Muus, the young ex-slave of the Nords, became the Shardheld against his will. Now it is his Fate to bring the powerful skyshard to its destination in far-off Falrom. A shipwreck separated him from his friends and left him on a cold coast in Brytanna, the land of his childhood. Kjelle, dispossessed Lord of a Nord minehold, was wrecked with him, but managed to reach Gaul. Here, he and the young Wisewoman Birthe with her baby son must search out Kjelle's liege lord, to help him liberate their country. Tuuri, the naive messenger of false Jarl Rannar, has orders to join his master's Fynni troops. But meeting his father's kin proves even more horrible than he had feared. Prince Ottil, the young heir to The Norden's murdered king, fled his lands to stay alive. Yet is fighting the minions of the old Gods Before so much safer? Hraab, the filthy, too wise child, what Fate is his? He joins the Shardheld - but what is his goal? Six young people; their lives are upside-down, filled with danger and unimagined adventures. Join them in Book 2 of the epic Shardheld Saga, a grand tale of magic, swordfights, love and betrayal.

Muus is only a thrall, a chattel without rights, but he knows the small, blue shard he picked up belongs to him alone. Kjelle, heir to the Lord of a rich mininghold, is strong, and covetous of his thrall's tantalizing find. The one's greed causes an avalanche that leaves both young men marooned on an icy mountain slope. The other's commonsense saves their lives from cold and starvation. Now the antagonists are bound together on a danger-laden journey to a lost and burning land, where Muus needs to connect the skyshard to the Kalmanir, the standing stone that is the world's fount of all magic. The Kalmanir's time is almost up and it urgently needs to be replenished before the magic of Gods and men runs out. The two antagonists have to learn to trust each other, for all around them, enemies abound. Rebels threaten both the kingdom and Kjelle's holding, and a tribe of mad idolaters is trying to recall the banned primordial Old Gods. Even more imminent is Muus' danger, for it comes from nearby, from the shard itself. Muus is the only one person in the world who can wield the powerful skyshard. Will he succeed with Kjelle's help to reach the standing stone before the world's magic dies? Shardfall is an epic, non-gritty journey through a wild, snowy land. Each of the four main characters, Muus, Kjelle, the young wisewoman Birthe with her baby son Bui and the naive Tuuri, who serves the enemy, will have to overcome not only the dangers of their journey, but also their own shortcomings. ---- My thanks go to: Cover Designer: Jos Weijmer, JW Artstudio, Maastricht Line-Editor: Debra Doyle PhD, Dr Doyle's Editorial amd Critique Services"