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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

“A fair assessment of the situation if I ever heard one. Need a hand?” a voice said, making her flinch. She was facing the wrong way, but she was able to twist her head around far enough to cast the edge of her vision back at the forest growing atop the cliff. At first she saw nothing but the wall of foliage she’d left behind, but then—

A dark-clothed form emerged. Though she couldn’t get the best look at him, he was tall and broad, wearing the rugged garb of a hunter. His raven-black hair was long enough to reach his shoulders, several wayward strands falling across his face even as he fought to brush them aside. Though he might’ve been of a similar age to Bryony, it was hard to tell, his face weathered with something that might’ve been the passage of time, or something more abstract—experience perhaps.

But of all his features, the most prominent was without a doubt the dark patch covering his right eye. If anything, it made his uncovered eye’s blue stare all the more piercing, though his lips were curled into a jovial smile.

“Is something amusing?”

“You ran off a cliff.”

“And you find that funny?”

“A bit, aye. Maybe because I’ve never seen anyone do that before.”

“It wasn’t intentional.”

“No?”

“No.”

“Can I help you? I have rope.” He patted a coil of rope attached to his belt. She couldn’t help but notice the dagger sheathed at his opposite hip. If he was planning to do anything with it, he was in for a painful surprise.

“I’m fine. I happen to be a rather adept climber.”

“Suit yourself.”

Five

Ludo

Approaching Kestrel, Finfalla

“You can leave now,” the woman said, staring daggers over her shoulder. There was something familiar about her, especially the lighter, golden streak amongst her dark, curly hair, but it was hard to get a good look at her face given her positioning. Her wild hair was tamed by two silver pins in the shape of some sort of winged creature. A butterfly? A dragonfly? Whatever the case, they seemed at odds with the rest of her, which was the opposite of delicate and shiny. She was slim but with a hardened physique well out of style for most women, whether noble or peasant, and wore clothes that any man would be perfectly comfortable in but that any respectable lady wouldn’t be caught dead in. And her shirt was ripped around the bottom, tattered edges revealing a sliver of stomach as flat as a washboard. Her skin was brown like the people of the Wastelands, but a slightly lighter shade.