Dead. All dead. Her father and mother. Their loyal servants. Her countrymen. Killed by her cousin Mordarius and his ilk, followers of the dark lord Ryadok. Merewyn, a teenaged girl left alone in the world, condemned to slavery and fueled by hatred and the lust for vengeance, fights to survive. Braving the odds, she steals a horse and flees, only to fall into the hands of the horse's owner and his three companions. The end of the road, her very life, she fears, for horse thieves hang. But the companions prove themselves benefactors. Dogged by Mordarius' soldiers, they survive maelstroms, near starvation, and the dangerous crossing of the raging Ashgard River to bring her out of Valhalea to safety in Liedor. But Liedor offers no safety. The companions face their own quest: Ryadok's overthrow and the destruction of the Destroyer, a monster summoned from hell itself, impervious to attack, and capable of incinerating any kingdom still fighting Ryadok's yoke. With Mordarius' forces now marching on Liedor and Ryadok beginning to move, they send Merewyn to Teptiel, a distant colony far to the north while they engage Ryadok. Merewyn, however, departs Teptiel for Ha-Ran-Fel, land of the barbarous Horse Lords where she hopes to gather the strength to return for Mordarius' head. But the Horse Lords view her as the shapeshifting beast who has already destroyed several of their villages. Severely beaten, her blood pouring from her, Merewyn prepares to die. Her companions fare no better. They rally a woodsman nation to their aid only to discover a traitor in their midst. Two flee with the survivors after their host is decimated by Ryadok's supernatural army. The third companion is sorely wounded and at the brink of death. The fourth, a Nimbian mystic endowed with Arganian powers, upon whose shoulders rests the success of this venture, lies chained in Ryadok's dungeon. Will any of them survive to complete their quest? Or is Epthelion doomed to burn?
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