Chapters (53)
- Map of Kingdom of Finfalla and Surrounding Area- Western Half
- Map of Kingdom of Finfalla and Surrounding Area - Eastern Half
- Map of Kingdom of Finfalla and Surrounding Area - Full Map
- Important Trigger Warning
- Prologue
- PART I
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Interlude: The River of Life
- PART II
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Interlude: Fallow Fields
- PART III
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Interlude: Of Man and Monster
- PART IV
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- POSTLUDES
- Postlude 1: Lana Vica
- Postlude 2: Ludo Vica
- Postlude 3: Cainan
- Acknowledgments
- An excerpt from Heartsworn, Volume II in The Forsworn Oath, available for preorder now!
- PART I
“Father. Here, drink.” Tomas tipped a few drops from the goblet he had at the ready into his father’s mouth. The king coughed softly, as though he was too weak to even perform such a simple act, but then managed to swallow. His face was more lined, his skin pale and sunken. He looked like a man on his deathbed, not one about to turn the corner to making a full recovery. “The healers informed me you’re acting like a baby. They also expect you to be hale and healthy soon from the elixir they gave you.”
“Liar.”
“How can you tell?”
“Because I’m dying.”
“You don’t know that. Don’t say that.”
“We all must die eventually. Or, at least, most of us.”
That cryptic statement was lost on Tomas as he did what he did best: focused on the problem and how to solve it. “I’ll send messengers to the east. The Wastelanders have strange medicines, maybe one of them can help you. Or the snakemen, they have been rumored to cure even the most uncurable of ailments. They may not be our fast friends, but even they won’t refuse an entire cart filled with gold.”
“Tomas.”
“And if that doesn’t work, then you’ll take my medicine. I’m certain I can last a few days without it. Void, you should’ve seen me wandering about in the wilderness, being treated like a commoner. One day, once you’ve recovered, I shall tell you the full story and we can both have a good laugh.”
“Tomas, I’m sorry about your mother. If I had known she was going to be…I wouldn’t have sent you.”
Tomas’s eyes remained dry. “It’s not your fault. And anyway, that woman wasn’t my mother, except in the most literal of definitions. Not in the way you’ve always been my father.”
“You don’t have to do that. Don’t have to hold back your heart like you always do.”
“I’m not.”
“Tomas. I know you think me old and addled—”
“I don’t, Father.”
“I forget names all the time.”
“And yet you defeated me at Knights and Mages just the same.”
“That was because I have more experience, not more intellect.”
“I fail to see the difference. You are still the king, and I won’t have you giving up.”
“I’m not, though I did think I had more time.”
“You have more time. Years of time.”