Druss the Legend

The Drenai Series is a fantasy series by British writer David Gemmell. The series is about the history of the Drenai Nation and follows various heroes through the ages of its history.

Anthologies:

Additionally, David Gemmell's novels Knights of Dark Renown (1989) and Morningstar (1992) are also set in the same fictional world, although they involve events taking place many centuries before the rise of the Drenai.

The publishing order of the books does not correspond to the chronology of events that take place in the series. The chronological order is:

Knights of the Gabalah The legendary protectors of the Nine Duchies which precedes the Drenai Empire. They disappeared through the gateway to help a kingdom in Knights of Dark Renown which turns out to be a lure. The Knights returned but as undead Red Knights addicted to Ambria which enhances them the revelations of this cause the creation of new knights of the Gabalah who due to having various flaws were the Knights of Dark Renown.

Dros Delnoch is a Drenai fortress that guards the pass between the Nadir homeland to the north, and the Drenai homeland to the south. Dros Delnoch has six concentric walls and a keep. The first and strongest wall is sixty feet high and four hundred paces wide, with towers set every fifty paces.

The Drenai Empire is a long-standing nation. Their main enemies include the Nadir - a Mongol-like nation of warring tribes, the Ventrian and Vagrian Empires, and the Sathuli - a reclusive, religious tribe of warriors who dwell in the Delnoch Steppes. The Drenai gained their freedom from the Vagrian Empire thanks to the efforts of the legendary heroes Karnak and Egel, the first Earl of Bronze - this part of the Drenai history is told in the book Waylander. The Drenai face many threats over their history, but finally succumb to the rule of the Nadir after Tenaka Khan unites the warring tribes of the north to invade the Empire. These events are suggested to have occurred between The King Beyond the Gate and Quest for Lost Heroes. Another factor in the downfall of the Drenai is the evil Emperor Ceska, who joins forces with warrior-priests of Chaos and utilises an ancient technology allowing him to combine humans with beasts, creating Joinings - fearsome creatures driven to maim and kill by the mental powers of the Chaos priests. Eventually the Drenai gain their freedom in the events leading up to "Winter Warriors". It is also noted that under King Skanda's rule they conquer Ventria. Whether Skanda's son holds it after his death is unknown.

The Thirty is a group of warrior priests formed by the Source priest Dardalion during the Vagrian invasion who, after seeing so many of his brothers murdered, realizes that such evil cannot be fought with love. Twenty-nine other priests agree with him and so The Thirty is formed, utilising powers of the mind and spirit as well as physical weapons in their struggle. When fighting the Dark Brotherhood on the spirit plane The Thirty discover they can form into The One, a single entity that is greater than the combined power of the Thirty, however this intoxicating new super-entity quickly becomes a danger to their individuality and is abandoned. The Thirty fight during the battle of Dros Purdol and when the Vagrians finally break through the gates, the remaining members of The Thirty are slaughtered as they focus their powers on protecting Waylander to the last; Only Dardalion survives his wounds and later forms a second Thirty. Dardalion leads the second Thirty to protect the Nadir Wolfshead tribe from the vast Gothir army. Throughout several battles The Thirty save the Wolfshead from destruction before finally Dardalion is mortally wounded. Before he dies however he sends the last remaining member to Vagria to form a new Thirty.

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Wikipedia