Book Description

Young Baytel, overshadowed by his imperious father, King Vokat, and by his increasingly demonic twin brother, Ravek, is being tutored by a Tree Faerie, Cyr. Fueled with idealistic courage and no knowledge of the land outside his father's realm, Baytel abandons his birthright and duties and begins a journey to fulfill the destiny he senses within himself. His quest leads him to become a Citadel Druid, skilled in the healing arts and self-reliance. He devotes himself to enabling peaceful coexistence among the many sects of humanity who inhabit the One Land. All this is in grave conflict with his father's and brother's plans of conquest. Through mysteries and battles that leave him severely at odds with his father's ideas of domination, Baytel's quest leads him to learn of his grandfather he had never met, his ancestry in a powerful sect, and a magic of the ages emerging within him. His adventures unite him with a group of men and women with particular individual skills and resourcefulness. To bring peace requires violent counteraction, brilliant quick thinking, steadfastness, a bit of humor, and magical happenings, all enveloped in their devotion to the quest and the ripening of friendships. Baytel's globe is breathtakingly real, in an era of castles, blacksmiths, pulsing forests and swamps, magic and spirits, self-sustaining villages, and diverse beings and creatures--a living earth with individuals of honor and evil. 1