Friday, October 7, 2005

   Summary
Penumbra is an orphan, raised by elves in the Archives. His short black hair and entirely black eyes set him apart from everyone else; how he got these strange qualities is a mystery.
At age seven, Pen killed a village boy. He becomes feared by everyone—including Tory, the only person who ever cared about him. Dedicated to fighting and wishing only to follow in the footsteps of Predicus, he manages to get accepted to University—the national school—a year early. Getting accepted to Havoc (a highly selective program to train the king’s most professional warriors) is Pen’s goal.
During a trip to Quont-Ein, the capitol city of Anatol (the land of the elves), Pen is given a sword marked only with the words “Sing Lucaya.” He uses her to free Sasheeta, a pseudodragon from Sersallaa (capitol city of the dragons). When he takes her to the castle where she belongs, he meets a Havoc graduate called Panda and gets a chance to spar with him. He is also introduced to Keion, Panda’s loyal griffon.
Upon returning home, Pen realizes that Tory was left behind in their haste. In the darkening night, he hurries back to the city and finds her. With the help of Keion, they are well on their way home when they encounter a wild griffin. Pen fights and slaughters the huge beast, a task difficult even for a trained soldier.
A few days later, he joins the University Caravan, headed by the Havoc graduates Panda and Contra, with their steeds Keion and Akana, a war-horse. Sasheeta is also with them, as well as Tory and Nomei (a very talkative soldier).
Upon reaching the Acheron River, the Caravan stops at an inn to rest. There, Pen meets Lucifer, a black-winged, 11-year-old angel from the Okora Mountains. Lucifer is his roommate, boat-mate, and becomes his first real friend.
He also translates a strange piece of paper that Pen found in the Archives library. It reads “Awaken power: Senots Tsefinam sih Yawa Gnis” using angel magic symbols.
When they need to stop on account of rain, the Caravan encounters Gerrit the Earthbound, a man who is famous for hunting for the source of wild magic (unnatural magic that deals with the breaking apart of life-energy). Gerrit’s body is made of stone because his soul was torn from his body and anchored in an emerald by wild magic. He determines that Pen is not the way he is because of wild magic; however, Lucaya does have traces of something similar.
Once the rains subside, the Caravan continues on. They just met the Angel Caravan—headed by the Havoc graduates known as Nano and Sharp, and their steeds Lyanni (a pegasus) and Tobas (another war-horse), as well as another pseudodragon, called Koshgankae (“Koshga”). The angels’ and elves’ Caravans are about to merge together for the rest of the way down the Acheron River, to University…
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