The Ancient — R.A. Salvatore

Searching for his long-lost father, Bransen Garibond is pressed into service in a hopeless war against the brutal Ancient Badden, and learns that the desperation of war can make unlikely allies into the friends he has never had.

BRANSEN GARIBOND: For all of his young life, Bransen has focused inward to his own detriment. Now he must come to terms with the responsibilities of his training and his power.

MILKEILA: Trained as a shaman of Yan Ossum, Milkeila longs to the mysteries of the wider world, a desire not taken lightly by the elders of her parochial tribe.

CORMACK. Cormack became an Abellican monk to proselytize his beliefs in rugged Alpinador, but he has come to question his faith. His secret and forbidden union with Milkeila is certain to spell trouble for them both.

MCWICIK: Tough as stone, hard as reality, and as quick to laugh as to kill, the powrie dwarf and his band cause as much trouble as they fix, and seem to care not at all for either conclusion.

ANCIENT BADDEN: The leader of the druidic Samhaists in Corona, Badden is the epitome of Samhaist magic and strength, schooled in the harsh vision of the Samhaists that death is not only inevitable but that it is the guiding force of one's entire life.