Quickening

Destined by blood to command the Morgravian army, Wyl Thirsk assumes his awesome responsibility while barely a teenager when his father meets an early death -- a duty that calls him to the royal palace of Stoneheart and into the company of the crown prince Celimus. Already a spiteful and cruel despot who delights in the suffering of others, Celimus forces his virtuous new general to bear witness to his depraved "entertainments." But a kindness to a condemned witch in her final agonizing hours earns young Thirsk a miraculous bequest, at the same time inflaming the wrath of his liege lord. With dread war looming in the north, Wyl must obey the treacherous dictates of Celimus and embark on a suicidal journey to the court of an ancient enemy -- armed with a strange and awesome secret that could prove both boon and curse. For unless he accepts Myrren's gift, it will surely destroy him . . . and the land he must defend as well.

To save two kingdoms from a despot's rule, one man must journey into the unknown, seeking answers to the strange and powerful secret that so plagues him. Wyl Thirsk, loyal soldier of Morgravia, has seen his best friend slain, his sister tortured, and his mentor sent to certain death, all at the hands of his sovereign, the cruel and manipulative King Celimus. Now Celimus, believing himself to be rid of the "moral constraints" of the Thirsk influence, has turned his greedy eye to expansion... and Morgravia's neighboring kingdom, ruled by the spirited but inexperienced Queen Valentyna. As Celimus pressures Valentyna into a doomed political marriage, Wyl endeavors desperately to preserve both the honor of his country and the freedom of the woman he loves. But fate has other plans for him. Despite his friends and loved ones becoming increasingly tangled in the evil machinations of King Celimus, though war with the dread Northern Kingdom appears imminent and Valentyna is poised to succumb to Morgravia's oily rule, Wyl must leave behind all he knows and cares about and travel into the land from which none return, seeking out the bestower of Myrren's sinister gift.

Wyl Thirsk, former general of the Morgravian army and bearer of the curse known as Myrren's gift, is running out of time. Marriage between his beloved Queen Valentyna and his sworn enemy, the despotic King Celimus, is imminent; yet, despite the impending nuptials, war looms between the two nations, while the threat from the Mountain Kingdom grows stronger. Trapped in a body not his own, with his friends and supporters scattered throughout the realm, Wyl is as desperate to prevent the wedding as he is to end Myrren's "gift" -- a magic that will cease only when he assumes the throne of Morgravia. Clinging to an ominous suggestion from his young friend Fynch, an increasingly powerful mage, Wyl must walk his most dangerous path yet -- straight into the brutal clutches of Celimus in a desperate attempt to save his nation, his love, and himself.