Sword of Flames

Prologue The Story So Far…

Long ago, there had been four magical weapons fashioned by the Mages. Their history had been lost, together with the Artifacts themselves, in the Cataclysm, the horrific wars of magic which wrought changes on land and water alike. Lost also had been the history of the nonhuman Magefolk: the Winged Ones, the Dragonfolk, and the mighty Leviathan—or so said the ancient legends

Young Aurian, growing up lonely and neglected in her mother’s valley, knows nothing of these tales. Yet when she meets Forral, a wandering swordsman, the encounter will change not only their lives but the future course of history.

Aurian’s father, Geraint, has perished through misuse of his Fire-magic, and her grieving mother, the Earth-Mage Eilin, is obsessed with restoring the valley—the barren crater left by the explosion. Appalled by Ellin’s neglect of her daughter, Forral stays to care for the child, and a close bond develops between them. He begins to teach Aurian sword-play, until an accident in training almost kills her. Eilin, on the advice of the Magefolk healer Meiriel, sends her to the city of Nexis and the Academy, home of the few remaining Magefolk, where she can be fully trained as a Mage

Homesick and missing Forral, Aurian turns to the Archmage Miathan, unaware of his plans for her future. His interest earns her the enmity of the Weather-Mage Eliseth and her cohorts Bragar and Davorshan, though Aurian is befriended by Finbarr the Archivist and D’arvan, Davorshan’s twin, who is unable to access his powers. As she grows to adulthood, her studies in magic are diverted by the return of Forral as commander of the Nexis Garrison. Aurian resumes sword training and makes new friends at the garrison—Maya, Forral’s lieutenant, and Parric, the cavalrymaster. The bond between Forral and Aurian ripens into mature love, but matings between Mortals and Magefolk are forbidden. In the meantime, Miathan begins to force his attentions on her.

Elsewhere in Nexis, Anvar, son of a baker, is sold as a bondservant to the Archmage. He is truly Miathan’s son—a half-breed Mage whose mother has kept his identity secret, Miathan steals his powers, binding him with a spell of silence. After months of toil and brutality, he escapes, seeking his lover. Sara, who was pregnant when they were parted. But she has lost the child and married Vannor, head of the Merchants’ Guild. When Anvar is recaptured, Aurian defies the Archmage to claim him as her servant.

In the catacombs beneath the Academy, Miathan discovers a deadly weapon—a grail refashioned from the Caldron of Rebirth, one of the lost Artifacts of Power. When Aurian and Forral become lovers, the jealous Archmage turns the grail to evil, cursing any child that may come of their union to take the form of the first beast Aurian sees after its birth.

The following Solstice sees sinister changes. Eliseth alienates Davorshan from his brother and persuades Meiriel the Healer to negate Aurian’s spells against pregnancy, for Miathan will never countenance Forral’s half-breed child. Davorshan tries to murder his brother, and Aurian sends D’arvan to her mother, who can help him find his powers. Maya goes with him to the valley. When Miathan discovers that Aurian is with child he attempts to destroy the babe, but Anvar warns Forral and Vannor. When Forral attacks, Miathan unleashes Death-Wraiths—spirits who feed on life-force—from the grail, and Forral is slain. Finbarr fights the Wraiths with magic, buying Aurian, Vannor, and Anvar time to escape.

Overcome with rage and grief, Aurian vows to avenge Forral, but now she must flee. While Vannor stays in Nexis to organize resistance against the Archmage, Aurian and Anvar escape by ship, taking Sara with them at Vannor’s request. Aurian’s one hope of fighting Miathan is to find the three lost Artifacts—but time is limited, for as her pregnancy progresses, she will lose her powers until the child is born. Then to her horror, she feels Miathan’s mind searching the seas for her with magic.

Miathan now controls Nexis and sends Davorshan to kill Aurian’s mother. Maya and D’arvan reach the valley, where Eilin tells them of the terrible events, seen in her scrying crystal, that have occurred. She also tells D’arvan that his true father is Hellorin, Lord of the Phaerie—a powerful race of Elemental beings exiled from the mundane world by ancient Magefolk. Shocked and grieving, Maya and D’arvan turn to each other for comfort and become lovers. They stay in the valley so that D’arvan can learn magic from Eilin.

At sea, Aurian discovers powerful minds of great wisdom: whales—the ancient Mage race of Leviathan. When they are threatened she uses magic to help them, and the Archmage finds her through her use of power. Eliseth conjures a storm to sink the ship, while Miathan attacks with magic. In the ensuing battle, Aurian blinds him.

When Aurian, Anvar, and Sara are rescued by the Leviathan, the storm has blown them to the unknown Southern Kingdoms. Sara seduces Anvar, reminding him of their former love, and Aurian leaves them to go with the Leviathan Ithalasa, who reveals the lost history of the Magefolk. Aurian learns of the missing Artifacts: the Staff of Earth, the Harp of Winds, and the Sword of Flame, created by the Dragonfolk for one hand alone to wield. Ithalasa does not know where they can be found.

Anvar and Sara are captured by the Khazalim, a fierce desert race, and taken to the city of Taibeth, where Anvar is sold as a slave and Sara goes to the harem of Xiang, the ruler, known as the Khisu. Given the chance to become a queen, she uses her beauty to ensnare Xiang and callously consigns Anvar to his fate.

Aurian reaches Taibeth and is captured and sentenced to fight in the Arena for the pleasure of Xiang. Here she befriends Eliizar, disillusioned swordmaster, and his wife, Nereni. Rumors of foreigners in the city give her hope of finding Anvar, but in the Arena she must fight the fearsome Black Demon, against whom no one has survived.

In the valley, D’arvan learns Earth-magic from Eilin and swordplay from Maya. When Davorshan attacks, his brother slays him, but Eilin is wounded. To save her, D’arvan calls on his father, and he and Maya, along with Eilin, are transported to the realms of the Forest Lord, where Eilin must remain in order to survive. Hellorin explains that the Dragons gave the Sword of Flame into the keeping of the Phaerie, who must now return it to the mundane world. Once the Artifact is claimed, the Phaerie will be freed. Hellorin conceals the Sword in the valley, and Maya is transformed into a Guardian—an invisible unicorn. D’arvan brings the Wildwood to the valley, making it a haven for Miathan’s foes.

Aurian fights in the Arena before Xiang, his son, and his new queen, Sara. She survives the first bouts but is wounded, and now must face the Demon: Shia, a fierce great cat from an intelligent race. When the Mage communicates mentally with her, Shia claims her as a friend. Harihn, Xiang’s son, takes Aurian and Shia under his protection. While her wounds heal, she is cared for by a eunuch, Bohan, and wins his heart with her kindness. Anvar is found dying in the Khisu’s slave pens. Aurian battles Death for his spirit and prevails.

Before Anvar can be warned of Sara’s treachery, Xiang’s soldiers attack. Anvar and Harihn are sentenced to death. Aurian escapes from the dungeons, freeing Shia and Harihn’s men. With Yazour, their captain, she storms the throne room, taking Xiang prisoner. Harihn will not accept the throne from a Mage and a woman. He frees Xiang on condition that he and his people may leave the kingdom and cross the desert. Anvar begs Sara to join him, but she repudiates him cruelly. Eliizar and Nereni join the fugitives.

In Nexis, Eliseth holds the land in an extended winter. Vannor, Parric, and their rebels hide in the sewers beneath Nexis. Miathan is sure that Aurian is alive and in the south. Elewin, the Academy’s chief steward, warns Parric, who decides to go in search of her. The rebels escape the city with Meiriel, who has been driven mad by the loss of her soulmate, Finbarr. They find sanctuary with Vannor’s friends the Nightrunners, an elusive smuggling community who are already sheltering the merchant’s daughter Zanna. Vannor’s rebels head for the valley, seeking Aurian’s mother, while Parric, Meiriel, Elewin, and the warrior Sangra journey to the Southern Lands in search of Aurian herself.

In the desert, Anvar quarrels with Harihn. His rage is strong enough to break Miathan’s spell, and his powers draw his spirit back to Nexis, where he snatches back his magic from the Archmage. Aurian offers to teach him to use his powers, and his training begins.

Meanwhile, across the desert in the mountain city of Aerillia, the Winged Folk are dying in Eliseth’s unnatural winter, which is spreading across the world. Blacktalon, the corrupt High Priest, claims he can turn aside the deadly cold and demands to be wedded to the Princess Raven, heir to the throne. Raven flees, heading south across the desert.

Harihn’s band reaches Dhiammara—a solitary mountain in the desert where a mysterious portal opens in the rock, snatching Aurian away. When she cannot be found, Harihn abandons Aurian’s companions. Aurian’s loss brings home to Anvar how much he loves her. With Shia’s help he finds the portal and is reunited with Aurian. They emerge in the abandoned city of the Dragonfolk and discover Raven. Forral’s ghost leads Aurian to a temple, where she finds the last Dragon, freeing it from a spell. It tells her that she is the One for whom the Sword of Flame was forged, but first she must re-create the Staff of Earth. Having succeeded, Aurian now holds one of the Artifacts.

The Mage is reunited with her comrades and Yazour, who has left the Prince and returned with horses. Eliseth creates a lethal sandstorm to slay them. Aurian’s powers have vanished due to her pregnancy, but with the help of the Staff, she and Anvar defeat Eliseth and cross the desert safely. But Miathan is not done with them, for he has learned to free his spirit from the fetters of his body and send it abroad to work mischief…

Once across the desert, Aurian and her companions—Anvar, Shia, Eliizar, Nereni, Bohan, Yazour, and Raven—find sanctuary in the vast forest that lies beyond. They prepare for the arduous crossing of the mountains that lie to the north, but discover that Harihn and his company, who crossed the desert ahead of the companions, are also encamped within the woods. The Prince now regrets giving up his father’s throne. He has encountered the roving spirit of Miathan and made an unholy bargain, allowing the Archmage’s consciousness to occupy his body in times of need. Miathan also enlists the aid of Blacktalon, evil High Priest of the Winged Folk, who has poisoned Raven’s mother.

Harihn, under Miathan’s orders, seduces Raven, persuading her to betray the Mages. She offers to guide them across the mountains to the Tower of Incondor, where the Archmage and Blacktalon have set up an ambush.

Across the mountains, in the lands of the Xandim Horse-folk, a Seer receives a vision on the winds. Chiamh, the despised, reclusive Windeye of the Xandim, discovers powers of evil reaching out from the north toward two Bright Ones beyond the mountains. At the risk of destroying his tribe, he knows he must aid them in their fight against darkness.

Parric and his friends reach the lands of the Xandim, a race of shape-shifters who can exist in human or equine form. They are captured and sentenced to death, for the Xandim permit no outlanders in their territory. Chiamh discovers that the strangers are connected with his newfound Bright Powers and goes to rescue them with the help of Basileus, a Moldan—an Earth-Elemental who is the living mind and soul of the Wyndveil mountain.

Vannor, now settled with his rebels in the valley, under the unseen guardianship of D’arvan, discovers that his daughter Zanna has run away from the Nightrunner hideout and returned to Nexis. He sets off to search for her with the veteran warrior Hargorn.

Aurian and her band reach the Tower of Incondor and are attacked by Blacktalon’s Skyfolk and the soldiers of Harihn, who is controlled by Miathan. Shia, at the Mage’s urging, flees with the Staff of Earth. Yazour, though wounded, escapes. Aurian and the others are captured. Aurian is imprisoned in the tower to await the birth of her son, whom Miathan plans to kill. Anvar is taken to the Skyfolk city of Aerillia as a hostage to ensure the Mage’s cooperation. Yazour is found by Schiannath, a Xandim outlaw exiled from his homeland along with his sister Iscalda, who has been condemned by the Herdlord Phalihas to exist permanently in her equine shape of a white mare. Using the Staff to communicate, Shia convinces Schiannath to help the Khazalim warrior.

Raven, stunned by Harihn’s treachery and her mother’s death, is taken back to Aerillia. Blacktalon plans to wed her, to consolidate his power, but first he destroys her wings. Raven attempts to kill herself, but her life is saved by the physician Elster and her apprentice Cygnus, formerly a secret supporter of the High Priest.

In Nexis, Hargorn and Vannor have become separated. Hargorn is wounded by the soldiers of Pendral, a cruel and corrupt merchant, and is rescued by Jarvas, who runs a refuge for homeless and destitute Nexians. Hargorn’s wounds are treated by the drunken physician Benziorn and his assistant Emmie. In the squalid alleys near the docks, Emmie befriends two strays—a starving white dog and a young boy, Grince. She takes the boy back to Jarvas’s refuge, along with the dog and her litter of puppies.

To reach Aerillia, Shia must pass through the territory of her own people. The First Female, Gristheena, believing Shia has come to reclaim the leadership, challenges her to combat. Helped by the old cat Hreeza and the young male Khanu, Shia escapes and wins her way safely through. Despite the danger, the two cats insist on accompanying her.

Remana, mother of Yanis, the Nightrunner leader, goes with her son and Zanna’s friend Tarnal to Nexis, to find Vannor and his daughter. Seeking the help of Jarvas, they row upriver by night, only to find that Miathan has rebuilt the old walls that enclose the city. Making their way into Nexis through the sewers, they emerge to find Jarvas’s refuge under attack by Pendrall’s soldiers. Remana helps many homeless folk to escape through the sewers, taking them back to the smuggler hideout at Wyvernesse, but Grince is left behind. Benziorn remains to search for him, while Yanis and Tarnal stay in Nexis to find Zanna.

Vannor is captured by Miathan and imprisoned with the Mages’ Tower. He discovers that Zanna is already there, in the guise of Eliseth’s maid.

At the request of the wounded Yazour, Schiannath climbs the Tower of Incondor and finds Aurian. Still putting her faith in Shia, she refuses to be rescued while Anvar is a hostage, but agrees to signal the Xandim for his assistance when her child is born.

Chiamh has rescued Parric and his companions, with the exception of Meiriel, now dangerously insane, who has vanished into the mountains. To gain the help of the Xandim, the cavalrymaster must challenge the Herdlord for leadership of the tribe. Phalihas fights in his horse-form, but Parric prevails and becomes Herdlord for a month—until he can be challenged again. The Windeye traps Phalihas in his equine form, and acting on Chiamh’s Vision, Parric takes a troop of warriors to Aurian’s rescue.

Anvar has been imprisoned by the Skyfolk in a cave high on a cliff. Shia makes a near-impossible climb to restore the Staff to him, and he uses it to pass through the mountain to the city on Aerillia Peak. He pursues Blacktalon to a high tower and slays him, but the Moldan of Aerillia causes an earthquake and the tower falls. Anvar survives but is trapped underground. Unable to attack him in her earthly form, the Moldan transports him into another dimension—the Elsewhere of such Elemental beings as the Moldan and the Phaerie. Here she takes the form of a monster and attacks—for she wants the Staff of Earth.

Incensed by Anvar’s escape, Miathan, in Harihn’s body, attacks Aurian, who goes into labor. Yazour and Schiannath come to her rescue—as do a pack of wolves, summoned by the desperate Mage. Harihn is slain by the pack leader, and as Miathan’s curse takes effect, Aurian’s child assumes the shape of a wolf-cub. When Parric reaches the tower, the Windeye frees Iscalda from her equine shape, and Parric, as Herdlord, pardons Schiannath the outlaw. Aurian journeys with Chiamh to Aerillia, in search of Anvar.

Hellorin, Lord of the Phaerie, discovers the presence of the Staff of Earth in his realm, and with Aurian’s mother, goes to Anvar’s rescue. The Moldan is destroyed, and Hellorin sends Anvar Between the Worlds to the Timeless Lake, to seek the Harp of Winds. Anvar evades the traps set by the Cailleach, guardian of the Harp, and claims the Artifact for his own. He returns to Aerillia and finds Aurian, and at last they affirm their love. Using the Artifacts to break the deadly power of Eliseth’s winter, they bring spring back to the world.