Vandarei Series by Joy Chant

From the description at the front of the book:Kedrinh, the Starlit Land, is threatened by the Powers of Darkness, for Fendarl, fallen Enchanter of the Star Magic and banished Lord of Black Mountain, has in his long exile grown strong enough to challenge the rule of Kiron and the Starborn. His power waxes with the Red Moon, and nowhere in the whole land is there a champion who can stand against him, for the Necromancer bears a charmed life... moreFrom the description at the front of the book:Kedrinh, the Starlit Land, is threatened by the Powers of Darkness, for Fendarl, fallen Enchanter of the Star Magic and banished Lord of Black Mountain, has in his long exile grown strong enough to challenge the rule of Kiron and the Starborn. His power waxes with the Red Moon, and nowhere in the whole land is there a champion who can stand against him, for the Necromancer bears a charmed life.Into this world come three of our own kind, each of whom has a part to play in the defence of Kedrinh. They learn that victory does not always come with conquest and that something more is necessary, before the Starlit Land is finally safe. less

A vicious act of greed that wrecked the world... The Khentors, on their great Horned Horses, had wandered the Great Plain for longer than memory, and in all that time the magnificent Golden People, with their red metal spears and walled towns, had been Masters of the Khentorei. That the Golden Ones should take women as tribute was not unusual... moreA vicious act of greed that wrecked the world... The Khentors, on their great Horned Horses, had wandered the Great Plain for longer than memory, and in all that time the magnificent Golden People, with their red metal spears and walled towns, had been Masters of the Khentorei. That the Golden Ones should take women as tribute was not unusual. But now they had taken Nai, a priestess -- and not just a prestess-- for Nai, Chosen of the Gods, was the Luck of her Tribe and sister to Mor'anh, named for the Lightning Spear of the Sky.The Golden Ones had loosed a force they did not understand -- a force that would write its fiery vengance across the face of tehir world and shatter it forever. less

This is the tale of a love that shattered a world, between a woman destined to be queen and the young man who stole her heart with the magic of his music. Rahike was Young Mistress of Naramethe, an exotic land of spine and wine where women ruled and men lived at their pleasure. Mairilek was a humble potter, beautiful and graceful and strong, who defied custom to play the music forbidden to men, and loosed the power of the ancient sleeping gods upon the earth.