Well Of Darkness: Margaret Weis; Tracy Hickman

Book I of The Sovereign Stone. The kingdom of Vinnangael lies at the heart of a land webbed with magical tunnels shrinking the vast distances between nations. The tunnels are protected by Dominion Lords; human citizens of Vinnangael transformed by the Gods into magical knights. This year, Crown Prince Helmos has been chosen to join the elite brotherhood, to the bitter disappointment of his younger brother Dagnarus. Dagnarus' hatred of Helmos is equal only to his hunger to become a knight himself, yet his plans to gain power in the kingdom are only set in motion with the arrival of the shy, scholarly Gareth, who is recruited to be Dagnarus' whipping boy. Despite all their differences an unshakeable bond is formed and Gareth, with his prince's support, begins to master the forbidden Void magic. Unleashing forces that even the most powerful of the magi fear, the two friends set off a chain of events that threaten to destroy the entire kingdom. Cover art by Martin McKenna.