Hey Folks,
Work on my next fantasy series, Rise of the Thrall Lord, has officially begun! This new series continues the adventures of the cast from Heroes of Ravenford, but this time things take a much more serious turn as they face opponents of legendary, and even mythic, proportions. It's not just Ravenford that is now in jeopardy, but the entire world of Arinthar.
So who is the Thrall Lord? To answer that, we must delve into Thac’s tumultuous past. The world of Arinthar has a long history, spanning back well before the elvish scholars began to record it over seven thousand years ago. There have been many ages and many wars over the course of time. The last great war occurred nearly one hundred and fifty years ago on the island continent of Thac.
At that time, dark cults had sprung up across the land, dabbling in black magic to bend creatures to their will. Yet four mages in particular rose above the rest. These four became know as the Thrall Masters, enslaving the greatest of creatures into their armies of minions. Valanor, the Death Lord, had attained mastery of all undead beings. The Golem Master, Larketh, had achieved control over all animated constructs. Urekar, the Dragon Master, had power over every species of draconic origin.
The fourth rose even further still. Valgar, the Demon Master, became known as the Thrall Lord. His mastery of the demons of the Abyss, both greater and lesser, made him feared even by all the other masters. The Thrall Lord and his Thrall Masters sent their army of minions spilling out over the island of Thac. They destroyed everything in their path in their quest for world domination.
Almost too late, an alliance of races was formed to stand against the Thrall Lord’s armies. The metallic dragons, the fey races, and the races of man banded together to drive back the enthralled hordes. Deadly battles ensued with heavy tolls on both sides. The alliance dragons were hit the hardest, their ranks decimated against the power of the Dragon Thrall Master. Still, each master fell one by one until only the Thrall Lord himself remained.
The last great battle took place at the foot of the Thrall Lord’s citadel on the plains just west of Silver Lake. An epic struggle ensued between the alliance and the countless demon hordes. The titanic clash came to an end when the Lord of All Demons himself was banished back to the abyss and took his armies with him. With his minions gone, the Thrall Lord himself finally fell.
Throughout the Heroes of Ravenford series, references were made to the Thrall Wars and the Thrall Masters. The young companions even come up against a number of the Golem Master’s creatures that survived all these years. There are a numerous hints to the possible return of the Thrall Masters. The seeress, Elistra, foretells the possibility. A number of towns are invaded by undead, including Ravenford itself. They have run-ins with a black knight and the Princess of Lanfor who both display remarkable control over dragons. Also, Donatello and Karathralla barely escaped from a tower in the mountains filled with demons.
Rise of the Thrall Lord (ROTL) will continue to expand on the possible return of the Thrall Masters. The young companions will discover the truth behind these rumors and undead uprisings. They will again face the Princess of Lanfor. And not least of all, they will deal with the tower full of demons. Their adventures will take them throughout Thac and beyond. They will make new friends and allies as they search for answers and ways to defeat these powerful enemies. They will uncover secrets from the past and dangers beyond anything they have imagined.
I hope that has whet your appetite for this next series. I am certainly having fun writing it and hope you’ll enjoy reading as much. The first book in ROTL will be entitled City of Tears. I am loosely targeting it for a release sometime late next spring.
Anyway, that’s it for this month. Stay tuned next month for more about ROTL and the Tales from Thac anthology.
F.P.