Three centuries before the events of The Dragonbone Chair, the kingdom of Hernystir stands upon a knife's edge.

Vedra and Daley are fugitives, two children, one with a strange and powerful gift. When their flight ends in capture, they are claimed by Flann's Crows, Osten Ard's most infamous band of outlaws and the children must learn to survive or be swallowed whole.

As whispers of a deadly plot coil around the throne of Hernystir, the Crows are drawn into a game far deadlier than bandit raids and border skirmishes. An immortal exile-ancient, dangerous, burdened with secrets that refuse to die-offers alliance. To trust him may mean salvation. To refuse him may doom the realm.

For in the deep forests and ruined places of the old world, something stirs. Oaths will be broken. Blood will answer blood. And two hunted children may hold the fate of a kingdom in their trembling hands.

Before legend, before ruin-there was the beginning...

Packed with action, unforgettable characters, and the sweeping imagination that has made Tad Williams one of fantasy's most beloved voices, this is Osten Ard as you've never seen it before.