Story 4 Overview
Volume 4, "Death Gate Cycle"
**SERPENT MAGE**
by Margaret Weis/Tracy Hickman
published by Bantam Spectra
cover art by Keith Parkinson, designed by Jamie Youll

Turning the Tides in Chelestra, World of Water/Sea...

Haplo's objective no longer seems clear to him. His trips to
the other three worlds have jarred his very foundation of beliefs.
He realizes that he is experiencing the worst type of fear...doubt.
He has suffered at the hand of his master for that failing, and now
he must prove himself worthy of any further trust by the Lord of
the Nexus. So he travels to Chelestra.

Alfred, in his usual bumbling way, has found himself already
on the world of water. Quite unintentionally he finds and awakens
the Sartan hibernating in Chalice, the Sartan home base seamoon,
on Chelestra. It is obvious that Alfred is a misfit among these Sartan
from ages past and soon, he arouses suspicion and fear in his "hosts,"
one of whom is Samah, the Leader of the Sartan Council that actually
performed the sundering of the world.

Meanwhile, the Mensch join together in a huge endeavor to find
a seamoon large enough for all three races to live in harmony, while
fleeing from the mysterious dragon-snakes that have begun to haunt,
corrupt and domineer the Goodsea.

However, the dragon-snakes, new rulers of the Goodsea, demand
from the Mensch a huge price before they set sail in search of the new
seamoon. Each race must surrender the eldest female child from each
of the ruling houses. Grundle, the dwarven princess, Alake, daughter
of the human chieftain of Phondra, and Sabia, an elven princess, are
those three unfortunate souls. Knowing their parents would never
concede to the dragon-snakes' demand, the three daughters plot to
sneak away, paying the price in order to free their peoples.

The Chelestra story is told in part by one of those martyrs, Grundle
the dwarven princess, who journalizes the wild voyage aboard the
sun-chaser guided by the dragon-snakes. She recounts the event when
the trio fish a very wet, very nullified Haplo from the Goodsea after
"Dragon Wing" dissolves in its waters.

Traveling with these self-sacrificing Mensch, Haplo comes face to
face with the red-eyed, dragon-snakes, and encounters the embodiment
of pure fear and evil. Alfred, meanwhile, also faces fear and hatred while
dealing with the awakened Sartan in Chalice and pays a high price for his
"alternative views."

Will the dragon-snakes conquer Chelestra, turning its beautiful
Goodsea into a sludge-filled globe? Will Haplo return to the Nexus and
his lord or be defeated by the soul penetrating evil of his newest enemy?
Will Alfred convince the old Sartan that the worlds have suffered by their
hands and now desperately needs healing and atonement for past hubris?