A great evil stalks the land. Peaceful villages and sleepy hamlets in the realm of Illumine are being massacred. In order to keep the peace, the King and his inept council claim it's just slavers and raiders pillaging for profit, but soon it's discovered that all of the men and women are killed and only the children are taken. No one knows where or why. When Prince Galatar demands to go on the quest to discover the culprit behind the bloodbath, the King refuses and confines him to the Palace. Galatar escapes, and armed only with the Blue Dagger, his family's famous blade, he becomes the leader of a band of motley misfits; Kurse, his falcon; Lianna, a feline with magical camouflage; Wart, a champion of the gladiator pits; Snotz, a monkey-like creature with an affinity for flatulence and other bodily functions; and Tala, a lady of a royal house with a fiery temper to match her ethereal beauty. The Wizard Zelephar follows in the wake of their misadventures as he realizes there's a connection between the Blue Dagger of Illumine and the ancient prophesy about the missing children and the evil scourge devouring the land.
This is Book one, The Blue Dagger and the Prince of Illumine by Thomas J. Lupo. The saga of The Blue Dagger is continued in book two, The Blue Dagger and the Quest for the Well of Souls and culminates in book three The Blue Dagger and the Battle for Illumine.
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