Todd Fahnestock is an American fantasy author, born in Culver City, California. He began publishing with the Heartstone Trilogy — Heir of Autumn, Mistress of Winter and Queen of Oblivion — co-written with Giles Carwyn for HarperCollins' Eos imprint between 2006 and 2008, and has since written largely on his own, across the Tower of the Four academy fantasy, the Threadweavers and Whisper Prince series, the middle-grade Wishing World books, and the Legacy of Shadows arc set in the shared Eldros Le...
Khyven the Unkillable
Khyven the Unkillable
Synopsis
Khyven has survived forty-nine bouts in the Night Ring, the arena at the centre of Usara, and the name he has earned for it is the Unkillable. King Vamreth's promise is simple: win the fiftieth and you walk out free, with a knighthood.
The king does not intend to keep it the way Khyven expects. Instead of a final match, he hands over a job. Khyven is to cross the noktum — a region of absolute, magical darkness — find the hidden refuge of the rebel leader known only as the Queen in Exile, gain her confidence, and betray her. Do that, and the knighthood is his.
What complicates it is the doing. Living among the queen's followers puts Khyven close enough to see what he has actually been asked to destroy, and leaves him standing between a rebel committed to her people and a king who wants her gone. This is the opening of Fahnestock's Legacy of Shadows, and it establishes the noktum and the companions who carry the rest of the series.
Vibe
Genres
Characters
Khyven the UnkillableProtagonist
A celebrity gladiator of the Night Ring, offered freedom and a knighthood if he infiltrates the rebellion and betrays its queen.
King VamrethAntagonist
Ruler of Usara, who holds Khyven's freedom over him and sets the price for it.
RhennSupporting
The rebel leader known as the Queen in Exile, whom Khyven is sent to deceive.
LorelleSupporting
A Luminent among the rebels.
VohnSupporting
A Shadowvar companion.
