Dawnbringer Series

Dawn's destiny is about to change.   She is a Halfling (half-Fae, half-human) who would much rather lead a normal life in botany helping plants flourish.    A strange eclipse and a recurring dream of a light-harnessing Pixie in a castle signal a threat that can end the magical balance and the mortal world.    The Council of The Enlightened and the gods themselves would much rather she perish.    Can she harness the light source within?

When Eldarien returns to his homeland after many years away—burdened by the awareness that he has perpetrated great evil at the hands of an Empire whose knight he has become—he encounters a continent riven by strife and war and threatened by creatures even more horrifying, born of the very darkness itself. He wishes to lay aside the sword, to leave behind a past marked with violence and bloodshed, but he also longs to aid his people against the forces that endanger their very existence. Yet such a path he cannot walk alone, facing obstacles both within and without, and in this first volume the stage is set: in which friends and companions are found, and an enemy encountered who is far more dangerous than could have ever been imagined. Set on the continent of Telmerion in the world of Ierendal, a cold nordic land that is also the cradle of culture and civilization, Dawnbringer present a mythic story of epic proportions both in the scope of narrative and world-building and also the intimate details unfolding in the heart of each protagonist whom we accompany on this journey. In the tradition of the fantasy novels—often called faerie stories—by authors such as Tolkien, Lewis, and MacDonald, and yet marking out a unique path, the Dawnbringer series seeks to make a lasting contribution to the "enduring" stories that shape human hearts and culture, born of abiding conviction in the power of myth and the beauty of story.

Following on the events of the first volume, the catalyst of which now becomes a consuming conflagration, the War of Darkness begins in earnest. And in the shadow of the forces here revealed, the tension of the civil war and the threat of the power-hungry Empire pales almost into insignificance. Light and darkness are laid bare in their true nature, though one is frail and faltering, weak and vulnerable, while the other appears all but invincible and uncontainable. But they lie hidden in every heart. Thus suspicions and fears arise even among those who stand to fight the encroaching forces; but so, too, capacities for love and heroism are also stirred into flame in the most humble and hidden hearts, summoning them forth to answer the desperate cries of a civilization on the brink of chaos, conflict, and even collapse.   Set on the continent of Telmerion in the world of Ierendal, a cold nordic land that is also the cradle of culture and of human civilization, Dawnbringer presents a mythic story of epic proportions both in the scope of narrative and world-building and also the intimate details unfolding in the heart of each protagonist whom we accompany on this journey. In the tradition of the fantasy novels—often called faerie stories—by authors such as Tolkien, Lewis, and MacDonald, and yet marking out a unique path, the Dawnbringer series seeks to make a lasting contribution to the "enduring" stories that shape human hearts and culture, born of abiding conviction in the power of myth and the beauty of story.

Bearing questions in their hearts, the five companions continue their journey with pain and sorrow behind them and hope ahead of them. But with every passing day the land of Telmerion continues to spiral into chaos and strife. They seek answers, answers ancient and forgotten, in the only place that they know to look, but will these answers be enough to confront the ever more tangible darkness and otherworldly violence that descends upon their people? Or shall the secrets that are revealed prove to be a greater burden even than the questions? Or rather shall they truly be a light in darkness, a hope in despair, that can carry and lead them even when they return anew to the conflict to which their hearts are inexorably being drawn, even unto the final confrontation in which the fate of their world shall be decided?   Set on the continent of Telmerion in the world of Ierendal, a cold nordic land that is also the cradle of culture and of human civilization, Dawnbringer presents a mythic story of epic proportions both in the scope of narrative and world-building and also the intimate details unfolding in the heart of each protagonist whom we accompany on this journey. In the tradition of the fantasy novels—often called faerie stories—by authors such as Tolkien, Lewis, and MacDonald, and yet marking out a unique path, the Dawnbringer series seeks to make a lasting contribution to the "enduring" stories that shape human hearts and culture, born of abiding conviction in the power of myth and the beauty of story.

This is the final of four parts in the Dawnbringer series, bringing to a conclusion the dramatic events unfolding in prior volumes. The War of Darkness now draws on to its highest intensity and its climax, and the forces of humanity are marshalled against their mysterious and dreadful foe. Here an evil that until now has remained elusive, even as it inflicts destruction, is unveiled in all its horror; and yet in the same moment the path to its very heart is made known, and the possibility of a true confrontation between light and darkness, bearing hope of redemption even when all other hopes falter and all other lights go out. Throughout time myth has been one of the fundamental activities of the human heart as it seeks to contemplate and understand the mystery of reality, to find a path through the fabric of history as its tapestry is ever woven, a path that unveils meaning in the enigmas of life and gives sense and stability to the drama of existence. But especially, the activity of myth, of fantasy, is born of a primal wonder before the awesome miracle of being, and of the fundamental human activity which is play, and serves to keep this wonder and play alive always. In precisely this way it has been, and shall always be, a catalyst to enkindle and deepen the longing in the heart of each one of us for redemption—for a new and better world, a world where righteousness and happiness dwell, and all is freedom and purpose, unity and harmony, ecstatic delight and true adventure. Such does Dawnbringer humbly seek, stepping into the flowing current of thought and imagination as it surges on through history, offering, in a narrative of proportions both intimate and epic, a glimpse of the light that shines upon us all, and of the conflict that resides at the center of every life, that the weak again may be strong and the child again may be king.

When Eldarien returns to his homeland after many years away—burdened by the awareness that he has perpetrated great evil at the hands of an Empire whose knight he has become—he encounters a continent riven by strife and war and threatened by creatures even more horrifying, born of the very darkness itself. He wishes to lay aside the sword, to leave behind a past marked with violence and bloodshed, but he also longs to aid his people against the forces that endanger their very existence. And such a path he cannot walk alone, facing obstacles both within and without, and he finds given to him both the light that he wishes to serve and friends to share the journey. All the while the land that he loves slides inexorably into conflict, into what shall be known henceforth as the War of Darkness, and he and those to whom he is joined are called upon to share the fate of their people, looking forward in hope to the promised coming of dawn after darkest night.   Throughout time myth has been one of the fundamental activities of the human heart as it seeks to contemplate and understand the mystery of reality, to find a path through the fabric of history as its tapestry is ever woven, a path that unveils meaning in the enigmas of life and gives sense and stability to the drama of existence. But especially, the activity of myth, of fantasy, is born of a primal wonder before the awesome miracle of being, and of the fundamental human activity which is play, and serves to keep this wonder and play alive always. In precisely this way it has been, and shall always be, a catalyst to enkindle and deepen the longing in the heart of each one of us for redemption—for a new and better world, a world where righteousness and happiness dwell, and all is freedom and purpose, unity and harmony, ecstatic delight and true adventure.   Such does Dawnbringer humbly seek, stepping into the flowing current of thought and imagination as it surges on through history, offering, in a narrative of proportions both intimate and epic, a glimpse of the light that shines upon us all, and of the conflict that resides at the center of every life, that the weak again may be strong and the child again may be king.