This concluding volume would not have possible without a whole team of people to whom I will be forever grateful. Sarah Bonamino and Sara Beth Haring were wonderful allies for getting the word out. I was delighted to work with the talented Edwin Chapman as my copyeditor for each book of this trilogy and immeasurably pleased by the devoted audio work of Lori Prince. The long-suffering Ian Tregillis once more served as my alpha reader, and then Kelly McCullough, John O’Neill, Chris Willrich, and the Willrich family served as almost beta readers. You see, I thought they were getting the beta version of the draft, but their many fine comments made me realize another going-over was absolutely essential. Beth Shope rode in to my rescue at the last minute to point me toward better habits I espouse but had forgotten to practice—and convinced me that one too many characters were dying by book’s end.
All through the course of writing this book I benefited from the guidance of Pete Wolverton, Bob Mecoy, and my firstborn, Darian Jones. And then, of course, the counsel of my amazing wife and muse, Shannon Jones, was invaluable from beginning to end. If my allegedly clever characters actually sound and act intelligently, then much of that has to do with my brilliant wife’s input and suggestions. She loves these characters as much as I do, and I swear that sometimes she knows them even better. It was she who, long before the first novel was even finished, suggested some of the best parts of this book’s ending on a walk one evening. Many, many other portions of this story have had to change, but those suggestions were so fine I retained them to the very end.
Speaking of characters, one of them has a hidden history. Kris Ghosh, M.D., once asked me to give a home to his favorite D&D character from his youth. Kris died far too young, so he never saw these books, much less several mentions of a legendary sorcerer from olden days. I think he would have been delighted that Herahn is regarded as the finest mage in the history of the Altenerai. I can imagine the beaming smile that would have resulted once he saw Herahn mentioned in these books. I wish I could have seen it in person.