"Darkness. The Shining Darkness" by Sergey Tarmashev, summary Automatic translate

This book, published in 2011, combines classic fantasy with elements of post-apocalyptic science fiction. Magic here is revealed to be a forgotten high-tech science, and the mythical races are mutants who survived an ancient nuclear disaster. The book serves as a direct continuation of the previously begun story and is the second part of the "Darkness" series. This series also includes the novels "Dawn of Darkness," "Dusk of Darkness," "End of Darkness," and other volumes of the epic.

Return from the Desert

The story begins in the Forbidden Lands of the great Rathash Desert. The powerful shaman Trerg Firestorm and Princess Ailani escape from the necromancers’ dungeons. Breaking through to the surface, Trerg shatters a magical portal with a powerful explosion. A crowd of enraged k’Zirds attempts to attack the fugitives, but the shaman incinerates the attackers with a powerful wave of fire. The heroes heal a wounded sandman crucified on a stone slab by his fellow tribesmen. As a token of gratitude, the rescued k’Zird helps them find horses.

Trerg gathers magical currents and opens a gigantic portal directly to the orc capital, the city of Rugodar. Before crossing, the shaman hands over the captured soul of the demon Ashk’Harr to the girl. Thanks to the acquired artifact, Ailani brings back to life her mentor, Lord Tervis, whose heart had stopped beating months earlier. On the other side of the gate, the heroes are met by hundreds of steely, fanged giants arrayed in battle formation.

Decisions of the Clan Council

Upon arriving in the orc city, Trerg meets with his foster family and addresses the Council of Clans. The shaman reports that Khan Kil Im Pah has amassed an army of thirty-three million warriors to attack the human kingdoms and the steppes of Rugodar. The enemy offensive is secretly being directed by necromancers, who are systematically destroying the most powerful human sorcerers. Trerg personally witnessed the deaths of the Great Calorn and Lomenar.

Despite centuries of hostility, the Council accepts Trerg’s plan: to form an alliance with the Humans and seek support from the enigmatic Elves. Elder Gnurd Piercing Gaze insists on an immediate march of the Orcish Horde to the borders of Avlia, which is under attack. The Orcs decide to forcefully reclaim the throne of Redonia from Trerg, depriving their enemies of a foothold in human lands.

Secrets of the Ancient Races

Tregg, Ailani, and the orc warrior Grong Irresistible Strike arrive at the invisible border of Elsiriol, which runs along the Esmael River. After the shaman destroys the patrol mechanism and drowns the battle golems, Grand Duke Elefendil allows the guests into his land. The fairytale Elsiriol turns out to be a small, protected valley hidden among the snow-capped mountains. The elves are, in fact, several hundred decrepit old men who command ancient machines and artificial intelligence systems.

Elefendil tells guests the history of the world of Parn. Twenty-five thousand years ago, a global nuclear war broke out between the state of Syria and geopolitical adversaries. The ancestors of the Elves escaped on submarines and founded a colony in the crater of a volcano. The adversaries mutated in radioactive steel caves, becoming necromancers. K’Zird, Orcs, and Humans are the descendants of survivors whose bodies adapted to the radiation. Their altered physiology gave some the ability to manipulate physical fields without the aid of instruments. This ability is perceived by the inhabitants of Parn as magic. The Orcs, on the other hand, were the result of a failed genetic experiment by the Elves, who wanted to breed ideal blood donors for trade with the necromancers.

Liberation of Arzanna

The elves refuse to engage in open conflict with the necromancers, fearing the depletion of their energy generators. The Grand Duke agrees only to disable the intercontinental portals through which the enemies penetrate human lands. Ailani conducts healing sessions, restoring the decrepit health of the elven elders. After the healing, the heroes, along with an elven technician, teleport to the abandoned Tower of Rodbong near Arzanna, the capital of Redonia. Trerg imbues the tower’s empty crystal with his energy, bringing the structure under his control.

Trerg’s detachment suddenly attacks the Royal Guard convoy, rescuing the captives. From the freed coachman, Pelimar, the heroes learn of the usurper’s horrific policies. Darnath has turned the country into a feeding ground, selling citizens to the Vakri pirates for necromancers. The king unleashes a meteor shower on the five-thousand-strong army expelled from the city, and Grong’s orcish warriors destroy the remaining troops. The detachment infiltrates the Royal Palace. Trerg pierces Darnath’s magical shield and kills his half-brother.

Fight with the Necromancers and the All-Consuming Fire

Suddenly, the portal arch comes to life, and three armed necromancers emerge from it. A bloody battle ensues. The elven scientist perishes under the heavy fire of combat pulsars. Tregg and the orc warriors destroy their opponents in hand-to-hand combat, sending them tumbling into the abyss from the palace’s shattered windows, some eight hundred meters deep.

The necromancer leader, Kyon’L’Jeysn, loses his arm to Traerg’s blow but manages to escape through a portal. As he flees, he leaves behind a colossally powerful pre-detonated bomb, dubbed the All-Consuming Fire. Seconds before the explosion, the shaman opens a passage back to the enemy’s lair. Grong throws the device into the portal, destroying the necromancers’ underground city.

Similla and the Path to the Ocean

Trerg hands over control of the capital to Ailani and returns to Rugodar to battle the invading Sandmen. Forced to defend their borders, the orcs amass armies at the Similla River, where fierce fighting is already raging. To stop the enemy hordes from crossing, Trerg, using a flying Elven golem, unleashes a fiery rain upon the Dorgalind Mountains. The glaciers melt rapidly, and the river overflows its banks, blocking the k’Zird advance with a mighty wave of water.

In Arzanna, Ailani gathers refugees and organizes supplies. The city’s population exceeds a million. Food supplies are quickly running low, and the Princess, along with Lord Tervis and her loyal lady-in-waiting, Limmi, sets off on a decrepit ship to the islands of the Vakrio Archipelago. She plans to forge an alliance with the amphibians to establish a fishing industry. On the open ocean, the human vessel is attacked by pirates who have made a pact with the Necromos.

During a naval battle, pirates damage the rudder, and the human ship runs aground on the reefs. A detachment of Vakri, led by Master Mik, fights its way to the wreck. During the shootout, a stray pirate arrow kills a baby alphin, a sacred sea animal. Mik sacrifices himself, steering the burning ship toward the enemy squadron. Enraged, the giant alphins attack the pirate fleet, tearing the remaining ships apart. The princess arrives on the island of the Maar clan, helping the locals repel an attack by the landed k’Zird. The grateful Vakri agree to support Redonia with food supplies.

Avliya’s last stand

While the orcs purge Rugodar of the invading forces, massive armies of the K’Zird destroy the kingdom of Avlia. Duke Nomfor and the Blue Mage Heikanor hold the last line of defense in the city of Rakanna. The defenders are losing fortresses one after another, the Blue Mages expending all their energy to hold back the countless attacks. Heikanor devotes his last strength to using the Demon Prison, destroying ten thousand Sandmen, and loses consciousness.

As the walls of Rakanna crumble under the enemy onslaught, Trerg’s army appears on the horizon. Tens of thousands of steel-clad orcs smash into the Sandmen’s rear. The shaman unleashes gigantic firestorms and molten rock upon the valley. The Serpent-tongue forces suffer colossal losses and retreat. Duke Nomfor welcomes Trerg, who has arrived at the head of an orcish avalanche to save the remnants of the human kingdom.

Epilogue

The action shifts to a top-secret bunker in Utah, USA. The governor listens to doctors’ reports on the condition of Colonel Jason, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Jason was urgently teleported from an underground complex in Colorado just before the nuclear detonation and fell into a deep coma due to the loss of an arm and severe shock.

The Governor analyzes the incident. The destruction of the Colorado base has disrupted the supply of fresh blood to the US government’s cryogenic chambers. The Syrians are constantly trying to contact him, but the Governor orders their requests ignored. He decides to enter suspended animation for fifty-seven days, awaiting Colonel Jason’s awakening. The politician hopes to exploit the situation to win the snap presidential election, completely unaware of the true scale of the catastrophe in the world of Parn.