Sword of Darkness (27 page)

In a world of magic and betrayal, one king rose to unite
a land divided and to bring unto his people a time of unprecedented peace. A time when might no longer made right. When one man with a dream created a world of chivalry and honor.

Guided by his Merlin, this man’s destiny was to be the Pendragon—High King of Power. But Arthur was a man who had many enemies, and none of them greater than his own sister, Morgen. Queen of the fey, she was ruled by her own jealousies and by her desire to rule as Pendragon in her brother’s stead.

It is a story that has been told for centuries. The rise and fall of the great King Arthur, the betrayal that led to the destruction of the Round Table.

But what happened the day after the battle of Camlann? Arthur is mortally wounded and taken to the isle of Avalon. The sacred objects of Camelot that gave him his power have been scattered to protect them from evil. The Round Table is frac
tured. The good guys have retreated to Avalon to serve their fallen king and the surviving Penmerlin, who came forward after Arthur’s Merlin mysteriously vanished.

Camelot has now fallen into the hands of Morgen and her comrades. No longer the place of peace and prosperity, it is now the land of the unholy. Demons, mandrakes, and darklings make up the brotherhood of the new table, and another Pendragon has stepped forward to take Arthur’s place.

Once human, he is now something else entirely. A demon with one single mission: to reunite the Round Table and to claim the sacred objects. With those under his control, there will be nothing to stop him from making the world into whatever he chooses.

The only hope mankind has is those who still remain from Arthur’s company. No longer the knights of the Round Table, they are now the Lords of Avalon. And they will do whatever is necessary to stop the Pendragon from succeeding.

The line between good and evil has become blurred. It is a realm of chaos and of champions. Of wizards and warriors who struggle to right the balance that was upset when one man put his trust into the wrong person.

Welcome to a realm that exists out of time. Welcome to a world where nothing is ever as it seems. It’s a battle that ranges from the Dark Age moors of Arthur well into the future, where the one true king and Mordred may one day fight again.

Theirs is a world without boundary. A place without borders. But in this power struggle, there can only be one winner…

And winning has never been more fun.

These were the sacred objects that the Penmerlin
Emrys, entrusted to Arthur Pendragon so that he could rule the land peacefully without contestation. But once Camelot fell to evil and the king vanished, the new Penmerlin entrusted the sacred objects into the hands of their Waremerlins. They were scattered and hidden in the realm of man and of fey so that they would never fall into the hands of evil.

It is now a race to reclaim and reunite the lost objects.

• 1.
  Excalibur
  Sword created by the fey for good. The one who wields it cannot be killed, nor can he bleed so long as he holds the scabbard that sheaths it.
  
• 2.
  Hamper of Garanhir
  Created in order to feed the Pendragon’s army while at war. Put in food for one, and out will appear food for one hundred.
  
• 3.
  Horn of Bran
  Given as a companion for the hamper, this horn is a never–ending cup that will provide wine and water for any to drink from it.
  
• 4.
  Saddle of Morrigan
  A gift to the Penmerlin from the goddess Morrigan, this will enable a person to go instantly wherever he desires. It was created so that the Pendragon would be able to oversee his kingdom with ease. No distance or time is too great. It can move a person from one continent to another or from one time period to another.
  
• 5.
  Halter of Epona
  Given by the goddess Epona, the halter, if hung on a bedpost at night, will grant the one who possesses it whatever horse he desires in the morning.
  
• 6.
  Loom of Caswallan
  A gift from the war god. Any cloth produced from this loom will be stronger than any armor forged by a mortal’s hand. No mortal weapon will ever be able to penetrate the cloth.
  
• 7.
  Round Table
  Table of power that was created by the Penmerlin. When all people are seated and the objects are in place, it is the ulti
  mate in power. Whoever rules the table rules the earth.
  
• 8.
  Stone of Taranis
  A gift from the god of thunder. Should a knight sharpen his sword with this stone, it will coat the blade with a poison so potent that even a tiny scratch from the blade will bring instant death.
  
• 9.
  Mantle of Arthur
  A gift from the Penmerlin, this will enable the wearer to become invisible to everyone around him.
  
• 10.
  Orb of Sirona
  Created by the goddess of astronomy, this will enable the person who holds it in his hand to see clearly on even the darkest night.
  
• 11.
  Shield of Dagda
  Whoever holds the shield of Dagda will be possessed of superhuman strength, and so long as the shield is held in place, he cannot be wounded.
  
• 12.
  Caliburn
  A sword of the fey, this is the evil sword that balances out Excalibur. It is said that this one sword carries even more power and that it can destroy the other sacred objects.
  
• 13.
  Holy Grail
  No one is quite sure what it is or where it came from. It is the greatest object of all for it can bring the dead back to life.
  

Adoni
—a beautiful race of elflike creatures. They are tall and slender and capable of complete cruelty.

Grayling
—as ugly as the Adoni are beautiful, they are essentially servants in Camelot.

Mandrake
—a race of beings who have the ability to become dragons or human. They have magical abilities, but are currently enslaved as a race to Morgen.

Merlin
—magical advisor.

Miren
—a magical being who can sing a song so beautiful that it will kill whoever hears it.

Mods
—minions of death. Interesting creatures who will be around in many future tales.

Pendragon
—the High King of Camelot.

Penmerlin
—the High Merlin of Camelot.

Sharoc
—shadow fey.

Stone Legion
—cursed race, the Stone Legion is under the command of Garafyn. By daylight, they are ugly gargoyles who are forced to sit as stone (they can only move if they are commanded by the one who bears their emblem), but at night, they can move about freely, and under the light of a full moon, they can again take the form of handsome warriors and knights—but only so long as the full moon touches them. Should they leave its light, they will immediately return to their gargoyle state. There are those who say there may be a way yet to lift their curse, but so far all those who have tried have met with failure and death.

Terre derrière le voile
—land behind the veil. A term for both Avalon and Camelot since they exist outside of time and place.

Val Sans Retour
—Valley of no return. An area outside Camelot where the damned wander in eternal misery.

Waremerlin
—term for any Merlin.

I hope you enjoyed the inside joke of Sherrilyn Kenyon offering a quote on the cover of a Kinley MacGregor novel.

It started out as a lark between me and my editor, when I laughingly suggested that Kenyon quote the book. I learned one important lesson: never suggest something to an editor as a joke. She loved the idea and thought it was fun, and now you see the result on the cover. But hey, if you can’t laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at?

I would also like to take a moment and say “thank you” to you, dearest reader, for taking this voyage into fantasy with me. I hope you’ve enjoyed the journey.