Curse of the Spider King

Curse of the Spider King was co-authored by Christopher Hopper and Wayne Thomas Batson and published on November 3, 2009 as Batson's sixth book and Hopper's third. This is the first book of their "Berinfell Prophecies" series.

Summary

Elves ruled over the land of Allyra for hundreds of years until, in a great battle, the capitol, Berinfell, was overtaken by an army of Drefids, Gwar, Warspiders, and Wisps under the command of the Spider King. Now as he rules the land, the remnant of the elven race lives, hidden, in a network of subterranean passages called the Underground.

In that battle, the seven heirs to the thrones of Berinfell were captured as babies and taken to the realm of the humans, known as Earth. Disguised among the millions of people on Earth, these Elf Lords have no clue of their identity until, around their thirteenth birthdays, some strange events start happening. Some are stalked by mysterious, creepy strangers, and others receive odd books from teachers, librarians, or bookstore owners. Eventually, the people, who had given the Elves the books, reveal to the Seven Lords their true identity, and the fact that they are being hunted by villainous creatures. These assassins, once held back by an old curse, are now free to kill the Seven. This they intend to do in order to keep the teenagers from returning to Allyra and rallying the Elves against their oppressor, the Spider King.

Autumn and Johnny are attacked in their house by a pack of Drefids, Jett and his family are assaulted by Cragons, and a Wisp of Jimmy's neighbor comes to the boy's school and attempts to quietly kill Miss Finney. Kat and Anna are pursued in a vicious car chase by Drefids, and Kiri Lee is later almost assassinated by Wisps of her parents in her own home. Tommy, Mrs. Galdarro and Mr. Charlie are forced to fight off another group of Drefids in an abandoned asylum while attempting to find a portal to Allyra.

In the final scene, all the Elven Lords and their escorts (except Autumn, Johnny, and Nelly) have assembled for a concert in Scotland before entering the nearby portal. In the middle of the performance, attended by humans and disguised elves alike, a massive army of Gwar, Drefids, Cragons, and Wisps attack. In the midst of the chaos, Johnny, Autumn and Nelly arrive. They join the desperate rush of fighting elves attempting to reach the portal. When they arrive, it is rapidly shrinking. Unbeknownst to everyone else, at the rear of the group Mr. Wallace is killed and replaced by a Wisp. As the final few elves are diving into the portal, the Wisp kills Mr. Charlie and enters Allyra just before the doorway is completely closed.

Once in the elven world, the returning group of warriors are met by Grimwarden and a team of elves, who assist the Lords and their guardians into the Underground. Mr. Wallace's Wisp accompanies them, a spy among their number.

Characters

The Seven Lords

Autumn Briarman - Johnny's adopted sister. While small in stature, she has a brave, impulsive, and sharp personality. She and Johnny have a typical "brother-sister" relationship, bickering frequently but still best friends. Autumn, who lives in Depauville, New York, has the power of incredible speed.

Jett Green - An African-American boy with a strong interest in both football and dirt bikes. An only child, he has an excellent relationship with his parents. Jett lives in Greenville, North Carolina, and has the related powers of intense strength and the ability to miraculously heal himself. He is of the tribe Nightwing.

Jimmy Gresham - The unloved adopted son of Mr. and Mrs. Gresham. Their biological son, Geoffrey, has taken Jimmy's place in his parent's home and heart. Jimmy tries to cope with both annoyance towards Geoffrey and the desire to be loved and fit in. He lives in Ardfern, Scotland, and is endowed with the power of predicting short spans of the future.

Johnny Briarman - Autumn's adopted brother. He looks like the kind of person who would be a bully but is actually more of a coward. Though he fights at times with Autumn, he loves his sister dearly. Johnny lives in Depauville, New York, and is able to shoot flames from his hands.

Kat Simmonson - A girl struggling with feelings of broken communication between herself and her parents, though they try to reach out to her with love. She experiences trouble with being teased about her polycythemia vera, a condition that makes her skin a bluish tinge. Kat lives in a wealthy home in North Hollywood, California. Her elven name is Alreenia Hiddenblade and she has the ability to read others' minds.

Kiri Lee Yuen - A Korean girl adopted by musical performers Mr. and Mrs. Yuen. Currently living in Paris, France, Kiri Lee is considered a child prodigy because of talent with the cello and violin. She does not care for all the fame, attention, and practice that it takes to be a great musician and would rather compose and play her own music at her own pace. Kiri Lee develops the power to walk on air and her elven first name is Lothriel.

Tommy Bowman - As the book says, "Tommy had always thought of himself as a rather unremarkable boy."¹ With a head of curly hair and an average school record, Tommy lives an ordinary life in Seabrook, Maryland, until he discovers his power: the capability to shoot arrows with amazing skill. Tommy is the heir to the throne of tribe Silvertree.

Elven Warriors (on Earth)

Annelle Brookeheart (Nelly) - Kind owner of the recently reopened "A Likely Story Book Shoppe" in Johnny and Autumn's neighborhood.

Elle Goldarrow (Mrs. Galdarrow) - A librarian at Tommy's school.

James Spero (Mr. Spero) - The intelligent and slightly sharp English teacher at Jett's school.

Regis McAuliffe (Regis) - A charming, raven-black haired lady who works at "The Tartan and Tiger" pub in Ardfern. Jimmy plans to one day marry her.

Miss Finney - A librarian at Jimmy's school.

Edward Rengfellow (Edward) - A polite, springy, and friendly tour guide at Dalhousie Castle in Scotland. Kiri Lee meets Edward there and he explains her true identity as an Elf Lord.

Charles Wallace (Mr. Wallace) - Kat's reading teacher.

Mr. Charlie - The custodian at Tommy's school. While many of the students and teachers consider him crazy, Tommy soon learns that Charlie is an extremely powerful and dangerous warrior, having taken the intense elven Dreadnaught training in Allyra. Charlie is also Jett's biological uncle.

Anna Rosario Delarosa Espinosa (Anna) - Hired by the Simmonsons, Anna disguised herself as a Hispanic Housekeeper.

Ril Taniel - A willowy brunette staying at Dalhousie Castle with Edward. This character was named after the winner of a contest hosted by Wayne Thomas Batson.²

Elven Warriors (and their foes) in Allyra

Olin Grimwarden - Guardmaster of the elves. When the adult Seven Lords were killed and their heirs taken, he was left in charge of Berinfell.

Brynn - Female elven Flet Marshall.

Vendar Stonebreaker - Immensely strong elven Flet Marshall.

Travin - A short but powerful elf, the loyal son of a Berinfell Gwar and an Elf lady.

Tyrith - Drefid leader until killed in the battle for Berinfell. He is replaced by Mobius.

Varuin Khelgast - Gwar overlord. He dies in the battle for Berinfell and is replaced by Cathar.

Cathar Indrook - Gwar field commander and, later, overlord.

Mobius - Drefid leader after Tyrith's death.

Froth - The youngest of the Drefid council. For uncertain reasons, not long after the Berinfell battle, he gave up his cruel ways and joined the elves. It was through Froth that the elves learned the young Seven Lords were alive on Earth.

The Spider King - Ultimate commander of the Drefid, Gwar, and Warspider armies. Immensely powerful and feared, since his conquer of Berinfell he has ruled Allyra.

Species

Elves - Former rulers of Allyra. Fast, strong, and lethal warriors, these advocates of peace and justice were led for centuries by seven good leaders, one from each elven tribe: Silvertree, Hiddenblade, Ashheart, Swiftstorm, Oakenflower, Valorbrand and Nightwing.

Drefids - Tall deadly creatures with icy eyes and long wispy hair. Their principle weapons are the four long knifelike extensions that project from their knuckles.

Gwar - Short, stocky warriors. Most serve the Spider King but some are loyal to the elves.

Wisps - Strange, smokelike beings that, after killing a human or elf, take on that person's physical form. This makes them the ultimate form of spies or assassins, walking about in the body of another.

Cragons - Huge trees capable of moving and walking. As a form of attack they can use their limbs to throw or constrict their foes.

Warspiders - Large spiders often ridden into battle by Gwar warriors.

Resources

Information taken from:

"Curse of the Spider King", by Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper

"Curse of the Spider King"'s Amazon page [1]

Footnotes

¹ Batson, Wayne Thomas and Hopper, Christopher. Curse of the Spider King, pg 5

² www.http://enterthedoorwithin.blogspot.com/2008/11/isle-of-fire-treasure-hunt-is-over-96.html.com Contest Winners