As the armies of Panis Rahl spread across the land, a young woman from a beleaguered town begs a boon from First Wizard Zedd, ignorant of the consequences of her request. This revised version of a novella that first appeared in the fantasy anthology Legends illuminates the period in history before the events of Goodkind’s Sword of Truth series. The conflict between love and duty forms a central theme in this brief and touching tale of people caught up in events they cannot fully control.

From Publishers WeeklyStarred Review. Science fiction author Goodkind takes a new approach to the modern-day thriller in this fantastic tale featuring Alex, a down-and-out artist set to inherit a fortune on his 27th birthday. The catch is that Alex is set to inherit his mother's insanity as well, which overcame her when she reached the same age. Mark Deakins proves a master storyteller; his strong performance shines with excellent stage presence from start to finish. Deakins speaks in a strong, commanding tone and is a virtuoso at accents and dialects — and Goodkind gives him plenty of each to play with. A Putnam hardcover (Reviews, June 22). (Sept.)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Review"Bestseller Goodkind (Confessor) ventures into thriller territory with results sure to please fans of his fantasy fiction. . Fantasy and thriller readers alike will find themselves swept along. . and looking forward to the next installment."— Publishers WeeklyFrom the Hardcover edition.

Hannis Arc, working on the tapestry of lines linking constellations of elements that constituted the language of Creation recorded on the ancient Cerulean scroll spread out among the clutter on his desk, was not surprised to see the seven etherial forms billow into the room like acrid smoke driven on a breath of bitter breeze. Like an otherworldly collection of spectral shapes seemingly carried on random eddies of air, they wandered in a loose clutch among the still and silent mounted bears and beasts rising up on their stands, the small forest of stone pedestals holding massive books of recorded prophecy, and the evenly spaced display cases of oddities, their glass reflecting the firelight from the massive hearth at the side of the room.Since the seven rarely used doors, the shutters on the windows down on the ground level several stories below stood open as a fearless show of invitation. Though they frequently chose to use windows, they didn’t actually need the windows any more than they needed the doors. They could seep through any opening, any crack, like vapor rising in the early morning from the stretches of stagnant water that lay in dark swaths through the peat barrens.The open shutters were meant to be a declaration for all to see, including the seven, that Hannis Arc feared nothing.