First book in the brand new Stormtalons setting! Tanthalas is a crowded, stinking, dangerous place, but to Dustra, it’s home. And all of the world she’s ever known. She serves old Launtelle, an old woman who sells secrets for a living. And when you know too much, enemies swarm to you like moths to a flame. One of them is THE Big Foe, watching from afar like a malevolent stormfront: the Heirophar, the mysterious and all-mighty archwizard. Or is he? What does Launtelle know about him that may doom her, and Dustra along with her? And who is the local vagabond everyone calls “Tavern,” really? As death closes in to claim more folks than usual, will the secrets whispered by the old witch prove Dustra’s salvation . . . or her doom?

Sarth Copperhorn thinks his young life is over. The most savage killers in the lawless city of Kordrove just murdered his family, and now they’re after him. When he hides in the half-buried ruin of an ancient castle, his odds of survival seem slim indeed. ABOUT STORMTALONS Stormtalons! The realms you’re looking for!From Ed Greenwood, creator of the Forgotten Realms®, comes his newest fantasy setting, fraught with deadly mists, magic, and adventure! This is the first of 120 planned books, written by more than 50 Creatives from around the world. Don’t miss out on this sprawling new world! ABOUT THE AUTHOR Richard Lee Byers holds a master’s degree in Psychology. He worked in an emergency psychiatric facility for over a decade, then left the mental health field to become a writer. Richard Lee Byers is the author of 40 fantasy and horror novels, including The Reaver, Blind God’s Bluff, and the best-selling Dissolution. He is also the creator of the post-apocalyptic superhero series The Impostor. His short fiction has appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies, and he has collected some of the best of it in the ebooks The Q Word, The Plague Knight, and Zombies in Paradise. A resident of the Tampa Bay area, which is the setting for a substantial portion of his horror fiction, he spends much of his leisure time fencing and playing online poker. He invites everyone to connect with him on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Ello, and to read his blog.

A man held in thrall by magic and a woman’s thirst for power. A woman for whom avarice and rule are as vital for life as breath. He strives for freedom, she for domination. Cymbra Laraklaea would rule the city of Tanthalas through manipulation of the great merchant houses and covert piracy. Captain Kefril Longbright and the crew of the corsair, Scourge, are her secret and unwilling weapons. The corsair was named after the former captain’s nine-thonged lash, wrought of the flesh and sinew of Dragons. Cymbra claimed the scourge, not realizing that it instills draconic avarice and thirst for power in its wielder. A stroke of that lash binds the victim to the wielder’s will. Cymbra claimed the scourge, as well as Kefril, whom she wields as deftly as the enchanted weapon that never leaves her side.