Fem

This novel relates the story of Mak Strife, who has left his home to embark on a journey to the Golden Mountain. On the summit of Golden Mountain lives the eternal Fem, the most beautiful, powerful, and wise woman in the world. Meeting Her will free Mak of all contradictory desires and give him perfect knowledge and peace forever. Many say the Fem does not exist. One of them is El, a woman Mak rescues from fearsome slave traders in the first chapter. Although he doesn't actually want to rescue her, his conscience gets the better of him. Right away he has reason to regret it when she ties him up in his sleep, believing him a slave trader. El is on a journey, too. A wandering warrioress and holy woman, she's a match for Mak when it comes down to a fight. The distant, mystical Mountain begins to beckon them both. Adventures ensue, but revealing specifics would spoil the plot. These adventures occur on multiple levels, including emotional and spiritual, as these two face a perilous, astonishing animistic world and also each other. As gods and demons stand revealed, El and Mak fight to retain their own truths yet somehow still come together as individuals. The story's ending offers a greater beginning than the start did.