The Tears of Artamon

"The Tears of Artamon" is a fantasy novel series that spans three books, Lord of Snow and Shadows (2003), Prisoner of the Iron Tower (2004), and Children of the Serpent Gate (2005). Published by Batham Press in the United Kingdom and Batham Spectra in the United States the books were written by English author and Cambridge alumni Sarah Ash, sister of Jessica Rydill another fantasy author. The series follows the protagonist Gravil Andar, later Gavril Nagarian under his father’s name, from his humble beginnings as a portraitist from Smarna through to becoming the High Steward of Azhkendir.

Overview

Background Information
Artamon was the former emperor of Rossiya, a kingdom that comprised of Tielen, Smarna, Muscobar, Azhkendir and Khitari. Artamon’s sons fought vehemently between themselves over land and title and once possessed by Drakhouls they tore the empire apart. A grand ruby of their father was broken into pieces and each son took one each, these became referred to as the Tears of Artamon. Four out of five of the Drakhouls were driven back and banished from the mortal realm by Saint Sergius, however the final Drakhoul, Khezef, defeated and killed Sergius. Khezef continued to dwell among mortals by inhabiting the ruling monarch of Azhkendir, through the generations. The remainder of Artamon’s descendents spread out across the fragmented empire and over time all knowledge of the Drakhouls was forgotten.

Synopsis
"Lord of Snow and Shadows" begins with the story of Gavril Andar who has a surprisingly vivid dream, and is subsequently kidnapped from his home in Smarna, where he resided with his mother, Elysia. He is taken to Azhkendir and informed that he is the son of the recently deceased Lord Volkh Nagarian and that he is to assume power as his father’s heir. Gavril soon comes to understand that his father’s Drakhoul, Khezef, had sought him out and possessed him as the rightful inheritor and one of Artamon’s descendents.

During the course of this first instalment in the trilogy, Gavril must learn to adjust to the new culture and environment he has so suddenly found himself enveloped in, and come to terms with his birthrights. While battling with his unwanted Drakhoul in his father’s Kastel he forms a fondness toward one of the young maids, Kiukiu, a girl who falls in love with Gavril. Despite endeavouring to discover methods of banishing his Drakhoul, Gavril embraces him in a battle against an advancing army, under the leadership of Eugene of Tielen, in order to save his Kastel and its inhabitants. Meanwhile, Kiukiu has uncovered her true heritage as a Spirit Singer after she unexpectedly met her (previously unknown to her) grandmother, Malusha. At the climax of the book, Gavril persuades Malusha to help him exorcise Khezef, which he achieves at a terrible cost to himself and those around him.

"Prisoner of the Iron Tower" expands the wealth of characters; following the lives of many key figures this instalment successfully threads together various elements to create the wider story. At the onset of Prisoner of the Iron Tower, Gavril is confined to an asylum known as Arnskammer, in southern Tielen far from Azhkendir. There he is experimented upon and pushed to the brink of death until, in desperation, he pleads for Khezef to return and save him. Unbeknownst to Gavril, Kiukiu has undertaken the journey to Arnskammer in search of him, after Gavril escapes with the aid of Khezef, Kiukiu is mislead by Eugene of Tielen’s trusted magus Kaspar Linnaius.

She is lured to the aid of Karila, Eugene’s sickly daughter, and while trying to heal the young princess she becomes trapped in a spirit realm by Nagar (also referred to as The Dread Prince Nagazdiel) who drains her, leaving her trapped inside her own ever-aging body. Before she is trapped, however, she discovers the spirits of the first set of Drakhouls’ children who were also imprisoned by Nagazdiel, and the spirits of these children have found their living counterparts. The taxing strain of these spirits means that the living children are often sickly, much like Karila, who is Khezef’s child.

Throughout this book, Eugene and Linnaius work to discover the location of the Serpent Gate, a gate that will loose the four other Drakhouls into the mortal realm. Found of the island of Ty Nagar, the gate can only be opened by the reconstructed ruby of Artamon, which which Eugene of Tielen had reunited to claim the title of Emperor of New Rossiya. Hearing of this plan, Gavril tries to stop Eugene but arrives at Ty Nagar after Eugene has freed the Darkhouls and been possessed by Belberith. The two fight, but as Gavril and Khezef have been weakened they are left for dead on the shores of Ty Nagar. Eugene returns to his empire and the three other Drakhouls seek out the descendents of Artamon.

Sahariel finds Oskar Alvborg, the illegitimate brother of Eugene, Adramelech finds Andrei Orlov, the brother of Astasia, Eugene’s newlywed wife, and Nilaihah seeks out the fervently religious Enguerrand of Francia under the guise of an angel. Throughout "Children of the Serpent Gate", these three men are driven by the desires of their Drakhouls to kidnap the Drakhouls’ children and take them to Ty Nagar, where they would be sacrificed in order to free Nagazdiel and plunge the world into darkness.

Kiukiu and Malusha embark on a long journey to the Jade Springs in Khitari in order to give Kiukiu her youth back, and on their voyage they come into contact with the sickly Prince Bayar, another of the Drakhouls’ children, and his father Khan Vachir of Khitari. After successfully regained her youth, Kiukiu is determined to help the Drakhouls and send them from her world into their home in the Ways Beyond.

When discovering that both Karila, and the newborn Rostevan, have been kidnapped by other Drakhouls Eugene allies himself with Gavril in order to stop the plan to free Prince Nagar. Although Za’afiel is freed, who is the Drakhoul that must sacrifice the children in order to free Nagar, Eugene and Gavril manage to destroy the gate and prevent the summoning of Nagar. Unfortunately, Karila is mortally wounded in the process, and as Eugene weeps for her and Kiukiu simultaneously (from Khitari) sings for the trapped spirits of the original Drakhouls’ children to find their way to the Ways Beyond, a portal appears on Ty Nagar. The Drakhouls all peacefully leave their hosts and step through to the spirit world and are reunited with their children, as a parting gift Khezef heals Karila of her ailments and give her new life, sending her spirit back to her body and her grieving father.

At the end of "Children of the Serpent Gate" Eugene’s family is reunited, and he stipulates that should Oskar Alvborg return to New Rossiya he should be immediately detained in Arnskammer, also that Andrei Orlov is exiled from New Rossiya on pain of death. Eugene awards Gavril with the title of High Steward of Azhkendir, who returns to his princedom and proposes marriage to Kiukiu.

Drakhouls, Hosts and Children

Drakhouls and their Hosts
Khezef– Gavril Nagarian
Adramelech – Andrei Orlov
Belberith – Eugene of Tielen
Sahariel – Oskar Alvborg
Nilaihah – Enguerrand of Francia
Za’afiel – Khan Vachir
The Dread Prince Nagazdiel – he is intended to possess the baby Rostevan, but is not freed.

Drakhouls' Children
Original children and their living counterparts:
Tilua – Karila
Koropanga – Bayar
Waiola – Aude
Mahina – Stavyomir
Kahukara – Giorgi

Novels

* "The Lord of Snow and Shadows"
* "The Prisoner of the Iron Tower"
* "The Children of the Serpent Gate"
In 2008, the first instalment of the prequal series "The Alchymist's Legacy" was published, which is called "Tracing the Shadow" and is set primarily in Francia.

More Information

The website www.sarah-ash.com [http://www.sarah-ash.com] contains information on this series of books as well as other works by the author. All of the books are available from the US and UK Amazon online shopping websites.