The Tale of the Five, is an early fantasy series by Diane Duane which isn’t complete yet. It is the first series I read that had homosexual and bisexual characters who were just characters instead of stock humor characters, hateful villains or Afterschool Special-style protagonists where we learn important lessons about accepting others. Herewiss, Freelorn and Segnbora are three of my favorite characters in the series, followed closely behind by Sunspark (a fire elemental) and Hasai, (a Dragon). Duane creates an interesting world here, and the juxtaposition of “medieval” setting with a surprisingly non-standard-medieval society was something I really enjoyed.
It also occurs to me that it also fits into my more stranger reading preferences: I have a fondness for “post-apocalyptic fiction” of a certain type. Specifically, I enjoy “rebuilding” themes and magical post apocalypses. (I blame the post-apocalyptic fiction that came out during the cold war, okay?)
The protagonist of The Door into Fire is Herewiss, the prince of Brightwood, a region in Darthen, one of two countries (Darthen and Arlen) with a long history of alliance and interdependence. He is the first man in a thousand years to possess a form of high-level magic called the “Blue Flame.” The in-story mythology is that humans were given the Blue Flame in order to help the Goddess protect the world from entropy, personified as a being called The Shadow.
Unfortunately, the humans lost the power in a great cataclysm, and now only women have enough Fire that they can use it via a focus. Because humans mostly lost the Fire due to misuse, using the Flame shortens the lifespan. However, the benefits of Flame, and the feeling associated with using Flame can outweigh the risks…Herewiss has been trying to create a focus for his Flame–but because he can’t use the same tool that a woman would use–a wooden rod–he’s been trying to create his own focus in the form of a sword. He has been spectacularly unsuccessful in his endeavor so far, but he keeps trying.
Herewiss receives a message from his boyfriend Freelorn, the crown prince of Arlen. Freelorn is currently holed up in a keep that’s surrounded by mercenaries. The crown prince had been on the run ever since his father died, and was replaced by the usurper Cillmod. Herewiss of course, rides to the rescue, and on the way hears about an abandoned keep from before the cataclysm. It’s out in the wastes and has a reputation of being uncanny and having Doors into various Other Worlds. This interests Herewiss a great deal, and he files this information away for later.
Also during this trip, he runs into a fire elemental, a shapeshifting tourist from the larger universe who apparently didn’t realize that planets with mostly water would result in water precipitation, and got caught out in the rain. After Herewiss rescues the elemental, they form an alliance after playing Fight Club. Sunspark originally planned to “accidentally” kill Herewiss during the “friendly wrestling match,” but is otherwise agreeable to playing horse for Herewiss. Together, they rescue Freelorn and his companions, among them one Segnbora d’Welcaen, who will be Very Important in the next book, The Door Into Shadow.
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