| abstract | - Coauthored by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory, the Obsidian Trilogy tells the story of a war between a coalition of races and evil Demons known as the Endarkened. The three books in the series are The Outstretched Shadow, To Light A Candle, and When Darkness Falls. Key figures to know:
* Kellen Tavadon: The main protagonist from the beginning of the series, Kellen starts out as the disappointing son of Armethalieh's Archmage, Lycaelon Tavadon. As the series continues, he discovers that he is, firstly, a Wildmage, and secondly (after being banished from Armethalieh for being a Wildmage), a special kind of Wildmage called a Knight-Mage. Knowing this, he leads the combined armies of the Allies against the Endarkened. He is in love with Vestakia.
* Idalia Tavadon: Kellen's older sister, Idalia is also a Wildmage, and is in love with the Elf Jermayan. Ends the conflict by willingly sacrificing herself to save her father. Shortly thereafter, she is reincarnated as the daughter of the Elven King.
* Shalkan: A snarky unicorn, Shalkan enters the story when Kellen needs help escaping Armethalieh's lands. He is practically addicted to sweets.
* Jermayan: Jermayan begins as a garden-variety Elven Knight in the first book, who also happens to be in love with Idalia. In the second book, he meets and bonds with Ancaladar, an ancient dragon, thus becoming the first Elven Mage in millenia. Later, in the third book, he nearly dies and loses his magic, before having it restored to him by Idalia's sacrifice.
* Ancaladar: In the last war against the Endarkened, most of the Dragons and their bondmates died. Ancaladar didn't, but he feels very guilty about that. Fortunately for his guilt, he bonds with Jermayan, and fights for the Allies.
* Vestakia: Vestakia has the misfortune of being half-Endarkened, half-human. Worse still, she's the daughter of the Prince of the Endarkened. Even worse still, she looks like an Endarkened, even to the point of little horns. On the other hand, her parentage lets her sense Endarkened and their magic. On the third hand, it does that by making her feel sick. She and Kellen are in love.
* Cilarnen Volpiril: Cilarnen is only a minor character in the first book. In To Light A Candle, though, we see a lot more of him, including his banishment from Armethalieh for treason. Lackey and Mallory also released a second trilogy, called The Enduring Flame Trilogy, set in the same world, only about a thousand years later. Idalia, Kellen, Shalkan, and all the crew from the first trilogy are now distant legends/religious figures. There have been no High Mages for centuries, and the Elves have left their old cities to the humans and centaurs. Until, that is, a young Armethaliehan discovers that he is a High Mage. That means that he and his best buddy have to set off on a quest.
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