King of Ashes

A new novel from internationally bestselling author
Raymond E. Feist.The world of Garn once boasted five great
kingdoms, until the King of Ithrace was defeated and every
member of his family executed by Lodavico, the ruthless
King of Sandura, a man with ambitions to rule the
world.Ithraces ruling family were the legendary
Firemanes, and represented a great danger to the other
kings. Now four great kingdoms remain, on the brink of
war. But rumour has it that the newborn son of the last
king of Ithrace survived, carried off during battle and
sequestered by the Quelli Nacosti, a secret society whose
members are trained to infiltrate and spy upon the rich
and powerful throughout Garn. Terrified that this may be
true, and that the child will grow to maturity with bloody
revenge in his heart, the four kings have placed a huge
bounty on the childs head.In the small village of Oncon,
Declan is apprenticed to a master blacksmith, learning the
secrets of producing the mythical kings steel. Oncon is
situated in the Covenant, a neutral region lying between
two warring kingdoms. Since the Covenant was declared, the
region has existed in peace, until violence explodes as
slavers descend upon the village to capture young men to
press as soldiers for Sandura.Declan must escape, to take
his priceless knowledge to Baron Daylon Dumarch, ruler of
Marquensas, perhaps the only man who can defeat Lodavico
of Sandura, who has now allied himself with the fanatical
Church of the One, which is marching across the continent,
imposing its extreme form of religion upon the population
and burning unbelievers as they go.Meanwhile, on the
island of Coaltachin, the secret domain of the Quelli
Nacosti, three friends are being schooled in the deadly
arts of espionage and assassination: Donte, son of one of
the most powerful masters of the order; Hava, a serious
girl with fighting abilities that can set any opponent on
their back; and Hatu, a strange, conflicted lad in whom
fury and calm war constantly, whose hair is a bright and
fiery shade of red.