Survival is the ultimate defiancé. Condemned to Velant Prison for killing the man who dishonored his sister, Blaine McFadden faces imprisonment for life in a brutal arctic penal colony. The harsh climate and sadistic guards are enough to break a man, and most prisoners don’t live long. When a corrupt overseer and a ruffian gang threaten Blaine and a core group of convict friends, they decide to take matters into their own hands—consequences be damned. When Blaine McFadden killed the man who dishonored his sister, King Merrill exiled him to Velant Prison on far-away Edgeland, an arctic penal colony known for its brutality. If the icy cold and the hard labor doesn’t kill them, the prison’s sadistic commandant just might. But Blaine and his convict friends didn’t come this far to die easily, and they have no intention of going down without a fight. The King’s Convicts and the upcoming King’s Exiles fill the six-year gap at the beginning of Ice Forged, the first novel in Gail Z. Martin’s Ascendant Kingdoms epic fantasy series.

Velant Prison is King Merrill's dumping ground, and the convicts condemned to the harsh arctic conditions are the kingdom's slave labor. Brutal overseers drive their convict workers to the breaking point in the dark, cold mines deep beneath Edgeland. Blaine 'Mick' McFadden lost his title, lands, and freedom when he killed the man who dishonored his sister. When miners disappear and strange creatures are glimpsed in the depths, Blaine and his convict friends must find a way to fight for their lives against men and monsters. When Blaine McFadden killed the man who dishonored his sister, King Merrill exiled him to Velant Prison on far-away Edgeland, an arctic penal colony known for its brutality. If the icy cold and the hard labor doesn’t kill them, the prison’s sadistic commandant just might. But Blaine and his convict friends didn’t come this far to die easily, and they have no intention of going down without a fight. The King’s Convicts and the upcoming King’s Exiles fill the six-year gap at the beginning of Ice Forged, the first novel in Gail Z. Martin’s Ascendant Kingdoms epic fantasy series.

After three years in brutal Velant Prison on arctic Edgeland, Blaine McFadden nears his chance to earn release and become a colonist. But before Blaine can leave the prison and its vicious guards behind, Velant's sadistic commander has prepared a series of deadly challenges. Blaine has his sights set on freedom, but Prokief seems determined that Blaine will never leave Velant alive. The King's Convicts - When Blaine McFadden killed the man who dishonored his sister, King Merrill exiled him to Velant Prison on far-away Edgeland, an arctic penal colony known for its brutality. If the icy cold and the hard labor doesn’t kill them, the prison’s sadistic commandant just might. But Blaine and his convict friends didn’t come this far to die easily, and they have no intention of going down without a fight.

King’s Exiles is the final chapter recounting Blaine’s adventures during the missing six years in Ice Forged and follows immediately after Cold Fury or the collection, King’s Convicts. An arctic prison and a convict colony at the end of the world await disgraced Lord Blaine “Mick” McFadden. Spared execution for murdering his abusive father, Blaine doubts that being sent to Velant Prison and the Edgeland colony is really a mercy. Not when every day is a fight to survive. Yet amid the brutal conditions of the prison and the harsh reality of the colony, Blaine forges a new family of friends who are determined to survive, earn their Tickets of Leave, and build a new life homesteading. Until war between the kingdom of Donderath and its rival neighbor threatens to destroy both the homeland they left behind and the new lives they’ve just begun to wrest from the grip of fate. (King’s Exiles is also included in the Collection: Convicts and Exiles.)