The Bard of Castaguard

Calamities batter the barony of Torra Alta like mighty waves… wolves, long protected by the Torra Altan Barons attack every town, hamlet and farm in the kingdom of Belbidia.

The king’s wife-to-be has disappeared while in the care of the Baron’s half-brother, Hal; and Caspar, the Baron’s son, has allowed his stewardship of the evil power, Necrönd, to lead him into a tangle of mistakes. Moreover, the Trinity of priestesses is about to be sundered by the death of the Crone, Morrigwen.

But the course of history is not always shaped by those in power. May, an orphaned woodcutter's daughter and now ward of the Baron, finds herself drawn to Caspar. His inability to tell her of his feelings – and his obvious worship of Brid – lead her to believe her love stillborn. Yet her own feelings will not allow her to remain idle when it seems that only she can save her new home. Self-sacrifice though, however noble, is rarely without flaw.

Both magic and the sword must come into play if all Torra Alta and Belbidia is not to subside in a welter of blood and treachery. Jane Welch’s towering fantasy series continues to deny her characters easy answers as they enter their blackest, most dangerous days.