Both Sides of the Blade (Qualthalas Quandaries Quadrilogy Volume 1)

Trade Paperback - New

Both Sides of the Blade Volume I of the Qualthalas Quandaries Quadrilogy By Ryan McLeod The birth of prince Qualthalas Aeth'Akir was supposed to have been an auspicious occasion for the moon dwelling Sillistrael'li elves of Antiqua, an ancient world orbiting the giant blue sun of a binary star system. But, since his heralded arrival, the sole heir to the Moon Elven Dynasty has lived a far from princely life, developing, instead, a keen knack for trouble as he struggles to find purpose. In his sojourn through the kingdoms of the Mithrainian continent, Qual stumbles into a diabolic plot involving the malevolent Darklord, Zhiniel Al-Nistir Szord'Ryn - an Indigo Elven necromancer covertly amassing a legion of the damned within his underworld citadel. Trapped in a twisted labyrinth with his half-orykan lover, Kaira, the mischievous elflord soon comes faceto-face with his murderous, exiled cousin, Cazares: now an agent of the Darklord. Employing a mysterious shadowy power, the dangerous and bitter pariah abducts Qual's companion and goads the meddling prince into following him through a network of portals leading into the heart of Zhiniel's domain. As Qualthalas traverses the underworld kingdom of Bazrin-Dal'ateir, alone and severely underprepared, help arrives in the strange form of a savage, viny terror, woven from the primordial essence of the predatory jungle it once inhabited. Forging a bizarre bond, the two work together to seek the source of the insidious miasma seeping into Antiqua's kindoms from its core. Unbeknownst to Qualthalas, he has been carefully manipulated by the hand of the Darklord himself: his involvement an orchestration, his very existence instrumental to Zhiniel's designs for world domination. As the desperate rogue delves deeper into the underworld, so the Soul Harvester's insidious grip tightens, threatening to snuff the light of Qual's last vestiges of sanity...