An expedition into a hostile world leads to the discovery of a forgotten—and potentially dangerous—race in this “well-written epic fantasy series kickoff” (Publishers Weekly)

Captain Merros Dulver is the first in many lifetimes to find a path beyond the great mountains of the Seven Forges and encounter, at long last, the half-forgotten race who live there. And it would appear that they were expecting him. But when he returns home, an entourage of strangers in tow, he starts to wonder if his discovery is truly something to celebrate—for the gods of this lost race are the gods of war, and their memories of that far-off cataclysm have not faded.

The people of Fellein have lived with the legends of the Blasted Lands for many centuries. Lying far to the north, the Lands are a desolate, impassable place—the legacy of an ancient time of cataclysm. But even the dangers of the Blasted Lands cannot stop the occasional expedition into its fringes, where people search for any trace of the ancients and oft-rumored riches that once lived there.