"This is a wonderful fantasy adventure!"
Rhan, a Da'liesh sorcerer, and his friend, Taoe, a
Warrior, are on their way home when they hear a woman's
screams. They go to investigate and find Rhan's brother,
Etan, the Home Elder of their village of Waterside, raping
a girl. They are raping Ahlisha, a Tangmere child of
their
village. Rhan flies into a rage and beats his brother
senseless. Taoe holds Etan while Rhan uses his sword to
kill him. Now, they are before the Tribunal of the Council of
Elders. Fiona, the eldest, hands down the judgment. She
orders that due to the extenuating circumstances, they
will
each serve one year in separate mines. Because Rhan is
Da'liesh, Fiona further orders that his left arm be tied
behind his back until his time is up, so that he cannot
use
his powers. Just before Rhan's time is up in the mines, he meets
another prisoner, Vero. Vero tells Rhan that he is a
thief. The two of them strike up a friendship. Rhan has
been having strange dreams recently. When they are
released, they head to the nearest village. When they get
there, they find out that there have been strange goings-
on
in Ourshare. The Daha'et have come to Dlrow. They have
mercenaries and dragons on their side. The leader of the
Daha'et is Orn. They have made a shambles out of
Ourshare. It seems that they have the Wakhanee prisoner
and have ended their circles. The seasons have become
totally screwed up. The sun isn't even in it's proper
position anymore. Rhan manages to get a crystal and traps
the dream that he is having. He sees himself, Vero, Taoe,
Ahlisha, a Kesh, a woman and a dog in the dream and knows
that somehow they are to save Ourshare and the
Wakhanee. Now the journey begins as Rhan and Vero travel to meet
their companions and begin their battle against the
Daha'et. Rhan knows that there is something that Vero
isn't telling him and little by little, Vero's secrets
come
out. Rhan is a wounded man. His pregnant wife died by her
own hand. The only problem is, when his wife became
pregnant, Rhan was out making money using his sorcerer's
skills. He knows that he was not the father of the
child.
He also learned that his brother raped his wife. Right
then and there, he vowed to never love again. Ahlisha has
always had dreams of becoming a bard. She has a beautiful
voice and would make a wonderful bard. The only problem
is, she was raped and the bards have to take a vow of
celibacy. Ahlisha's parents tell her that she is ruined
and will not allow her to go to the bard school. Ahlisha
is in love with Rhan. When he killed his brother on her
account, she also made a vow. She vowed that she would do
whatever was necessary to make Rhan's name a famous one.
She knows that Rhan must heal before he will be able to
return her love. All the characters in this story were
very well-rounded and believable. My favorite character
was Lka, the Kesh. He was the first to call Rhan
Thoughtmaster and Ahlisha the Conduit. They keep the Kesh
in cages, but let them out. The Kesh sing and talk and it
is considered good luck to have one in the home. This is a wonderful fantasy adventure. This story has
a
little bit of everything in it. The Daha'et came from
another planet in flying machines. The Daha'et's planet,
Thamos, is much more advanced that Dlrow. This fantasy
has
it all, betrayal, overcoming impossible odds, death,
disaster and friendship and love. I love all the
different
races in this story and how they all interact with each
other, from Soulstealer to the Genosh they are all
wonderfully portrayed in this story. This is a definite
must read for all lovers of fantasy Reviewed by Chere Gruver Copyright August 2001
Reviewed by Chere Gruver
Posted November 12, 2006
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