she want to. She yearns for a life of excitement and adventure, but most of all she yearns to regain her powers and understand her dark urges.
The answer arrives in the form of a mysterious fortune teller whose prophecy and presence threaten to destroy everyone Laha cares about including the Lamorian Prince Emberto. Despite this she is drawn to the fortune teller and the woman’s offer to help her realise the full potential of her powers...if she’s willing to embrace her darkness.
Laha’s choices lead to discoveries about her own identity and her friends being caught up in a deadly showdown between the most powerful of all Kengians – the Firemasters.
Beginnings is a stand alone origins novella that will introduce you to the Kyprian Prophecy that is highlighted in a related series.
It is set two hundred years before the Kyprian Prophecy series and Book 1 – The Firemaster’s Legacy, but this novella can be read at any stage.
There are some prior events briefly mentioned in this book that don’t impact the storyline. Those events will be fully explored in an upcoming series featuring the characters from Beginnings.
104 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 11, 2021
38 people are currently reading
89 people want to read
About the author
Kylie Fennell
19 books51 followersI’m an author of speculative fiction, fantasy and fabulism for adults and young adults. Writing about strong female leads who metaphorically and literally kick butt particularly appeals to me, as does magic…always magic!
My kind of speculative fiction features everything from magical misfits with moxie to fierce and fabulist females.
My writing is influenced by my time living in Japan and Europe and their rich histories. As an Australian writer of European and Aboriginal (Gumbaynggirr and Bundjalung) descent, I’m also fascinated by culture and identity.
I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember.
My love of reading and writing started with an early addiction to Grimms’ fairy tales, Arthurian legends and a love of superheroes.
If I hadn’t become a writer, I would be a superhero librarian – conquering the Dewey Decimal System by day and saving the world one book at a time by night. Failing that, I'd work in a doughnut shop...mmm...doughnuts. Instead, I put my superpowers to work as a Queensland Writers Centre Tutor and speaker (I have presented at industry workshops events including GenreCon 2019).
My creative writing has been recognised via several awards including Queensland Writers Centre Flash Fiction (winner), and Australian Writers Centre Furious Fiction (shortlisted out of 1300 entries), as well as second in GenreCon's short story competition 2019.
I have been shortlisted in The Long Way Home's short story competition in 2019 and 2020 with my stories published in their anthologies. I also have stories published in Lighthouse – An Anthology and Stories of Survival.
My guilty pleasures are watching the Princess Bride, the Labyrinth, Star Wars, Friends or Grease for the zillionth time.
I live in Brisbane (Yuggera and Turrbal Country) with my husband, son and too many pets.
My kind of speculative fiction features everything from magical misfits with moxie to fierce and fabulist females.
My writing is influenced by my time living in Japan and Europe and their rich histories. As an Australian writer of European and Aboriginal (Gumbaynggirr and Bundjalung) descent, I’m also fascinated by culture and identity.
I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember.
My love of reading and writing started with an early addiction to Grimms’ fairy tales, Arthurian legends and a love of superheroes.
If I hadn’t become a writer, I would be a superhero librarian – conquering the Dewey Decimal System by day and saving the world one book at a time by night. Failing that, I'd work in a doughnut shop...mmm...doughnuts. Instead, I put my superpowers to work as a Queensland Writers Centre Tutor and speaker (I have presented at industry workshops events including GenreCon 2019).
My creative writing has been recognised via several awards including Queensland Writers Centre Flash Fiction (winner), and Australian Writers Centre Furious Fiction (shortlisted out of 1300 entries), as well as second in GenreCon's short story competition 2019.
I have been shortlisted in The Long Way Home's short story competition in 2019 and 2020 with my stories published in their anthologies. I also have stories published in Lighthouse – An Anthology and Stories of Survival.
My guilty pleasures are watching the Princess Bride, the Labyrinth, Star Wars, Friends or Grease for the zillionth time.
I live in Brisbane (Yuggera and Turrbal Country) with my husband, son and too many pets.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
December 25, 2021
This prequel made me confused and didn`t feel like i got to know the characters.
It didn`t make me want to read further.
It didn`t make me want to read further.
September 7, 2021
For anyone wondering how to read this, it's actually free through Amazon!
This prequel goes back long before the time of the first book, The Firemaster's Legacy, to establish the all-important prophecy and some of the events leading to King Alfred's downfall, setting the ball rolling for the turbulent times of the main series.
It's hard to give a full review to this novella because it feels rather incomplete. The MC, Laha, and her friends are said to have recently gone through a great battle that involved opening and then closing portals to other worlds, causing Laha to lose her powers and willing to do anything to get them back. It describes the first conflicts between Kypria and Lamore. But we don't actually witness these events. We just get a summary and then references to them throughout the book. This falls along with one of my major critiques of the first book--the author tends to tell us about significant events or details instead of letting us experience them for ourselves. This is even worse in the prequel since it gives us little to no time to get to know the main characters before their consequential actions. Additionally, much of the events and some important characters in the novella are literally erased from the history books so no one present-day remembers them. Instead of making the overall timeline richer, it just feels shallow since you don't really have time to get attached to anybody, and their roles in the main series can only be so big if no one knows they exist most of the time. In my opinion, it would have added more valuable tension if everyone had the full truth of the novella's events.
The novella is supposed to fill in some details but in a way I'm more confused about the historical events it describes instead of less. It feels like the first thing the author wrote in the series and didn't go back to once she'd ironed out other plot details, so I hope she has a good plan as to how everything's going to come together in the end. The writing itself was also somewhat repetitive which was distracting. Besides making me curious about some loose ends, I feel the novella adds little value to the series.
This prequel goes back long before the time of the first book, The Firemaster's Legacy, to establish the all-important prophecy and some of the events leading to King Alfred's downfall, setting the ball rolling for the turbulent times of the main series.
It's hard to give a full review to this novella because it feels rather incomplete. The MC, Laha, and her friends are said to have recently gone through a great battle that involved opening and then closing portals to other worlds, causing Laha to lose her powers and willing to do anything to get them back. It describes the first conflicts between Kypria and Lamore. But we don't actually witness these events. We just get a summary and then references to them throughout the book. This falls along with one of my major critiques of the first book--the author tends to tell us about significant events or details instead of letting us experience them for ourselves. This is even worse in the prequel since it gives us little to no time to get to know the main characters before their consequential actions. Additionally, much of the events and some important characters in the novella are literally erased from the history books so no one present-day remembers them. Instead of making the overall timeline richer, it just feels shallow since you don't really have time to get attached to anybody, and their roles in the main series can only be so big if no one knows they exist most of the time. In my opinion, it would have added more valuable tension if everyone had the full truth of the novella's events.
The novella is supposed to fill in some details but in a way I'm more confused about the historical events it describes instead of less. It feels like the first thing the author wrote in the series and didn't go back to once she'd ironed out other plot details, so I hope she has a good plan as to how everything's going to come together in the end. The writing itself was also somewhat repetitive which was distracting. Besides making me curious about some loose ends, I feel the novella adds little value to the series.
July 26, 2021
It was a good book and I enjoyed reading it. I enjoyed the storyline and the characters in this story.
December 30, 2021
**This is spoiler-free and honest review. All opinions are my own.**
I stumbled across this book as a recommended quick read on Amazon, and the cover caught my eye. The characters are just as intriguing, and the world is rich and one I didn't want to leave.
This is the first book I have read in the Kyprian series and, as it's title "An Origin's Novella", I'm assuming the first chronologically in the series.
My one confusion with the plot is that the beginning hints at a story the readers should already know. There's talk of lost powers and an adventure that caused it (and set the stage for this book), but when I looked for other books, all the ones released are only about what happens after this one takes place. It would have been nice to have more details on what the main characters were capable of and did before the adventures of this tale, in order to understand them all a bit better.
The main character of this book, Laha, is a brilliant YA character who faces racism, classism, and manipulation as she struggles to find her place in the aftermath of a previous unknown story. Her best friend is engaged to a prince, and Laha's own crush/love is the younger brother and prince of the one wedding her best friend.
Unable to fit in anywhere truly without scrutiny because of her 'dark' magical abilities, a strange woman bearing a prophecy of doom is the first sliver of acceptance Laha has probably received her entire life.
The struggles between values that were drilled into her throughout her life, and the thrilling desire for freedom for herself lead to quite an internal battle of wills. The ending Laha chooses for herself, while not entirely unpredictable, was still done in a creative and hooking way that left me wanting to read more about what happens to Laha and her world.
This novella would be perfect for lovers of YA Epic Fantasy that focuses on light and dark magics and court life from a teenage POV.
I stumbled across this book as a recommended quick read on Amazon, and the cover caught my eye. The characters are just as intriguing, and the world is rich and one I didn't want to leave.
This is the first book I have read in the Kyprian series and, as it's title "An Origin's Novella", I'm assuming the first chronologically in the series.
My one confusion with the plot is that the beginning hints at a story the readers should already know. There's talk of lost powers and an adventure that caused it (and set the stage for this book), but when I looked for other books, all the ones released are only about what happens after this one takes place. It would have been nice to have more details on what the main characters were capable of and did before the adventures of this tale, in order to understand them all a bit better.
The main character of this book, Laha, is a brilliant YA character who faces racism, classism, and manipulation as she struggles to find her place in the aftermath of a previous unknown story. Her best friend is engaged to a prince, and Laha's own crush/love is the younger brother and prince of the one wedding her best friend.
Unable to fit in anywhere truly without scrutiny because of her 'dark' magical abilities, a strange woman bearing a prophecy of doom is the first sliver of acceptance Laha has probably received her entire life.
The struggles between values that were drilled into her throughout her life, and the thrilling desire for freedom for herself lead to quite an internal battle of wills. The ending Laha chooses for herself, while not entirely unpredictable, was still done in a creative and hooking way that left me wanting to read more about what happens to Laha and her world.
This novella would be perfect for lovers of YA Epic Fantasy that focuses on light and dark magics and court life from a teenage POV.
August 28, 2021
This is a great little introduction to The Kyprian Prophecy Series which begins with the Firemaster's Legacy (of which I was fortunate to read a pre-release copy). So I had the disadvantage of having to follow that, which being a full-length novel, it is a much richer reading experience. Still, Kylie is exceedingly good at describing her world and placing her characters within it. With this story I didn't feel as invested in the characters as I did in the Firemaster's Legacy, though. What it did do, however, is introduce a few plot points giving the coming series more depth, so it acted as a great filler toward the motivations behind the happenings of the main series. It left me with a whole lot more questions than it answered, so reader be warned; once you read Beginnings, you're going to want to get your hands on The Firemaster's legacy quick sticks.
August 4, 2021
Title: Beginnings
Series: The Kyprian Prophecy, #0.5
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: 4 stars
Beginnings is a prequel to The Firemaster Legacy. It gives an interesting insight into Kengian magic and the Firemasters mentioned in book one, and explains where the prophecy originated from. Filled with friendship, adventure, rivalry and heartache, for a novella it sure packs a punch! While it’s an interesting prequel, I felt it’s opened up more questions that’ll hopefully be answered in book two.
Series: The Kyprian Prophecy, #0.5
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: 4 stars
Beginnings is a prequel to The Firemaster Legacy. It gives an interesting insight into Kengian magic and the Firemasters mentioned in book one, and explains where the prophecy originated from. Filled with friendship, adventure, rivalry and heartache, for a novella it sure packs a punch! While it’s an interesting prequel, I felt it’s opened up more questions that’ll hopefully be answered in book two.
July 17, 2021
This author is definitely a name to watch.The flow of her writing is superb,the plot line is stunning in it's depth .I'm sure we will see great things from this young lady.
July 25, 2021
Wow. I feel so privileged that I was able to read the beginnings. I just wanted more. It was an easy read with heartache and I just can’t wait to read the next book
January 14, 2024
A neat introduction to characters and the kingdom of Kypria, firemasters and the firemaster’s legacy. Written with a lot of telling in the beginning but things warm up when wilful character LaHa and Prince Bertie ignore the governess and leave Mary and Alfred’s royal wedding preparations to run off into the woods. Of course they meet a mysterious Kengian traveller who looks vaguely familiar in true genre fashion but events flick over and more aspects emerge, culminating in a spectacular ending. I preferred the action of duelling sisters in ‘The Pledge’ but this book is a great starter for novice fantasy readers.
May 20, 2022
This novella is set two hundred years before the Kyprian Prophecy series and Book 1 – The Firemaster’s Legacy. It does not need to be read first, it can be read as a stand alone at any time in the series. This is a brilliant read! It pulled me in from beginning to end and held my attention. The world building is detailed and imaginative. This novel has strong, well developed characters and an interesting story line that keeps you turning the pages. I recommend this novel and would read more novels by this author.
June 18, 2022
This is the first book in this series (as far as I know) that I've read. It's mildly interesting, but doesn't leave me with a burning desire to go find more in the series. It's the all too familiar story of fantasy. You know, persecuted subgroup gains power, said subgroup turns out to be overpowering, subgroup rights all wrongs done to them in the past, blah, blah, blah. Nothing new here. On the other hand, it is well written, and I will likely read more in the series at some point, just not now, I've got too many other things on my to read list which sound much more interesting.
October 20, 2022
The war had ended, the land was healing, and the kingdom of Kypria was finally at peace. However, Laha was not at peace. It was Laha who accidentally opened a portal to another world, and between Mary, whom Laha was a companion to, and the two Lamorian princes, Emberto and Alfred, who had acquired powers temporarily, they had defeated the invading army. But Mary and Laha had lost their powers in doing so. Now the darkness inside Laha wanted out, and if that was not enough, Laha longed for excitement and adventure, and she would soon get it.
This author took me to another world and introduced me to a set of characters that were individuals with their own wants and desires. No cookie cutter characters here, or at least in my view, they had their own agendas and motivations and a prophecy to contend with. I hope the series this novella preludes to is just as well written.
While it took me less than a day to read this intro to a new world, I wonder how long it will take me to read an actual novel. I give this novella five stars out of five stars.
This author took me to another world and introduced me to a set of characters that were individuals with their own wants and desires. No cookie cutter characters here, or at least in my view, they had their own agendas and motivations and a prophecy to contend with. I hope the series this novella preludes to is just as well written.
While it took me less than a day to read this intro to a new world, I wonder how long it will take me to read an actual novel. I give this novella five stars out of five stars.
September 24, 2024
I wrote this free novella as a way to introduce readers to my world of Kypria and the origins of the Kyprian Prophecy, which features in my series of the same name (set 200 years later).
A key storyline from Beginnings is also picked up again in Book IV – due to spoiler alerts I won't say what it is.
The novella also references some earlier events that will be featured in a preceding Kyprian adventure series – stay tuned for news on those work-in-progress books.
That being said this is a stand-alone book that can be read in any order within the existing Kyprian Prophecy series.
If you enjoy this book, you may want to read The Kyprian Prophecy Book 1 – The Firemaster's Legacy.
The Firemaster's Legacy: The Kyprian Prophecy Book 1
A key storyline from Beginnings is also picked up again in Book IV – due to spoiler alerts I won't say what it is.
The novella also references some earlier events that will be featured in a preceding Kyprian adventure series – stay tuned for news on those work-in-progress books.
That being said this is a stand-alone book that can be read in any order within the existing Kyprian Prophecy series.
If you enjoy this book, you may want to read The Kyprian Prophecy Book 1 – The Firemaster's Legacy.
The Firemaster's Legacy: The Kyprian Prophecy Book 1
November 23, 2023
The way that this author writes the perpetual impatience of youth is just amazing. I often read books with characters that are supposed to be young (anywhere from 16-20) and yet are relatively poised and put together when that’s just not the reality. Being one of the rare people who is poised and put together in my youth, I can say from experience that it is not the norm so it is refreshing to read representation for those who are still wild and immature and have the lingering innocent perspective of awe toward adventure. I adore Kylee’s writing so far and am excited to read more from her!
November 17, 2023
Such a great novella! I need to know how this prophecy will turn out! I would totally continue to read this series.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews