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Not since Terry Goodkind unsheathed the Sword of Truth has
there been such an epic tale of heroism and magic that so
captures the imagination as this monumental new work by a
master storyteller. In The Fifth Sorceress, Robert Newcomb
conjures a time and place wrought with exquisite detail,
characters vividly drawn and deeply felt, and a history
rich in glory and horror, splendor and secrets. . . . "We gave them a chance once, long ago. . . . We offered to
share power equally, and in peace. But they refused and
chose war. With them it was all or nothing. Wizard against
Sorceress. Male against female. Light against dark." It is more than three centuries since the ravages of a
devastating war nearly tore apart the kingdom of Eutracia.
In its wake, those who masterminded the bloodshed—a quartet
of powerful, conquest-hungry Sorceresses—were sentenced to
exile, with return all but impossible and death all but
inevitable. Now a land of peace and plenty, protected and
guided by a council of immortal wizards, Eutracia is about
to crown a new king. And as the coronation approaches, the
spirit of celebration fills every heart. Except one. Prince Tristan is a reluctant monarch-to-be. Though born
with the "endowed" blood that will give him the power to
master magic, and destined by tradition to succeed his
father as ruler, he is a rebel soul. And when he discovers
the ancient, hidden caves where strange red waters flow—
possessed of their own mysterious magic—it only makes him
yearn all the more to escape his future of duty . . . and
succumb to the stirrings of enchantment within him. But more than tradition compels Tristan to ascend the
throne. The very existence of Eutracia depends upon it. For
after these long centuries of peace, dreadful omens have
begun to appear, heralding something too unspeakable to
ponder. And if indeed the old evil has returned, hungry to
wreak vengeance, Tristan's role in an ages-old prophecy
must be fulfilled—or the cost to his kingdom and his people
will be beyond imagination. It will be a battle like none ever known, against an enemy
whose thirst for blood and domination is depthless and
unyielding. And for Tristan, it will be the ultimate
challenge: facing an adversary whose greatest weapon is the
person he loves most—transformed into the instrument of his
annihilation . . . and the catalyst that will doom Eutracia
forever to darkness.
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