Ardeen

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Ardeen is a series of books by the author Sigrid Kraft . It takes place in the fantasy world of the same name and describes the story of Prince Raiden, his son Ravenor and his friend Eryn. The books stand out by renouncing fantastic cultures such as elves and dwarfs. Instead, the books focus on inhuman cultures such as the dragon. The focus is also on typical human desires and mistakes as the hero's motives. Large parts of the plot are carried through the consequences of magical catastrophes, which follow their own understandable system of magic.

Starting position

Ardeen is a kingdom in a world of magic. The continent in which this country is located is divided into two parts by an impenetrable wall of smoke at the beginning of the story. The fog was created as a result of a great war between dragons and magicians and covers a wide strip of land called Nimrod. No one has been able to enter this area for half a century, and north and south are only connected by two magical gates.

Plot of the main series

Volume 1: The Circle of Magic

Here one accompanies the young fen warrior Eryn. When war ravaged his homeland in the northern mountains of the country Ardeen, he moved to the south of the country. There he is confronted with magic for the first time in his life and learns of his extraordinary talent. At first Eryn refuses to give up his old worldview and rejects magic as a sacrilege against the gods. After the benevolent Master Elderon fails to bring the young man to his senses, he hands him over to the care of Master Raiden, the Lord of the Black Tower. In addition to his vocation as lord of the tower, he is also the prince of the land of Ardeen and has to deal with both magical and unmagical problems. Eryn is a block on his leg, which is why he feels no particular joy in having to take care of Eryn's education now. But the spell that binds him to Master Elderon leaves the proud prince no choice. Through a chain of circumstances, Prince Raiden casts the spell on Eryn as well, creating a bond that makes Eryn his obedient servant. Soon, however, Prince Raiden deports the young man for training in his elite unit, "the black guard". There, Eryn meets Ravenor among the other recruits. The ambitious man Eryn's age is one of the prince's bastard sons, but enjoys no privileges other than admission to the Guard. While Ravenor strains the nerves of his superiors, Eryn finds a new fulfillment in the study of magic. When rebel uprisings break out in neighboring Gelderon, Ardeen is drawn into the conflict and Eryn and Ravenor fight their first fight under the Ardeen banner.

Volume 2: New ways

While Ravenor tries to live up to his new rank as an officer, there are secrets about Eryn's origins that need to be uncovered. On behalf of Prince Raiden, the two are sent on several missions and the prince himself tries to find a way how he can overcome the barrier of the Nimrod. He hopes there for a solution how he can break the spell of soul.

Volume 3: Nimrod

Finally, with Eryn's help, Prince Raiden manages to get to Nimrod, but that's where her problems begin. You will encounter several monsters before encountering the ruler of the land. But the Blessed One, an immensely powerful and wise dragon, is not ready to help the intruders unconditionally. The mysterious voice, who had already made contact with Eryn, asks him to visit the mysterious places of power, with the promise that the solution lies hidden there. Thus begins a journey to these places that takes Prince Raiden, Eryn and Ravenor through the Nimrod. In the mountains they meet the ice witch Essiya. A beautiful and magically very gifted woman who enjoys Ravenor's interest from the very first moment. Meanwhile, Master Elderon and the Brotherhood are clueless about Prince Raiden's findings, and the Prince does everything to keep it that way. But then his secret goings-on is discovered. But before the Brotherhood can judge him, the Exalted Prince Raiden helps to suppress the spell and the prince goes to Asvendin to break away from the Brotherhood.

Volume 4: The End of the Golden Age

Prince Raiden enjoys his new freedom and has fun with the young Belisee. But because he does not keep his promise to Eryn, Eryn withdraws to Nimrod and decides to rebuild the Elverin Tower there. Unexpectedly, he receives help from the explorer kite, whose declared life task is to research rare species. Above all humanity. Ravenor receives his first command and is transferred to the border with Gelderon. The peace suddenly shatters when Master Elderon tricked Prince Raiden and kept him imprisoned in Aleroth in the White Tower. King Vicerion of Gelderon uses the weakness of the neighboring country and declares war on Ardeen.

Volume 5: the spell of the soul

In the grand finale of the first volumes, the heroes Prince Raiden, Eryn, Ravenor and the explorer dragon face the enemy together and do everything to ensure that things turn out for the better.

Volume 6: The Dragon's Gifts

Freed from the spell, calm returns to Naganor. Eryn stays with Prince Raiden for the time being, from whom he can still learn a lot. Ravenor has no choice in this regard. His father gives him command of the Black Guard to keep his son close. Ardeen faces peaceful times. But then the explorer dragon pays its respects and insists on the gifts that were promised to him for his selfless help in matters of the spell of the soul. Not entirely voluntarily, Prince Raiden agrees to get the required seven presents for the dragon and Eryn and Ravenor accompany him on his travels.

Volume 7: Small and Large Tyrants

The foundation stone for His Highness’s little relatives has already been laid in the other volumes. But now the children Asran, Gannok, Carmina and Danian come to Naganor. The youthful Airyn, a half-brother of Ravenor, is also looking for his place in the world, but is not really taken seriously by the adults. A new storyline begins with Gannok and Rhyenna, which takes place in the neighboring country of Goren, while Ravenor is still in a deep sleep due to his severe wounding. The explorer dragon offers his help and tries to tear Ravenor out of his dreams.

In the magical world, Master Ador rules the brotherhood and the lovely Lady Syrdae weaves her intrigues to gain power and influence. With Aileen, an old friend from Volume 1 also returns and contests the finale of this book.

Volume 8: Cursed Science

Eryn is badly battered by the previous events and decides to turn her back on Naganor. He goes to Elverin to get to know his own father better. There, however, he has to painfully learn what status hybrids have in the world of magic. Gandrikon and Rhyenna become the hunted and flee from the dragon enemies, but they fail to get out of Goren. Ravenor finally awakens from deep sleep very weak and is shocked to learn that he is now married to Lady Sarika, the daughter of Lady Syrdaes. This marriage is under a bad star, but Prince Raiden insists on this connection and sends Ravenor to the country with his young bride. Prince Raiden himself has fun with Lady Syrdae and helps her to solve the mystery of Orydis and Kalayda. Little does he know that she has the parts of Orydis' artifact and actually intends to put it back together. Neither Prince Raiden nor the explorer dragon manages to free Eryn and it is ultimately thanks to the level-headed intervention of Master Savyen that Eryn escapes Elverin's walls.

Action of the independent special volumes

Ardeens children's stories

deals with the worries and needs of the little ones. Here, Asran, Gannok, Carmina, Danian and Airyn are the main heroes and the adults are only marginally featured. Some of the stories can also be found in Volume 7.

In a distant land

Prince Raiden and Ravenor end up in a foreign country in which completely different customs and traditions prevail than in civilized Ardeen. Society is divided into the divinely willed layer of Indrajut (rulers) and Jinai (slaves). Prince Raiden temporarily loses his magical powers and his memory on top of that. Together with Ravenor he is picked up by primitive slave traders in the desert, only to be sold to Mistress Lethia a little later in Dandalor as scribe Odi and lifeguard Otho. The lady Lethia and her daughter Amida belong to the former ruling house of Orewain. That is why Amida is to be married to the priest-king, the chosen one, in order to underpin his claim to rule. While the scribe Odi searches for his memory, Ravenor forges plans to escape. But the wedding preparations for Amida and the Chosen One change the situation and Prince Raiden and Ravenor are brought to the temple city. After their path has crossed with the chosen one, with Amida's help they manage to escape and start a hunt through the desert until they can finally return to their beloved Ardeen.

expenditure

  • Volumes 1–5 are also available as a collection box in a cardboard slipcase (published by Fahnauer Verlag, ISBN 978-3-941436-37-4 )
  • Stories outside of the main storyline:

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