BooksBarbecue
Back Forsworn Save as PDF
Chapters (53)
  1. Map of Kingdom of Finfalla and Surrounding Area- Western Half
  2. Map of Kingdom of Finfalla and Surrounding Area - Eastern Half
  3. Map of Kingdom of Finfalla and Surrounding Area - Full Map
  4. Important Trigger Warning
  5. Prologue
  6. PART I
  7. One
  8. Two
  9. Three
  10. Four
  11. Five
  12. Six
  13. Seven
  14. Eight
  15. Nine
  16. Ten
  17. Eleven
  18. Twelve
  19. Interlude: The River of Life
  20. PART II
  21. Thirteen
  22. Fourteen
  23. Fifteen
  24. Sixteen
  25. Seventeen
  26. Eighteen
  27. Nineteen
  28. Interlude: Fallow Fields
  29. PART III
  30. Twenty
  31. Twenty-One
  32. Twenty-Two
  33. Twenty-Three
  34. Twenty-Four
  35. Twenty-Five
  36. Interlude: Of Man and Monster
  37. PART IV
  38. Twenty-Six
  39. Twenty-Seven
  40. Twenty-Eight
  41. Twenty-Nine
  42. Thirty
  43. Thirty-One
  44. Thirty-Two
  45. Thirty-Three
  46. Thirty-Four
  47. POSTLUDES
  48. Postlude 1: Lana Vica
  49. Postlude 2: Ludo Vica
  50. Postlude 3: Cainan
  51. Acknowledgments
  52. An excerpt from Heartsworn, Volume II in The Forsworn Oath, available for preorder now!
  53. PART I

One of the Forsworn, regardless of their title, who has fallen from Narcissi’s grace, whether voluntarily or through the sum of their actions, shall be exiled from the Rocklands for the remainder of their vile lives, never to return, always to be abhorred by their brothers and sisters. Furthermore, if one of the Sightless falls from the Goddess’s Grace, their name shall be stricken from existence for all eternity, until it is as though they never lived.

The Forsworn Oath by Cintra con Narcissi

Twenty-Six

Perfidy

New Dawn, Lostwood, Finfalla

“I caught one o’ the lil buggers!” Perfidy exclaimed gleefully. Sure enough, the poor bloodsquirrel that had tried to snag the bait she’d painted with godsblood had been brained by the stone. Its limp body was curled into a question mark, long tail no longer fluffy as it was matted with golden blood. Rather than squirrel-size, it was about the size of a small fox, body thick with muscle.

“By the Heart o’ the Mountain, you did!” Gruff said, peering over her shoulder as she kneeled to lift the stone off of its crushed skull. “First two are mine, remember?”

Perfidy turned to glare at him. “Remember when ye accidentally swallowed the godsblood we were goin’ to use to lace the bait an’ instead we used all o’ mine?”

“Hmm, I don’t recall,” the dwarf grunted.

“Well the moment it happened ye forfeited yer rights o’ first claim. This one’s mine.”

“Or we could go halfsies. You wouldn’t even be out ’ere settin’ traps if not for me.”

“Fine,” she said, pretending to grumble when it was exactly the result she was hoping for. “Ye can have the eyes. I git the heart.” She remembered what Jereb had told her about most of the processed godsblood being stored in the heart, though the eyes kept a bit, too. Hence, the way, even in death, they glowed golden.

“Nuh,” Gruff said. “One eye each, we split the heart in half.”

“Deal. But ye do the cuttin’ an’ I do the choosin’. Jest in case ye try to cut yerself a bigger slice o’ its heart.”

“That’d be fair, except I faint at the sight of blood.”

“Ye do not!”

The dwarf pretended to stagger, clutching at his head. “I’d better sit down, I’m already feelin’ rather woozy.”

“Are ye sure yer not feelin’ like a bastard? Cuz that’s whut ye are! Fine, have it yer way. Then I’ll do the cuttin’ an’ the choosin’.” She sat down, drew her knife, and got to work skinning the critter the way her ma had taught her. Though she wasn’t feeling particularly hungry, she wouldn’t waste the creature’s meat just because it didn’t contain godsblood. Food was food, and there were plenty of folks who didn’t get enough to eat. She didn’t plan on being one of them.