An Epic Fantasy by Patrick Swain

In the Frozen City of Brutalia, the seer Ariadne receives two travelers bearing the crest of a blue rose. Through the reading of a scorched leather glove, she witnesses a vision of a southern town consumed by living fire, and an ancient king returning after a thousand years of slumber. Her warning is dire: the legendary Blades must be found, and the Champions who wield them must rise, before the darkness spreads across the world.

In the port city of Vita, a young hunter named Markkus mourns the loss of his beloved dog Gorn and drowns his sorrows in the local tavern. But fate has other plans. When he stumbles upon a scholarly half-elf named Romilly being attacked by a monstrous spider in the wild, he is pulled into a conflict far greater than any hunt he has known. Romilly is searching for the Blades alongside the armored warrior Beherut, and their path will lead them through ancient dungeons, treacherous politics, and the heart of a prophecy written in fire.

Meanwhile, in the fiery kingdom of Fluratus, the newly crowned king has received word that his soldiers have discovered a long-lost labyrinth in the mountains. Eager to claim its secrets for himself, he sets out with his retinue, unaware that the artifact he seeks may be tied to the very darkness that threatens to consume the world.

As the threads of destiny begin to weave together, Markkus, Romilly, and Beherut must race against time to unite the Champions and claim the Blades before the awakened king of fire finds them first. The fate of Brutalia, and the world beyond, rests on the edge of a blade.