Live So You May Serve

First in the Threat from the Sea trilogy, Rising tide introduces us to our hero Jhared, a young sailor boy born at sea to one of the worst pirates in history.  He’s always had a destiny laid upon his shoulders, as a voice has always guided him and saved him in his darkest moments.

We’re also introduced to his lady love, a ship’s mage service on board the ship our young hero takes refuge on when his parentage is discovered on his own ship and he is politely booted off.

But nether human is aware of the danger lurking beneath the waves, where a centuries old creature of myth and magic is reawakened and begins plans to take over all the lands above and below the waves.

Awoken and served by a young half breed sea elf, all their lives are tied together by fate and one human bard who walks the lands above and below the water, gathering the tales of all the races of the prophecy even now being fulfilled and weaving it all into one epic ballad.

So far a fascinating read.  It’s amazing what changing the environment of a story can do.  I’m not sure if I would be as interested in this if it had been set on land, but with all the new creatures and that fact that most of the human scenes takes place on boats was enough to keep me interested.

Let’s hope the second book, Under Fallen Stars is capable of holding that interest.

The sea war rages up and down the Sword Coast, leaving the busy harbor of Baldur’s Gate in flames. Following his mad quest, the evil Iakhovas has found a gateway into the protected waters of the Sea of Fallen Stars, and now no coast is safe from his marauding armies of the deep.

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Whoopsie

So I read this before reading Threat From the Sea and turns out I did it kinda bass akwards.  See, usually these anthologies are stories that take place in the same time frame as the main events, but it deals solely with creatures that have no part in said events and therefore no effect on the story.

Not so with Realms of the Deep here.  Seems you’re introduced to some pretty big characters (i.e. the antagonist and his right hand man) and some minor characters that have impact on the plot in some fashion.  So while the stories were intriguing, there are a few minor spoilers and foreshadowing here.

That being said, it was a fascinating read as it focused more on creatures that are born, live and die underwater, never setting foot on dry land or above the waves.  I was introduced to a lot of new creatures and wound up doing a lot of research but it was worth it.

Now we’ll get right along into the main event here. Rising Tide, first in the Threat from the Sea trilogy by Mel Odom.

From the murky depths of the Shining Sea rises a prehistoric menace who commands a rising tide of invasion to crash over the shores of Faerûn.

Iakhovas has plotted for long, bitter years to regain the powers that were torn from him by an angry goddess. Now, nothing will stand in his way, and the face of Toril will never be the same again.

Oblivious to the growing danger of the undersea civilizations, the surface world is about to awaken to a new horrifying threat from the sea.

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Well That’s New

So of course everything comes to a head here.  Our Romeo and Juliet-esque star crossed lovers are starting a new family on the run from the creatures hunting them, creatures known to the rest of the Realms but new to Maztica and only show now because a certain bloody war god decided these new forms would best suit his followers.

I have to admit I’m disappointed in the ending.  The two mortal disciples of the gods are locked in battle on the ground, mirroring the battle of their immortal patrons in the sky, and after EVERYTHING everyone has been through to get the god Coatl to come back, they banish him without a second thought!  Okay so his fight with the war god might have lead to the entire continent of Maztica being destroyed but still!

It was pretty boss that Coatl’s high priest cussed him out though, that’s a first for me…

But all’s well that ends well.  The heroes have a healthy baby, evil is vanquished, Maztica is saved, and everyone can try to live happily ever after.

Overall the Maztica trilogy was okay.  Had some highs, some lows, but overall it was decent.

Realms of the Deep is next, an anthology of stories from the Threat from the Sea trilogy by Mel Odom.

When armies of evil rise up from the seas around Faerûn, no one is safe.

In a war that rages across every sea and onto every coast, there is more than one hero, more than one villain, and countless innocent victims. A young mage battles at the side of Khelben Arunsun to defend the city of Waterdeep from the invading forces. A merman struggles to fulfill his desperate mission to reach the Sea of Fallen Stars. And amid the horrors of war, a reef giant seeks to protect a fragile coral forest from destruction.

Set against the backdrop of the epic struggle of the Threat from the Sea series are thirteen all-new stories by such Forgotten Realms stars as Ed Greenwood, Elaine Cunningham, Mel Odom, Troy Denning, Lynn Abbey, and Clayton Emery

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And In This Corner…

And now we enter the Pocahontas phase of the story.  Young native woman and foreign white man fall in love and together try to save both their peoples from disaster.

Bit of an interesting twist here.  Long ago under the land of Maztica, in the Underdark, there was a battle between dwarves and drow, when a cataclysmic event ruptured the stone above their heads and caused an ocean to come pouring into the tunnels.  A few bands of both sides survived, the dwarves and their descendants coming to live in the Maztican desert, while the drow and their progeny wove their webs and lies and deceptions, donning the mantle of the Ancient Ones and turning from Lloth, their patron goddess to the worship of the Maztican war god Zaltec.

The drow essentially took over the priesthood, pushing the bloody worship of Zaltec to new and greater heights and offering the hearts of his sacrificial victims to a source known only as Darkfire.

But Lloth is a jealous and vengeful goddess, and she turns her machinations on Maztica, a land which is quickly becoming a battlefield of the gods.  Helm of the foreigners, Zaltec and Qoatal of Maztica, and now Lloth all fight for the souls of the mortals in Maztica.

I think I know where things are going from here in Feathered Dragon, third and last in the series.  Let’s see if I’m right hmm?

LAST HOPE OF THE TRUE WORLD!

The greatest city in Maztica lies in ruins… a plague of hideous monsters descends across the land.

From the ashes of destruction, a tenuous alliance forms. Legionnaires and native warriors fight side by side, desperate to stem the onslaught of chaos.

Their only hope of victory requires aid from beyond the Forgotten Realms… the prophecy given to Erix of Palul: Qotal, immortal Plumed Serpent, will return to Maztica for a final battle against the forces of evil.

But already the Feathered Dragon may be too late…

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New Spin on History

I love how histories and stories that are known to us are sometime given new life insights, and intriguing takes on characters.

The Maztica trilogy I can see is based on a very real historical event that has been repeated throughout the centuries.

It’s basically the Spanish conquistadors arriving in the South America and encountering the Mayan/Aztec civilizations for the first time.  In this case, a general who worships the god of war Helm, filled with a driving ambition and thirst for glory, sets out on a remarkable journey to open a sea trade route, but instead makes landfall on uncharted territory and comes face to face with a ‘primitive’ peaceful people.

But a chance encounter with a spell maddened priest of these people leads to the sacrifice of a young woman traveling with the would-be conquerors, setting the tone for an orgy of war, blood, and death.

How will the men of Faerun and Maztica fare against each other?  At first blush it seems not well, as the army of Helm crushes an army of natives and takes their city captive.

And as is the way of these things, the only hope for peace lies with a young native woman chosen by the forgotten god of her people to save them from disaster.

So we all kinda know where this story is going to go, but it’s all about the journey and not the destination eh? Lets continue our journey with Viperhand, book two of the Maztica trilogy.

TOTAL DESTRUCTION!

Erix, the former slave girl, and Halloran, the legionnaire, flee from the waves of catastrophe sweeping Maztica. The God of War feasts upon chaos while the desperate lovers strive to escape from enemies on all sides.

Finally each is forced into a choice of historical proportions and deeply personal emotion. The gods themselves awaken, and the destruction of the fabulously wealthy continent of Maztica looms on the horizon.

Yet Erix bears with her a desperate secret, and with that secret comes the lone hope that Maztica can survive. . . .

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