Forge of the High Mage

The Malazan Empire has spent decades at war, and its armies are close to taking the Quon Talian mainland. Emperor Kellanved chooses this moment to order an invasion of Falar, a theocracy far to the north.

The main forces are busy in Quon Tali, so Fist Dujek leads the northern campaign with orphaned units and broken squads. He is still recovering from the loss of an arm. The Emperor follows by sea with a fleet as mismatched as the army.

Not everyone trusts Kellanved or his companion Dancer. On the march north, the army runs into a threat out of legend that has woken and will destroy whatever lies in its path. Tayschrenn, the untested High Mage of the Empire, knows what it really is, and he doubts he is strong enough to face it. He has to anyway, with unlikely allies beside him.

Falar has its own defences. Its priests hold the Jhistal, a weapon unused for centuries and rumoured to be a gift from the sea-god Mael. Kellanved sails on his flagship Twisted, a vessel thought to be not entirely of this world.

The action moves between the Ice Wastes and the islands of Falar, in a bloody and treacherous account of the Empire's making. Either of its two great tests could end it.