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Cast of Fate
Cast of Fate
The Esfah Sagas: Tales of the First Age #2
Dragons are bad enough, but now the sky is falling!
Elves at war, dwarven spies, and a secret goblin invasion...
…from the creators of Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance.
The Volcano City of Karakto is home of the morehl: the red-skinned lava elves. The blue-skinned coral elves, known as the selumari, believe the morehl corrupted and mad—driven to violence by the god of Death. Decades ago, the selumari conquered Karakto with the help of their dwarven allies, the vagha. Now, the coral elves live in an uneasy truce with their hated enemies and rule over the spoils of war.
Can the morehl be redeemed? Calantha, the city’s selumari governor adopted a morehl child, hoping to prove that nurture can overcome nature. But that child, Orric, has grown into a capricious rogue, brilliant and witty, but prone to danger and rage.
As tensions grow in Karakto, secret armies move, and voices whisper of a coup. Perhaps the morehl are not as evil as Orric was told, and perhaps neither are the selumari and vagha as good as claimed. With the lava elves looking to Orric to lead them, Calantha struggles to hold their brittle alliance together in the winds of rebellion… and a new and dangerous evil brews with an omen in the sky.
Elves at war, dwarven spies, and a secret goblin invasion...
…from the creators of Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance.
The Volcano City of Karakto is home of the morehl: the red-skinned lava elves. The blue-skinned coral elves, known as the selumari, believe the morehl corrupted and mad—driven to violence by the god of Death. Decades ago, the selumari conquered Karakto with the help of their dwarven allies, the vagha. Now, the coral elves live in an uneasy truce with their hated enemies and rule over the spoils of war.
Can the morehl be redeemed? Calantha, the city’s selumari governor adopted a morehl child, hoping to prove that nurture can overcome nature. But that child, Orric, has grown into a capricious rogue, brilliant and witty, but prone to danger and rage.
As tensions grow in Karakto, secret armies move, and voices whisper of a coup. Perhaps the morehl are not as evil as Orric was told, and perhaps neither are the selumari and vagha as good as claimed. With the lava elves looking to Orric to lead them, Calantha struggles to hold their brittle alliance together in the winds of rebellion… and a new and dangerous evil brews with an omen in the sky.
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04/22/2023
D
Deborah56lavery
This a very interesting story about a young man loosing his memory and trying to live with the Fae and the unseelie court.
04/06/2021
JW
Josh Wood
I never read the original Cast of Fate by Mr. Varney, only Mr. Schmitz's edited version. It's clear that Christoper did a lot of revisions to place the narrative of Cast of Fate into the current world of Esfah, largely because Mr. Varney was tasked with writing a book for a game that wasn't even out yet.
It reads like it isn't a Dragon Dice book, largely because it wasn't. It's an excellent book that really focuses on the Morehl way of life and would make an amazing fantasy world in its own right. Christopher and Allen have both done what they could to make this a Dragon Dice book. Allen's original tale shines through the updated lore and Christopher's narration and dialogue bridge the gap between an Esfah that was and the Esfah that is.
Compiling the various short stories that were released in ancillary product into one tome was an excellent call and worth picking up this book.
01/30/2021
CP
Charles Pint
Liked this book when it came out 20+ years ago. The rewrite just makes it so much better! Worth it to buy the new version and read it.
10/03/2020
Z
zach
This book is more a mix of 5 stars and 3 stars.
Some downsides, It makes an attempt to cast characters in the eternal dilemmas of nature versus nurture, the corrupting influence of power, and the duplicity of the species and factions. It actually almost gets there on many levels. The biggest disappointment is in the sudden character development changes. It happens suddenly and you have to intuit from the hints given as to why characters changed into who they became. Also the undead show up briefly...and then are gone...where did they go?
Some upsides, there are points of the book that are very good, these same characters making a case of how one should act in a grim world. The grim and dark side of the world's characters, which some may see as a downside, in my mind makes the case for a book based off of a table top war game. The culture and lifestyles of the species and factions such as Coral elves, Lava elves, Dwarves, and Goblins is given some detail (especially each type of the elves) and helps build the world. Overall the writing is enjoyable.
Also at the end of the book many short stories from various releases are gathered for the readers convenience. This is a nice bonus as these stories are excellent!
Takeaways: I would begin elsewhere in the Esfah canon to start my journey into this rich and dynamic world. After traveling awhile stop and visit this book for a glimpse of the activity between the battles.
