Argylle Series by Elizabeth Willey

Welcome to Argylle -- and its ruling family, a brilliant flighty, civilized, and occasionally dangerous clan of nearly immortal warriors and magicians. Where young Prince Gwydion, stuck with ruling the Dominion, is finding his reign...eventful. Where strange Things keep turning up. Plagues of monsters. The arrival of a ravenous Great Dragon. And where a mysterious young woman who claims to be Gwydion's long-lost -- indeed, quite unsuspected--sister... moreWelcome to Argylle -- and its ruling family, a brilliant flighty, civilized, and occasionally dangerous clan of nearly immortal warriors and magicians. Where young Prince Gwydion, stuck with ruling the Dominion, is finding his reign...eventful. Where strange Things keep turning up. Plagues of monsters. The arrival of a ravenous Great Dragon. And where a mysterious young woman who claims to be Gwydion's long-lost -- indeed, quite unsuspected--sister. It's enough, Gwydion thinks, to make a ruler want to find a nice long errand that'll take him away from his homeland for a spell... less

Centuries ago, the wizard Prospero was cut out of the imperial succession by his brother Avril. In the intervening years Prospero has found his own land and people to rule, but he has not given up his claim to the throne. Now, finally, he is going to war.

A powerful fantasy novel in its own right, set in an expansive and complex fantasy universe, The Price of Blood and Honor brings to a grand climax the tale, begun in The Well-Favored Man and A Sorcerer and a Gentleman, of the kingdoms of Landuc, Noroison, and Phesaotois. The bitter, centuries-old feud between Emperor Avril and his wizardly brother, Prospero, has broken into open warfare, and events and armies are unstoppably on the move... moreA powerful fantasy novel in its own right, set in an expansive and complex fantasy universe, The Price of Blood and Honor brings to a grand climax the tale, begun in The Well-Favored Man and A Sorcerer and a Gentleman, of the kingdoms of Landuc, Noroison, and Phesaotois. The bitter, centuries-old feud between Emperor Avril and his wizardly brother, Prospero, has broken into open warfare, and events and armies are unstoppably on the move. In the midst of all this, Prospero's two grown children - staunch, unworldly Freia, and her urbanely sorcerous half-brother, Dewar - find themselves thrust into the very heart of the action. The Price of Blood and Honor is a rich, complex, and splendidly high-handed work, full of epic tragedies and comedies of manners, wars and romances, primal acts of creation, gritty military details, intricate espionage capers, talking animals, mythic beasts, ducks, and a great deal more besides, in the story that is the climax and completion of this series. less