Illumination

Eiden Myr: a realm of jeweled plains where the wind keens in eerie song, of nightstone mountains veined with whispers, of dark wet woods and marshes where weird lights burn and weeping trees are older than memory. It has been protected for generations by the practice of magecraft: wordsmiths, illuminators, and binders working in triads to render castings with illuminated manuscripts. At its storm-swept head is the fastness of the highest triads--the Ennead. On this exquisitely textured canvas is painted a vivid tale of subversion and salvation.

When a young illuminator's magelight inexplicably deserts her on the night she receives her mage's triskele, she petitions the Ennead for healing. Instead they give her a task: to find a rogue wordsmith who has cruelly perverted their craft. Only if he is redeemed will they be able to free her magelight. Cut off from her light, she is the one mage who can get close without being twisted to his dark purposes. Soon he will have the power to destroy the Ennead; if she fails, the gentle peace of Eiden Myr will be shattered forever.

As her future and the world's twine like knotwork with the fate of the Darkmage, Liath Illuminator embarks on an unforgettable journey into the collision of vast, ancient enmities, the resurrection of warring forces, and the blazing revelation that comes only in the deepest dark.


Genre: Fantasy

"Illumination is unique, a fantasy as richly complex as the sutures of an ammonite's shell. Quite marvelous!" - David Drake

"Terry McGarry makes a brilliant splash of color on the fantasy landscape with Illumination. A fresh, unique take on magic by a true word artist." - Elizabeth Haydon

"Recommended without reservation to those who take their magic, and their relationships-seriously." - Gene Wolfe