Souls of the Never: A Fantasy Scifi Romance Time Travel series, with Dragons, Elves and Faeries. (Tales of the Neverwar Series Book 1) by CJ Rutherford, Colin Rutherford Page A

decisions fractured the lines and created each shard of existence.
    There were endless realities, the number constantly changing as major events created new shards, while minor changes could merge one or more realities with another. In the vastness of the Never there was chaos as the paths converged and diverged with seemingly random and lawless abandon.
    When Derren had been brought to Sanctuary by his sister, he’d spent weeks adjusting to the fact that he, Krista and all the others here were unique. They were called the Liberi Nauntum, which means Children of the Never. They had the natural ability to not just travel in space, but also between these realities. And not only just travel between, but all of his peers shared a link and were capable of mapping the chaotic creation process.
    This was instantaneously shared subconsciously among them, so they alone could make sense of the anarchic collisions of choice and happenstance.
    Derren had been to hundreds of them so far, and he knew that to a common observer most would have seemed identical. But the perception granted to him and the other Liberi enabled him to instantly see the subtle differences, and the paths weaving endlessly between them.
    The other incredible fact he struggled with was the Liberi were almost never from the same time frames. There could be a thousand years between the time that Derren and Krista had lived in and some of the others. The leaders of Sanctuary could reach through time, retrieving the new-born Liberi at the moment of their deaths.
    Their number was always constantly maintained at 500. As they were lost, killed in combat or by accident, they were “replaced” by the leaders.
    Their search was eternal, their battle endless. They existed for two reasons.
    Foremost they were a constant force for vigilance. Derren had been amazed to discover his own battle had been one of the last. That Tenybris’s forces had been utterly defeated had left him reeling in exultation. But the news of his escape had left a cloud of uncertainty across Sanctuary.
    Even though his armies had been destroyed, elements of his supporters still existed, causing dissent wherever they could, and so the Liberi battled far and wide across the realities, seeking to eradicate them and their twisted teachings.
    The Tenybrists had garnered a following based on the fact that Tenybris’s body had never been found. And they preached he would return to complete his conquest.
    This was the second burden the Liberi were tasked with.
    Tenybris would return; this much was inevitable. He had hidden himself well, but the Liberi had wandered the Never for millennia in search of his bane. For there existed a prophecy here in Sanctuary which had been passed down from the days when Olumé had been alive. The prophecy of the Foundation.
    In each reality there was one single being of great power, able to project their consciousness into other universes. They were not able to travel physically, but were capable of journeying with their minds between realities and interacting with the beings there.
    Across the universes these interactions had many explanations. Ghosts or spirits, loved ones reaching out from beyond the grave, was a common belief. Some imagined they were angelic beings and whole religions had grown around them.
    Each being was powerful in their own right, but what the Liberi ultimately searched for was the Foundation. The single being who would bring them together, unite and multiply their power, and provide the means to finally destroy the enemy. For if Tenybris escaped unopposed, all of these realities would be consumed and twisted beyond recognition.
    B’ran dismissed the inquiry, but the youth continued to stare back. He looked around at his peers, but they sat staring ahead as if they were blind.
    “B’ran,” Derren continued, “we all know what we can do. We all know the history, for what it’s worth. What I want to know is how I will know when I find the right one?