Boundary's Fall is a self-published fantasy series
by Bret M. Funk. At the time of writing, it consists of four volumes: Path of Glory, Sword of Honor, Jewel of Truth, and Forge of Faith.
750 years ago, in order to end a war that had raged for three centuries, the Four Races combined their magical might to raise the Boundary. The Boundary is both an impenetrable barrier against magic (including magic-users) and a virtually impassable range of mountains - and it trapped the Darklord Lorthas and his armies in the northwestern quarter of Madryn so that the rest of the world could know peace for the first time in generations. Though it was known that the Boundary could not last forever, this knowledge was kept from the un-Gifted, and in time, all too many of the Magi forgot it themselves.
14 years ago, the Prince and High Inquisitor of Ra Tachan, Tylor "the Bull" and Salos "the Scorpion" Durange, were defeated by the armies of Alrendria and exiled to Ael Shataq, the land beyond the Boundary, through the only known pass.
Now, the Boundary is weakening, and the Bull and the Scorpion are free and leading an army of soldiers and ShadowMagi. A fourteen-year-old boy named Jeran Odara and his new best friend Dahr must evade the Bull's clutches and bring warning to King Mathis of Alrendria... and that is only the first of the challenges they must face, both from a world on the brink of another MageWar and from within themselves.
Tropes present in this series include:
- Affably Evil: Lorthas.
- The Alliance: A continuing plot thread in the books is the attempt to rebuild the alliance of the Four Races (though only three remain) in order to oppose Lorthas.
- Anti-Villain: Lorthas is a Type III.
- A Pupil of Mine Until He Turned to Evil: Lorthas was Aemon's apprentice.
- The Archmage: Aemon, Lorthas, and Emperor Alwellyn could all make a claim to being one.
- Arranged Marriage: Prince Martyn of Alrendria to Princess Miriam of Gilead.
- Becoming the Mask: Katya starts as a mole spying for Tylor (unbeknownst to the reader), but ends up switching sides after falling in love with Dahr.
- Big Bad: Lorthas. Salos seems to be taking over this role in the latest books.
- Big Good: Aemon, Emperor Alwellyn
- Bring News Back: The driving plot for the first part of the first book.
- Co-Dragons: Tylor and Salos Durange to Lorthas, each in their own ways.
- Conflicting Loyalty: Katya, between her love for her uncle, her love for Dahr, and her resulting friendship with Jeran.
- The Dark Arts: Averted. Magic is a tool like any other and can be used for good or evil according to the wielder.
- Delusions of Eloquence: The author likes his thesaurus a little too much, often using words in ways that are technically correct, but not in keeping with their usual connotation, or using fancier words where simpler ones would be no less (and perhaps more) effective.
- Divided We Fall: After the Boundary was raised, the Four Races went their separate ways; the Human lands became splintered and the Garu'nah and Elves fell back to skirmishing with one another. None of the major nations have the ability to withstand Lorthas on their own.
- Either/Or Prophecy: The Cho Korahn Garun will either lead the Garu'nah to restore the Balance, or into the Nothing.
- In Harmony with Nature: The idea of "the Balance" - basically, the balance of nature - is a major plot element. Much of the mutual dislike between the Elves and Garu'nah stems from their differing interpretations of what it means to preserve the Balance. Furthermore, the raising of the Boundary is stated to have been an act that disturbed the Balance.
- Left-Justified Fantasy Map: Averted. Madryn appears to be an island continent, with oceans to the north, south, east, and west. There may be another continent on the other side of the world, but it has received only one mention so far, and only in passing, when describing a globe held by a statue of a god:... and in the other [hand], he held a sphere with the outline of Madryn on one half and another, unknown shape opposite it.
- Magical Society: The Mage Academy.
- Magic Knight: The BattleMagi, an order of Magi now lost. Jeran is developing into one in the later books.
- Manipulative Bastard: Aemon and Lorthas are experts at manipulating people. In later books, Jeran is coming into his own here as well.
- Meaningful Name: Dahr means "Hunter" in Garu and Tanar means "grandfather" in the Orog tongue.
- The Missing Faction: The eldest of the Four Races, the Orog, were trapped with Lorthas when the Boundary was raised and are presumed to have been wiped out. They were immune to magic and could sense when someone was deliberately lying; they often played peacemakers to the other races. In Jewel of Truth, Jeran discovers that the Orog survive and have been enslaved by Lorthas.
- Morality Kitchen Sink: As the series progresses and characters are developed, very few are left purely good or purely evil.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Tylor the Bull and Salos the Scorpion
- Omnicidal Maniac: Salos and his pawns, the Kohr'adjin and Kohrnodra.
- Our Elves Are Different: Elves are long-lived, inherently magical, incredibly stealthy and excellent archers. The reason for the latter two traits is because Humans and Garu'nah, who they once enslaved, are much stronger than they are, so being sneaky and not getting into melee is the only way the Elves could compete.
- Our Orcs Are Different: The Garu'nah more or less fit the description of Blizzard-style orcs, though without the greenness, tusks, or animalistic features.
- Prophetic Fallacy: Aemon sometimes experiences visions of the future - usually of some impending doom that will befall the world should things continue on their present course. However, it tells him nothing about what will happen if he takes steps to change things.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: King Mathis, Aemon, Emperor Alwellyn, and Yarchik.
- Royal Brat: Prince Martyn has a bit of this going on at first, though he's still sympathetic. He later matures into a Warrior Prince.
- Secret Legacy: Jeran is raised by his Uncle Aryn on a quiet farm... and is the heir of one of Alrendria's great Houses, and the grandson of Aemon. Dahr is Garu'nah, not Human.
- Standard Fantasy Setting
- Standard Royal Court
- The Mole: Katya and Dayfid are spies for the Durange. There are others, but as far as we know, they haven't been named onscreen.
- Time Abyss: Magically gifted people of all races experience "Slowing" to one degree or another and most have lifespans measured in centuries. Aemon, the legendary (former) High Wizard of the Mage Assembly, is over 5000 years old by the books' present, and Emperor Alwellyn of the Elves is at least a millennium older than Aemon.
- Warrior Prince: Martyn and Jeran.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Lorthas has the same end goal as Aemon - a unified Madryn in which the Four Races live in peace and neither the Gifted nor "the commons" persecute the other. Lorthas is simply willing to impose this state by force.
- Wizards Live Longer: People who develop their magical Gift experience Slowing, though the degree to which their lives are extended varies by person. It's not clear if people with an untrained Gift also Slow to any extent.
