The Dark Shore — Adam Lee

There are seven Dominons of Irth, ruled by the benevolent wizarduke Lord Drev -- a once peaceful world now town asunder by a vengeful and mighty Dark Lord. Once the usurper was merely mortal -- a scavenger who found a fabled sword and raised it high to lead the wretched in bloody, failed revolt against the ruler Peers. But the Abyss into which he was cast for his abominations, has transformed the baseborn Wrat into Hud'dre Vra -- a foul being of great, godless power and undiminished fury. He is now the Dark Lord, crossing over from the Dark Shore with his nightmare hordes of winged flesh-devouring cacodemons -- determined to devastate the world that rejected him…and remake it in his own vile image.

With horror, the people of Irth realize that the Charm that magically protects them has been rendered powerless against the onslaught. The once majestic floating, city of Arwar Odal lies in smoking ruin. And Lord Drev must find refuge from his terrible foe among the streetfighters, pickpockets and destitute urchins who inhabit the lowest depths of the capital city. Now he and a handful of courageous souls stand against the invader and his dread minions. For the renegade has returned to claim a realm that was never his. And nothing short of annihilation will satisfy the Dark Lord.

First entry, though complete in itself, of a fantasy trilogy from newcomer Lee. Upon the Bright Shore lie the dominions of Irth; above, the Abiding Star emanates magical Charm; below, in the Gulf, exist the cold, heavy, Charmless worlds of the Dark Shore. Irth's entire socioeconomic system, from wizardry to healing, depends on Charm. Once, the wizarduke of the ruling Council was challenged by the rebellious Bold Ones; their chief, Wrat, seized Drev's magic sword, slew Drev's sister, and attempted to conquer Irth. Drew cast them bodily into the Gulf. While upon the Dark Shore Wrat nursed his rage, acquired a black magic more powerful than Charm, and formed an unholy alliance with a gremlin. Now, seeking a frightful revenge, mad Wrat has returned to Irth as the Dark Lord, accompanied, courtesy of the gremlin, by hordes of dreadful cacodemons; these, being creatures of the Dark Shore, are invulnerable to Charm. So Drev hides in the desert while seeking his soulmate, the waif Tywi, whose protectors are the thief Dogbrick and his mysterious, capable companion, Ripcat. Two aristocratic children (few others have survived Wrat's onslaught), Jyoti and Poch, while trying to locate their aged weapons master, Caval, learn how to kill cacodemons without using Charm. Finally, Caval recollects his own sojourn on the Dark Shore, and his companion, the magus Reece, who returned with him to Irth--as Ripcat.