Ever since there have been kings, there have been lies. Ever since there have been lies, there have been kings. And ever since shall the lie and the king dine together. Cellmack doesn't carry noble blood, nor is he a slave. As a young commoner living near a remote farming village, he doesn't have to concern himself with the realities of a declining Feudalist Empire. Taxes are poorly enforced and imperial soldiers rarely cause trouble for the townsfolk. The relative freedom allows him to earn a modest living by crafting illegal swords. Life is good enough but far from easy. Powerful storms and firewings are only the beginning in the struggle to survive. He begins to ask himself if there is more to life besides endless work, fear of the king, and hiding from the cold wind of the late fall maelstrom. A twist of fate will soon shatter his world and send him on a journey that challenge everything he thought he knew. The things he sees and the people he meets along the way will have profound consequences not only for his own world, but countless others. And all because one man refused to bow before the king.