The Art of Prophecy

A prophecy has named Wen Jian the Champion, the man who is meant to bring down the Eternal Khan, an immortal tyrant whose rule endangers the realm. Jian has grown up in luxury, and he is praised for deeds he never did. He is nowhere near ready for the role.

The grandmaster Ling Taishi, one-armed and exacting, arrives to assess him. She finds a pampered boy instead of a hero. Then the prophecy itself fails, and the fate everyone has counted on no longer holds.

Taishi and Jian gather a handful of unlikely allies, among them a warrior from the Grass Sea and a dangerous assassin. Together they have to find a way to protect the realm without the prophecy to guide them.

This is epic fantasy inspired by wuxia and by the Three Kingdoms period, and it opens the War Arts Saga. Its three women leads carry as much of the story as its hero does. The question it turns on is what becomes of a chosen one once fate stops cooperating.