The Ghost King The Ghost King is the third and final novel in the " Transitions " trilogy by R . A . Salvatore . Summary . When the Spellplague ravages Faerûn , old friends and foes alike are caught in the chaos . The blinding light released from the destruction of Crenshinibon burned out the eyes of the mighty Hephaestus , leaving him angry , sullen and defeated . A strand of Mystra ' s falling Weave released the necromancy of the ruined shard , reviving as apparitions the seven original liches that created it and giving sentience to the dead mind flayer Yharaskrik . Yharaskrik tricks Hephaestus into breathing onto Crenshinibon again , which transforms the dragon into a dracolich . Yharaskrik compels Hephaestus to smash Crenshinibon into his skull , binding them together . Yharaskrik ' s sentience then binds with Hephaestus / Crenshinibon , the three becoming the Ghost King . The three minds , with no privacy and never alone in the one body , had a great shared power : the dracolich ' s flight , strength , breath and an aura of death and disease , the militant and strategic mind - as well as psionic powers - of the mind - flayer , and the Crystal Shard ' s necromantic powers and patience combined . Seeking revenge on those responsible for his blindness , the mind of Hephaestus immediately set his sights on Jarlaxle Baenre . Traveling with the silly , but undeniably dangerous , dwarf Athrogate , the latter rhyming the whole way , Jarlaxle snapped out of Reverie one night at the intrusion of the dracolich threatening to find him . Not unintelligent , Jarlaxle had not missed the Spellplague beginning around him as Mystra ' s Weave itself collapsed . And after being attacked - first by the undead and second by one of Crenshinibon ' s liches , who he inadvertently destroyed when he threw his pocket hole dimension over the top of the lich , which collided with the dimensional gate the lich contained - they caused a rift and the lich disappeared . He knew the only way to survive and perhaps stop this horrid monstrosity of a foe was to enlist the help of the mighty drow Drizzt , as well as the holy Deneirrath priest Cadderly . He also knew , due to the last encounter with Cadderly - ending in a threat should Jarlaxle ever return to Spirit Soaring - that the only way to get Cadderly was to get Drizzt , and the only way to Drizzt was Cadderly . As he journeyed to Mithral Hall , attempting to discern a way to get the drow on his side , he learned of a terrible side effect of Mystra ' s falling Weave touching Drizzt ' s wife Catti - brie . He then decides his only chance - maybe Faerûn ' s only chance - was to convince Drizzt that Cadderly was her only chance and to let him go with him as well . After using a disguised Athrogate to convince Bruenor and Drizzt that Cadderly was Catti - brie ' s best hope , Jarlaxle meets up with Drizzt , Bruenor and Pwent , explains to him their plight and how their problems may be connected . Meanwhile , Spirit Soaring is filled with priests , mages , sages and scholars of all sorts , all gathered to discuss the recent failures in magic , the failure of some gods to answer but not others and other effects of the Spellplague . Shortly after Cadderly ' s children and the druidic dwarf Pikel arrive at Carradoon , the town starts being assaulted by the Ghost King ' s undead which , despite their great martial prowess , drives them and the town ' s people deep into caves under the mountain . At the same time creatures of the Shadow Plane begin assaulting Spirit Soaring but the combined might of the remaining empowered priests and wizards , led by Cadderly , hold them off until sunrise , when they retreat . Shortly after , as the remaining people at Spirit Soaring equip themselves with magical weapons of the cathedral ' s collection , their patrols begin to report heavier losses as magic begins to fail completely . Cadderly attempts to find Deneir and finds his god weaving the Metatext and therefore himself into the broken Weave to fix the damage and stabilize it . Soon after , a group of priests and mages who have lost faith sally forth against Cadderly ' s advice to escape and return a few minutes later as zombies at the forefront of an army of shadow creatures , who had returned even during the day . Drizzt and company run into Danica , Cadderly ' s wife , who had been out searching for their missing children when she stumbled across what appeared to be the death of Ivan Bouldershoulder at the Ghost King ' s foot . Barely escaping alive and with Jarlaxle ' s help , she recovers in time for them to reach the battle at Spirit Soaring . They attempt to press through with the unconscious Catti - brie on a wagon but not even a fierce charge by the dwarven heroes followed by the speed of the drow could break through the unstoppable tide . Seeing his wife and some friends in danger , his need to act called out and something answered . Reciting off unknown spells , he creates a flying horse and carriage out of a cloud and rides down to rescue the fighters below displaying godlike power in the form of potent and great unknown spells . The Ghost King is defeated but escapes to the Shadowfell , where he recovers rapidly . He returns and is defeated a second time , disappearing to the Shadowfell again . Cadderly uses Catti - brie as a conduit to enter the Shadowfell to finish off the Ghost King . In the end , Cadderly defeats the Ghost King at the cost of his life and becomes the new Ghost King , forever reinforcing and guarding the ward containing the rift left by the old Ghost King . The rift is in the shattered remains of Spirit Soaring . Catti - brie is allowed one last night with Drizzt , before she and Regis both die from the Spellplague and are taken by Mielikki as a reward partly to Drizzt . The goddess puts them into a pocket paradise plane for all time .