As my readers should know by now, I love talking about book covers--especially my own.
Look at this one! Is that not a gorgeous cover?
I love the color palette. Soft. Earthy. Heavenly also. It's lovely. And the use of golds and browns brings forth notes of things common yet also signals of wealth.
Because... Sordan.
Readers of Sordaneon will instantly recognize that City, which is seen on that book's cover but from much nearer. On this cover, Sordan is seen from the water, from its encircling lake.
And who are those people on the boat?
The back copy will provide a clue:
Long live the king… if only they can find him.
The Kheld King, Stefan Stauberg-Randolph, is dead. He leaves behind a land in chaos.
His brother Handurin is rightful heir to once-mighty Essera… only Handurin is missing. Safely ensconced in another reality, he doesn’t remember who he is, or why he was sent away, until the day an immortal wizard named Marenthro shows up on his doorstep.
Handurin isn’t too happy about having his world turned upside down. But he’s even less thrilled about Marenthro’s plans for his safe return to Essera—namely by seeking the protection of the one man who was Stefan’s most hated enemy: Dorilian Sordaneon.
So one of those two young men is Handurin, Stefan's brother and Marc Frederick's grandson. He's going to Sordan to try to start up an acquaintance with a man who may not exactly roll out the red carpet.
Readers can rightly assume that the other person is a new character. When traveling to the City of someone who might be an enemy, it is helpful to take up with a companion. Arne Anseldson is Kheld and readers will get to know him well. And Hans too.