The Legacy of the Watcher

  by David Dalglish

  BOOKS BY DAVID DALGLISH

  THE HALF-ORC SERIES

  The Weight of Blood

  The Cost of Betrayal

  The Death of Promises

  The Shadows of Grace

  A Sliver of Redemption

  The Prison of Angels

  The King of the Vile

  The King of the Fallen

  THE SHADOWDANCE SERIES

  Cloak and Spider (novella)

  A Dance of Cloaks

  A Dance of Blades

  A Dance of Mirrors

  A Dance of Shadows

  A Dance of Ghosts

  A Dance of Chaos

  THE PALADINS

  Night of Wolves

  Clash of Faiths

  The Old Ways

  The Broken Pieces

  THE BREAKING WORLD

  Dawn of Swords

  Wrath of Lions

  Blood of Gods

  THE SERAPHIM

  Skyborn

  Fireborn

  Shadowborn

  THE KEEPERS TRILOGY

  Soulkeeper

  Ravencaller

  Voidbreaker

  VAGRANT GODS TRILOGY

  The Bladed Faith

  The Sapphire Altar

  The Slain Divine

  A Note from the Author:

  I know you’re used to finding these at the back of the book, not the front, but I’m making a special exception here. Legacy of the Watcher is explicitly continuing a storyline seeded at the very end of its sixth book, A Dance of Chaos. As such, there will be significant spoilers for events of that entire series throughout this book. I have done what I can to keep them to a minimum, just in case, but there is only so much I can do, given the nature of things. If you’ve started all these Dezrel books with the Half-Orcs, I highly suggest you read all of Shadowdance before continuing on with this one if you want to get everything out of this novel.

  The same goes for anyone who might be stumbling onto this book having skipped the earlier Half-Orcs novels because they want the resolution to the Haern storyline from Shadowdance. I have tried to make this novel stand on its own, but being book eight in a series, some things are inevitable.

  This novel is my fun, heartfelt goodbye to the world of Dezrel. There are nods to Shadowdance, to the early Half-Orcs books, even the Paladins and the Breaking World. If you’ve come with me on this journey through all those series, then welcome here to the end. I suspect you will enjoy the ride.

  What follows now will be recaps, one for Shadowdance, one for Half-Orcs. I will try to keep the Shadowdance one as vague as possible for those who haven’t read it, and hit on only the important parts relevant to this stage of the journey.

  That said, enjoy, dear readers, at long last, the story of Erin Felhorn.

  A Reminder of Shadowdance, For Those Who Need One:

  Aaron Felhorn is the son of Thren Felhorn, groomed since birth to be his father’s successor,to inherit the sprawling empire of crime known as the Spider Guild. Through the influence of friends, and a chance meeting with Delysia Eschaton, he starts envisioning a life beyond the killing and subterfuge.

  Alyssa Gemcroft is the heir to the Gemcroft family fortune. The Gemcrofts are one-third of what is known as the Trifect, a coalition of wealthy families who dominate trade in the nation of Neldar. That wealth, and that desire for total control, often puts them in conflict with the thief guilds. Thren Felhorn spearheads that war, spilling blood on all sides as mercenaries and assassins wage war in the city of Veldaren’s streets. With the help of the mysterious Zusa, a woman belonging to the god Karak’s assassin order known as the Faceless, Alyssa defends her role as leader of her household after the death of her father, taking control of the Gemcroft estate as the thief war rages on.

  It is during this conflict that Aaron fakes his death and starts a life on the streets, adopting the name Haern to hide his identity. He wages his own private war against the thief guilds, putting an end to years of strife, creating an uneasy peace that is brokered with the king’s assistance. Haern himself is charged with ensuring peace endures, becoming the King’s Watcher, the fearsome haunt of Veldaren’s night streets.

  After a few years, Haern finds Delysia Eschaton once again, and joins the strange band of mercenaries her brother, Tarlak, manages. He also befriends Zusa, accompanying her and Alyssa on a trip to the southern city of Angelport. There they become embroiled in an attempt by an elf known as the Wraith to destroy the city’s leadership. The Wraith’s actions lead to the deaths of fellow Trifect leaders, Laurie and Madelyn Connington. Haern and Zusa defeat the Wraith, but the Connington family is ruined, with six year old Tori Connington the only surviving heir. She is left in the care of Warrick Sun, a member of the local merchant lords. Warrick had squabbled with the Trifect, but sees becoming steward of the Connington estate a chance to establish a new era in the east…as well as a way to potentially break up the Trifect forever.

  When Haern returns to Veldaren, he finds new trouble brewing. Thren’s former master and teacher, the elf known as Muzien the Darkhand, has brought his Sun Guild all the way from the west to threaten Veldaren. He considers Thren a failure for being kept under the heel of the King’s Watcher, and instigates a plan to burn the entire city to the ground with the aid of powerful magic. To stop him, Thren and Haern team up against the master of the Sun Guild. Together, they defeat the legendary elf.

  The city, however, is not yet saved. Thren discovers Haern’s true identity, and he offers his son, now in the guise of the Watcher, the chance to once more become his heir. They can rule the city together, the King’s Watcher and the lord of the thieves, masters of both sides of the conflict. Haern finally reveals his face, hoping to sway his father’s heart, but instead Thren denies him to the last, saying that he cannot be his son, because Aaron died in a fire. They battle. Haern is victorious, and debates killing a defeated Thren, but cannot bring himself to murder his own father. Instead he leaves Thren there on the rooftops, utterly broken.

  The city is safe, but Alyssa Gemcroft grows tired of the guilds, the infighting, and the other members of the Trifect. She orders the rest of her family, Zusa and her son Nathaniel, to leave Veldaren. As they depart, Zusa reveals she is pregnant, the result of a fumbling tryst with Haern. She does not tell Haern, and come the events that follow, is never given a chance to. And so Alyssa and Zusa depart for Riverrun, their own relationship maturing as Zusa gives birth to Erin Gemcroft, where she is first raised in quiet, peaceful Riverrun…at least until the world is broken, demons flood the lands, and they are forced to flee to Angelport, to endure the Second Gods’ War.

  A Reminder of the Half-Orcs, For Those Who Need One

  It’s been a long, strange life for Harruq Tun. A street urchin forced out the city of Veldaren for his orcish blood, he and his brother, Qurrah, travel to the city of Woodhaven. There, the two half-orcs are recruited by the Prophet of Karak, a long-lived necromancer named Velixar. Given power and ancient weaponry, they slaughter in Karak’s name, eventually joining in an assault on the city of Woodhaven.

  Velixar is not the only influence on Harruq’s life, however. He has befriended Aurelia Thyne, an elven sorceress who arrived at Woodhaven to investigate crimes that would turn out to be Harruq’s. They battle, with Harruq nearly killing her. Ashamed, he abandons the assault and flees with Aurelia, leaving Qurrah alone to escape the city. Velixar is seemingly killed by elven reinforcements led by Scoutmaster Dieredon. Eventually, Qurrah reconvenes with the other Harruq and Aurelia, and the trio travel north, to Veldaren.

  There, the three are recruited into Tarlak Eschaton’s weird little group of mercenaries, where they befriend Delysia Eschaton. Harruq is given proper training for the first time in his life under Haren, the King’s Watcher himself. Joining the Eschaton, however, embroils Harruq into brand new conflicts.

  A broken and miserable Thren Felhorn attempts to lure the Watcher into an ambush by poisoning Aurelia. A ruthless Haern and furious, berserking Harruq storm into the lair of the Spider Guild. Haern battles his father, eventually revealing his identity to the rest of the guild before executing Thren Felhorn, ending the life of the former master of the underworld in a most piteous manner.

  Naturally, Aurelia marries Harruq for such chivalrous acts taken on her behalf. (I may be skipping over some things).

  Joy and heartbreak follow in equal measure. Qurrah’s romance with Tessanna Delone, one of the goddess Celestia’s unimaginably powerful daughters of balance, brings tragedy to Harruq and Aurelia, indirectly ending the life of their beloved daughter, Aullienna. Battle follows, but Harruq is unable to take the life of his brother, instead demanding he and Tessanna leave Veldaren, never to return.

  Neither take it well. What was a clash between brothers grows, as the brother gods Karak and Ashhur get involved and start taking sides. Eventually, Tessanna rips a hole in reality itself, opening the way for Thulos, god of war and fractured part of Karak and Ashhur, to step through, along with a host of his demons. They burn the world of Dezrel, until, through an act of faith, Harruq brings forth a host of angels to battle the demons. So begins the Second Gods’ War, which results in Harruq slaying Thulos and earning himself the title of Godslayer.

  In the years that follow, Qurrah and Tessanna, great betrayers of humanity for granting Thulos his demons passage into the world, try to make a new life in the land of Ker, south of Mordan, which is now known as the land of angels. Ever since
Thulos’s defeat, the angels have steadily grown more powerful and more involved in the daily aspects of human life, and their disgust over humanity’s sin grows in equal measure. The head of their priestly order, Azariah, engineers the collapse of the floating angelic city of Avlimar as an excuse to take control over humanity directly. Ashhur punishes them for their hubris, ordering through a faithful servant that those angels who value their own power over humanity’s safety shall be cursed. Their forms are perverted, and in their rage the fallen angels slaughter humanity without reason in what becomes known as the Night of Black Wings. The angels still loyal to Ashhur, led by Ahaesarus, engage the fallen in an equally bloody conflict.

  It is a war with brutal casualties. Both Qurrah and Tessanna give their lives, Qurrah to save Harruq and Aurelia’s second daughter, Aubrienna, and Tessanna to ruin the armies of both factions to ensure that humanity will endure no matter who emerges victorious, and resume control over itself instead of fighting at the whims of angels.

  Harruq leads the final assault on Mordeina, capital city of Mordan, and with the help of his wife and friends claims the lives of the fallen’s leaders. Those fallen who remain flee to Devlimar, their earthbound city built in the wake of Avlimar’s collapse. Even after the brutal fight to take Mordeina, Ahaesarus announces they will assault Devlimar come morning, determined to put an end to their foes once and for all.

  Not all agree. Jessilynn, paladin of Ashhur, laments the coming assault. She sees yet another battle where the people whom Ashhur claims to love will give their lives only to prove Ashhur’s superiority over his brother. In response, Ashhur, in the guise of the angel Ahaesarus, relents and orders Jessilynn to fire a single arrow with her broken bow. Celestia, true goddess of the lands of Dezrel, unleashes her fury upon Devlimar, adding thousands more arrows to that lone first. The fallen are broken. The war is over. The dead are many, including Scoutmaster Dieredon, who dies in Jessilynn’s arms.

  Ashhur’s apology does not end there. He opens a portal for the angels to return to the Golden Eternity, so they might no longer be guardians of humanity, nor risk becoming their jailors. They abandon a war-torn Dezrel, with Celestia promising that the influence of both brothers, Karak and Ashhur, will be greatly diminished upon the land.

  In the years that follow, Harruq does what he can to guide young prince Gregory Copernus, preparing him to take his proper seat as King of Mordan, to usher in what all hope will be an age of peace.

  Prologue

  THREN

  The year 590 IA

  Thren Felhorn stood in the center of a warehouse owned by his guild. One wall was stacked full with crates full of dyed threads from Angelport, smuggled into Veldaren to avoid import fees. On the opposite wall were barrels full of ale brewed in the fields south of Felwood Castle, hidden with Thren’s aid to lessen the tax assessments of some minor lord’s true worth. The wealth and power of the Spider Guild, used to help a few paltry nobles keep a bit of coin in their pockets.

  How far Thren’s empire had fallen.

  No. Not fallen.

  Broken.

  “I must say, the Council of Mages rarely cares how much gold and silver is bribed their way,” said a voice behind Thren. The hairs on his neck stood on end. No one could enter without his notice, not without magical aid.

  “And yet here you are,” he said, turning to address his visitor. He was a smaller man wearing the distinctive robes of a master of the Black Tower. His head was shaved, his black skin marred with little white scars across his face and neck. Thren wondered if they were self-inflicted, or from a cruel lifetime that came before his entrance into the towers.

  “Might I have your name, wizard?”

  “Aeng,” the man said. Though he was smaller than Thren, he crossed his arms and managed to somehow appear he was looking down on him. “And I say so to inform you that it was not your price that brought me here, but instead, curiosity.”

  “It is not unusual for thief guilds to occasionally pay for services of a magical nature. Did I not already use your aid in creation of my recent pet?”

  Aeng smiled. He was handsome, Thren decided, but the hungry look in his brown eyes, and the way his cheek twitched and his hands fidgeted was off-putting. But why was this surprising? The wizards of the towers were not known for their sociability.

  “No, but it is odd when one requests a master in bone, blood, and death. Have you taken an interest in the darker arts, guildmaster?” Aeng’s amused look turned dour. “Or do you seek information on the necromancer who assaulted your city alongside the orcs?”

  Thren stayed his ground and sized the man up. He would be putting his trust in a stranger, but did he have any other choice? At least the Council’s reputation was spotless. If Aeng was considered their best, he would be their best.

  “I have no interest in some mad servant of Karak,” Thren said, and pulled a small scrap of paper from his pocket. He offered it to Aeng. “This is my request, if you are capable of it.”

  Aeng lifted an eyebrow, but when Thren gave no additional explanation, he shrugged and accepted the paper. A tiny bloom of nerves tried to birth in Thren’s chest, but he choked them down. His path was set. Doubt had no place in him. When Aeng was done reading, Thren extended his hand, accepting the slip of parchment back. Even now, spies from the other guilds might be watching. This request was between him and Aeng, and no one else.

  “An interesting game is afoot,” Aeng said, scratching at the scars on his face. “Who is this intended for?”

  “Myself.”

  That got Aeng’s full attention. “Really? Well then, how could I refuse?”

  “You can do it then?”

  The wizard scoffed.

  “Of course I can do it. Our bodies are but meat and bone, solid matter that house the soul. They follow rules, predictable ones to those who study them.” He grinned. “It will be unpleasant, though. Very unpleasant.”

  Thren reached into his pocket and pulled out two bags of coin. He threw the first one to Aeng.

  “That is the agreed upon fee to the Council.” He tossed the second. “And that is for you alone, for your secrecy.”

  Aeng shook them both, nodded, and pocketed them. When done, he clapped his hands. The sound was startling in the quiet warehouse.

  “Well then, I need a few things from my room in the Black Tower, but that will only be a quick hop there and back with a portal. When would you like to do this?”

  Everything else was already set in motion. Members of his guild were stationed throughout his territory, clueless to the real machinations at work. It would start soon with an ambush, and a well-aimed poisoned dart.

  Without Thren, there could be no Spider Guild.

  So long as the Watcher lived, there could be no Spider Guild.

  Something had to give.

  “Tonight,” he said. “Weave your magic, wizard. Be it curse or blessing, I need it for when the Watcher brings his blades to bear.”

  Twenty of Thren’s men stood between him and the Watcher, yet it was a paltry defense against his son’s true skill. Another fighter was with him, a half-orc of great strength and decent aptitude, no doubt all of it owing to his son’s training. They’d come to the underground lair of his guild headquarters seeking a cure to a poison one of Thren’s men had inflicted upon a member of their little mercenary band.

  “It is time to die, Watcher,” Thren said. Pretending to not know the face hidden beneath the hood. Pretending this was all a master plan meant to finally slay Veldaren’s Watcher. “The honor of thieves must be restored.”

  He snapped his fingers, and his guild rushed forward to die. There was no questioning it. Thren and Haern had fought after the death of Muzien the Darkhand. Thren had seen his son’s true skill, and it was far beyond any person in any guild in any city. But instead of meeting the charge, the Watcher pulled back his hood.

  Thren stared at the face of his son, his blond hair, slick with sweat, sticking to his forehead and neck. He was handsome, and so young. Even his smoldering rage added life to him. Pain, deep and unbearable, struck Thren’s chest.

  This was the second time Aaron had revealed his face to him. The first had been after slaying the Darkhand, ending his attempt to destroy the city of Veldaren. As the rain fell, and the unknown necromancer waged his war beyond the walls, Thren had spoken the only truth he was capable of bearing.