From the vaults of Dragaeran history and the mind of master fantasist Steven Brust—a tale of betrayal and vengeance that is not at all a retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo Reader, you will undoubtedly have had the misfortune of consuming the rotten fruit of fallacies that we―Paarfi of Roundwood (esteemed historian of House of Hawk and exquisite artisan of truths)―“borrow” our factual recount of Dragaeran history from some obscure fellow who goes by the name Al Dumas or some silly nomenclature of that nature. The salacious claims that The Baron of Magister Valley bears any resemblance to a certain nearly fictional narrative about an infamous count are unfounded (we do not dabble in tall tales. The occasional moderately stretched? Yes. But never tall). Our tale is that of a nobleman who is betrayed by those he trusted, and subsequently imprisoned. After centuries of confinement, he contrives to escape and prepares to avenge himself against his betrayers. A mirror image of The Count of Monte Cristo, vitrolic naysayers still grouse? Well, that is nearly and utterly false.