Darkenheight * Douglas Niles * Watershed #2

As an ambitious dark god and his fearsome forces unleash an oncoming wave of poisonous, magical black sludge to conquer a split continent, a legendary mountaineer must unite defensive armies of humans and magical beings to prevent total structural ruin.

The Story: Written by prominent high-fantasy novelist and legendary game designer Douglas Niles, this high-stakes second installment in the celebrated Watershed Trilogy expands a unique fantasy universe built on ecological and elemental design. The plot centers on a continent divided by high mountain ranges into three distinct provinces, each fed by a unique, mystical water source: mundane Dalethica; Faerine, the land of good magic; and Duloth-Trol, the land of evil magic fed by a poisonous liquid known as Darkblood.

The plot follows Rudy Appenfell, a skilled mountaineer known across the lands as the "Man of Three Waters" after surviving a life-altering experience of drinking from all three separate mystical streams. Having won the opening standoff of a massive war, Rudy's routine monitoring sweeps fracture when the dark god Dassedec launches a new offensive from the corruption of Duloth-Trol. To push back against the oncoming wave of toxic Darkblood, Rudy coordinates a frantic survival campaign, attempting to forge a unified front between the suspicious human kingdoms of Dalethica and the magical Faerine forces.

Takes epic fantasy and adventure lovers through a fast-paced landscape of mountain warfare, shifting from perilous peaks to ancient magical sanctuaries. Rudy and his close companions navigate severe environmental parameters, ancient tribal rivalries, and shocking betrayals that push their defensive alliance to its absolute limits. An exceptional showpiece for vintage speculative fiction shelves, capturing a grand story of hope, diverse cultures, and survival against world-ending darkness.

Perfect For: Devotees of traditional, slow-burn 1990s epic fantasy and high-stakes world-building like the works of Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman, Terry Brooks, or Robert Jordan; readers completing their narrative path through the Watershed chronicle; and dedicated book collectors archiving premium Ace Fantasy paperbacks.

First published 1996. This Ace mass market edition July 1997.

High Epic Fantasy / Sword & Sorcery Sagas / Multi-Cultural Alliance Adventures / Magical Warfare Chronicles / Series Continuations