The Realm Beneath Author:B. W. Clough Liras-ven had been touched by destiny, chosen despite his own wishes to be the wearer of the Crystal Crown and thereby named king of the Shan. As king, he had withstood a mighty wizard's deadly attach, and saved his poeple from a terrifying doom. — Yet now a far worse doom awaited Liras-ven and the people of Averidan. For the barbarian Cayd were ... more »invading, overwhelming the Shan in bloody battle. And as the Cayd warlord threatened to break down the final fortress gates, Liras and his mage and warrior allies sought even the most desperate means to protect their imperiled lands. But did a king still untutored in the true magic of the Crystal Crown dare to use it to surrender himself to the powers of the Realm Beneath, the otherworld of godly forces from which a true Shan king drew strength, but in which an ill-prepared lord could lose his very identity?« less
The cover makes the book appear like a humorous fantasy, but it's actually a very serious story concerning a bloody invasion and desperate siege. Not a bad plot, but the cover really threw me off.