Raging Swords — Robert Ryan

Against the raging swords of the enemy . . . they sent one man.

Brand is the youngest bodyguard ever to protect the king, but he may never get the chance to discover his future. A horde of mankind's ancient enemies lays siege to Cardoroth city. During the day, the clang of blades, the mad shrieks of the foe and the hiss of swift-flighted arrows cuts the air. At night, the sorcerous chanting begins.

Brand ignores it all. His duty is to shield one man from death. But fate forces him to leave the king that he swore to guard, the man who is like a father to him, in deadly peril. For the king sends him on a last-chance quest to save the realm.

Enemies track him across strange lands. Beasts of foul magic stalk him. A beautiful but deadly girl aids him - for reasons of her own. She reveals that more is at play than the fate of kings and realms. Ancient forces, drenched in long-forgotten blood, seek to plunge the world into the dark. The odds pile against him. But he is Brand, and not for nothing did he earn the king's trust.