Midkemia Read online

  Dedication

  DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF

  TIM LESELLE,

  ONE OF THE ORIGINAL THURSDAY NIGHTERS. NEVER FORGOTTEN.

  Contents

  Dedication

  List of Characters

  Introduction

  Entry, the First

  Section I: The Riftwar

  Entry, the Second

  Entry, the Third

  Entry, the Fourth

  Entry, the Fifth

  Entry, the Sixth

  Entry, the Seventh

  Entry, the Eighth

  Entry, the Ninth

  Entry, the Tenth

  Section II: Conclave, Darkwar, and Demonwar

  Entry, the Eleventh

  Entry, the Twelfth

  Entry, the Thirteenth

  Entry, the Fourteenth

  Entry, the Fifteenth

  Entry, the Sixteenth

  Section III: Post Chaos Wars

  Entry, the Seventeenth

  Entry, the Eighteenth

  Entry, the Nineteenth

  Entry, the Twentieth

  Entry, the Twenty-First

  Entry, the Twenty-Second

  Entry, the Twenty-Third

  Acknowledgments

  About the Authors

  Copyright

  About the Publisher

  List of Characters

  Aglaranna: Elf Queen in Elvandar, later wife of Lord Tomas.

  Alma-Lodaka: Valhur, Dragon Lord, Emerald Lady of Serpents. Creator of the Pantathians and the Saaur.

  Amos: Trask, former pirate, “Captain Trenchard,” later companion of Prince Arutha, later companion of Prince Nicholas and Calis in Novindus.

  Anita: Princess of the Kingdom, daughter of Prince Erland of Krondor, later wife of Prince Arutha.

  Arutha conDoin: Prince of the Kingdom, second son of Lord Borric of Crydee and brother to King Lyam, later Prince of Krondor.

  Arutha Jamison: son of James (I) and Gamina, Lord Vencar, Baron of the King’s Court, father of James (II) and Dashel Jamison.

  Ashen-Shugar: Valheru (Dragon Lord, Ancient One), Ruler of the Eagles Reaches.

  Baru: “Serpentslayer,” Hadati hillman, companion to Prince Arutha in Armengar.

  Borric conDoin (I): Duke of Crydee, father to Lyam (I), Arutha, and Carline.

  Borric conDoin (II): Prince of the Kingdom, son of Arutha, brother to Erland (II), later King of the Isles.

  Brendan conDoin: son of Henry (II), brother to Henry (III) and Martin (II).

  Caleb: youngest son of Miranda and Pug, brother to Magnus, half-brother to William and Gamina. Husband of Marie, foster father to Tad, Zane, and Jommy.

  Calin: elf heir to the throne of Elvandar, half-brother to Calis, son of Queen Aglaranna and King Aidan.

  Calis: son of Aglaranna and Tomas, half-brother to Calin, later “The Eagle of Krondor,” special agent of the Prince of Krondor, Duke of the Court.

  Carline: Princess of Crydee, daughter of Lord Borric, sister of Lyam and Arutha, later wife to Laurie.

  Dashel Jamison: “Dash,” younger son of Arutha (II), grandson of James (I), brother to James (II), later Duke of Rillanon and grandfather to James.

  Dolgan: Dwarf Chieftain at Village Caldara, later King of the Dwarves in the West, holder of the Hammer of Tholin.

  Draken-Korin: Valheru (Dragon Lord, Ancient One), Lord of the Tigers.

  Edward: cousin to Ryan and Gregory, later Prince of Krondor.

  Emerald Queen: see entry for “Jorna.”

  Eiek: von Darkmoor, apprentice blacksmith, boyhood friend of Rupert, later member of Calis’s “Desperate Men,” later Sergeant, then Captain of the Crimson Eagles, later Knight-Marshal of the Kingdom.

  Erland (I): Prince of Krondor, uncle to King Rodrick, father of Princess Anita, cousin to Lord Borric and family.

  Erland (II): Royal Prince, son of Arutha and Anita, younger twin to Borric (II), later Prince of Rillanon.

  Gamina: adopted daughter of Pug and sister of William, wife of James (I), mother of Arutha (II).

  Gardan: Sergeant at Crydee, later Knight-Marshal at Krondor.

  Gregory: son of Patrick, younger brother to Ryan, later king after his brother, cousin to Richard and Edward.

  Guy: du Bas-Tyra, Duke of Bas-Tyra, later Duke of Rillanon.

  Henry (I): “Harry,” son of the Earl of Ludlum, companion of Prince Nicholas, later Governor of the Sunset Isles.

  Henry (II): “Harry,” Duke of Crydee, father to Henry (III), Martin (II), and Brendan.

  Henry (III): “Hal,” Duke of Crydee, later King Henry V of the Isles, husband of Stephané of Roldem.

  James: Jimmy the Hand, later Duke of Rillanon, then Krondor, father to Arutha (II), grandfather to James (II) and Dasher.

  James (II): Jamison, son of Arutha (II), brother to Dasher, grandson of James (I), later Duke of Rillanon, grandfather to James (III).

  James (III): Jamison, “Jim Dasher,” spy for the crown, grandson of James (II).

  Jorna: “Lady Clovis,” later Emerald Queen, wife of Macros and mother of Miranda, later wife of Nakor.

  Kaspar: Duke of Olasko, later exiled in Novin-dus, later servant of the Conclave of Shadows and defender of Kelewan against the Dasati.

  Katala: Thuril slave girl in Kelewan, later wife to Pug and mother to William.

  Kulgan: magician at Crydee Keep, Pug’s first teacher, companion to Meecham.

  Laurie: troubadour, later slave with Pug on Kelewan, later Duke of Salador and husband of Princess Carline.

  Leso: Varen, also known as Sidi, mad magician, servant of the God of Evil, pawn of the Dread, confidant of Kaspar of Olasko.

  Locklear: squire of Prince Arutha’s court, later baronet and court baron, friend of James (I).

  Lyam (I): son of Lord Borric, brother to Prince Arutha, later King of the Kingdom of the Isles.

  Lyam (II): son of Prince Arutha, brother to Prince Borric (II), Princess Elaina, and Prince Nicholas.

  Macros: the Black Sorcerer, father of Miranda, grandfather of Magnus and Caleb.

  Magnus: son of Pug and Miranda, grandson of Macros the Black.

  Marcus: son of Martin (I), Duke of Crydee, cousin to Prince Patrick.

  Martin (I): illegitimate son of Borric (I), half-brother to Lyam (I) and Arutha (I).

  Martin (II): son of Henry (II), brother of Henry (III) and Brendan.

  Meecham: “Franklin,” freeborn land owner, hunter, companion to Kulgan.

  Miranda: magician, daughter of Macros and Jorma, later second wife of Pug, mother of Magnus and Caleb.

  Murad: Moredhel chieftain of Clan Raven, servant of the false Murmandamus.

  Murmandamus: false prophet of the Moredhel, disguised Pantathian Serpent Priest.

  Nakor: Isalani gambler from Kesh, companion to Princes Borric and Erland, later to Nicholas, then Pug, Magnus, and Macros. Second husband of Jorma. Sometimes known as “the Blue Rider.”

  Nicholas: youngest son of Arutha (I), brother to Borric (I), Erland (I), and Elena, later Admiral of the King’s Bitter Sea Fleet.

  Oracle of Aal: ancient seer of the oldest known race in the universe. Saved from a dying planet by Pug, her mind inhabits the body of the ancient dragon Ryath; also known as the jeweled dragon, the Oracle at Sethanon, or simple the Oracle.

  Owen: Greylock, Swordmaster of Darkmoor, later captain in the Prince of Krondor’s army.

  Patrick: son of Erland (II), nephew to Borric (II), Nicholas, and Elena, father to Ryan and Gregory.

  Pug: orphan boy from Crydee, also Milamber of the Assembly of Magicians on Kelewan, also Pug of Stardock, founder of the Conclave of Shadows, also the Black Sorcerer after Macros the Black.

  Richard: cousin to King Patrick, caretaker of Prince of Krondor before Edward.

  Robert: “Bobby”
de Loungville, sergeant in Calis’s Crimson Eagles.

  Roald: mercenary soldier, boyhood companion of Laurie, later companion of Arutha at Armengar.

  Rodric IV: King of the Isles, cousin to Lord Borric and Princes Lyam and Arutha, nephew of Prince Erland.

  Rupert “Roo” Avery: boyhood companion of Eric von Darkmoor, later member of Calis’s “Desperate Men,” later young merchant of Krondor.

  Ryan: son of Patrick, brother to Gregory, later King of the Isles.

  Stephané: Princess of Roldem, daughter of King Carole, later wife of Henry (III) and Queen of the Kingdom of the Isles.

  Talon of the Silver Hawk: also known as Talwin Hawkins, trial boy from the mountains, father of Tyron Hawkins.

  Tomas: kitchen boy from Crydee, later inheritor of the Dragon Lord’s armor from Ashen-Shugar, later Warleader of Elvandar and husband of Aglaranna, father of Calis.

  Tyron Hawkins: son of Talwin Hawkins, companion of Duke Henry (III), secret apprentice for James (III).

  Valko: Dasati Deathknight, later ruler of the entire Dasati Empire.

  William: son of Pug, brother of Gamina, later Knight-Lieutenant in Krondor, later Knight-Marshal of Krondor.

  To you, the reader, an introduction . . .

  YOU ARE COUNTED AMONG A SELECT FEW, those entrusted with the innermost workings of the Conclave of Shadows. If you are reading this, be you student at Stardock or on Sorcerer’s Isle, noble of the Kingdom, or close ally of the Conclave, know that only a handful of others have been granted access to the material compiled between these covers.

  Here you hold a copy of what began as my father’s journal, as much of it as he could manage to compile during his lifetime. I chanced upon it while attending to the matter of my father’s possessions after I inherited his mantle as leader of our community, here on Sorcerer’s Isle.

  I will confess that upon finding it, I only intended to skim through it, and then consign it to one portion of his library or another, but as I began to read, I realized how little I knew about my father’s early life and those experiences that shaped him. So it was with interest I read of his youth and those early adventures that formed a perspective set hard and fast by the time I was old enough to begin my education.

  I found those bits of narrative and commentary on his discoveries a fascinating tale, one that spoke not only of the great deeds that are chronicled in other volumes, but also of the small events that contributed to the making of a man. By most common standards, my father was elderly when he wed my mother, though to outward appearances he was a robust man of middle years, of short stature and slightly greying black hair, but otherwise apparently little marked by time. Yet the truth is he was a century of age and more, for it is our blessing, or curse as you may see it, that provides those of us gifted with magical abilities with, if not eternal youth, then at least a very slowly advancing old age. For me, finding these glimpses into my father’s past was welcomed; I learned that he had once been a boy, a callow youth, and a young man forged in the crucible of adversity; and, in gaining this glimpse into the boy, I better understood the man.

  I decided to do my part in organizing this volume a bit more than my father had. He was a man of considerable gifts and remarkable talents, but organizing small things was never his knack; he always had others who saw to the details, so in this, I am the last of those to do so.

  As I attempted this small endeavor, I realized I had two advantages of perspective over him. First, my father and I have discussed many of the topics he has written about, and thus, I was presented with what he wrote here and what he told me years, sometimes many years, later; this was instructive on how the memory often shifts and modifies events in one’s mind. Second, over the years I have spoken to others who have witnessed various events chronicled here and elsewhere, and the difference in that perspective is also informative.

  I added commentary where I might, as well as some notes and information given to me by others, either from direct recollection or reliable hearsay. When diverse sources were balanced, I believe a fairly accurate representation of true events was achieved; in other cases, while accuracy may be less, the value of the tale was such that I included it. Occasionally the choices were motivated by my affections for my father, rather than judging the event of historical weight.

  My father was by nature a modest man, one who saw himself thrust by circumstances into a role he did not wish, or choose, but I believe with that self-effacement he did himself a disservice, for while his critical role in history may have been foreordained by forces larger than himself, his choices within that role were uniformly heroic and self-sacrificing. I may be alone, or one of a very few, who truly understands the scope of my father’s personal sacrifices and the horrible burdens he chose to shoulder alone, to preserve this world and protect those he loved. He never once asked to be thanked or even cared if others knew what he suffered.

  His is a story worthy of being told. So, with my occasional annotation, I present you what I choose to call the Chronicles of Pug.

  —Magnus of Sorcerer’s Isle

  Entry, the First

  IN THE SECOND YEAR OF THE REIGN of King Lyam the First, I, Pug of Crydee, magician to the royal court and cousin to the King by adoption, do take quill in hand and set forth this account, that all may benefit from the knowledge I have gained. My purpose is to ensure that what has been learned is not forgotten, for life has taught me that death is her constant companion. Much has been bestowed on me and it must endure beyond me, so this is my cause.

  To understand what I have learned, one must abide some tales of my life. I will deal with the discoveries of my travels, but first I need to share who I am. I do not speak of myself for purposes of aggrandizement or out of vanity, but rather to explain how I learned, and to present other worthies to the reader, people far more deserving of praise and thanks than I, so their achievements may be widely known and their contributions appreciated.

  I further avow that much of those accomplishments credited to me are rather the fruits of labors, struggles, and sacrifice by others, many giving the ultimate sacrifice in the conflicts we endured. Where possible, their names will be noted.

  The preponderance of the material I present here within came from the library of Macros, called the Black Sorcerer by many, and a figure of some legend in the region of the Bitter Sea and its surroundings. He was an agent of the gods, as much as any man, and as such a good and faithful servant, though at a price upon which I can only speculate. He lost much in that service and I pray he found respite and reward in whatever fate awaited him at the end of the Riftwar.

  He bequeathed to me a marvelous legacy, Sorcerer’s Isle, site of the legendary Black Castle and the hidden Villa Beata, or “beautiful home.” Within that villa resided his library, full of maps, journals, accountings, histories, and other notes and scraps as would come to him. Of organization there was none, so realizing the vast wealth of knowledge here, I have undertaken to bring something of order to these many items.

  As anyone who knows me well will attest, I am a man of some skills in the magician’s arts, but I lack the true discipline needed as an Archivist. I may, at some later day, entreat the aid of another to bring order out of this chaos and find better arrangement to these many bits of knowledge than I have achieved, but here at the start, I will seek to do my best.

  I hope that whoever you may be who reads this, you will appreciate that all here within was compiled by a man of small gifts in such a task and forgive whatever flaws you may find. I am, your humble servant,

  —Pug of Stardock,

  known to some as Milamber of the Assembly

  The above was written by my father as he began to organize the materials in this volume. This was before my birth, even before he met my mother, by many years. Much of what he observed as he organized lacks the perspective of later years, so if any notes by my father are inconsistent with later discoveries or findings, that is the reason. I will undertake to allow my father’s comments
to stand, unless my additional comments correct errors or otherwise add perspective.

  —Magnus

  SINCE MY FATHER’S BIRTH there have been five dimensional wars, yet when he began this chronicle, he had experienced only the first and thought it unique. What follows is my brief account of the history of those five wars; hopefully my words will provide further insight into the times and my father’s life.

  The Riftwar

  The Riftwar was an incursion into our world by the nation known as the Empire of Tsuranuanni, during the reign of King Rodric IV. The Tsurani reached Midkemia via a “rift,” also known as a dimensional portal or gateway, allowing instantaneous travel over vast distances, between worlds, and possibly through time, though this last is speculation on my part. At first it was judged they had come seeking to conquer for metal, as their own world was metal poor. In time the truth was discovered: This was one ploy in a complex game of politics back on their world, with thousands of lives being spent simply to advance one side’s cause.

  Father was taken early in the war and made a slave in the Tsurani world, Kelewan. It was there his true ability manifested and he was taken to study by the magicians of that world, as the ability to practice what they call the Greater Path Magic conferred a status irrespective of previous rank, hence a slave from another world was elevated to a position among the most powerful and important members of that society.

  My father’s role in that war has been chronicled elsewhere, but in summation it can be said he was instrumental in ending that conflict and eventually bringing peace to both worlds. But it was a peace that was all too fleeting, for forces elsewhere were already in motion, preparing for the next assault on “Midkemia” . . . .

  THIS MAP OF TRIAGIA hangs on the wall in my study, where Macros the Black originally placed it. It faithfully depicts the continent.

  The Serpent War

  There resided on Midkemia a race of serpent beings, the Pantathians. They proved to be instrumental pawns in a conflict that existed ages before my father’s birth and will no doubt linger long after I have passed on to whatever awaits after this life.