When the covenant was made with the Hunter God, all who dwelt in Breodanir swore to abide by it. The Hunter Lords-and the hunting dogs to which their minds were specially attuned-would seek out game in the God's woods to provide food for their people, and the Hunter God would ensure that the Hunters, the land, and the people prospered.

But in payment, once a year the Sacred Hunt must be called, the God's own Hunt in which the prey became one of the Lords, or his huntbrother. This was the Hunter's Oath, sworn by each Lord and his huntbrother-the companion chosen from the common folk to remind each Lord of his own ties to humanity. It was the Oath pledged in blood by Gilliam of Elseth and the orphan boy Stepehn-and the fulfillment of that Oath would lead them to the kind of destiny from which legends were made...