The Chronicles of an Age of Darkness are a ten-volume series of cross-genre fantasy

Fantasy

Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...

 / science fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 novels created by cult author Hugh Cook

Hugh Cook (science fiction author)

Hugh Cook was a cult author whose works blend fantasy and science fiction. He is best-known for his epic series The Chronicles of an Age of Darkness.-Biography:...

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The books

• The Wizards and the Warriors - (aka Wizard Warhttp://greatsfandf.com/AUTHORS/HughCook.php) 1986 (ISBN 0-552-12566-0)
• The Wordsmiths and the Warguild - (aka The Questing Hero and The Hero's Return (2 volumes)http://greatsfandf.com/AUTHORS/HughCook.php) 1987 (ISBN 0-552-13130-X)
• The Women and the Warlords - (aka The Oracle http://greatsfandf.com/AUTHORS/HughCook.php) 1987 (ISBN 0-552-13131-8)
• The Walrus and the Warwolf - (aka The Lords of the Sword) 1988 (ISBN 0-552-13327-2) (ISBN 978-1-60125-214-2)
• The Wicked and the Witless - 1989 (ISBN 0-552-13439-2)
• The Wishstone and the Wonderworkers - 1990 (ISBN 0-552-13536-4)
• The Wazir and the Witch - 1990 (ISBN 0-552-13537-2)
• The Werewolf and the Wormlord - 1991 (ISBN 0-552-13538-0)
• The Worshippers and the Way - 1992 (ISBN 0-552-13848-7)
• The Witchlord and the Weaponmaster - 1992 (ISBN 0-552-13849-5)

The Chronicles of an Age of Darkness broadly tell the story of the events leading to the end of a dark age.

The Chronicles of an Age of Darkness began with an ambitious outline for a series of twenty novels. This would have been followed by two equally long series, The Chronicles of an Age of Wrath, and The Chronicles of an Age of Heroes. This sixty-volume scheme ended with the publication of the tenth volume because of disappointing sales http://www.zenvirus.com/chronicles-darkness/chronicles-1989-plan.html.

The novels are written in vastly different styles, which may have confused or alienated readers who expected continuity in each novel. Another theory is that the naming scheme, consisting of continual alliterative "W"-titles featuring unusual words put people off.

His remarkable ability to alter his writing style, coupled with a truly striking ability to convey vastly differing characters and places, has led many people to believe that "Hugh Cook" is a generic name used by various authors. http://www.iblist.com/author379.htm

The Chronicles defy the conventions of the fantasy genre, by including elements of science fiction, graphic violence, grotesque and macabre elements, and political cynicism. They are sometimes described as 'gritty' because of their realism.

The novels aren't high fantasy

High fantasy

High fantasy or epic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that is set in invented or parallel worlds. High fantasy was brought to fruition through the work of authors such as J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, whose major fantasy works were published in the 1950s...

. They could be described as New Wave

New Wave (science fiction)

New Wave is a term applied to science fiction produced in the 1960s and 1970s and characterized by a high degree of experimentation, both in form and in content, a "literary" or artistic sensibility, and a focus on "soft" as opposed to hard science. The term "New Wave" is borrowed from the French...

 Sword and sorcery

Sword and sorcery

Sword and sorcery is a sub-genre of fantasy and historical fantasy, generally characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent conflicts. An element of romance is often present, as is an element of magic and the supernatural...

 or Planetary romance

Planetary romance

Planetary romance is a type of science fiction or science fantasy story in which the bulk of the action consists of adventures on one or more exotic alien planets, characterized by distinctive physical and cultural backgrounds...

/Sword and Planet

Sword and planet

Sword and Planet is a subgenre of science fantasy that features rousing adventure stories set on other planets, and usually featuring Earthmen as protagonists. The name derives from the heroes of the genre engaging their adversaries in hand to hand combat primarily with simple melee weapons such as...

. They also include elements of comedy

Comic science fiction

Comic science fiction is a sub-genre of science fiction that exploits the genre's conventions for comic effect. Comic science fiction often mocks or satirizes standard SF conventions like alien invasion of Earth, interstellar travel, or futuristic technology....

.

At different times, the novels portray or allude to murder

Murder

Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...

, bestiality, female genital cutting

Female genital cutting

Female genital mutilation , also known as female genital cutting and female circumcision, is defined by the World Health Organization as "all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons."FGM...

, cannibalism

Cannibalism

Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...

, racism

Racism

Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...

, sexism

Sexism

Sexism, also known as gender discrimination or sex discrimination, is the application of the belief or attitude that there are characteristics implicit to one's gender that indirectly affect one's abilities in unrelated areas...

, speciesism

Speciesism

Speciesism is the assigning of different values or rights to beings on the basis of their species membership. The term was created by British psychologist Richard D...

, abortion

Abortion

Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...

, masturbation

Masturbation

Masturbation refers to sexual stimulation of a person's own genitals, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation can be performed manually, by use of objects or tools, or by some combination of these methods. Masturbation is a common form of autoeroticism...

, mutation

Mutation

In molecular biology and genetics, mutations are changes in a genomic sequence: the DNA sequence of a cell's genome or the DNA or RNA sequence of a virus. They can be defined as sudden and spontaneous changes in the cell. Mutations are caused by radiation, viruses, transposons and mutagenic...

, incest

Incest

Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...

, inbreeding

Inbreeding

Inbreeding is the reproduction from the mating of two genetically related parents. Inbreeding results in increased homozygosity, which can increase the chances of offspring being affected by recessive or deleterious traits. This generally leads to a decreased fitness of a population, which is...

, constipation

Constipation

Constipation refers to bowel movements that are infrequent or hard to pass. Constipation is a common cause of painful defecation...

, assassination

Assassination

To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...

, gambling

Gambling

Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...

, drunkenness

Drunkenness

Alcohol intoxication is a physiological state that occurs when a person has a high level of ethanol in his or her blood....

, brawling

Brawling

Brawling or Brawl can refer to:* Brawl, a large-scale fist fight usually involving multiple participants*Brawl, Scotland, a crofting community on the north coast of Scotland*Brawling , a rowdy argument on church property...

, diarrhoea, capitalism

Capitalism

Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...

, leprosy

Leprosy

Leprosy or Hansen's disease is a chronic disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis. Named after physician Gerhard Armauer Hansen, leprosy is primarily a granulomatous disease of the peripheral nerves and mucosa of the upper respiratory tract; skin lesions...

, castration

Castration

Castration is any action, surgical, chemical, or otherwise, by which a male loses the functions of the testicles or a female loses the functions of the ovaries.-Humans:...

, slavery

Slavery

Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...

, evolution

Evolution

Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...

, patricide

Patricide

Patricide is the act of killing one's father, or a person who kills his or her father. The word patricide derives from the Latin word pater and the Latin suffix -cida...

, regicide

Regicide

The broad definition of regicide is the deliberate killing of a monarch, or the person responsible for the killing of a monarch. In a narrower sense, in the British tradition, it refers to the judicial execution of a king after a trial...

, venereal disease, forgery

Forgery

Forgery is the process of making, adapting, or imitating objects, statistics, or documents with the intent to deceive. Copies, studio replicas, and reproductions are not considered forgeries, though they may later become forgeries through knowing and willful misrepresentations. Forging money or...

, treason

Treason

In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...

, dwarf tossing

Dwarf tossing

Dwarf tossing is a bar attraction in which dwarfs wearing special padded clothing or Velcro costumes are thrown onto mattresses or at Velcro-coated walls. Participants compete to throw the dwarf the farthest...

, torture

Torture

Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...

, orgies, incontinence

Incontinence (philosophy)

Incontinence is often used by philosophers to translate the Greek term Akrasia . Often used to refer to a lacking in moderation or self-control, especially related to sexual desire...

, suicide

Suicide

Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...

, disembowelment

Disembowelment

Disembowelment is the removal of some or all of the organs of the gastrointestinal tract , usually through a horizontal incision made across the abdominal area. Disembowelment may result from an accident, but has also been used as a method of torture and execution...

, capital

Capital punishment

Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...

 and corporal punishment

Corporal punishment

Corporal punishment is a form of physical punishment that involves the deliberate infliction of pain as retribution for an offence, or for the purpose of disciplining or reforming a wrongdoer, or to deter attitudes or behaviour deemed unacceptable...

, drug use

Recreational drug use

Recreational drug use is the use of a drug, usually psychoactive, with the intention of creating or enhancing recreational experience. Such use is controversial, however, often being considered to be also drug abuse, and it is often illegal...

, religious fraud, bribery

Bribery

Bribery, a form of corruption, is an act implying money or gift giving that alters the behavior of the recipient. Bribery constitutes a crime and is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or...

, blackmail

Blackmail

In common usage, blackmail is a crime involving threats to reveal substantially true or false information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand is met. It may be defined as coercion involving threats of physical harm, threat of criminal prosecution, or threats...

, animal cruelty, disfigurement

Disfigurement

Disfigurement is the state of having one's appearance deeply and persistently harmed medically, as from a disease, birth defect, or wound.Disfigurement, whether caused by a benign or malignant condition, often leads to severe psychosocial problems such as negative body image; depression;...

, infanticide

Infanticide

Infanticide or infant homicide is the killing of a human infant. Neonaticide, a killing within 24 hours of a baby's birth, is most commonly done by the mother.In many past societies, certain forms of infanticide were considered permissible...

, the caste system, democratic revolutionary movements

Revolution

A revolution is a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time.Aristotle described two types of political revolution:...

, rape

Rape

Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...

, theft

Theft

In common usage, theft is the illegal taking of another person's property without that person's permission or consent. The word is also used as an informal shorthand term for some crimes against property, such as burglary, embezzlement, larceny, looting, robbery, shoplifting and fraud...

, genocide

Genocide

Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...

, transvestitism, premature ejaculation

Premature ejaculation

Premature ejaculation is a condition in which a man ejaculates earlier than he or his partner would like him to. Premature ejaculation is also known as rapid ejaculation, rapid climax, premature climax, or early ejaculation....

, prostitution

Prostitution

Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...

, piracy

Piracy

Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence at sea. The term can include acts committed on land, in the air, or in other major bodies of water or on a shore. It does not normally include crimes committed against persons traveling on the same vessel as the perpetrator...

, and polygamy

Polygamy

Polygamy is a marriage which includes more than two partners...

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Themes

Unlike most fantasy literature, the series eschews the concept of good and evil. Drama is created by characters pursuing conflicting goals, and the text often refuses to assign a moral function to their actions.

For example, Justina Thrug appears as the central protagonist in The Wazir and the Witch; the reader accepts all of her actions as justifying her aims. In The Werewolf and the Wormlord, she appears as a minor member of the group who oppose Alfric Danbrog's quest for power. She does not change from being "good" to being "bad", the narrative merely assigned her a different role that conflicts with that of the central character.

Chronology

The Chronicles differ from most fantasy or science fiction series by not telling the adventures of a main protagonist, on a particular quest, in sequential order.

Instead, each book is written from the viewpoint of a different character, whose personality and objectives differ markedly from the protagonists of other books in the series. The novels are set over the course of about thirty years.

Only occasionally do the plots of the novels interact directly, and when characters cross paths, they perceive events in markedly different fashions, as the following passages illustrate. The first shows the view of a prisoner, Drake Douay, the second that of his jailer, Watashi.

"Watashi's private torture chamber was a soundproof room containing a narrow wooden bench, which bore an ominous number of russet stains, and many ugly implements of iron. Drake did his thinking - and fast. Clearly posing as an innocent peddlar was not going to save him." - The Walrus and the Warwolf, p.352.

"... Douay was gagged and taken to an abandoned store room. Over the last three days, this had been converted into a horror house. Many ugly implements of iron had been gathered together; a torture bench had been installed; and Jarl had slaughtered a chicken in the room to make sure it was suitably blood-bespattered." - The Wicked and the Witless, p. 303.

The Wizards and the Warriors

The Wizards and the Warriors is the closest to a traditional epic fantasy of the series, however, like all Cook's books, it has fun with fantasy themes. This novel set the scene and plot that would dominate the first five books, introducing all the characters that would feature in the following novels. This, the first book, told the story chiefly from the view of the Rovac warriors Elkor Alish and Morgan Hearst, as well as the wizards Phyphor, Miphon & Garash.

The Wordsmiths and the Warguild

Hugh originally intended for The Women and the Warlords to be the second in the series:

"The Women and the Warlords was, apparently, a miscue, at least from a commercial perspective. Nobody said so outright, but I was politely asked to write an intermediate book to sit between The Wizards and the Warriors and The Women and the Warlords.

Not really understanding why I was being asked to write this additional book, I nevertheless sat down and wrote it, and had fun doing so ... the result was The Wordsmiths and the Warguild which is the story of Togura Poulaan, a rather hapless young man who endures all manner of adventures but achieves nothing. If he had achieved something, he would have upset my ideas for the overall structure of the series, which was already becoming difficult to control.

As The Wordsmiths and the Warguild was not a long book to start with, I was a bit dismayed to have it cut into two parts for American publication." http://zenvirus.com/hugh-cook/bibliography-novels.html#ww2

The Women and the Warlords

Frequently described as the book that ended the commercial viability of the series, Women and the Warlords tells the story of Yen Olass, a female oracle from the Collosnon Empire. Being a female in a male dominated society (the Collosnon Empire and its people, the Yarglat being loosely based on the Mongols) she suffers some very unpleasant experiences. There is evidence of her displaying lesbian tendencies due to her hardship at the hands of men, and she is not what you would call a stereotypical heroine. She has a penchant for swearing and for violence, amongst other character flaws.

The Walrus and the Warwolf

Perhaps the most popular book of the series, The Walrus and the Warwolf describes the picaresque adventures of Drake Douay, an apprentice swordsmith turned pirate. Drake's story is driven by two narrative strands, both of which are established in the opening chapters. Firstly, Drake meets and falls in love with Zanya Kliedervaust, who rejects him; secondly, the swordsmith for whom Drake works becomes insane and founds a new religion in which Drake is denoted as a figure of evil.

The novel relates Drake's exile from homeland (which has fallen into the hands of adherents of his ex-master's religion), and his long quest to win Zanya. It is intertwined with the central events of the first five volumes of the series: the war of Elkor Alish, the invasion of Argan by the Collosnon Empire, and the fall of the Confederation of Wizards. For fans of the series, Drake's adventures with the pirates are highly regarded; the novel is also popular for its depiction of Drake's exploits in the areas of religion, war, power struggle, the courtroom, and the torture chamber.

Paizo published this entry in its Planet Stories subscription reminiscent of the original Planet Stories

Planet Stories

Planet Stories was an American pulp science fiction magazine, published by Fiction House between 1939 and 1955. It featured interplanetary adventures, both in space and on other planets, and was initially focused on a young readership. Malcolm Reiss was editor or editor-in-chief for all of its 71...

.

The Wicked and the Witless

This is the last book in the series to be set entirely on the continent of Argan and deal with the events around which the early novels revolve. It is the story of Sean Sarazin, aka Watashi, who is the oldest son of the ruler of Argan's most powerful state, the Harvest Plains.

Although very ambitious, Watashi is barred by law from seeking power for himself. The novel relates his attempts to make himself a ruler, both in the Harvest Plains and elsewhere. Along with book seven of the series, The Wazir and the Witch, this novel most clearly demonstrates Cook's liking, and talent, for writing about political intrigue.

The Wishstone and the Wonderworkers

This volume is purportedly a manuscript written by a madman which has been extensively censored and annotated by hostile editors. It represents a break with the narrative of the previous five novels, being set at an earlier time and in a largely unconnected location. Although some of the characters from the Argan novels appear, the Wishstone and the Wonderworkers does not deal with the events of the Argan chronology (the war launched by Elkor Alish and the fall of the Confederation of Wizards). Instead it is concerned with events on the continent of Yestron, specifically on the tropical island of Untunchilamon which is subject to Yestron's rulers.

This novel is the first to introduce the Nexus, the interstellar civilization which forms the distant backstory of the Chronicles. It provides an explanation of the history of the planet, and of how it came to be separated from the Nexus and plunged into the "Age of Darkness".

The Wazir and the Witch

This seventh novel continues the story begun in book six. It is narrated by the same madman, this time writing at a later date at which he has, for the most part, recovered his sanity. In The Wazir and the Witch, Cook demonstrates (as he did in book three) his ability to write strong and nuanced female characters, considered atypical for adventure fantasy. It concerns the ruler of Untunchilamon, the Empress Justina. Justina's enemy, Aldarch the Third, has triumphed in the political struggle on the continent of Yestron and Justina's rule is at an end. The novel relates her attempts to stay alive and in power long enough to flee the island with her supporters.

The Werewolf and the Wormlord

The events of The Werewolf and the Wormlord take place shortly after those of the two Untunchilamon novels. The novel is set in the Empress Justina's homeland, Wen Endex, in the north of Yestron and nominally subject to Aldarch the Third. Justina herself is a peripheral character for much of the novel. Wen Endex is ruled by the Yudonic Knights who are reminiscient of the heroic characters of Scandinavian myth.

The novel relates a power struggle to succeed the Wormlord, ruler of Wen Endex, between his daughter Ursula and his grandson Alfric, the protagonist. Alfric is a Yudonic Knight who has largely abandoned his heritage to work for the supranational organization of the Partnership Banks. He is drawn, reluctantly at first, into the contest to succeed his grandfather. Volume eight is notable for its original, and humorous, treatment of traditional monsters such as werewolves, vampires, and giants.

The Worshippers and the Way

Volume nine is set on the continent of Parengarenga. For the most part, it does not deal with the events that take place on either Argan or Yestron. In this novel Cook returns to the backstory of the series first introduced in book six, the interstellar civilization of the Nexus. On Parengarenga, a Nexus combat school has survived the twenty thousand years since the link between the Nexus and the world of the Chronicles was broken.

The AI which administers the combat school continues to train students from the city in which it is located. Thus many inhabitants of the Dark Age city are trained to be members of the advanced technological civilization of the Nexus. However, none of the space-going vessels and superweapons of the Nexus are still in existence and the cadets are trained by means of virtual reality programs. Their technological skill and advanced scientific knowledge are of no use to them in the world they inhabit. The novel deals with one trainee, Asodo Hatch, and the conflict between his loyalty to his family and people in the real world, and his involvement in what he knows to be the futile concerns of the combat school.

The Witchlord and the Weaponmaster

Book ten tells the story of Guest Gulkan, a recurring character who appears in many of the first nine novels. Guest's story encompasses the entire chronology of the Chronicles, beginning before the earliest previously related events, and ending with the close of the "Age of Darkness". Guest is a typically complex Cook character, a questing hero who begins as a thoughtless, over-confident boy of 14 and, by the time he finally fulfills his ambitions, finishes as a more self-reflective, semi-traumatized conqueror. Guest's quest for power unites many of the most significant plot elements of the series and his eventual success is of a different order from that of the previous protagonists, giving him enough control over his world to change it entirely and bring the series to a conclusion.

Cosmology

The underlying cosmology of the series is outlined in The Wizards and the Warriors (pgs 110 - 111). The universe of Amarl was created by a god known as The Horn. It was a world of rock, in which stones and mountains were alive. However, The Horn was killed by another god, Ameeshoth, who proceeded to remake the universe as Lemarl, imprisoning the rocks (still sentient) in their current existence.

This is further expanded on in The Witchlord and the Weaponmaster, when it is explained that Ameeshoth was later attacked and destroyed by a group of Revisionary Gods. (pg 100)

History

The Chronicles are set on a planet once called Olo Malan (or, derisively Skrin), which was once part of an advanced civilsation called The Golden Gulag, which was itself part of a vast, interdimensional political entity called the Nexus. The technology of the Nexus was based upon probability manipulation.

However, 30,000 years prior to the events of the books, the Chasm Gates that linked the planet to the Nexus were accidentally destroyed. A devastating series of wars resulted (still known as The Days of Wrath), which caused untold environmental damage to the world, and reduced the population to feudal levels of technology (although some advanced machines still exist). The science of probability manipulation also devolved to the art of magic.

There was once a period of brief recovery, known as the Technic Renaissance, but this too collapsed following a war known as the Genetic Mutiny.

Geography

The novels take place across a number of continents, each with its own distinct history and ethnic groupings of humans.

• Argan. 4,000 years earlier, the Wizards formed an alliance with a race of warriors and set out to enslave a mysterious entity called The Skull of the Deep South, a being that served as the hive mind for an array of dangerous monsters known as the Swarms. However, this failed, and the Swarms proceeded in invade Argan. The Wizards defeated the Swarms and built a flame trench stretching across the narrowest point of the continent (Drangsturm) to keep them out. They then proceeded to form an oppressive Empire, which ruled Argan until they were overthrown and the Empire of Wizards reformed as the Confederation of Wizards (a commercial rather than political entity). Argan during this "Age of Darkness" consists of a patch-work of independent and competing kingdoms, with the trading language of Galish serving as the lingua franca. Argan can be seen as analogous to Western Europe in our world.

• Tameran. Lying north of Argan (separated by a channel), Tameran is largely united under the Collosnon Empire. Once ruled by a sophisticated civilisation called the Sharla, they were conquered by nomadic warriors called Yarglat. Tameran is somewhat similar to our own Central Asia.

• Yestron. Far to the east of Argan and Tameran, across the Great Ocean of Moana, the continent of Yestron is dominated by the Izdimir Empire. The heart of this empire is the land of Ang, a highly civilised culture that nevertheless practices slavery, human sacrifice, and tyrannical absolute rule. Ang itself appears to be modelled upon Japan, although the northern subservient kingdom of Wen Endex bears a strong similarity to Norse-era Scandinavia.

• Parengarenga. Lying midway between Argan and Yestron, Parengareanga is largely desert, vastly underpopulated and extremely poor. Of all the continents, it suffered most from the effects of war.

External links

• Hugh Cook's Chronicles of an Age of Darkness