Inheritance — Simon Brown

A Kingdom Divided

Together, the four Keys of Power give the ruler of Grenda Lear absolute authority. But on her deathbed Queen Usharna divides the keys, and thus the power that augments the throne, among her four children, giving the Key of the Scepter to her heir, Prince Berayma, the Key of the Sword to her only daughter Areava, the Key of the Heart to her timid son Olio, and the Key of Union to her youngest son, Lynan, who is the child of General Elynd Chisal, Grenda Lear's greatest military hero.

But though Lynan's father had a glorious history, he was a commoner, and Lynan has always been acutely aware of the dilution of his noble blood. Ignored by his mother, and excluded from the minor court duties delegated to his royal siblings, Lynan has become something of a rebel. Risking his life on the streets of the capital city, he tries desperately to locate anyone who has personal knowledge of his illustrious father--a man he never knew.

When after the death of his mother, Lynan is betrayed by those in power, he must flee for his life, taking with him only the enigmatic Key of Union. Sought after by those who oppose him at court, can Lynan, with the help of the giant Kumul and the crookback Ager, two men who had served loyally in battle under his father, along with Jenrosa, a fledgling magician from the Theurgia of Stars, survive long enough to claim his inheritance...?