Exiled years before for accidentally killing a fellow student wizard during a magic duel, Marjan has had to forge himself a new life, a quiet life deep within the Alyssian Forest and far from the Guild. As a maverick wizard his life is far from perfect, and it's never what he dreamt of as a student in the Guild. But it's peaceful and living far from people he doesn't have to fear crossing the draconian laws of the Guild. Then one day seven young children and their teacher came crashing into his life, fleeing a monstrous enemy of seemingly limitless numbers. Armies of dire beasts led by hideously transformed soldiers are sweeping down from the north, overrunning the towns and cities and driving all before them in an orgy of death and destruction. To protect his new charges, Marjan must escort them to safety in the southern lands, leaving his home behind perhaps forever, and taking up arms as a wizard, risking the wrath of the Guild as he does so. So begins Marjan's journey, where he must not just do battle with an enemy to protect the children, but must also face down the demons of his past, and ultimately do battle with the darkest of all enemies.
About the Author: Greg Curtis was born in New Zealand, land of the long white cloud and small flightless birds. He grew up in the city of Wellington, renown for its high winds and the almost magical ability of rain and sleet to be lifted off the street and blasted into one's face. After eighteen years of suffering the cold and wet, he was finally blown away in a particularly bad storm to settle far away as a student. He stayed there for more years than most would ever admit to, quitting the life only when his student allowances ran out. More latterly he became an overqualified and underpaid worker in the health sector, (aren't we all) And spends his days talking to people about their various maladies. He spends his nights talking to his cats! He has lived in the city of Rotorua, one of the very few places in the world where people have actually chosen to reside beside active geysers and breath air that reeks of sulphur, for the past fifteen years, and has finally got used to the smell of sulfur! When not engaged in his great passions of reading and writing science fiction and fantasy, he drinks strong black coffee (some call it tar), and consumes copious amounts of chocolate (dark naturally). He lives a quiet life of contemplation as the high priest to his two cats, worshipping them with regular gifts of food, occasional grooming and by providing them with a warm dry place to sleep. They in turn look down upon him with typical feline disdain, but occasionally deign to bring him gifts of headless vermin, - as a warning. In a desperate bid to understand the meaning of his life, he has recently started studying philosophy, particularly metaphysics, and finally concluded that God is a cat! As he always says, cheers and be good or don't get caught.