Publisher's Synopsis
The Medieval Queen Mother, last surviving Royal of the vanquished kingdom of Everrast, has many serious issues on her mind, as the dethroned King Sevloss leaves for war against his eldest son who stole his Black Dragon throne and kingdom. The Queen Mother has a sickly royal baby to care for, with physician Moesia and a wet-nurse in attendance. Even though King Sevloss doesn't yet know of the birth of his youngest son, Baby Sevrossi is so weak he may not survive, so the Queen Mother delays her search for godparents. She also tries to stay unattached to the frail baby, but a profound dream revelation - and a bargain with Moesia - soon change the dynamics of her relationship to this tiny baby. The Queen Mother allows a new sword-maker to set up shop in the village, even as she frets about bringing other wars to Everrast's doorstep, as Sevloss' conquered kingdoms now turn on each other in his absence. But when Everrast men start talking of joining King Sevloss' distant royalist war, Sir Barton asks permission to train and outfit a few skilled fighters to join his half-brother's cause. When a corpse is discovered dangling from a tree on Everrast's border, with ties to the distant Tristen/Uriah war, the Queen Mother decides that it's time to hire a Sheriff. As well as a Man-Of-God, if the villagers will help rebuild their village square church in time for a surprise marriage. The Queen Mother saga also enters the realm of Epic Historical Fantasy with this second volume. As King Sevloss, disguised as knightly Sir Alder, takes his foreign knights to train in a most unusual battlefield. Can Sevloss/Alder's tactical genius turn this difficult terrain and foreign-speaking mercenaries into a winning force? Can they successfully counter the fact that Sevloss/Alder expects no reinforcements - while his wolf-cub son, the vicious boy-king Lossmeter, can raise taxes from the throne to continue recruiting fighters?
