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The Legend of Deathwalker is a heroic fantasy novel written by David Gemmell, first published in 1996 and was reprinted in 1999. The book follows on from the novel The First Chronicles of Druss the Legend and was the 7th book to be released in the Drenai Series. The book details the life of the character Druss and is set chronologically after the main events in The First Chronicles of Druss the Legend but prior to events in Legend.

Book description[]

Under the brutal oppression of the Gothir, the Nadir tribes dream of the Uniter, the Great One, who will bring the tribes together, and end their centuries of torment.

But for one man it is more than a dream. Talisman, a mysterious and enigmatic Nadir warrior, rides out to the Shrine of Oshikai Demon-bane, seeking the legendary eyes of Alchazzar, twin jewels of enormous power that will light the path to the Uniter. With him rides the beautiful Zhusai, a mystic tormented by the ghost of a long-dead Nadir queen.

But others desire the secret of the jewels.

Garen-Tsen, the sadistic power behind the Gothir throne, believes the magical gems will lead him to glory, and sends the elite soldiers of the Gothir army to sack the Shrine and defeat the few defenders. They cannot lose: five thousand men against a handful of savages and a renegade Drenai warrior.

But the savages are led by one of the most brilliant strategists of the day. And the renegade is Druss the Legend.

Plot[]

Prologue[]

The prologue is set during the events of Legend. Pellin, a young Drenai sentry, nervously stands on the ramparts during Ulric's siege of Dros Delnoch. The defenders have already been pushed back to Wall Three. He considers deserting, but is encouraged to stand and fight by Druss the Legend, who begins recounting the tale of his participation in the Fifth Fellowship Games. The story is cut short as the Nadir hordes approach, but Druss – stating that he hates being interrupted during a story – promises to continue it after the battle.

Chapter One[]

At the Fifth Fellowship Games, Sieben the Poet and Drenai ambassador Mojan are watching Druss' bout with a Lentrian champion. ...

The novel begins during the events in the book Legend. During the defense of the fortress Dros Delnoch from the Nadir , Druss begins to tell a young warrior a story from his past. He tells how he and his friend Sieben travelled to the land of the Gothir and how he became involved in the political affairs there. Due to a prophecy that the King made Druss must lose a tournament, when he refuses to do this men are hired to kill him. In the course of the attempt on his life his friend Klay is shot in the spine with a crossbow leaving him paralyzed and mortally wounded.

To help him Druss travels to the land of the Nadir where a mystic has told him the there are gems that can heal any wound. As he travels to theshrine of a Nadir hero Oshikai, the Gothir send a force of 2,000 men to destroy it. Druss arrives to find the jewels but is unable to before the Gothir arrive and so helps 4 Nadir tribes to defend the shrine under the guidance of a Gothir trained Nadir soldier called Talisman. Talisman is on a quest to find "The Uniter", a man with blazing purple eyes called Ulric, who will unite the Nadir tribes after centuries of warfare.

During the defense of the shrine the spirit of Oshikai's wife Shul-sen is released from captivity with the help of Druss and Talisman, the spirit unleashes a storm on the Gothir army and those that are not killed are ordered to withdraw.

Druss' friend Sieben reveals that he has found the jewels which the Nadir call "The Eyes of Alchazzar", he takes them back to Gothir where they find that Klay had died a few days after they left however they heal many of the sick in the hospice before returning the jewels to the nadir. Talisman then calls a meeting of the Nadir tribes in which he smashes the jewels to return the magic and life of the Nadir land, in doing this the energy flows through him turning his eyes a blazing purple, he then claims his name as Ulric.

The book then comes back to the present day where we learn that Druss has fallen in combat in the defense of Dros Delnoch. Ulric/Talisman is saddened to learn of this, even though they were on opposing sides he considered Druss a great warrior and a legend.

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