Seed of Reason — Gavin Mills

There is a legend in the ancient lands of the Great North West that has passed down for generations from father to son. It speaks of a youth with bad blood who will embark on a quest to quell the rising fog and save creation. And it is said the legend will reveal itself when the world of man becomes threatened and the time is right. ...Now more than ever before, terrible forces mount, ready to destroy the tenuous New Order created so many years before by Rezden visionary architect of change, and close friend Maxmillian Grace. And now, as the world flounders in the clutches of evil incarnate, it is time for the legend to re-emerge, ...but will it lead to redemption or damnation? Can and will there ever be a Seed of Reason? After the rains stay away and the weather changes - as a result, many believe, of the growing fog being spewed out by the Megacity - Joss is forced to make the decision no farmer ever should: stay and face disaster if the weather doesn't change, or abandon the peace and tranquility of life in the Great Valley and head for Horizen, once the birthplace of Rezden's bright New Order, but more recently better known to the common folk as the seat of Gradlock, evil incarnate, and his devious Supreme Council. Arriving at the Megacity with his unhappy family, Joss immediately realises with horror that they have made the wrong decision. He is forced to join the other men of Horizen slaving for Gradlock and his corrupt system, while Sarah does her best to turn their new hovel into a home. Then within only a matter of days, Purity, adopted baby daughter found abandoned in the Netherwoods, becomes desperately ill. Some say it is because of the filth and squalor, but Gilbert knows the truth when learns of an ancient legend about a young man with bad blood who sets out to save his sister, and in so doing, save mankind. Gilbert knows he has bad blood and becomes convinced he is the young boy - the one spoken of in the ancient fable. So with a ragtag bunch of unlikely heroes, he sets out on an epic quest to find the elusive seed of reason. Meanwhile in the megacity, life is becoming untenable and the cruelty of Gradlock to both man and beast, knows no bounds. On learning that a child with bad blood has set out to find the seed of reason, Gradlock turns his rage on the parents of the young man with bad blood. Meanwhile word spreads like wildfire, of the quest of the unlikely heroes to find the seed of reason - what far too many believe is their only chance of ever once again seeing the light. Then a child dies under the hooves of Gradlock's horse and carriage, and the despot shows no remorse. It is the last straw. But can the fabled seed of reason really bring salvation where there is no longer hope? Gilbert knows destiny lies in his hands, along with the lifeblood of his ailing baby sister and that of his parents. But the perils are great, the road ahead arduous, and the situation dire. For well Gilbert, his parents, and even Gradlock knows, 'When there is nothing left to live for, it is easy to die for something.'