Part of Series
FROM THE AUTHORS OF NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERS WHEN DARKNESS FALLS AND THE PHOENIX TRANSFORMED AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER TO LIGHT A CANDLE The epic conclusion to the first War of the Endarkened From orphaned child to prophesied savior, Vieliessar Farcarinon is more than ready to take her rightful place as Elven Queen. While her bickering countrymen may not have crowned her yet, she has been anointed by the stars above and the dragon at her side. But the overwhelming attacks of the Endarkened have forced Elvenkind to abandon internal politics in favor of an unprecedented retreat. Runacarendalur Caerthalien is a thorn in the Queen’s side and should be her greatest enemy. A traitor to the Elvish empire, he has become the trusted general of once-subjugated creatures—a chaotic force of centaurs, merfolk, gryphons, minotaurs, and talking bears alike. These two strong-willed leaders have been at each other’s throats for years. Now forced into tentative co-existence due to the common threat of the Endarkened, how will they react when they finally realize they are soulmates—bound despite their will by unassailable magics that twine their lifelines into one? If either should die, the other will also fall. And without their two greatest leaders, the Children of Light are sure to drown amidst the never-ending waves of Endarkened attacks. The collaborative fantasy world of Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory features continent-spanning high adventure and epic battle. The Dragon Prophecy illuminates a time when long-lived Elves rule the Fortunate Lands. It is a time of dire prophecy, of battle and bloodshed, of great magics unlike any the Elvenkind have seen before. Deliverance of Dragons is the story of the end of one world and the beginning of the next. The Obsidian Mountain Trilogy
1 The Outstretched Shadow
2 To Light a Candle
3 When Darkness Falls
The Enduring Flame Trilogy
1 The Phoenix Unchained
2 The Phoenix Endangered
3 The Phoenix Transformed**
The Dragon Prophecy Trilogy**
1 Crown of Vengeance
2 Blade of Empire
3 Deliverance of Dragons
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Authors
Mercedes entered this world on June 24, 1950, in Chicago, had a normal childhood and graduated from Purdue University in 1972. During the late 70's she worked as an artist's model and then went into the computer programming field, ending up with American Airlines in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In addition to her fantasy writing, she has written lyrics for and recorded nearly fifty songs for Firebird Arts & Music, a small recording company specializing in science fiction folk music. "I'm a storyteller; that's what I see as 'my job'. My stories come out of my characters; how those characters would react to the given situation. Maybe that's why I get letters from readers as young as thirteen and as old as sixty-odd. One of the reasons I write song lyrics is because I see songs as a kind of 'story pill' — they reduce a story to the barest essentials or encapsulate a particular crucial moment in time. I frequently will write a lyric when I am attempting to get to the heart of a crucial scene; I find that when I have done so, the scene has become absolutely clear in my mind, and I can write exactly what I wanted to say. Another reason is because of the kind of novels I am writing: that is, fantasy, set in an other-world semi-medieval atmosphere. Music is very important to medieval peoples; bards are the chief newsbringers. When I write the 'folk music' of these peoples, I am enriching my whole world, whether I actually use the song in the text or not. "I began writing out of boredom; I continue out of addiction. I can't 'not' write, and as a result I have no social life! I began writing fantasy because I love it, but I try to construct my fantasy worlds with all the care of a 'high-tech' science fiction writer. I apply the principle of TANSTAAFL ['There ain't no such thing as free lunch', credited to Robert Heinlein) to magic, for instance; in my worlds, magic is paid for, and the cost to the magician is frequently a high one. I try to keep my world as solid and real as possible; people deal with stubborn pumps, bugs in the porridge, and love-lives that refuse to become untangled, right along with invading armies and evil magicians. And I try to make all of my characters, even the 'evil magicians,' something more than flat stereotypes. Even evil magicians get up in the night and look for cookies, sometimes. "I suppose that in everything I write I try to expound the creed I gave my character Diana Tregarde in Burning Water: "There's no such thing as 'one, true way'; the only answers worth having are the ones you find for yourself; leave the world better than you found it. Love, freedom, and the chance to do some good—they're the things worth living and dying for, and if you aren't willing to die for the things worth living for, you might as well turn in your membership in the human race." Also writes as Misty Lackey Author's website
