The Ships of Merior

And it came to pass as foretold by prophecy, the art of power over light and dark was channeled through two princes: and the fogs that had smothered Athera's skies were dispersed. But in defeat, the Mistwraith set its two royal captors at odds under a powerful curse of vengeance. Locked now in deadly enmity, the princes hold the fates of nations and the balance of the world's mystical powers entangled in the throes of their feud. Lysaer--Lord of Light--handsome, princely, charismatic, his heartfelt commitment to justice and fair rule has been turned toward destroying the Master of Shadow, an obsession that drives him to win allies and raise armies to shed blood for the cause of lasting peace. Arithon--Master of Shadow--bastard son of a pirate king and Lysaer's errant mother, trained by mages and gifted with a musical talent unequaled in ten centuries, must choose to use dark arts and cleverness against his half brother in self-defense and attack, or let innocents die in the breach. After a ruinous battle, recounted in "Curse of the Mistwraith, " Arithon, forced out of hiding, finds himself hounded by Lysaer and his mighty army. He must take to his natural element, the seas, to evade pursuit and steal the initiative. Maligning his efforts to stay free of entrapment are outside magical factions embroiled in his fate, and a drunken prophet sent to safeguard his life, but determined to wreck his cause by misadventure. "A great natural storyteller!" --L. Sprague De Camp "The world Janny Wurts writes about is wonderfully vivid!" --Stephen B. Donaldson "The gift of Janny Wurts is that of a true artist: intense, driven, passionate. This is powerful, grittyfantasy at its very best." --Jennifer Roberson "With each new book it becomes more and more obvious how important Janny Wurts is to contemporary fantasy." --Guy Gavriel Kay "Janny Wurts is a true bard whose voice soars among many wonders...She writes of mages and wizards, yet it is she who casts the words of enchantment in a captivating net of spells."--Dennis L. McKiernan