The Chronicles of Arax

Book excerpt: Our actions define us as heroes or cowards, not our intentions. Such is the nature of war, Arsenc. Men march beside their comrades into walls of spears and under rains of arrows, refusing to relent so as not to shame themselves before their brothers. For every man who shirks his duty and abandons his post, a hundred stand their ground. What more can a hero be than a man who risks his life for country and friend in spite of the obvious fear that strikes at us all? The paths of war and heroes are forever intertwined.... War does not create heroes. It merely reveals them. They are not measured by the greatest of deeds but by the simple willingness to do their part. I am marching north in their company. --King Lore, before the battle of Kregmarin Having freed Cronus from the dungeons of Fera, his friends must navigate the treacherous lands of the Benotrist realm to escape Tyro's wrath. Tosha hunts Raven, desperate to bring him to her mother's realm, or suffer the shame of failure before her vassals. Leanna eagerly awaits the return of her lost love while Terin must return to his native realm after becoming separated from the others. Journeying first to the Yatin Empire and then Corell, Terin continues to unlock the full power of his father's sword, embracing the mysterious destiny guiding his path. Tyro obsesses over the images carved on Terin's lost necklace, haunted by the ghosts of his past while unleashing Morac to wage war on the Torry realm. With the fortunes of his kingdom at stake, King Lore makes a bold decision. With the conflagration spreading across Arax, will the fate of the kingdoms rise and fall by the fickle winds of chance or the guiding hand of destiny?