It’s said that the first kill is the hardest...

At the age of thirteen, fun-loving Kylac is already the most skilled bladesman among the vast halls of Talonar, the preeminent battle academy in all the lands of Pentania. But none of his prodigious talents seem sufficient to win the approval of his stern father, headmaster Rohn, who chafes at the mercy Kylac regularly shows his opponents.

When Rohn himself is arrested under dubious circumstances for the murder of a prominent nobleman, however, it is Kylac’s sense of pity and fairness that sets him on course for his first true test—of skills and of principles—against corrupt officials, treacherous rivals, and clandestine forces long held as a blight upon his shores...

From Eldon Thompson, author of the epic fantasy trilogy The Legend of Asahiel, comes the character origin story of a youthful hero and his quest for integrity in a cutthroat world.