Cirrus@Austlit

'Slave has been owned by Sondelle since he was a child. Finally escaping through the catacombs, Slave is almost killed by a revenant warrior spirit. He gains his freedom only by swearing fealty to this dangerous creature.

'Befriended by Ileki, Slave begins to learn about the world outside. However, Sondelle′s hired hunters track the escapee and in a fight to the death, Slave discovers that the revenant warrior has given him a ′blessing′ ... a form of berserk rage that makes him virtually unbeatable in combat, but also makes him lethal to anyone in the immediate area, friends and foes alike. Ileki is killed and Slave heads for his friend′s home city to make amends and seek help. Also heading for the same city are a number of other desperate: a woman who has fled her persecutors and a pair of outlaws from society amongst others.

'Meanwhile, a city which has kept an evil spirit imprisoned for centuries, wakes one day to find it has escaped confinement.' (From the publisher's website.)

'Slave has escaped imprisonment, but his master still hunts him while an evil spirit owns his soul ... 'If it wants her dead, we should keep her alive ...' With Myrrhini taken, Slave heads off in pursuit through the wilderness. Keshik, meanwhile, has problems of his own to deal with, problems that could see him executed. The Revenants, now free, are moving through the world, following their own plans, seeking their own goals. Goals that involve the Scarred Man and the woman with him. But which Scarred Man? And who is the woman they seek? What do they want with her? Far away in her hidden city, the Blindfolded Queen is manipulating events to her own ends ... who or what will pay the price?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'The Six Wastes were governed by the ancients ... the Seventh Waste is the heart of men, uncontrolled and unknown. The actions of the Revenants are sending shock waves through all the Eleven kingdoms. No matter what happens, the impact of their release will be felt for generations. Slave and Keshik leave the Hidden City of the Blindfolded Queen together with Maida and Myrrhini to seek out the Revenants for their own reasons and with their own purposes. Myrrhini, troubled by her visions into the Mertian 'world of could be', is struggling to come to terms with her burgeoning power and complex relationship with Slave, while Keshik comes face to face with the reason for his exile from the tulugma. Slave continues to wrestle with the twin 'blessings' of the Scaren Revenant as he seeks the peace promised him by Myrrhini.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.