Artemis the Huntress has descended to the world. Her armies of chimera have laid waste to the five kingdoms. And those who survive under her temple's bloody rule either serve or hide. Ever since the fall of Lion's Crest Harl has been forced to run and hide knowing that his family and everyone he has ever called a friend are dead. He has hidden for five long years, torn always between his desire for vengeance and his fear. But fear has always won. After all what can one man, even a swordsman with an enchanted blade do against a goddess? All he can do in the end is survive. Then one day a dryad came to him, begging him to rescue her sister from the temple and he finally gave in to his wrath. To his desire for vengeance and his need to finally save someone. But when he did he began a chain of events he could never have foreseen. Terrible secrets and betrayals were revealed. A war for the liberation of the five kingdoms began. Harl's life was thrown into turmoil. And the gods themselves started getting involved. All for a pretty woman's tears.
About the Author: Greg Curtis was born in New Zealand, land of the long white cloud and small flightless birds. He grew up in the city of Wellington, renown for its high winds and the almost magical ability of rain and sleet to be lifted off the street and blasted into one's face. After eighteen years of suffering the cold and wet, he was finally blown away in a particularly bad storm to settle far away as a student, for more years then most would ever admit to. Then finally when the universities pronounced him done he became an overqualified and underpaid worker in the health sector, (aren't we all). He has lived in the city of Rotorua, one of the very few places in the world where people have actually chosen to reside beside active geysers and breath air that reeks of sulphur, for the past fifteen years. He works by day for his daily bread by speaking to people about their various diarrhoeal illnesses. While at night he toils away on his books. When not engaged in his great passions of reading and writing science fiction and fantasy, drinking strong black coffee (some call it tar), and consuming copious amounts of chocolate (dark naturally), he lives a quiet life of contemplation as the high priest to his two cats. His duties include worshipping them with regular gifts of food, the occasional grooming and providing them with a warm dry place to sleep. They in turn look down upon him with typical feline disdain, but occasionally deign to bring him gifts of headless vermin, - as a warning. In a desperate bid to understand the meaning of his life, he has recently started studying philosophy, particularly metaphysics, and come to a startling conclusion. God is a cat! Cheers and be good or don't get caught. Greg.