Starman

The Prophecy of the Destroyer is hurtling toward fulfillment, and Axis, Azhure, and Faraday are caught in its tumultuous wakeAll know the Prophecy of the Destroyer, a riddle that foretold how Axis would defeat his half-brother and lay claim to the land upon which Tencendor will be created. But prophecies can sometimes be mecurial things. Unanticipated was the presence of not one but two forces that pull at Axiss life: the beautiful and courageous Faraday, his late half-brothers wife, and the feisty and hauntingly enchanting Azhure. To Faraday he has pledged his love and a place by his side as ruler of Tencendor; to Azhure he has given his children, his time, and his devotion.While Azhure explores her newfound powers as an Icarii Enchantress, and Faraday replants the ancient forests of the Mother, the evil Goragel is plotting Axiss downfall, invading the sky with ice and terror and the flesh-hungry Gryphons. His most daring move is to use the prophecy to taunt Axis with the pain of his beloved.But which woman will Goragel choose . . . and will she be the one whose death will distract Axis from his task of saving the world?

Sara Douglass was born in Penola, a small farming settlement in the south of Australia, in 1957. She spent her early years chasing (and being chased by) sheep and collecting snakes before her parents transported her to the city of Adelaideand the more genteel surroundings of Methodist Ladies College. Having graduated, Sara then became a nurse on her parents' urging (it was both feminine and genteel) and spent seventeen years planning and then effecting her escape.

That escape came in the form of a Ph.D. in early modern English history. Sara and nursing finally parted company after a lengthy time of bare tolerance, and she took up a position as senior lecturer in medieval European history at the Bendigo campus of the Victorian University of La Trobe. Finding the departmental politics of academic life as intolerable as the emotional rigours of nursing, Sara needed to find another escape.

This took the form of one of Sara's childhood loves - books and writing. Spending some years practising writing novels, HarperCollins Australia picked up one of Sara's novels, BattleAxe (published in North America as The Wayfarer Redemption), the first in the Tencendor series, and chose it as the lead book in their new fantasy line with immediate success. Since 1995 Sara has become Australia's leading fantasy author and one of its top novelists. Her books are now sold around the world.

Starman
The Prophecy of the DestroyerA day will come when born will be Two babes whose blood will tie them. That born to Wing and Horn will hate The one they call the StarMan. Destroyer! rises in the north And drives his Ghostmen south; Defenseless lie both flesh and field Before Gorgrael's ice. To meet this threat you must release The StarMan from his lies, Revive Tencendor, fast and sure Forget the ancient war, For if Plough, Wing and Horn can't find The bridge to understanding, Then will Gorgrael earn his name And bring Destruction hither. StarMan, listen, heed me well, Your power will destroy you If you should wield it in the fray 'Ere these prophecies are met: The Sentinels will walk abroad 'Til power corrupt their hearts; A child will turn her head and cry Revealing ancient arts; A wife will hold in joy at night The slayer of her husband; Age-old souls, long in cribs, Will sing o'er mortal land; The remade dead, fat with child Will birth abomination; A darker power will prove to be The father of salvation. Then waters will release bright eyes To form the Rainbow Scepter.StarMan, listen, for I know That you can wield the scepter To bring Gorgrael to his knees And break the ice asunder. But even with the power in hand Your pathway is not sure: A Traitor from within your camp Will seek and plot to harm you; Let not your Lover's pain distract For this will mean your death; Destroyer's might lies in his hate Yet you must never follow; Forgiveness is the thing assured To save Tencendor's soul.Copyright © 1996 by Sara Douglass Enterprises Pty Ltd.