A Darkness at Sethanon

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A Darkness at Sethanon
Feist - A Darkness at Sethanon Coverart.png
A Darkness at Sethanon first edition cover.
Author Raymond E. Feist
Cover artist Kinuko Y. Craft
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Series The Riftwar Saga
Genre Fantasy
Published1986 (Doubleday)
Media typePrint (hardback & paperback)
Pages425 (first edition)
ISBN 0-385-19215-0
OCLC 11574364
813/.54 19
LC Class PS3556.E446 D3 1986
Preceded by Silverthorn  

A Darkness at Sethanon is a fantasy novel by American writer Raymond E. Feist, the third and final book in The Riftwar Saga , the first series of novels in The Riftwar Cycle . It describes how Murmandamus, a new prince of the Dark Brotherhood, marshals the forces of the Moredhel and invades the kingdom, with the intent of finding the Lifestone, a powerful relic with which he will be able to destroy every living thing in the world, so as to resurrect the Valheru Lords of old. Only Pug and Tomas can stop this new evil, thereby ending the Riftwar.

Raymond E. Feist American novelist

Raymond E. Feist is an American fantasy fiction author who wrote The Riftwar Cycle, a series of novels and short stories. His books have been translated into multiple languages and have sold over 15 million copies.

The Riftwar Saga series of fantasy novels by Raymond E. Feist

The Riftwar Saga is a series of fantasy novels by American writer Raymond E. Feist, the first series in The Riftwar Cycle.

The Riftwar Cycle is the name given to the series of books authored or co-authored by Raymond E. Feist that revolve around the fantasy worlds of Midkemia and Kelewan.

Plot summary

Arutha, Prince of Krondor, uses an attempted assassination as a ruse to fake his own death so that he may travel north to confront Murmandamus. In his travels to the Northlands, Arutha finds his father's former enemy, Guy du Bas-Tyra, as the Protector of the city Armengar, the first location to be invaded by the dark army under Murmandamus. In an attempt to destroy a majority of the army, Guy orders the evacuation of the city, and ignites the naphtha mines below the city. Murmandamus escapes unscathed, and the army marches towards the border of the Kingdom of the Isles.

Meanwhile, Pug and Tomas begin searching the world, and eventually beyond, for the famed sorcerer Macros the Black, thought killed when he helped to destroy the rift (at the end of Magician ). Macros reveals that he had put into motion a grand plot to instill Tomas with the powers of the Valheru, Ashen-Shugar, in order to turn the tides of the coming battle in their favour.

<i>Magician</i> (Feist novel) novel by Raymond E. Feist

Magician is a fantasy novel by American writer Raymond E. Feist. It is the first book of the Riftwar Saga and was published in 1982. It led to many books written by Feist in the world of Midkemia, which was the setting for this book. Originally reduced in size by his editors, it was re-published in 1992 in an edition titled "The Author's Preferred Edition" with much of the deleted text restored. Magician was separated into two volumes for the United States market and published as: Magician: Apprentice and Magician: Master. The book is still published as a single volume, titled Magician, in the UK.

Murmandamus, having successfully overrun the border city of Highcastle, marches towards his final objective: the town of Sethanon, which lies above an ancient ruins containing an artifact of power known as the Lifestone.

Murmandamus lays siege to Sethanon, causing wholesale slaughter regardless of his own soldiers, in order to draw his necromantic power from their deaths. Steeped in power, he descends into the chamber of the Lifestone, and is confronted by Arutha, where they begin to duel. A rift begins to form within the chamber, held closed only by the magical efforts of Pug and Macros.

Arutha manages to kill Murmandamus, revealing his true form as a Pantathian impersonating a moredhel. With his death, the escaped magical energy causes the rift to open briefly, releasing a Valheru, and a life-stealing Dreadlord. Tomas, now fully embracing his Valheru heritage, battles his ancient kin, while his dragon mount fights the Dreadlord.

Pantathians are cold-blooded humanoid serpents from the novels of Raymond E. Feist. During the early ages of the universe, one of the Valheru race, Alma-Lodaka, created the Pantathians and the Saaur. After the fall of their mistress, both races deviated from each other, the Pantathians becoming a death cult dedicated to resurrecting their mistress.

At the climax of the battle, Tomas stabs his sword through his enemy, and into the Lifestone, inadvertently releasing the spirits of all other Dragonlords. Their combined might, however, is no match for the Lifestone, the nexus of all life on Midkemia. They are drawn into the Lifestone and trapped for all eternity. The invasion is over.

Afterwards, Macros entrusts the guardianship of the world to Pug and Tomas, saying that his task to protect Midkemia is finished, and disappears.

Related Research Articles

Midkemia is a fictional world created by a fantasy role-playing group and popularized by Raymond E. Feist, and where most of his Riftwar books take place. Only the Empire Trilogy, which was co-written with Janny Wurts, takes place entirely on Kelewan, another world connected to Midkemia by magically created rifts in space.

Novindus is a fictional continent on Midkemia, a world created by Raymond E. Feist. It is the second largest continent on Midkemia with a variety of landscapes. It is to the west of the Triagia across the Endless Sea and to the east across the Sea of Tears. The shape of the continent looks very much like India. The people of the Kingdom learned of the existence of the continent in Magician, and first travelled to it after the destructive attacks on Crydee and its dependents described in The King's Buccaneer.

<i>Betrayal at Krondor</i> 1993 video game

Betrayal at Krondor is an MS-DOS-based role-playing video game developed by Dynamix and published by Sierra On-Line in the summer of 1993; it was re-released in 2010 on GOG.com with support for Windows. Betrayal at Krondor takes place largely in Midkemia, the fantasy world developed by Raymond E. Feist in his Riftwar novels. The game is designed to resemble a book, separated into chapters and narrated in the third-person with a quick-save bookmark feature.

Kelewan is one of the fictional worlds described by Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurts. Kelewan was first described in his novel Magician though it is not described in any detail before the Empire Trilogy.

<i>Silverthorn</i> (novel) novel by Raymond E. Feist

Silverthorn is a fantasy novel by American writer Raymond E. Feist, the sequel to Magician. Released in 1985, it was followed by A Darkness at Sethanon, the final book in The Riftwar Saga.

The Kingdom of the Isles is a fictional nation on Midkemia, a world created by a fantasy role-playing group and popularized by Raymond E. Feist. The Kingdom of the Isles, or simply The Kingdom lies to the north of The Empire of Great Kesh on the continent of Triagia. Most of Feist's books are based in this Kingdom.

Krondors Sons

Krondor's Sons is a series of fantasy novel by American writer Raymond E. Feist. The books are part of The Riftwar Cycle and set on the fictional world of Midkemia. The two novels are set between riftwars and explores Midkemia beyond the borders of the Kingdom of the Isles. The main characters are the three sons of Prince of Krondor Arutha ConDoin, Borric, Erland, and Nicholas. According to Feist, the series was originally meant to be a trilogy, with The Return of the Buccaneer being the third volume. However, following The King's Buccaneer Feist changed publishers, and his new editors wanted a brand-new series rather than a continuation of the old one.

Elvandar is a fictional nation on Midkemia, a world created by a fantasy role-playing group and popularized by Raymond E. Feist. It is home to most of the elves remaining on Midkemia. It is located north of the Duchy of Crydee in the Kingdom of the Isles. The entire nation is one great forest. This nation is ruled by Queen Aglaranna and Prince Consort Tomas with their advisors.

The Darkwar Saga

The Darkwar Saga is a series of fantasy novels by American writer Raymond E. Feist.

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The King's Buccaneer is a fantasy novel by American writer Raymond E. Feist. It is the second book of the Krondor's Sons series and was published in 1992. It was preceded by Prince of the Blood which was published in 1989.

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Krondor: The Assassins is a fantasy novel by American writer Raymond E. Feist. It is the second book in The Riftwar Legacy and was published in 1999 by HarperCollins under their Voyager imprint. It was preceded by Krondor: The Betrayal and followed by the third book in the saga, Krondor: Tear of the Gods.

<i>Rage of a Demon King</i> novel by Raymond E. Feist

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