KING OF ASHES / RAYMOND E. FEIST

For centuries, the five greatest kingdoms of North and South Tembria have coexisted in peace. But the balance of power is destroyed when four of the kingdoms violate an ancient covenant and betray the fifth. Ithrace -- the Kingdom of Flames, ruled by Steveren Langene, known as "the Firemane" for his brilliant red hair -- has been destroyed. When an abandoned infant is found hidden in Free Lord Baron Daylon Dumarch's pavilion, he realizes that the child must be the missing heir of the slain Steveren. Daylon keeps the baby's existence secret, and sends him to be raised on the Island of Coaltachin, home of the so-called Kingdom of Night, where the powerful and lethal Nocusara, the "Hidden Warriors," legendary assassins and spies, are trained. Years later, another orphan of mysterious provenance, a young man named Declan, earns his Masters rank as a weapons smith. Blessed with intelligence and skill, he unlocks the secret to forging King's Steel. Yet this precious knowledge is also deadly, and Declan must leave his home for Lord Daylon's provinces. Soon, the two young men will discover that their fates are entwined, as a swordsman and swordsmith together must discover the secret of who truly threatens their world.