Sometimes, it's all a man can do… keep going.

When the storm comes, when he's assailed by his doubts and fears, his body and mind wracked by pain, when whatever strength he has—legendary or not—has left him, a man must focus not on putting one foot in front of the other but finding a reason to.

Cutter knows this, for he has been here before, in this place of doubt and darkness, just as he knows his reason. A promise, one he made long ago to protect Matt, his son. But not just a promise, for promises might be broken, forgotten. An oath, though, that is a different thing. An oath becomes part of a man, his sword and his shield.

His reason.

So, wounded and hunted by the Black Wood's creatures, Cutter does the only thing he can do… he keeps going.

While Cutter and his brother face the dangers of the Black Wood, their companions in New Daltenia fare little better. Maeve contends with plotting tribunes in the Assassin's Guild while Chall, Ned, and Priest risk their lives seeking to unravel the mystery of the Crimson Wolves' reappearance. Matt, meanwhile, struggles with a force he comes to think of as the Green, a force that is building in him, one that he must master before it masters him.

Darkness descends on the people of the Known Lands, and the light of hope flickers weakly, threatening to go out. Should they live to see the morning, it will not be because of their strength or courage but because of an oath made.

And an oath kept.

A Warrior's Oath.