The Ships of Merior (Ships of Merior Series #2) » (Reprint)

Janny Wurts is the author of the Cycle of Fire series and coauthor of the worldwide bestselling Empire series with Raymond E. Feist.

The half-brothers Arithon, Master of Shadow, and Lysaer, Lord of Light, have defeated the Mistwraith and dispersed the fogs that smothered Athera's skies. But their victory comes at a high price: the Mistwraith has set them at odds under a powerful curse of vengeance. The two princes are locked in deadly enmity, with the fates of nations and the balance of the world's mystical powers entangled in their feud. Arithon, forced out of hiding, finds himself hounded by Lysaer and his mighty army. He must take to his natural element—the seas—in order to evade pursuit and steal the initiative. However, his efforts are impeded by outside magical factions, not to mention a drunken prophet sent to safeguard his life, but who seems determined to wreck his cause by misadventure.

Publishers Weekly

A demon's curse pits princely brother against brother and leads a world to war in this mammoth sequel to Curse of the Mistwraith. When half-brothers Lysaer s'Ilessid, Prince of the West, and Arithon s'Falenn, Master of Shadow, overcome and entomb Desh-thiere, the Mistwraith, they are cursed to eternal enmity. The mage-trained Arithon can fight the compulsion to a certain extent, but the powerful Lysaer is consumed by hatred and raises his armies to rid the world of the danger he perceives in the Master of Shadow. Dogged by Dakar, the Mad Prophet, who hates Arithon but has been charged to protect him by another sorcerer, the hunted prince establishes a shipyard in the village of Merior by the Sea to build a fleet that will speed him from his enemies. Wurts (the Empire series, with Raymond Feist) creates a complex, beautiful world while detailing the difficulties and rewards falling to people who remain true to their cause. Issues left unresolved at the conclusion suggest another volume. (Feb.)