Now betrayed by the emperor he once protected, master swordsman saukendar leaves the way of the sword behind him forever--so he thinks. When a headstrong peasant girl burning to avenge her murdered family demands that he...Now betrayed by the emperor he once protected, master swordsman saukendar leaves the way of the sword behind him forever--so he thinks. When a headstrong peasant girl burning to avenge her murdered family demands that he train her, saukendar is faced with a momentous choice.