The Kings’ Challenge

It was a proving ground for warriors in the Essalieyan Empire, the hallowed contest that made legends of men. And for Valedan, last survivor of the ruling family of the Dominion, it was a decla­ra­tion of his right to claim the throne stolen from the Leonne clan by treachery and assassination.

Failure to earn the title of Kings’ Cham­pion would not deprive Valedan of either his Dominion or Essalieyan allies, but winning would announce to the world that he was no callow boy, no mere pawn in the games of power. And the games of power were indeed being played – not only in Empire and Dominion but in the far more dangerous realm of the Lord of Night.

As the time of the Chal­lenge neared, Valedan and all those who guarded him would be hard-pressed to survive long enough for him to enter the compe­ti­tion. For the demon kin had been set to hunt him down and destroy him. They had failed before, though many inno­cents had paid the price. They must not fail again, for slaying Valedan was but the opening gambit in a war that would free the Lord of Night to reign over all the mortal world….