The Alien Sea
 The Alien Sea book cover | |
| Author | Lucien Soulban |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | David Hudnut |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Champions |
| Genre | Fantasy novel, Dragonlance |
| Publisher | Wizards of the Coast |
Publication date | August 2006 (mass market paperback) |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 308 pp |
| ISBN | 0-7869-4082-4 |
| OCLC | 70846892 |
| LC Class | CPB Box no. 2716 vol. 14 |
| Followed by | The Great White Wyrm |
The Alien Sea is a fantasy novel by Lucien Soulban set in the Dragonlance campaign series based on the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. The novel is about the Dimernesti, Dargonesti, and the other underwater creatures of Krynn.
Publication history
The Alien Sea was written by Lucien Soulban and published in August 2006.[1] Other books in the series include The Great White Wyrm by Peter Archer and Saving Solace by Douglas W. Clark.[1]
Setting
The Alien Sea is set in the underwater land of Dargonesti, Dimernesti, and other sea creatures.
Characters
- Apoletta - A female Dargonesti that is the Steward of Istar (now underwater). She was featured previously in Dragons of Spring Dawning when she and other sea elves rescued the Heroes of the Lance from the wreck of the Perechon in the Blood Sea Malestrom.
- Utharne of the Fallen Shores - A male Dimernesti follower of the Fisher King.
- Zebulah - Apoletta's lost love - A red-robed mage who lived underwater with Apoletta as her husband, also featured in Dragons of Spring Dawning. However, when magic disappears from the world, he secretly absorbs magical energy from the Dragonlance in order to survive underwater. When Apoletta discovers this, she exiles him, almost certainly causing his death. Despite this, she is still in love with him, hoping that he is still alive.
- Brysis - A Dargonesti explorer who charted the currents near the World Gash, a volcanic field that is slowly expanding, filling the currents with foul sulfuric vapors and clouds of ash, causing fish and other species to die.
Plot summary
The book begins with a prologue about how Apoletta met Zebulah, her previous husband. Zebulah, a red-robed human mage, was exploring the sunken ruins of Istar, while Apoletta was the Steward of Istar at that time, guarding it from humans. While she secretly watches him, it is mentioned that she was taken by his respectfulness, curiosity, and honesty towards the ruins. After conversing with him to discover his intent, she also becomes impressed by his truthfulness as a "would-be invader".
Returning to the present, Chapter One begins with Apoletta finding herself hosting a Conclave concerning the World Gash, a quickly spreading volcanic field, with representatives from many different species, including shoal elves (Dimernesti), merfolk, ocean striders, sea giants, and brathnoc. However, she is annoyed at the petty bickering going on over fishing grounds, even including the Dimernesti, who were supposed to help host the Conclave but hadn't even selected a representative. Apoletta attempts to quench her anger by seeking advice from Slyphanous, an old Dargonesti elf. During their conversation, Apoletta reveals the depth of the rift between the Dargonesti and Dimernesti, of which the Dimernesti do not trust the Dargonesti anymore. Returning to the task at hand, she attempts to wait for everyone's attention, but finds out that the bickering has taken precedence over civility and decorum. Forced to resort to magical means, she casts a spell, causing a large sphere of water to vanish from the area, causing the heavy ocean to rush in and fill the void, resulting in a large crack, nudging the delegates and even swaying a large circular slab of coral suspended from the ceiling. Apparently gaining the Conclave's attention, she attempts to continue, however the merfolk chime in, exclaiming that they haven't finished "negotiating" with the ocean striders over access to fishing grounds. Redirecting the delegates back to the issue at hand, she again attempts to continue, but this time is interrupted by a male Dimernesti, who sneeringly proclaims "Your so-called World Gash, is it again?" Her temper rising, she attempts to refute him, however is told "You're wasting my time." The delegates return to their own issues, with the merfolk arguing over hunting domains, the oceans striders concerned about the influx of undead, and the Dimernesti harboring grievances against Dargonesti.
References
- 1 2 "Wizards Product: Alien Sea, The". Archived from the original on Sep 30, 2007.