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In 1998, the first edition of Codex Derynianus was published in a limited edition that quickly became astronomically expensive. Now fans can have the entire text of that edition along with extensive new material. This encyclopedic overview details Katherine Kurtz's Deryni world, the setting of her 17-book saga that began with Camber of Culdi. and reveals many never-before-told details of the people, places, and objects of importance to the world of the magic-wielding Deryni. The book is packed with chronologies of events, genealogies of the peoples, and colorful maps of the Deryni world, exploring every aspect of the Eleven Kingdoms. In addition to being an authoritative reference, Codex Derynianus is also an ambitious work of creative fiction as penned by Brother Theophilus from within the setting of the Eleven Kingdoms, providing original stories, vignettes, humorous pieces, serials, and poems that expand and enrich the Deryni universe.

L. E. Modesitt, Jr. returns to Corus, setting of his recent trilogy (Legacies, Darknesses, Scepters), to begin the epic story of the fall of a great civilization. Corus has been designed to become the new home of a superior race from a distant world whose very life depends on drawing sustenance from the biological life force of a planet. After changing the climate, they have grown ordinary people to tend the plants and animals, in preparation for their eventual arrival in force. Meanwhile, their plans are supervised by a staff of Alectors, who in effect rule the world. Alectors are bigger, tougher, and have both psychic talents and technology unavailable to the natives. The time is now fast approaching for the transfer from the old world, nearly bled dry of life force. But neither the Alectors (who will be reduced in status when the real powers arrive) nor the local humans (who seem destined to become no more than cattle, though they know nothing of this) are ready. The tension builds throughout the book, as deeper and deeper levels of complications are revealed.

The popular creator of Recluce and of the Spellsong world of Liedwahr has built a whole new fantasy world on Corus. With each new volume of the Corean Chronicles we learn more about the magical underpinnings of this fascinating realm as we follow the continuing adventures of his reluctant hero, Alucius. In Legacies he became the first Iron Valley militiaman to escape sorcerous enslavement in Madrien. In Darknesses, he found a way to defeat a would-be conqueror who revived the fearsome creatures and potent weaponry of the legendary past. Now he returns to face the greatest challenges yet to both his courage and his magical Talent.Alucius is happy back on his nightsheep stead with his beloved wife Wendra, who is expecting their first child. But the country is beset by enemies on all sides. Although the Lord Protector of Lanachrona keeps his promise not to order Alucius back to active duty, Alucius finds his request for help no easier to ignore. Newly promoted to higher rank, and given command of a combined force of the Northern and Southern Guards, Alucius must first quell a strange religiously-inspired rebellion and then find a way to destroy the powerful weapons of ancient design again being used by the forces of Madrien. Unlike the Lord Protector, Alucius can see that a third, covert, threat must be behind the other two. He will have to confront an alien evil that seeks to enslave the whole world of Corus in the guise of bringing back a lost golden age. Only the timely assistance of the mysterious ancient Soarers and the addition of Wendra's Talent to his own give him any hope of success. Scepters is a stirring climax to the first Corean trilogy.

The first book of the Corean ChroniclesOne of the towering creators of contemporary fantasy fiction takes us to a new land of wonders. The Corean Chronicles begin with Legacies, a grand new fantasy novel in which L. E. Modesitt, Jr., author of the bestselling Recluce fantasy series and the popular Spellsong Cycle, opens the door into a marvelous new world. Millennia ago, a magical disaster caused the fall of a great worldwide civilization, the end of a golden age. New civilizations have fought their way up from the ancient destruction and chaos, knowing little of the lost world that preceded them or the details of its fall. Corus today is a world of contending countries, of humans, but also of strange animals and supernatural creatures. It is a place of magical powers, and of a few people who are talented enough to use them. Alusius, the hero of the story, is one. Although born into a successful herder family, Alusius never knew his father, who was killed in action while serving in the Militia. So he is raised on a Nightsheep ranch by his mother and grandparents, and schooled at home. As a child, he shows very strong Talent. He is warned gravely that he must never reveal this outside the home lest he spend his life in servitude to some rich and powerful person. But as he grows to young manhood, Alusius must serve in the Militia like his father before him. When his country is invaded by the slave armies of The Matrial, an immortal ruler in a nearby land, Alusius is captured and enslaved. A time of changes has come upon all of the world of Corus. If the evil surrounding The Matrial is not brought to an end, those changes will not be happy ones. Gradually, Alusius realizes that he and his Talent have a central role to play.