Scarcode — Penny Ibbott

They look like birthmarks - the scars that thirteen year old Dryf has carried all his life - scars that have caused him to become an outcast. What he doesn't realise is that these are part of an ancient military code - and that there are others of his age who are similarly marked. Dryf embarks on a quest to discover why they were marked in this way. A quest in which he finds true friendship - something new to him. But it also alerts the enemies of his country, who know of the scarcode and want to destroy any who carry it. In pursuing its meaning, he encounters the colourful Kingfisher Army. A 'military' force whose soldiers don't fight. Rather, they entertain - and particularly they sing. There is a legend that this army used to defeat its enemies not by fighting, but by singing - it's just that the original music got lost. Up against the overwhelming forces of an ancient enemy, the question for the army, for Dryf and his new found friends is: could the singing once again, defeat them? And if it could, where, for goodness' sake, is the music?