The King broods upon a throne he does not want, ruling over a shattered Empire that he despises. Astride a dragon he conquered great cities, following a river of iron that flowed from his mountain stronghold. His followers are fanatics, murderers and cannibals, yet he feels more akin to these freed slaves than he does to their former masters. 'Eat the rich!' was screamed through the city streets as his deranged minions tore down the gates.
All to kill one man.
But once revenge is complete, what is left but ashes? Peace? What is that? When starvation, pain and conflict are all a man has ever known, how can he find peace?
In this departure from traditional genre fantasy the depths a man will decend are contemplated as he seeks a revenge that he has carried from childhood. But he does not fully understand how an Empire administers justice - that to keep peace sometimes others must suffer - and to fulfil his own revenge he must inflict similar suffering upon untold innocents. Is there redemption in hall of the dark lord? Before the throne of a tyrant?