R.A. Salvatore's name is likely most familiar to readers of TSR's
Forgotten Realms roleplaying novels. Several of his books
in that series have been New York Times bestsellers,
including The Legacy and Starless Night.
With The Demon Awakens, Salvatore returns to the broader
fantasy genre with an epic rife with magic, evil and hope.
Far beneath a volcanic mountain in the land of Corona, a demonic
dactyl flexes its wings, breaking the bonds that have held it for the
long centuries following its last defeat. Its awakening signals a
return of evil incarnate, for the dactyl is the harbinger of dark times
indeed. The demon gathers its armies in secret, calling goblins, giants
and powries to its stronghold for direction far from any dwellings of
man or elf. So it is that none, save for a very few sensitive ones,
know of the horrors about to take wing.
In the tiny village of Dundalis, young Elbryan Wyndon and his best
friend, the girl Jilseponie, eagerly await the return of the hunting group
their fathers are out with. The men return with a good catch, but their
return is not joyous in every aspect, for they bring too the corpse of
a single goblin. The village fathers establish patrols around Dundalis
to watch for goblin forays. As time passes and no attacks come, the
patrols relax. The men allow the children, led by Elbryan and Pony, to
continue mock patrols. One night, as Pony and Elbryan share their first
kiss while playing at patrolling, the unthinkable happens: goblins and
giants in league attack the unwary village, wantonly murdering every
living soul in Dundalis. Every soul, that is, but for two; Pony survives
a fire by burrowing next to a stone foundation, and Elbryan is first rescued and then spirited away by elves, members of
that long-lived, legendary race weakened in numbers by the last war
against the demon dactyl.
Elbryan, believing Pony dead, spends his adolescence in Andur'Blough
Inninness, the elven sanctuary. He learns there to become what his
uncle once was before him: a Ranger, elven-trained and responsible for
keeping watch over the human population of Corona's frontier. He grieves
for his family and his beloved Pony, but his sorrow gives him the strength
to surpass all expectations his elven teachers hold for him. He is named
Nightbird, and gifted with the bow Hawkwing when he leaves Andur'Blough
Inninness to take up his duties as Ranger. A new village has risen up
from the ashes of Dundalis, and it is around this reincarnation of his
boyhood home that Elbryan patrols. He is unloved by the populace there,
but somberly sees to their safety despite such rejection.
Cat-the-Stray is the name a barkeep in Palmaris gives to the amnesiac
girl he and his wife adopt. Cat is self-sufficient and wary, plagued by
dark almost-memories, but deeply grateful to her adoptive parents. When
a handsome local nephew of a Baron starts courting her, Cat initially
resists. But a match with Connor Bildeborough would add prestige to her
foster folk, and the gentleman is not without charms. It is Connor who
helps her remember that her name was Jill, and she agrees to wed the
nobleman. The marriage proves ill-fated, however, for Connor has waited
impatiently for the consummation of his desire for Jill. On their wedding
night, the dark wings of repressed terror drive the young bride away
from her husband. He almost takes her forcibly but is counterattacked
by the terrified woman. The marriage is
annulled the next day, and Jill goes into service as a footsoldier
in the King's army. She rises through the ranks quickly, appalled
by the lackadaisical attitude rife in the military but determined to
be vigilant herself.
When bloody-capped powries attack the coast watch where Jill is
stationed, her fears are proved founded. The other guards are woefully
ill-prepared for the attack and are quickly, and bloodily, routed. Jill
escapes, but her survival brands her a deserter. Incognito, she travels
with a mad priest who instigates barroom brawls preaching prophecies of
the demon's return. Brother Avelyn was once one of the select of the
Abellican church at St.-Mere-Abelle, the collector and preparer of the
sacred stones that fall to the distant island of Pimaninicuit in a shower
once every six generations. Avelyn is the greatest master of power in the
sacred stones seen in recent memory, but too pious for his own good in
a Church corrupted by power and riches. Avelyn escapes assassination by
his masters, but his masters turn his old rival Quinalt into the
perfect assassin: Brother Justice, bent only on finding and destroying
Brother Avelyn.
Chance reunites Pony and Elbryan, and together they agree to help
Avelyn in his quest to destroy the dactyl in the depths of far Mount Aida.
But unnatural armies of goblins, powries and giants stand in their way;
hot on their heels is the implacable Brother Justice. A handful of elves,
a wisecracking centaur, and a perfect stallion are their only allies in
this battle to stop evil from destroying Corona forever. Love, trust,
and hope are their greatest weapons in what may be their final stand.