Children of Earth and Sky

by Guy Gavriel Kay

The book is set in the same fantasy world as The Sarantine Mosaic, but following the decline of Sarantium. Leaders of states that are Jaddite, having been greatly affected by an epidemic, are worried of an impending threat by the growing Osmanli empire whose cultural and religious traditions may eclipse their own. Meanwhile, the duke of the Jaddite city of Seressa seeks to secure and strengthen his position.

There are five principal and numerous secondary and ancillary characters. The warrior Danica Gradek is a skilled archer seeking vengeance for the abduction of her brother Neven by the Osmanli; she is recruited by Senjan pirates. The young artist Pero Villani is ambitious and tries to court the spy Leonora Valeri, previously exiled by her father. The Dubrova merchant Marin guides them though the "political and physical hazards" of their eastward journey. Pero is chosen to paint a western-style portrait of the khalif Gurçu, the principal Osmanli threat. Danica and Leonora meet during a raid by the pirates, and develop a "survival friendship". Senj is a nation state that opposes Osmanli expansion and has contemptuous regard for those who trade with them, raiding their ships. Dubrova is an emergent trading nation that avoids antagonizing the powerful Seressa empire that dominates trade. The latter maintains an extensive spy network.