Kirjahaku

The desert was a place of great beauty, especially on this, a night with a full moon. It was, however, a terrible beauty, because of its remote location, the bitter cold and the wind that never seemed to end, and the acute lack of water. It was, in fact, an extremely dangerous place. But the desert was not an evil place. It was rather, like the high mountains and deep ocean, just indifferent to the passage of men. It was a timeless thing that could be learned from, and which-with that learning-could be safety negotiated and lived in. But there was evil about on this night, and it was a terrible evil that came as the companion of men. The men who came to the desert tonight were men of the worst irk and the worst evil. They were slavers, and they cared not at all about their fellow humans. Anyone who was not of their group was of no worth, and could thus be used, victimized, and disposed of as needed, because they were nothing but mere property. ........................... Akiko is a tiny Moon Elf long thought to be of no worth because of her blue hair, blue eyes, and blue tartans. But she is now the Endunnlin, a warrior with secret powers who is often called upon to negotiate treaties and resolve conflicts without the use of violence. And it is now she, as the Endunnlin, who must determine a way to stop the practice of slavery at its source, the great silver city of Treesla, which is located on an island far out in the Aregeon Ocean, far from any location from where a military operation can be launched. She has the help of the dragons and her friends, Micah and Arizair, but the city is a large fortress, with many high walls and ramparts, and an Elite who rule with total authority and who have no concern for the humans and elves who they use so ruthlessly for their own profit, entertainment, and labor. It is not a place that can be taken without a serious investment in time, money, and lives. Can Akiko, the tiny Moon Elf, find a way to overthrow the Elite and end the suffering of slavery without paying the price of seeing her friends die wasted in a futile battle to conquer the city?

All three ships then moved farther from the great massif, and started sailing down the large mountain valley. The Cloud Wanderer was above the Cloud Dancer and off to port, and the Dawn Sprite was just in front of that ship.The dawn was brightening into a clear, blue sky, and everyone was enthralled by the view of the spectacular alpine scenery. But then one of the crew shouted, "What's that?" This cry was immediately followed by, "Ship ahoy," and then by "Two ships ahoy." Several crewmen pointed to the starboard and the line of mountains to the southwest, and everyone stared in that direction. There were two sky ships approaching. Both were black with black sails, fully extended and turned to the side because of the contrary wind, and they were hard to see because of the mountain wall behind them. It was Captain Kapatric who first voiced the fact that they might be dangerous. The two ships were below and in front of three Hualalai ships, but were climbing and approaching fast. They all watched as the first of the two black ships approached the Dawn Sprite and the Cloud Wanderer. Arrows flew from the marauders as the four ships closed, and there were cries of disbelief, alarm, and anguish from the people on the Cloud Dancer. Arwen's were the loudest, as she repeatedly shouted, "My father is on that ship They cannot attack the King " The Dawn Sprite had ducked under the larger pirate ship and was now sailing downward and to the southwest-which seemed to be the direction the wind was pushing all of the combatants. The Cloud Wanderer had not been so lucky, as that same wind seemed to be moving the vessel directly at its attacker. That ship continued to shoot arrows, and now everyone could see that many of these contained the bright color of fire. The Cloud Wanderer now rolled onto its port side, and began sliding toward the ground. They all watched in horror as it fell several hundred feet, in a slow spiral motion, while the flames engulfed more of the ship. It crashed into a snowfield with what could only be called a big splat, as snow flew everywhere. It sat there for perhaps two seconds, and then the area where it had hit slipped and became a small avalanche that flowed down toward a narrow valley. Then the ship and the snow it was riding on dropped into the valley. Then the ship and the snow it was riding on dropped over a cliff and disappeared from sight, and its resting place was marked by a rising column of dark smoke.

Eric Sojonson is a Lesser Ambassador who travels by ship to the land of Honakei, a fantastic country that has long been off-limits to foreigners. Now, as one of the few people invited to explore this wonderful land, he first visits the royal winter playground at Lake Tajkamenta, then great palace at Korosan, and then begins a journey south through the great agricultural province of Utila. Beyond lies the province of Quagmire, so named because it is nothing but a great swamp, and south of that is another land of farming, Makani. All seems perfect in this beautiful land of green and flowers-the people are polite and most respectful, and there seems to be no threat of any kind. But then the group hears word of a Swamp Devil, a woman who is either very young or very old, and who is a murderer who comes at night and rescues young girls who have been sold to brothels. And there is also hints that things are not perfect between the king and the queen. She has three sons and a daughter (are they really the children of the king?) and seems to lust for power, and he is old and sickly and may not have long to live. And there are whispers of another princess, one who disappeared from the castle three years previously, and who was a product of the king's first marriage. She was loved by the citizenry and was very popular. What happened to her? There had to have been foul play. Where the Fendaari responsible? These are a group who want to murder all the persons they cannot convert to their fantastical religion. Was someone else responsible? Was the queen and her children responsible? No one has any answers. There is then a mutiny in the Great Swamp when the ambassadors must cross a wide creek with no bridge. No one will continue south, and only Eric volunteers. However, none of the party's marines or Samhise, the special warriors hired to protect the group, offer to travel south with him. Only one man says that he will accompany Eric, and this man is an improvised Samhise with old, torn, smelly pants with one leg shorter than another, an ancient hat that has been much abused, a coat that is too big for him, and a sword that appears to be something discarded by its previous owner. Is this person someone with whom Eric can truly trust with his life?

The battle for Orrins Fort is a fairly easy endeavor; not one shot is fired and only Navee Ordor bloodies a blade. Taking this fort gives the Jarl Hawkins-an ex-geographer from the planet Earth and an ex-partisan from the planet Jubal, who is marooned on the planet Vanir-a warm base from which to help his friend, Will James, the King of Vanir, fight the invading Glassey armies. This is completed in blitzkrieg fashion, and, Jarl; his wife, Kiska; the great wizard, Kvasir; and the star reporter for Jarl's newspaper, Janis, began to search for any advanced technology left by the original colonists of the planet. Their quest is interrupted by the arrival of the Space Empire, and now Jarl-with the help of his friends-travels into space, where he fights to save one of the great, golden colonization ships and a supercomputer named Sam. Jarl learns the secret of the smoky quartz crystals, and he struggles to prevent the subjugation of the beautiful planet he has come to love by a brutal and all-powerful empire.

Jarl Hawkins is a modern spaceman marooned on the planet Vanir-a backward world with sorcerers, black-powder weapons, nomad raiders, and church seeking to become all powerful. He has lost track of his friend, the great wizard Kvasir Haroldson, and is desperate to find another wizard who can help him get off Vanir and back to his home world. He instead discovers a witch, Kiska, who is one of the feared northern nomads, and who has been banished to the mountains for practicing her magical craft. Jarl befriends her, and together they search the Province of Cimarron, the Sabre Mountains, the secret Ghost Raider city of Jorvik, and the magical city of Vor for some word of Kvasir. But, while they journey throughout Vanir, the King dies and Jarl's friend Will James is made the new king. Vanir is attacked from two directions, and Jarl and Kiska must return to the frontier Province of Kettlewand to help Will James save his nation.

The lone survivor of a battle in space, Jarl Hawkins fights for survival as his dying spaceship drifts out of control. But there is nothing he can do and his own death is certain. But his rescue comes in the form of an old wizard named Kvasir, who offers Jarl his chance at a new life on Vanir, a planet with black-powder weapons, wild nomads who roam the Ghost Plains, wizards and witches who use magic, and a church seeking to be all powerful. Separated from Kvasir, Jarl fights in a battle he does not fully understand, patrols with the Kettlewand Rangers, witnesses the brutal murder of a Ghost Raider, and travels to Tyr, the capital city, to locate Kvasir or another wizard. Once there, he is imprisoned for as a sorcerer and his modern weapons are taken from him. He encounters a samurai-like warrior, who becomes a friend and protector while in prison. After a pardon from the King himself, Jarl returns to Tyr and forms a printing company, and then commences on a most dangerous endeavor, the printing of a translated Vanir bible. This infuriates the Church leaders, and is only with the King's protection that he and his printing company can survive. But Kvasir is still missing, and without the help of the old wizard, Jarl is powerless to make his way back into space.

Abigail is a person with a secret, and this is that she is of Aouli royalty, and-as such-will be forced to marry a man she cannot tolerate, the thin, deformed Prince Ovee'or, who is a member of the Wettong dynasty, the family who has occupied the Kingdom of Pentara through deception and evil magic. And to insure her compliance, she cannot flee the castle and escape this nightmare, because she must take the evil drug Liceen, a concoction that the Wettong manufacture to keep each Aoili woman under their absolute control. And now, the Wettong have discovered that Abigail has been sneaking out of the castle and has covertly become a D'lurian, or Cloud Dancer, one of the few individuals who fly the small, one-person sky ships around the Kingdom of Pentara, delivering messages and small packages. This is not to be allowed, and Gythiwen-the Prince's sister and an evil sorceress-has placed a spell on Abigail that has turned her from a young, 17-year-old woman into an old, 70-year-old woman. And worse, Gythiwen has placed a second spell on Abigail, so she can no one of her dire situation.

This is the story of Akiko, a tiny Moon Elf of the Assassin Guild, who is one of five sent to kill the King and Princes of the Kingdom of Nivava. Akiko is a singularly bad assassin, and ends up saving the Prince and the Princess. Akiko is captured, and taken as a prisoner to the Kingdom of Adhara. Abandoned by the Guild, an outcast marked by blue eyes and tartans, and bound to a wagon wheel at night, she has not a friend in the world. Or does she? The wizard accompanying the group declares that she does have friends-strange friends that are unknown to her. And what of the astonishing tales the wizard tells-of the Endunnlin, secret, solitary warriors who fight the elves? And who is Micah, a man they encounter along the road? Is he a wizard? Was he waiting for them? Does he mean to harm the Prince and the Princess? Is he an outrider for the dark armies of elves and men who are gathering in the east? And what of the dragons? Are they friend or foe, and do they even exist?