The Valdemar Companion

by John Helfers; Denise Little

  The Mage Winds

  trilogy

  1991

  A Winds of Fate

  After Ancar’s failed invasion, Valdemar works during the resulting uneasy peace to prepare for the next attack. Herald and Heir Elspeth leaves Haven to find and negotiate with honorable mages willing to work for Valdemar. Kero gives Elspeth the sword Need before she leaves, telling her that the sword has chosen her to be its next bearer. Elspeth and Skif head out, finally ending up at Kata’shin’a’in, where they ask Kero’s relatives for help. The Shin’a’in give her a map of the Dhorisha Plains, with a ring of red ink marking a spot on the northwestern edge, clearly the place the Shin’a’in want them to go. As Elspeth and Skif near that destination, they are attacked by a pack of magic-made beasts. At a ruin at the edge of the Plains, they make a stand against the lethal creatures. Arrows from unknown allies kill some of the beasts, and a pair of gryphons help drive off the rest. Elspeth and her friends survive the battle, and go to meet the strangers who aided them in the fight.

  The archer is Darkwind k’Sheyna, a scout and former Mage of the Tayledras who stopped using magic after an accident fractured the Heartstone of k’Sheyna Vale and left the Clan crippled and divided, half in this Vale and half in a new location. Darkwind’s mother died in that disaster, and he fears that he, as the youngest Adept, did something that triggered the Heart-stone’s meltdown. Torn by guilt and uncertainty, he now refuses to use his mage powers. Before the accident, k’Sheyna Vale’s leaders thought that their area was cleansed of wild magic, but now they’ve discovered that the area to the south is still blighted. What they don’t know is that it is home to a blood-path Adept named Mornelithe Falconsbane, who lusts after the immense magical power contained in the Heartstone, and who has mentally enslaved Darkwind’s father, Starblade, in order to seize that power. But Darkwind discovers his father’s enslavement when he saves Nyara, the catlike changeling daughter of the evil Adept. Nyara’s information lets Darkwind free his father of the spell that binds him to Falconsbane. The Vale can begin to heal again. Released from his burden of guilt and fear, Darkwind once again takes up the use of his Mage powers.

  He and Elspeth make a pact. He will train her Mage-Gift, if Elspeth will help Darkwind protect his Clan. They work together with the gryphons, Treyvan and Hydona, as well as with Elspeth and Skif’s Companions and the sword Need, to foil an attempt by Falconsbane to steal the gryphons’ children. They are even joined by Nyara, who desires nothing more than to fight aganst the evil that is her father. Together with the help of the Shin’a’in Swordsworn and their Star-Eyed Goddess, they drive Falconsbane out of their lands and back to his lair.

  1993

  Winds of Change

  With Falconsbane out of the way for the moment, it’s time for the troubled k’Sheyna clan to begin to heal. Darkwind’s father Starblade embarks on the slow process of recovering from Falconsbane’s compulsions upon his mind, aided by his new bond-bird, the wounded hawk-eagle Hyllarr. Skif and Elspeth are welcomed into Clan k’Sheyna, and Elspeth begins her training as a Mage with Darkwind, Treyvan, and Hydona as her first teachers. While Treyvan hones Darkwind’s long-unused skills, Hydona guides Elspeth in the basics of mage-craft.

  But not everything is going well—k’Sheyna’s mages are able to weaken their unstable Heartstone, but they are unable to repair it. Finally, they end their long isolation from other clans and send a message to the nearest Vale, k’Treva, asking for help. That aid arrives in the person of Firesong, a powerful Healing Adept. His plan to solve the problem of the flawed Heartstone is bold and dangerous: he intends to shatter the stone entirely, after removing all of its energy and anchoring it in the Void, the space between Gates, then move it to the new Vale. But an early test of his strength against the stone goes horribly wrong, as an attack by Mornelithe at that crucial juncture kills the Shin’a’in shaman, Tre’valen. Though Firesong could shield the Heartstorie, he could not spare the energy to shield anything else. The healing Mage is tormented by guilt over the young shaman’s death. Mornelithe bides his time before the next attack, determined to take terrible vengeance on Nyara, k’Sheyna, and the gryphons in retaliation for his defeat. And when Firesong has anchored the Heartstone’s energy in the Void, he strikes. But before he can destroy those who have opposed him, his daughter Nyara penetrates his stronghold and attacks him. Unprotected against a physical attack, Falconsbane is destroyed—sucked into the Void—but the move of the Heartstone’s power to the new Vale is still not complete. Something powerful from the Forest of Shadows grabs Firesong’s energy construct in the Void and pulls it away from k’Sheyna Vale to ground it in Valdemar’s palace in Haven. Elspeth and Darkwind will have discover who was responsible—against all reason, they believe that it might be the spirit of the Last Herald-Mage Vanyel, who died nearly six hundred years before.

  1993

  Winds of Fury

  Ancar of Hardorn is furious at being unable to conquer either Karse or Valdemar, who have ceased their old enmity and allied against him, He is even more upset that he is only a Master mage, when he yearns to become an Adept. While seeking a path to greater powers, he tries to reconstruct a Gate-spell from an old manuscript, but in his ignorance and inexperience he loses control and brings Mornelithe Falconsbane to him from out of the Void. Ancar puts coercion spells on his new treasure, and has the evil mage carted out of sight and held for later use, Mornelithe’s mind has been weakened by the months he spent in the Void, and this enables the spirit of the young Shin’a’ln An’desha shena Jor’ethan, whose body Falconsbane stole long ago, to emerge. Unlike any other person taken over by the ancient spirit of the mage Ma’ar in his quest for immortality, and there have been many through the thousands of years since Ma’ar’s death, including Falconsbane, An’desha’s spirit had survived intact by hiding in a concealed corner of his own mind rather than fighting the takeover. Aided by two Avatars of the Star-Eyed Goddess, An’desha shields himself from Mornelithe and learns from the Adept’s memories. He realizes that Falconsbane/Ma’ar is evil and must be destroyed, even if he loses any chance to regain his own life in the process.

  When Darkwind, Elspeth, Skif, Nyara, Firesong, Treyvan, and Hydona try to Gate from k’Sheyna to k’Treva, their Gate spell is twisted and they end up in the Forest of Sorrows, brought there by the spirit of Elspeth and Firesong’s ancestor, Vanyel Ashkevron. He warns them that he must take down his ancient protections around Vaidemar. He wants them to warn the Queen and prepare for what will come. Elspeth and her party proceed to Haven, where she electrifies the assembled Court by abdicating her position as Heir in favor of her younger twin siblings. She prefers to concentrate her energies on her Mage-Gift—training it and using it in Valdemar’s protection, for she believes that Ancar will not wait long to attack once the Border protections are down. Her instincts are right—Ancar, under Mornelithe’s influence, decides to spend his troops in an all out effort to conquer Valdemar. His attacks roll right over Valdemar’s defenses, and Kero and Eispeth suggest a complete evacuation of the country in Ancar’s path while a small counterattack group slips in disguise into Hardorn, with instructions to destroy Ancar, his teacher Huida, and Mornelithe Falconsbane, even if it costs them their own lives.

  The Mage Wars

  trilogy

  Taking place a thousand years before Valdemar was founded, this trilogy is the history of Urtho, the Mage of Silence, and of his creations, the gryphons, and his people, the Kaled’a’in clan k’Leshya.

  1994

  The Black Gryphon

  Urtho, the Mage of Silence, is fighting for the lives of his people against the Mage Kiyamvir Ma’ar, a blood-path Adept who wants Urtho’s lands, power, and knowledge, and is willing to destroy everything in his path to get them. Every day brings new casualties and the pain of loss, though it seems, for the present at least, that though they give up a little more ground every day, defeat is not inevitable. Urtho’s delight is in creation, not destruction, so the war is a great sadness fo
r him, but it must be waged if everything he believes in is to survive. Urtho’s most beloved creations are the gryphons, and the brash and brave Skandranon Rashkae, the Black Gryphon, is the greatest of gryphons.

  Ma’ar’s forces continue to advance through Urtho’s territories, despite their army’s unceasing efforts to stop them. Even the great Skan himself can’t win the war single-handed. Though they have many victories to celebrate, the defeats keep piling up. Ma’ar’s forces are willing to stoop to tactics that would never even occur to the life-loving Urtho and his forces. Giving way to the inevitable, Urtho begins to plan the evacuation and eventual destruction of his Tower, not wanting any of his power or weapons to fall into Ma’ar’s hands where they would be subverted and abused. But before he can put his plan into action, a traitor in the midst of Urtho’s own troops brings slow death to Urtho and the Tower. Struggling to survive long enough to see his people saved, Urtho gives his most potent weapon to Skan, hoping his beloved gryphon can find one last chance to destroy Ma’ar before Ma’ar can bring pain and death to everyone they love. Skan makes it to the center of Ma’ar’s territory and, against all hope, brings down their enemy. Now Skan must survive to enjoy his victory and to lead the people Urtho fought so hard to save as they face a world shattered by the destruction ol the Mage of Silence.

  1995

  The White Gryphon

  Ten years after the joint destruction of the fortresses of Ma’ar and Urtho, the Kaled’a’in Clan k’Leshya has settled in the distant west, carving out a city in the wilderness from cliffs over looking the sea. Envoys of the Haighlei Empire far to the south arrive, claiming the land as theirs, and demand that the settlers leave or be removed. Knowing that their new home, the city of White Gryphon, could not be easily defeated, the leaders of the city offer alliance with King Shalaman in exchange for the territory. Skan and the kestra’chern Amberdrake, along with their families, return with the Haighlei envoys to negotiate for their right to stay.

  The Haighlei are a people bound by custom, forbidding change except when it is mandated by the king once every twenty years during an eclipse—an event which is soon approaching, and which could be used to make the alliance Skan hopes for official. The tentative agreement between White Gryphon and the Empire is jeopardized when a number of murders occur in the palace, each staged to appear as though either Amberdrake or Skandranon had committed them. With their lives and the well-being of their people at stake, Skan and Amberdrake must prove their innocence before the true killer strikes at the heart of the Haighlei Court, and destroys their hopes of building a permanent home in this distant land.

  1996

  The Silver Gryphon

  Skandranon’s son, Tadrith, and Amberdrake’s daughter, Silverblade, are partners in the Silver Gryphons, the policing force of White Gryphon. Their first assignment takes them to a far outpost, something both youngsters are excited about, perhaps because they feel smothered by the concerns and reputations of their famous parents when they are at home. They fly out, Tad guiding a carry-basket to hold Blade and their supplies, all made weightless by magic. The first few days of travel are uneventful, but on the third morning of their journey disaster strikes. All the magic drains out of the basket and, despite Tad’s best efforts, the two fall to earth, breaking Tad’s wing and Blade’s collarbone in the resulting crash. All of the magic has been drained from their equipment, as well, including their communication gear. They make camp where they landed, but soon realize that predators are watching them, and possibly even stalking them. Though injured and in pain, they are not about to give up. They pack up everything useful that they can carry and make a run for the cliffs of a nearby river, struggling to evade their pursuers.

  Though they can’t call for help, the absence of Tad and Blade has been noted. White Gryphon sends out search and rescue parties, and the rescuers soon realize that Tad and Blade must be lost in the area where all magic seems to have vanished. Their frantic parents join two of the rescue parties, and the group Skan and Drake are in soon finds the wrecked basket and begins to trail the youngsters. The unknown predators, however, locate the would-be rescuers, and Skan and Drake must struggle to stay alive long enough to save themselves and find their missing children. Fighting side-by-side, Tad, Blade, Skan, and Drake discover truths about their relationships that would have taken years to learn in civilized society. And before they are done, they teach the beasts who thought to trap them a deadly lesson.

  The Mage-Storms

  trilogy

  1994

  Storm Warning

  Emperor Charliss, ruler of the vast and powerful Eastern Empire, is choosing his Heir. To test his current favorite, Grand Duke Tremane, he places Tremane in command of a major opereration of the Imperial army, currently stalemated after its initial successes in the invasion of Hardorn. If Tremane succeeds in conquering Hardorn, he will be first in the line of succession in the Empire and will be trained to take over the Iron Throne upon Charliss’s death. If Tremane fails, his chief rival, the ruthless assassin Adept Baron Melles, will be named Heir. The situation is clear to Tremane—success will make him Emperor, but failure is a death sentence.

  Back in Valdemar, unaware of events in the far East, Firesong and An’desha now live together in an indoor Vale in Haven. But, though he knows that his life these days should be without care, An’desha is haunted by terrifying nightmares of something gone horribly wrong, and he fears that they are prophetic, warnings of dire events to come.

  Under the respective leadership of Queen Selenay and the Son of the Sun Solaris, Valdemar and Karse continue to strengthen their alliance, despite centuries of hereditary enmity between the two countries. Solaris has sent a diplomatic team to Valdemar—Sun-priest Ulrich and his secretary and Priest-in-training, Karal. Like An’desha, Karal feels lonely and out of place in Haven, so Queen’s Own Herald and Empath Talia introduces the two boys, beginning a fast friendship.

  In Hardorn, Grand Duke Tremane has consolidated his position and is about to improve upon it when a vast wave of mage energy rushes through, disrupting all of the army’s permanent magics. Although the Mage-Storm traveled from east to west, Tremane believes that it is an attack sent by Valdemar. He is already concerned by Valdemar’s actions, particularly by the newly-formed Alliance between Valdemar, Karse, the Shin’a’in, the Tayledras, and the Kaled’a’in. In a desperate act of retaliation, he sends an order to his agent in the Valdemaran court to kill as many of the foreign envoys as possible in a bid to destroy the Alliance.

  But the Valdemarans had nothing to do with the Mage-Storm. They only know that an assassin, most likely one from the Eastern Empire, has attacked them—and successfully. Karal’s master Ulrich is among the dead, as is the Shin’a’in ambassador. The Alliance remains firm, and Karal takes his master’s place in the Valdemaran Court. Investigations reveal that the Mage-Storms, which were predicted by An’desha’s dream, are an echo of the original Cataclysm resulting from the death of Urtho and Ma’ar, with the echo taking place in reverse, starting slowly and building over time.

  As the storms’ effects increase, all of Valdemar, from the Artificers and the Mages to the Heralds and the envoys from foreign lands, struggle together to find a way to shield the peoples of the Alliance, as well as to deal with the continued threat from the Eastern Empire, and from Tremane and his forces.

  1995

  Storm Rising

  The world of Velgarth is being battered by steadily increasing mage-storms, echoes from the Ancient Cataclysm that resulted from the deaths of Urtho and Ma’ar. Tremane and the Imperial forces in Hardorn are suffering terribly under their increasing onslaughts. Having heard nothing from the Emperor, Tremane must assume that Charliss has abandoned them in the face of the current disaster. It is left to him, then, to find a solution that will save his troops. After raiding an Imperial supply depot using forged Imperial Orders, Tremane has enough goods and gold coin for his men to survive the winter, though he has cut his last ties to the Empero
r to get it. Tremane withdraws his army from Hardorn’s frontiers to the town of Shonar, and when his men are all accounted for, he sets up a permanent encampment, driving his troops to prepare for the worst winter weather imaginable. By the time the icy storms close in on them, Tremane and his men have prepared well enough to survive.

  In Valdemar, the temporary shield they erected to absorb the worst of the storms is working for now, but a more permanent solution is desperately needed. Karal is convinced that the next step in defeating the mage-storms must involve the Imperials to be effective, and he and An’desha scry the Imperial camp, looking for someone they can approach on behalf of Valdemar.