City of IF

[Kalanna Rai]

When Crown Prince Cuar dies the kingdom of Leyond is left with no heir. His father, King Astor Vengivedion, is forced to gather the three bastard sons Caur left behind and the one surviving 'legitimate' child of his younger son. But when the four possible heirs to the throne are gathered they prove to be a motley lot.

The youngest is a boy named Lukan, from the eastern mountain kingdom of Haga'Dir, who's birth has sparked a boarder feud and reduced trade.

The next is the 'legitmate' heir, a girl named Tessa from the western kingdom of Falverald, who turns out to be just another one of Caur's bastards.

he second eldest is Khafi, from the southern desert kingdom of Jhadir, where war and near war with Leyond has been the sport of it's people for nearly two generations.

And the eldest is a barbarian sorcerer from the northern kingdom of Rhimefaust by the name of Alasdiar...and he doesn't even want the throne.

The confrontations between the four and the king are swift and abrupt, with tempers flairing, and end on poor notes with each making their way off to do whatever they do best. Lukan makes friends with stable lads and guards, Khafi begins assassinating the court mages that plotted treason, Alasdair finds a summoner to bring his pregnant wife to him, and Tessa finds out that the ledgers of the land just don't add up.

When rumors of a dark threat in the west roll into Leyond, the four become reluctant allies, thinking that perhaps King Astor is losing his mind to age. Tess's powers as an oracle are revealed under the tutelage of the summoner Yevard and Alasdair reveals himself to be a dragon when he takes flight to save Lukan from an ancient and recently awakened evil.

But the battle is only just begun, the rumors were true, the skeletal dead march forth from an ancient gate. Sealed shut and sunk beneath the sea off the coast of Falverald, it has come open and the hungering dead march on the summer capital of Leyond, the city of Eresinne. Hastily the four, along with king Astor, plot a defense of the city.

However, the plans go awry almost at once when Alasdair, instead of bringing his draconic skills and strength to the battle, is instead called to aid his wife Kyrie in the birthing of their son, Aaern. Without him the battle goes poorly and the people are forced to flee Eresinne through a gate, the last gate Yevard will ever summon. The royal siblings, and their Grandfather, remain behind with only a few guardsmen to ensure that the people are safe before making their own escape through a portal behind the throne. Alasdair is critically injured in the escape.

Transported to the legendary fortress Malvang, the four take the opportunity presented for some much needed respite. Restless, Tessa Lukan and Khafi brush up on weapon skills left neglected and browse the great library. In his chambers, Alasdair stirs not from the bed in which he's laid.

Then, after a month of recuperation Alasdair wakes as Astor announces that in three days he would make his choice for king. A history lesson on the ancient war of the past is had by all as the four of them look forward to the future. The balance of power, however, is upset by the arrival of riders from Haga'Dir who inform Lukan that after a demon attack he is the only candidate for king they have left. If he refuses, then his clan will be forever lost and a new clan will take up kingship and rule.

As he struggles with this burden of choice, Astor decides that it is Khafi who will take over as king of Leyond and shows him the great secret of the Kings of Leyond. Deep under the fortress of Malvag there sits a fifth Gate. Hidden from the world, the Gate of Dreams is a secret that the kings of Leyond have kept for millennia.

Before the ritual of Kingship takes place, Astor warns Khafi of an ancient evil that stalks the halls of the keep. Once bound but now unleashed again, a shadow demon has for centuries attacked the would-be kings, killing them or driving them mad. Astor escaped, the demon still too weak from a long imprisonment to affect him, but Caur was not so lucky. The demon was the source of his madness. Astor offers to hold the demon off Khafi for as long as he can but the other must hurry to complete the rite before the demon comes.

Khafi begins the rite, delving into a broken world of colorless shadows and half dreams, seeking the needed approval of the gate. While he finds what he seeks, he finds something else as well for a demon has been waiting for him, not the demon of shadows that has terrorized the royal line of Leyond, but a demon heritage that had been sleeping in his very blood.

Now knowing that he is a half demon, Khafi has taken on a new name, Keverem, and swears to all powers that he will do right by Leyond or die trying. As a result, the four siblings undertake one last journey before responsibilities tear them in separate directions. They travel with Lukan home to Haga'Dir to watch him make his decision.

When they stop for the night at a village, they are attacked by a legion of flying horrors, spawn of something Alasdair calls 'The Broodmother'. These were the things that butchered Lukan's family, his whole clan, and the royal court. Lukan leads the villagers in a rally while a still weak Alasdair and a demon-formed Kevrem take on the Broodmother. Tessa brings the beast down with a well placed arrow but all is not well. A villager has spotted Kevrem's transformation and now the secret is partially out...