The Elenium
The Diamond Throne (1989)
U.S. ISBN 0-345-35691-8 (hardcover), 0-345-36769-3 (paperback)
U.K. ISBN 0-246-13345-7 (hardcover), 0-586-20372-9 (paperback)
American Cover
Here, in a brilliant new novel, unrelated to his previous bestselling works, David Eddings begins a new series of novels of dark magic, chivalry, high adventure, and selfless courage, set against a complex history dominated by the quest for a jewel of supernatural powers. This is mature fantasy and Eddings at the top of his form!
After ten long years of exile, Sparhawk came home to Elenia to take up his duties as a Pandion Knight and Queen's Champion. It was not a happy homecoming, as he soon learned.
His young Queen, Ehlana, was supposedly stricken with a fatal disease - the same as that which had killed King Aldreas, her father. She still lived, but only because of a great sorcery invoked by Sephrenia, ageless instructor in magic to the Pandions. Now she sat on her throne, frozen in a block of crystal, doomed unless a cure could be found within the year.
Annias, corrupt and ambitious Primate of the Church in Elenia, had made Ehlana's bastard cousin, the weakling Lycheas, Prince Regent and now ruled through him. By using the kingdom's treasure lavishly, Annias planned to bribe his way to Archprelacy and power over all the land. Only Sephrenia and the Church Knights opposed him, and for them he had dark plans.
But as Sparhawk and Sephrenia, now accompanied by Flute, an odd girl-child with strange powers, sought to save Ehlana and the land, they discovered the evil was greater than they had dreamed.
Behind Annias was Azash, the ancient demon-god of Zemoch, whose armies had barely been defeated by the magic and blood of the Church Knights five centuries before. But now the Zemochs were stirring again, and Azash was working through Annias and his henchmen to destroy the one person in the west who might defeat him.
That person, Sephrenia revealed, was - Sparhawk!
The Ruby Knight (1990)
U.S. ISBN 0-345-37043-0 (hardcover), 0-345-37352-9 (paperback)
U.K. ISBN 0-246-13731-2 (hardcover), 0-586-20373-7 (paperback)
Part 1: Lake Randera;
Part 2: Ghasek;
Part 3: The Troll Cave.
Quest for the Jewel of Life
British Cover
Enter the world of warring kingdoms, magic and marvels, political intrigues - enter the enthralling world of The Elenium.
In this second volume, Ehlana, young Queen of Elenia, clings to life by a thread, preserved within a diamond-like block of crystal conjured by the sorceress Sephrenia. But there is a price to pay - twelve Pandion Knights must sacrifice their lives to keep her alive for just one year.
Only one thing is powerful enough to save Ehlana - the Bhelliom, an exquisite and magical jewel that has been lost for centuries. Sparhawk, the Queen's Champion, and his band of allies must set off on a perilous quest to locate the precious stone. But the evil God Azash has plans for it himself ...
American Cover
Ehlana, Queen of Elenia, was poisoned and frozen in crystal to save her. But the spell could only last until the last Knight aiding it should die - as they were already dying, one each month. Too much time and too many deaths had been spent while Sparhawk, Knight and Queen's Champion, sought for the cure.
Now the ghost of her father had summoned him to reveal that it was Primate Annias who had poisoned her, to gain free access to the treasury, that he might bribe his way to become the Archprelate. And the cure for the poison was the Bhelliom, the great jewel lost in Lamorkand when King Sarak of Thalesia died in battle five hundred years ago. It had been in his crown, and since then men had searched the shores of Lake Randera for it - vainly.
Yet somehow, Sparhawk must find it. Grimly, he gathered his companions to go in search of it: four brave Knights, the novice Berit, his squire Kurik, and Sephrenia, the Styric instructor in magic to the Knights. At her suggestion, he added the young thief Talen and the strange little girl, Flute.
The Knight Tynian claimed some power in necromancy, and they hoped to gain knowledge of the dead King Sarak's burial place by raising the ghosts of those who had died in battle.
But the way was long, and troubles began to beset them at the outset. Azash, evil God of far-eastern Zemoch had sensed their quest and sent a Seeker - an evil, insectile monster of great power - to plague them. And there were other delays constantly.
But Sparhawk knew that somehow they must reach and find the Bhelliom before his queen could perish. They must not fail!
The Sapphire Rose (1991)
U.S. ISBN 0-345-37474-6 (hardcover), 0-345-37472-X (paperback)
U.K. ISBN 0-246-13347-3 (hardcover), 0-586-20374-5 (paperback)
American Cover
Finally the knight Sparhawk had come to possess Bhelliom, the legendary jewel of magic that alone could save Queen Ehlana from the deadly poison that had felled her father. Sparhawk and Sephrenia, ageless instructor in Styric magics, made haste to free Ehlana from the crystalline cocoon that had preserved her life while they desperately sought a cure.
But Bhelliom carried dangers of its own. Once the stone came into his hands, Sparhawk found himself being stalked by a dark, lurking menace. Whether the foul Zemoch God Azash was behind this threat, or some other enemy, even Sephrenia could not say - only that the sapphire rose held powers too dangerous for any mortal to bear.
Restoring Queen Ehlana would only be the beginning of Sparhawk's mission. With the aid of four stalwart knights, one from each Militant Order, he must thwart Ehlana's poisoner, the Primate Annias, in his plot to assume the throne of the Church. For as Archprelate, Annias would serve his secret master, Azash, and deliver up to the dread God the one thing Azash thirsted for - Bhelliom itself!
The Elenium: One-volume edition (1993)
U.K. ISBN 0-586-21867-X (paperback)
His spectacular epic masterwork The Elenium complete in one volume
British Cover
This compelling story of conflict between good and evil introduces the great Pandion Knight Sir Sparhawk, invincible warrior and master strategist, steadfast champion of Queen Ehlana. To save the life of his lovely young queen, Sparhawk and his companions journey to the most dangerous regions of Eosia in a quest for the sacred jewel of the Troll-Gods, the Sapphire Rose. With the help of the ageless Styric magician Sephrenia and the child goddess Aphrael, Sparhawk confronts the unholy triple alliance ranged against his queen: Otha, degenerate sorcerer-king of the Zemochs; the renegade Pandion Knight Martel; and Annias, traitorous Primate of Cimmura and lover of Ehlana's wicked aunt Arissa.
But to defeat them Sparhawk may have to unleash the full power of the jewel - and no one can predict whether the world itself will survive.
The three books of the magnificent Elenium trilogy by the greatest of modern fantasy writers. With daring, wit and brilliant panache, David Eddings brings to vivid life the world of Eosia and its inhabitants - they will live forever in the minds of enchanted readers.
All the books of the Elenium have been published in the US by Del Rey Books and in the UK by Grafton Books (an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers), from whose covers the summaries above are taken. As far as I know, the one-volume edition has only been published in the UK.
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