alpine tarn. And they are no less observant for their years: Coerria is well aware of the personal ambitions of Llynia , just as she is quick to notice the potential of someone quite unusual—an apprentice third class named Elliryanna .
Cuttayka
To win the rank of first among the Clan Sentries, this burly eagleman with an angular jaw and sturdy wings had to prove his skills as a warrior. And he also needed to prove his loyalty to Quenaykha , the ruthless leader of the Bram Kaie clan of Fireroot . Cuttayka did both, many times over, as the battle scars on his chest proved. But as Scree discovered, Cuttayka gave his highest allegiance not to Quenaykha—but to the clan itself.
Deth Macoll
This master of disguise was Avalon ’s most dangerous assassin—which is why the sorcerer Kulwych enlisted his services. Though human, Deth Macoll could alter his appearance almost as drastically as a changeling. He could appear, at one moment, as an elderly woman so hunched over that her head nearly touched her knees. Then, at the next moment, he could become a bumbling jester who wore tiny silver bells all over his clothes, so that he jingled whenever he moved. He could assume many other guises as well, although his true form was that of a bald man with a sallow face and flinty gray eyes.
More than the art of disguise, Deth Macoll enjoyed the sense of complete power he felt the instant before he killed someone. He savored that feeling, and often prolonged it by stretching out the death of his prey. As a youth, his parents disappeared just when his health deteriorated; during those years, what he most craved was a measure of control. Later in life, whenever he thrust his hidden blade into a new victim, he found exactly that.
Deth Macoll and Kulwych never enjoyed each other's company. But they did sometimes work together because it was mutually profitable. When Deth was hired to hunt down the young priestess Elli , however, the old relationship suddenly changed. For their goal was not just to eliminate someone, but to gain enormous power in the process—power they would be unlikely to share.
Doomraga
Deep in the darkest part of Avalon 's most dreaded marsh, in a pit of rotting corpses, a terrible monster swelled in size—directly in proportion to the misery and suffering it had caused. Doomraga, surrounded by fearsome marsh ghouls, roared in rage as its body grew into a gigantic troll whose one red eye glowed ominously. For the arrival of its master, Rhita Gawr , was fast approaching, just as their long-awaited chance to conquer Avalon and crush the dragon Basilgarrad was also fast approaching.
Drumalings
Tamwyn first encountered these strange, treelike creatures in Merlin's Knothole , and then later in the branch-realm of Holosarr . Standing twice a man's height, their woody skin is knobby and weathered, with grassy tufts sprouting from their many limbs. Their faces are found midway up their scraggly forms: Each has a ragged slit for a mouth, a double knob that might be a nose, and a lone, vertical eye that is as tall and narrow as a twig. The eyes never blink. Drumalings, as Tamwyn learned from Ethaun , think not with words, but with emotions. And Tamwyn also learned, to his detriment, that those emotions often veer toward violent rage.
Edan
This wood elf is known for his skill as a tracker through the forests of El Urien . He is also known, as Brionna learned early in her childhood, for his temper. (His name, in the elvish tongue, means fiery moods.) Even so—like Brionna, Aileen , and other elves—he would not go to war unless Avalon was truly threatened.
Élano
The essential life-giving sap that flows within the roots, trunk, and branches of the Great Tree of Avalon , élano is a source of tremendous power. First discovered by Merlin , it seemed to him "the sum of all magic," a substance that held both power and wisdom. His staff, Ohnyalei , contained much élano, as did the magical portals throughout Avalon. Lleu of
Cuttayka
To win the rank of first among the Clan Sentries, this burly eagleman with an angular jaw and sturdy wings had to prove his skills as a warrior. And he also needed to prove his loyalty to Quenaykha , the ruthless leader of the Bram Kaie clan of Fireroot . Cuttayka did both, many times over, as the battle scars on his chest proved. But as Scree discovered, Cuttayka gave his highest allegiance not to Quenaykha—but to the clan itself.
Deth Macoll
This master of disguise was Avalon ’s most dangerous assassin—which is why the sorcerer Kulwych enlisted his services. Though human, Deth Macoll could alter his appearance almost as drastically as a changeling. He could appear, at one moment, as an elderly woman so hunched over that her head nearly touched her knees. Then, at the next moment, he could become a bumbling jester who wore tiny silver bells all over his clothes, so that he jingled whenever he moved. He could assume many other guises as well, although his true form was that of a bald man with a sallow face and flinty gray eyes.
More than the art of disguise, Deth Macoll enjoyed the sense of complete power he felt the instant before he killed someone. He savored that feeling, and often prolonged it by stretching out the death of his prey. As a youth, his parents disappeared just when his health deteriorated; during those years, what he most craved was a measure of control. Later in life, whenever he thrust his hidden blade into a new victim, he found exactly that.
Deth Macoll and Kulwych never enjoyed each other's company. But they did sometimes work together because it was mutually profitable. When Deth was hired to hunt down the young priestess Elli , however, the old relationship suddenly changed. For their goal was not just to eliminate someone, but to gain enormous power in the process—power they would be unlikely to share.
Doomraga
Deep in the darkest part of Avalon 's most dreaded marsh, in a pit of rotting corpses, a terrible monster swelled in size—directly in proportion to the misery and suffering it had caused. Doomraga, surrounded by fearsome marsh ghouls, roared in rage as its body grew into a gigantic troll whose one red eye glowed ominously. For the arrival of its master, Rhita Gawr , was fast approaching, just as their long-awaited chance to conquer Avalon and crush the dragon Basilgarrad was also fast approaching.
Drumalings
Tamwyn first encountered these strange, treelike creatures in Merlin's Knothole , and then later in the branch-realm of Holosarr . Standing twice a man's height, their woody skin is knobby and weathered, with grassy tufts sprouting from their many limbs. Their faces are found midway up their scraggly forms: Each has a ragged slit for a mouth, a double knob that might be a nose, and a lone, vertical eye that is as tall and narrow as a twig. The eyes never blink. Drumalings, as Tamwyn learned from Ethaun , think not with words, but with emotions. And Tamwyn also learned, to his detriment, that those emotions often veer toward violent rage.
Edan
This wood elf is known for his skill as a tracker through the forests of El Urien . He is also known, as Brionna learned early in her childhood, for his temper. (His name, in the elvish tongue, means fiery moods.) Even so—like Brionna, Aileen , and other elves—he would not go to war unless Avalon was truly threatened.
Élano
The essential life-giving sap that flows within the roots, trunk, and branches of the Great Tree of Avalon , élano is a source of tremendous power. First discovered by Merlin , it seemed to him "the sum of all magic," a substance that held both power and wisdom. His staff, Ohnyalei , contained much élano, as did the magical portals throughout Avalon. Lleu of
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