Corean Chronicles

8 primary works • 9 total works

Legacies

by L. E. Modesitt, Jr.

Published 21 October 2002

In the barely recalled beginnings of recorded history, Corus enjoyed a golden era of civilization, its united peoples rich in learning, trade and the arts. A magical calamity spread a dark age across the planet, leaving its people to crawl slowly out of ignorance and savagery. Corea now stands a divided, warring world where kingdoms fight and people live amongst supernatural beings and bizarre animals. A few rare humans have Talent, the ability to use magical powers, and are thus either cursed or blessed.

Alucius is one of the most Talented of all, yet came from unremarkable beginnings. Raised on an isolated ranch, he is warned never to show his Talent lest he attract attention and be condemned to a lifetime of service. He carries this warning as he comes of age, and joins the Militia as did his father before him. However, this is no routine rite of passage. Corus enters a time of flux as his country is invaded by slave armies of the immortal ruler Madrien - and Alucius himself is captured and enslaved. A palpable sense of evil hangs over the lands and those of Talent are the only defence.

Darknesses

by L. E. Modesitt, Jr.

Published 6 September 2003

"Darknesses," the sequel to "Legacies," is the second volume of L. E Modesitt, Jr. 's new fantasy sequence, the Corean Chronicles. Corus is a world of humans, but also of strange animals and supernatural creatures. It is a world of magical powers and of a few people who are Talented enough to use them. Alucius, the hero of the story, is one such person. In "Legacies "we saw how he grew from a Talented child on a lonely Nightsheep ranch in the Iron Valleys to a proficient soldier who used his wits and his Talent to become the first to escape military enslavement in the neighboring country of Madrien. Now captain of the Twenty-first Company, the youngest officer of his rank in the Militia, he must face new challenges, both military and magical. Corus has been fragmented since the collapse of its ancient magic-powered civilization. A would-be conqueror has somehow revived sorcerous creatures of legend to assist in his crusade to reunite the continent under his rule. The Iron Valleys are forced into an alliance with the Lord-Protector of Lanachrona and the Twenty-first is dispatched to stand against the invaders. Neither the officers above him nor the men under him know it, but Alucius's Talent is their only hope for victory, or even survival. In "Darknesses," Alucius learns more about his magical Talent, meets many more supernatural creatures, and discovers the sinister forces vying for power behind the scenes across Corus. This volume completes the story arc begun in "Legacies," but there will be further books set in this world in the future.

Scepters

by L. E. Modesitt, Jr.

Published 1 July 2004

The popular creator of Recluce and of the Spellsong world of Liedwahr has built a whole new fantasy world on Corus. With each new volume of the Corean Chronicles we learn more about the magical underpinnings of this fascinating realm as we follow the continuing adventures of his reluctant hero, Alucius. In "Legacies "he became the first Iron Valley militiaman to escape sorcerous enslavement in Madrien. In "Darknesses," he found a way to defeat a would-be conqueror who revived the fearsome creatures and potent weaponry of the legendary past. Now he returns to face the greatest challenges yet to both his courage and his magical Talent. Alucius is happy back on his nightsheep stead with his beloved wife Wendra, who is expecting their first child. But the country is beset by enemies on all sides. Although the Lord Protector of Lanachrona keeps his promise not to order Alucius back to active duty, Alucius finds his request for help no easier to ignore. Newly promoted to higher rank, and given command of a combined force of the Northern and Southern Guards, Alucius must first quell a strange religiously-inspired rebellion and then find a way to destroy the powerful weapons of ancient design again being used by the forces of Madrien. Unlike the Lord Protector, Alucius can see that a third, covert, threat must be behind the other two. He will have to confront an alien evil that seeks to enslave the whole world of Corus in the guise of bringing back a lost golden age. Only the timely assistance of the mysterious ancient Soarers and the addition of Wendra's Talent to his own give him any hope of success. "Scepters "is a stirring climax to the first Corean trilogy.

Alector's Choice

by L. E. Modesitt, Jr.

Published 1 June 2005

Corus has been designed to become the new home of a superior race from a distant world, whose very life depends on drawing sustenance from the biological life force of a planet. After changing the climate, they have grown ordinary people to tend the plants and animals in preparation for their eventual arrival in force. Meanwhile, their plans are supervised by a staff of Alectors, who in effect rule the world. Alectors are bigger, tougher, and have both psychic talents and technology unavailable to the natives. The time is now fast approaching for the transfer from the old world, nearly bled dry of life force. But neither the Alectors (who will be reduced in status when the real powers arrive) nor the local humans (who seem destined to become no more than cattle, though they know nothing of this) are ready. The tension builds throughout the book, as deeper and deeper levels of complications are revealed.

Cadmian's Choice

by L. E. Modesitt, Jr.

Published 4 April 2006

"Cadmian's Choice" return's to the world of Corus to continue the epic trilogy begun in "Alector's Choice". It is the story of the fall of a great civilization and the tale of the Alector, Colonel Dainyl, and of Captain Mykel, the Corean human with special abilities. Corus has been redesigned to become the new home of a superior race from a distant world whose very life depends on drawing sustenance from the biological life force of a planet. These plans are supervised by a staff of Alectors, who in effect rule the world. The Alectors alone have access to the huge flying Pteridons and to the superior weapons that underpin their psychic talents. The time is now fast approaching for the transfer of the whole population from the old world, nearly bled dry of life force, to Corus. But neither the Alectors (who will be reduced in status when the real powers arrive) nor the local humans (who seem destined to become no more than cattle, though they know nothing of this) are ready. And the mysterious Ancient Ones, the true natives of Corus who are assumed to have died out in aeons past, survive. They have powers of their own. The situation builds toward an explosive climax.

Soarer's Choice

by L. E. Modesitt, Jr.

Published 14 November 2006

The civilization of the Alectors, which has farmed and developed all life on Corus to produce sustaining life force for their vampiric civilization, must move wholesale from one planet to another every few thousand years as it exhausts the life force of another world. This time, two worlds have been prepared, and the time is at hand for the great move. And Corus is looking like the loser, to be abandoned by the civilizing forces of the government of Alectors, but used as a dumping ground for malcontents and others who don't make the cut to move on to a richer new world. This doesn't bode well for the future of human civilization, nor for the honest Alectors such as Dainyl, who are trying to hold everything together. But the mysterious Ancients, the Soarers, are a force to be reckoned with, and they may hold a powerful and destructive trump card.

The Lord-Protector'S Daughter

by L. E. Modesitt, Jr.

Published 11 November 2008

Mykella, the eldest daughter of the Lord-Protector of Lanachrona, discovers that someone is diverting significant sums of money from her father's treasury. Soon a series of fatal and near fatal accidents occur to members of her family and trusted retainers. Her father is killed. Then there are attempt to remove Mykella and her sisters from the capital by marrying them off. While Mykella develops a solid idea of who stands behind it all, her every attempt at a solution is used to discredit her. But Mykella is also discovering her talent for magic.

Lady-Protector

by L. E. Modesitt, Jr.

Published 15 March 2011

A new novel of Mykella, the young woman introduced in The Lord-Protector's Daughter. Though a bloody coup has made Mykella ruler of her land, it has left her and her two sisters bereft of family and uncertain of their friends. Worse, an examination of the nation's accounts reveals that their country is almost destitute. Plus, there are rumblings of war along the borders. With no money and few allies, Mykella is faced with the difficult prospect of rebuilding her nation while trying to hold off a potentially devastating invasion. Fortunately for Mykella, an old magic has awakened in her; a power that gives her the ability to read the emotions of others and to spy on the movements of her enemies. But the resurgence of this power might herald the return of an ancient enemy, one that Mykella isn't sure how to face. L.E. Modesitt, Jr. returns to the world of "The Corean Chronicles" with a novel filled with politics, adventure, magic, and romance.

The Corean Chronicles, Volume One

by L. E. Modesitt, Jr.

Published 3 July 2017