"Martlet and the Serpent" by Oleg Yakovlev and Vladimir Torin, summary Automatic translate

This book is a dark fantasy about political conspiracies, magic, and betrayal, written in 2012. The novel’s most notable feature is its abundance of intertwining plotlines. Each character plays their own hidden game for survival and power, blurring the lines between honor and treachery. This novel is the fifth and final book in the "Chronicles of the Broken Mirror" series. The series also includes "Time of Troubles," "The Raven’s Heart," "Where the False Faces Are," and "Masks of the Black Harlequin."

Shadow over Teal

Events unfold in the eastern kingdom of Ronstrad. The barony of Teal is ruled by the ambitious mage Tancred Bremer. The people have nicknamed him the Fire Serpent. The Lord of Teal enters into a secret pact with the elven Saegran Nellik Sharpbeak. Saegran belongs to the House of the Black Swan. Both rulers harbor far-reaching plans. They intend to pit the forces of Ronstrad against the forces of the elven state of Conkr.

A spy for the royal guard, Daryl Gram, secretly infiltrates Brenhall Castle. Disguised as a peasant, he manages to eavesdrop on the conspirators’ conversations. While attempting to leave the watchtower, the spy encounters a nightmarish monster. The monster turns out to be Samuel Bremer, Tancred’s father, now turned into a vampire. The baron has kept his father chained in a secret cell for years. Infected with vampirism after a terrible bite, Daryl escapes the fortress.

Fighting his growing bloodlust, the spy reaches the neighboring county of Regger. There, he manages to warn Count William Snobbery of the baron’s treason. The Count is naive, but sincerely devoted to the throne. A rift is also brewing within the ruling Bremer family. Marquis Segrenald Loisard commands the castle guard. He is married to Tancred’s niece and hates the cruel ruler with a passion. After nearly dying during a hunt at the fangs of a wild boar due to the treachery of Olaf Bremer, Tancred’s brother, Segrenald decides to act.

Wanting to save his pregnant wife Louise from the Fire Serpent’s machinations, Segrenald secretly meets with Nellike. The meeting takes place on the shore of a black forest lake. The Marquis imparts the secret plans of Brenhall Castle to the elves. In exchange, Sharpbeak promises to spare the lives of Loisard’s family.

Summoning the Beast and the Tournament

In the Utgart forest, the elves set up camp, shrouded in mist. Nellike orders her favorite to perform a ritual to summon the Black Swan. Vellante is a powerful sorceress, and the Swan is a monstrous, mystical carrion bird. The sorceresses offer bloody human sacrifices on a forest altar. They wish to awaken the dark power.

At the same time, Sharpbeak is searching for a spy within his own council of senior guards. The guards are known as the "Songbirds." Saegran suspects the existence of an informant codenamed "Lark." The spy regularly leaks information to the enemy. In the heat of internal intrigue, Nellike executes an innocent guard, Feahe. The true "Lark" turns out to be al Tarve. He is a Haetan, a skilled elven assassin. High Lord Conkra sent him specifically to eliminate the rebellious House of the Black Swan.

Roland Bremer returns to the city of Theal. Tancred’s exiled son is known to the people as the Black Knight. Ten years ago, he left home. Roland steadfastly refused to support his father’s brutal methods. On the baron’s orders, an armed convoy takes Roland into custody right on the road. The knight is thrown into the dungeon of the watchtower.

Later, Tancred organizes a grand knightly tournament. The Baron forces his son to fight the barony’s finest warriors for the amusement of the crowd. Roland defeats several powerful opponents. Afterward, he engages in horseback combat with his own uncle, the sadistic Olaf Bremer. The Black Knight deals a crushing defeat to his dishonorable relative. The victor, however, nobly spares the life of his fallen relative.

The Siege and Escape of the Mages

Tancred decides to get rid of the elven threat by proxy. The Fire Serpent deliberately provokes Count Snobbery into attacking. The Baron secretly disbands his troops, leaving Theal defenseless. Elven troops effortlessly occupy the empty city streets. Regger’s army approaches the walls and begins a fierce assault on the fortifications.

Marquis Segrenald’s nephew, young Seymus, opens the gates for the attackers. The boy is accidentally killed by a guard’s crossbow bolt. In the ensuing bloody battle on the wall, Count Snobberry clashes with Olaf Bremer. In a fit of rage, the Count throws his opponent down onto the stones. A short time later, the elven leader of the Saegrans, Mahe, who arrived from Hoer, kills Segrenald Loisard himself. However, Louise manages to escape in a black carriage. She rides away from the captured city.

Tancred descends into the dungeons to free the "Quarrelsome Ring." They are a group of five powerful mages: Grumpy, Gloomy, Squinty, Angry, and Grumpy. The Fire Serpent held the mages captive for twenty long years. Now he directs them into the Uthgart forest to destroy the elves.

Now free, the wayward mages come to the hut of an old witch. They trick the night spirit of the Moon, signing a contract with him for twelve moons under a false name. Using the clues, the sorcerers steal a giant basilisk’s egg from a forest clutch. The mages bring their prize straight to the walls of Brenhall. The enraged basilisk attacks the castle. The monster crushes the stone galleries with its tail and turns the elven defenders to stone with its emerald gaze.

Five mages escape the monster through a system of vast underground ship docks. The journey leads them to a colossal magical mirror. Safely beyond the forest, the mages cast a spell, creating a magical blue carriage from an old fish box. Stray cats are transformed into obedient servants. After this, the "Quarrelsome Ring" leaves Theal forever.

The Fall of the Serpent

Nellike’s plans are completely ruined. Tancred cleverly replaced his supply of magical crystals with counterfeits. This ruse deprived the elves of their life-saving time magic. Saegran attempts to escape on black ships. The vessels are moored in a deep city pond. The ships crash into each other due to the careless actions of the fleeing mages of the "Quarrelsome Ring." Nellike coldly stabs Vellanta with a dagger. His abandoned mistress should no longer hinder his escape. Saegran disappears without a trace in the city park. Meanwhile, the elven assassin Tarve is caught by another executioner, Es-Kainta, who has arrived. The blade ends Lark’s life.

The denouement comes at Brenhall Castle itself. Tancred heads into the dark dungeon to kill his vampire father. Samuel breaks free and furiously attacks his son. Escaping the undead with fire-transition magic, the Fire Serpent severely depletes his strength. Tancred accidentally transports himself to the tower of his mad wife, Cecilia.

Long ago, a baron struck his wife with a cruel curse. The magic robbed her of her human warmth and transformed her into a perpetually frozen monster. A distraught Cecilia clutches her wounded husband in a death grip. Together, she and he throw themselves out of the window of a high tower into the blazing sun. The daylight scorches the cursed baroness. The couple’s bodies instantly crumble to ash before they even hit the ground.

Roland Bremer is freed. The cell is unlocked by the red-bearded kobold Vedrig and the one-armed mercenary Thomas. Tancred’s son meets Count Snobbery in captured Brenhal. Roland takes his father’s vacant place, becoming the new rightful ruler of the united lands and the barony of Teal.

Mercenary Thomas finds love in the young witch Polly. He miraculously survives severe crossbow wounds. The heroes go their separate ways. The city, devastated by a long siege, is left slowly recovering from the bloody events of the night.