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The Crown of Stars

"A gripping and enthralling fantasy epic." -- The Times (of London)

In the kingdom of Wendar, strange and dreadful portents sweep across the land: old ruins appear whole under the light of the full moon; the shades of dead elves hunt in the deep forest; dark spirits walk abroad in daylight; a saint appears to the faithful; hummings rise from the stonecircles, called crowns, that stand in ancient places of power. The Lost Ones -- elves known as the Aoi, who vanished from human sight centuries before -- speak through fire to those few who can hear them. Civil war between King Henry and his sister Sabella threatens the kingdom, and barbarians -- the inhuman Eika raiders who strike from the northern seas and the Quman horsemen, the "winged" riders, who raid from the east -- loot and burn farms and villages.

Into the midst of these troubles walk three young people: Sanglant, Liath, and Alain.

Sanglant is a prince, bastard son of King Henry. Born and bred to become captain of the elite cavalry -- the King's Dragons -- and to give his life to protect his father's kingdom, he cannot know the terrible fate that awaits him.

Liath is the child of sorcerers, trained as a mathematici, one who knows the secrets of the stars. But she and her father have been running for their lives for the past eight years, and soon that which hunts them is going to catch up.

Alain is a fosterling, seeking the truth of his parentage. Only when he accepts his destiny will he learn the truth.

Click on any bookcover thumbnail for more information. Links to maps below.

Crown of Stars

See Map #1 (Wendar / Varre)
Michael Gilbert

See Map #2 (Continent of Novaria)
Alis Rasmussen

"A Simple Act of Kindness"
Written for The Shimmering Door, Katharine Kerr, ed. See Short Fiction. Elliott says:
I'm posting this in full because it has now become a curiosity. Written when I was still working on King's Dragon (which was then titled Dragon's Heart), I thought this episode would be part of the third volume of the series, The Burning Stone. Not only was I wrong (if it were to have been put in one of the books, it would be in volume four, Child of Flame), but in the intervening time the story changed so radically that this is now an alternate history of the actual Crown of Stars story!

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