Kingdom's Dawn is the first book in the Kingdom Series and spans the time from Adam to Moses. The central characters are Leinad and Tess. They encounter tremendous adversity and challenges as Leinad discovers he is chosen by the King for a mission of utmost importance.
Plot[]
He's just a young man, but that doesn't change the truth. He was chosen...
Sixteen year-old Leinad thought he was a common farmer's son, nothing more. He wondered why his father had trained him for years to master the sword—not exactly a tool of the trade for farmers—but one tragic event initiates a world of revelation.
Only then does he begin to understand his calling—a calling no other man in the entire kingdom of Arrethtrae can fulfill—a calling given him by the King Himself.
Teamed with a young slave girl, Leinad is thrust into adversity and danger—for The Dark Knight and his vicious Shadow Warriors will stop at nothing to thwart the King ’s plan to restore the kingdom. Leinad will need more than a sharp blade and a swift hand to fulfill his mission and survive the evil plots of the King’s sworn enemies!
Journey to Arrethtrae, where the King and His Son implement a bold plan to save their kingdom; where courage, faith, and loyalty stand tall in the face of opposition; where good will not bow to evil—and the future of a kingdom lies in the hands of a young man.
Summary[]
Cedric of Chessington, one of the Knights of the Prince, aboard one of many ships carrying his comrades, recalls his boyhood acquaintance with Leinad. Leinad told the young Cedric stories of his own youth, and Cedric begins recounting these.
Leinad grew up on a farm in the Plains of Kerr, raised by his father Peyton and, initially, his late mother Dinan. As Leinad is sixteen years of age, his mother has been dead for some years, and his father has spent some time training him in the unlikely art of sword fighting. After one training session, the pair visit the nearby village of Mankin for supplies and pay a visit to Peyton's friend Gabrik, the town blacksmith. The unusual man reveals that he has recently completed a magnificent sword, which he tells Leinad is for one dedicated to serving the King of Arrethtrae.
On their way out of town, father and son meet a young, orphaned girl named Tess, whose freedom Peyton buys from her mean-spirited owner Miss Wimble. Leinad finds himself acting as a sort of big brother figure to the girl, whom both he and his father grow to care for. When a comment by Tess echoes Leinad's own curiosity about his father teaching him to use the sword, Peyton explains his intent to prepare Leinad for service to the King. He reveals his and Dinan's history to his son, explaining that they were chosen by the King to rule as proxies as he spent time in his Kingdom Across the Sea.
Unfortunately, many of the King's Silent Warriors rebelled against their monarch under the leadership of Lucius, his former first warrior. Though defeated, these Shadow Warriors crossed the Great Sea and sought to conquer Arrethtrae in search of revenge against the King. With false gifts, which Peyton and Dinan accepted against the King's counsel, and flattery Lucius invaded their palace, which they destroyed after killing all the guards. Peyton and Dinan were left alive to face the King for their failure and hid briefly before emerging at the King's calls. However, the King did not punish them, but instead charged them with raising their children to honor Him so that they would one day be able to help fulfill his plans for Arrethtrae.
After learning so much that was previously unknown to him, Leinad is troubled, and takes his father's suggestion to go hunting alone in the nearby forest. Unfortunately, he comes across a gathering of Shadow Warriors and an Arrethtraean man named Zane, the latter of whom is ordered to kill him as the others set off. Zane, hoping for some sport, gives Leinad a sword only to be injured in their ensuing fight, allowing Leinad to flee. He arrives within sight of home to find his father in the hands of the Shadow Warriors, with Lucius dealing Peyton a deadly wound.
Gabrik, also newly arrived, prevents Leinad from making a suicidal rush into the situation, and the Shadow Warriors leave after setting the farmhouse ablaze. Leinad manages to save Tess, who was hiding in the cellar, but despite Gabrik's ministrations Peyton succumbs to his wound and dies. His last words are to encourage Leinad to remain true to the King, find "the promise", and beware of his brother. Gabrik, in response to questioning, reveals that Leinad had older twin brothers, but that one of them rebelled and killed the other. By his account, Leinad is able to deduce that Zane is, in fact, his surviving brother and an agent of Lucius.
Leinad is presented with the sword Gabrik showed him and Peyton, and is also informed of an imminent calamity known as the Vactor Deluge, in which great areas of Arrethtrae will be swarmed by creatures called Vactors that will devour everything living in their path. Leinad is charged with warning the citizens of Mankin and leading them to high ground where they can escape this fate. Using Deliverance, a horse provided by Gabrik, Leinad does this but is dismissed by the people, leaving only Tess and himself to escape. They manage to survive, losing Deliverance in the process, and are then aided by a stranger who provides them with food to begin their journey to a new home.
The pair make their way to the Valley of Nan, whose people they have been informed have been chosen by the King as part of his plans for Arrethtrae. After finding work at a large farmstead, Leinad is betrayed by several coworkers and sold into slavery, with his sword also being sold to the traders. He is brought to Nyland, domain of Lord Fairos, and put to work as a slave. Eventually, Tess joins him as a slave in Nyland, and Leinad is selected to participate in a brutal duel with Fairos. In the process, he befriends another slave named Quinn, and impresses Fairos with his ability as a swordsman.
Leinad becomes the trainer for Fairos' guards, and later joins them in saving the people of Nan from the rampaging Eminafs. Unfortunately, Fairos chooses to add the people of Nan to his ever-growing number of slaves, prompting Leinad to refuse to continue training his men. Forced back into the role of a regular slave, Leinad is later sentenced to death after he dares to strike an overseer in defense of another captive. He is taken out into the Banteen Desert and left for the Moshi Beasts.
Fortunately, a rainstorm allows Leinad to escape his bonds and the predators, though he is left in despair as a result of all his hardship and that of his family, friends, and people. However, he is then visited by the King, who encourages him to doubt no longer and to place his trust in him. The King then charges Leinad with freeing the people of Nan from Fairos, and completes his sword training so that he may perform this mighty task. Now fully committed to his new role, Leinad is made one of the Knights of the King.
The narrative ends by returning to Cedric's perspective, with him promising to continue the tale of Leinad when time allows him.
Chapters[]
- Prologue - Voyage to the Edge
- Chapter 1 - Vision Search
- Chapter 2 - The Servants Sword
- Chapter 3 - A Kingdom Lost
- Chapter 4 - Yesterday's End
- Chapter 5 - A Sword and a Mission
- Chapter 6 - Let them Hear
- Chapter 7 - No Place a Home
- Chapter 8 - Betrayed!
- Chapter 9 - Beginning of Bondage
- Chapter 10 - Mastery Unveiled
- Chapter 11 - A Savage Battle
- Chapter 12 - Journey to Death
- Chapter 13 - Storm of Salvation
- Chapter 14 - A Question of Faith
- Epilogue: - At Kingdom's Edge
Characters[]
| Cedric (Knight of the Prince) |
| Leinad (Knight of the King) |
| Peyton (Knight of the King) |
| Gabrik (Silent Warrior) |
| Tess (Knight of the King) |
| Miss Wimble |
| Dinan (Mentioned) |
| Lucius (Shadow Warrior) |
| Zane (Vincero Knight) |
| Mankin's Prefect |
| Stanton |
| Mrs. Stanton |
| Dagon (slaver) |
| Fairos |
| Lady Fairos |
| Quinn (Knight of the King) |
| Osmar (slave) |
| Nevin |
| Keston |
| Barak |
| Benreu (supervisor) |
| The King |
| The Prince |
Groups[]
- Eminafs
- People of Nan
- Shadow Warriors
- Silent Warriors
Animals[]
- Deliverance
- Rosie
Creatures[]
- Moshi Beasts
- Vactors
Locations[]
- Arrethtrae
- Banteen Desert
- Hadenborough (mentioned)
- Nedehaven (not named)
- Nod (mentioned)
- Nyland
- Pyron Mid
- Plains of Kerr
- Mankin
- Red Canyon
- Tara Hills
- Valley of Nan
- Great Sea
- Kingdom Across the Sea
Information[]
- Released on May 1st, 2006
- 160 pages
- Subjects: Youth/Youth Interests/Teen Fiction
- Interior illustrations by Marcella Johnson
- 14 Chapters (16 counting the Prologue and Epilogue)
Dedication[]
"To my father and mother, Jim and Frances. Your love, instruction, and encouragement inspired me, but most importantly, you showed me the light and led me to Him. Thank you!"
