Age of Swords (The Legends of the First Empire #2)

Vidar (Fhrey, Miralyith): The senior councilor of the Aquila representing the Miralyith tribe and new tutor to Prince Mawyndul?.

Volhoric (Fhrey, Umalyn): The senior councilor of the Aquila representing the Umalyn tribe. He also holds the position of Conservator of the Aquila.

Vorath (Fhrey, Instarya): A member of Nyphron’s Galantians. He has taken to the Rhune custom of wearing a beard. His weapons of choice are flails, maces, and morning stars.

Warric: One of the seven Rhulyn-Rhune clans, ruled by Chieftain Tegan.

West Puddle: The more affluent area of the Rhen settlement in Tirre.

Wogan: The name by which the spirit of nature is known in and around the Crescent Forest.

Yarhold: The home city of the Grenmorians.

Ylfe: The Fhrey pronunciation of the derogatory Dherg term elf.

Zephyron (Fhrey, Instarya): The father of Nyphron, killed by Lothian during the challenge for fane upon Fenelyus’s death. Lothian killed Zephyron in an unusually gruesome fashion to make a point about Miralyith superiority and the folly of challenging their rule.





This book is dedicated to Tim Gerard Reynolds, the narrator of my Elan novels, whose vocal interpretations breathe life into mere letters, give voice to my imagination, and make me sound better than I am. Thanks, Tim, I owe you another dinner, and sorry for disrupting the recording sessions by making you laugh.





Acknowledgments





From time to time, I’m asked whether I would consider collaborating with someone to create a shared book. My immediate response is: “I don’t play well with others, so collaboration would be difficult.” That is indeed true: I’m a pretty solitary old curmudgeon and very particular about my writing. But when it comes time to write my acknowledgments, it becomes immediately clear to me that I do collaborate, and it is because of the talents and hard work of many people that you have this product before you.

Simply stated, I have a lot of people who make me look better than I am, and I would be feckless not to point out their amazing contributions. If you have read my other acknowledgments, you’ll see some familiar names. That’s because when I find someone who is as exceptional as these people, why would I go looking for anyone else?

I hope you saw the dedication at the front of the book. It went out to Tim Gerard Reynolds, for whom I couldn’t have more respect. I’ve seen Tim’s career blossom over the years, and I’m so happy about that. My only hope is that with his continued success, he’ll still have time to narrate my books. I couldn’t imagine any voice other than his telling my tales.

Audiobooks are such an important format for me, and there are several people at Recorded Books I would like to thank. Andy Paris saw the wisdom of pairing Tim with my stories, and I think all my listeners are as grateful as me for that. Brian Sweeny and Troy Juliar are the ones who picked up my works for audio production in the first place. They have continued their faith in my writing with generous offers for the Legends of the First Empire series, and I love their enthusiasm for producing more of my work in the future. I’d also like to thank John Nebel, our recording engineer, who has an eagle’s eye and fine-tuned ear. I’m impressed that John is also writing musicals, something that takes incredible talent, and Robin and I wish him great success with that.

Speaking of incredible talent, once again the exceptional artwork of Marc Simonetti graces the cover of this book. For those who don’t know, Marc has provided the amazing artwork for not only Age of Swords but also the French editions of The Crown Conspiracy, Avempartha, and Nyphron Rising. He’s also created covers for the English-language editions of Hollow World, The Death of Dulgath, and Age of Myth. The last two titles have won him back-to-back Stabby Awards for best fantasy artwork, given out by the wonderful people at the rFantasy sub on reddit—a distinction that is well deserved. Thank you, Marc, and I’m already excited to see the final versions of Age of War. The initial concepts blew me away.

If you request a copy of The Making of Age of Swords (the bonus material I talked about in my author’s note), then you’ll see a bit about how much my copy editors have contributed to this book. I’ve said it before, but it’s worth repeating: You, ladies, have saved me from looking like an utter fool. Both Laura Jorstad and Linda Branam have been with me now through multiple books, and my sincerest hope is that they’ll continue with me for many more. I owe you both a debt of gratitude for your talent and incredible attention to detail.

As some may know, I’m what’s referred to as a hybrid author—someone who releases books both through a traditional publisher and as an indie. When self-publishing, I have only myself to worry about with regard to whether a book will be successful or not. If one were to fail, I’m the only one who would feel the pain. When I traditionally publish, I feel a sense of responsibility for those who have stood up and said, “This book deserves to be out there.” I’m especially cognizant that they put their reputations on the line by putting faith in me. It’s an obligation I take quite seriously, and I hope I’ve lived up to their trust. So I want to start out by thanking Laurie McLean from Fuse Literary Agency (who initially sold the first three books of this series), Joshua Bilmes from JABberwocky Literary Agency (my current agent, who is selling the books overseas and has generously helped me and Del Rey work out a release plan that allows new Riyria tales to hit the streets while accelerating the releases of the Legends of the First Empire books), and most especially Tricia Narwani, my editor at Del Rey. She is talented, trustworthy, and a fabulous advocate for me and my work.