Trials by Fire

Thirteen year old Fern wakes in the night to find her house on fire. She rescues her two younger sisters and tries to save her parents but is overcome by smoke.

She wakes in a hospital room, her mother in the next bed. But this is an illusion. When reality crashes down, Fern finds herself and her mother in a thatched hut, attended by strange people. Fern had used a power that she never knew existed—wrashiru—to transport herself and her mother out of the burning house. They ended up here, on a different planet. The people appear primitive but have highly developed psychic abilities. Their ancestors came here by wrashiru to escape from an alien race that had enslaved them. Taran and his daughter Tira are the only ones who speak English.

The molecular structure on this planet is different from that on Earth. When Fern arrived, unconscious, her body chemistry was altered. Her mother was unable to adapt and is dying. Taran assists Fern in a last ditch attempt to take her mother back to Earth by wrashiru. This fails, but Fern has an out-of-body experience and is able to see her sisters, who are with their grandparents.

After her mother dies, Fern moves in with Taran’s family, which includes his wife Andli, several children, and another couple, Doran and Rina. Fern is shocked when she catches Andli in a romantic encounter with Doran. She learns that plural marriage is a way of life here. The four adults co-parent their five children.

Fern struggles with the new language and customs. Her efforts to fit in often fall short, and she suffers from isolation and depression. Despite this, she becomes a contributing member of the community. Taran gives Fern lessons to develop her innate psychic abilities. She hopes to master wrashiru so she can return home, but at best she uses etheric projection to visit her relatives on Earth, who are unaware of her presence.

Taran’s son, who lives in another village, comes to visit, and Fern falls in love with him. He is preparing to travel to Earth by wrashiru and Fern helps him improve his English. After he leaves, Fern misses him. Still grieving for her parents, she sinks into depression and closes herself off to others.

When a nearby dormant volcano becomes active, Fern performs a vital act that saves lives.