Ringil Eskiath, scarred wielder of the kiriath-forged broadsword Ravensfriend, i
s a man on the run - from his past and the family who have disowned him, from th
e slave trade magnates of Trelayne who want him dead, and apparently from the da
rk gods themselves, who are taking an interest but making no more sense than the
y ever have. Outlawed and exiled from his ancestral home in the north, Ringil ha
s only one place left to turn - Yhelteth, city heart of the southern Empire, whe
re perhaps he can seek asylum with the kiriath half-breed Archeth Indamaninarmal
, former war comrade and now high-up advisor to the Emperor Jhiral Khimran II. B
ut Archeth Indamaninarmal has problems of her own to contend with, as does her h
ouse guest, bodyguard and one time steppe nomad Egar the Dragonbane.
