What right does a man have to his brother’s kingdom? None. Yet, as corruption seeps into the heart of the realm, and King Erwin IV maintains his family’s war against the Fergonians of the east, the realm wages secret wars against itself. The King’s Council, the Holy Order, the nobility, and the guilds of the city squabble for power, trampling the peasants and the poor in their wake. Who’s left to safeguard the people of the realm? And why should the responsibility fall upon a bastard? Ardwin’s heritage only ever brought strife and isolation. Even those who know him must pretend he doesn’t exist.

What gives a bastardized realm the right to claim a man’s life?

Born into an orphanage, then taken by holy men and trained to be their weapon, Ardwin always had to fight for his place in the world. With the help of the Court Mage, Alatar, and a few magical trinkets, he won his freedom. Now, four years after his excommunication from the Holy Order, Ardwin is forced to confront the shadows of his past and embark upon a quest to claim a life of his own.