BREATH AND BONE
A tale of Hedge and Pony
Candlemark & Gleam. Cover art by Laura Galli.
A long-retired swordswoman, saviour of godlings and killer of emperors, takes to the road again with her shapeshifting companion and the ghost of her brother…
The vhalgod Hedge was once Naskanna Deathdealer, bastard daughter of the Emperor, Captain of the Second Company of his Golden Guard. In the last days of the wars she cut off the Emperor her father’s head and wandered away across the world, with the ghost of her vhaldrachen brother Jinn bound to a flute made from a bone of his wing. The wild godling Thallyn, freed from captivity in the Emperor’s palace, also went wandering, homeless and heartsick. Her path recrossed that of Naskanna Deathdealer, and after more long years of wandering together, Hedge and Thallyn (Pony to her friends) settled down in the far north-west, with a garden and an orchard and some ducks; there, they thought, they would stay, and let the world get on without them. But a human girl named Arrany has come in search of the legendary Naskanna Deathdealer: her brother Penryl has fallen prey to a life-draining witch. That witch, she claims, was once the magus known as Spider -- with whom Hedge and Pony have an old, old score to settle.
Advance Praise for Breath and Bone
"“A joy to read. Breath and Bone is a wonderful tale of rescue and redemption, family and friendship -- all told in a gentle and lyrical voice that harks back to the great fantasy of the past.” ~ Tom Lloyd, author of The Twilight Reign.
“K.V. Johansen employs a classic fairy tale trope as a starting point for a dark fable of witches and demigods. Lyrical and finely honed, Breath and Bone mixes conflict, magic, and intrigue to great effect.” ~ Anthony Ryan, author of A Tide of Black Steel
“This fairytale-like story has both teeth and heart. KV has created something very special here.” K.D. Edwards