Ships of Merior
core novel 1995 The Wars of Light and Shadow
Record
| First published | 1995 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 3.93 (3,701 ratings, collected 2026-09-13) |
| Page count | 702 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780061054655 |
Synopsis
Picking up after the events of the first volume, this second book in The Wars of Light and Shadow finds the half-brothers Arithon and Lysaer having driven back the Mistwraith and cleared Athera's skies, only to discover that their victory came at a terrible personal cost: the Mistwraith's parting curse has bound the two of them into lifelong, irrational enmity. Lysaer, wielding gifts of light, establishes himself as ruler of a growing kingdom and begins assembling forces to hunt down his half-brother. Arithon, a mage-trained musician and Master of Shadow, seeks only to avoid the bloodshed the curse is pushing them toward, but finds himself increasingly cornered as Lysaer's pursuit intensifies and old alliances among Athera's clans, sorcerers and enchantresses are tested by the widening conflict between the brothers.
Where it sits
- Universe: The Wars of Light and Shadow
- Series: The Wars of Light and Shadow core; position 2 of 11 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Janny Wurts
Notes
- From the series record (The Wars of Light and Shadow): One continuous 11-volume saga across 5 named story arcs; completed with Song of the Mysteries, per the author's own series page.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.
- Publication order, within the series The Wars of Light and Shadow: position 2 of 11: previous Curse of the Mistwraith (1994) · next Warhost of Vastmark (1996)
Sources
- Janny Wurts official site: Wars of Light and Shadow series page
- FictionDB: The Wars of Light and Shadow
- Janny Wurts (X/Twitter): Destiny's Conflict release date
- Readings: Song of the Mysteries
- https://wiki.paravia.com/wiki/Ships_of_Merior
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