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Message: <blockquote data-quote="WayneLigon" data-source="post: 1108696" data-attributes="member: 3649">It's an epic fantasy, that's for sure, with an ensemble cast. Threads of their stories weave in and out, usually changing per chapter but sometimes not. The setting is the extreme northlands of a continent. Trust me, by the time the book is over, you'll know more than you wanted to about frostbite and it's effects on human flesh. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> There are the clanholds (basically hunter/gatherers with some herding and farming thrown in). There are cities carved out of the wilderness. There are the Sull, a private people who live in the rich coastal regions and let no-one near their land. Magic is known, but not well. The clans forbid it, the cities don't like it, and it seems the Sull care less. It's a story about ambition, mostly, and what people will do to acheive that. It's a story about survival, as well. And to what lengths a person will go to fullfil his oaths. Characters. Raif Sevrance: Raven Born, Oathbreaker, Warrior of Clan Blackhail and Watcher of the Dead. Ash March: Foundling, left outside of Vaingate to die. A terrible destiny awaits her in a dead and voided land.Vaylo Bludd: The Dog Lord, chief of Clan Bludd. Vaylo is the greatest chief in the Clanholds, terrible to behold, fierce beyond knowing, yet he loves two things above all others: his dogs and his grandchildren.Effie Sevrance:Wearer of the Stone Lore, able to see the future in small glimpses; a maiden of Clan Blackhail.Penthero Iss: Surlord of Spire Vanis, sorcerer and keeper of a terrible, dread secret.Angus Lok: Ranger, member of the mysterious "Phage" of which little is known, and uncle to Raif Sevrance.Sarga Veys: The Phage's greatest find in over a decade. A powerful sorcerer and a man who nurses his slights.Marafice Eye: The Knife. Protector General of the Rive Watch and Penthero Iss' right hand.Mace Blackhail: The Hail Wolf. Cluff Drybannock: A Trenchborn bastard, part-Sull.Raina Blackhail: Wife of the Blackhail chief.Drey Sevrance: Brother to Raif, warrior of Clan Blackhail and wearer of the Bear Lore.Heritas Cant: Sorcerer, broken on the wheel. Raif and Drey survive a raid on their clansmen, who are out hunting for the winter stock-up. Mace also survives and brings back the other warriors of Clan Blackhail but his story doesn't match the two boys'. Raif is suspicious that Mace had something to do with things, but cannot prove anything. Mace is a master at honeyed words and politics, and soon maneuvers himself into the cheiftainship of the clan. Clan is pitted against clan, and full-scale war erupts. Mace maneuvers the warriors of Blackhail into a dishonorable fight, which Raif refuses to take part in; thus shamed, he leaves the clan with his uncle Angus and journeys south. Poor Effie sees some of the terrible things Mace does, but who beleives a mere child? Ash March was a foundling, found in the snow outside Spire Vanis by Iss. He raises her as his daughter, but as she grows older, she finds that he has interests in her that have sinister purposes, and plans that include locking her away forever. So she flees, and is found by Raif and his Uncle Angus. They get caught up in her story, and take her to Heritas, who pronounces that she must go to the Cavern of Black Ice to unshoulder the sorcerous burden she bears before it either kills her or plunges the world into oblivion. That's about as quick a synopsis I can make, without undue spoilage. There is a LOT more that happens, but trying to write a summary would be several thousand words long <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> <a href="http://jvj.com/cavexpts.html" target="_blank">The Author's Web Site</a> has some excepts.</blockquote>

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