Javor H. Loznica

The lives of four people unfold and entangle and behind it all are greater powers still, their motives inscrutable yet the price of them ever the same – rivers of blood spilled. But all things must end, and some endings have been long overdue indeed.

Veldin Illyal, the one-eyed Crown Prince of Vistock, has just survived the most recent attempt on his life in no small part thanks to the infamous sellswords of the Wildwood Guard. Clues point him towards the city of Ravenport, where he hopes to uncover just who wants him dead. In his retinue is Nidliff Vestan, spy and apprentice to the enigmatic Court Mage Oruna herself. Nidliff has her own goals in the city, and it isn’t long before she finds that not everything is as it seems in.

Immerick, plainsborn youth and outcast from the day he was taken in by his foster parents, stumbles into Ketta of the Ko’Tari, a race of crow-like people rarely seen by humans. Ketta is running away from something, and when Immerick is likewise forced to leave his home due to a violent incident, the two join forces. Escorted by Mekrin, an old hermit with secrets of his own, the three make their way to Ravenport Keep, where the Wildwood Guard mercenaries reside.

While Veldin and Nidliff work to find who has set themselves against the Kingdom of Vistock, Immerick and Ketta have left behind all they know in the hopes of joining the Wildwood Guard. Diplomacy, cunning and violence alike will be necessary skills to hone, and whatever happens none of the four can overcome their personal obstacles and remain the same.

The war with the Twin Empires has started disastrously, but a harsh winter has granted Vistock and its allies a much needed reprieve, one which they must make the most of if they are to stand a chance against their implacable foe.

Prince Veldin and Apprentice Nidliff’s strategising is put on hold when they learn the true power behind not just their enemies, but their own kingdom as well. The court mage and spymistress, Oruna, reveals secrets long kept along with a prophecy that is spurring on their enemies – a prophecy in which the one-eyed prince of Vistock stands at the center. While Veldin is left in Vistock City to contend with this newfound knowledge, Nidliff’s task is altogether different; she must seek out one of Oruna’s old accomplices in Doenn and enlist him to their cause. That her travelling companion is the one person she would rather be without will not make her task more enjoyable.

Immerick and Ketta, are close to finishing their training in the Wildwood Guard, preparing to be sent south to join the war. When another group of recruits join them the competition is fierce and the training harder than ever. But Immerick isn’t ready to go south just yet. He has unfinished business with the bandit leader, Mirro Lerkin, and to his luck no one has succeeded in bringing the Crimson Rook outlaws to justice yet, leaving the task to him and any he can convince to join.

To gain a foothold in the war to come will be no easy task, but it is clear to all that a peacable solution was never in the cards. Sellswords will fight, royalty will plot and plan, and spies will uncover the direst of truths, but fate never cared much about the designs of mortals and the Halls of Death are ever open.