A Song for Telmerion

This is the final of four parts in the Dawnbringer series, bringing to a conclusion the dramatic events unfolding in prior volumes. The War of Darkness now draws on to its highest intensity and its climax, and the forces of humanity are marshalled against their mysterious and dreadful foe. Here an evil that until now has remained elusive, even as it inflicts destruction, is unveiled in all its horror; and yet in the same moment the path to its very heart is made known, and the possibility of a true confrontation between light and darkness, bearing hope of redemption even when all other hopes falter and all other lights go out. Throughout time myth has been one of the fundamental activities of the human heart as it seeks to contemplate and understand the mystery of reality, to find a path through the fabric of history as its tapestry is ever woven, a path that unveils meaning in the enigmas of life and gives sense and stability to the drama of existence. But especially, the activity of myth, of fantasy, is born of a primal wonder before the awesome miracle of being, and of the fundamental human activity which is play, and serves to keep this wonder and play alive always. In precisely this way it has been, and shall always be, a catalyst to enkindle and deepen the longing in the heart of each one of us for redemption—for a new and better world, a world where righteousness and happiness dwell, and all is freedom and purpose, unity and harmony, ecstatic delight and true adventure. Such does Dawnbringer humbly seek, stepping into the flowing current of thought and imagination as it surges on through history, offering, in a narrative of proportions both intimate and epic, a glimpse of the light that shines upon us all, and of the conflict that resides at the center of every life, that the weak again may be strong and the child again may be king.