RAYMOND E. FEIST
KING OF ASHES
THE FIREMANE SAGA: BOOK ONE
HarperVoyager, an imprint of
HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
www.harpercollins.co.uk
First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2018
Copyright © Raymond E. Feist 2018
Map © Jessica Feist 2018
Raymond E. Feist asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the authors imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
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Source ISBN: 9780007264858 (HB)
Ebook Edition © April 2018 ISBN: 9780007290246
Version: 2018-03-08
This book is dedicated to the memory of Jonathan Matson.
He was perhaps the finest man Ive ever known. His generosity, support, and affection went so far beyond any business relationship, he held me together more than once. He never judged; that was the heart of his wisdom, and the wisdom of his heart. His memory will endure and he is missed every day.
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Map
Prologue : A Murder of Crows and a King
Chapter One : Passages and Departures
Chapter Two : A Task Completed
Chapter Three : Dangerous Discovery
Chapter Four : New Considerations and an Old Friend
Chapter Five : A Parting and Trials
Chapter Six : Unequal Talents
Chapter Seven : An Incident on the Covenant Road
Chapter Eight : An Unexpected Change of Tide
Chapter Nine : A Hint of Things More Dire
Chapter Ten : In the Crimson Depths
Chapter Eleven : A Quick Instruction and Introduction
Chapter Twelve : Adrift and Alone
Chapter Thirteen : A Short Journey and a Strange Event
Chapter Fourteen : A Short Respite and Revelations
Chapter Fifteen : An Unexpected Visit and Rumours of War
Chapter Sixteen : Hints of Truth and Dark Designs
Chapter Seventeen : Unexpected Bounty and Sudden Danger
Chapter Eighteen : A Betrayal and Plot
Chapter Nineteen : A Change in the Wind
Chapter Twenty : Surprises and a Journey
Chapter Twenty-One : A Quiet Journey Interrupted
Chapter Twenty-Two : Different Ideas and Hasty Decisions
Chapter Twenty-Three : An Awakening and Alarm
Chapter Twenty-Four : An Arrival and a Sudden Change of Plans
Chapter Twenty-Five : Upheaval and Changes
Chapter Twenty-Six : A Meeting and Revelations
Chapter Twenty-Seven : Fate Wheels and Lives Change
Chapter Twenty-Eight : Watching and Waiting
Epilogue : Return
Acknowledgements
By the Same Author
About the Publisher
PROLOGUE
A Murder of Crows and a King
Angry dark clouds hurried across the sky, foretelling more rain. A fair match for todays mood, conceded Daylon Dumarch. The battle had ended swiftly as the betrayal had gone according to plan. The five great kingdoms of garn would never be the same; now the four great kingdoms, Daylon amended silently.
He looked around and saw carrion eaters on the wing: the vultures, kites, and sea eagles were circling and settling in for the feast. To the north, a massive murder of crows had descended on the field of corpses. Rising flocks of angry birds measured the slow progress of the baggage boys loading the dead. The carrion eaters were efficient, conceded Daylon; few bodies would go to the grave without missing eyes, lips, or other soft features.
He turned to gaze at the sea. No matter what the weather, it drew Daylon; he felt dwarfed by its eternal nature, its indifference to the tasks of men. The thought soothed him and gave him much-needed perspective after the battle. Daylon indulged in a barely audible sigh, then considered the beach below.
The rocks beneath the bluffs of the Answearie Hills had provided as rich a meal for the crabs and seabirds as the banquet for the crows and kites on the hills above them. Hundreds of men had met their death on those rocks, pushed over the edge of the cliff by the unexpected attack on their flank by men they had counted as allies but moments before.
Daylon Dumarch felt old. The Baron of Marquensas was still at the height of his power, not yet forty years from his nativity day, but he was ancient in bitterness and regret.
Thousands of men had died needlessly so that two madmen could betray a good king. While others stood by and did nothing, a balance that had existed for nearly two hundred years had been overturned. Art, music, poetry, dance, and theatre would soon follow the army of Ithrace into oblivion.