The Prince Deceiver (The Silk & Steel Saga Book 6)

by Karen Azinger

  MARLA, a serving wench at the Brass Rose tavern

  THE ROSE ARMY

  PRINCE STEWART, heir to the Rose Throne, General of the Rose Army, wields a blue steel sword

  -his officers and soldiers:

  LORD DANE, eldest son of the Duke of Kardiff, fostered to the Rose Court at a young age, a sword brother to Prince Stewart, second in command of the Rose Army, the symbol of the Dukes of Kardiff is a rearing griffin

  KELSO, serves as one of Prince Stewart’s commanders

  MATHIS, serves as one of Prince Stewart’s commanders

  MAJOR BATTON, a commander of the Rose Army

  OWEN, a soldier captured by the Flame, becomes a royal guard to Prince Stewart

  CROCKER, a scout captured by the Flame, becomes a royal guard to Prince Stewart

  CRISPIN, a soldier captured by the Flame, becomes a royal guard to Prince Stewart

  LINGARD

  Lingard is a fortress citadel, the second greatest fortress in Lanverness. The heraldic seat of the Rognalds, staunch supports and loyal lords serving Queen Liandra. Their symbol is an iron fist on a field of yellow-gold.

  BARON ROGNALD, a peer of the realm of Lanverness, a friend and staunch supporter of Queen Liandra, the ruler of Lingard, he is slain by treachery

  -his officers, soldiers, and servants:

  LORD RONALD ROGNALD, eldest son of Baron Rognald, commander of the south gate of Lingard, heir to Lingard

  CAPTAIN LEONARD VENGAR, captain of the guard for Lingard

  DASCHEL, seneschal to Baron Rognald

  KURT, a soldier sworn to the baron, friend of Vengar

  SANDRA, a whore in Lingard, friend of Vengar

  THE MORDANT

  With over a thousand years of life, the Mordant is the oldest of the harlequins. Imbued with Dark power, he is the god-king of the north, the ruler of the Dark Citadel. He wields the Staff of Pain, an iron scepter with a red crystal at the top.

  The Mordant's time-worn seat of power is Dark Citadel, a forbidding fortress-city in the far north. Perched atop three hundred foot cliffs that overlook the Western Ocean, it is built upon a huge monolithic boulder. The tiered city has nine layers spiraling upward around the central stone monolith. Each layer holds a distinct class of people, with the poorest at the bottom and the palace of the Mordant at the summit. The stone monolith contains steps leading to a cave that underlies the Dark Citadel, an ancient sanctum to the Dark God, a source of Dark power.

  The Mordant’s domain also includes the steppes, a vast sea of grass that serves as a desolate greensward for the Dark Citadel, a barren killing field that becomes the anvil of winter. The northern steppes are divided from the south by a dark wall studded with ten Gargoyle Gates.

  The domain also includes the Pit, a massive crater with near vertical glass-sheer walls. Slaves live within the Pit, toiling within the Mordant’s iron mines. Female slaves are forced to serve as whores for the Mordant’s army. Residual magic in the Pit results in the massive abnormalities of newborns. Two new sub-races have been born and bred in the Pit; the Taals, an ogre-like sub-race with massive strength and limited intellect, and the Duegar, also called the Hounds of the Mordant, dwarves with the ability to scent magic.

  The symbol of the Dark Citadel is a gold pentacle emblazoned on a field of black. The Darkflamme is the Mordant’s personal battle banner, twelve feet of black silk ending in two silken tails of bright red flecked with gold, creating the illusion of darkness on fire

  SERVANTS OF THE MORDANT

  BISHOP BORGAN, a bishop of the Pentacle serving as the seneschal to the Mordant, a master forger

  MAJOR TARQ, commander of the Eighth Fist, a cadre of elite guards from the Dark Citadel, sent south to serve the Mordant

  DOLF, a master assassin of the Ninth Rank, posing as a manservant to the Mordant

  ROLO, a senior snargon to the duegars

  FREDERINKO, formerly a chained servant of UR, the eunuch was kidnapped by MerChanters and then turned to Darkness by the Mordant, he serves as an emissary to the Rose Court

  DOMINIC, an assassin disguised as a jester, gifted to Queen Liandra by Frederinko

  CASTOR, a duegar disguised as a jester, gifted to Queen Liandra by Frederinko

  TOKAR, a snargon of the duegars

  SORKON, a snargon of the duegars, Tokar's brother

  KRUGAR, an assassin

  CLAVIS, an assassin

  BARRY, an assassin

  GRON, a torturer

  HOLDOR, a master assassin of the Ninth Rank

  CAPTAIN GARVER, a guard captain from the Dark Citadel sent south to serve the Mordant

  CORLIN, a master assassin of the Ninth Rank

  CRIMSON, a concubine from the Dark Citadel

  AMBER, a concubine from the Dark Citadel

  SABLE, a concubine from the Dark Citadel

  ARMY OF THE PENTACLE

  GENERAL HAITH- High General of the Army of the Pentacle, witness to the beheading of the Mordant in his prior life

  GENERAL MARRIS- General of the Army of the Pentacle

  TRANTOR, a snargon of the duegars, serves General Haith as his personal snargon

  MAJOR RUGGAR, military aide to General Haith

  COMMANDER CRULL, second to General Marris

  CAPTAIN JOHNSON, aid to General Marris

  COMMANDER ANDRIUS, second to Commander Crull

  MAJOR BARKER, serves under General Marris

  COMMANDER TROVIS, serves under General Haith

  CENTURIAN HASTINGS

  VOLTRAN, chief handler of the gorehounds

  BRUTHUS, Master Torturer

  THE ORACLE PRIESTESS

  The Priestess is the ruler of the Isle of the Oracle, the guardian of the sacred well, the 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 of Coronth. Beyond the Oracle Isle, she takes the phases of the moon as her symbol, gold on a field of purple. After the collapse of the Flame religion, she claims the southwest corner of Coronth for her queendom, establishing a capital in the ancient city of Rhune. She assumes the name of Queen Selene, the Lady of the Moon. Silverspire is her castle.

  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. At times of great prophecy, the Dark Lord releases his priest or priestess into the kingdoms of Erdhe to participate in the Great Dark Dance.

  -her servants and soldiers:

  GENERAL TARMIN, a major of the Flame Army, sworn to the service of the Priestess and promoted to the general of her army, he commands her forces in Rhune, a lover to the Priestess

  LORD STEFFAN, formerly the Lord Raven of Coronth, goes by the title of the Lord of Darkmoor, a dedicate to the Dark Lord, lover to the Priestess

  BRAXUS, a lover to the Priestess, serves as her seneschal, also a skilled sword

  HUGO, captain of the guards, a lover to the Priestess

  LYDIA, dark-haired handmaiden to the Priestess

  TARA, blonde-haired handmaiden to the Priestess

  LORD STEFFAN, formerly known as Lord Steffan Raven of Coronth, the true power behind the Flame War, a dedicate of the Dark Lord with the power of dice. After the defeat of his army at Pellanor he travels to Rhune to reunite with the Priestess. Once again he becomes her lover and ally, scheming with the Priestess to regain a position of power in Erdhe.

  -his servants and soldiers:

  BISHOP TILDEN, a former Bishop of the Flame, a refugee from the war, he leads a band of solders turned mercenaries, he secretly takes serves with Lord Steffan

  CAPTAIN DONKLIN, a former captain of the 4th Brigade of the Flame Army, a veteran of Lingard and Pellanor, a leader of Bishop Tilden's band of mercenaries

  CAPTAIN MARKS, a former captain of the Flame Army

  TANDON, a former soldier of the Flame, expert with the halberd

  SCOBE, a former soldier of the Flame
r />   SCANLON, a former soldier of the Flame

  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, murdered at the poison feast

  PRINCESS IGRAINE, Counselor to the king, court historian, tutor to the Royal Js, murdered at the poison feast

  PRINCE IAN, Royal Bowyer, advisor to the king, murdered at the poison feast

  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 multiplying coins

  PRINCE JUSTIN, Sent 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, Sent wayfaring with the Kiralynn monks to learn the art of war, she is felled by the treachery of the Mordant. Healed by the monk’s magic, she gains visions of prophecy and returns to Navarre. She is the sword sister to Kath of Castlegard

  PRINCE JARED, Sent wayfaring with the Octagon Knights to learn the way of the sword, he is murdered by loyalists to the Flame

  PRINCESS JULIANA, Wayfaring with Navarre’s merchant fleet to learn the way of the sea, merchant captain of the Sea Sprite

  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 wheels

  his retainers:

  MARY, Prince Ian’s wife, murdered at the poison feast

  GARTH, Princess Ivy’s husband

  SIR LEON, an older knight, serves the queen on market days

  MATILDA, a wise woman, an herbalist, a midwife, and a fortuneteller, a friend to Queen Megan

  MASTER SIMMONS, the royal healer

  CREW OF THE SEA SPRITE

  JULIANA, Princess of Navarre, a Royal J, captain of the Sea Sprite

  MARCUS, First Mate

  SOOTHBY, Second Mate

  WREN, lookout

  JANGO, a sailor

  THE ARMY OF NAVARRE

  MAJOR COLSON, veteran major of the Army of Navarre

  RAFE, a monk of the Kiralynn Order, a friend and advisor to Princess Jordan

  CAPTAIN VARNICK, captain of the pike men

  CAPTAIN CYRIL, captain of the archers

  CASTLEGARD

  Three hundred years after the War of Wizards decimated the kingdoms of Erdhe, a group of knights banded together to protect the southern kingdoms from the ravages of the north. They claimed Castlegard, the great mage-stone castle left empty after the War of Wizards, as the seat of their power. Adopting the shape of the great castle as their symbol, they became known as the Octagon Knights.

  To bolster their cause, the knights were ceded land running along the length of the Dragon Spine Mountains. Stretching from Castlegard all the way to the Western Ocean, this land became known as the Domain. A series of castles, keeps, and walls were built along the Dragon Spines, allowing the knights to control the mountain passes and deny access to the southern kingdoms. The Domain also includes the only iron ore mine in all of Erdhe to yield blue ore, the rare ore required to forge the knights’ fabled blue steel swords.

  As a sworn brotherhood of elite knights, the candidates forsake their lineage and their past when they win their maroon cloaks. Their symbol is a maroon octagon emblazoned on a silver shield.

  KING URSUS ANVRIL, King of Castlegard and the Knights of the Octagon, Lord of the Domain, bearer of a great blue sword named Honor’s Edge.

  -his wife, QUEEN PHYLA, died giving birth to their only daughter

  -their children:

  PRINCE ULRICH, First-born son of the king, a sworn knight of the maroon, former commander of the wall at Raven Pass, bearer of a great blue sword named Mordbane, slain at Raven Pass

  PRINCE GRIFFIN, Second-born son of the king, a sworn knight of the maroon, former commander of Dymtower, murdered at Raven Pass

  PRINCE GODFREY, Third-born son of the king, a sworn knight of the maroon, former commander of Shieldhold, murdered at Raven Pass

  PRINCE TRISTAN, Fourth-born son of the king, a sworn knight of the maroon, slain while leading a patrol into the steppes

  PRINCE LIONEL, Fifth-born son of the king, a sworn knight of the maroon, former commander of Cragnoth Keep, murdered at Cragnoth Keep

  PRINCESS KATHERINE, Sixth child of the king, also known as the Imp or Little Sister or Kath. As a female, the Octagon symbol of Castlegard is forbidden to her. Instead she uses the Anvril’s ancient heraldic symbol of a red hawk attacking with talons outstretched on a field of white. The wielder of the crystal dagger, Kath travels into the far north with a small band of companions, seeking to slay the Mordant. After being tested in a trial by combat, Kath is hailed as the Svala, the war leader of the Painted People.

  KATH’S COMPANIONS

  DUNCAN TRELOCH - a master archer with ties to the Deep Green and Navarre

  SIR BLAINE - a knight of the Octagon who wields a blue steel great sword named Stonecutter by the Painted People

  SIR TYRONE- a veteran knight of the Octagon with skin the color of ebony, often referred to as the ‘black knight’, a hero slain at the battle of Cragnoth Keep

  ZITH - a master monk of the Kiralynn Order, father of Bryce, loses his left forearm to the gorehounds

  DANYA - a young woman who sought sanctuary in the Kiralynn Monastery with her mountain wolf, BRYX, she is called a ‘Beastmaster’ by the monks and a ‘Beastspeaker’ by the Painted People. She is locked in a healing coma after expending her magic to help take the Dark Citadel.

  ARMY OF THE OCTAGON KNIGHTS

  SIR OSBOURNE, The Knight Marshal of the Octagon, right hand of the King, a one-eyed man with a scar-crossed face, he wields a saber as his weapon of first choic
e, but then takes up Sir Tyrone’s great sword from the signal tower of Cragnoth Keep.

  SIR LOTHAR, knight-captain of the Salt Tower, wields a battleaxe, close friend to the knight marshal

  SIR ABRAX, knight of the maroon, champion of the sword, guard to King Ursus, he wields a blue steel sword named Protector, slain

  SIR RANNOCK, knight of the maroon, champion of the morning star

  SIR BLAZE, knight of the maroon, champion of the mace

  SIR BORIS, knight-captain of Holdfast Keep, slain

  SIR VARLIN, knight-captain of Dymntower

  SIR KRISMIR, knight-captain of Shieldhold

  SIR KILGAR, knight-captain of Cragnoth Keep, wounded

  SIR DALT, knight-captain of Ice Tower, slain

  SIR GRAVIS, knight-captain of Sword Keep

  SIR ODIS, knight of the maroon, champion of the lance, slain

  SIR ADLEMAR, knight of the maroon, champion of the claymore, wields a blue steel claymore named Stalwart

  SIR TRASK, knight of the maroon, champion of the battleaxe, assigned to Cragnoth Keep as a punishment posting, slain at the battle of Cragnoth Keep

  SIR TYRONE, knight of the maroon with skin the color of ebony, often referred to as the ‘black knight’, a companion to Princess Katherine, he was slain at the battle of Cragnoth Keep

  SIR RAYMOND, branded as an unmade-knight of the Octagon, exiled from the Domain of Castlegard on penalty of death, sworn to serve the Mordant, slain

  SIR BROCK, wounded knight

  SIR KEIFER, wounded knight

  SIR ZAKERY, maroon knight

  SIR TRADON, maroon knight