The Door Into Fire: The Tale of the Five, Volume One, Paperback

A sorcerous swordsmith desperate to achieve true power. His stubbornly nonmagical sword. His princely runaway lover. His hungry new fire elemental. Put them all together, and what can possibly go wrong?Herewiss is the only man in centuries to possess the Power of the blue Flame, but he can't use or control it - not even to help his friend and lover Freelorn, prince of Arlen, exiled from his native land and pursued across the Middle Kingdoms by the usurpers' allies. Invoking perilous sorceries and the even more dangerous assistance of the fire elemental Sunspark, Herewiss manages to rout the armies besieging Freelorn and his little band of followers, and free his loved. Together they flee east to seek temporary refuge in the mysterious lands near the edge of the world they know.But now Herewiss faces a devastating choice. His time to master the blue Fire is running out. Should he abandon his fruitless search and join Freelorn in his fight to regain his kingdom? Or should he seek out the ancient keep in the Waste where doors lead into other worlds-perhaps even the door whose use will teach him to control the Power that he must master or die?...The Door Into Fire, first novel set in Diane Duane's award-winning Middle Kingdoms universe, opens a fantastic saga of power, magic and friendship that has become a cult classic for its uniquely inclusive take on epic fantasy and its unforgettable characters.