 | |
| Author | Melanie Rawn |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Michael Whelan |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Dragon Prince and Dragon Star trilogies |
| Genre | Fantasy |
| Publisher | DAW books |
Publication date | 1993 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover & paperback) |
| Pages | 776 |
| ISBN | 0-88677-595-7 |
| OCLC | 29945005 |
| Preceded by | The Dragon Token |
Skybowl is a 1993 fantasy novel by American author Melanie Rawn. It is the third novel of the Dragon Star trilogy.
The Vellanti War continues with the invading Vellant'im moving ever closer to their goal: conquering the High Prince. Pol, the High Prince, is forced to make his last stand at Skybowl with Andry, the Lord of Goddess Keep, by his side. Across the Continent, Pol's allies are starting to regain control of their lands. Tilal, Prince of Ossetia, is cutting a path through the southern princedoms, while Arlis, Prince of Kierst-Isel, and Laric, Prince of Firon, attempt to defeat the sorcerers controlling the North.
As the death toll rises and Pol's list of allies grows ever thinner, he must work with people once thought enemies and join all the forces of the Continent together in order to defeat the Vellant'im.
Pol discovers allies in the Sorcerers of the Old Blood, who will help him defeat the invading Vellant'im. With this newfound strength and the knowledge gained from Lord Rosseyn in the mirror, Pol, Sioned, and the other Lords of the Desert begin to form a plan for their last stand. A ros'alath, much like the one used previously at Goddess Keep, would be constructed by Pol and Andry with the aide of the Sunrunners of Goddess Keep. The main difference between the two walls being that this one would not kill. The diarmadh'im would be woven into the wall in order to withstand the steel blades of the enemies and protect the faradh'im, though they refused to be wove by Andry due to the Lord of Goddess Keep's transgressions against them.
In Firon, Aldiar helps Idalian and Tirel escape. He then saves them and Prince Laric's entourage from a blizzard. During the journey to Balarat, Firon's royal seat, Aldiar discovers that Rohannon had become addicted to dranath. With Arlis' permission, Aldiar purges the drug from Rohannon's system. Rohannon then discovers that Aldiar is in fact a sorcerer and a woman, Aldiara. After Rohannon's recovery, the group makes their way North to reclaim Laric's princedom.
To the South, Ostvel is able to infiltrate Meadowlord and secure the princedom from both the traitorous Chiana and the Vellant'im. Tilal's army meets up with the remnants of his brother's army, now led by Saumer of Kierst-Isel, and together they head North into the Desert. Along the way they stop to retrieve the Dragon Tears, which were used to protect Faolain Riverport.
Prince Amiel of Gilad takes control of an army of physicians and aides whatever people he can. Prince Elsen of Grib, although crippled, rides to the aide of Goddess Keep, when it once again falls under attack. These Princes, along with other personages of power, joined the war at last, forsaking their Ruling Princes' stances of neutrality.
Back in The Desert, Sioned and the other ladies form a plan to diminish the Vellanti army and rid the invaders of their superstitious priests. The women pose as servants, while Ruala 'gives' Skybowl to the Vellanti High Warlord. The women then proceed to give the priests poisoned food. The priests die, but the women are caught and held captive.
The final battle begins. Pol is able to free Sioned, who is able to weave all the faradhi and diarmadhi minds that Pol calls together. Andry and his Sunrunners are also in the weaving. The ros'salath is formed, but a call for blood is heard and dragons enter the weaving. Andry wrests control from Pol, and the ros'salath begins to kill. Pol calls on more minds in an attempt to regain control. Aldiar (really Aldiara) offers Pol access to all the sorcerers' minds in Balarat - her kinsmen. With this new strength of diarmadhi minds, Pol is able to overpower Andry. The ros'salath stops killing; instead it renders nearly all the Vellant'im unconscious.
Seeing his army crumble, the High Warlord kills Meiglan. Pol, enraged, kills him. Andry, whose mind had been stretched between this weaving, Goddess Keep, and a dragon, is lost on the light. To the North, Aldiara, Rohannon, and her kinsmen are immobile. Prince Laric is easily able to reclaim his princedom.
In the end, the Vellant'im are all rounded up and shipped back to the Vellanti Islands, along with Chiana and her son, who had aided them. Ostvel is named Prince of Meadowlord and Chayla is named Lady of Goddess Keep. Pol is officially confirmed as High Prince, the Faradh'rei and the Diarmadh'rei.
The Prince is a 16th-century political treatise written by the Italian diplomat, philosopher, and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli in the form of a realistic instruction guide for new princes. As a remarkable general theme, The Prince appears to take it for granted that immoral acts are justified if they can help achieve political glory.
Mystra is a fictional goddess in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.
The magic in Dungeons & Dragons consists of the spells and magic systems used in the settings of the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons (D&D). D&D defined the genre of fantasy role-playing games, and remains the most popular table-top version. Many of the original concepts have become widely used in the role-playing community across many different fictional worlds, as well as across all manner of popular media including books, board games, video games, and films.
The Black Jewels is a series of dark fantasy novels and short stories written by American writer Anne Bishop. The first three books were originally published individually and then together as a trilogy in a single omnibus collection. The series takes place in a world where those born with dark power/magic rule in a deeply matriarchal society.
Dragon Prince is a fantasy novel by American author Melanie Rawn. It is the first book of the Dragon Prince trilogy.
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.
Sunrunner's Fire is a fantasy novel by American author Melanie Rawn. It concludes the Dragon Prince trilogy.
The Star Scroll is a fantasy novel by American author Melanie Rawn. The second novel in the Dragon Prince trilogy, it begins fourteen years after the events in Dragon Prince.
Kulan Gath is a fictional villainous magician appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics and Dynamite Entertainment. The character first appeared in Conan the Barbarian #15 as a foe of Conan.
Stronghold is a 1991 fantasy novel by American author Melanie Rawn. It is the first book of the Dragon Star trilogy.
The Dragon Token is a 1992 fantasy novel by American author Melanie Rawn. It is the second novel in the Dragon Star trilogy.
Lioness Rampant is a fantasy novel by Tamora Pierce, the fourth and last in a series of books, The Song of the Lioness. It details an adventure of the knight Alanna of Trebond, and her final battle with her archenemy, Duke Roger of Conte.
The Dragon Prince and Dragon Star trilogies comprise six connected fantasy novels written by Melanie Rawn. The Dragon Prince trilogy focuses on Prince Rohan of the Desert and his Sunrunner wife, Sioned, while the Dragon Star trilogy focuses on their son, Pol. The Dragon Prince trilogy consists of novels Dragon Prince, The Star Scroll, and Sunrunner's Fire. The books in the Dragon Star trilogy are Stronghold, The Dragon Token, and Skybowl.
Langrisser II is a tactical role-playing game for the Sega Mega Drive console. It is the sequel to Langrisser, and was never released outside Japan. Langrisser II was remade for the Super Famicom by Masaya as Der Langrisser, which featured multiple paths through the game, greatly reduced difficulty, and reworked graphics. A PC-FX port, Der Langrisser FX, was also released, featuring animated cutscenes. It was later compiled with the first Langrisser for the PlayStation as Langrisser I & II , and then given a script edit and new branch of the Imperial path in its Saturn remake as Langrisser: Dramatic Edition. A Windows 98 port of the game was released in Japanese, Chinese and Korean; it features redrawn, high-resolution graphics, but a vastly trimmed-down soundtrack to fit the confines of a standard CD. A full remake of Langrisser I & II was also released in 2019 on both Sony PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch and on PC in 2020, featuring new graphics and BGM.
The Icemark Chronicles is a series of books consisting of The Cry of the Icemark, followed by Blade of Fire, and Last Battle of the Icemark and the prequel called Prince Of The Icemark. The books were written by Stuart Hill from Leicester. Fox 2000 Pictures optioned the film rights to the book. The film was set to be produced by Courtney Pledger and Sarah Radclyffe, but it is unknown if or when it will be released. The books are published by Chicken House.
SD Gundam Gaiden Sieg Zion Hen is a Japanese media project within the SD Gundam franchise produced between 1989 and 1990, centered on Bandai's plamo and Carddass trading cards. A manga drawn by Ryuuichi Hoshino and an anime adaptation of said manga by Sunrise were also released. It is the first work of the Knight Gundam series.
Dark Sun is an original Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) campaign setting set in the fictional, post-apocalyptic desert world of Athas. Dark Sun featured an innovative metaplot, influential art work, dark themes, and a genre-bending take on traditional fantasy role-playing. The product line began with the original Dark Sun Boxed Set released for D&D's 2nd edition in 1991, originally ran until 1996, and was one of TSR's most successful releases.