Kingdom's Edge is the third book in the Kingdom Series and spans the time from Jesus to the tribulation. Cedric tells the story as he encounters a Stranger from a distant kingdom. Cedric discovers that this Stranger is a Master of the sword and soon finds himself in an epic battle between good and evil.
Plot[]
He was doomed to a life of hopelessness and despair. Then the stranger arrived...
For Cedric of Chessington, every day is the same: full of poverty and despair. And he knows that will never change. Or so he thinks.
Then a stranger comes to the city. Drawn to the man's mysterious ways, Cedric discovers the stranger's humility belies great strength and wisdom. That's when an astounding truth becomes clear—the stranger is a Master of the Sword, and He is there to train Cedric.
Suddenly propelled into a desperate battle against evil, Cedric must rely on the Master’s training if he is going to survive. But the ultimate battle is yet to come, for the Dark Knight is at work, implementing his plan to take over the kingdom. Will Cedric be ready to stand in the face of pure evil?
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 where hope and compassion are as powerful weapons as the sword.
Chapters[]
- Prologue - Something Evil Comes Our Way
- Chapter 1 - A Stranger in Our Midst
- Chapter 2 - The Unlikely Knight
- Chapter 3 - A Deadly Plot
- Chapter 4 - A Desperate Fight
- Chapter 5 - Master of the Sword
- Chapter 6 - The Tear
- Chapter 7 - No Escape
- Chapter 8 - A Time to Weep
- Chapter 9 - A New Beginning
- Chapter 10 - We Build
- Chapter 11 - Origins of Evil
- Chapter 12 - Night of Knights
- Chapter 13 - Change of Heart
- Chapter 14 - Age of Darkness
- Chapter 15 - Taken!
- Epilogue - The Great Battle
Summary[]
Cedric of Chessington, waiting with a line of gallant Knights of the Prince as a force of great evil approaches, recalls how he went from being a peasant to being a knight...
Living as a young man in Chessington, Cedric and his friend William went to visit Leinad, an elderly recluse that many, including William, believe to be insane. Cedric takes a kindlier view of the old man who used to tell him stories of his life as a gallant knight and assures William that when he speaks of a fabulous sword Leinad's possession, he is telling the truth. The pair then few a parade of Chessington's Noble Knights, being among the spectators hoping to catch morsels of food thrown to the crowd by the arrogant defenders of the city. They have an unexpected encounter with a man who, though clad in peasant rags, gives the impression of being extraordinary.
Some days later, Cedric and William decide to view the Noble Knights' recurring training session in the city square after a day's fishing. They stop at Leinad's on the way, only to find him missing, no trace of him to be fund anywhere, and the sword gone. Going to the square in search of him, they witness a thief being caught and brought to the Noble Knights for punishment. However, as leading knight Kifus is about to cut off the girl's hand according to the law, he is stopped. The one responsible for this is the stranger the pair met previously, wielding the sword Leinad kept safe for so many years.
After besting Kifus and two other Noble Knights, the stranger proclaims Himself to be the Prince, the son of the King who rules over Arrethtrae from his Kingdom Across the Sea. However, the Noble Knights refuse to accept his declarations based purely on His skill with the sword, believing that a true nobleman would only be clad in fine apparel. The Prince decries the Noble Knights for their hypocrisy, in which they claim to honor the Code of the King but actually fail to do so. He then selects Cedric, William, and other peasants from the watching crowd as the first members of His own order: the Knights of the Prince.
Cedric, William, and their new comrades begin training under the Prince. Upon hearing from one of Kifus' servants of a supposed plot to kill the Prince, Cedric and William go to inform Him, but the Prince is untroubled. He focuses on preparing His knights to face their true enemies, Lucius the Dark Knight and his Shadow Warriors. Cedric and William engage one of these evil beings on behalf of a man named Barrett, who later joins the knights after the Prince sends the Shadow Warrior fleeing. Three of the Noble Knights later arrive and engage the Prince in battle, but He handily defeats all three of them.
Displaying His great compassion, the Prince leads His knights in ministering to the poor of Chessington. The Noble Knights eventually come after Him in force, and the Prince surrenders to them on the condition that His knights be allowed to depart peacefully. Cedric later watches as the Prince is executed by hanging and resolves with his comrades to recover the body. However, they arrive to find the Prince's body gone, and He later appears to them, alive again through the power of His Father the King.
The Prince departs for His Father's kingdom, leaving Cedric and the others to continue the work of building up the Knights of the Prince. As they begin to spread beyond Chessington, they encounter evil men acting on the promptings of Lucius, and Cedric meets the Silent Warriors Keef and Ramon. From them, he learns the story of how Lucius and his Shadow Warriors rebelled against the King and the Prince and were driven out of the Kingdom Across the Sea. Keef also recounts how the Prince claimed His sword from Leinad, who then departed across the sea, and then faced Lucius in a spectacular duel in which He triumphed.
Chessington comes to be governed by the tyrannical Alexander Histen, who enacts ever harsher laws upon the people. In the midst of this, Cedric and his comrades save the life of Derek, a harsh and abusive man bitten by a fire asp. They then teach him of the Prince, and Derek is moved to change his ways and apologize to his wife and children for his past treatment of them. Unfortunately, Alexander Histen then declares himself to be King of Arrethtrae in an act of blasphemy.
After an altercation with several of Histen's thugs, Cedric and William encounter Histen himself in company of several Shadow Warriors. They soon learn that Histen is none other than Lucius himself. Despite a near death encounter, they are able to survive the exchange with the help of two fellow knights and, more importantly, the power of the Prince. Not long afterwards, Cedric is awakened one day by Keef, who informs him that the time has come for the Knights of the Prince to depart Arrethtrae.
With the rest of the kingdom under the influence of a powerful sleeping draft, the true Knights of the Prince make their way to ships sent to collect them. Cedric is reunited with the Prince, who praises his efforts during their years of separation. Back in the present, Cedric prepares to join his fellow knights into charging into battle with the Prince at their head.
Characters[]
- Barrett
- Braden (unnamed)
- Cassy
- Cedric
- Demus (unnamed)
- Derek
- Envor (mentioned)
- Hatlin (mentioned)
- Jayden (unnamed)
- Keef
- Kelson (mentioned)
- Kifus
- Leinad
- Lucius
- Luskan
- Maggie
- Micalem
- Ramon
- Rob
- The King
- The Prince
- William
Groups[]
Creatures[]
Locations[]
- Arrethtrae
- Chandril
- Chessington Valley
- Drisdol
- Northern Mountains
- Great Sea
- Kingdom Across the Sea
Information[]
- Released on May 1st, 2006
- 144 pages
- Subjects: Youth/Youth Interests/Teen Fiction
- Interior illustrations by Marcella Johnson
- 12 Chapters (14 counting the Prologue and Epilogue)
- Dedicated "To my devoted wife and editor, Andrea, and to my children, Brittney, Reese, Ian, Abigail, and Kennan."
