The Waking Prince (ePub)

"I understand human nature better than any king in history and I know exactly how power should be used to keep that very nature in check." --- Donriose Phillian

Valentera is enjoying a season of relative peace. But the blessing of today's peace is never promised to last until tomorrow. A brilliant and ruthless tactician is seeking to reshape the world in his image, whether anyone likes it or not. Slowly and patiently, by word or by sword, the most valuable and powerful nations in the land begin to fall into his hands, as each stage of his plan tightens his grip and imposes order on a leaderless realm.

Marion Kincaid worked hard fit in with the normal world around him, keeping a low profile and his thoughts to himself, but the realm of the irregular with all of its wonder, and unforgiving peril, will soon catch up with him. Marion himself is an exception to the normality of his world. Every teenager may feel conspicuous at times, but when you grow up talking to animals or perceiving the hearts of men with more clarity than if they had spoken their deepest thoughts, blending in proves to be a fruitless endeavor. Long forgotten legends speak of an ancient race of immortals with powers over nature and the essence of life, living secretly in the land of Valentera, and many of them would seek to keep these legends forgotten. Yet in the eyes of the "awakened" even the conquest of Valentera is meaningless compared to the search for the next Prince. Throughout the millennia, the two primeval orders of Visioniers and Shyules, have been locked in a power struggle many of the "dreamers" will never see. Yet this struggle will decide the fate of the known world, and young Marion is right in the center of it. Immortals risk their lives to secure this coveted prize, this powerful asset... this irregular boy, without even understanding his true identity. Even among his predecessors, this one is somehow different, and every move that has been made on the chessboard of Valentera for centuries untold, has led to the Prince's Awakening.

Many years will pass before he understands just how deeply he will impact, not only the fate of his world, but of all the lives therein. But whether this impact will usher in a new age of peace, or an era of tyranny and oppression, not even the immortals can foresee.