The Ruby Knight

intense blue.
    And then Bhelliom rose from the depths, resting on the palm of Flute’s incandescent little hand. Sparhawk gaped in astonishment as he realized that he could see through her, and that what had risen glowing from the darkness below was as insubstantial as mist. Flute’s tiny face was calm and imperturbable as she held the sapphire rose over her head with one hand. She reached out the other to Sephrenia, and to Sparhawk’s horror, his beloved tutor stepped off the ledge.
    But she did not fall.
    As if walking on solid earth, she calmly strolled out across insubstantial air to take Bhelliom from Flute’s hand. Then she turned and spoke in a strangely archaic form. ‘Wrench open thy spear, Sir Sparhawk, and put the ring of thy queen upon thy right hand, lest Bhelliom destroy thee when I deliver it up to thee.’ Beside her, Flute lifted her face in exultant song, a song that rang with the voices of multitudes.
    Sephrenia reached out as if to touch that ethereal little face in a gesture of infinite love. Then she walked back across the emptiness with Bhelliom held lightly between her two palms. ‘Here endeth thy quest, Sir Sparhawk,’ she said gravely. ‘Reach forth thy hands to receive Bhelliom from me and from my Child-Goddess, Aphrael.’
    And then, quite suddenly, everything became clear. Sparhawk fell to his knees with Kurik beside him, and the knight accepted the sapphire rose from Sephrenia’s hands. She knelt between the two of them in adoration as they gazed at the glowing face of the one they had called Flute.
    The eternal Child-Goddess Aphrael smiled at them, her voice still raised in choral song that filled all the cave with shimmering echoes, and then the light which filled her misty form grew brighter and brighter, and she speared upward, faster than any arrow.
    And then she vanished.

David Eddings

Domes of Fire

    Book one of
The Tamuli

    PRINCE SPARHAWK AND THE TROLL-GODS

    Queen Ehlana and the Pandion Knight Sir Sparhawk are married, their kingdom peaceful at last, their union blessed with a very special daughter named Danae. But soon trouble sweeps westward from the Tamul Empire to disrupt not only the living of Eosia but the dead: horrific armies are being raised from the dust of the long-past Age of Heroes, threatening the peace won at such cost in Zemoch.

    Prince Sparhawk is called upon to help the Tamuli nations defeat these ancient horrors. Perhaps the Troll-Gods are once more loose in the world! With Ehlana and a retinue of Pandion Knights, Sparhawk will make the hazardous journey to the Tamul Empire … only to discover in fire-domed Matherion, the incandescent Tamul capital, that the enemy is already within its gates.

    Full of marvels and humour, romance and shrewdness, above all full of magic, the resources of the epic form are mined deep by the greatest of modern fantasy writers.

    ISBN 0 586 21313 9

David Eddings

The Shining Ones

    Book two of
The Tamuli

    HAVOC AND WAR

    Prince Sparhawk is pledged to fight the enemies of the Tamul Emperor Sarabian with all the skill and cunning of a Pandion Knight. Meanwhile his Queen, Ehlana, educates Sarabian in the art of ruthless statesmanship. Sarabian is transformed from a mere puppet ruler into a formidable politician. But still Trolls, vampires, werewolves, zombies, ghouls and Ogres form a vast conspiracy to take over the Empire. Most disturbing of all are reported sightings of the Shining Ones amongst the hordes. These luminous beings inspire more fear than the rest combined. And Sparhawk and his companions must resurrect the sacred jewel of the Troll-Gods to combat them.

    The enemies of the Empire know that possession of the jewel makes Sparhawk as dangerous as any god. But gods are among his foes. And while Sparhawk defends the far-flung Tamul Empire, he cannot also protect his beautiful Queen.

    David Eddings, the greatest of modern fantasy writers, unveils the hidden powers at work in the story of Sparhawk and the Tamul Empire, an epic for our times.

    ISBN 0 586 21316 3

About the Author

    The Ruby Knight

    David Eddings was born in Washington State and grew up near Seattle. He graduated from the University of Washington and went on to serve in the US Army. Subsequently, he worked as a buyer for the Boeing Company and taught college-level English. High Hunt , his first novel, was a contemporary adventure, but he soon began a spectacular career as a fantasy writer with his bestselling series The Belgariad . He