The Sage

The Star Stone #2

by Christopher Stasheff

THE MAKING OF A HERO



Generations ago, Ohaern had played the hero's part in toppling the fearsome Ulahane from the tyrant's throne. His reward had been to spend an eternity with the goddess Rahani--and the years had spun away in a tapestry of bliss.



Now humankind had again fallen beneath a despot's heel. Ulahane's son Bolenkar, conceived in savagery and raised in brutality, visited horror upon all the sorry earth. Tenderhearted Rahani turned to her champion to save the world again, but the years had sapped Ohaern's mortal strength. His long-sleeping body awoke aged and stiff and weary. He could guide the fight against Bolenkar, for his wealth of craft and wisdom remained intact. But a younger man must strike the killing blow.



Like a swordsmith seeking to craft a sword, Ohaern sought the raw material from which to craft a hero. He chose the outcast bully a scoundrel, despicable and lazy---but one who might be shaped into something better. And the fire in which he would be forged would cleanse the filth from his soul, leaving behind that which was fine and sharp.



Whether he would be sharp enough to topple a godling, only mortal combat would decide. . .

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction

341 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published May 28, 1996

About the author

The late Christopher Stasheff was an American science fiction and fantasy author. When teaching proved too real, he gave it up in favor of writing full-time. Stasheff was noted for his blending of science fiction and fantasy, as seen in his Warlock series. He spent his early childhood in Mount Vernon, New York, but spent the rest of his formative years in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Stasheff taught at the University of Eastern New Mexico in Portales, before retiring to Champaign, Illinois, in 2009. He had a wife and four children.