Quickening
3 primary works
Book 1
When Wyl Thirsk, General of the Morgravian Legion, is forced to watch the torture of Myrren, a young woman accused of witchcraft, it seems little enough comfort to speed her passing. But Myrren is grateful for even this small mercy and promises Wyl a gift. He thanks her but dismisses the notion - what could this poor, doomed girl have to give him?
It is only years later that Wyl, shorn of his friends and allies, betrayed by his king, and forced to make an impossible choice, remembers the dying words of the young woman about to burn for the crime of witchcraft. As his enemy's sword draws closer, Wyl finally understands the meaning of Myrren's dying words, and he wonders: had he known what that one act of kindness would bring, would he have behaved otherwise?
Gripping the reader from the very first page, Myrren's Gift marks Fiona McIntosh as one of fantasy fiction's most gifted storytellers.
Book 2
The machinations of King Celimus have robbed Wyl Thirsk of almost everyone he held dear, and those few who have survived will bear the scars forever. Myrren's gift offers Wyl the opportunity to strike back, but at what price? His best friend is murdered, mercenaries pillage the land in the name of his beloved Legion, and now the mad king threatens the two women who are more precious to him than life itself. He cannot save both.
The old seer's advice comes back to him: find the Manwitch. Only Myrren's natural father can help break the hold of the Quickening. But Wyl's heart pleads otherwise: protect your loved ones. Once again, it seems, Wyl Thirsk faces an impossible choice. The path ahead diverges. Left and right. Head and heart. Blood and memory. A misstep here could cost him everything ...
Book 3
