The Fall of Neskaya is a science fantasy novel by American writers Marion Zimmer Bradley and Deborah J. Ross, part of the Darkover series. Set in The Hundred Kingdoms time period, the book is the first in a three-novel series subtitled The Clingfire trilogy. The Fall of Neskaya is followed by Zandru's Forge, which takes place about 25 years later. The books in The Clingfire trilogy explore, by analogy, the concept of mutually assured destruction and the use of chemical weapons whose consequences are beyond the control of the user. Bradley's "Compact" gives the Darkovans a way out of this trap through a moral agreement to abjure any weapons that do not place the users within arms' reach of each other (i.e. swords and knives). This development in Darkover's social order and its author, Varzil the Good, is referenced in most of the earlier and later books, but had not been fully explored before this trilogy. Damian Deslucido and his brother, Rumail, exhibit a Macbeth-Lady Macbeth relationship: Rumail's raw ambition drives his rather hollow brother to excesses of power that he would not have sought on his own, and ultimately destroys both of them. The story of the Deslucido brothers is told as an old legend in Dorothy J. Heydt's "The Wind Man" in the 1993 Darkover anthology Towers of Darkover, though the surname is not explicitly mentioned. Plot summary Book One A larenzu, Rumail Deslucido, arrives at Verdanta Castle, to make an alliance between Verdanta and his brother, Damian Deslucido, the ambitious king of Ambervale and Linn. Rumail tests each of the children for laran, then arranges a proxy marriage between the youngest daughter, Kristlin (who dies about a year later). He sends the youngest son, Coryn, to Tramontana Tower. At Tramontana, Coryn learns to control his laran, and to put aside his differences with the rival Storn family. The Tower's keeper, Kieran, believes that the Towers should be neutral in the many petty wars of the Hundred Kingdoms, and should not supply laran weapons to anyone. Rumail Deslucido and his brother King Damian scheme to control more of the minor kingdoms of the Hellers, hoping eventually to challenge the Hasturs of the lowlands. Rumail reveals his laran ability – lying under truthspell and twisting the minds of others to do the same. Eventually, Rumail is dismissed from Neskaya Tower for immoral or illegal use of laran. Book Two