Officers, soldiers, and camp followers:
GALBERT, an army scout
TARNLEY, an army scout
CAPTAIN HUMBOLT, a captain in the army
MAJOR TARKIN, an army major sent by Steffan to spread lies in Pellanor
HESTER, a guard
SERGEANT DALBRIS, a sergeant serving on a prisoner detail
SERGEANT BERNIER, in charge of a prisoner detail
CAPTAIN ROTHWELL, a patrol captain
CAPTAIN BREMMER, a patrol captain
MELINDA, a camp follower serving as a whore
SCAVENGERS FOLLOWING THE FLAME ARMY
SKARN, also known as Skarn the Bold, leads a band of deserters and mercenaries scavenging the war torn lands for spoils. His only allegiance is to gold. His men wear a scavenged motley of red, green, and all shades of brown.
-his men:
CLEM, second in command after Skarn
DINK, mercenary
ROLAND, deserter of the Flame
HUBBLE, mercenary
DUSTER, mercenary
RADAGAR
Over five hundred years ago, fierce warriors from a distant desert kingdom followed the caravan route north and invaded Erdhe, carving out a vast new kingdom named Radagar. The proud conquerors maintained their desert culture, with the king and the royal houses taking many wives. The harems spawned an abundance of royal princes, all competing for the Cobra Throne. Treachery and poison became the tools of succession. Over time, the royal in-fighting caused the once great kingdom to dwindle in size and stature. Radagar is now known as a purveyor of mercenaries, poisons, and aphrodisiacs.
The symbol of Radagar is a red coiled cobra on a field of pea-green. Their seat of power is the capital city of Salmythra. The king of Radagar is known as the ruler of the Cobra Throne.
KING CYRUS, the king of Radagar, the ruler of the Cobra Throne, a descendent of the desert-born conquerors, a famed for his skills at wrestling
-his lords:
PRINCE RAZZUR, half brother to King Cyrus, a contender for the Cobra Throne, a proud descendent of the desert-born conquerors, leader of House Razzur, his symbol is a black scorpion a sky-blue field
GENERAL XANOS, general of Radagar’s mercenary army
-servants of the royal court:
MASTER SAL, a eunuch “poison taster”
-people of Salmythra:
OLD LATHAM, a merchant selling fresh ingredients for poisons and aphrodisiacs in the great market
RASHID, a bearer hired by the Priestess
NEFFER, a flute-playing snake-charmer boy, bought in the market by the Priestess
HAMID, seneschal to Prince Razzur
NAVARRE
The youngest kingdom of Erdhe, Navarre was founded less than four hundred years ago by a daring adventurer, Alaric Navarre, who rescued the youngest daughter of the king of Coronth from a band of sea pirates infesting the Orcnoth Islands. Gaining the king’s confidence, and his daughter’s hand in marriage, Alaric earned a freehold of land running along the Western Ocean where he later established his kingdom. His domain includes the Orcnoth Islands.
While defeating the nest of pirates, Alaric discovered a long-forgotten focus. The magic of the focus renders the royal house very fecund, enabling the queens to bear six to ten children in a single pregnancy. After using the magic, both the king and the queen become sterile. The focus is the secret strength of the royal house of Navarre, the bedrock for the succession to the throne. Alaric abandoned the convention of primogeniture, declaring that all of the tuplets have an equal chance to the throne. He instituted the practice of Wayfaring, a type of fostering where the heirs develop their greatest interests, striving to become excellent at a skill, a knowledge, or a trade, so that they can bring this knowledge back to Navarre and thus enrich the kingdom. After the Wayfaring, the King, together with the royal council, chooses the successor to the throne based on the talents, skills, and temperament that best fit the needs of the kingdom at the time. Navarre is well known for its uncommonly wise rulers…but with every great boon there is also a cost, the hidden focus brings with it the Curse of the Vowels.
The symbol of Navarre is a white osprey soaring on a checkered field of red and blue. The seat of their power is Castle Seamount, perched on a rocky outcrop on the edge of the Western Ocean. Navarre has always had close ties to the sea.
KING IVOR NAVARRE, the eighth ruler of the kingdom of Navarre -his siblings: PRINCE IRWIN, died of poison, believed to be a victim of the Curse of the Vowels
PRINCESS INGRID, fell from the rigging of a ship and died, believed to be a victim of the Curse of the Vowels
PRINCESS IRIS, accused of murdering her two siblings, exiled to the Orcnoth Islands, she murdered her guards and then disappeared
PRINCE ISADOR, Commander of the Army of Navarre, advisor to the king, nearly fell victim to the Curse of the Vowels
PRINCESS IGRAINE, Counselor to the king, court historian, tutor to the Royal Js
PRINCE IAN, Royal Bowyer, advisor to the king
PRINCESS IVY, Captain of a royal merchant vessel of Navarre
-his wife, QUEEN MEGAN, a princess of Tubor
-their children known as the Royal Js:
PRINCESS JEMMA, Wayfaring with the Queen of Lanverness to learn the way of multiply coins
PRINCE JUSTIN, Wayfaring to become a bard, he receives permission from the King and Council to travel to Coronth to try and overthrow the Pontifax, also known as the Dark Harper
PRINCESS JORDAN, Wayfaring with the Kiralynn monks to learn the art of war, felled by the treachery of the Mordant she is healed by the monk’s magic, sword sister to Kath of Castlegard
PRINCE JARED, Wayfaring with the Octagon Knights to learn the way of the sword
PRINCESS JULIANA, Wayfaring with Navarre’s merchant fleet to learn the way of the sea
PRINCE JAMES, Wayfaring in Tubor to learn to become a vintner
PRINCE JAYSON, Wayfaring in the Delta to learn the secrets of a new water wheel
his retainers:
MARY, Prince Ian’s wife
MASTER SIMMONS, the royal healer
THE KIRALYNN MONKS
Founded over two thousand years ago by a group of scholars, knights, and wizards, the Kiralynn Order has always presented an enigmatic face to the world, a face that is open yet closed. One hundred years before the start of the War of Wizards the monks withdrew from the southern kingdoms, retreating to their monastery hidden deep in the Southern Mountains. As if erased from the minds of men, the monastery’s location disappeared from the maps of Erdhe. The memory of the Kiralynn monks has slowly faded, becoming little more than legend and myth. Yet select rulers of the southern kingdoms still receive scrolls sealed with the symbol of the Order. History has proven that these scrolls contain an uncanny prescience. Kings ignore the advice of the Order at their own peril.
The symbol of the Kiralynn monks is a Seeing Eye in the palm of an Open Hand. Their seat of power is their mountain monastery. The motto of the Order is “Seek Knowledge, Protect Knowledge, Share Knowledge”.
THE GRAND MASTER, the leader of the Kiralynn Order, his/her identity is a closely guarded secret
-monks and initiates of the Order:
MASTER RIZEL, a Master of the Order
MASTER GARTH, a Master Healer of the Order
BRYCE, an initiate of the Order, he studied to take his vows to become a monk and a healer but was subsumed by the Mordant’s Awakening, becoming a prisoner in his own mind
MASTER AEROTH, an ambassador monk sent to the kingdoms of Erdhe
MASTER ZITH, a Master of the Order, accompanies Kath as one of her companions
RAFE, a sworn monk of the Order, he has worn the blue for five years
MASTER YARL, a master of the Order, an expert with a quarterstaff
MISTRESS ELLIS, a master of the Order
MASTER FINTAN, a master of the Order serving as a Wanderer, an emissary to the Rose Court
MISTRESS LENORE, a master of the Order
GILBERT, a monk of the Order serving as a hidden Wanderer in Pellanor
ASTER, a monk of the Order serving as a hidden Wanderer in Pellanor
MASTER NUMAR, a master of the Order serving as a hidden Wanderer in Pellanor, posing as an apothecary
-visitors to the monastery:
PRINCESS JORDAN, a princess of Navarre, sent to the monastery for her Wayfaring, she was felled by the treachery of the Mordant and healed by the magic of the monks
THE ZWARD
The Zward are sons and daughters of Kiralynn monks who choose to serve by the sword instead of the scroll. An ancient and secret order, they serve the will of the Grand Master. Their symbol is a small silver ring emblazoned with a fist holding an upright sword.
THADDEUS TOKHEART, also known as Thad, a captain of the Zward
DONAL, a sworn member of the Zward
BENJIN, a sworn member of the Zward
MARCUS, a sworn member of the Zward
THE ORACLE PRIESTESS
Hidden in depths of the Great Southern Swamps, the Isle of the Oracle is an ancient wellspring of Darkness, a place of power where the Dark Lord reaches through the Veil to touch his dedicates. The Isle is currently ruled by a Priestess endowed with special gifts from the Dark Lord. At times of great prophecy, the Dark Lord releases his priest or priestess into the kingdoms of Erdhe to participate in his great dark designs.
THE PRIESTESS, the ruler of the Isle of the Oracle, the priestess to the sacred well, wielder of the Eye of the Oracle. She rarely uses her true name, but often goes by the name of Lady Cereus, a name given to her by Prince Razzur. Beyond the Isle, she takes the phases of the moon as her symbol, gold on a field of purple.
-her servants and soldiers:
OTHAM, a baldheaded giant who serves as a guard, a seneschal, and a lover to the Priestess
HUGO, captain of the guards, a lover to the Priestess
LYDIA, dark-haired handmaiden to the Priestess
TARA, blonde-haired handmaiden to the Priestess
BRAXUS, a captain serving the Priestess, a lover to the Priestess
GENERAL TARMIN, a major of the Flame Army, sworn to the service of the Priestess and promoted to the general of her army, a lover to the Priestess
THE DEEP GREEN
The Deep Green is an ancient power reborn from the ashes of the War of Wizards. Rising from the ruins of a great city, the forest grows with frightening speed. Trees at the heart of the forest are giants, growing to more than thrice the height of normal trees, while the dense tangle of underbrush forms a nearly impenetrable barrier. The forest protects its own, a race of people with golden cat-eyes. Calling themselves the Children of the Green, the cat-eyed people live within the boundaries of the forest in a confederation of clans under the leadership of the Treespeaker.
Outside of the forest, the cat-eyed people are shunned as evil abominations, said to be born from the perverse mating of man with animals. The cat-eyed people are persecuted across the kingdoms of Erdhe, and often put to death by the ‘white-eyes’.
THE TREESPEAKER, as old as the forest, she is a seer, a witch, the embodiment
of the power of the Green. As the leader of the clans, she wears a cloak of snow-white swan feathers.
-her clan leaders:
CENRIC, leader of Clan Hemlock, he wears a cloak of peacock feathers
AGATHA, leader of Clan Aspen, she wears a cloak of blue jay feathers. She leads a faction that opposes dealings with the white-eyes
BRAN, leader of Clan Ash, he wears a cloak of raven feathers
CAMILA, leader of Clan Maple, she wears a cloak of orange kestrel feathers and is a member of the faction that opposes dealings with the white-eyes
DEREK, leader of Clan Redwood, he wears a cloak of red woodpecker feathers and is a member of the faction that opposes dealing with the white-eyes
CONRAD, leader of Clan Spruce, he wears a cloak of brown thrush feathers
LANA, leader of Clan Oak, she wears a cloak of golden finch feathers
-her people:
JORAH SILVENWOOD, a ranger of Clan Cedar, killed by fire
RONAH, a ranger of Clan Hemlock
JENKS, a patrol leader of Clan Hemlock
MARTYN, an attendant to the Treespeaker
ALWIN, a ranger of Clan Hemlock
Other books by Karen L Azinger
The Assassin’s Tear- Explore the medieval kingdoms of Erdhe, raid the tomb of the first emperor of China, and unravel the enigma of Dark Space in this collection of fantasy and science fiction tales from the author of The Silk & Steel Saga. The two signature stories, Prophecy’s Twist and The Assassin’s Tear, are set in the fantasy realm of Erdhe. Prophecy’s Twist discovers the dark deceit that started the War of Wizards, forever changing the kingdoms of Erdhe. The Assassin’s Tear follows the exploits of a petty thief whose ambition leads him to unravel the dark secret of the Mordant’s Citadel. The Emperor’s Shadow is an international thriller in the style of Indiana Jones, combining the power of superstition with archaeology in a desperate attempt to end World War Three. A Man’s World is a post-apocalyptic adventure set in Australia where coal miners discover all the rules have changed. Pieces of the Truth is a time travel story where a young physicist discovers a forgotten truth. In Snakes and Ladders, Lynn Gallant sets out to shatter the glass ceiling by taking a walk to the dark side of New Orleans. In The God Planet, universal dreams spark a religious frenzy, summoning humanoid kind to the riddle of Dark Space.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
KAREN L. AZINGER has always loved fantasy fiction, and always hoped that someday she could give back to the genre a little of the joy that reading has always given her. Ten years ago on a hike in the Columbia River Gorge she realized she had enough original ideas to finally write an epic fantasy. She started writing and never stopped. The Steel Queen is her first book, born from that hike in the gorge. Before writing, Karen spent over twenty years as an international business strategist, eventually becoming a vice-president for one of the world's largest natural resource companies. She's worked on developing the first gem-quality diamond mine in Canada's arctic, on coal seam gas power projects in Australia, and on petroleum projects around the world. Having lived in Australia for eight years she considers it to be her second home. She's also lived in Canada and spent a lot of time in the Canadian arctic. She lives with her husband in Portland Oregon, in a house perched on the edge of the forest. The first four books of The Silk & Steel Saga have been published and she is hard at work on the fifth and final book, The Battle Immortal. You can learn more at her website, www.karenlazinger.com or at her Facebook page for The Steel Queen.
The Front Cover artwork was done by the award-winning Australian artist, Greg Bridges. Greg’s artwork has appeared on the book covers of many well-known fantasy authors. His cover perfectly captures the seductive and poisonous nature of The Poison Priestess. To see more of his art or to contact Greg, visit his website at http://www.gregbridges.com/
The Maps and the Back Cover artwork was done by a graphic artist from Oregon, Peggy Lowe. Her illustration of the two maps helps to bring the kingdoms of Erdhe to life and the hand with the orb portrays the mystery and magic of moon weaving. Peggy can be contacted at her e-mail address, [email protected]
Look for The Battle Immortal, the fifth and final book in The Silk & Steel Saga.
Table of Contents
The Silk & Steel Saga
Copyright
ACKNOWEDGEMENTS
Prologue
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
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APPENDIX
Other books by Karen L Azinger
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
S&SS [04] The Poison Priestess Page 56