Life Before The Alien Magic

The great Dwarf King Ansil confronts a vicious god amidst the ruins of manmade Zorel. The king successfully slays the all-seeing serpent, isolating its tail, with its many eyes, which he immediately makes use of, revealing his traitor to be his own second-in-command, named Gredyl. The dwarf King buries the tail. Meanwhile, the dying god, never truly dying, plots his revenge. Cheron and Candide of the North Wood slay a village of elves to extort their secret taken from Arlot.

Rapheh the scholar and Belphesor the soon-to-be Fell King become unlikely allies in the imminent Wizard War. Both decide to share the rule of the coming Abysine, with Rapheh's University owning the east and the wizard within Therestian governing the west.

Thokil the Younger befriends Batkin, the blood heir to the dwarven throne, but kills him when he fears for the continued well-being of all the dwarves. Wizard Belphesor fears for the health of his mother Tisiphone and recruits the scholar Rapheh to make her better, but she flees her son before he tells her of his plans for her throughout the Wizard War.

King Chase receives his army, the Wk Du, from young Vuillard. Lord Brokil of the Clevrilites is nearly slain by dwarf King Xendyl as both fight for control of Sturm. Thokil the Elder rescues Lord Brokil. Thokil the Younger gains the trust of the beggar boy Batkin, the true heir to the throne of Sturm.

Candide and Cheron become trapped in Arlot, and very nearly lose their lives. But Pren-Hooke of the halfbreeds rescues them, for a price. The three lead their armies for the dwarven kingdom of Sturm. King Chase meets a mysterious boy on his way east, as he looks to build his army. The strange boy, Chase learns, at a very high cost, has become a King even greater than the prophecied leader of the Dragonbred.

Thokil the Elder is prepared to slay every member of the treacherous Royal Guard, including his own son, but most are spared once Gredyl intervenes. Thokil the Younger respects Gredyl and offers his services to the blind veteran and the King he intends to hand Sturm over to. But Thokil must prove his loyalty to the One King Ansil, to whom Gredyl intends to hand over Sturm. Thokil the Younger must find the boy Batkin and save him from harm. Meanwhile, Cheron and Candide enter empty Arlot for secrets, and intend on slaying the elves in their company to have that treasure revealed.

Pindar and Poscoe, whose unborn son is the promised King of the Elves, are captured by Couvre and the pilgrims of village Bloody Tunic, seized for the cruel purposes of god Rigor. But a mysterious bald figure rescues the pair and liberates them. They flee, but the village succumbs to the armies of Rigor and his allies. Bertyl, the dwarf guilty of killing Trindayl the king of Sturm, fears there are traitors among his twelve lieutenants. Bertyl orders Thokil the Elder to interrogate each. Including his son Thokil the Younger.

The halfbreed King Pren-Hooke confesses his culpability in participating in the murders of the people of Copperweal. The humans desert his army. The elves are complicit with the dwarves. Cheron leads his army into Arlot. Lord Brokil of the dwarven Clevrilites, boasts that King Ansil, the One King of the united nation of the dwarves, will rule again. According to him, the War of the Races is imminent. The elves Pindar and Poscoe conceive a son, an unheard of act among the elves. The boy is destined to become the King of the Elves. But a wizard is intent on slaying the unborn child.

King Trindayl is slain, precipitating the Dwarf War. Elf Pindar learns his wife has fled Castle Wren and must be in the village Bloody Tunic. King Pren-Hooke of the halfbreed elves, once the humans learn of the hybrids' treachery in Copperweal, plans to eradicate the humans within his ranks, but Lord Brokil of the dwarven Clevrilites prevents that from happening.

Gredyl escapes the elven village of Arlot with a leather-bound book, a weapon, if in the right hands, could kill a god. A contingent of elves escort Gredyl to the dwarven kingdom of Sturm, but not before crippling him. Cheron and Candide, informed of the value of Arlot by a murderous elf, arrive there too late. They head for Sturm, ahead of their army. In Sturm, Gredyl confronts King Trindayl, telling him his father Ansil has returned to reclaim the dwarf nation.

For betraying the beloved King Ansil, the one king of all the dwarves, Gredyl is consigned to a crypt until which time he is resurrected to assist King Ansil in reestablishing his reign, though it be forty years later, and Gredyl is starved for vengeance. Gredyl has returned to the land of the living. Will he honor his king, or will he once more align with those opposed to the King?

King Socha of the half-elves is slain. General Pren-Hooke takes command of his army and marches to claim the secret the elves have hidden in the village of Arlot. Within Mount Ish, Belphesor abducts Pindar, the would-be father of the Elf King. His actions begin the Wizard War.

Elf Poscoe enters the village Bloody Tunic and encounters Celeste's god. King Socha, King Pren-Hooke and King Chase learn that an innocuous standard bearer accompanying a powerful ally from across the sea is an unparalleled threat to their armies and their rule.

Paen, the twin sister of elf Poscoe, succeeds in saving Poscoe from the raging god Rigor, though she reveals her one son to be in Mount Ish, presumed to end the reign of the god. The timeless elf scribe Prawn creates the names 'Poscoe' and 'Pindar', the hope of the future of the elves.

King Chase of the Wk Du, having been denied the alliance with the half-elves, recruits humans from the Aix river valley. He knowingly befriends a woman destined to kill Chase's wife and children. God Rigor commands Sapling sharpshooters to eliminate the remaining leadership among the full-blood Elder Elves.

King Chase of the human Dragonbred emerges as sole victor over the elves of Castle Wren. King Socha of the halfbreed elves asserts his own authority over the disenfranchised elves. Most elves flee for the pristine First Forest. Those few who remain are subjected to a horrific act. This crime compels King Chase to flee his ally. Socha.

King Chase is invited into the last elven fortress Castle Wren. A compromising secret will cost several lives. The elves, despite their fading presence, have a profound hope. King Chase does find the foundation for his kingdom within.

The half elves led by King Socha assault the full blood elves' fortress Castle Wren, the only entrance into the idyllic First Forest, using the most diabolical poison Elflime.

The half-elves and Clevrilite dwarves know they must recruit the humans and are banking on powerful secrets to aid them in the coming War of the Races. The god Rigor, newly resurrected, has divided the powerful Authority of wizards and witches.

Captain Pren-Hooke rescues his race's savior, the half-elf Socha, the king that will allow the hybrids finally a place of privilege throughout the Abysine. But that future comes at a price. Can the half elves follow their king and commit the most heinous of crimes?

Will the auspicious birth of child Chase to a dragon end men's slavery and murder at the hands of dwarves and elves? Who will win the last War of the Races?

Events promise the fulfillment of prophecy and the hope, in the birth of a would-be king, that mankind will no longer be subjected to slavery and genocide at the hands of the dwarves and elves, and be victorious in the last War of the Races

Candide uses her knowledge of others' weaknesses to own the North Wood. What is her own weakness? Who is the King of the North Wood?

Cheron and his army descend upon the cherished and marvelous Golden Bridle. Listen for the surprise twist.

Former Mayor Toris fears God has deserted him, but has He? Cheron has plans for the mighty Council of Eight.

The mysterious Azen may own the North Wood, but he succeeds at this by compromising those with ambition. Will Cheron submit to the boy's designs?

Cheron, a man whose words come true, identifies a mysterious boy who can help him win the world

The Abysine is in great danger! Can the various persons of the world overcome their many differences to defeat a man whose every word comes true?

God may be dead, he may be proven never to have been, but courage and selfless sacrifice will make God more a power in the Abysine, even if he resides only in the people's hearts.

Proof has been revealed both that God doesn't exist, and that village Golden Bridle had abused its authority by circulating lies. Can the most distinguished village in the North Wood survive the coming war, especially without Mayor Toris?

A secret that, once exposed, could liberate the dwarves, who have lost everything in the latest War of the Races. The wizard Kerchall is close to defeating all the person's of the North Wood.

What happens if God is proven to never have been, but the distinguished faithful refuse to believe that?

The other, unremarkable, villages of the North Wood fear the imminence of Golden Bridle and send in an army of vengeful dwarves to defeat them.

This is a prequel to the offerings of VanDerMark on Amazon Kindle. Nothing is more powerful, or frightening, as a secret. The identity of a god is the most dangerous of secrets.