

AstaraelprologueAstarael
The seventy-sixth Abhorsen—named for the bell Belgaer, the Thinker—shifted nervously from one foot to the other in the hallway. He was chewing his lip with nervousness, and thinking about his family. Rather, the name his new child would bear. His eldest daughter—the current Queen of the Old Kingdom—was called Saraneth. She was named for the Binder, and all obeyed her word. Thus, she was a great queen. His wife—Rinael of the Clayr—was just behind the thick wooden door that led to the infirmary in the Clayr’s Glacier. He was nervous, as any man in his position would be, Abhorsen or no. He felt tense, wor