In a rich, complex epic set in a grim fantasy world, Tanith Lee explores in her distinctive style the excesses of religion as well as the dark pagan roots of earlier times. There are disturbing similarities between the rites of apparently conflicting beliefs - the blood and body of Christ and the divine blood of the World Tree. While the Christerium might believe it wields the greater power and keeps the people under control through brutality and oppression, the older cunning ways lie hidden in every forest glade and in the hearts of those who worship the Great Tree, nourished by the blood of willing sacrifice. But then the Tree is destroyed, in the midst of a sacred rite, unleashing a potent and vengeful magic. From the ruin of this atrocity, the enigmatic dark priest Anjelen arises. He deftly works his way into the heart of the Christerium, bewitching its most powerful administrators. He is like an angel, beautiful and charismatic - yet to be feared. People are drawn to follow him into any darkness he claims to be the Light of God. The rites he introduces to the inner cabal of the Christerium change all who take part in them, not least invoking a thirst for blood. Characters with mysterious origins, damaged in body and mind, assemble to enact a world-changing drama. Anillia wakes within an old abbey, knowing she is 15 years old, but with no idea who she is or how she got there. She feels safe with the ageing nuns until sons of a local forest clan arrive at her sanctuary, claiming she is their sister, lost long ago in the woods. She is married off to a local clan leader, thereby becoming part of Anjelen's plan. Mechail, the crippled son of a powerful forest lord is murdered yet rises from death to follow an unknown destiny. It seems he was never quite human to begin with. Jasha, a wild woods girl, more animal than human is drawn into Anjelen's entourage, witness to strange and terrifying events, knowing she too has a part to play in the savage rites of blind belief and raw desire. This vivid, macabre epic was only ever published in the UK in a hardback edition - to most readers it will be a completely new title, which Immanion Press is proud to present in two paperback volumes, with illustrations by Danielle Lainton and cover art by John Kaiine.

Against the backdrop of a savage world, in which the bloody religion of the Christerium holds power, strange creatures have formed and stalk the fearsome and magnificent chambers of the great cathedrals. Three characters take up the tale that began in The Blood of Volume 1. With Jun, the original sacrifice to the Great World Tree, the story begins to unfurl – how the dark priest Anjelen came to be and acquired such great power, how he managed to subjugate and tame a towering and oppressive regime to do his bidding. Eujasia takes the reader deep into the secret world of these fluid and mysterious characters – where nothing is as it seems and personalities appear interchangeable. Eujasia seeks Anjelen, but for what ends? Is this the beginning of a dread, unholy alliance or chance of liberation for the oppressed believers of the old ways? Mechailus is the sum of all stories – and in this enigmatic, kaleidoscopic being the reader learns the truth. What of the strange, impish dwarf, who – originally brutalised throughout the story, a marginalised character abused and scorned – now grows into himself in every way, bringing all tales back to the beginning. A new start, perhaps? Or a warning of what in human hands must inevitably repeat itself? This book brings to a conclusion the sweeping, macabre epic of belief and desire, once available only as a hardback edition in the UK. This Immanion Press editions gives all readers access to one of Tanith Lee’s most complex and chilling works.

An epic fantasy of eroticism, sorcery, blood and vampires, by a prolific writer of fantasy and science fiction works, who has won the World Fantasy Award on several occasions. This limited edition is signed and numbered by the author, and produced on high-quality paper with special design features..