Thwortle

Fleeing from the terrifying Shades, Mark escapes to magical Nolin, arriving with a 'splash' in the home of the wizar Miles and his two daughters. Warily, Miles welcomes the stranger - in Nolin's language, 'Thwortle' means 'Welcome'.
Mark soon discovers that he too has magic. But the Shades' magic is much stronger, and they have followed him to Nolin.

Thwortle is the first book in the three-book Jeli Series, about a rift between African and Mycenaean god families.