Search Worlds Without End

Contents:

• 9 - Introduction (Perchance To Dream And Other Stories) - (2005) - essay
• 11 - Perchance to Dream - [DragonCrown War] - (2005) - novelette
• 51 - The Krells of Tancras Moor - (2003) - novelette
• 77 - Let Me Call You Sweetheart - (1991) - shortstory
• 99 - Tip-Off - (1995) - novelette
• 129 - Absolutely Charming - (1991) - shortstory
• 141 - The Parker Panic - (1999) - novelette
• 175 - Wind Tiger - (1992) - novelette
• 211 - Blood Duty - (1995) - shortstory
• 217 - When You're Dead... - (2001) - shortstory
• 235 - It's the Thought That Counts - (1992) - shortstory
• 263 - Asgard Unlimited - (1998) - shortstory
• 285 - Shepherd - [Talion] - (1991) - shortstory
• 311 - The Final Gift - (1990) - shortstory
• 321 - Kid Binary and the Two-Bit Gang - (1997) - shortstory
• 345 - The Greenhorn - (2002) - poem
• 353 - Peer Review - (1995) - novelette

Four young men come of age in a time of prophecy and war....

New York Times bestselling author Michael A. Stackpole is a recognized star of military fantasy. The Dark Glory War is a thrilling new tale set in a world threatened by an unstoppable foe....

In the sacred season of the Moon Month, four young men don the masks that herald their coming-of-age celebration, a time of testing, ritual, festival, and romance.

But for Tarrant Hawkins and his friends Leigh, Rounce, and Nay, their first test becomes a desperate struggle for survival. For they will encounter the vanguard of an invasion force poised to overrun their homeland of Oriosa, and all four will find their lives changed forever when they encounter a legendary weapon that brings its wielder invincibility. Yet the magic sword may prove more curse than blessing, signaling the arrival of a cataclysmic battle with ancient foes. And in the face of dire sorceries and terrible battles, these youths will come to manhood... or to death.

In an age of treachery and peril, a young thief may be the prophesied savior ... or the betrayer of the world.

From Michael A. Stackpole, New York Times bestselling author and a master of epic fantasy, comes a stirring chronicle of magic, intrigue, passion, and the most unlikely of heroes...

Once one of the grandest of human cities, Yslin now has a dark heart known as the Dimandowns. And when Will, an orphaned young thief from the Dim, plots to prove himself to his master by stealing a prize from the exiled Elves who share the fetid slums, his theft of the strange artifact snares him in a web of prophecy.

It also brings him together with Kedyn's Crow, a shadowy human warrior, and Resolute, a Vorquelf determined to redeem his long-lost island home. To them, Will could be the fulfillment of a long-held dream and the last chance the world has to save itself from Chytrine, the northern tyrant who would be empress of the world.

But their belief in Will finds few allies in a world torn by war and magick. Preoccupied with their own internecine struggles, the world's leaders see Will as a pawn. Only Chytrine seems able to recognize Will's destiny, and she sends her Dark Lancers to destroy him. For who better to destroy a hero than the ill-fated heroes of the previous generation, survivors of a failed war to exterminate Chytrine, now corrupted to her service?

Yet even as Will is tested, a new generation takes up arms where their predecessors failed. Alexia, princess of a dead nation, leads an army to oppose Chytrine. And the sorcerers of Vilwan have fashioned their own hero, Kerrigan Reese, bestowing upon him powers and abilities no human has held for centuries.

Together these heroes travel to the mysterious Fortress Draconis to stop Chytrine from stealing more fragments of the DragonCrown -- a powerful artifact that, once in her control, will guarantee her dominion forever.

As her merciless armies sweep from the north, the tyrant Chytrine pursues her quest to become empress of the world in a brutal campaign of unspeakable bloodshed and unholy sorcery. While cities and kingdoms topple, her agents, both living and dead, search for fragments of the shattered DragonCrown--which, when reassembled, will make her unstoppable.

Opposing Chytrine is the beautiful and determined Alexia, Princess of Okrannel. As she struggles to save the life of Kedyn's Crow, a mysterious human warrior accused of treachery, she gathers around her an alliance of unlikely heroes, including Resolute, an exiled Vorquelf out for vengeance; Kerrigan Reese, a mage with uncertain potential; and last but not least, young Will, an orphan thief from the slums of Yslin, who may be the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy--or its innocent victim. Alexia and her friends will need all their courage and magick, their only advantage the secret possession of a vital fragment of the DragonCrown.

But when Chytrine's terrifying horde of cruel warriors, voracious minions, and remorseless undead slaves join the battle against them, even courage and magick may not be enough to stem the tide of ultimate darkness.

The hope of the future, Will Norrington, prophesied to bring down the northern tyrant Chytrine and redeem the world, is said to be dead, lost in the heart of a fiery volcano. The news has thrown the Council of Kings into a furor and drained the spirit from once united factions. As questions swirl about as to Will's legacy, and even his identity, one thing is clear: a divided alliance lacks power. And this may be exactly the opening Chytrine needs to seize control-and capture the empowering artifact, the DragonCrown-once and for all.

Still, Will's friends and comrades remain true to his cause, preparing to continue the fight. Among them is the Vilwanese hero, Kerrigan Reese, and Alyx, groomed to lead an army. Sayce, pregnant with Will's child, must remain behind as the new custodian of the Norrington future in case they fail. But even as they draw up battle plans, with the enemy nearer than they think, a shattering betrayal-and a stunning revelation-may change the course of everything.