
Part of Series
When Shan was fifteen years old, dark soldiers came out of the west, like a cloud of evil boiling over the soft hills of his homeland. They commanded terrible beasts, which killed with hook claws like scythes and cold eyes that dripped icy fire. The soldiers wore helmets that looked like fiends, tusked and snarling and sneering. The terrible consequences of war have left the boy Shan wounded in body and mind by the invading army of Magravandias. He's taken from his devastated village by the magus Taropat, chosen by the master's mysterious impulse to become the wizard's pupil, and a weapon against the invading empire.
Author

Storm Constantine was a British science fiction and fantasy author, primarily known for her Wraeththu series. Since the late 1980s she wrote more than 20 novels, plus several non-fiction books. She is featured in the Goth Bible and is often included in discussions of alternative sexuality and gender in science fiction and fantasy; many of her novels include same-sex relationships or hermaphrodites or other twists of gender. Magic, mysticism and ancient legends (like the Grigori) also figure strongly in her works. In 2003 she launched Immanion Press, based out of Stafford, England. The publishing company publishes not only her own works but those of new writers, as well as well-known genre writers, mainly from the UK.